Mr. Marco A. Suazo, head of UNITAR New York office and H.E. Ms. Isabelle Picco, Permanent Representative of Monaco opened the session by welcoming the participants. The first module, called the Neoteric Diplomat, was a panel that introduced the course by identifying the different challenges that diplomats may face as technology and AI advance, and how they can manage them and evolve with them. The panel was moderated by Ms Olga Kurilina and included the interventions of Dr Gabriela-Cornelia Horosanu, Ms Kim van der Sluis, and Mr Mohammad Iqbal Sirie. 

To close the first day of the training, Dr Rafael Mesquita then presented the second and third modules on Digital Diplomacy and Artificial Intelligence. Dr Mesquita gave an overview of cyber and digital diplomacy before delving into the subject of Digital Diplomacy, then explained the regulations, security and challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Diplomacy.

The second day kicked-off with Dr. Kutub Thakur’s intervention in module 3 which revolved around Cybersecurity, and its importance for protecting our professional and personal lives in addition to, on a bigger scale, ensuring national security. Module 4, by Dr Laszlo Molnar, was centred on Science Diplomacy and more specifically about how to use science to address global challenges and build international partnerships. Finally, Ms Margherita Natali delved into the topic of Internet Governance, the importance of responsible use of data, as well as the legal frameworks and Human Rights considerations among other things; concluding the training.