Training Workshop on Conference Diplomacy and Multilateral Negotiation

22 - 23 October 2018, Geneva, Switzerland - The two-day workshop, which was part of the Executive Diploma in Diplomatic Practice, was an opportunity for government officials, diplomats and other relevant stakeholders to strengthen their knowledge and understanding of negotiation and diplomacy processes, especially in the context of multilateral conferences.

The training was delivered by Mr. Marc Finaud. The trainer has a 30-year career as a former French Diplomat who had been seconded to the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) between 2004 and 2013 and now works for this institution in training diplomats and military officers in international and human security and conducting research in those fields.

Participants spend their first day understanding the origins, purposes, procedures and strengths as well as challenges of multilateral diplomacy, and in so doing they learnt about the role and impact of civil society organizations and the new stakeholders involved in this globalized world. Additionally, participants were given training materials prior to the workshop to prepare for a simulation which took place during the workshop. The simulation was inspired from a realistic case study and was related to the Six-Party Talks Negotiations on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Participants were given different roles and were asked to conduct a briefing and to conclude with a press conference on the agreement.

The second day of the workshop gave a thorough understanding of the UN Security Council, Peacekeeping Operations, Peacebuilding and Regional Conflicts. It further involved techniques and requirements for multilateral negotiation. Subsequently, there was a second simulation on Negotiating a Ceasefire Agreement to be Endorsed by the UN Security Council, which concluded with a Press Conference on the United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

Finally, the Q&A session at the end of each briefing made the workshop even more interactive. The participants were satisfied with their experience, as 100% of them felt that they met the course objectives and all of them agreeing that their awareness about the subject has increased. Benefits from the briefing were confirmed by post-training self-evaluations.

Image: Participants of the Conference Diplomacy and Multilateral Negotiation Workshop with trainer Mr. Marc Finaud (pictured second from left).