World: Online course on Multilateral Conferences and Diplomacy

Background

Governments and increasingly other actors such as international and non-governmental organizations use multilateral conferences as a means, and sometimes the only means, to achieve important policy objectives. As the number of conferences and meetings has risen considerably over the past twenty years, the number of government officers and other stakeholders involved in conference processes has also increased significantly. While diplomats remain at the centre of diplomacy, government officials assigned to line ministries and agencies, as well as staff of intergovernmental organizations and NGOs, are increasingly finding themselves in the role of the multilateral conference delegate.

This online course will help students enhance their performance as a conference delegate, and as a result contribute to the overall efficiency and productiveness of conferences.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the course, participants should be able to:

• Identify how conferences unfold;
• Name the rules of procedure and their value in advancing delegate objectives;
• Explain the importance of informal consultations;
• Use appropriate language;
• Detect and incorporate other delegations' strategies.

Content and Structure

The course includes four interactive training modules, defined as follows:

• Module 1: Introduction to the World of Multilateral Conferences
• Module 2: The Formal and Informal Processes of Conferences
• Module 3: Negotiation and Decision-making
• Module 4: Preparing for an International Conference

Methodology

e-Learning: The course is internet-based, moderated by senior international experts, asynchronous, and places emphasis on online discussions and self-paced learning. The participants will be primarily responsible for their own learning over the four-week span of the course. The course will consist of the following components:

• Compulsory and optional reading material, intended to teach the basic concepts and principles of the lesson's subject-matter.
• External links to additional books, articles, documents, and websites related to the lessons.
• A glossary of terms provided as a learning tool throughout the course.
• Quizzes and case studies at the end of each module. To be eligible for the course certificate, a passing grade of 80% on both quizzes and case studies is required.
• A Community Discussion Board will be available for participants to post questions or comments visible to the instructor and other participants. This discussion board will be moderated by the course director and UNITAR.
• Estimated learning time: minimum of 40 hours.
• Participants will be eligible to receive a certificate after the successful completion of the course.

How to register:

Registration and Course Fee

The course participation fee is 600 USD. Registration will be closed as soon as the course is full and your place will be secured once your payment is confirmed.

Please follow the steps below to apply for one of our online training courses:

• Go to https://www.unitar.org/event/user/register to create a user account.
• Once your user account is created, go to https://www.unitar.org/event/multilateral-conferences-and-diplomacy-7
• Select “add to cart”.
• After selecting, you will see other courses that might be of interest to you. You may add another event by clicking on the title of another event, which will take you to the event detail page.

If you want to confirm your selection, click on “selected events” in the top right corner of the page (“view your shopping cart”)

• Click “Proceed to checkout”
• You will then be directed to the billing page where you are asked to fill in your bank details.

You will then automatically be sent an invoice by email. Upon receipt of your payment, we will send you an email confirming your registration. Before the beginning of the course, you will receive a new username and password which will allow you to access the content of and attend the e-learning course.

We highly encourage credit card payments. You may find some useful information on “how to register” on: http://www.unitar.org/event/about-unitar-events#register