Influence in a diffuse digital world
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands wants to bring together diplomats, businesses, NGO’s, journalists, tech experts and scientists to discuss the challenges, share practical tools and design solutions around digital diplomacy.
Innovations that change governments
Fast-paced advances in technology are creating diffuse and volatile conditions in which international actors operate. Disruptive innovations such as machine learning and big data analytics are changing governments, NGOs, the media, businesses, and in some cases entire industries. New and unexpected players entering the field are putting pressure on the traditional division of roles between politics, business, journalism and civil society. And this is just the beginning: developments as artificial intelligence and blockchain technology are only just starting to have an impact.
Search for new alliances
For governments and diplomats, as well as the partners they are looking to work with, this poses a challenge. We find ourselves at a turning point that calls for new alliances between actors capable not only of responding to these changes, but capable of anticipating and embracing them. Diego Piacentini, formerly senior vice president at Amazon and now head of the Italian government’s digital technology office, recognises this sentiment: ‘We can never permit ourselves the luxury of feeling that we have arrived: tomorrow we will always have to do better than today.’
Pro’s and cons of digitalisation
The impact of digitalisation is clearly both positive and negative. We can use digital technology to connect people and bring them closer together, but the same technology can also be used to create division. More and more data can be gathered online, but does the data provide us with actual insight? Every day the latest news from around the world is presented to us on a plate via online platforms, but these platforms are also a platform for deliberate fake news. The result is a diffuse digital world. What are the implications of this? How can you make the most of opportunities, protect yourself against threats and avoid ‘noise’? And what challenges and opportunities can diplomats, businesses, journalists and NGOs expect in the future?
