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Biography of Jovan Kurbalija,
Director, DiploFoundation
Jovan Kurbalija is the founding
director of DiploFoundation. His professional and
academic background is in diplomacy, international
law and ICT. In 1992 he left the Yugoslav
diplomatic service and established the Unit for IT
and Diplomacy at the Mediterranean Academy of
Diplomatic Studies in Malta. The main function of
the Unit was to provide training, research and
software development in the field of IT and
diplomacy.
Since 1994 Mr
Kurbalija has been conceptualising and directing a
course focussing on the impact of ICT/Internet on
diplomacy. In 1999 this year-long course received
academic accreditation from the University of
Malta as a Postgraduate Diploma in ICT and
Diplomacy. As part of this course, Mr Kurbalija
designed and runs a negotiation simulation
exercise on drafting an International Declaration
on the Internet. More than 250 diplomats and civil
servants, mainly from developing countries, have
participated in Diplo’s courses. As well as
lecturing for Diplo’s courses, Mr Kurbalija has
lectured and delivered courses at the
Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in
Malta, the Vienna Diplomatic Academy, the Dutch
Institute of International Relations (Clingendael),
the Graduate Institute of International Studies in
Geneva, the UN Staff College, and Wilton Park,
among others. He lectures on introduction to
diplomacy, diplomacy and ICT/Internet, diplomatic
privileges and immunities, and international law
for diplomats.
Mr
Kurbalija’s research focuses on the impact of
ICT/Internet on diplomacy, with emphasis on
changes in the national/international environment
for diplomatic activities (changes in national and
international distribution of power), new items on
diplomatic agendas (ICT policy and Internet
Governance) and new tools for diplomatic
activities (hypertext systems for research, online
negotiation tools, etc.). He is currently involved
in research on the taxonomy of Internet
Governance, the emerging language of ICT
diplomacy, and diplomatic aspects of the WSIS
negotiations.
Mr
Kurbalija has published books, articles and book
chapters, and edited books including: Internet
Guide for Diplomats, Knowledge
and Diplomacy,
Influence on IT on Diplomatic Practice, Information
Technology and Diplomatic Services of Developing
Countries, Modern Diplomacy and Language
and Diplomacy. The year, with E. Gelbstein and
S. Baldi, he co-authored the Information
Society Library, a set of nine booklets
covering a variety of issues such as information
security, online learning, Internet governance,
and more. The Library was presented at the WSIS.
Mr
Kurbalija’s activities in the field of software
development include conceptualisation and
development of various tools for diplomacy
including: Databases of International Treaties,
“DiploWizard” (a knowledge management system
for diplomacy), Euromed Internet Forum (official
web collaborative platform for the
Euro-Mediterranean Partnership), Hypertext System
for Text-based Negotiations/Discussions, Online
Negotiation Assistant (a platform for conducting
diplomatic negotiations via the Internet), and
E-learning modules in the field of diplomacy and
Internet governance.
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