On the fifth anniversary of its establishment the Diplomatic School of Armenia organized a two-day international conference, ''Digital Diplomacy:  Perspectives and Challenges''. The opening ceremony took place on May 11^th, in the Best Western Congress Hotel, Yerevan.

The event aimed primarily at colleagues representing diplomatic schools, academies and training institutions of foreign ministries attracted over 70 participants from 25 countries: representatives of diplomatic academies, universities, ministries of foreign affairs, ambassadors and diplomats accredited to Armenia and to other countries and others.

Opening the conference, the Director of Diplomatic School, Ambassador Vahe Gabrielyan emphasized that the aim of the event was to contribute to the ongoing international debate among scholars and practitioners about e-diplomacy. He expressed his satisfaction that that after five years of the establishment of the Diplomatic School its students had become a significant part of diplomatic corps and have gained a good reputation.

In his opening remarks the Head of EU delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Traian Hristea spoke about the importance of digital diplomacy and informed the audience of the EU’s intention to prolong the support to the Diplomatic School for two additional years.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian underlined the importance of the conference and stated that ‘Diplomatic services can only be successful in serving their countries’ national interest if they make most of the advance of technologies. It is the mission of diplomatic academies and schools, and Foreign Service institutes to educate diplomats-to-be in these matters and to continuously update the professional knowledge and vital skills of serving diplomats’.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia also mentioned the authorities’ satisfaction of seeing the Diplomatic School ‘at the forefront of professional training of the diplomatic cadre’.

The programme combined critical reflection and lessons learnt, with an assessment of the opportunities and risks of the information and communication management of diplomatic services.

A lively discussion took place among practitioners sharing their professional experiences in virtual reality and their use of various tools, including social media in diplomatic services and international organisations. Institutions of diplomatic training demonstrated their use of novel approaches and e-tools, sharing their best practices in training future diplomats.

The organisation of the conference was co-funded by the European Union in the framework of its continued Capacity and Institution Building support to the Diplomatic School.