USP holds Diplomacy and International Negotiations Workshop
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 | Participants at the Diplomacy and International Negotiations Workshop |
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The USP’s third annual Diplomacy and International Negotiations Workshop took place at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Committee Room on 30 September to 1 October, 2013.
The Workshop constitutes a crucial component of the program for postgraduate students in Diplomacy and International Affairs in the School of Government, Development and International Affairs in the Faculty of Business and Economics. This year’s workshop also included postgraduate students from the Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development (PACE-SD).
Looking towards developing the writing, briefing and negotiation skills required for multilateral diplomacy, the workshop simulates a real world negotiation of the ‘Wellington Treaty on Climate Change’.
The participants were very fortunate to have their Workshop facilitated by an experienced international negotiations trainer, Ambassador Peter Rodgers, who regularly runs such courses for Caribbean, African, South Asian and Australian early-career diplomats. A Senior Fellow in the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy at the Australian National University, he is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow in the Diplomacy program at USP.
The mock international conference was very ably chaired by Matilda Chan Tung who in real life is a member of the Samoan Foreign Ministry.
The participants from PACE-SD, Diana Salili and Fetalai Gagaeolo, had previously had the opportunity to attend a UNFCCC meeting in Doha as part of the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS) delegation, and are now preparing for the next conference in Poland. They confirmed that the mock Wellington Conference bore similar. They said it was excellent preparation for participation in multilateral conferences giving delegates an opportunity to practice in a friendly setting.
The academic coordinator of the Diplomacy and International Affairs program, Associate Professor Greg Fry, commented that the practical skills workshop complements the more academic and theoretical parts of the students’ program as well as creating a strong bond among participants which carries over into the class room.
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