GDC Diplomatic Academy – Global Diplomatic Council

The Global Diplomatic Council has an extensive, worldwide network of professional educators who provide training about the role of diplomacy in addressing the major problems of global society.

The need for diplomacy and effective tools for international cooperation and conflict resolution has grown exponentially. The GDC’s diplomatic academy provides the knowledge and skills professionals need to operate effectively in international and politically sensitive environment. Given the delicate nature of international communication, appropriate knowledge and skills are essential to achieving positive results. When it comes to objectives such as profitable contract creation or new agreements on vital issues such as climate change or peace and security, a professional toolkit can make all the difference.

The GDC Academy is an experienced provider of diplomatic training programs. Together with our partners, we determine the best possible combination of training components, the particulars of which can be grouped into three categories:

Content: what you need to know
Competences: crucial qualities and skills
Work processes: How to complete specific tasks and activities

Especially when it comes to our areas of expertise (diplomacy and foreign affairs, security and conflict management, EU affairs, and international negotiation skills), we can combine any of the following content, competences, and work processes in order to provide your organisation with the exact training it needs.

All of the GDC’s diplomatic training is built knowing that a diplomat’s work is characterised by the need to:

Work in an international and politically sensitive context;
Represent their respective countries and manage its interests;
Have the capacity to quickly learn and apply new information;
Function as a bridge-builder, a connector and a hub in the context of modern networking theory;
Responsibility to act as a service provider for others active in the field of international cooperation.

NEGOTIATION AND DIPLOMACY TRAINING

A three day seminar will make the participants gain an expert insight in international negotiation and diplomacy. On the first day they will be introduced to theory and practice via readings, an extensive amount of exercises and evaluations, and discussion. On the second day participants will work on more intensive exercises which target very specific traits of negotiation and diplomacy. Each exercise will be evaluated, and participants will be further provided with insights. Lastly they will relate their obtained experience to the earlier discussed theory. The third day will be a full simulation in which they assume the roles of delegations and will have to prepare opening statements, negotiate, abide by official rules and procedures, and evaluate their own behaviour. Participants will be provided with a workbook which will include necessary readings, exercises to be completed before the course day, explanations and/or theories per simulation/exercise, and an overview of what is discussed to provide them with a toolkit. Necessary readings and home assignments will be provided no later than ten days before the actual seminar.

What will participants learn?

By the end of the training, participants:

Can describe the key principles underpinning a successful negotiation;
Have improved your effectiveness in multilateral negotiations;
Will know tips and tricks for negotiation;
Can explain cultural differences and be aware of the basics of intercultural communication;
Can create strategies for negotiation processes;
Recognise bargaining tactics and know how to respond to them;
Understand psychological processes in general and specific individual reactions to negotiation and mediation situations.

Which methods will be used?

Interactive lectures
Group assignments and discussions, including group reflection on lessons learned
Bilateral negotiation simulations
Multilateral negotiation simulations
Intercultural communication discussions
Individual negotiation profiles and self-assessment.

NEGOTIATION AND DECISION-MAKING IN THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE EUROPEAN UNION

As a diplomat, how can you improve your negotiation skills in the UN and EU? What is your personal style in negotiating and how can you use different styles to prevent deadlocks? What is the process of decision-making in the General Assembly and the Security Council?

These and more questions are addressed during seminars in negotiations and decision-making in a UN and EU context. The seminars cover essential skills and insights to work in a complex multilateral organisation like the UN, where the ultimate aim is for its Member States to reach consensus on issues related to peace and security, sustainable development, poverty eradication, human rights, and humanitarian assistance.

NEGOTIATING: A NECESSARY SKILL FOR HUMANITARIAN PROFESSIONALS

Humanitarians often find themselves negotiating the non-negotiable. Operating under time pressure and in stressful situations forces them to negotiate from a position of weakness. These characteristics in particular make humanitarian negotiations unique.

GDC’s humanitarian negotiation training facility aims to enhance the negotiating capacity of humanitarian workers. The training sessions help humanitarian workers develop a reliable set of skills enabling them to operate clearly, calmly, and decisively under enormously stressful conditions. At the same time, the training serves as a platform where humanitarian workers can exchange dilemmas and learn from each other’s experiences.

GDC Academy’s trainings target humanitarian professionals both at our headquarters and in the field.

Four-day training courses are designed for humanitarian professionals working at headquarters. These participants are regularly exposed to negotiations with a range of stakeholders, such as donors, government officials, and other humanitarian workers.

Role plays allow participants to practise, analyse, and advance their own negotiation skills. At the GDC, we expose the group to negotiations that closely resemble the work environment of humanitarian professionals. For one simulation, we work with training actors to recreate a crisis situation.

In this scenario, different levels of negotiations are happening simultaneously: in the field, at management level, and ongoing internal negotiations between the field team and management team. Using actors makes the simulation both realistic as well as effective. Moreover, the actors are well equipped in providing critical and in depth individual feedback based on the interactions they had throughout the simulation.

As with each exercise we do, the simulation is followed by a debriefing during which participants and trainers/actors exchange key learnings.

Training for field workers can be conducted in the region. Field trainings are tailor-made and take into account the regional context, participants’ level of experience and their specific needs.

Our trainings on humanitarian negotiations contain the following elements:

Framework of humanitarian negotiations
Using interests, positions and power for effective negotiation
Relationship-building in a particular context
Dealing with stress and time pressure
Conflict analysis and the different tools that can be used
Main challenges and dilemma’s in humanitarian negotiations
Communication skills between field workers and management
Personal negotiation styles
Negotiating with cultural differences

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, GOVERNANCE AND DIPLOMACY STUDIES 2022

GDC Diplomatic Academy Brochure 2021