Acting Director-General Julio S. Amador III of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) joined other directors of diplomatic academies in the international conference Digital Diplomacy: Prospects and Challenges at the Best Western Congress Hotel in Yerevan, Armenia, on 11-12 May 2015.

Mr. Amador discussed the Institute’s digital diplomacy initiatives in his speech “E-Diplomacy: Observations and Insights of the Foreign Service Institute of the Philippines” in the panel Diplomatic Schools & E-Diplomacy: Best Training Practices. He examined the challenges and the opportunities faced by the Institute as it adopts e-learning and engages in e-diplomacy.

He said that the Institute has webcast events and training programs to Philippine embassies and consulates, modernized the Institute’s website, covered regular updates, assured visibility, and has expanded the use of social media. He also stressed that while challenges remain, such as the need to invest resources in technical upgrading, the Institute is more than willing to rise up to these challenges and be an active partner of the Department of Foreign Affairs in e-diplomacy.

Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian also addressed the participants of the conference. He 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.

Organized by the Diplomatic School of Armenia, with support from the European Union, the event gathered 70 deans and directors of diplomatic schools, academies, and training institutions of foreign ministries from 25 countries. Participants shared their professional experiences in virtual reality and the use of various tools including social media in diplomatic services and international organizations. Institutions of diplomatic training demonstrated their use of novel approaches and e-tools and shared best practices in training diplomats.