About the Academy

In Hilary Term 2024, we are proudly continuing the Oxford Diplomatic Society Academy. Founded by Tijmen Severens, the Academy involves a series of four workshops that teach a select group of 25 highly motivated and ambitious students’ essential diplomatic skills such as public speaking, negotiation, diplomatic communication, and crisis management. The workshops have a theoretical component, but they emphasise practice. Recognising that effective diplomacy does not merely require knowledge but also a particular well-developed skill set, the workshops offer plenty of room for participants to improve vital skills, for instance through public speaking exercises, negotiation simulation cases, and exercises in diplomatic communication. 

The workshops are followed by a one-day Conference in which the students will apply what they have learned in the workshops in a Model United Nations (MUN) session. In this session, they will represent a country and debate and negotiate a UN resolution aimed at addressing a pressing global issue. During the Conference, the students will be evaluated by an expert jury. The latter will determine which students will win an award recognising their especially excellent performance during the Conference. 

The Academy offers a unique opportunity to receive exclusive training in essential diplomatic skills from experienced public speakers and professionals from the field of diplomacy. It will enable one to learn and network with like-minded and highly ambitious peers. Upon completion, students receive an official certificate of participation in the Academy. 

The Academy in 5 points

 

  1. Learn how to give speeches, negotiate, and communicate like a true diplomat through 5 exclusive workshops;

  2. Receive feedback and training from experienced public speakers and professionals from the field of diplomacy;

  3. Apply what you have learned in a 1-day UN Negotiation Simulation Conference in which you will debate and negotiate a UN resolution on a pressing global issue; 

  4. Learn and network with a select group of 25 highly motivated, ambitious and like-minded peers;

  5. Receive an official certificate of participation upon completion and potentially an award from an expert jury recognising your especially excellent performance during the Conference. 

Schedule

The schedule below is final. All workshops include practice exercises. All events include a break.

Workshop I - Public Speaking
Tuesday 28th January, 5.30 - 8.30 PM

Dealing with, inter alia: body language, use of voice, content and structure of speech, rhetoric.

Workshop II - Introduction to Negotiation
Friday 31st January, 5.30 - 8.30 PM

Exploring the process of negotiation and the influence of different personalities and culture on negotiation.

Workshop III - Strategy & Tactics of Negotiation
Monday 3rd February, 5.30 - 8.30 PM

Workshop IV - Diplomatic Communication
Tuesday 11th February, 5.30 - 8.30 PM

Reframing, responding to difficult questions and criticisms & written diplomatic communication.

Workshop V - Crisis Management
TBC, 5.30 - 8.30 PM

MUN Conference
Friday 7 March, 12.00 - 6.30 PM

People involved

  • Raman van Wee

    TRAINER WORKSHOP I - PUBLIC SPEAKING

    Raman is a DPhil student in Biological Physics at St John’s College. He was a Delegate at Harvard National Model United Nations, the world’s oldest and largest MUN Conference where delegates debate and negotiate a resolution for four days. Through the exclusive 6-month course United Nations and Multilateral Diplomacy: Theory & Practice offered by United Netherlands, he has received training in diplomatic skills, including public speaking. He has given multiple public speaking workshops to young professionals.

  • Tijmen Severens

    TRAINER WORKSHOP I - PUBLIC SPEAKING

    Tijmen is reading for the MPhil in Political Theory at St Antony’s College. Like Raman, he has been a Delegate at Harvard National Model United Nations and he participated in the course United Nations and Multilateral Diplomacy: Theory & Practice that provides diplomatic training to young professionals. Later on, he became Board Member of United Netherlands. In this capacity, he oversaw - inter alia - the organisation of the aforementioned course and he provided numerous diplomatic skills trainings.

  • Hans van den Berg

    TRAINER WORKSHOPS II & III - NEGOTIATION

    Hans van den Berg is the Founder and Director of The Young Diplomat, an organisation that provides skills training on diplomacy. Currently he is also working at the Center for International Legal Cooperation in projects relating to strengthening the rule of law in Eastern Europe and the Balkan, as well as teaching at Leiden University. Hans is an expert on international negotiation in the political, public and private arena. He has given workshops on negotiation for the Diplomatic Studies Programme in Oxford.

  • Paul Docherty

    TRAINER WORKSHOP IV - DIPLOMATIC COMMUNICATION

    Paul Docherty is a Departmental Lecturer for the Diplomatic Studies Programme. He has spent most of his career in the British Council, the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. He served as Cultural Attaché/Deputy Director of the British Council in Moscow, and Cultural Counsellor/Director of the British Council in Prague, Rome, and Paris. Paul has delivered guest lectures on cultural relations, public and cultural diplomacy and soft power at universities and institutions across Europe and in the UK. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2008.

  • Dr Yolanda Spies

    MEMBER OF THE EXPERT JURY

    Dr Yolanda Spies is the Director of the Oxford University Diplomatic Studies Programme. She served as a South African diplomat for 18 years. She taught diplomacy at various other universities, inter alia as adjunct professor at Webster University in Accra, Ghana and as Associate Professor: International Studies at Zayed University, UAE. Since 2016 she has also been a Senior Research Fellow of the SARCHI Chair in African Diplomacy and Foreign Policy, University of Johannesburg; and in 2020 she was appointed as Senior Fellow of the Geneva-based DiploFoundation.

  • Sam Daws

    MEMBER OF THE EXPERT JURY

    Sam Daws has worked in UN-related roles for over three decades. He is a Senior Practitioner Associate in the Department of Politics and International Relations, focussing on multilateral policy, diplomatic strategy and geopolitics, especially in AI governance. He previously served as First Officer to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York, and as Deputy Director (United Nations) in the UK Cabinet Office. He designed the FCO Diplomatic Academy’s inaugural online course on UN negotiation, and directs the advisory firm 3D Strategy which trains diplomats and helps governments, foundations and companies navigate multilateral politics and processes. He is currently incubating a new initiative for diplomats, MultilateralAI.

Applications are now open!

Requirements:

  • The applicant must be a student at the University of Oxford;

  • The applicant must be a member of the Oxford Diplomatic Society, i.e. the applicant must have signed up to our mailing list;

  • No prior knowledge or expertise is required – students from all degrees are welcome;

  • The Conference and some of the workshops require preparation (max. 5 hours for the Conference; max. 1 hour for the workshops). The applicant must be able and willing to invest this time;

  • The applicant must be able and willing to attend all workshops and the Conference in a highly committed, motivated, and prepared fashion.

Application deadline: Sunday 19th January, 23.59PM

Participation fee: £40 (to be paid upon accepting an offer of a place at the Academy)