5th DIPLOMACY ACADEMY 

A. BACKGROUND

The Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF) is an international, non-commercial, non-partisan organization uniting leading umbrella youth organizations from the Member-States of the Organization of Islamic-Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as the OIC) as well as international youth organizations, operating in the OIC region and youth organizations representing significant Muslim minorities worldwide. Founded in 2004, ICYF became an affiliated institution to the OIC in 2005. ICYF works to enable young people in the OIC region to reach their full potential in their country, region, and around the world. Also, Model OIC project, which is among the fourteen youth actions adopted by the 3rd Session of the Islamic Conference of Youth and Sports Minister (5-7 October 2016, Istanbul, Republic of Türkiye) mandated to ICYF to implement approved projects in the Member States of the OIC to enhance intellectual capacities of young generation and to raise awareness and promote the OIC as a leading international institution throughout the young community therein. On this basis, ICYF has organized hundreds of events between 2019-2022 in the official languages of the OIC.

Diplomacy is as old as the concept of the nation states appeared in the early 16th century. Since then, the need for engagement between states becomes obvious for the settlement of disputes as well as the management of common needs. Hence, gradually, on a state scale, organizational administrative units are being created which deal with the relations with other states and the shaping of the official state foreign policy, a particularly arduous and complex task given that, for the mapping out of general directions as well as specific actions, historical, cultural, national, military and economic considerations must be taken into account, while the involvement of parameters outside the state may exercise an influence on the shaping of the final choices. These realities are what makes diplomacy a highly needed art. Specifically in the Muslim countries, who suffered from continuous conflicts within or outside of the country, at a large scale including relatively minor ones to the major wars, diplomacy is the first tool to be used to settle the disputes without using force which has a great potential to create a bigger devastation. Realizing this fact, enabling the Muslim youth to master diplomacy becomes one of the focal points of ICYF’s agenda, as the umbrella institution affiliated to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, for youth organizations in the Muslim world. Therefore, Diplomacy Academy is designed by the ICYF to improve the diplomatic skills of the youth and enlarge their visions regarding the global issues.

The Academy will gather official representatives from governmental and non-governmental organizations, diplomats, politicians, university students, journalists, and academicians to deliver courses in the best possible way for the students. Each participant who fulfilled the participation criteria is traditionally granted a certificate at the end of the Academy. Since 2019, four Diplomacy Academy programs have been successfully completed. The 1st Diplomacy Academy started on 22 February 2019 with 100 selected participants from 36 countries. The 2nd Diplomacy Academy started on 8 November 2019 with 120 selected participants from 40 countries. The 3rd Diplomacy Academy was held between 21 February 2020 and 1 May 2020. And finally, the 4th Diplomacy Academy was held online between 4 June 2021 and 9 July 2021 with more than 1000 applications. Finally, the 5th Diplomacy Academy program was held to be launched in a physical format between 07.11.2022 and 23.12.2022.

B. OBJECTIVES AND GOALS

Diplomacy Academy aims at contributing the education and the development of the youth in theoretical and practical terms about current international relations issues and equipping them with diplomatic skills in a multicultural platform.

C. FORMAT

- Participants must fulfill the application form.

- The deadline for application is 1 November 2022.  

- There is a requirement for attendance to the programs in order to be eligible for a certificate.

- The program will be held at ICYF’s Headquarters in Istanbul. 

Address: Istanbul World Trade Center, A3 Block 7th floor, 34149, Yeşilköy, Istanbul/Türkiye

D. PARTICIPANT PROFILE

- Participants have selected among the youth from 18 to 35 years old. 

- Participants are fluent in English since the medium of instruction of this program is the English. But in selected weeks, the language of the seminars might be one of the OIC’s official languages.  

E. DRAFT PROGRAM

Diplomacy Academy

07.11.2022 – 23.12.2022

(Speakers will be announced in the future.)

WEEK 1 - OPENING

07.11.2022

Introduction To Diplomacy: Theory and Practice

WEEK 2

25.11.2022

Diplomatic Correspondence and Protocol in Diplomacy

WEEK 3

02.12.2022

International Law, Order and Diplomacy

WEEK 4

09.12.2022

Islam as a Framework for Contemporary Diplomacy

WEEK 5

16.12.2022

  Daily Routines of a Diplomat: From the Eyes of a Consul General

WEEK 6 - CLOSING

23.12.2022

Digital Diplomacy and the Future of Diplomacy

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