Jovan Kurbalija is the founding director of DiploFoundation. His professional and academic background is in diplomacy, international law and ICT. In 1992 he left the Yugoslav diplomatic service and established the Unit for IT and Diplomacy at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in Malta. The main function of the Unit was to provide training, research and software development in the field of IT and diplomacy.
Since 1994 Mr Kurbalija has been conceptualising and directing a course focussing on the impact of ICT/Internet on diplomacy. In 1999 this year-long course received academic accreditation from the University of Malta as a Postgraduate Diploma in ICT and Diplomacy. As part of this course, Mr Kurbalija designed and runs a negotiation simulation exercise on drafting an International Declaration on the Internet. More than 250 diplomats and civil servants, mainly from developing countries, have participated in Diplo’s courses. As well as lecturing for Diplo’s courses, Mr Kurbalija has lectured and delivered courses at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in Malta, the Vienna Diplomatic Academy, the Dutch Institute of International Relations (Clingendael), the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, the UN Staff College, and Wilton Park, among others. He lectures on introduction to diplomacy, diplomacy and ICT/Internet, diplomatic privileges and immunities, and international law for diplomats.
Mr Kurbalija’s research focuses on the impact of ICT/Internet on diplomacy, with emphasis on changes in the national/international environment for diplomatic activities (changes in national and international distribution of power), new items on diplomatic agendas (ICT policy and Internet Governance) and new tools for diplomatic activities (hypertext systems for research, online negotiation tools, etc.). He is currently involved in research on the taxonomy of Internet Governance, the emerging language of ICT diplomacy, and diplomatic aspects of the WSIS negotiations.
Mr Kurbalija has published books, articles and book chapters, and edited books including: Internet Guide for Diplomats, Knowledge and Diplomacy, Influence on IT on Diplomatic Practice,Information Technology and Diplomatic Services of Developing Countries, Modern Diplomacy and Language and Diplomacy. The year, with E. Gelbstein and S. Baldi, he co-authored theInformation Society Library, a set of nine booklets covering a variety of issues such as information security, online learning, Internet governance, and more. The Library was presented at the WSIS.
Mr Kurbalija’s activities in the field of software development include conceptualisation and development of various tools for diplomacy including: Databases of International Treaties, “DiploWizard” (a knowledge management system for diplomacy), Euromed Internet Forum (official web collaborative platform for the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership), Hypertext System for Text-based Negotiations/Discussions, Online Negotiation Assistant (a platform for conducting diplomatic negotiations via the Internet), and E-learning modules in the field of diplomacy and Internet governance.