small talk 2.0

Did you hear this name - Ghajar? Small village on the Israeli-Lebanese border, that made big headlines last week after the Government of Israel decided to withdraw from the northern part of the village. Know why? The residents of the village, who belong to the alaouite branch of Islam protested against this decision and even organized demonstration demanding to stay under the control of Israel. I will repeat, so you didn't miss the point: the 2200 residents of the Muslim village of Ghajar demanded to stay under the Israeli control. A short historic introduction: after the withdrawal of Israel from Lebanon in 2000, the United Nations identified and approved “the blue line" - the border between Israel and Lebanon. According to this line, the village was divided into two parts: northern part that was in Lebanon, and the southern part in Israel. After the war with Hezbollah in 2006, Israel withdrew from all of the Lebanese territory, accept for the northern part of Ghajar in order...

Since the deadly terrorist attacks against churches in Baghdad, there are a lot of discussions and reports about the plight of the Christian population in the Middle East. While this is definitely the case for almost all of the countries in the Middle East, there is one country where the number of Christians kept growing for the last 62 years. Your guess is correct - this is Israel. The Christian population In Israel after the establishment of our state was 34.000 people. At the time, most of the Christian population in Israel was concentrated in Jerusalem, Haifa and in the area of Galilee. Among the Christians, the major ethnic group was Arabs, with small Armenian minority in the Old City of Jerusalem, and other small ethnic groups. In 2010, the Christian population of Israel is 5 times bigger than it was in the 1948 - and reached almost 200.000 people. Arab Christians are still the biggest ethnic group in the Christian population, but since the beginning of the 90s, the Russian...

Two days ago I found something quite revealing: the blog I am doing in French was fully translated into English! Nobody contacted me about this, I found it by chance on the twitter account of the site called JEWPI - Jewish Press International. The blog has the same appearance as the original blog, you can see by yourself: Original blog (in French): http://www.yarongamburg.blogspot.com/ The translated version (in English): http://translate.google.com/translate?ie=UTF- 8&u=http://www.desinfos.com/spip.php%3Fpage%3Darticle%26id_article%3D21621&sl=fr&tl=en When I looked closely at theat blog,I saw that in fact this was not a human-made translation, it was Google Translate. However, the conclusion I made out of it is that the blogs by diplomats are something that people are looking for, and they don't care even if it's not high-quality translation. Food for thought.

It's been a long time since I wrote post on this blog. 3 months ago I moved to Paris after being appointed as media advisor to the Israeli embassy in France. So, in addition to all the necessary arrangements you have to do when moving to a new country, I also opened a new blog, this time in French, which became part of my new job. All beginnings are difficult, so I had to take a break from my 2 other blogs, this one and the one in Hebrew. After all, writing for 3 different blogs, in 3 different languages (of which none is your native language...) is not an easy task... Now I hope to be back on track on all the blogs, and I would like to tell you something about our social media efforts in the embassy, where we put into practice some ideas that were discussed in this blog: http://diplomatstalk.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-to-work-with-traditional-media.html I must tell, the first results of my diplomatic blogging were quite up to my expectations. After 3 month of my digital activity in...

No comments! Just enjoy: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/magazine/18web2-0-t.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

Next month I will start my new diplomatic appointment - media advisor and spokesperson of the Israeli embassy to France. It's the second time I will work as a spokesperson for the embassy. 10 years ago I did the same job in Moscow. Looks like the same job? Of course, Moscow is not Paris, Russia is not France, however the journalists are journalists everywhere, and the TV, newspapers and radio have much in common. But there is a big, huge, enormous BUT, that changed the world in the last 10 years. It's called social media. 10 years ago there was no Facebook. No Twitter. No Youtube. Even no DailyMotion or Odnoklassniki.ru. And, of course, no other social networks. Blogs were something marginal, and no part of the mass media, anyway. Today it's all history. Small correction: a history in making, since what we do today with the social media and how social media interacts with the traditional media are things that we learn by the method of error and trial. It's still new for...

American diplomacy and the State Department could serve as a good example of using social media in their work. American embassies were among the first to open Twitter accounts and use it for professional goals. The most well-known example of using Twitter by US embassy happened 4 years ago in Madagaskar during the coup d'etat attempt against the president of this country. The US embassy sent tweets in order to refute the rumors that the president of Madagaskar is hiding at the embassy... So if you consider opening the twitter account for your embassy, it is worth checking what the americans are doing. They are definitely leaders in this area, and they do it almost in every country. Their twitter accounts could help you understand how to do yours. I am not saying do exactly what they do. All I want to say is this: learn from them and do better! Here are some examples from US embassies in Europe. US Embassy in Vienna: http://twitter.com/usmission US Embassy in Geneva: http://twitter....

Diplomats discover Twitter. This is a fact. And I am not talking about the Ministers or Secretaries of State, like Clinton or Miliband. Because at the end of the day they are politicains, not diplomats. No, I am talking about the career diplomats, who started their diplomatic work as attaches and second secretaries, for whom diplomacy is not just ground breaking speeches, cocktail parties and all other nice things associated with this profession. These ordinary diplomats discover Twitter, and this is a worldwide movement. I know this for sure, after being introduced to the new social network of Diplomats: Diplodocus. I was excited to see there diplomats who mentioned on their personal profiles their Twitter accounts. I immediately put them all on a new list on my Twitter account. I called it Twitplomacy. You are welcome to follow the tweeting diplomats and diplomatic missions with this list, I promise to update it. by the way I also crated a list for my colleagues in the Ministry: Isra...

Usually I don't watch series. In fact, "24" is the only series I follow from the first season. And not just follow, but became kind of fan. I was trying to find an explanation for this. Yes, I love action, I like movies dealing with politics, diplomacy, international relations. However, all these things you can find in other series or movies. What is particularly good about the "24", and what attracts me the most, is that it always reflects real-life crisis situations and dilemmas. Sometimes, the international background of "24" is not just a reflection, but projection of the real-life tendencies. Of course, like in any movie, many details are exaggerated, stretched and unrealistic. However, this parallel reality of the movie resembles, at times too closely, the reality we live. Look for the 8th season of "24". The general background (for those who didn't see it) is set during the final phase of peace negotiations between the US President...

About a year ago I wrote a post explaining basic guidelines on using social media by diplomats (here: http://diplomatstalk.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-diplomats-should-use-social-media.html ). One year later, I would like to update some things and add others. After all, there is nothing like experience… I will comment about three major tools: Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. So why Facebook? 1. More than 400 million users 2. The most significant users traffic, after Google 3. More than 60 languages 4. Popular in non-English speaking countries 5. Enormous potential for Public Diplomacy (at least today, because who knows what we’ll have in the future!) Basic steps for working with Facebook There are three Facebook page types for organizations: Fan page, Group or Cause. The fan page is most commonly used for organizations. It’s recommended to set up a personal page prior to opening the mission’s official fan page. Make yourself familiar with how Facebook works. Choose a person who is effectiv...

Today I had an opportunity to talk to a group of Development Communication specialists from countries-members in OECD. We were talking about potential of social media in promoting the cause of Development goals and international aid awareness (read more about the agenda here: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/4/16/45155914.pdf ) , something that is defined by some experts as Web2forDev ( http://www.web2fordev.net/ ) No doubt Development 2.0 is gaining the moment. Participants from all the countries shared their experience with social media. It's true that the UK's representative, Julia Chandler from DFID, impressed al of us with the systematic and advanced approach towards integrating social media tools in the Development communication. However, the most important lesson for me was that all the participants speak the same "digital" language. May be because the average age in the group was closer to 30 than 50.... Here is my PP presentation at the seminar: http://www.linked...

During the Digital Diplomacy training program we asked particpants to think how they can explain the idea of Digital Diplomacy to others. Look at one of the most successful videos from Youtube workshop. starring: Shmuel Ben-Shmuel, head of Interfaith Dialogue Department, and Jeremy Issasckarov, former Deputy Ambassador to Washington.

A priori, cette expression peut apparaitre trop exagérée et pompeuse. Est’ ce que c’est possible que la technologie devienne si importante pour le système politique et la société moderne en général ? Pour comprendre la connexion entre les media sociaux et le système démocratique regardons les caractéristiques principales des media sociaux. Tous les outils des media sociaux sont interactifs, ouverts et transparents pour tous. Tous les participants des media sociaux sont égaux et il n’y a pas de hiérarchie. Chaque internaute peut ajouter le contenu et réagir au contenu des autres participants. D’un autre cote, les media sociaux deviennent les outils pour les gouvernements : les services publics peuvent être donnés sur internet. C’est la raison pour laquelle les gouvernements des pays démocratiques vont utiliser les media sociaux pour améliorer la participation civile dans les affaires publiques. Les pays qui ont peur de la participation civile, limitent l’accès a Internet et espèrent que...

I must tell you, I was really upset when I read the following article in "Hindustan Times"! Diplomats and diplomacy should use the new way of communication. Necessary security measures must be taken, of course, but closing this channel comletely - it's too much! "Indian diplomats now cannot open a Facebook account, use external e-mail services, or write blogs, thanks to new rules and much stricter firewalls aimed at preventing cyber attacks and leakage of classified information. Over the past eight months, the Ministry of External Affairs has been overhauling its computer network security, putting up layers of barriers against intrusions into the network, officials associated with cyber security said." Full article here: http://www.hindustantimes.com/No-blogging-social-networking-for-Indian-diplomats/Article1-376183.aspx

On April 13, Ilan Sztulman, deputy director of Public Diplomacy department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and myself gave a presentation and answered questions from the audience at the Tel Aviv University, at the event organized by Internet Research center of Netvision 013. Thank you to Eli Hacohen who organized the event and to the participants for their interest and questions. The People and Computers on-line newspaper published an article about the event (hebrew). Read here: http://www.thepeople.co.il/_DailyMaily/ItemClean.asp?ArticleID=31700&Vol=1141&SearchParam=&CategoryID=72

On March 11, I took part in on-line conference organized by O'Reilly company. The goal of the conference was to feature Gov 2.0 projects and experiences in 4 countries: Canada, Great Britain, Australia and Israel, and also the social media work of US Peace Institute. I presented the Israel experience. This kind of information exchange is important not onlu because we learn from each other, but also because we meet people around the globe who deal with the issues of Gov 2.0. So, contect is the king, but connection rules, as my good friend Alon Gilad likes to say. The recording of the event is now available. To play it back, simply click on the link below. https://oreilly.connectsolutions.com/p81093334/ Please note that clicking on this link will launch the AdobeConnect Pro viewer. It may take a few moments to load. Once play back begins, you can navigate through the various presentations and search the chat room. The links in thepresentation are live. You can also download all of ...

Last week I gave presentation about digital diplomacy to the group of high-school students, about 35 individuals. And I must tell you this: high-school students are the best audience for this topic. Not diplomats, not branding specialist, not Web 2.0 evangelists. High-school students - because they don't have to believe in social media, they don't have to become social media professionals. They just live in social media. Unlike other groups I meet with, I didn't asked them how many have Facebook page, because all of them have. I asked them what other networks they use and whether they use blogs. More than half of them use Myspace and Twitter, and others participate in diverse networks. It was interesting to see that only two of them write blogs. Unlike other groups, including the diplomats from my ministry, the high-school students understand exactly the potential of digital diplomacy. They are already in fact digital citizens. It's not a big deal for them to become dig...

Last week I participated in the economic diplomacy training program organized for Israeli diplomats who go to their diplomatic postings this summer. It's already become a cliche that economic diplomacy, like public diplomacy or country branding, has become one of the pillars of modern diplomacy. So the diplomats visit companies, meet with businessmen, hear lectures from heads of economic organizations, like Israel Bank, Export Institute and others. However, when you come to an enterprise that is not just another company, but the one that dares to change the whole fabrics of modern society - you are not just learning something new. You get inspired. This way we felt at the Demonstration Center of "Better Place", the company of the Israeli entrepreneur Shai Agassi, who developed the idea of 100% electric car. A car that will dramatically reduce oil-dependence, end air pollution, and will make the world quieter and ... a better place! Here are some pictures from our visit th...

In the last days there was an interesting and really fascinationg discussion about the exact definition of Government 2.0, that took place on Govloop, social netwotk of american government ( http://www.govloop.com/group/government20club ) I feel that with all our effort to rationalize the contribution of Gov 2.0 to citizens and to government itself, we might forget one important, and in my eyes central element of Web 2.0 - that it's fun! I think that all things based on Web 2.0, including Gov 2.0, are fun. After all, This is social media - and people come to Web 2.0 to communicate because it's fun. They also come to Web 2.0 for advice, information, service and so on - but they are attracted into it because it looks attractive, light and funny. The Gov 2.0, therefore, must include this element. It will attract more people to dialogue and interaction. Governments are perceived as very "serious" and "heavy", so the element of fun must be there as well. May be t...

Last week the Training Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened a new Cadet training program. On the second day of the program the cadets opened a fan page on Facebook - another evidence that this generation of diplomats are digital natives. In 7 days, they already have more than 300 fans, and say they are going to tell us about what they study, and also answer questions of those who are interested in a diplomatic career. They also promise to answer questions in English, French and Russian. Visit here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Jerusalem-Israel/Israeli-Diplomatic-Cadet-Course-2010-qwrs-wrym-mzwr-k/10150096924860381?ref=nf

At this Gov 2.0 Online Conference, you'll hear about open government efforts in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Israel. The speakers will share stories and lessons learned, and answer your questions. I was invited by the organizers to present the Israeli experience in Gov 2.o. I invite everybody to join the conference - register now: http://en.oreilly.com/gov2-international

In the last two years we've seen an uprecedented growth of Gov2.0. One of the most vivid expressions of the collaboration and sharing by governments through the tools of Web 2.0 were social networks of government employees and communities. I am talking about special type of government network that are open for all Internet-users, and in principle, anyone who is interested in Government 2.0 can join these networks. Today there are 3 networks of the national governments: American government community Govloop , Australian public servants and community OZloop , and Israel public sector social network Ovdeimedina . Probably, there are more such networks, and if you happen to know them, let me know. But in this post I will relate only to the above-mentioned networks. Govloop It was the first soical network of any national government. It was created in 2008, and since then succeded to become a real phenomenon of Gov2.0 in the US and abroad. It created a lot of excitement in the web 2.0 c...

From my experience in the Training department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the last two years, I learned that Training Departments could become agents of change regarding Gov2.0 revolution. They can literally push the organizations towards the adoption of the Web 2.0 tools, even without the high-level desicion on such policies. This adoption will have its limits. However, the input of the Training Departments can comletely change the dynamic of the pace of Gov 2.0 within the Government. So, why the Training Department can bring about this change? First, the role of training in modern organizations, government or private sector, is widely acknowledged. In today's world of beta state, of on-going transformation and renewal, training also became beta-state. The technologies change, so does the working environment, and if we want to be up to all these challenges - we should train, all the time. Our first step was to open a new course "Digital Diplomacy in the age of Socia...

Israel Center for International Cooperation (MASHAV, acronym in Hebrew) is a division in Israel's Foreign Ministry, and functions as a national Foreign Aid Agency. Since its creation in 1958, MASHAV has trained about 250,000 people from 140 countries, in Israel and in developing countries, providing training in a variety of areas, including agriculture, public health and medical programs, community development, integrated rural regional development and other areas. Therefore, it was only natural for international agency like MASHAV to open up for social media. A year ago MASHAV created a fan page on Facebook - and it was the first fan page by the Israel's Foreign Ministry. Today MASHAV has more than 700 fans on facebook, but the number is less important than the profile of the fans. Many of them are people all around the world who participated in the Training Programs of MASHAV, and now they can keep in touch and be updated about the new programs, or raise ideas for new coopera...

The answer is simple - through the Social Web. Look what happened two weeks ago: Our Ministry's Legal department published on the official website of the Ministry and on the site of Civil Service Commision an announcement about open tender for recrtuiting lawyers. They had only 2 weeks deadline, and no option for newspaper ad. I suggested to publish the tender through social media, and they Oked. They had no choice... Then it was just a matter of two hours effort. With the help of two of my colleagues who are, like me, fans of Web 2.0, we put the announcement on the forums and groups run by lawyers for lawyers - on Cafe the Marker, Nana 10, Tapuz, groups on facebook and LinkedIn. What took more time, were some groups that required approval for joining. But after the approval that took 3-4 days, the information was placed there as well. In 10 days since we started this "web 2.0 recruitment campaign", we had hundreds of applicants, and were over-flooded with the phone cal...

The training program "Diplomacy in the age of Social Media", organized by the Training Department of the Israel MFA, started on November 2009, and we have only 2 meetings ahead of us. It's clear already now: the program was a real success. And we could measure it not only by the participants improved skills in using Social Media. More than anything else, what we achieved in the course was the awareness of the participants, coming mainly from the generation of baby-boomers, to the need of going digital. Digital diplomats is not anymore a sci-fi for them, but something that could be done not in a life-time - 40 academic hours are quite enough! Since many participants are experienced diplomats, and some of them are in senior positions in the Ministry, the whole idea of Diplomacy 2.0 and Government 2.0 now has more supporters. The bottom-up movement of Diplomacy 2.0 initiative will win gradually more supporters on all the levels, and the transformation will come inevitably. T...