9 weeks and counting

[28 May 2014] Time flies if you do nothing but go on interesting working visits, discuss foreign relations with experts and train international skills. On 2 April the junior diplomats from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (‘het klasje’) started their 13 weeks of training at the Clingendael Academy. They have since experienced a rollercoaster ride of different lectures, skills training and practical assignments.

Here is a brief list of some of the things they have done so far:

• Workshop on using social media by the ministry’s most active tweeter, Alexander Verbeek
• Training on Intercultural Communication by Clingendael Academy’s own Tim Masselink
• Working visit to the Dutch Royal Navy in Den Helder, where the group was shown around the Dutch frigate ‘de Zeven Provinciën’ (see the picture below)
• Discussions with practioners such as Bernard Wientjes (VNO-NCW), Ad Melkert (former Executive Board member at The World Bank) and Arthur Docters-Van Leeuwen (Chair of the Advisory Committee on Modernising the Diplomatic Service)
• Meeting with Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen about her policies and the changing nature of development and trade.
• Practice conversations about difficult human rights issues with foreign counterparts in a simulation exercise developed specifically for the training of junior Dutch diplomats
• Visit to the Port of Rotterdam to hear about the port’s role in international trade, how it cooperates with the government, and which future scenarios it sees for the Netherlands and its trade-oriented economy
• And many more…

An army of teachers

During the past nine weeks, the group has met almost 125 teachers, trainers and practitioners, each with his or her own expertise and experience. And they are not done yet, because in the weeks to come they will address such issues as energy, water and the environment, Europe, and cultural affairs, which is a lot, especially when you learn that the course will be over on 27 June.

Join the course

If you wish to join the course, you can apply for a position as a junior policy advisor at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Alternatively, you can seek out the 'Leergang Buitenlandse Betrekkingen' (LBB), a twelve-week course that is equally thrilling and intense. The LBB has a more general focus on international relations, but it also trains its participants in the same essential international skills, including negotiation, effective influencing and lobbying. It is the perfect way to kickstart or further your international career.

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