Twenty Indonesian diplomats came to Yogyakarta to participate in the first-ever four-day on-site Cyber Diplomacy training programme. The programme was co-organised by Clingendael Academy’s cyber team and Kemlu’s Center for Education and Training (CET), and partly funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

To develop a broader understanding of cyber diplomacy, participants engaged in various interactive lectures and assignments. Four high-level cyber experts contributed to the programme. Pak. Ardi Sutedja K. and Ibu. Intan Rahayu discussed the Indonesian cyber risk landscape and the national cyber governance architecture. In a panel discussion, Kemlu’s director for International Security and Disarmament Pak. Caka Alverdi Awal and Dutch cyber diplomat Ms. Stephanie de Ridder discussed their international cyber policies, the work of cyber diplomats, and avenues for cooperation between Indonesia and the Netherlands.

The training ended with a fictitious cyber crisis in which participants were tasked with advising their minister on an adequate and appropriate response - always one of the highlights of the cyber diplomacy courses. Building on interactive lectures from the previous course days on the normative framework, confidence-building measures, and state-level responses, participants formulated their responses and drafted their diplomatic statements.