On April 22nd, embassy communicators, journalists, thought leaders, and millions of online followers convened in Washington, DC to discuss how—and if—diplomacy has changed with technology. The consensus was that diplomacy will always be built on personal relationships and face-to-face interactions.

On April 22nd in Washington DC, the Diplomatic Courier, United Nations Foundation, and the Digital Diplomacy Coalition held an event exploring the future of public diplomacy in the digital age. People around the world joined the conversation through Twitter and Livestream, bringing questions and insights from countries such as Nigeria, Australia, Mexico, and Turkey.

Last Friday, the United Nations Foundation and the Digital Diplomacy Coalition hosted “Digital Diplomacy +Social Good,” a half-day conference focused on the transformative power of technology in the evolving conversations about Public Diplomacy in the 21st-century. Dynamic speakers from embassies in Washington, D.C. and international organizations like the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, the U.S. Department of State, and the British Council talked about the challenges and opportunities for the tradecrafts of diplomacy and communications in our digital world.