A recap and video of this event is available here.
The past two years have reshaped the landscape of digital diplomacy, revealing not only new opportunities, but new limitations on what can be accomplished with the myriad of tools at the world’s disposal. Given the numerous critical global events in the past few years, what have governments and people alike learned about the power of digital diplomacy and the inherent challenges its use poses? Join us at 1pm on Thursday, March 24 as ASP’s COO Matthew Wallin discusses the new landscape of digital diplomacy with Macon Phillips and Gerry Diaz Bartolome.
About the Speakers
Macon Phillips combines creativity with hard-earned experience and relationships to develop digital strategies that deliver results through advocacy, civic engagement, international development and other emergent opportunities. President Barack Obama appointed Macon to lead his White House’s digital strategy after he played a central role in the 2008 presidential campaign’s pioneering use of new media and technology to mobilize supporters. Phillips’ team spent five years providing the strategic and technological capacity for the President to engage emerging communities of influence, communicate complex ideas, and promote a culture of digital innovation throughout the federal government.
Phillips joined Secretary of State John Kerry at the U.S. State Department for the last three years of Obama’s Administration, developing public engagement strategies to support foreign policy priorities in over forty countries. In this role, Phillips created a new model of public diplomacy by uniting communities of emerging influence with initiatives like the YALI Network, which connects 500,000 young leaders across Africa. In two years as CARE USA’s Chief Digital Officer, Macon supported digital impact innovations such as digitizing health systems in India and building apps to digitize micro-lending in Tanzania. Phillips created a foundation of digital infrastructure across more than 30 countries, including sector-leading cybersecurity capacity. He also supported new models of supporter participation, including the successful implementation of an enterprise CRM.
Gerardo Diaz Bartolome is a career diplomat and currently Director of International Organizations at Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Keen advocate and passionate about foreign affairs, multilateralism and digital diplomacy. He served in Argentina’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations (2008-2014) and later as Deputy Chief of Mission of the Argentine Embassy in Washington DC (2018-2021), having previously headed the Political Affairs section of the Embassy (2016-2018).
He joined Argentina’s Foreign Service in 2000 and graduated with honors in 2002 as career diplomat at Argentina’s Diplomatic Academy. Due to his academic performance, he was sent to Brasilia in 2001 to finish his diplomatic studies at the Brazilian Diplomatic Academy Rio Branco as trainee of the bilateral exchange program. As a diplomat, he served at the General Directorate of Malvinas and South Atlantic (2002-2003), at the Deputy Foreign Minister’s Office (2004-2005) to be later appointed member of the Foreign Minister’s Private Office (2005- 2008).
