ABU DHABI, 20th March, 2023 (WAM) — Diplomatic communities are displaying an increasing inclination towards adopting tech-enabled diplomacy in the metaverse, as suggested by a joint report by Accenture and the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy (AGDA).
The report, titled "Amplifying Diplomacy with the Metaverse," underscores the metaverse's potential to foster greater cooperation among nations, facilitate the cross-border movement of talent, and make dialogues more inclusive, efficient, and environmentally friendly.
Through web3 technologies such as blockchain, diplomatic interactions in the metaverse can enable officials to leverage technology to make consultations and dialogues between foreign officials of different nations more interactive, immersive, and imaginative. To succeed, continually sharpening strategic skills and facilitating administrative tasks in the metaverse are both crucial, the report states.
However, the report also identifies significant challenges that must be addressed for the successful implementation of such interactions in the metaverse. These challenges include infrastructure readiness, technical barriers, security, and privacy concerns.
Nickolay Mladenov, Director-General of AGDA, said, “AGDA’s partnership with Accenture on this timely topic showcases how collaboration across different sectors and fields can benefit the private and public sector. The report deploys a use-case approach and explores how the metaverse has the potential to transform the diplomatic practice, making diplomacy by more interactive, immersive, and imaginative."
Bashar Kilani, Managing Director at Accenture Middle East, commented, “The metaverse will emerge as a platform that enables the diplomatic community to reimagine and transform how it collaborates and works. To fully reap the benefits of this disruptive and beneficial change, a shift in mindsets is required – progressive government initiatives, such as Dubai’s Metaverse Strategy, and an agile diplomatic community are fundamental for success.”
Dr. Seppe Verheyen, Senior Research Fellow at AGDA, added, “Advances in communication technologies have brought diplomacy closer to people, at scale, and this was evident during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The diplomatic community became increasingly open to tech-facilitated collaboration. In this report, we explore how the metaverse technology can support consular tasks, negotiations, reporting and training.”
As the metaverse holds enormous potential to shape the present and future of diplomacy, the report identifies five initial steps that diplomatic missions and governments can start exploring.
The metaverse significantly influences how people, governments, and companies interact, and international organisations harness its potential as a platform for collaborative, inclusive and effective international action, the report further explained.
Earlier this year, the World Economic Forum, in partnership with Accenture and Microsoft, unveiled a working prototype of its Global Collaboration Village, a purpose-driven metaverse where organisations can convene to learn about, create solutions for, and act on the world’s most pressing challenges.