Ted Feifer of the Professional Training Program led another workshop on advanced negotiating skills in multilateral diplomacy for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, September 20-22, 2004. There were 19 participants in the workshop: 8 members of the OSCE Secretariat, 8 members of national delegations to the OSCE, representatives of the embassies of Israel and Egypt (OSCE Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation), and the Senior Liaison Officer to the OSCE of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The objectives of the workshop were to increase participants' effectiveness through the use of analytical and problem solving techniques; strengthen negotiating and diplomatic skills used in multilateral diplomacy; and understand and use the multilateral process in order to achieve objectives more effectively. The workshop also gave OSCE Secretariat staff and members of national delegations the opportunity to work with and better understand each other´s perspectives.

This workshop had two distinguishing features: its focus on multilateral diplomacy, and on addressing complex challenges requiring the use of more than basic skills. Presentations were tailored to the multilateral context, such as the culture of multilateral diplomacy as practiced at the OSCE, as well as communication and negotiations in the multilateral context. Likewise, exercises involved the application of skills in case studies of real multilateral situations, such as problem solving on the Horn of Africa conflict in the Organization of African Unity, and negotiations on actual issues addressed in the OSCE Permanent Council. Trainers provided constant feedback to participants during and after exercises to keep them attuned to their performance and ways to make themselves even more effective diplomats.