The sixth session of the Academy of Young Diplomats took place online on April 17–18 and focused on the theme "Strengthening Democratic Values for Peacebuilding" and on diplomatic practice, bringing together high-level figures from Iceland and Georgia to offer participants various perspectives and opportunities to hone their diplomatic skills.

The session opened on Friday, April 17, with a study visit to the Court of Justice of the European Union. This was followed in the evening by Global Talks with Thórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir, Special Envoy of the Secretary General on the Situation of Children of Ukraine at the Council of Europe, and former Minister in Iceland: Minister for Foreign Affairs (until 2024), Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs (2023–2024), Minister for Foreign Affairs (2021–2023), Minister of Tourism, Industry and Innovation (2017–2021), and Minister of Justice (2019).

Saturday started with a Leadership Lecture by Salome Zourabichvili, the fifth President of Georgia and the country's first woman president.

Participants then enjoyed two rounds of specialisation classes over the course of the day:

• Cyber Warfare and Collective Security – Dr. Paulina Piasecka
• State Foreign Policy Priorities and Their Implementation: The Case of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland to Latvia – Amb. Monika Michaliszyn
• Information Security: Using Open-Source Tools to Identify and Expose Disinformation – Givi Gigitashvili
• International Protection of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: Legal Aspects and Practice – Dr. Dorota Heidrich
• Diplomatic Posts: From High-Profile to Smaller Capitals – Amb. Tomasz Orłowski

If you would like to take part in this programme, applications for AYD 2027 are now open!