City Diplomacy: A Melbourne Masterclass
The City Diplomacy Masterclass is a professional short course for city diplomats. It is delivered by research and practice experts from the Melbourne Centre for Cities through live interactive course delivery, combined with peer-to-peer learning and practical application of skills and knowledge through international visits.
The course provides participants with access to world-leading evidence on the landscape of city diplomacy and global urban governance, develops skills relevant to their everyday practice, such as strategic international engagement, and supports the peer exchange of city diplomats.
The program has been delivered since 2023 and has been supported by two grants from the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations (NFACR), aiming to build and strengthen bilateral city-to-city connections.
From 2025-2027, the Masterclass is being delivered as the Australia-China Local Government Exchange, a program for Australian local government professionals to enhance their engagement with Chinese entities.
The 2026 Australia-China Local Government Exchange is currently open for applications.
Learn about previous cohorts
-
2025 Australia-China Local Government Exchange
A program enhancing the capacity of Australian local government professionals to engage with Chinese partners.
-
2024 City Diplomacy Masterclass
A program for participants from Victorian local government themed around building the capacity to engage internationally, particularly on climate and sustainability issues.
-
2023 Shared Pathways Specialist Masterclass
An exchange and capacity-building program focused on strengthening the influence of city diplomacy in tackling climate change
Research at Melbourne Centre for Cities
The City Diplomacy Masterclass is underpinned by world-leading research from the Melbourne Centre for Cities, including the following projects:
-
2025 Australia-China Local Government Exchange
A program enhancing the capacity of Australian local government professionals to engage with Chinese partners.
-
City Diplomacy
Investigating the capacity of cities to engage in international relations
-
City Networks
The networked frontier of city leadership
-
Leading Cities
Is urban governance delivering on its promises?
-
Cities and the UN
What place do cities have in the United Nations?
-
Great Powers and Urbanisation Project
How is geopolitics being shaped in the ‘urban age’?