Governments and increasingly other actors such as international and non-governmental organizations use multilateral conferences as a means to achieve important policy objectives. As the number of conferences and meetings has risen considerably over the past twenty years, the number of government officers and other stakeholders involved in conference processes has also increased significantly. While diplomats remain at the centre of diplomacy, government officials assigned to line ministries and agencies, as well as staff of intergovernmental organizations and NGOs, are increasingly finding themselves in the role of the multilateral conference delegate.