During the first Annual Meeting of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE) in June 2016 over 100 cyber policymakers and stakeholders from all over the world met in Washington D.C. 

It was a first opportunity to present the results of the current 12 cyber capacity building initiatives under the GFCE umbrella. 

The meeting was deliberately organized as a marketplace to exchange experiences, learn about global best practices and network with valuable organizations both in and outside the GFCE community. 

The main elements of the meeting were the development of both the Global Agenda on Cyber Capacity Building and the Global Good Practices. 

This year’s Annual Meeting also allowed new (potential) GFCE initiatives and non-GFCE projects on cyber capacity building to present their work to the GFCE community.

The GFCE Annual Meeting 2018 focused on the positioning of the GFCE as the facilitating and coordinating platform on the knowledge and expertise sharing for the implementation of cyber capacity building.

The GFCE is honored that Singapore hosted the GFCE Annual Meeting 2018 on September 18th-20th at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre in parallel to the 3rd edition of the Singapore International Cyber Week.

The 2019 GFCE Annual Meeting was hosted by the African Union Commission from 8 – 10 October at the AUC premises in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Other international cyber-related events were held in parallel in the same week: the Commonwealth roundtable meeting, the public hearing of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace and the UN GGE regional consultations.

The meeting focused on working together with the GFCE community to bring the GFCE forward and to strengthen the global efforts of cyber capacity building.

Key outcomes: 

• Delivering 11 Global workshops (organized by the Working Groups and the Advisory Board);
• Launch of Cybil, the renewed CCB knowledge portal (e.g. projects, tools, publications);
• Update on the GFCE Foundation and the GFCE Fund with the World Bank;
• Discussion on the GFCE developments and the way forward;
• New GFCE Advisory Board co-chair, Ms. Folake Olagunju Oyelola (ECOWAS);
• GFCE Women in Cyberspace Initiative;
• Organizations such as Chatham, UNODA and GCSC organizing their meetings on the sidelines of the GFCE Annual Meeting;
• Announcing the GFCE’s 5th anniversary: meeting in The Hague in week of April 13th 2020

The GFCE Annual V-Meeting 2020 shared the GFCE’s achievements thus far and presented the GFCE Work Plan and ambitions for 2021. The theme for the Annual Meeting was built on the GFCE Strategic Building Blocks.

More than 400 representatives from governments, NGOs, international organizations, academic and tech communities and civil society joined us a two-day virtual journey on Cyber Capacity Building.  

On the GFCE virtual platform, participants joined different sessions, including thematic & interactive discussions, consultation sessions, the high-level conference discussion and experienced a unique convergence of networking and meeting GFCE Members & Partners from all over the world. 

The GFCE Annual V-Meeting 2021 reflected on the GFCE’s achievements in 2021 and looked forward to the challenges and ambitions for 2022, with a special emphasis on bridging the gap between cyber capacity building demand and supply. Hence, the GFCE Annual V-Meeting 2021 theme was: “Strengthening the GFCE’s Demand-Driven Approach.” 

The GFCE Annual Meeting 2022 in the Hague brought the GFCE Community together in person for the first time in almost three years to reflect on the GFCE’s developments and activities, explore the GFCE’s coordination role in identified areas (e.g. gender inclusivity, UN processes, regional efforts), and exchange ideas or updates on key topics. In line with previous GFCE Annual Meetings, an open, informal, and interactive setting was established throughout all three days. This year’s theme was: “Coordination for the future”.