News item | 13-06-2016
Over 100 cyber policymakers and stakeholders attended the first GFCE Annual Meeting on 1 and 2 June in Washington D.C. In 16 different workshop sessions 41 GFCE member and guest speakers presented initial outcomes of their cyber capacity initiatives and projects. The new Advisory Board was installed, with 10 representatives from civil society, academia and tech community. A GFCE Strategy for the coming two years was discussed and new members and initiatives were adopted. Finally the first Global Cyber Expertise Magazine was launched.
Download report here.
Results of capacity building initiatives
A year after its establishment during the Global Conference on Cyber Space 2015 the GFCE held its first Annual Meeting in which members shared initial outcomes of their cyber capacity building initiatives. So far 25 GFCE members and partners work together in 11 different cyber capacity-building initiatives. Some of the initial results include:
- A study by the Organisation of American States and the Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre at the Oxford University on cybersecurity preparedness of the 32 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- A report by Symantec and the African Union (supported by the US) on trends and developments on cybersecurity and cybercrime in Africa (report will be published on this site after launch at the next African Union Assembly Session)
- Outcomes of 4 GFCE Expert Meetings on CSIRT maturity, cybersecurity in West Africa and Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure
New members, initiatives and structures
During the Annual Meeting also organizations and experts from outside the GFCE community presented their experiences on cyber capacity building. In his key note speech Mr Fadi Chehadé, Senior Advisor to the Chairman of the World Economic Forum provided an overview of developments that will shape the future of the digital economy and society. He reached out to the GFCE community for collaboration in cyber capacity building. A number of best practices were presented by the Potomac Insitute, Diplofoundation, Huawei and the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The European Union and the Council of Europe provided an overview of their Global Action on Cybercrime (GLACY) to support countries in implementation of the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Peru were welcomed as new members which brings the total GFCE membership to 52. A new initiative by Japan and the United Kingdom was launched to help CERTs remedy risks in order to achieve a more sustainable, secure and resilient cyber ecosystem (CyberGreen). This initiative will soon be added to the overview of initiatives on this website. Finally, the new GFCE Advisory Board was installed. This Board consists of 10 members from civil society, academia and the tech community who will advise GFCE members on strategy and implementation of initiatives.
Tools for cyber capacity building
During a plenary session the Strategy for 2016 and 2017 was discussed. This strategy will be finalized in the coming months and positions the GFCE as the global platform for cyber policymakers and stakeholders to coordinate and implement cyber capacity building. Different new tools were presented which can be used by the GFCE community:
- The GFCE Secretariat presented a Catalogue of Services and Products which are available to GFCE members, partners and the advisory board to support their cyber capacity initiatives and efforts. The Secretariat also provided the results of a needs assessment among GFCE members.
- Commissioned by the GFCE the Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre at the Oxford University has developed the Cybersecurity Capacity Portal, which already includes over 100 projects worldwide.
- The Global Cyber Expertise Magazine was launched by the GFCE African Union, European Union and the Organisation of American States. This tri-annual online and print magazine provides an insider account on cyber policy developments and capacity building.
- The European Union pitched a new initiative to provide the GFCE community with funding for cyber capacity building related research. This initiative will be further worked out in the coming months with the GFCE Secretariat.
A more elaborate report of the Annual Meeting 2016 will soon be published on this site. Below you can already find photo’s and downloads of presentations during the Annual Meeting.
Photo impression GFCE Annual Meeting 2016
