Introduction

Over the past decade there has been a significant development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) infrastructure, increased ICT capacity and continued emergence of new technologies. Especially developing economies have witnessed an unparalleled growth in the use of ICTs with mobile technologies being in the hands of billions. Not only does it interconnect us, ICTs can play a vital role in helping to achieve economic and social development, providing endless ways to innovate. Governments are therefore incorporating the use of ICT solutions in their development agenda. To be able to fully reap the benefits of ICTs, there is a clear need for strong cyber capacities to meet existing and future demands of society. As already was the case 10 years ago and acknowledged in the Tunis Agenda, we need strong capacities to address the challenges we face today and it is therefore an important topic on the international cyber agenda. In addition to efforts aimed at providing universal connectivity and access to ICTs, we need to focus our efforts on improving the quality of access and digital use and literacy. Although much progress has been made on addressing cyber issues, we can all benefit from cooperating and sharing our experiences and strategies to take full advantage of our rapidly changing cyber environment.

Towards this end, together with other founding members, The Netherlands has set up the Global Forum for Cyber Expertise (GFCE) in April 2015, which brings together public and private partners from both developed and developing countries to strengthen cyber capacity and expertise globally in the following areas; cyber security, cyber-crime, e-governance and data protection. To achieve this, members share experience, expertise, best practices and assessments on key regional and thematic cyber issues. In addition, the GFCE aims to mobilise additional resources and expertise to build global cyber capacity. We sincerely hope to see more UN members, international organizations and companies joining the GFCE in the future.

Discussion Points

The following questions are designed to generate substantive and interactive dialogue amongst participants:

• How could the GFCE contribute to the implementation of the WSIS goals and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda?
• What kind of key cyber capacities need to be developed to achieve the broader development objective of the GFCE?  
• What kind of challenges do you encounter in your own capacity building work, which might not always be obvious, and how do you address these?  
• Do you have an example where cooperation between different group of stakeholders (development organizations, IT, private sector) yielded good results and are worth promoting?
• How can the GFCE make a better case for cyber resilience as a development issue?

Format

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Special Envoy for International Cyber Policies of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Uri Rosenthal, in association with Senegal, will co-host this side event. The format of the meeting will be an interactive session.

The meeting will be divided into two segments; the first providing a brief introduction to the GFCE and the respective programmes of ongoing capacity building. The speakers represent different stakeholders currently involved in the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise. They will share ideas and discuss how various capacity building issues can be addressed through the GFCE.

The second part of the meeting will be dedicated to discussion between the speakers and the audience. In the end, the discussion should veer towards the question: what added value does the GFCE have to further building of capacity on ICT issues from which we can all benefit and what gaps can be identified in this field that the GFCE should address?

Panelists

• Mr. Uri Rosenthal, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Special Envoy for International Cyber Policies, Kingdom of the Netherlands
• H.E. Mr Yaya Abdoul Kane, Minister of Posts and Telecommunication, Senegal
• Mr. Jaroslaw Ponder, Coordinator for Europe, International Telecommunication Union)
• Mr. Bill Wright, Director Government Affairs, Global Cybersecurity Partnerships, Symantec

Social Media

Participants will be invited to utilize twitter during the event: #thegfce  

Contact Information

Eran Nagan
Email:eran.nagan@minbuza.nl

Current Members of the GFCE