lighting, Diplomacy

Is Switzerland losing its status as a leader in digital governance?

10 July 2024

Geneva and online

Event description

Dr Jovan Kurbalija (Executive Director, Diplo; Head, Geneva Internet Platform) will participate in this debate organised by the Geneva Press Club and Geneva Solutions.

Event description (as provided by the Geneva Press Club):

Geneva, the birthplace of the World Wide Web and once a beacon to digital governance, is seeing its light grow dim. Faced with stiff global competition, budgetary constraints in the aftermath of Covid, and geopolitical tensions, the multilateral capital is struggling to maintain its position in the field. 

Last month, the Internet Society decided to give up its offices in Geneva after a thirty-year presence in the city, in one warning sign of NGOs facing a high cost of living and a lack of funding. Geneva has also missed out on new opportunities. In 2022, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) picked Luxembourg for a new office dedicated to cyberspace.

Grégoire Barbey, journalist for Le Temps, will discuss his recent investigation with three digital governance experts forecasting what’s next for international Geneva and host country Switzerland. Dr Jovan Kurbalija, Executive Director of DiploFoundation and Head of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP), will contribute his insights into the challenges and future of digital governance in Geneva. Is Switzerland falling asleep at the wheel of digital governance? Do the country’s authorities still have the political will and ambitions for this international digital Geneva? The panel will be moderated by Geneva Solutions’ editor-in-chief Kasmira Jefford.

To learn more and register, visit the Geneva Press Club’s page.