Geneva

AI could be Geneva’s lifeline in times of crisis

International Geneva is at a crossroads. With mounting budget cuts, declining trust in multilateralism, and growing geopolitical tensions, the city’s role as a hub for global cooperation is under threat.

In his thought-provoking blog, ‘Don’t waste the crisis: How AI can help reinvent International Geneva’, Jovan Kurbalija, Executive Director of Diplo, argues that AI could offer a way forward—not as a mere technological upgrade but as a strategic tool for transforming the city’s institutions and reviving its humanitarian spirit. Kurbalija envisions AI as a means to re-skill Geneva’s workforce, modernise its organisations, and preserve its vast yet fragmented knowledge base.

With professions such as translators, lawyers, and social scientists potentially playing pivotal roles in shaping AI tools, the city can harness its multilingual, highly educated population for a new kind of innovation. A bottom-up approach is key: practical steps like AI apprenticeships, micro-learning platforms, and ‘AI sandboxes’ would help institutions adapt at their own pace while avoiding the pitfalls of top-down tech imposition.

Organisations must also rethink how they operate. AI offers the chance to cut red tape, lighten the administrative burden on NGOs, and flatten outdated hierarchies in favour of more agile, data-driven decision-making.

At the same time, Geneva can lead by example in ethical AI governance—by ensuring accountability, protecting human rights and knowledge, and defending what Kurbalija calls our ‘right to imperfection’ in an increasingly optimised world. Ultimately, Geneva’s challenge is not technological—it’s organisational.

As AI tools become cheaper and more accessible, the real work lies in how institutions and communities embrace change. Kurbalija proposes a dedicated Geneva AI Fund to support apprenticeships, ethical projects, and local initiatives. He argues that this crisis could be Geneva’s opportunity to reinvent itself for survival and to inspire a global model of human-centred AI governance.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Geneva Digital Atlas

Vulnerabilities in digital products and networks leading to cyberthreats raise security concerns from individual users to international security and peace. While States hold primary responsibility, meaningful cooperation with non-state actors, such as the private sector, academia, civil society, and the technical community, is crucial to foster a secure, open, and peaceful cyberspace. However, what are those other actors expected to do? Where and how can they support states in ensuring the security and stability in cyberspace?

Join us on December 7th for the launch of the Geneva Manual – a comprehensive guide on non-state actors’ contributions to the implementation of cyber norms. 

The Geneva Manual will undergo continuous development in the years ahead to encompass a wide range of cyber norms, guided by discussions with the multistakeholder community.

Established by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and led by DiploFoundation, with support of the Republic and State of Geneva, C4DT, Swisscom and UBS, the Geneva Dialogue particularly asks how the norms and confidence-building measures (CBMs) might be best operationalised (or implemented) by relevant actors as a means to contribute to international security and peace. 

Programme

09:45 – 10:00 (CET)

Welcome coffee

10:00 – 10:05

Introduction: Setting the scene

10:05 – 10:30

Opening remarks

  • H.E. Mr Benedikt Wechsler, Ambassador and Head of the Digital Division, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
  • Dr Jovan Kurbalija, Executive Director of DiploFoundation and Head of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP)
  • Mr Florian Schütz, Federal Cyber Security Delegate and Head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)
  • H.E. Mr Burhan Gafoor, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Singapore to the United Nations in New York, Chair of the UN Open-Ended Working Group

10:30 – 11:45

The Geneva Manual & cyber norms

Presentation of the Geneva Manual

  • Ms Anastasiya Kazakova, Cyber Diplomacy Knowledge Fellow at Diplo Foundation

Discussion: What do relevant stakeholders have to say about their roles and responsibilities in implementing the norms?

  • Mr Daniel Klingele, Senior Advisor, International Security Division, FDFA and Swiss representative to the UN OEWG
  • Ms Katherine Getao, Cyber Hygiene, Cyber Diplomacy, and ICT Strategy and Governance Consultant, former CEO of ICT Authority in Kenya and the Kenyan representative to the UN GGE
  • Mr Xiang Zheng Teo, Vice President of Advisory, Consulting, Ensign InfoSecurity
  • Ms Madison Q. Oliver, Advisory Curation Manager, GitHub Security Labs
  • Mr Juan Pablo Parra, Researcher of the Civic Participation Area, Karisma Foundation
  • Mr Jan Martin Lemnitzer, Assistant Professor, Department of Digitalization, Copenhagen Business School

Moderated by Mr Vladimir Radunović, Director, E-diplomacy and Cybersecurity Programmes at DiploFoundation.

11:45 – 12:00

Coffee break

12:00 – 13:30

Testing the Manual: Simulation exercise

Imagine: A critical vulnerability in the software code underpinning important ICT systems around the world has been discovered. Dire consequences are looming. We all need to act – and act fast. Time to test the Geneva Manual!

13:30 – 14:30

Lunch

14:30 – 16:00

Panel discussion: Tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities: Can norms and regulations keep pace with emerging technology?

  • Ms Annie Machon, Formerly MI5, currently a privacy campaigner, author, media commentator, and international public speaker
  • Mr Moctar Yedaly, Former Minister of Digital Transformation and Innovation, Government of Mauritania
  • Ms Anita Lamprecht, Active member and ambassador of the non-profit legal think tank Liquid Legal Institute e.V.

Moderated by Mr Jovan Kurbalija, Executive Director of DiploFoundation and Head of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP).

16:00 – 16:20

Inspirational talk

Dr Cory Doctorow, Special Advisor, Electronic Frontier Foundation

16:20 – 16:30

Closing and next steps

17:00

Reception hosted by DiploFoundation and the Republic and State of Geneva

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 7bis, avenue de la Paix

GET PROGRAMME

The inaugural edition of the Manual focuses on two norms related to supply chain security and responsible reporting of ICT vulnerabilities. 

The event will take place in a hybrid format: in situ in Geneva, and online. To register to participate online, please follow this link.

Geneva Dialogue | The launch of the Geneva Manual

Vulnerabilities in digital products and networks leading to cyberthreats raise security concerns from individual users to international security and peace. While States hold primary responsibility, meaningful cooperation with non-state actors, such as the private sector, academia, civil society, and the technical community, is crucial to foster a secure, open, and peaceful cyberspace. However, what are those other actors expected to do? Where and how can they support states in ensuring the security and stability in cyberspace?

Join us on December 7th for the launch of the Geneva Manual – a comprehensive guide on non-state actors’ contributions to the implementation of cyber norms. 

The Geneva Manual will undergo continuous development in the years ahead to encompass a wide range of cyber norms, guided by discussions with the multistakeholder community.

Established by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and led by DiploFoundation, with support of the Republic and State of Geneva, C4DT, Swisscom and UBS, the Geneva Dialogue particularly asks how the norms and confidence-building measures (CBMs) might be best operationalised (or implemented) by relevant actors as a means to contribute to international security and peace. 

Programme

09:45 – 10:00 (CET)

Welcome coffee

10:00 – 10:05

Introduction: Setting the scene

10:05 – 10:30

Opening remarks

  • H.E. Mr Benedikt Wechsler, Ambassador and Head of the Digital Division, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
  • Dr Jovan Kurbalija, Executive Director of DiploFoundation and Head of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP)
  • Mr Florian Schütz, Federal Cyber Security Delegate and Head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)
  • H.E. Mr Burhan Gafoor, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Singapore to the United Nations in New York, Chair of the UN Open-Ended Working Group

10:30 – 11:45

The Geneva Manual & cyber norms

Presentation of the Geneva Manual

  • Ms Anastasiya Kazakova, Cyber Diplomacy Knowledge Fellow at Diplo Foundation

Discussion: What do relevant stakeholders have to say about their roles and responsibilities in implementing the norms?

  • Mr Daniel Klingele, Senior Advisor, International Security Division, FDFA and Swiss representative to the UN OEWG
  • Ms Katherine Getao, Cyber Hygiene, Cyber Diplomacy, and ICT Strategy and Governance Consultant, former CEO of ICT Authority in Kenya and the Kenyan representative to the UN GGE
  • Mr Xiang Zheng Teo, Vice President of Advisory, Consulting, Ensign InfoSecurity
  • Ms Madison Q. Oliver, Advisory Curation Manager, GitHub Security Labs
  • Mr Juan Pablo Parra, Researcher of the Civic Participation Area, Karisma Foundation
  • Mr Jan Martin Lemnitzer, Assistant Professor, Department of Digitalization, Copenhagen Business School

Moderated by Mr Vladimir Radunović, Director, E-diplomacy and Cybersecurity Programmes at DiploFoundation.

11:45 – 12:00

Coffee break

12:00 – 13:30

Testing the Manual: Simulation exercise

Imagine: A critical vulnerability in the software code underpinning important ICT systems around the world has been discovered. Dire consequences are looming. We all need to act – and act fast. Time to test the Geneva Manual!

13:30 – 14:30

Lunch

14:30 – 16:00

Panel discussion: Tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities: Can norms and regulations keep pace with emerging technology?

  • Ms Annie Machon, Formerly MI5, currently a privacy campaigner, author, media commentator, and international public speaker
  • Mr Moctar Yedaly, Former Minister of Digital Transformation and Innovation, Government of Mauritania
  • Ms Anita Lamprecht, Active member and ambassador of the non-profit legal think tank Liquid Legal Institute e.V.

Moderated by Mr Jovan Kurbalija, Executive Director of DiploFoundation and Head of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP).

16:00 – 16:20

Inspirational talk

Dr Cory Doctorow, Special Advisor, Electronic Frontier Foundation

16:20 – 16:30

Closing and next steps

17:00

Reception hosted by DiploFoundation and the Republic and State of Geneva

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 7bis, avenue de la Paix

GET PROGRAMME

The inaugural edition of the Manual focuses on two norms related to supply chain security and responsible reporting of ICT vulnerabilities. 

The event will take place in a hybrid format: in situ in Geneva, and online. To register to participate online, please follow this link.

ICRC moves cyber hub to Luxembourg

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is reinventing itself digitally in the face of cyber warfare and attacks on humanitarian organisations. The ICRC is making this digital transformation at the time of a financial crisis.

The ICRC’s cyber transformation will be coordinated from Luxembourg. This decision triggered controversy as the ICRC and Red Cross movement in general are the symbol of Switzerland with the headquarters in Geneva.

The article from the Swiss journal Republik discusses technical and legal aspects of the decision to allocate ICRC’s digital centre in Luxembourg. There are no major legal reasons as Swiss law provides a flexible system of diplomatic immunity.

The ICRC is also beneficial of diplomatic immunities that can be extended to the digital realm. The article also covers other technical and policy aspects of choosing Luxembourg as the digital hub of the ICRC.

It concludes that this move is a missed opportunity for Switzerland as it aims to become a global digital hub.

You can consult the original article in German in Republik and translation in English at Global Solutions.

GIP established

The Geneva Internet Platform (GIP), initiated by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) of Switzerland in 2014, provides a neutral and inclusive space for digital policy debates, recognised by the majority of global actors as a platform where different views can be voiced. The GIP is operated by DiploFoundation.

IGF established

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was established in Paragraph 72 of the Tunis Agenda of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), as a forum for multistakeholder policy dialogue. The mandate of the Forum is to discuss public policy issues related to key elements of internet governance, in order to foster the sustainability, robustness, security, stability, and development of the internet. The IGF Secretariat, currently based at the United Nations Office at Geneva, conducts the preparations for the annual IGF meetings, coordinates the IGF intersessional activities (between two annual meetings), and assists the MAG in its work.

WSIS, Geneva Phase

The first phase of WSIS, held in Geneva, finalises with the adoption of two documents: the Geneva Declaration of Principles, which underlines a set of principles to form the basis of an inclusive and global information society, and the Geneva Plan of Action, which contains several objectives and action lines related to bridging the digital divide. The Declaration also makes reference to Internet governance, by saying that this concept should constitute a key element of the information society agenda, and that the international management of the Internet should be a multilateral, transparent, and democratic process which includes all categories of actors. Signatories of the Geneva Declaration mandated the UN Secretary General to create a Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG), as a multistakeholder entity tasked with: elaborating a definition for the term ‘Internet governance’, identifying public policy aspects pertaining to Internet governance, and developing a common vision of the role and responsibilities of governments, international organisations, private sector and the civil society, as Internet governance actors.

WTO founded

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organisation that deals with the rules of trade between its members. Its main functions include: administering WTO trade agreements; providing a forum for trade negotiations; settling trade disputes; monitoring national trade policies; providing technical assistance and training for developing countries; and ensuring co-operation with other international organisations. Several internet governance and digital trade policy related issues are discussed in the WTO, including e-commerce, intellectual property (IP), and market access for ICT products and services.

Borges died in Geneva

Nothing is built on stone; All is built on sand, but we must build as if the sand were stone.

Borges

Borges chose Geneva as his home and, ultimately, the place where he is laid to rest. Borges, one of the leading writers of the 20th century, was the master of discovering paradoxes and of addressing irreconcilable contradictions in human existence.

He rarely provides answers in his writings. Instead, he takes us on a journey showing that every certainty triggers a new uncertainty. Borges’s work gives a sobering look at the human condition and the limits of reason when it comes to solving personal and social problems.

His fiction is inspirational reading for addressing the core questions of humanity’s future, centred on the interplay between science, technology, and philosophy. His short story The Library of Babel,  written in 1941, is prophetic; it outlines the search for meaning in endless volumes of information, as we do today on the internet. Borges writes: ‘Nonsense is normal in the Library and that the reasonable (and even humble and pure coherence) is an almost miraculous exception.’ 

The truth exists somewhere in Borges’ library but is almost impossible to find as it is overwhelmed by irrelevant information, fake news, and competing narratives. 

In addressing informational chaos, Borges shies away from giving a naive hope of certainty, but he does provide some hope: He advocates for order in chaos and argues that by taking an occasional rest, we can stop, or at least slow down, the constantly shifting kaleidoscope of meaning. 

Borges wrote about Geneva:

Of all the cities in the world, of all the homelands that a man seeks to earn, Geneva seems to me to be the one most likely to bring happiness. Thanks to her I discovered, since 1914, French, Latin, German, Expressionism, Schopenhauer, the doctrines of Buddha, Taoism, Conrad, Lafcadio Hearn and nostalgia for Buenos Aires. Also love, frienship, humiliation and the siren call of suicide. Things remembered are always pleasant, even trials. These are personal reasons, but I can give a more general one. Unlike other cities, Geneva has no emphasis. Paris is not unaware that she is Paris. Benevolent London knows that she is London. Geneva, however, barely realizes that she is Geneva. Here are the towering shadows of Calvin, Rousseau, Amiel and Ferdinand Hodler, but no one speaks of them to the traveller passing through. Geneva, somewhat like Japan, has renewed herself without losing her past.

Borges
Digital atlas cover 1
Borges died in Geneva 9

Here you can find an excerpt from Jovan Kurbalija’s study published in the Geneva Digital Atlas: EspriTech de Genève  | Why does technology meet humanity in Geneva?

ISO headquartered in Geneva

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a non-governmental international organisation composed of 165 national standard-setting bodies that are either part of governmental institutions, or mandated by their respective governments. Each national standard-setting body, therefore, represents a member state.