Securing Tomorrow: Building Resilience Through Education

Excellency Mr. Yusuf Albanyan

Mr. Yusuf Albanyan, a former minister of education with a background in the energy and chemical industry, aims to enhance global cybersecurity through public-private partnerships. He sees himself as a catalyst between the public and private sectors and wants to target the enhancement of global cybersecurity issues. This aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 9 and 17, which focus on industry, innovation, infrastructure, and partnerships for the goals.

Mr. Albanyan believes that cybersecurity education should be integrated into the education system as a change management program. He argues that the current youth generations are dealing with cybersecurity daily in their communications and learning materials and that their future lives are linked to cybersecurity issues. By incorporating cybersecurity education into the curriculum, students will be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate the challenges of the digital world.

Furthermore, Mr. Albanyan emphasizes the role of families and the community in developing responsible online behavior. He believes that a lack of awareness and a weak sense of caution are major challenges to cybersecurity. Therefore, community contributions to the entire transformation plan are important. This highlights the need for collaboration and cooperation between various stakeholders in society, including families, to effectively tackle cybersecurity issues.

The Saudi Arabian government is also prioritizing cybersecurity. It is focusing on creating an ecosystem to address these challenges, and the Ministry of Education is actively involved in this effort. This demonstrates the recognition of cybersecurity as a crucial aspect of national security and the development of a future-ready workforce.

In terms of the education system, teachers play a fundamental role. Development programs are being set up to provide teachers with the necessary training and knowledge to handle cybersecurity issues. Additionally, digital literacy and AI are considered essential tools to enhance teachers’ skills and research capabilities.

The use of distance learning and digital tools is expected to be an integral part of the future education system. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of these tools, and the view of digital education needs to evolve from an emergency model to an integral part of the educational experience.

Private sector involvement in education is seen as a necessity rather than a luxury. Mr. Albanyan believes that the private sector and government should work together and complement each other’s roles to provide quality education and prepare future generations for the challenges of the digital era.

In conclusion, Mr. Yusuf Albanyan’s vision for enhancing global cybersecurity through public-private partnerships and integrating cybersecurity education into the education system reflects a proactive approach to addressing the challenges of the digital world. The emphasis on collaboration, cooperation, and value-driven transformation highlights the importance of involving all relevant stakeholders, including families, communities, and the private sector, in ensuring a safe and secure digital environment for everyone.

Moderator – Nisha Pillay

In the discussion, the importance of cybersecurity education and awareness was emphasised. Living in an age of increasing cyber threats, developing a cybersecurity mindset is critical. Education was seen as crucial in improving cybersecurity, but it was also recognised that implementing cybersecurity knowledge can be challenging due to various addictions, such as internet and social media. The addictive nature of social media poses a hurdle in adapting to a cybersecurity mindset.

Starting cybersecurity education from an early age was deemed fundamental as children need to be introduced to cybersecurity as soon as possible in the face of burgeoning cyber threats. Efforts should be made to educate young people about responsible online behavior given that they are born into a digital world and often take it for granted. The addictive nature of much of social media makes it challenging for them to develop responsible online behavior, but it is still crucial to teach them about responsible digital citizenship.

Several programs are in place to enhance cybersecurity awareness. One program mentioned is AMIN, which involves the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA), the Ministry of Education, and the Saudi Arabian Vision 2030 Cybersecurity Center (SAVIC). The program includes conducting nationwide exhibitions, providing virtual and physical lectures, and having ambassadors spread the importance of cybersecurity.

The approach to cybersecurity needs to change, viewing it not just as a system or policy issue but as a personal responsibility for the safety and future of individuals. It was proposed to instill values in security awareness programs, making it more of an emotional appeal rather than just a list of dos and don’ts.

The idea of banning phones in schools to increase student engagement was raised. Excessive phone usage can distract students and hinder their engagement, so limiting phone usage in schools could lead to increased focus and participation.

When it comes to education and awareness, the focus should shift from policy enforcement to cyber education and awareness. The younger generation is born into a digital era and views it as business as usual. Therefore, efforts should be directed towards a transformational awareness program that educates and empowers individuals regarding cybersecurity, rather than relying on fear tactics.

The role of teachers in a digitised education system was highlighted. Teachers may not have grown up in the digital age and may need additional support to effectively teach cybersecurity. Therefore, it is important to address the role and needs of teachers in a digitised education system.

Furthermore, the value of digital literacy and cybersecurity training for teachers was discussed. A comprehensive program is in place to provide teachers with the necessary training and support, covering topics such as digital literacy, cybersecurity, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education. Equipping teachers with digital skills is essential for them to effectively teach cybersecurity to their students.

The potential benefits and ethical implications of AI in education were explored. AI can enhance the skillsets and research capabilities of teachers and university faculty, but it is important to balance the opportunities and threats associated with AI in the learning environment. With proper control and implementation, the risks of educational technology can be minimised.

Ethical considerations in AI implementation were mentioned, with global leaders expressing concerns. A strong platform is needed to manage the risks associated with AI and ensure its ethical use in education.

The role of the private sector in cybersecurity was also discussed. Private companies collaborating with the government are crucial in enhancing cybersecurity measures. The private sector plays a significant role in developing innovative solutions and technologies to tackle cyber threats.

Additionally, the value of digital education, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, was acknowledged. Distance learning has played a vital role in ensuring the continuity of education during challenging times.

Overall, the discussion highlighted the importance of cybersecurity education and awareness in combating cyber threats. It emphasised the need to start cybersecurity education from a young age, develop responsible online behavior, and introduce values into security awareness programs. The role of teachers, the potential benefits and ethical implications of AI in education, the role of the private sector, and the value of digital education were also discussed. Collaboration between stakeholders, including the government, private sector, and educators, is crucial in achieving cybersecurity goals and ensuring a safe digital future.

Moderator – Nisha Pillay:
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Building Resilience Through Education. I’m Nisha Pillay. I’m very pleased to be your moderator, and I’m even more pleased to welcome the Minister of Education for the Kingdom, His Excellency, Mr. Yusuf Albanyan. So you may be asking yourselves, ladies and gentlemen, why is education so high up on the agenda of this year’s Global Cyber Security Forum? Why? Well, the reason is clear. Living as we do in an age of exploding cyber threats, it’s imperative that we catch them young, that we develop a cybersecurity mindset and attitude as early as possible. It’s obvious, right? But how do you actually do it? It’s not so easy in this age of addictions, internet addictions, media addictions, social media addictions especially. That’s going to be the topic of my conversation with His Excellency. So if you don’t mind, ladies and gentlemen, and Your Excellency, I’d like to start with a personal question. Is that all right?

Excellency Mr. Yusuf Albanyan:
It’s fine. Go ahead.

Moderator – Nisha Pillay:
As you know, His Excellency was a really top business leader. You had a commanding private sector career until very recently. So what made you change? And what do you think is the challenge for the government sector in being nimble, especially in the face of these kind of threats?

Excellency Mr. Yusuf Albanyan:
Well, initially, I don’t know whether I have a choice or not, but I think it’s – by the way, this is my first time to get introduced on a business setting as really a minister of education. And at the same time, I think this will be a great opportunity for me to meet with our public and private forum. Coming from the energy and chemical industry, we have a very important role that catalysts to play. And I think at this point of time, I look at myself as a catalyst to play between public and private, and hopefully we can achieve our target to enhance our global cybersecurity issues.

Moderator – Nisha Pillay:
How do you see the importance of cybersecurity education then in the education system? How do you embed it?

Excellency Mr. Yusuf Albanyan:
Well, I think – let me start with the points. I think the previous panel have really struggled with the fact that how can we bring global security into the top agenda? I would propose to the expert in the global security to do a change management programs because I think linking security with cyber, this is really box the cyber issue around only security. In my view, the global cyber issues, it’s beyond security. And if we continue – What do you mean? How do you mean? Because I think the issue with the global cybersecurity is not system, is not policy. I think it requires huge change management programs. And this is why in education, we feel as of today, the youth, the current generations, they’re born in digital. So they are basically dealing with cybersecurity on day in, day out, and their communications and their learning materials. And this is why I think we need to program ourselves into the mode that cybersecurity is not only security. It’s basically every day in the morning, we wake up, we do unconsciously a risk management. So dealing with a cybersecurity issue, it has to do with individuals’ future life. In the same time, it’s very important to understand they need to integrate this as part of the skillset requirement in order for them really to survive and their business community. My view, we need to focus on change management. And this is why in our education system, we feel there are very important elements that we need to focus around curriculum. And as of today – Give us some more details. I will give you more details. As of today, we are heavy on knowledge base. We need to have a much better balance between skillsets and values. Say that again. A better balance between? Between knowledge and also skillset requirement. Skillset. So they’re different. And values as well. Okay. I think looking at cybersecurity, it’s not only a skillset issue, but also it has to be an integral part of our value system because we need to protect ourselves, our family, our society, and the entire community we operate in.

Moderator – Nisha Pillay:
So to almost bring young people on with a sense of responsibility to the wider setting.

Excellency Mr. Yusuf Albanyan:
Absolutely. Absolutely.

Moderator – Nisha Pillay:
That’s fascinating. I want to ask you, how do we develop online, responsible online behavior when our young people, our children are bathed in this? They’re born into this digital world. They take it for granted. And when so much social media is so addictive.

Excellency Mr. Yusuf Albanyan:
I think now being on my current role for almost a year, I think we need to make sure that we involve ourselves within the classroom, either in school or university, is only one piece. The other important piece is the community contributions in the entire transformation plan. And specifically, families. And if you look at the challenges poses against cybersecurity today, one of it is lack of awareness. The importance of cybersecurity. But the second, also we need to see within our children, we have weak sense of caution. Children has sense of anxiety and curiosity exceeded their sense of caution. So by default, they will be dealing with social media and gaming in a more aggressive and excessive way. And if they don’t really being cautious, then it will be an issue.

Moderator – Nisha Pillay:
So what can we do to help parents and families, do you think?

Excellency Mr. Yusuf Albanyan:
I think we have a very interesting program. I mean, if you look at the government of Saudi Arabia, we focus on the ecosystem. You see NCA and its role, and you see Sadaia. And I think both of them are creating the right ecosystem to make sure that the entire public and private sector operates on the proper dynamics to tackle the issues. And what do we do? I think we have a very great programs that is basically between NCA and Ministry of Education and SAVIC. And they came up with a very sophisticated programs, AMIN, which basically touches five important elements. How can we enhance the awareness program? We have a lot of exhibitions across nation, make sure that they understand what cybersecurity all about. We have also virtual lectures that we are providing people, they can have access to it. We have also physical lectures either in schools or universities. And in the same times, we have ambassadors that they are going around the nation to make sure that they spread the importance of cybersecurity. But I want to go back also to my initial remarks. We need to expand the view on cybersecurity. It’s in a different approach. This is for you as much as it’s for me. And I think if we look at it only from a compliance perspective or basically a system issue, continuously we’ll struggle. But if we spin it on a different way and we tell individuals, especially young generation, this is for you. This is for your own safety, for your own future. And I think you will see more buying into it and they will be more receptive to it. Because the issue is not a system or policy.

Moderator – Nisha Pillay:
As you were saying, to bring values into the core of it, which is a sort of emotional appeal almost, isn’t it? Into the core of it, rather than do this, do that. Make it more appeal to the heart.

Excellency Mr. Yusuf Albanyan:
I mean, let’s face it, in Saudi Arabia, we have basically asked students not to bring their phones in school. You know, lately for the last year, we see other nations, they are really following what Saudi Arabia have done. But why we have done it? The purpose of banning phones, cell phones with the students, basically we would like to increase their engagement with their teachers and the classroom. Not only this, we would like to make sure that they have also addictions to screen. Internet usage has to slow down, has to basically brought into the proper level. And this is a very important policy that we have introduced. And I think we need to look at it from a different aspect from only policy compliance, as much as this is for the sake of the student themselves. And we see a good level of compliance in the school because of that. So the ban on mobiles in schools brought in a couple of years ago, do you think it’s made a difference to protecting young people in the education environment? Again, I think let’s move away from the terminology security or protection. I’m not a fan of this because you cannot really operate on a fear factor. You need to operate on a more sophisticated transformation awareness program. And I think you need to communicate with the young generations. And by the way, they born it. They are basically born in the digital era. So maybe for us, we look at it differently. But for them, it’s really business as usual. And this is why we need to show the value rather than just look at it from really policy enforcement.

Moderator – Nisha Pillay:
So then it begs the question, what can you do to make cyber education and cyber awareness, let’s say, more appealing, less about the rules and more about the possibilities?

Excellency Mr. Yusuf Albanyan:
This is a good question. If you look at our strategy, we would like to have our education system, both K to 12 and university, to have a pipeline of talent that they are not only competitive domestically, not only regionally, but also on the global scene. Therefore, we look at the global citizenship. The cyber security is a global issue, is not really a regional issue. This is one aspect. The second, if we agree that in order for us to move into a much better space around cyber security, we need to enhance the knowledge and awareness program. This is why in our curriculum, we are re-basically classifying our curriculum programs where it has knowledge base, skill base, and value base. And if you look at knowledge, skills, and value, they are all needed for cyber security awareness program. So if you look at the global citizenship and the programs and curriculum transformation, and basically they will emerge into a very sophisticated environment that hopefully will allow our current and future generations to look at cyber security as basically not as a policy again, but as something that they have to do it, one, for their own safety. They need to feel they are responsible for it, and at the same time, it has become also a skill set requirement for their future workforce.

Moderator – Nisha Pillay:
Essential. So as cyber security, as you say, is a global issue, is there a role for multilateral action for governments to work together, to collaborate, and to cooperate?

Excellency Mr. Yusuf Albanyan:
Well, as you know, the government of Saudi Arabia has really participated on drafting basically the generative AI on 2021, on UNESCO. In the same time, Saudi Arabia has also a committee where basically look at this in a more sophisticated way, and Ministry of Education as basically the largest participant is a member of the committee. As you know, we have more than 6.5 million students on K to 12. We have more than 1.3 million students in universities. We are touching every single members on the society, and tell me about it. I’m getting this pressure every day.

Moderator – Nisha Pillay:
You know, we’ve talked about parents, we’ve talked about the ministry, the education system, cooperation with other governments, but we haven’t talked about yet with the teachers themselves. Now, many of them, like someone like me, would have grown up in a non-cyber age, not born into a digital world. What kind of help and support do teachers ask for, or do you think they require?

Excellency Mr. Yusuf Albanyan:
Ma’am, I think we need to recognize that you cannot have education system above the quality of your teachers. So I think it’s very important that the teachers are really the foundation for any success on an education system. Therefore, we have a very sophisticated program at the last stage at this point of time where we will develop all teachers who needs to go to the classroom. They will go into basically development programs similar what we used to use in our chemical industry engineers in order for them to move to the plants. They have to go through very rigorous programs in order for them to get qualified to go and manage plants, even though they graduate from two universities. And those programs will be basically touches every aspect of their developmental need, and one of it digital, because teachers has to be digitally equipped in terms of knowledge in order for them to deal with the current and future generations. And cybersecurity is going to be part of it and other. For example, how can you use AI from the aspects of positive side? As you can see today, people are sometimes cautious around using AI, but let’s remember, any new technology has its own risk. But as of today, I think we have a very strong technology innovation in educations. They are more or less in control environment. They will be less risk than others, but will allow teachers and also faculty in universities to enhance their skill set and research using AI in a more safe way.

Moderator – Nisha Pillay:
Can we explore that a little further, Your Excellency? So schools around the world are grappling with how to use AI, because if the schools don’t come to term with it, certainly the children will. They can use it for research purposes, a big plus, but they can also use it to write their entire script, which is maybe not such a plus. So I wanted to ask you, what are your reflections on the opportunities and the threats? How does one balance that as a whole new way of learning?

Excellency Mr. Yusuf Albanyan:
One thing I learned from business, if you wait to check the old boxes, you will lose the opportunities. You need to calculate your risk. You need to really basically go ahead and make sure that you are having a very sophisticated calculated risk matrix and move on. As of today, for example, I bet you there is no single individual can tell you what is the implication of AI tomorrow. They just think and they predict, and there are different models that is running. As of today, we are in the ministry. We formed a team to look at how the school looks like in 2035 and 2040. Is it going to be a similar school model we have today? I don’t know. That question remains to be answered, but I do believe technology and AI is going to play a major role on this. How do we view digital? Is it really just for an emergency model or is it going to be an integral part of our educations? Because during COVID, I think distance learning have played a major role for all education systems to continue. But as of today, we view it, some view it as an emergency model, some view it as a blending knowledge on our educations. If you bring this all together, cyber security is going to be an integral part of it and AI is going to play a major role. How do you view AI, Your Excellency, in the education system, a threat or an opportunity? In fact, just as soon as I leave this room, I have a meeting with some of my team because we use AI, by the way, just three weeks ago on different schools in the kingdom. And you will be surprised. We have very innovative teachers who really have leveraged it on their own scale. Imagine if we bring it on a national level, how is it going to look like? But at the same time, we need to be cautious on the implications. And I think from my engagement with the global leaders, the issue in AI is not the functionality, the issue in AI in ethics and values. How ethically we will be able to leverage AI and how can we create a strong platform to manage the risk of AI?

Moderator – Nisha Pillay:
Ethics and values. Very interesting because that’s what you said when talking about broadening our approach to cybersecurity as well. So finally, I’d like to ask you, Your Excellency, about the role of the private sector and the huge cybersecurity industry out there, small and large companies, how can we bring them together with educators and the education ministry to develop new approaches, maybe innovations?

Excellency Mr. Yusuf Albanyan:
Well, again, before I used to use this terminology. How can we bring them together to play their roles on the entire community? I think my duties today are coming from private sector and working on governments, specifically in a very important role where basically influence the future generation. How can we bring a clear understanding that private sector and governments, they are not different. They are one, playing together. Each one of them play its role to complement the end of the day what 2030 Vision really inspired for. I personally see this on the private sector. I see it today in the government when I come into Ministry of Education. Private sector role in Ministry of Education is not something that’s nice to have. It’s going to be something that we have no choice, but each one of us has to complement what really bring us at the end into a success to achieve our 2030 Vision.

Moderator – Nisha Pillay:
Your Excellency, it’s been a pleasure to meet you. My mindset has already started changing. What did you say? Abandon the fear factor. It doesn’t work. Embrace ethics and values. It’s really been a pleasure. His Excellency, Mr. Youssef Albanyan.

Excellency Mr. Yusuf Albanyan:
Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Now, sir, I mean, which is correct, first and last name. Yeah. Thank you.