Global cooperation and bold ideas at WSIS+20 drive digital trust and cybersecurity resilience

The WSIS+20 Leaders’ Talk on ‘Towards a safer connected world’ brought together ministers, regulators, and experts from across the globe to share concrete strategies for strengthening digital trust and cyber resilience.

Held in Geneva and moderated by Lucien Castex, the session spotlighted multistakeholder collaboration as the cornerstone of effective cybersecurity in a connected world.

Malaysia’s Minister of Communications Fahmi Fadzil opened with a firm declaration of digital sovereignty, stressing that ‘Big Tech is not bigger than our laws’. He described ASEAN’s forthcoming Kuala Lumpur declaration, a collective regional effort to promote safe and responsible use of social media.

Echoing this approach, Greece’s Dimitris Papastergiou underlined cybersecurity as a strategic national priority, detailing the implementation of the EU’s NIS2 Directive and tools to support SMEs, and reaffirming that cybersecurity is central to “democratic institutions, public safety, and social cohesion.”

India’s Anil Kumar Lahoti presented an institutional model of cyber resilience through the National Cyber Security Coordination Centre, illustrating real-time, cross-sector collaboration to contain cascading attacks.

Lithuania’s Jurate Soviene, meanwhile, emphasised the human side of cybersecurity, showcasing the “No One Is Left Behind” movement, which engages over 160 partners to help seniors build digital confidence.

She also noted the success of Lithuania’s joint anti-scam task force involving police, telecoms, banks, and regulators. “Let’s collaborate”, may be easy to say, she reflected, “but someone must take the first step.”

Participants repeatedly turned to the theme of partnership from Asia to Europe and back again. Thailand’s Trairat Viriyasirikul highlighted their ‘regulatory sandbox’ that supports public-private experimentation in health and identity sectors, including the national MobileID system.

Spain’s Matías González described the country’s Tier 1 status in the Global Cybersecurity Index and their widely respected Cybersecurity Summer Good Camp, which has trained over 20,000 students. “Security must be holistic,” he said, “combining technology, policy, and society.”

From the Internet Society, Sally Wentworth warned that no single actor can secure the internet alone. She advocated a systems approach, from standards development and encryption to civil society inclusion. “We need technologists, industry, civil society, and governments,” she said, announcing a new co-fund initiative with the Global Cyber Alliance to support underfunded cybersecurity efforts.

Lennig Pedron of Trust Valley concluded the session with practical insights from Switzerland, where over 250 innovative companies are supported through a global network of more than 400 partners. She stressed the importance of neutral platforms and flexible financing to bridge diverse stakeholder needs: “Joint pilot projects and simplified legal processes are key to real partnerships.”

Moderator Lucien Castex closed with a quote from Jules Verne, urging the audience to pair bold imagination with real-world action. Across all interventions, the session conveyed one clear message: the future of cybersecurity—and the trust that sustains it—must be built together, across sectors, borders, and communities.

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