Ghana to host maiden Global Cyber Conference

Over 800 cybersecurity experts, professionals, high-level leaders, the international development community, and innovators from across the world will converge in Ghana this year to attend the inaugural Global Conference on Cyber Capacity Building (GC3B), scheduled for November 29 to 30, 2023, at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra.

Under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation through the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), the conference is co-organised by the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE), the World Bank, the Cyber Peace Institute, and the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The event which is organised under the theme “Cyber Resilience for Development,” will serve as a platform for actionable dialogue and the exchange of innovative ideas among policymakers and industry leaders that is expected to contribute to the advancement of cyber capacity building on a global scale.

Ghana's selection to host the GC3B demonstrates the country's hard work and dedication to building a safe and resilient digital ecosystem. This is also due to the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation's efforts, through the CSA, to secure Ghana's cybersecurity environment through international cooperation. Ghana has co-organised and hosted several significant conferences in recognition of its cybersecurity readiness, including the Freedom Online Conference in 2020, the Africa Cyber Experts Kick-off Committee Meeting, and the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT)-Tech Against Terrorism (TAT) workshop in 2022.

The country’s current score of 86.69% on the Global Cybersecurity Index shows major progress from the previous ratings in 2017 and 2018 of 32.6% and 43.7%, respectively, placing Ghana’s cybersecurity readiness in third place on the African continent behind Mauritius and Tanzania.

The conference sessions are anchored on four pillars:

• Making international development cyber-resilient

• Collaborating to secure the digital ecosystem.

• Cyber capacity building for stability and security.

• Operationalising solutions.
The conference, among other things, is expected to catalyse global action to elevate cyber resilience and capacity building in the international development agenda and in national development plans and investments as key enablers of sustainable development, inclusive economic growth, and social prosperity for all.

A major highlight of the conference will be the announcement of the Accra declaration: a global framework for collaborative initiatives to help countries increase their cyber resilience.