By Emmanuel Oti Acheampong
The Global Conference on Cyber Capacity Building on Thursday, November 30, 2023, came to a grand end with remarkable activities and deliberations.
The two-day conference brought together academia, governments of different countries, private sector, individuals, and international agencies from across the world to discuss issues surrounding cyber security and how its effective exploits can foster development, especially in developing countries.
The conference’s opening saw the signing of the Accra Call framework. The framework was signed by the Senior Ghanaian Presidential advisor, Yaw Osafo Marfo, on behalf of President Akufo-Addo.
The Accra Call Framework consists of sixteen actions and is divided into four categories: strengthening the role of cyber resilience as an enabler for sustainable development; advancing demand-driven, effective, and sustainable cyber capacity building; fostering stronger partnerships and better coordination; and unlocking financial resources, cooperation, and implementation modalities.
The closing ceremony of the conference marked the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE). The MoU is to accord a strong relationship and support for the African continent to attain cyber security resilience in order to attain some developmental heights in the digital space.
On the inclusion of the youth as future leaders in the cyber security space, the finals of the National Cyber Security Challenge came to a successful end with Ola Girls Senior High emerging and holding the coveted bragging rights as the best in World of Cyber Security in Ghana.
In a closing remark, the Chairperson and host of the conference, the Minister of Communication and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, expressed appreciation to the Global Forum on Cyber Security Expertise and the other partnering agencies for their immense support to her ministry and the government of Ghana for making the conference a very memorable and insightful one.
She further called on all present and far-reaching partnering agencies and Governments across the world who have endorsed the Accra Call Action Framework, to help make it a reality.
She added that the framework contains actionable items and materials that can drive a resilient cyber security space and improve a digital economy, especially for the African continent.
The President of Global Forum on Cyber Expertise, a leading partner of the conference, Christopher Painter, also mentioned in his closing remarks that findings from various plenaries that took place during the conference have presented an opportunity for his outfit to expand its role as a clearing house and a connector between communities and countries in need of their expertise.
He commended Microsoft for its great support of the conference and for being one of the first to endorse the Accra Call, which is the beacon of the conference.
