{"id":15234,"date":"2021-06-25T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-25T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/2021\/06\/25\/en-switzerland-igf-2021-overview\/"},"modified":"2021-06-25T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-25T08:00:00","slug":"en-switzerland-igf-2021-overview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/2021\/06\/25\/en-switzerland-igf-2021-overview\/","title":{"rendered":"Swiss IGF 2021 (6th Swiss Internet Governance Forum) \u2014 In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest &#038; 3-Line Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/en-switzerland-igf-2021-overview_thumbnail.svg\" alt=\"Switzerland IGF 2021 \u30aa\u30f3\u30e9\u30a4\u30f3 \u2014 Thumbnail\"><\/p>\n<h2>The 3-Line Summary<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/en-switzerland-igf-2021-overview_s3.svg\" alt=\"Switzerland IGF 2021 \u30aa\u30f3\u30e9\u30a4\u30f3 \u2014 3-line summary\"><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>The 6th Swiss IGF met online for the second consecutive year on 21 June 2021, with five sessions interpreted into German, French and English.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>It took stock of digital tools during COVID, named four hurdles blocking the digital state, and confronted a fundamental question: how does neutral Switzerland deal with cyber attacks?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Its conclusion that contact-tracing apps entrenched &#39;decentralised, data-minimal&#39; as the new quality standard resonates far beyond Switzerland.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Welcome \u2014 this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on <strong>Swiss IGF 2021 (6th Swiss Internet Governance Forum)<\/strong> draws on official outputs, session records and on-site reporting. In a hurry? The three lines above and the diagrams carry the gist.<\/p>\n<h2>Conference at a Glance (from official records)<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/en-switzerland-igf-2021-overview_h2.svg\" alt=\"Switzerland IGF 2021 \u30aa\u30f3\u30e9\u30a4\u30f3 \u2014 Conference at a glance\"><\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Item<\/th>\n<th>Detail<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Official name<\/td>\n<td>Swiss IGF 2021 (6th Swiss Internet Governance Forum)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Dates<\/td>\n<td>21 June 2021<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Venue<\/td>\n<td>Held virtually<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Theme<\/td>\n<td>Regional governance themes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sessions<\/td>\n<td>5 (Five sessions: the digital state, digitalisation during COVID, inclusive digital governance, cyber attacks and neutrality, and a new role for media)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Host<\/td>\n<td>Multistakeholder steering group under OFCOM patronage<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Outcome<\/td>\n<td>The &#39;Messages from Bern 2021&#39;, submitted to the UN IGF and EuroDIG<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>(See the source list at the end of this article.)<\/p>\n<h2>Discussion Digest \u2014 from the Session Records<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/en-switzerland-igf-2021-overview_minutes.svg\" alt=\"Switzerland IGF 2021 \u30aa\u30f3\u30e9\u30a4\u30f3 \u2014 Discussion map\"><\/p>\n<p>Key exchanges extracted from session records and transcripts.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Lessons for the Digital State \u2014 Four Hurdles to Overcome<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Sessions<\/strong>: Session 1 &#39;Lessons for the digital state&#39;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Switzerland has every prerequisite for digital success yet ranks only average; four hurdles were named \u2014 distrust of government agencies, political over-emotionalism, insufficient risk appetite, and actors&#39; lack of self-confidence [1]<\/li>\n<li>Success factors: courage to change with tolerance for mistakes, processes for direct citizen involvement, and new tools that create real added value for society and policymaking [1]<\/li>\n<li>Public-private and public-civic partnerships (e.g. with foundations) can get pilots off the ground; cost-effective proofs of concept should precede large-scale government contracts [1]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>2. Taking Stock of COVID \u2014 Contact Tracing Sets a New Quality Standard<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Sessions<\/strong>: Session 2 &#39;Digitalisation for society during the corona period&#39;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The tools existed, but basic understanding and solid infrastructure were lacking \u2014 the whole ecosystem, not individual tools, must be brought forward [1]<\/li>\n<li>Contact-tracing apps and the URL-based COVID certificate established principles \u2014 decentralised approach, minimal data use \u2014 now anchored in legislation and constituting the new standard of quality [1]<\/li>\n<li>&#39;Data protection&#39; and &#39;protection of privacy&#39; are interrelated but not equivalent \u2014 a conceptual distinction often blurred in political debate; data-access management models are needed [1]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>3. Cyber Attacks and Neutral Switzerland \u2014 A Debate in Its Infancy<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Sessions<\/strong>: Session 4 &#39;Cyber attacks and neutral Switzerland&#39;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The debate on how the new technical reality affects Swiss neutrality is at a very early stage with many open questions \u2014 which creates space for a fundamental discussion of Switzerland&#39;s digital security policy [1]<\/li>\n<li>Several participants argued for strengthening defensive capabilities and expanding international cooperation \u2014 the only way to build the trust a secure cyberspace requires [1]<\/li>\n<li>Private sector and state share responsibility for securing cyberspace; Geneva&#39;s international presence positions Switzerland to contribute to the global debate [1]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>4. Inclusion and Media \u2014 Governance Across Generations, Journalism for Democracy<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Sessions<\/strong>: Session 3 &#39;Digital governance&#39; \/ Session 5 &#39;A new role for media?&#39;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Digital governance must encompass all generations, not just the usual stakeholder segments; people with impairments and speakers of different languages have been left out \u2014 free accessibility of data &#39;should no longer be a feature but a right&#39; [1]<\/li>\n<li>As tech platforms gain power and local media fight for subscribers and advertising, media was framed as a sector like no other, since its structure affects society as a whole [1]<\/li>\n<li>If media is to promote democracy, targeted support for independent, trustworthy platforms enabling good and investigative journalism is paramount \u2014 with the courage to experiment [1]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Three-Minute Short Talk \u2014 Your Questions Answered<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q. What did it decide?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A. Nothing binding \u2014 the &#39;Messages from Bern 2021&#39; went to the UN IGF and EuroDIG, centred on a COVID-era digital-policy stocktake.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q. Highlight?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A. How a neutral country handles cyber attacks \u2014 a genuinely new question for 200 years of neutrality policy, and one the session admitted is still wide open.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q. Why care?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A. The legal anchoring of &#39;decentralised, data-minimal&#39; principles from contact-tracing apps is a reference point for pandemic-tech debates everywhere.<\/p>\n<h2>What Is Switzerland IGF? (for first-time readers)<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/en-switzerland-igf-2021-overview_h1.svg\" alt=\"Switzerland IGF 2021 \u30aa\u30f3\u30e9\u30a4\u30f3 \u2014 About Switzerland IGF\"><\/p>\n<p>Switzerland IGF is a National or Regional IGF Initiative (NRI), aligning local internet governance discussion with global IGF principles.<\/p>\n<h2>Why It Matters to You<\/h2>\n<p>What was discussed here becomes <strong>the baseline for national digital policy, platform rules and AI regulation worldwide within a few years<\/strong>. The principles confirmed at the 2021 meeting are the foundation of the &quot;next rules&quot; for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.<\/p>\n<h2>Sources &amp; References<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/igf.swiss\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SwissIGF_Messages-from-Berne-2021_en.pdf\">Messages from Bern (Swiss IGF 2021)<\/a> \u2014 Swiss IGF (accessed 2026-07-23)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/igf.swiss\/en\/swiss-igf-2021\/\">Swiss IGF 2021\uff08\u5927\u4f1a\u30da\u30fc\u30b8\uff09<\/a> \u2014 igf.swiss (accessed 2026-07-23)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/igf.swiss\/en\/about-the-swiss-igf\/\">About the Swiss IGF<\/a> \u2014 igf.swiss (accessed 2026-07-23)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20260217071529\/https:\/\/www.intgovforum.org\/en\/content\/western-european-and-others-regional-group-weog\">National IGFs \u2014 Western European and Others Regional Group (WEOG)<\/a> \u2014 \u56fd\u9023IGF\u4e8b\u52d9\u5c40\uff08Wayback\u30a2\u30fc\u30ab\u30a4\u30d6\uff09 (accessed 2026-07-23)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em>Quotes are translated or condensed from the records listed above. Bracketed numbers [n] refer to the source list.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>Related links<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>IGF official (NRI list): <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intgovforum.org\/en\/content\/national-and-regional-igf-initiatives\">https:\/\/www.intgovforum.org\/en\/content\/national-and-regional-igf-initiatives<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Japan IGF: <a href=\"https:\/\/japanigf.jp\/\">https:\/\/japanigf.jp\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Yuki Nakazawa&#39;s blog: <a href=\"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/category\/igf\/\">https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/category\/igf\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>\u66f4\u65b0\u5c65\u6b74<\/h2>\n<p>\u7b2c1\u7a3f\u6295\u7a3f 2026\u5e748\u67085\u65e5 13\u664242\u5206\uff08\u8a18\u4e8b\u30b3\u30f3\u30c6\u30f3\u30c4\u30a2\u30c3\u30d7\uff09<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014 \u4e2d\u6fa4\u7950\u6a39<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 6th Swiss IGF met online for the second consecutive year on 21 June 2021, with five sessions interpreted into German, French and English<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,3,11,107],"tags":[163,161,160,162,164,2789],"class_list":["post-15234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eurodig","category-igf","category-regional-igf","category-switzerland-igf","tag-3-line-summary","tag-deep-dive","tag-english","tag-minutes-digest","tag-sourced","tag-switzerlandigf2021"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15234\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}