Last year, the
Cybersecurity Tech Accord and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
(UNODA) came together to launch a new contest, Apps 4
Digital Peace. Today we are thrilled to announce that the United Nations Envoy
on Youth, Jayathma Wickramanayake, is joining us in supporting the competition.
Her support is fitting, as
the contest is intended to capture the attention of young innovative minds
around the world to work on the thorny issues of peace and security online, which
are currently being discussed at the United Nations. Specifically, submissions
to the Apps 4 Digital Peace are meant to promote an open, secure, stable and
accessible online environment by proposing new technology solutions to:
- Address
existing and potential cyber threats; - Ensure
respect for international law in cyberspace; - Ensure
respect for human rights in cyberspace; - Promote
adherence to voluntary norms, rules and principles; - Foster
confidence building; - Enhance
cybersecurity capacity building.
Since the announcement, we have
received a number of exciting proposals as well as requests for clarification seeking
to better understand the requirements of the contest in greater detail. In
response, we have pulled together what we hope is a helpful set of Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQs) that will be regularly updated to address questions
concerning eligibility, focus areas, submission process, and results and
prizes. Participants are encouraged to submit inquiries about Apps 4 Digital
Peace by emailing apps4digitalpeace@cybertechaccord.org or
through Twitter (@cybertechaccord). We will not only respond to you but will also
ensure that these inquiries are captured on the site in the FAQs section for
others to find answers to similar questions.
We are also releasing a submission
form
to enable participants to register and submit their entries. This should create
a more seamless process and ensure that all participants are aware of what type
of information they need to share for their submissions to be eligible for
consideration. As a reminder, the deadline to register teams for the
competition is April 30th, 2020, with final submissions due
on July 30th, 2020. While the initial registration largely requires
teams to simply identify who will participate, final submissions will need to include
an overview of the team or individual’s proposal as well as a short “pitch,” in
the form of a video, essay or other medium.
We are incredibly excited
by the growing interest in Apps 4 Digital Peace and look forward to receiving
more submissions in the coming weeks and months. We have been particularly
delighted by how far the Apps 4 Digital Peace contest has travelled already, as
we have received questions from young creators from the United States, Greece,
and Afghanistan to name a few. The different perspectives are sure to result in
innovative ideas on how technology could address some of the risks posed by
cyber conflict and improve security for people online.
The post Apps 4 Digital Peace: Calling Young Innovators From Around The World appeared first on Cybersecurity Tech Accord.