The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) was pleased to partner with Nordic Safe Cities, in co-hosting tech-focused sessions and a multistakeholder workshop on November 20th and 21st, 2024 in Stockholm, Sweden. The events took place during the Nordic Democracy Forum, which brought together over 200 participants including regional ministers, national and local leaders, practitioners, academics, civil society representatives, tech companies, foundations, and youth organizations.
Over the course of the event, participants joined cross-sector discussions and worked towards a clear vision of concrete measures to safeguard democracy across the Nordic region. Key themes included:
- Cross-border youth crime
- Ways to combat manipulation of information and create safer digital communities
- Lessons learned and good practices in empowering youth to shape democracy and engage youth in decision-making
- Fostering a democracy for all, with more trust in each other, institutions, and the media
The GIFCT team co-hosted a closed-door workshop on Tech for Nordic Democracy that brought together 30+ select stakeholders across tech, government, and civil society to discuss the sector’s existing priorities on countering extremism, championing prevention, and delivering on positive intervention work. The workshop took stock of the challenges faced by different sectors and mapped where collaborations could be strengthened. The workshop concluded that in order to create a more secure and resilient digital landscape, new collaborations must be forged between governments, tech companies, and cities to align policies, technological solutions, and community-driven practices that proactively can address online threats and foster healthy digital spaces. Additionally, national and local prevention strategies can be enhanced to work more effectively with digital platforms. The session also highlighted steps that regional tech companies can take towards becoming GIFCT members and how to benefit from cross-platform and multistakeholder solutions.
During the two-day forum, GIFCT also contributed to the agenda by curating and moderating a panel on Reviewing the Threats and Opportunities of Generative AI and other Tech Advancements for a Safer Democracy. Panelists included Martin Ruby, Director for Public Policy for Nordic Countries, Meta; Jakub Olek, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy, TikTok Sweden; Tobias Bornakke, Chair, Nordic Think Tank for Tech & Democracy; and Bente Kalsnes, Professor, Political Communication, Kristiania University College & Member of the Nordic Think Tank for Tech & Democracy. The panel discussed the tools and safety efforts benefiting from advanced AI models as well as how to bridge the knowledge-gaps between the tech sector and experts from across other sectors. Increasing moments like this for cross-sector knowledge exchanges was seen as key for better scaled prevention and counter-extremism efforts.
Additional Contextual Information
As an extension of the discussions that occurred during the event, please see the following collection of expert Insights related to the intersection of terrorism or violent extremism and technology, disinformation and democracy, and the Nordic region from our academic research wing, the Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET).
View Insights PDFNext Steps
GIFCT will be following up with regional industry bodies to pursue GIFCT membership, joining a unique community of tech companies on a common mission to prevent terrorists from exploiting digital platforms. GIFCT will also be connecting Nordic regional practitioners and experts with our academic wing, GNET, to amplify the voices of regional experts in developing action oriented resources and briefings.
We thank all participants connecting with us at the Nordic Democracy Forum, for their support of our mission. GIFCT recognizes that this mission must start with voices and perspectives from a range of sectors and global regions to reach a shared understanding of both threats and potential solutions. We are deeply grateful to Nordic Safe Cities for their partnership with us on our sessions at the Nordic Democracy Forum and working closely with our team over the past year. We look forward to collaborating on future events with parties across the region.
This workshop follows on a long series of regional events and engagements conducted by GIFCT to ensure that members and partners can share insights on regional terrorism and counterterrorism dynamics and better understand the trends and implications online. To date, our events have been held in diverse regions and locations, including, for example, Singapore, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Ottawa, and Accra. To learn more about our past events, please visit our News webpage.
