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 [email protected] 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.