OPENING ‘BEYOND125: SECURING OUR WORLD’S DIGITAL FUTURE’ VREDESPALEIS, 30 september 2024

Good morning everybody,

Honourable Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ms. Karman,

distinguished guests,

a warm welcome to The Hague.

125 years ago – in the midst of the second Industrial Revolution – world leaders gathered for the First Hague Conference in the pursuit of peace. With crucial support from Andrew Carnegie, they built the Peace Palace, which still serves as a beacon of hope to so many all over the world. Now, 125 years later – in the midst of the Digital Revolution – the pursuit of peace is still urgent. And NGO’s are crucial in that regard.

As International City of Peace & Justice The Hague is home to hundreds of international organizations and NGO’s. Over the last decade, the city has built strong networks around the Humanity Hub, ImpactCity and Security Delta. With thousands of people working on innovations for a more peaceful, just and secure world. The Cybersecurity Week, with the ONE Conference, here in The Hague, is one of the fine examples of that ecosystem coming together.

As mayor I am responsible for the public order, safety and security in this city. The challenges in cybersecurity, and emerging technologies such as AI, require us all to work together. To build strategic partnerships to become resilient against digital attacks. This does not change individual legal responsibilities. It is truly about the collective moral responsibility we have.

That is why we started the Cyber Secure The Hague Initiative in 2021. Since then the city and it’s partners are working together on the cyber resilience of our city. This includes various projects focussing on the city’s high risk community of international organizations and NGO’s.

And that is also why we are here today. To take action because of the essential role of NGO’s for international peace. In a world where cyber threats are as real as physical ones, it is our collective responsibility to ensure that the pillars of peace and justice are fortified against digital attacks.

I sincerely hope that the spirit which inspired the generation of the First Peace Conference and the founding of the Peace Palace, will spur us to action once again. The current situation calls for it, that much is clear. Let’s create an agenda, an action plan, “filled with ideals, courage, resilience and high expectations”, as Benjamin Duerr called it in his book ‘Dream of The Hague’. Let’s take action as was done 125 years ago.

The city of The Hague will make the case for this. As we have always been committed to everything that benefits peace and justice in this world – also in this digital age. Because the pursuit of peace is the hard and enduring work of people and your personal engagement is crucial for that.

Thank you