Anja Wyden Guelpa becomes new member of the foundation board

Anja Wyden Guelpa, founder of the thinktank “civicLab” and former State Chancellor of the canton of Geneva, is to become a member of the Board of Foundation of the Swiss Digital Initiative under the leadership of former Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard with immediate effect. This will strengthen the voice of civil society on the Foundation Board.

At its meeting on 22 October 2020, the Board of Foundation of the Swiss Digital Initiative unanimously elected Anja Wyden Guelpa to the Board of Foundation. Anja Wyden Guelpa brings valuable strategic and operational expertise from the establishment of the think tank “civicLab” to this young initiative. She has extensive experience on various boards of directors. With her knowledge and sensitivity for the concerns of civil society, this perspective in particular is to further strengthen the Foundation Board.

As former State Chancellor of the Canton of Geneva and living in Geneva for many years, the positioning of the “Genève Internationale” in questions of digital governance and ethics is a central concern for Anja Wyden Guelpa.”I like the approach of achieving impact with projects that are as concrete as possible. The issues of digital trust and ethics are more relevant today than ever before. I look forward to contributing my knowledge and skills to the work of the Swiss Digital Initiative.”

Strengthening digital trust and ethics
The Swiss Digital Initiative, launched at the beginning of 2020, under the patronage of the Federal President and digitalswitzerland, aims to anchor ethical standards in the digital world with concrete projects and make a relevant contribution to the handling of digital ethics. The first project of the Swiss Digital Initiative is the development of a digital trust label. In partnership with EPFL’s Centre for Digital Trust, work on this complex project has made further progress in recent months. The interim results will be published by the end of 2020.

Foundation Board President Doris Leuthard: “The last few months have shown how important trust and values are in the digital space. Digital contact tracing, the processing of health data, the design of platforms and apps, or the dissemination of false information in the course of elections are just some of the ethical challenges we will have to deal with in the coming years and find solutions that serve the common good of society.”

The Swiss Digital Initiative’s 2021 priorities include the implementation of the digital trust label and other projects, and strengthening structure, strategy and partnerships.

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