Tech Diplomacy and Digital Connectivity Power 2022 Meridian Summit
Meridian International Center hosted the 11th Annual Meridian Global Leadership Summit on October 21 at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, DC to an in-person audience of over 240 participants and a global live audience of 1,000. This year’s theme of “Preparing for Tech Transformation in a Digitalized World” featured 30 speakers on two stages over the course of a 3.5 hour program, which zeroed-in on how governments, businesses and private sectors in the U.S. and around the world are working to tackle today’s greatest challenges through technology.
Meridian CEO Ambassador Stuart Holliday opened the program alongside Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Cyberspace and Digital Policy Jennifer Bachus. Together, they announced the Global Emerging Leaders in International Cyberspace Security Fellowship, a new initiative led in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, Meridian, and the Cherokee Nation. This is a timely endeavor given the increasing number of cyberattacks that are happening around the world.
ServiceNow served as the Corporate Chair of the event, while Microsoft, Lucid Motors and Bank of America were Global Engagement Chairs. Protocol was the media partner this year. Here are some highlights from the program.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
One of the principal themes of the Summit was equity, diversity, and inclusion in the digital world. Increasing digital equity in the Global South and among vulnerable populations, such as women, was a theme stressed on both stages over the course of the event.
For example, Yolanda Ma from the United Nations Development Programme highlighted their work to increase digital equity for over 100 countries which will lead to more safe, responsible, inclusive technology ecosystems around the globe. During a session on trustworthy A.I., Congressman Ro Khanna (D-17) stressed his vision for digital equity across the U.S. by not only expanding connectivity but increasing access to good paying, digital jobs in the heartland of America. Increasing diversity in the cybersecurity workforce was the focal point of a session with Deputy National Cyber Director, Camille Stewart Gloster, and CyberSafe Executive Director, Confidence Staveley. Both speakers discussed their multifaceted strategies to recruit diverse cybersecurity talent and their efforts to fix the leaky pipeline between cybersecurity skilling and the workforce in both the U.S. and in Nigeria.
Global Collaboration to Achieve Local Impact
Diplomacy among citizens, states, and the private sector is key to tackling some of the greatest challenges we face. Cooperation helps ensure that we can simultaneously impacts globally as well as locally. During her keynote, National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Laurie Locascio stressed the importance of global collaboration to cultivate trust in technology. Her assertion that, “We, as the U.S. government cannot do this alone,” highlighted how vital cooperation is when developing standards for technology.
Other speakers such as The People’s Accords founder, Lydia Scherr, shared how using technology to increase collaboration between early career Pakistani and American diplomats has resulted in new ideas to tackle climate change at the local level. Nicole Foster, Head of Global AI/ML Policy at AWS, shared how farmers have leveraged the cloud and machine learning to identify the most drought resistant crop, preventing crop failure. The State Department’s Jennifer Bachus, highlighted how they’re working with countries around the globe to increase connectivity and to also bolster cyber safety so users can have access to a safe and open internet.
Public-Private Partnerships
Public-private partnerships are on the rise to connect and engage international leaders with emerging technologies. Ms. Bachus shared how the new State Department Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy is playing a lead role in enabling an environment where private industry and venture capital can coalesce to increase connectivity. Public-private partnerships were on display during Microsoft Airband’s session where their cooperation with USAID is increasing meaningful connectivity worldwide for underserved communities. GM’s Director of Strategic Technology Initiatives, Dan Nicholson, stressed the importance of public and private cooperation to meeting our climate goals.
Meridian Global Leadership Awards
ServiceNow CEO and President, Bill McDermott, was honored with the Meridian Corporate Leader Award during the program. The award recognizes exceptional business leaders whose vision and management abilities have helped their companies succeed in a global marketplace, increased international collaboration, and made societal impact a corporate priority. Mr. McDermott was recognized for his business acumen, empathy and tech know-how that have led the company to tackle issues like climate change, racial equity, and digital diplomacy. “Only together can we build a new, inclusive, sustainable wave of economic growth.”
Meridian also bestowed the Global Citizen Award to Confidence Staveley, Executive Director and Founder of the CyberSafe Foundation. Ms. Staveley recently facilitated CyberSafe Foundation’s collaboration with the UK government to implement a cybersecurity intervention in response to the heightened cyber-attacks during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Africa’s first afro-beats cybersecurity awareness song was released, reaching over 10 million Nigerians with information about cybersecurity hygiene. With Cybersafe Foundation as implementation partner and in partnership with the UK FCDO and KPMG, Ms. Staveley played a major role in the launch of a cybersecurity toolkit for SMEs in Nigeria.
Held annually each fall in conjunction with the Meridian Ball, the Meridian Global Leadership Summit is the leading convening of diplomatic, business and policy leaders in a neutral, nonpartisan forum to exchange ideas and collaborate on solutions to today's most pressing global challenges and opportunities.
Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) speaks at the Meridian Summit October 21, 2022. Photo by Kris Triplaar.
Vice President and Head of Global Government Relations, ServiceNow, speaks at the Meridian Summit October 21, 2022. Photo by Kris Triplaar.
Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Critical Technologies, U.S. Department of Defense in coversation with Congressman Ro Khanna
Representative of California’s 17th District, U.S. Congress, at the Meridian Summit October 21, 2022. Photo by Kris Triplaar.
