The 2025 IFIP Board meeting was held this month in Stockholm, hosted by the Swedish Computer Society and KTH Royal Institute of Technology, thanks to an invitation from IFIP Vice President, Professor Jan Gulliksen. 

A key outcome from the meeting in Sweden was the Stockholm Declaration – a joint statement on the role of Technology for a Sustainable Future.

“We see IFIP as an important platform for contacts with research at an international level,” said Leif Häggmark, chair of the Swedish Computer Society. “It gives us a glimpse of upcoming trends and applications.”

Every year, IFIP organizes an event for the organization’s board, which brings together members from different parts of the world. And every year, a national computer association hosts it, this year the Swedish Computer Society and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology. The meeting lasted three days, 2-4 April, with the first day dedicated to a workshop. It was a hybrid meeting, with 30 participants on site and 10 online.

“IFIP chose to hold this year’s board meeting in Stockholm after an invitation from the Computer Society of Sweden and KTH,” said Jan Gulliksen, professor at KTH and vice president of IFIP. “After a high-quality program, IFIP and the Computer Society of Sweden were able to land a joint statement on the role of tech for a sustainable future, in the joint Stockholm Declaration.”

The theme of the workshop was Tech for a Sustainable World, based on the UN Agenda 2030. How can digital technology contribute to achieving the 17 goals in the Agenda 2030 faster? To gain perspective, a select group of visionaries was invited to share their thoughts on how digital technology will develop and be used over the next 10 years: Fredrik Heintz, Robin Teigland, Daniel Akenine, Nicklas Lundblad and Per-Erik Eriksson.

Focusing on three of the goals, Quality Education for All (4), Sustainable Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (9) and Sustainable Cities and Communities (11), participants from both IFIP and the Swedish Computer Association explored how technological developments can affect how the goals are achieved. 

Participants expressed genuine concern about developments in digitalization and digital skills and emphasized the need for increased international cooperation on technology for a sustainable world.

Those present agreed to join forces on a number of pressing issues and to promote these areas for political decision-making and policy development.

Digital skills at all stages of life – Take action to reduce the digital skills gap, from an early age and throughout life, in digitalisation, artificial intelligence and other transformative technologies.

Digital pedagogy to increase motivation – Focus on a renewed curriculum as well as new teaching methods and pedagogies to make digital education engaging, relevant and meaningful.

Train the digital educators – Emphasise the importance of “train the trainer” in schools, i.e. to better train those who will train teachers and mentors, with the aim of achieving digital skills at all levels.

Digital inclusion and “born accessible” – Strengthen the opportunity for every citizen to participate in all development and also offer non-digital alternatives to avoid digital exclusion.

“Digital formats, media and channels will dominate in the long term, but during a transition period, non-digital alternatives need to be available,” said Leif Häggmark.

Digital infrastructure for innovation – Prioritize investments in open-source technologies, resilient and robust digital infrastructure and secure digital ecosystems to strengthen innovation and promote digital sovereignty. Appropriate and targeted regulation to protect individuals while also promoting innovation is crucial.

Digital privacy and security – Leverage and promote privacy-friendly digital identity solutions and secure authentication technologies to protect against privacy and security threats.

Digital security competence – Promote integrated education and awareness around cybersecurity and copyright issues to build a secure and resilient infrastructure through increased knowledge among users.

IFIP and the Computer Society of Sweden jointly call for the development of a vision beyond the current global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to take these important conclusions into account. As organizations, we contribute by developing and supporting standards for digital skills and pedagogy, promoting digital inclusion and equitable access to the digital society.

You can access a copy of the signed declaration HERE.