Congratulations to Kai Rannenberg, who took over as President of IFIP at the recent annual General Assembly (GA) in Nyon, just outside Geneva, Switzerland. He is seen here receiving the official handover from outgoing President Anthony Wong, who served for the past three years.
In stepping into the role, Mr Rannenberg stressed the importance of making the most of the work Anthony did in reactivating relationships with various UN bodies. He also highlighted opportunities for IFIP to develop analysis and proposals on key information-related topics, suggesting there was scope for additional SDGs in areas relating to personal information sovereignty and data protection, information quality, fair access to information and information processing capacities, the power of information processing and its consequences.
Thank you to the Swiss Information Society (SI) and its President, Francis Baud for hosting the IFIP GA 2025 at the Genolier Innovation Hub on 18-19 September, along with meetings of the IFIP Technical Assembly, Member Society Assembly and IP3.
Over the two days, IFIP Member Societies representatives, Technical Committees chairs, IFIP officials and Honorary Members discussed a wide range of strategic points including:
- Statutes & Bylaws Changes,
- IFIP Awards,
- Member Societies Assembly (MSA) Report,
- Activity Management Board Report,
- IP3 activities,
- IFIP finances and more.
In GA election news, Achim Rettberg was elected as IFIP Honorary Treasurer. Vasco Amaral and Elizabeth Eastwood were elected as IFIP Vice-Presidents and Ronaldo A. Ferreira as IFIP Councillor. Congratulations!
IFIP Member Society
The Dutch National Society for Information Professionals (KNVI) was one of IFIP’s founding members back in 1960, at a time when professors were guiding the (then still) IT society, and everything regarding IT and technology was shaped by mathematicians and physicists.
Now, 65 years later, we celebrated the anniversary of IFIP close to its birthplace, the UNESCO headquarters, this time in an Innovation Hub that focuses entirely on utilising the latest radiation technology in the hospital of Genolier. The innovation hub is a special place, as the epicentre for the staff and the meetings of the IFIP groups is a very special library.
Caption: Genolier Innovation Hub Library, the venue for GA 2025.
Examples of technical innovations and books from hundreds of years ago to the present day – from technology to art – are displayed here. This demonstrates once again how progress can only come about through a multidisciplinary mix of coming together, building on the knowledge of predecessors and ancestors, access to information, scientific research and state-of-the-art technology.
The foundation and vision on which IFIP was built was also remarkable. “The Mission of IFIP is to achieve the worldwide professional and socially responsible development and application of information and communication technologies.” It’s as if the primarily exact scientists of the time already sensed that more was needed. Brilliant minds are brilliant because of their ability to think and act creatively, outside of established frameworks and patterns and from multiple perspectives – and this is reflected in IFIP’s vision. Naturally, we reflected on this during the meeting.
And what is the significance of a network like IFIP in 2025? Here are a few examples from the time spent together. We’ve made mutual agreements to give students from each other’s associations who are studying in another (IFIP) country access to the local association. We welcomed representatives from Ghana and experienced the immense potential of African countries. Imagine how many information professionals there are in a country like Nigeria with 237 million inhabitants!
Caption: Certificates for the new IFIP Member Societies – Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana and ICT Association of Uganda were presented to IFIP Vice President, Joice Benza of Zimbabwe (centre).
We’ve strengthened ties to share improvements that associations are implementing nationally so we can all learn and benefit from them. These examples also help IFIP grow.
We’ve ensured that over 6,000 scholars can collaborate and continue to publish independent of religion and politics. We’ve considered international codes and standards. Examples include those for software and systems engineering (ISO24773/IEC), for global assessment of professional competencies (IP3) and the accreditation of associations to establish these standards, and the international frameworks for computer science education (CC2020).
We also reiterated the importance of the IFIP Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for all information professionals worldwide. A General Assembly takes a lot to organise, but it offered wonderful opportunities for enjoyment, informal contact and intercultural exchange. Thank you to everyone who took part!
Caption: IFIP GA members and observers at the GA 2025
Authors: Wouter Bronsgeest (KNVI President) and Anatolii Marushchak (IFIP General Secretary)