Embassy of Switzerland Convenes Experts to Discuss Data Security at National Archives, Announces Launch of Swiss Touch Campaign in U.S.

Washington D.C., June 16, 2017 --

Today, the Embassy of Switzerland in the U.S. will host “Keeping Up with Digital Information,” an event at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. This event convenes data experts from the public and private sectors to address our increasing reliance on digital data as well as new questions about the secure storage of information and will be moderated by Ali Breland, technology reporter for The Hill.

The event also marks the kickoff of the Embassy of Switzerland’s Swiss Touch campaign in the U.S. and will bring together leading archivists, security officials, and technology experts. Tonight’s event is the first of many Swiss Touch events throughout the U.S., a campaign managed by the Embassy of Switzerland that seeks to expand the public’s perception of Switzerland as an innovative and forward-thinking powerhouse.

“The Swiss Touch campaign provides a venue for thought leaders to engage in forward-looking conversations and bring fresh ideas to the table across a range of industries and fields of expertise,” said Martin Dahinden, Ambassador of Switzerland to the U.S. “As technological advances produce digital data at an exponential rate, we must address the challenge of having to store, preserve and secure our digital history. The National Archives is the perfect venue to convene these experts to brainstorm solutions for this pressing challenge.”

"I am happy to host this important discussion at the National Archives," said Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero. "As the nation's record keeper, it is mission critical for us to learn, explore, and embrace new ways of making our records available, accessible, and discoverable online,” he stated . “Given that we have over 13 billion pages of records, this is our moon shot. We need to think in radically new ways about our processes, and hold discussions like the one tonight. Personally, as a longtime advocate of digitization, I'm excited to explore new ways to make digital access happen."

The event’s panelists bring a wide breadth of expertise, with representatives from the public sector, including Pamela Wright, Chief Innovation Officer at the National Archives, the private sector, including Claudio Marforio of SoundProof Technology, and academia, including Laura K. Donohue, Center on Privacy & Technology, Georgetown University Law Center. “Digital technologies memorialize our actions, relationships, and beliefs. They create new kinds of knowledge that did not previously exist. The risk is that governments will gain access to data and become so powerful that liberty itself is at stake," said panelist Laura Donohue, Professor of Law at Georgetown University.

Panel sessions will focus on topics that include: potential solutions for preserving the millions of digital data records being produced on a daily basis; methods for selecting what’s important and worth storing in the digital age; and contextualizing visual images for the future.

The Swiss Touch campaign’s focal piece, the Swiss Touch Table, will be on display and available for interactive engagement throughout the event. Embodying the duality of contemporary Switzerland as a traditional yet innovative nation, the table acts as a base for projected images and live-streamed content. Its wooden surface turns into a touch screen and brings to life high-quality Swiss craftsmanship and state-of-the-art technology in a tangible, exciting user experience.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7b251abb-3509-45f1-ac7c-6fe49851042b

Sutton Resler
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