International Conference on Digital Sovereignty (ICDS) 2024

It is with great pleasure to welcome you to the First International Conference on Digital Sovereignty (ICDS 2024), which will be organised by the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) from November 28 to 30, 2024, in Oslo, Norway.

In today's interconnected world, the concept of digital sovereignty has emerged as a critical issue for nations striving to protect their digital infrastructure, maintain control over digital assets, and ensure the integrity of their digital economies. As technology evolves rapidly, the need for robust frameworks and policies to safeguard national interests in the digital realm has never been more pressing. The Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) is proud to announce the International Conference on Digital Sovereignty, a premier event dedicated to exploring the multi-faceted aspects of digital sovereignty, including cyber security, decentralised architectures, data governance, and the ethical deployment of emerging technologies.

This conference will bring together leading experts from industry and academia to share insights, present groundbreaking research, and discuss innovative solutions for maintaining digital sovereignty in an era of unprecedented technological change. Attendees will benefit from diverse presentations and input from cutting-edge academic research that addresses the latest challenges and opportunities in this field and from industry leaders who are at the forefront of implementing digital sovereignty strategies. Join us in ICDS – 2024 to engage in meaningful dialogue, network with key stakeholders, and contribute to shaping the future of digital sovereignty. We can build a more secure, autonomous, and resilient digital world.

We are looking forward to welcoming you!

Sanjay Misra and Petter Kvalvik (General Chairs)

Conference Program (Overview)

Keynote Speakers

1^st Keynote: Ulrich Ahle,  CEO of gaia-X . Belgium

Biography:  Ulrich is a reputed executive in the IT sector, formerly Vice President and leader of the Manufacturing and Industrie 4.0 System Integration business at Atos in Germany. He is also founder and member of the Board of the International Data Spaces Association in Germany and served 16 years in the Board of the prostep IVIP organization until April 2018. After an apprenticeship as toolmaker at Hella KG, he studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Paderborn. In his career, Ahle held several positions as development engineer, Director of PLM services, sales director and Vice President. He has been part of Nixdorf Computer AG, Siemens and Atos. From January 2017 until the end of 2023 Ulrich Ahle was Chief Executive Officer of the FIWARE Foundation headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Starting from November 2023 Ulrich became CEO of the Gaia-X Association headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

2^nd Keynote: Sokratis Katsikas, Professor and Director of SFI - NORCICS, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway.

Biography: Sokratis K. Katsikas is the Director of the Norwegian Centre for Cybersecurity in Critical Sectors and Professor with the Department of Information Security and Communication Technology, NTNU. He is also Professor Emeritus of the Department of Digital Systems, University of Piraeus, Greece. In 2019 he was awarded a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the Department of Production and Management Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece. In May-June 2023 he served as Minister of Digital Governance in the interim (caretaking) government of the Hellenic Republic. In 2023 he was listed in the Stanford University list of the top 2% most cited scientists worldwide and in 2024 he was listed in the ScholarGPS Top Scholars list of the top 0.5% of all scholars worldwide. He has authored or co-authored more than 300 journal papers, book chapters and conference proceedings papers. He is serving on the editorial board of several scientific journals, he has co-authored/edited 52 books and conference proceedings and has served on/chaired the technical programme committee of more than 900 international scientific conferences. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the ESORICS Conference (chair 2017-2023) and he is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Information Security (Springer).

Title of the Talk: Towards a cybersecurity-oriented research agenda for digital sovereignty

Abstract: The notion of “digital sovereignty” has emerged as a means of promoting the notion of leadership and strategic autonomy in the digital field. Digital sovereignty refers to a nation’s or a group of nations’ ability to act independently in the digital world and should be understood in terms of both protective mechanisms and offensive tools to foster digital innovation. This understanding underpins the intrinsic relationship between digital sovereignty and cybersecurity. Even though policy, political and legislative aspects of digital sovereignty are in the forefront of public discourse and the research literature on these issues is increasing, cybersecurity-oriented research on digital sovereignty is only starting. In this talk we will discuss the relationship between selected fields of research in cybersecurity, such as Digital Trust, Privacy, Cyber Resilience, Digital Supply Chain Security on one hand, and Digital Sovereignty on the other, in an attempt to outline a possible cybersecurity-oriented research agenda for digital sovereignty through innovation. 

3rd Keynote: Bernard Benhamou, Secretary General, Institute of Digital Sovereignty, Paris, France

Biography: Bernard Benhamou is the Secretary General of the Institute of Digital Sovereignty (ISN) and a senior lecturer on Internet governance at Paris I University (Panthéon Sorbonne). Throughout his distinguished career, he has held key positions in shaping France's digital policy, including serving as Interministerial Delegate on Internet usage and coordinating the 2008 French Presidency of the EU's Ministerial Conference on the Internet of Things. Benhamou has advised the French delegation at the UN's World Summit on the Information Society and led several missions on Internet governance and digital education at various ministries. He has also been a senior lecturer at prestigious institutions like the National School of Government (ENA) and Sciences Po. A founding member and technology advisor of PlaNet Finance, he has contributed significantly to global digital initiatives, including Internet projects in developing countries.

Title of the Talk: Digital sovereignty: geopolitical situation and key strategies for Europe

Abstract: In just a few years, the term “digital sovereignty”, originally created to describe the emerging risks of technological vassalisation of Europe by American or Chinese entities, has become a major political issue in our societies. Whether it is the now proven risks of interference by foreign powers in democratic processes, the security of our critical infrastructures or the dependence of the State on non-European technological players, the theme of digital sovereignty now appears regularly in public debate. This perception has been accelerated by two major crises; the covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine. These crises have shed a harsh light on the dependencies and vulnerabilities of European countries in this area. Thus, as digital technologies develop in all areas of economic, political and military activity in our societies, they are changing the power dynamics between private actors and States, but also between States themselves. The instruments of State sovereignty have thus become indistinguishable from the tools of technological power. The technologies that will be at the heart of the development of the next generations of digital services, whether it is the Internet of Things, smart cities, robotics or quantum computing, already constitute strategic issues for European States. But Artificial Intelligence will occupy a particular geopolitical role in the years to come, which even made a certain autocrat say 7 years ago: "Artificial intelligence represents the future, not only for Russia, but for all humanity. The nation that becomes a leader in the field of Artificial Intelligence will dominate the world...". These were the words of a certain Vladimir Putin and they now constitute a geopolitical warning for all nations.

4th Keynote: Chandra Challagonda, CEO, FIWARE Foundation,

Biography: Chandra Challagonda is a tech executive with over two decades of experience in digital ecosystems, smart cities, and AI governance. As the CEO of FIWARE Foundation and its former VP of Business Development, he has been instrumental in expanding its global network and ecosystem, emphasizing sustainable strategies and partnerships. His expertise in data space development has shaped key EU projects like DSSC, DS4SSCC, and OpenDEI, focusing on data-sharing frameworks, security, and GDPR compliance. Chandra’s entrepreneurial journey includes founding multiple companies, one acquired by Microsoft and another based on FIWARE technologies. His work with OpenDEI and DS4SSCC emphasizes data spaces for smart cities and ethical AI. Additionally, he contributes to forums such as AI for Developing Countries at the UN, advocating for responsible and inclusive AI. Recognized for driving sustainable development and innovation, Chandra has been co-founder, board member, CEO, and CTO, strongly focusing on customer-centric strategies.

Title of the Talk: Digital Sovereignty Provenanced Data, Interoperability, and Open Standards

Call for Papers

We have four tracks in ICDS 2024. Papers in any of these areas, especially with the following keywords covering and related to Digital Sovereignty, are welcome to be submitted. The accepted papers will be published in Elsevier Procedia Computer Science(Confirmed) which is indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, Norwegian Register for Scientific Journals(Level 1) and in many international indexing.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Computational Intelligence, Human-Centric AI, Human-AI Teams, Sovereignty, Internet of Things, Sustainable Development Goals, Artificial Intelligence of Things, Sustainability, Big Data, Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Intelligent Systems, Cloud Computing, Edge Computing, Blockchain, Digital Autonomy, Federated Systems, Cybersecurity, Digital Trust, Trustworthiness, Resilience 

Submission

The ICDS 2024 conference is now in the process of soliciting submissions of original and innovative papers. Prospective authors are invited to submit papers in core and/or related areas of digital sovereignty. The detailed list of topics can be found in the ‘Call for Papers’. Each paper will be reviewed by three experts from International program committee.

The submitted papers must not have been previously published or accepted for publication elsewhere and must not have been submitted to any other conferences before and during the ICDS—2024 review process. Each paper will be reviewed by three experts from the International Program Committee.

Submissions should be made through Easychair.

Submission Guidelines
Authors must submit an original full paper (6 -10 pages) that has not previously been published. All contributions must be written in English.

Authors should consult Elsevier Procedia authors' guidelines, read all the instructions (including use and declaration of generative AI in writing, research data policy and copyright issues) very carefully and use their proceedings templates, either for LaTeX or for MSWord for the preparation of paper. The MS Word template can be downloaded from below.

Important Dates

Paper Submission	September 30, 2024, October 10, 2024
Author Notification	October 30, 2024, November 5, 2024
Registration Due and Camera-Ready Deadline	November 10, 2024, November 15, 2024
Conference	November 28 - 30, 2024

Venue

The Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), Norway will organise this year's conference in Science Park Oslo.

Registration Fees

Registration Fees

Conference Committee

Honorary Chair​

Bjørn Axel ​Gran, Institute for Energy Technology, Norway

Ulrich Ahle, Gaia-X​, Belgium

General Chairs​

Sanjay​ Misra, Institute for Energy Technology, Norway

Petter Kvalvik​, Institute for Energy Technology, Norway

Finance Chair

Karianne Hauge Bjugan, Institute for Energy Technology, Norway

Registration Chair

Brit-Kari Bjørlo, Institute for Energy Technology, Norway

Contact Information

Conference General Chairs: Sanjay Misra (sanjay.misra@ife.no),Petter Kvalvik (Petter.Kvalvik@ife.no)