The Global Digital Collaboration Conference 2026 (GDC 2026) brought together leaders, policymakers, researchers, technical experts, international organisations and industry representatives to advance dialogue and collaboration around the future of trusted digital systems.

Hosted by the Swiss Confederation at Palexpo in Geneva, the three-day conference provided a cross-sector platform to explore key topics shaping digital cooperation, including interoperability, digital identity, digital credentials, trust frameworks, technical standards and regulation.

As part of the conference programme, DIGITAfrica contributed with the session “Scaling Trust: Sovereign Digital Public Infrastructure for Research, Education and Innovation in Africa,” co-organised by UNESCO and UNICC.

The session provided an opportunity to introduce DIGITAfrica’s mission to lay the foundation for a future pan-African Research Infrastructure for Digital Sciences and to present some of the work being carried out across the project, from the development of the Edge AI and Heterogeneous Networking Blueprints to activities supporting capacity building and knowledge exchange.

The session brought together several DIGITAfrica project partners, including INRIA, CNR, the University of Cape Town (UCT), Sorbonne Université and Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), alongside representatives from international organisations.

For more information, please visit the official website.