On 17 February 2025, the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), under the Advancing the Cyber Programme of Action (PoA) project, co-hosted a side event with the Common Good Cyber initiative during the 10th substantive session of the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on the Security of and in the Use of Information and Communications Technologies (2021–2025), held at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, the need for inclusive, coordinated, and sustained multistakeholder efforts has become more urgent than ever. Nonprofit organisations play a vital—yet often underrecognised—role in strengthening cybersecurity, offering innovative tools, services, and frameworks that benefit users across sectors and regions. Despite their significant contributions, however, nonprofits face substantial challenges, including limited access to policymaking processes and structural barriers to participation in multilateral fora such as the OEWG.
With the OEWG’s mandate set to conclude in July 2025, discussions are increasingly turning toward the establishment of a future Open-Ended, Action-Oriented Permanent UN Mechanism on ICT Security. This side event aimed to inform those discussions by presenting key findings from a recent Common Good Cyber study, which mapped over 300 nonprofit-developed cybersecurity initiatives serving the public interest. It also examined how nonprofits can be more meaningfully integrated into global governance processes.
Bringing together representatives from governments, civil society, and nonprofit organisations, the event provided a platform to explore how a future permanent UN mechanism can build on progress made to date and ensure a resilient, inclusive, and secure digital future. Participants discussed the potential scope, structure, and objectives of such a mechanism and proposed practical ways to enhance nonprofit engagement.
The event:
- Showcased the critical contributions of nonprofit organisations to global cybersecurity through accessible tools, services, and platforms;
- Identified operational and structural challenges nonprofits face in participating in multilateral cybersecurity mechanisms;
- Facilitated inclusive dialogue on the design of a future permanent UN mechanism that supports meaningful multistakeholder engagement;
- Generated actionable recommendations to ensure nonprofit contributions are fully recognised and leveraged within the global cybersecurity architecture.
