Water, Technology and Security: Geneva Water Hub at the @OSCE Chairpersonship Conference 2026

On 7–8 May 2026, our Lead Political Advisor Danilo Turk took part in the OSCE Chairpersonship Conference on “Anticipating Technologies – for a Safe and Humane Future” in Geneva, hosted at CERN and the International Committee of the Red Cross - ICRC.

In the session on “Anticipating water and energy security in the digital age,” Danilo Türk joined a distinguished panel including:
Iryna Doronina (Technical University of Munich)
Bakyt Dzhusupov (OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities)
Tobias Siegfried (Hydrosolutions Ltd.)

The conference also featured high-level contributions from Ignazio Cassis (OSCE Chairman-in-Office), @Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu (OSCE Secretary General), Khaled El-Enany (UNESCO Director-General), and experts from GESDA - Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, CERN, ETH Zürich, International Committee of the Red Cross - ICRC, World Meteorological Organization and many others — reflecting Geneva’s unique ecosystem at the intersection of science, diplomacy and security.

Key messages from Danilo Türk
Water diplomacy is science diplomacy in practice.
Shared knowledge can open space for political dialogue and trust-building.

Three key points:
• Moving from positions to shared facts through joint assessments.
• Technology strengthens cooperation only where there is digital trust.
• Protecting water infrastructure in conflict settings is protecting civilian security.

These priorities reflect the Geneva Water Hub’s work at the intersection of science, policy and diplomacy — preventing tensions and strengthening cooperation.

Why this matters
As water and energy systems become increasingly digital, and increasingly exposed, cooperation will depend less on tools alone and more on trusted governance frameworks.

Science diplomacy is not peripheral to security discussions.
It is becoming central to cooperative security.