Speaking at the 50th anniversary of the St. Gallen Symposium, Catherine Chen, corporate SVP and board member at Huawei underscored the role of public and private sectors in fostering trust in technology. This comes at the heels of continued attacks on devices and breaches amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Huawei is a global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. Currently, it has 197,000 employees and operates in more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than 3 billion people around the world.

“As more devices feature connectivity, more services go online, and more critical infrastructures rely on real-time data exchanges, so must governments worldwide ensure that everyone is protected by the highest security standards. Only a common set of rules can guarantee a level of security that creates trust in technology,” Chen said.

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Participated by world leaders in technology and other industries, the event carried the theme “Trust Matters” to which everyone in attendance believes in. They agreed that trust is inherently built on openness and transparency and that it is time to take concrete, actionable steps to address the common challenges and risks that have emerged in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Politics and economics

Public trust in political and economic institutions, emerging technologies, and the media has recently been eroded, especially among the younger generations, and this has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We, as members of the younger generation, are connected to a greater number of people through social media, but this does not correspond to a circle of people we can trust,” said Simon Zulliger, a member of the team of 35 students from the University of St. Gallen that organized this year’s symposium.

The team expressed their view that finding ways to preserve and strengthen trust is critical for a sustainable recovery.

Chen hoped that the next generation of leaders would build trust and shape a world of pervasive connectivity.

“I urge them to continue developing the positive relationships between communities, individuals, and their environments. We must build strong trust in technology, enabled by a common set of rules, innovations, and progress. Only then can we commit to the sustainable and trustworthy use of technology,” Chen said.