FIC 2021: Building a ‘Common’ Digital Space

The 12th FIC has just ended. With more than 12,500 visitors from 110 countries and 450 exhibitors, its attendance reached a record high! Every year, its growth testifies to the relevance of the choices made and the growing interest in cybersecurity on the part of both public and private players.

This Forum was in line with its purpose: to bring together in the same space an ever more innovative range of cybersecurity solutions and a particularly rich exchange on the challenges of the digital transformation.

It is a collective success! The credit goes to a young and dynamic team driven by the will to always surpass itself: « The FIC team ». I would particularly like to thank the members of this team and tell them once again how happy I am to be working with them.

But we also owe our success to our partners, without whom the FIC could not exist. Every year, they have been contributing to form and substance with renewed loyalty. I would like to express my special thanks to the organisers of the ID Forum and CORIIN, who have placed their trust in us and are now taking their full part in our event.

Each participant also has his or her share of success. The FIC is a state of mind, it is often a convivial way of coming together to share, propose and present ideas within a « community of cyber people » that transcends origins, ages and cultures. This year, many have been struck by the benevolence of the exchanges and the touch of humanity that could be perceived. This is probably linked to the theme « putting human beings back at the heart of cybersecurity », but it is undoubtedly the manifestation of the » FIC spirit » that has been forged over the years and makes its originality and identity.

No sooner are the lights out than we imagine the future. The FIC 2021 is to be built, taking into account your remarks, suggestions and expectations. It will be more open to Europe, our area of sovereignty, as shown by the growing interest of the European institutions in what is becoming the leading European event of its kind. Young people in training schemes (engineering schools, master’s degrees, etc.) will also find increased opportunities for career guidance, as the FIC must contribute to the HR challenge that is already apparent, with a human resources deficit that is worrying for the future of our companies and research institutions. Let’s not forget that there can be no cybersecurity without men and women who are convinced that there are career opportunities in government institutions public administrations and in the private sector.

The FIC 2020 will now give way to the FIC Observatories, the FIC Parliamentary Agor@s and the ID-Forum/FIC meetings that will keep the flame alight until next year. Thank you for staying with us! Please mark your diaries for 19, 20 and 21 January 2021, so that we can all have an even more intense and warm reunion.

Army General (2S) Watin-Augouard
Founder of the FIC