ECCB 2026 – Anne Hiltpold - President of the State Council of the Republic and Canton of Geneva

Mr. President, Mrs. Director, Mrs. President, ladies and gentlemen, at some point it was said that information and data were the oil of the 21st century. It may have been right at some point. It's not right anymore. In the past, data were mainly stored. The production of statistics and analysis on their basis was time consuming. Data were used to interpret the present. Nowadays, data circulate rapidly and permanently. They are being analyzed live. They are used to predict the future. Today, information and data are not only extracted resources. They are the enginine of our everyday lives. But similarly to oil, raw data still have absolutely no value on their own. They need to be transformed and they need to be transformed with ethical and human perspectives. Yes, the power of innovation shall be balanced with the protection of the previte private life and common good. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Geneva State Council, I would like to say a sincere thanks for your invitation. It is an honor to join you today. As humans nowadays, we face more complex challenges than ever before. We live in an interdependent world. What happens in the south has an impact in the north. What happens in the east has an impact. In the west, the challenges are are global. They do not know any border. When a new virus emerges in a remote region of a distant country, soon it becomes a threat for the whole humanity. Climate change, climate change, poor harvests and drought continue to push human waves to poverty, misery, migration. The challenges are huge. But science and technology have recently made progresses at an extremely high pace. The exhibition data which was visible at the visible at the park debas and is still visible at the demon shows it. Data is just a piece of information. It is a medical image. It is a temperature of a lake. It is a DNA DNA sequence on its own. It tells us very little like a single piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Bio bioinformatics enables us to organize, link and analyze millions of pieces together. It transforms raw data into useful knowledge. It allows us to better understand living organism and to guide decision making. Data lies at the heart of infectious diseases. It enables personalized personalized care. It helps to better protect biodiversity. Yes, technological and scientific developments offer opportunities, but once again, we shall all be careful that they are being used for the well-being of the whole humanity. Ladies and gentlemen, computational biology lies at the interface of several disciplines enable the analysis of complex biological data. It transforms vast volumes of data into actionable knowledge. Geneva is proud to be a global hub and a center of excellence in the progressing of biological data. It is proud to be a driving force behind the growth of computational biology. I would like here to underline the fantastic work of institutions such as as the SIB, the University of Geneva and the Aito University de Janev to be able to face the challenges of our era. The one and the only way is cooperation. Cooperation between countries through multilateralism. Cooperation between the public and the private sectors. Cooperation between science and diplomacy. As you probably all know, the contour of Geneva has had a strong relationship with the science and diplomacy. We are committed to strengthen this relationship now and in the future. We are convinced that in order to progress, in order to promote truth and to fight fake news and conspiracy theories, we need more science. We need more proof. We need more facts. We also need more explanations, more exchanges, more connections. Therefore, I wish you I wish you great moments of exchanges here in Geneva. Thank you for your attention. [applause]