The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence has opened the Call for Workshops for the 19th International Conference on Cyber Conflict, CyCon 2027: Unified Response. The conference will take place in Tallinn, Estonia, from 25 to 28 May 2027. Workshop proposals must be submitted by 31 January 2027.
The CyCon 2027 Programme Committee is pleased to announce an open call for workshops that offer hands-on experience and can help develop understanding in technical, legal, strategic, policy, and operational aspects of future cyber-related developments.
The theme of CyCon 2027 is “Unified Response”
Cyberspace is a domain without borders, and the threats that inhabit it respect none. No single nation, organisation, or sector may be capable of addressing the full range of contemporary cyber threats in isolation. At the same time, the mechanisms required to enable effective collective action; shared situational awareness, compatible legal frameworks, and coordinated operational approaches, remain uneven and, contested.
As cyber operations increasingly intersect with hybrid threats, military operations, and the functioning of critical infrastructure, the ability to act in a coordinated and coherent manner has become a central challenge. Addressing this challenge requires not only technical capability, but also legal clarity, strategic alignment, and organisational cooperation across national and institutional boundaries.
CyCon 2027 will explore how such a unified response can be achieved.
Workshops Goals
A CyCon Workshop connects the topic with participants in an informal, interactive way by aligning with one or more of the three tracks of CyCon; Legal, Strategy and Policy, and Technology.
Workshops that overlap more than one of these categories are welcome. When submitting workshop proposals, workshop presenters must specify which track or tracks they are submitting under.
Workshops at CyCon aim to bridge the Academic–Commercial–Community gap by generating actionable insights and sustained collaborations that outlive the workshop itself.
Workshops should therefore generally be designed to gain new skills and knowledge for the participants without requiring specialized training. Workshops should also have an option for people not familiar with the subject matter. Workshops should be designed to last approximately 90 minutes.
Workshops are expected to run primarily on CyCon 2027’s workshop day, 25 May 2027, but some may run over the following two days of the conference.
Procedure
By submitting workshop proposals for consideration, the facilitators acknowledge that at least one presenter from each accepted workshop will be required to deliver the workshop in person at CyCon 2027 in Tallinn.
Workshop proposals are accepted only by submission through this online form: https://emea.dcv.ms/frd2L81DAe
The submission form consists of the following sections:
- Title of the workshop
- Track: Legal/Strategy and Policy/Technology
- Name(s) and contact information of facilitator(s); organisation(s) represented by facilitators
- Overview of the workshop topic outlining its proposed structure and goals (max 400 words)
- Justification of topic’s relevance to the theme of CyCon 2027 (max 150 words)
- Proposed value of the workshop to participants (max 150 words).
- Maximum number of participants that can be accommodated
- Bring your own device (BYOD) workshop: yes/no
- Specific needs and requests
CyCon can generally support workshop groups of approximately 20-80 participants depending on the specific workshop requirements, however, very large groups (up to 150) have also been accommodated previously. From last years’ experience, banquet setup is the most preferred and will be a default setting in all rooms with extra chairs available if needed. It facilitates collaboration and networking on the first day of CyCon and supports the use of devices brought by participants and materials distributed by facilitators. Each room will have tables and chairs for facilitators, podium and AV support available (one screen, one projector, and up to three microphones). Specific needs and requests beyond these default provisions should be indicated in the proposal under the relevant section.
If your workshop proposal has a specific training audience or requires specialized training, please specify that in your proposal so the Programme Committee can consider those factors. Such workshops will be considered and can still be a good fit for CyCon.
After a preliminary review, the CyCon 2027 Programme Committee will follow up with the proposals that best fit the conference. This follow-up does not confirm selection. The CyCon Programme Committee will request a confirmation from the Workshop Presenters, which should include a commitment to deliver the workshop, a more detailed agenda, if requested, and indication of any changes from the original proposal, if relevant. After receiving all confirmations, the Programme Committee will determine suitability and finalize workshop selection.
Funding
Workshop presenters are eligible for the Speaker Support Package, which covers CyCon 2027 registration, accommodation, and economy-class round-trip tickets. Sponsors are encouraged to host workshops by applying through this call; however, there are no guaranteed workshop slots attached to sponsorship packages. The Speaker Support Package is reserved for presenters not affiliated with sponsoring organizations. Please note that all workshops may be recorded in audio-only or audio/video formats. Workshops will also be photographed for promotional and archival purposes, and the recordings and photos may be published on the CyCon 2027 or CCDCOE website, printed, posted on social media, or included in press releases unless the presenter requests otherwise with justification.
Important dates
- Proposal submission: 31 January 2027
- Notification of initial workshop acceptance/rejection: 15 February 2027
- Confirmation of commitment: 22 February 2027
- Notification of final workshop acceptance/rejection: 1 March 2027
Point of Contact
For information and other inquiries please email to [email protected].
NB! Do not send workshop proposals to the email address above. Workshop proposals submitted by email or other channels apart from official submission link listed under the “Procedure” will not be considered.