The PeaceTech Alliance is a globally targeted, people-centered initiative of the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology that addresses the effective use and responsible design of digital technologies for preserving peace in a global context. To this end, the initiative brings together digital technology experts, social scientists, and representatives of public authorities to develop modern digital technologies for use in peacekeeping missions in a way that meets specific needs and makes them usable. The background: Technology develops and changes through its use and through the setting of framework conditions in the form of regulations and laws. In this context, the PeaceTech Alliance defines itself as a collaborative space for the development of capabilities as well as modern digital solutions for effective use in conflict prevention and peacebuilding.
The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and its partners are thus providing a strong Austrian impetus for sustainable and responsible digitalization, so that peace missions can draw on cutting-edge Austrian technology for their operations in the future. To this end, the PeaceTech Alliance was launched in June 2025, and the project team was awarded first prize in the “Sustainability” category at the awards ceremony held by Report Verlag.
The PeaceTech Alliance platform builds on the high level of digitalization expertise available at AIT in the areas of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), and sovereign data rooms, and is committed to intensifying dialogue between technology experts, representatives of the public sector, social scientists, and the many private initiatives and associations working to promote and maintain peace. To this end, it organizes formats for knowledge transfer and dialogue platforms, as well as the testing of new technologies, to ensure the sustainable development of digital solutions to support peace efforts.
Technology for peace – made in Austria
The PeaceTech Alliance is a non-profit platform hosted by AIT to ensure the effective, but above all ethical and responsible use of modern digital technology for conflict prevention and peacekeeping, and to make peace missions safer and more sustainable through co-design approaches in a global context. Through dialogue platforms, the organization of joint workshops, and the involvement of users in research projects, the aim is to ensure a better understanding of new digital technologies and systems, and thus the development of suitable digital systems and services. Above all, the creation of a sovereign data space for the secure and ethically acceptable exchange of data between private and public actors is an important approach pursued by AIT. This underlines the objective of the Gaia-X Hub Austria on the development of a new data economy, which is supported by the Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI) and the State Secretariat for Digitalisation in the Federal Chancellery.
In this way, Austrian know-how can be used to strengthen the capacities and competencies of peacemakers, as well as the comprehensive expertise in the Austrian security technology sector and globally established networks of domestic research. In particular, the mechanisms developed within the framework of Gaia-X for sovereign and trustworthy data exchange between different actors – the “Gaia-X Trust Framework” – are to be transferred to PeaceTech in order to achieve trust, interoperability, and security for the necessary exchange of data between public authorities and private organizations in a global context in a highly sensitive area.
The PeaceTech Alliance is already supported by renowned institutions such as the Gaia-X Hub Austria, the Austrian Centre for Peace, the Open Knowledge Foundation, leading Austrian universities (University of Innsbruck, University of Graz, Danube University Krems), the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna, and the International Institute for Peace.
Goals and focus of the PeaceTech Alliance
Digitalization experts know that effective IT solutions that support people are not just about “the trivial use of applications” – above all, digitalization means effectively embedding digital systems into meaningful internal and cross-organizational processes in order to support collaboration between people. Particularly in sensitive areas such as peace work, where confidential information is exchanged across borders, there is a need for cooperative, trust-based dialogue on the design of technological solutions – in close collaboration between digital technology experts, social scientists, public authorities, and private organizations.
The PeaceTech Alliance aims to harness the enormous potential of modern digital technologies for peace-promoting missions – whether to strengthen conflict prevention, avoid technical pitfalls such as the ill-considered use of AI systems, or ensure adequate cyber security measures to prevent manipulation and influence. The goal is to strengthen the human factor in peacekeeping missions through responsible technology design and to counteract undesirable developments at an early stage.
Helmut Leopold, Head of Center for Digital Safety & Security am AIT and Chairman of Gaia-X Hub Austria: "Every technological development is subject to a permanent design process by users and by framework conditions such as regulations and laws. Above all, the disruptive changes brought about by digital technology require a new alliance between digital technology experts, social scientists, public authorities, and private organizations in order to develop digital solutions that serve our goals and challenges and thus also prevent us from being powerless in the face of technology."
Tobias Lang, Director of the Austrian Centre for Peace: “Peace in all its dimensions is at the heart of the Austrian Centre for Peace. With the PeaceTech Alliance, we share our many years of expertise in peacebuilding to ensure that technology grows from and for peace – by peacemakers for peacemakers.”
Nathan Coyle, Senior PeaceTech Advisor at AIT and Project Manager: “As the PeaceTech Alliance is still young, it is a great honor to be recognized by the innovation community so early on. This award belongs not only to us, but to the entire PeaceTech Alliance community: the universities, peace actors, and civic tech organizations that support us. We accept it with pride on their behalf.”
For more information about the PeaceTech Alliance, visit: https://www.peacetech-alliance.com/
Contact:
Mag. (FH) Michael W. Mürling, MA AI4Gov
Marketing and Communications
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
Center for Digital Safety & Security
T +43 (0)50550-4126
michael.muerling(at)ait.ac.at I www.ait.ac.at
Mag. Michael H. Hlava
Head of Corporate and Marketing Communications
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
T +43 (0)50550-4014
michael.hlava(at)ait.ac.at I www.ait.ac.a