How can we help people make better decisions about their digital safety? Cornelia Puhze from Switch introduces the GÉANT Digital Safety Fresco, a collaborative workshop designed to help people understand how the digital world works and what we can do to navigate it more safely.
We use digital services every day, for work, research, communication and almost every aspect of modern life. Yet how many of us have a clear picture of what happens behind the screens we use, how our devices, software, data and networks connect, and where the risks lie?
For cybersecurity awareness professionals, this presents a familiar challenge. People are regularly reminded to follow security rules, but rules alone do not necessarily help them understand why those practices matter or how to apply them in unfamiliar situations.
This is where the GÉANT Digital Safety Fresco comes in.
Co-created by the Swiss security and learning community, represented by Switch and the University of Geneva, in collaboration with the GÉANT Project, the Digital Safety Fresco is a collaborative, card-based workshop that helps participants build a mental model of the digital world. If you are curious about this initiative we recommend joining the Train-the-Trainer online workshop that will be hosted by Cornelia on 12 November 2026 at 15:00 CET as part of the GÉANT Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign 2026. The session will introduce the thinking behind the workshop and explore how its collaborative, card-based format can help participants develop a clearer mental model of the digital world.
Helping people become safer online starts with helping them understand the world they are navigating.
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Ahead of her webinar, we spoke to Cornelia about the thinking behind the workshop, how it works and what it can bring to cybersecurity awareness in the research and education community.
What do you mean by a mental model, and why is it important for digital safety?
A mental model is the internal map we use to understand how something works. It helps us make sense of complexity, see connections, anticipate consequences and make informed decisions.
Think of a globe. We immediately recognise it as a representation of our world. It helps us understand how continents, countries and oceans relate to one another, even though it is not the world itself. It gives us a shared frame of reference for something far too large and complex to grasp all at once.
We need the same kind of mental model to understand the digital world: how its different elements connect, where risks may lie and how our actions can affect our own safety and that of others.
Without a mental model, we tend to rely on isolated rules and instructions. With one, we can reason about situations, adapt our behaviour and develop a stronger sense of self-efficacy, the confidence that we can take meaningful action.
As cybersecurity practitioners, we have realised that many people have never been given a comparable map of the digital world they inhabit every day.
This gap has consequences beyond individual online safety. Without a coherent understanding of the digital systems we depend on, people may struggle to recognise risks, understand the reasons behind security practices or appreciate how their actions affect their organisations. It also matters for digital citizenship and our collective digital future.
The challenge, therefore, is not simply to tell people what to do, but to help them understand the system they are part of.
Turning an invisible system into something people can see.
How does the Digital Safety Fresco help people develop this understanding?
The Digital Safety Fresco takes a collaborative, visual approach. Participants work with cards to build a picture of the digital world, organising information around four fundamental pillars: data, devices, software and networks.
The workshop makes visible the components of the digital environment, including the less obvious layers and the connections between them. It also explores the security risks associated with these pillars and the good practices that ordinary users can adopt to mitigate them.
Rather than presenting cybersecurity as a list of rules to memorise, the format encourages participants to see how things fit together. By developing a clearer picture of the system, they can better understand why particular security measures matter and how to make safer choices in their own digital lives.
The workshop also includes Pause and Reflect cards at the end of each set. These introduce short questions that encourage participants to connect what they have learned with their own devices, data and habits.
This reflective element is important: it helps turn an abstract understanding into something personal and actionable.
From awareness to action.
How is this different from a traditional cybersecurity awareness session?
The emphasis is on building understanding together. Participants are not simply given information to absorb; they actively contribute to creating a shared picture of the digital environment.
This can help them move beyond knowing that a particular practice is recommended to understanding why it is useful. When people can connect a security recommendation to the systems, risks and consequences behind it, they are better equipped to apply that knowledge in different situations.
The approach also creates opportunities for discussion. Participants can compare perspectives, identify gaps in their understanding and reflect on the ways their everyday choices influence their own safety and the security of their organisations.
The aim is to strengthen people’s ability to reason about digital safety, rather than leave them with a collection of disconnected instructions.
Who can use the Digital Safety Fresco? Does a facilitator need a technical or cybersecurity background to run the workshop?
No. The workshop is designed for anyone working with a community, whether that means students, university staff, researchers or citizens. Facilitators do not need to be security experts. Indeed, part of the cards are focused on the facilitators with clear instructions on how to run the workshop.
This makes the format particularly relevant to the research and education community, where awareness activities need to reach people with different roles, levels of technical knowledge and experiences of digital technology.
By providing a shared framework for exploring the digital world, the Fresco can help facilitators engage people who might otherwise find cybersecurity abstract, intimidating or difficult to relate to their everyday lives.
A shared workshop format offers an opportunity to learn from one another and give practitioners a practical resource they can use with their own communities.
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