Through this hollow alley he must come: A story of international Rotary cooperation and even cyber security
‘Through this hollow alley he must come, there is no other way to Küssnacht’ – this famous quote from Schiller is the prelude to a fascinating story about context-based, international cooperation, humour, philosophy and sometimes even cyber security. In recent weeks and months, Dr Mario Galgano, Head of Communications at the Vatican, and Fridel Rickenbacher, Rotary Club Schwyz Board Member & Cloud Security Digitalisation Senior Consultant, have exchanged a number of emails and philosophies to discuss support for an exchange programme for Galgano’s daughter Adriana in Talkessel Schwyz and Kollegium Schwyz respectively. The fact that this location / photo was chosen is also based on the equally special background that Fridel Rickenbacher had registered the internet domain ‘hohlegasse.ch’ in trust at an early stage and protected it with foresight since the 1990s as a native of Küssnacht. Since then, this internet domain has been made available to the Hohle Gasse Foundation for this site, which is worthy of protection. This brief history not only shows the importance of cooperation, community thinking and international collaboration, but also the challenges and solutions in the area of cyber security. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
International cooperation and Rotary exchange programme / support
The initial e-mail correspondence and personal contact between Dr Mario Galgano and Fridel Rickenbacher is an excellent example of effective, spontaneous communication and international cooperation with the necessary openness. Dr Mario Galgano, who is the only Swiss/Swiss national working in the Vatican apart from the Swiss Guard and who himself studied at the Kollegium Schwyz, and Fridel Rickenbacher, a senior consultant at Swiss IT Security AG, exchanged several e-mails to discuss the details of the exchange programme for daughter Adriana supported by the Rotary Club Schwyz. Dr Mario Galgano also suggested that he and his daughter Adriana could then also visit the Rotary Club and offered to give a presentation on the topic of ‘Promoting trust through religion – experiences from working at Vatican News’. This success story and cooperation shows how important it is to be open and flexible in order to achieve common goals and sometimes generate ‘win-win’ situations for the Rotary idea and corresponding activities of Rotary International.
Context, sometimes with humour and philosophy at a high level ‘is king’
The long-term email correspondence and then also the personal conversations and contacts (including on social media) sometimes contain humorous and philosophical elements. For example, there are many allusions to the ride through / the Tell shot in the Hohle Gasse and other historical references / contexts to the current time / agenda around the Hohle Gasse, which are also humorously dissected. The best and most enduring stories are those with the most appropriate or more complex contexts and inspirations.
Cybersecurity in the Vatican – trust in God is apparently no longer quite enough
An equally important part of the communication also centred on cyber security in the Vatican. The Rotarian and ‘entrepreneur in the company’ Fridel Rickenbacher has been on a missionary journey for years on his mission ‘Sh@re to evolve’ when it comes to the essential importance of cybersecurity sensitisation, digital transformation and AI readiness of companies. In the ongoing presentations and workshops, Fridel Rickenbacher (who has also been a continuously re-certified Microsoft Cloud & Cybersecurity / Digital Transformation Expert and Microsoft Certified Trainer since 1999) has been referencing a picture of a Vatican delegation in the Microsoft Cybersecurity Operation Center from 2019 for several years. With not entirely serious quotes such as ‘If even the Vatican is advised and supported by secular organisations, trusting God and praying is obviously no longer quite enough for all the dangers in the universe of cybersecurity and cloud!’ And around 5 years later, a completely different contact and context emerges in this story presented here. Dr Mario Galgano of course knows this delegation by name and reported on the daily challenges posed by cyber attacks and the use of even archangel names for protection mechanisms and processes. These insights into the Vatican’s cyber security measures are not only fascinating, but also instructive for anyone interested in ‘secular’ cyber security.
Visit, exchange programme Kantonsschule Kollegium / Kollegi Schwyz and presentation
Another important topic in the e-mail correspondence / contact was the planning of a visit / presentation by Adriana and Mario Galgano to the Rotary Club Schwyz. It was discussed that their daughter Adriana could visit the Rotary Club Schwyz and, in addition to the one-month exchange programme at the cantonal school Kollegium / Kollegi Schwyz, could even find a holiday job in Schwyz. This planning and commitment on the part of the Rotary Club Schwyz / Rotary Board and Rotary International shows how important it is to support young people and offer them opportunities for personal and professional development.
He has to come through this hollow alley and the shot was a direct hit!
This story by Dr Mario Galgano and Fridel Rickenbacher and the Rotary Club Schwyz is an inspiring example of international and open cooperation with an effective impact on the target. It shows how important it is to be open and flexible in order to achieve common goals, and how humorous and philosophical elements can certainly improve communication and cooperation. It even offered valuable context-based insights into cyber security challenges and solutions. This success story is not only interesting for Rotary International, Kantonsschule Kollegium / Kollegi Schwyz, Stiftung Hohle Gasse and the Vatican, but also for anyone interested in international cooperation and exchange opportunities via Rotary International.
The following quotes ‘The world belongs to the brave’ or ‘Fortune favours the brave’ or in Latin ‘Fors iuvat audentes, Cei sententia vatis’ or ‘Fortes fortuna adiuvat’ should inspire you to do or strive for something similar.
Many roads lead (back) to Rome – but only the least to the heart of the Vatican and the “Garden of Eden”
In return and as a fitting conclusion to the whole success story, Dr Mario Galgano (the only person from Schwyz in the Vatican apart from the Swiss Guard) received Fridel Rickenbacher’s family officially / exclusively in the Vatican and also at the Vatican Radio / Vatican Media Office behind the scenes (including an official entry stamp for the passport) and away from / isolated from the usual, incredibly large crowds.
With the usual greetings from home / Switzerland, from Schwyz, Kollegium Schwyz, Küssnacht am Rigi and Hohle Gasse, an official Rotary pennant handover from the Rotary Club Schwyz took place in the apparently evergreen ‘Garden of Eden of the Vatican’ in absolute tranquillity.