Some 600 delegates from across Europe’s civil and private spheres have descended upon Dublin this morning for the start of the European Digital Agenda Assembly. For the next two days, workshops will be taking place at Dublin Castle to plot the next chapter in the EU’s digital agenda, with an emphasis on digital skills, entrepreneurship and achieving a digital single market.
Speakers and delegates will include policy-makers, regulators, NGOs and internet users from all over Europe.
A range of stakeholders from Europe’s digital society will be in Dublin for the event, including EU Commission vice-president Neelie Kroes and Ireland’s digital champion Lord David Puttnam.
In terms of industry, there will be representatives from the likes of Google, Rovio, IBM, Microsoft, Alcatel-Lucent and Siemens.
Ireland’s Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte, TD, has welcomed the arrival of the individuals involved in the Digital Agenda Assembly, describing it as a ‘gathering’ in its own right.
“This gathering of Europe’s digital entrepreneurs, stakeholders and policy-makers represents a key milestone in the fulfilment of the promise of Europe’s digital agenda and ensures that we remain on a path of greater inclusion and prosperity,” said Rabbitte.
For the next two days, the main programme will centre around Europe’s digital lifecycle with an emphasis on digital skills, entrepreneurship and growth.
The Digital Agenda Assembly is the final event in Ireland’s Presidency of the EU Council.
Today there will be seven thematic workshops to focus on ICT skills, smart cities and public services, research and innovation, broadband and cloud computing, cybersecurity, entrepreneurship, and the realisation of the digital single market.
Day 2 will take the form of a plenary session, opened jointly by Rabbitte and Kroes.
It is hoped that the Digital Agenda Assembly will provide a forum for the fastest-growing sector of Europe’s economy to interact with policy-makers and get the continent growing again.