The Danish Technology Pact- of Relevance to Us All

It is with both great pride and happiness I have said yes to becoming a member of the advisory body which is to support the implementation of the Danish National Technology Pact- a great and visionary example and opportunity for public private partnership - and from the very first start an effort of both the Danish government, several of our lead organisations and companies as well. For the European Commission I have previously had the opportunity to analyse  some of the results of the Dutch Technology Pact. Though inspired by the Dutch as we often are when it comes to policy development, we must and will also find a Danish way of doing things- but still with a global outlook. It is my hope that we  in Denmark will use the Pact, which is already now supported by so many  without forgetting our  history of innovation. Despite high prices for our products and services  and relatively high taxes we are still  regarded as one of the best countries in the world to live in and  out export data tell a story of us being an attractive partner due to our traditions for user involved design, inter-disciplinary collaboration, innovation from the shop floor, and agile and creative development methods.  The end results are always informed  by the thought of the end user, which guide our ways of  design and through that the specific combination of technologies and services,  and the same goes for the public sector- whether I look to the excellent care of my old mother, or the Danish public school, and long before design thinking became and academic subject. We should not create a fake dichotomy between  technology, engineering, science, humanities and arts. On the contrary we must recognize their inter-dependencies and the unique opportunity we have embedded in our DNA. We cannot - and should not copy  the Silicon Valley model as we now  jointly commit  to bring the Danish Technology Pact to life, and it will require an immense collective efforts- and all the values of diversity in thinking  to reach the targets, and hopefully going beyond that. Only by joining hands and seeing joint opportunities will we succeed in ways that  will enrich lives and opportunities in Denmark ofr everyone, whilst also making a  unique global difference to a more sustainable world. Let JP Snow and Two Cultures revisited- be a historic reminder. To see more read my latest debate article in Altinget https://www.altinget.dk/digital/artikel/hanne-shapiro-hvorfor-er-den-nye-teknologipagt-et-anliggende-for-os-alle