Summer Summit 2023: Crunch time for the Digital Decade (Special Edition)

Summer is officially here! This week, we held another exciting edition of our annual Summer Summit and it is safe to say we are now fresh and ready for the new season ahead!

A huge thank you to the 1500 people who managed to attend our conference both online and in-person. Your presence and online engagement were nothing short of inspiring.

If you were not one of the lucky ones able to attend, worry not! We got you covered with a special edition: Summer Summit #WeeklyDEbrief just for you ??

Take note ??

?? Only clear and transparent regulation can support innovation: our AI panel featuring Dutch Minister Alexandra van Huffelen , MEP Brando Benifei , Laetitia Cailleteau from Accenture and Aleksander Tsuiman discussed how to protect citizens' fundamental rights without compromising innovation .

For our work on how sandboxing can help make AI regulation clearer for companies, see our freshly published report.

?? The Data Act must not cripple the nascent data economy: amidst concern from businesses that the #DataAct could see them having to let go of valuable data, Dr. Sabine Grapentin from 西门子 Healthineers, MEP Damian Boeselager and the European Commission's Renate Nikolay sat down with us to discuss how the EU should treat this piece of legislation. For more, here .

?? 30 years of Single Market: time has not gotten rid all of Single Market barriers and a lot of the responsibility lies on member states , is the conclusion James Waterworth from 亚马逊 , the European Commission's Amaryllis Verhoeven and MEP Andreas Schwab reached during our #SingleMarket panel discussion.

?? Capturing the potential of health data: once the correct data rules are set, tech can provide efficient solutions for many patients and help them achieve much better outcomes, was the resonating message of ResMed 's LUCILE Blaise Sauvage and her keynote.

In the spotlight ?

? Carme Artigas : Spanish Secretary of State for Digitalisation delivered an inspiring keynote on the Spanish tech journey. Spain has very quickly become a European leader on digital and has no plans to slow down, and we heard from our two Spanish association members Adigital and AMETIC on their plans for the Presidency.

"During the Spanish EU presidency, we have to help position the EU as a technological hub that is able to attract investments & keep talent in Europe.”

? Didier Reynders : we were glad to hear the EU Commissioner for Justice speak about how Europe can lead the way on flexible and meaningful digital regulation.

“Digitalisation has become a necessity, including for rule of law in EU. It is a major priority for my department and for myself.”

? The new executive board : the day of the Summer Summit, we also held our annual General Assembly where we welcomed the new executive board members. We are excited to continue shaping Europe's digital future together. Full list of new & re-elected members, here .

On to the future ??

So, what is needed to help Europe successfully navigate these crunch digital times?

??YES to clear standards and categorisation on AI: certainty around the legal framework will help companies feel more confident about compliance and embrace innovation . This is where sandboxing comes in.

? YES to breaking down trade barriers across Europe: the Single Market is an everchanging space so we must make sure member states adapt their regulations accordingly and in a uniform way. We need unity more than ever before.

? YES to rules that are cybersecure and protect our competitiveness: the EU institutions need to urgently rethink #DataAct to ensure Europe's future in the data economy.

? YES to net neutrality: during his keynote, 'Father of the Internet', Vint Cerf from 谷歌 emphasised how subscribers should be at the forefront for internet service providers and stressed the importance of net neutrality.

And finally...

• Nothing can be achieved without equipping our citizens with the needed education. As our Director-General Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl emphasised many times throughout the event: "Cyber skills as well as AI skills are internationally valued skills that we need to teach in schools so that our young people can help build a more digitally resilient society, become creators of tech and not just mere users."

And that's it! Hope you enjoyed the event as much as we did!

We'll see you next Friday but in the meantime... do not forget to check our Twitter and Youtube for further coverage. Until next time ??