KEY MESSAGES OF THE HIGH LEVEL PANELISTS The high level debate was centered around the theme of the conference “Connecting people and technologies towards a citizen-centered digital future”. The panel was moderated by Daria Tataj, a founder of Tataj Innovation and included speakers from public and private sectors. The panelists were Head of Unit DG Connect Smart Mobility and Living in DG Communication Networks, Content and Technology - Eddy Hartog, Policy Advisor for Digital Government, Governance & Innovation at the OECD - Ethel Hui Yan Tan, Project Adviser at Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME), European Commission - Ugo Guarnacci and GFI Corporate Vice President Belux, former CEO Ericsson Belux and Digital champion of Belgium - Saskia van Uffelen.
Key messages of the Panelists On leadership: To work as a team you need different types of competences as a leader. You need to be flexible and take roles from each other (Daria Tataj)
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On funding programs of the European Commission: We need to keep the ownership and control of our own future – this is also pervasive in the programs (Eddy Hartog) On involvement of stakeholders outside of government: Countries will benefit by establishing more inclusive processes. Improving stakeholder engagement in crucial in creating shared ownership; in building and maintaining trust (Ethel Hui Yan Tan) On Horizon 2020 programme: Horizon emphasizes that not only a product but also a processes needs to be scaled-up (Ugo Guarnacci) On succeeding in today’s world: Need to have a longer term financial model (financial models of yesterday don’t work anymore); need to stimulate investment in digital skills; overregulation kills innovation; over controlling kills innovation (Saskia van Uffelen)
