The EU’s Digital Day 2019, set to take place tomorrow, will see Member States sign declarations to advance progressive digital development across Europe.
Representatives of Member States, EU institutions and private enterprises will converge at the third annual Digital Day to participate in collaborative efforts to promote inclusivity, sustainability and preservation in digital policy. Previous Digital Days produced successful policy initiatives pertaining to artificial intelligence in 2018 and supercomputing in 2017.
Andrus Ansip, Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, said: “As the Digital Single Market is becoming a reality step by step, we remain committed to realising Europe’s full digital potential. The new commitments being made today are consolidating Member States’ endeavours towards a more competitive and inclusive digital Europe.”
Participants are scheduled to sign official declarations on the following issues:
- Promoting women’s participation in digital enterprises – while 52 per cent of the EU’s population is female, women hold only 15 per cent of ICT-related jobs across the EU. The declaration, therefore, commits signatory Member States to boost visibility and empowerment of women working in digital fields;
- Building a sustainable future for agriculture and rural areas – this declaration aims to highlight the benefits of “smart farming” and promote wider use of digital and disruptive technologies to address the social, economic and environmental challenges faced by the agricultural industry; and
- Digitising cultural heritage – building on the work begun during the European Year of Cultural Heritage in 2018, this declaration encourages Member States to work together to digitise cultural artefacts, heritage sites and monuments; as well as promoting citizen engagement with Europe’s “rich cultural heritage” and cross-border cooperation.
Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society, said: “The Digital Day represents an important opportunity towards completing our Digital Single Market. Exchanges during the day will provide further impetus for Member States’ engagement in digital and demonstrate the added value of EU’s concerted action in the area.”
