Tag: leadership

You must have heard about data

Just open up any news website, newspaper and the figures are there. It’s the buzzword of our time - everybody is talking about data, flow of data, security, protection, etc. As is technology. You use technology everywhere - all around you. Уou use it every single day. Аnd that’s exactly where the real danger lies. The Estonian Prime Minister, Kersti Kaljulaid, is saying that society is changing because of the washing machine, not because it landed on the Moon, quoted by local media seems more inline with what’s happening today that any other jibber jabber. That’s to say, simple, everyday technology really changed the way people live, not high end software that very few people possess.

Now that you are scrolling facebook..

..how do you know that one of your friends is not exactly your friend? Or perhaps somewhere out there is holding you personal data for God-knows-what? Well you can’t. Internet and the websites offer anonymity to a huge extend. At least to somebody who knows how to work with data. For the artificial intelligence there are no hidden spots. Jason Jercinovic, the Global Head of Marketing innovation of Havas, tackled the ethical issues of companies using data, personal data, for various purposes @Webit.Festival Europe 2017. Machines today know all about you - the emojis you use, the personal thoughts you share and anybody with access to that can easily use this information. Why is it OK for a car company to know its customers, their behavior and send newsletters with the innovations they would be interested in? But it’s not OK when terrorist groups research and target young men and women to enter the military? Companies are still struggling to define what sensitive data is and how to protect it. The lack of clear regulations doesn’t help in fighting the problem. The first steps towards some kind of decision have been taken. In January 2012, the European Commission proposed a comprehensive reform of data protection rules in the EU. The directive will effectively enter into force from May 2018.

This and more will be discussed @Webit.Festival Europe 2018

Webit is the flagship event of a European digital week part of which will be the Digital Assembly, the annual high level gathering of European executives. Topics like Data encryption, privacy & security as well as data flow and its ethical implications are part of the Innovation Summit. They will be covered by experts and legislators. If you want to keep up with the latest trends in the world of digital economy and technology, then Webit.Festival is the right place for you. Visit our website and book 2 in 1 of our Super Earlybird tickets for Webit.Festival Europe 2018. You can watch Jason Jercinovic’s keynote here: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlDC9VSxUCU[/embed]

The events in Europe over the past few years draw a bleak picture for the overall future of the continent. The refugee crisis, combined with rise of nationalist movements and Britain’s decision to leave the EU expanded the risk factors for the European project. But The Old Continent can again become the economic juggernaut it once was, as long as it starts using its full potential. One of the main missions of Webit.Foundation during the last 9 years is creating new opportunities for business and fostering entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Central and Eastern Europe region. This year’s Webit.Festival Europe will again become a platform for discussion between top level policy makers and business leaders from all over the continent. The Digital Economy Leadership Summit will be chaired by the President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev and co-hosted by the Head of the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria Ognian Zlatev. The summit’s discussions will focus on the topic of intelligent specialization of the countries in CEE region, that was recently analyzed by Webit’s Executive Chairman Dr. Plamen Russev on his blog. Meanwhile, the high ranked guests of the event will share their thoughts on topics, such as Cyber Security, Well Being, Ageing and Biotech, Disruptive Legislation and Digital Democracy, Boosting EU Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and Digital Transformation. On Webit’s stage you can see some of the people, that are shaping the global agenda of World Economic Forum. The head of WEF for Europe and Eurasia Martina Larkin will speak about the Fourth industrial revolution and the way it will alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another. Her colleague at WEF and Project leader for Fourth industrial revolution Thomas Philbeck will focus on automation and its role on the changes in employment. The President and Global brand director of Havas Worldwide Jason Jercinovic will share his thoughts about the role of artificial intelligence in modern politics and how AI will be shaping the voter’s profiles in the years to come. In the Disruptive Legislation Session the EU Commission’s Adviser Ilias Lakovidis will speak about addressing the societal challenges through digital innovation, while the Chief of the Enforcement Bureau within the Federal Communications Commission Travis LeBlanc will tell us what kind of legislation we need in order to build a better future. The Investment Director of 3TS Capital Partners Marius Ghenea will share his experience about seizing opportunities and avoiding pitfalls both from the point of view of and investor, but also from a founder’s perspective. Here you can see a full list of the confirmed speakers at Webit.Festival, while here you can get all the information you need about the tickets for the event.

One of Webit.Festival Europe's most important summits, the New Economy Leadership Summit, is invitation only highest level event, gathering political leaders (e.g. Presidents, Vice Presidents and top European political leaders), top entrepreneurs and founders, Nobel Laureates, scientists and innovators along with top enterprise executives from Europe and rest of the world. During the 25th and the 26th of April, Webit.Festival 2017 is the place to be in Europe if you want to hear about the latest views of political leaders on some of the major challenges the humankind faces in today's Digital age, well being, ageing, innovations, cyber security, digital transformation, disruptive legislation and many other topics.

We have 3 new top-flight speakers in our lineup for the NELS! They include one of the top executives of World Economic Forum, the mayor of Tirana and a highly respected professor of Economics.

 

• Martina Larkin, Head of Europe and Eurasia, World Economic Forum.

Member of the Executive Committee of World Economic Forum (WEF), Martina Larkin is definitely one of the professionals who fit on the New economy leadership summit scene. Her career starts as a marketing manager at Nestlé, continues with world of banking and consulting and ends up so far with the Swiss nonprofit foundation officially recognized as the international institution for cooperation between the public and the private sectors. Martina’s WEF professional story starts in 2004 as a Senior Project Manager of The Forum of Young Global Leaders - a gathering of 800 selected enterpreneurs. Since then, she has been heading different departments in the international institution for cooperation between public and private sectors, till the moment she became Head of Europe and Eurasia of the WEF two years ago. What connects her professional roles is the work with thousands of experts and leaders representing all the stakeholders involved in creating projects for public goods. In 2011, Martina becomes part of Yale University’s signature leadership development program as a Yale World Fellow helping creative minds to work on world’s contemporary problems. Besides WEF, she is part of several non-profit boards.  

• Prof. Fátima Barros, BEREC Chair 2015, President of the Board, ANACOM Portugal.

Barros is Chair of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) for 2015 and Vice-Chair for 2014. Since May 2012, she is the Head of the Portuguese National Regulatory Authority for Communications (ANACON). Prior to that, she was a Board Member of several international academic and business institutions. Currently professor of Economics and former Dean of Católica-Lisbon School of Business and Economics (2004-2012), Prof. Barros holds Ph.D. in Economics from Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium) and a BA in Economics from the Catholic University (Portugal). Her numerous publications in the area of regulation, competition and contract theory can be read in leading international scientific journals.    

• Erion Veliaj, Mayor of Tirana.

Erion Veliaj is the current, 42nd elected mayor of Albania’s capital Tirana. Prior to that, he was Member of the Parliament for the district of Gjirokastra and Minister of Social Welfare and Youth. During his minister’s mandate, he has worked on much needed reforms, concerning pensions, employment, social welfare payments and professional education. In the period of 2015’s elections, his team created a crowd-sourced multi purpose smartphone application, giving easier access to information for Tirana’s citizens and visitors and a platform for real-time signals and feedback straight to the government on problems or issues in their neighborhoods. This same smartphone app brought to the city of Tirana the 2016 Award from the Ljubljana Forum Future of Cities. It also won the reputation of a tool that "offers an instant access from the mobile phone to all real-time information related to road traffic, urban transport, tourism and many more things of interest".  Mr. Veliaj believes in leading by example - and as the current mayor of Tirana, he works for a notable change in the city. His political career starts in 2003 by founding a civic organization which gained popularity as a youth movement.   The main topics of the summit are the urgent need of the best cyber security solutions, the well being of the whole human kind, digital transformation and the ways for boosting the EU entrepreneurial system. So far speakers at the NELS have been top level executives and innovators like Kristalina Georgieva, CEO of the World Bank, Rossen Plevneliev, President of Bulgaria, Markku Markkula, President, European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Andrus Ansip, Vice President European Commission, Binali Yildirim, Prime Minister Turkey. So, don’t waste time, these are all the important links you need: To buy your tickets for Webit.Festival Europe 2017 (EarlyBird expires soon), click here. To apply for speaking, click here. To apply for partnership, click here. To apply for exhibiting, click here. StartUP? Apply for the Founders Games Challenge by Webit.Foundation and get an opportunity for free festival tickets (500), free exhibition table (100) and opportunity to win 200 000 EUR (only 1), click here. To see the video gallery from Webit.Festival 2016, click here. To learn more about the events that are part of the festival, click here. To see pictures from our previous events, click here. For more information on the Global Webit Series and our events in Dubai, Singapore, New Delhi and Istanbul: www.Webit.Org.