The Digital Assembly within the EU Presidency

• March 21, 2017
• admin

The publicity that is being experienced by all the EU countries, and indeed the world, about the Maltese EU Presidency is amazing. There has never been such attention and focus to Malta in so many countries, probably since the Malta Summit meeting between US President George H. W. Bush and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, taking place on December 2–3, 1989. This is truly an exceptional opportunity. So many events happening that going through the events in the specifically designed website www.eu2017.mt , renders the task pretty difficult.

The events, meetings, and workshops being organised include a wide spectrum, and of course the area of Digital Economy is an important one. Various events and/or workshops will happen in during this period, and if interested, I suggest that you keep yourself updated. One of the most important events, from all the events organised in this period, is the Digital Assembly, which is held every year in the EU Presidency country. The Digital Assembly 2017 will take place on 15 and 16 June in Valletta, Malta. It is an event co-organised by the European Commission and the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Last year this event took place in Bratislava, and we are expecting an even bigger outcome for the Digital Assembly 2017 in Valletta. The theme chosen in this edition is “Digital Europe: Investing in the Future”, which is very benefiting for Malta and all the EU states.

The Digital Assembly 2017 is an opportunity for stakeholders to debate, take stock and look ahead at how Europe and how its partners around the world are preparing for this digital transformation. It will also be an opportunity to have a dialogue on the benefits of the Digital Union for citizens with a special focus on our younger generations.

2017 will be a key year to assess the progress made with the implementation of the Digital Single Market strategy ahead of the mid-term review, planned for May. It is also the year during which the Commission will start preparing for the next multi-annual financial framework and the role of digital within it. In short, 2017 will mark an important step towards a European Digital Union.

It is also important to mention that many other events will be organised within the period of the EU Presidency, which may not make a part of the official EU Presidency diary, but they would still be of great value. Many organisations come up with events and workshops, but the EU Presidency unit cannot accept all of them because there is simply not enough time and space.

The eSkills Malta Foundation will organise a number of workshops and events to discuss and share best practices on digital skills, IT professionalism, and how global digital transformation will change the skills needed for the future. We will also host a meeting for all the European digital skills coalitions, to discuss the progress and way forward in this important arena. As has been communicated in my previous articles, the EU Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition charter was presented by the eSkills Malta Foundation to EU Commissioner Mr Gunther Oettinger, and deputy Belgian Prime Minister Mr Alexander De Croo at its launch in Brussels last December.

Carm Cachia
Executive Coordinator, eSkills Malta Foundation