Digital Day, the digital part of the official celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, will take place in Rome, on 23 March 2017. The event is organised by the European Commission – Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content & Technology (DG CONNECT) and Representation in Italy – in cooperation with the Italian government and under the auspices of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It will look at topics that impact the near and long term future of EU citizens.

The background:

Building on the European Coal and Steel Community, the Treaties of Rome signed 60 years ago planted the seed of what became the European Union and have brought peace, economic prosperity and social progress. Today, digital is to Europe what coal and steel were six decades ago. It has the same huge potential to improve peoples’ lives, to reinventing our way of working and to raise investments in the future, bringing great economic potential for European innovation. Digital will strengthen European economy and society so that business can thrive in the global digital transformation.

Celebrating the Treaties of Rome and looking into our common digital future, the Digital Day will put Europe’s digital challenges and future in the spotlight. It will explore the increasing role of digital in daily life of Europeans.

The event is organised around industrial competitiveness and societal challenges, and it will bring together ministers, entrepreneurs, scientists, academics and many more in four different sessions:

• Europe as a global player in high performance computing
• Digitising European industry
• Towards connected and automated mobility
• The impact of digital transformation on jobs and skills

The event:

Thursday 23 March: The European Commission will organise a Digital Day, a one-day conference in Rome. Vice-President Andrus Ansip and Commissioner Günther Oettinger will participate in the event.

All sessions will be web streamed and covered on social media channels of the Digital Single Market (Facebook, Twitter). Using #DigitalDay17 will give everyone the possibility to join the debate.

Journalists who are interested in attending the event are invited to register via COMM-REP-ROM@ec.europa.eu.

Sources:

Agenda

Session on High Performance Computing (HPC)

Session on connected and automated mobility (CAM)

Session on digitising European industry

Session on the impact of digital transformation on jobs and skills

Digital Single Market priority page

Digital Single Market fact sheet

Advancing Europe’s digital future – Digital Headlines

60 years of the Rome Treaties: White paper on the Future of Europe, events per country and EU institution