Closing the digital gender gap and more for Digital Day 2019

On Tuesday, 9 April 2019, the third edition of Digital Day will provide an opportunity for the EU and interested Member States to pool resources to accelerate digital developments in key areas that can bring tangible benefits to our economies and our societies.

Date 2019-04-09 Author BIK Team Section awareness

Digital Day – Background

Every year since 2017, the Digital Day brings Member States and EU institutions together with stakeholders from varied backgrounds – industry, academia and civil society – for a day of discussions aiming to launch cooperation initiatives in various fields, to reap the full benefits of the digital transformation. In previous editions, significant initiatives have been taken regarding supercomputing, digital industry, connected and automated driving, AI, blockchain and eHealth.

2019 Digital Day – Cultural heritage, agriculture and women in digital

On Monday, 8 April 2019, the European Commission (EC) issued a press release announcing that, building on the successes of previous Digital Days, this year's edition will take cooperation further through three Declarations in the following fields:

  • "Empowering women's participation in digital" – EU institutions and Member States decided to take steps to tackle the digital gender divide following a compelling finding: women represent 52 per cent of the EU population but only account for 15 per cent of ICT-related jobs.
  • "Building a smart and sustainable digital future for European agriculture and rural areas" – Digital technologies can and should bring innovative solutions to some major economic, social, climate and environmental challenges faced in agriculture and rural areas.
  • "Digitising cultural heritage" – Digital technologies have the potential to preserve Europe's rich cultural heritage and to mitigate the risks it faces. The Declaration will build on the momentum of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018.

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."

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."

For further information, please visit the EC's website and download the factsheet "A Digital Single Market for the benefit of all Europeans", or learn more about the 2017 and 2018 editions of the Digital Day.

If you wish to keep up with the 2019 Digital Day event, watch the livestream on YouTube and follow #DigitalDay19 on Twitter.

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