The ICT Spring conference is being held this week from 10-12 May at the European Convemtion centre in Luxembourg-Kirchberg; this year's event is larger than before, with separate FinTech Summit, Abundance Summit, Marketers Summit, ICT Summit, Space Forum, HealthTech Summit and HR Summit.
Shortly after the opening on Tuesday morning, Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, addressed the event on the topic of "From the abundance of data and bandwidth to the abundance of innovation and knowledge: Insights from a tech optimistic nation.
PM Bettel stated that Luxembourg is a small country that likes to punch above its weight. He stated that everyone present likes to think about the future and are working on projects to change the future, to change the future ahead of us.
He explained that, as Prime Minister, the government is continually trying to see how the future of the country, its vision, can be changed. If technology is the solution, what is the question? He said it is also our job to make technology available to those who do not currently have access; our society must be part of the present and the future.
He explained that the topic of today seems to be "abundance". One of the points he made is that we need security by design, as well as smart energy networks, to promote energy efficiency. During the recent EU Presideny, Luxembourg was able to drive through new regulation concerning data protection.
On the issue of regulation, he said there is a lot of work still to be done in the EU to stop young minds moving to the US or Asia in order to pursue their dreams. Europe is currently working on 5G and Luxembourg will play its role in expanding bandwidth. "There is no data without bandwidth"; today 94% of households in the Grand duchy have access to high-speed bandwidth, making Luxembourg one of the most connected countries world-wide. He stressed, however, the need to bring high-speed broadband to emerging countries.
On this point, he congratulated SES on their recent initiative in this regard. On the abundance of knowledge, Luxembourg has initiated a high-performance computing project.
Mobile devices are becoming more and more indispensable; however, people still need to communicate. The Luxembourg government has initiated the Digital Tech Fund to support innovative companies; the government can create the environment in which ideas and companies can thrive.
"We need innovators, administrators and researchers" he stated, and explained how the government is taking the lead, even taking risks until they find the right way forward. To do this, the vision is based on an abundance of ambition, with the understanding of what is at stake. "We look forward to the future with open minds".
Photo by Geoff Thompson: PM Xavier Bettel addressing ICT Spring
