Internet of Opportunity: Will the Internet Benefit All Europeans?

In partnership with Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and European Committee of the Regions

About Regional Development Dialogues

This conference is part of a global series of Internet development conferences organized by the Internet Society with the aim of furthering the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that aim at tackling the world’s main development challenges by 2030. Previous Regional Internet Development Dialogues have been held in Asia Pacific, Latin America & Caribbean and Africa.

Format & Audience

This event will gather participants from government, local authorities, business, and civil society to discuss the development of the Internet and its relation to economic growth, digital economy and social inclusion with a focus on European regions and local communities. The event will be divided into four thematic sessions – jobs, innovation, remote access and skills. The objective is to highlight success stories from across Europe and to encourage the European regions and communities to make them most out of the Internet opportunity.

Setting the scene

The Internet is transforming Europe’s rich cities. The metropolises benefit from high speed connections and are the site of most start-ups and new tech jobs. But what are the consequences of this transformation? And what will happen to less populated regions and disadvantaged urban fringes? These will be the guiding questions for this day-long event organized by the Internet Society, CEPS, and the Committee of the Regions.

Leading policymakers and industry representatives will be on hand to present research and recommendations, with CEPS presenting a new paper on “The Internet and Jobs – A Giant Opportunity” analysing the current trends in Europe. We will debate whether the Internet is killing jobs – or whether it could create new long distance positions. Looking at questions of access, we will consider the progress towards extending fast-speed broadband right across Europe, and we will present success stories in regional innovation across Europe.

For more information, please contact the Internet Society European Regional Bureau at riddeurope@isoc.org.