3rd Virtual Session Of ‘Digital Next Leadership Series’ Highlights The Role Of Data In Digital Economy And Development Of Government Ecosystems

The third ‘Digital Next Leadership Series’ concluded today (Wednesday, September 8, 2021) with a discussion on the future of data and its pivotal role in digital economy and the development of government ecosystems.

More than 575participants from around the world joined the virtual session. The high-level attendees included company representatives, digital solution providers, and the media.

Hosted by the Department of Government Support, represented by the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA), the session titled ‘The Future of Data: How Can Governments Create Data-Driven Ecosystems?’ was organized by Messe Frankfurt Middle East.

The panel discussion hostedH.E. Dr. Mohamed Abdulhameed Al Askar, Director General, ADDA; Kristian Møller, Director General, Agency for Data Supply and Efficiency, Denmark; Dr.MonsakSocharoentum, Vice President of Data Solutions, Digital Government Development Agency (DGA), Thailand; Dan Hu, CEO, G42 Cloud, and John Sheridan, Digital Director, National Archives, United Kingdom.

The attendees looked into the latest trends, case studies, regulations, and policies that would enable and support the development of data-driven ecosystems. The panel speakers and experts reiterated data’s pivotal role in building future economies.

During the online session, H.E. Al Askar made an introductory presentation on ‘Data Value Realization in Government.’ He talked about the reality and future of data, the importance of its optimal utilization, and the existing challenges in this field.He cited the experiences of Abu Dhabi, Denmark, Thailand and the UK.

H.E. said: “Today’s successful session served as a platform for us to tackle the most relevant data-related topics. We looked into the best ways to benefit from data and utilize it in various vital sectors.”

“Data has become one of the most valuable government assets today. Governments can harness its power to develop the most essential services needed by the people, as well as create key economic plans and programs that meet the needs of the future,” H.E. further stated,“Without a proper strategy and data architectural structure, we cannot realize the true value of data in governance and policy making and use it to maximize operational efficiency. By utilizing it in the right manner as an input, the output will be the desired outcome.”

The panel highlighted that ‘Data next’ is not just about availability and quality of individual data sets or registers. It is about cohesion across data sets to support major transitions in society that cannot effectively be supported by data silos.

The session underlined the importance of data in building the digital economy, stressing that data is currently the core of the general government policy-making process in a number of countries around the world.

The third session was part of the virtual ‘Digital Next Leadership Series’ that will be hosted until December 2021. The series was launched to shed light on key topics under the ‘Data Next’ pillar of the upcoming 2022 Digital Next Summit, which will take place on February 22-23, 2022. The summit, themed ‘Enabling Government of the Future,’ will focus on fostering partnerships between the public and private sectors to deliver government services that meet the rapidly evolving needs of citizens, societies, and businesses.

To know more about the upcoming ‘Digital Next Leadership Series,’ please visit: https://www.digital-next.ae/