Forty-four of the world’s leaders in technology, including Lord David Puttnam, Eric Schmidt and Neelie Kroes, have come together to write an e-book discussing what they see as Europe’s digital future.
Entitled Digital Minds for a New Europe, the e-book orchestrated by outgoing EU digital commissioner Neelie Kroes and the European Digital Forum, described the project as an example of modern crowdsourcing that has become so prevalent in the modern age.
Along with Puttnam, Ireland’s digital champion, and Schmidt, the executive chairman of internet search giant Google, the e-book’s contributors include Jane Holl Lute, president and CEO of the Council on Cybersecurity; John Donahoe, president and CEO of eBay Inc; Irina Bokova, director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO); and Werner Vogels, CTO and vice-president of Amazon.
So old-fashioned to have a printed copy of #EUDigitalminds! You can get your e-copy here: http://t.co/RPUoU4mEYL pic.twitter.com/4iRrAHTBBj
— Neelie Kroes (@NeelieKroesEU) November 13, 2014
In Kroes’ forward to the e-book, written with her adviser Sigrid Johannisse, she addressed the vital need to constantly innovate and not be left to stagnate.
“New seeds will not sprout, nor saplings will grow, if they have to fight for survival in the shades of old – but respected – trees and if they are surrounded by dense forests of regulation and hampered by persisting European fragmentation.”
She continued, “Europe needs to make systemic changes, instead of incremental steps. Europe needs to make real and daring choices to speed up innovation and become globally competitive.”
