BDF had the pleasure to co-organise the EU Annual Forum 4-5 June in Tallinn together with Estonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. One of the plenary sessions was dedicated to digitalization in the BSR and how we can address the digital gaps in the region. Speakers and panelists were: Andrus Ansip, Vice President, European Commission; Martin Andersson, Professor, Blekinge Institute of…

On 25th April, the State of the Digital Region Report “Cities connecting the digital economy in the Baltic Sea Region” was presented by co-author Prof. Martin Andersson in the opening session of the  Digital North conference. This first Nordic-Baltic ministerial conference on digitalization was organized in Oslo by Nordic Cooperation and the Norwegian Ministry of Local Government & Modernisation. Martin…

How can medium sized cities interact across borders to boost an integrated digital labor market? How can cities improve the growth potential of their startup scenes by structured cross-border collaboration? What is the interest and potential for sharing resources, benchmark outcomes and promote joint networks? These are some of the questions addressed in a small pilot project “Connecting Digital Start-up…

Baltic Development Forum and Top of Digital Europe had the pleasure of co-organising the conference “Estonia in a digital Baltic Sea Region” together with the Estonian ICT Association, ITL, in connection to their 17th anniversary. In his keynote address, Flemming Stender, Director of Baltic Development Forum, presented the highlights from the 2016 State of the Digital Region report, which outlines…

Top of Digital Europe has launched a Discussion Paper “Towards a Cross-border Open Data Agenda – A Case for a macro-regional agenda on open government data in the Baltic Sea Region”. The aim is to initiate a debate on the vast potential for open government data across borders in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). It is a call to governments…

Do we recognize our digital talents? How can we design joint ecosystems to foster human capital excellence across the Baltic Sea region?  How can we keep talents in the region and compete effectively with global leaders? How to get from brain circulation to building capacity? These were some of the questions discussed by an expert panel on 16 June in…

BDF together with Estonia’s Ministry of Economic Affairs organised a workshop on transnational digital collaboration as part of a conference on Smart Specialisation Strategies in Sandviken, Sweden, 27th May 2016. The conference was organised by CPMR Baltic Sea Commission, PA Innovation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and Region Gävleborg. Smart Specialisation Strategies are tools for regional…

On 3rd May, BDF and “Top of Digital Europe” organised the seminar “The Swedish way to a Digital Single Market in the Baltic Sea Region” in Stockholm. The event was co-organised and hosted by Stockholm Business Region, and gathered national policy makers, ICT industry, academia and experts to discuss the digital strengths and challenges of the Baltic Sea Region with…

BDF and “Top of Digital Europe” was the co-organiser of an ICT Business Round Table in Helsinki on 12 Jan 2016, organized and hosted by Microsoft Finland. Participants were specially invited Finnish parliamentarians, policy makers and ICT industry. The topic for discussion was the potential for a digital single market of the Baltic Sea region: Could this region develop a…

Two new studies of the digital economy in the Baltic Sea Region were published under the wings of the regional ICT Think Tank “Top of Digital Europe” established by BDF and Microsoft: The first edition of the “State of the Digital Region” report, an annual updated overview of the region´s achievements and position as a global ICT hub. The second…