Vision Europe Dialogue 2019

Vision Europe Dialogue 2019 is taking place in Helsinki, Finland on 1 and 2 April 2019 to discuss the theme “Making Europe a pioneer of the fair data economy ”. We are excited to announce that this year’s event is launching and testing a new dialogue-based concept that will focus on the future scenarios of the data economy.

Ahead of the event, Vision Europe partners will provide short thought pieces about different aspects of the data economy, which will serve as a basis for the discussions.

We will have a high-level keynote speaker, Alexander Stubb, the former Prime Minister of Finland and currently Vice-President of the European Investment Bank. Mr Stubb has been one of those urging Europe to lead the way in the digital revolution. The second keynote speaker will be Luukas Ilves, Deputy Director and senior fellow at the Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based think tank and policy network.

Why the data economy?

Data is the most valuable resource of the 21st century. How well it is used will largely determine the economic growth rates of societies. Compared to the US and Asia, the European Union has taken a very different approach to data privacy and people’s rights when personal data is collected or processed. To make the European way the winning strategy, respect for those rights needs to be economically viable and must allow data to be used to its full capacity. We believe that regulations such as the GDPR and PSD2 can be enablers of rather than obstacles to the free flow of data.

On the eve of the European elections, the Vision Europe Dialogue aims to increase the level of debate on the data economy and the use of personal data. For too long experts in law, technology and business have dictated the discussion, and there is an urgent need to make the debate more accessible and understandable for the wider public. European think tanks have the expertise and ability to make sense of the data economy for Europeans and, by joining forces with Europe’s leading decision-makers in the field, can make Europe a pioneer in the human-driven data economy.

Vision Europe

Vision Europe is a consortium of think tanks and foundations collaborating to address some of the most pressing public policy challenges facing Europe.

Through research, publications and an annual summit, Vision Europe aims to be a forum for debate and a source of recommendations to improve evidence-based policymaking at both the national and EU level and to foster European integration.

The Convening Partners are Bertelsmann Stiftung (Gütersloh, Germany), Bruegel (Brussels, Belgium), Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon, Portugal), Chatham House (London, UK), Compagnia di San Paolo (Turin, Italy), Notre Europe Jacques Delors Institute (Paris, France), CASE – Center for Social and Economic Research (Warsaw, Poland) and the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra (Helsinki, Finland).