Responsible digital technology solutions

The workshops, round tables and talks of the 11th season of Digital Encounters at ANTIC bore witness to the omnipresence of digital technology in society, its usefulness in lockdown, but also its high energy use and the challenges of digital inclusion. 

Almost 120 participants attended the Cité de l’Océan in Biarritz on 15 October and almost 70 people followed these Digital Encounters live on the dedicated TV stream. After an opening round table on the theme of responsible digital technology, the day’s five workshops tackled digital technology from the perspective of the social link, common digital assets, data management, smart cities and digital inclusion.

The 25 speakers of the day included members of parliament and local authority officials, entrepreneurs in new technologies, and representatives of large service or telecommunications groups. One observation was shared by all these experts: the Covid crisis and the spring lockdown had demonstrated the usefulness of digital technology for remote working solutions and also for e-health, solidarity and social links.

But the development of digital use has been accompanied by a growth in its requirements for energy and for the raw materials necessary in the manufacture of computers, tablets and smartphones. Now that we are more environmentally aware, economic and sustainable solutions have been proposed and were discussed during the Digital Encounters. 

The question of the sustainability of the equipment is of course important but it is a technical matter; beyond this lies the problem of digital citizenship, which was tackled at length. Just as digital technology facilitates social links, it also excludes those who cannot access it. The local authority representatives talked about the actions for digital inclusion they had been undertaking for several years now. Another current concern for citizens is data management. Both guaranteeing the confidentiality of data and using it for the benefit of citizens are crucial issues. On these matters too, the contributions from participants in the Digital Encounters were full of useful opportunities to learn from experiences. 

To revisit the 11th season of Digital Encounters at ANTIC:

The photos on rencontres.antic-paysbasque.com

The videos on the Antic YouTube channel

The replay of highlights on WebTV until 10 November

The Board of Directors of Antic met on 15 October at the Cité de l’Océan during the Digital Encounters. Olivier Alleman, Managing Director of the Digital and Smart Authority for the Community of the Pays Basque Conurbation was elected President of the Association, succeeding Anthony Bleuze. Olivier Alleman speaks on video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8bjhIkKVSM&feature=emb_logo