The ‘Building a Digital Jersey’ event was based around Digital Jersey’s five-year strategic plan, which sets out ways to improve the island’s economy through tech.
The strategy aims to create job opportunities for islanders and support the public sectors by increasing tax-revenue.
From an industry perspective, it wants to “grow digital as the fourth pillar to the economy,” become a hub for digital entrepreneurs, and also improve access to financial services to help local-start-ups invest in their growth.
Looking at infrastructure, it details its ambition to become an internationally recognised “innovation hub” by improving support for entrepreneurs to test products and services.
Video: A look at some of the event’s highlights.
Last month’s workshop around the strategy was facilitated by Alan Brown, Professor in Digital Economy, University of Exeter Business School.
Speakers included:
- Andy Stanford-Clark, Chief Technology Officer, IBM
- Phil Male, Chair of JT
- Jacqueline de Rojas, President @techUK and @digileaders, Co-Chair Institute of Coding
- Stephen Blackman, Principal Economist, Natwest Group
- Radhika Chadwick, Partner McKinsey Public Sector Practice
- Siim Sikkut, Chief Information Officer, Republic of Estonia
- Dave Birch, Jersey’s Fintech Ambassador
Tony Moretta, CEO Digital Jersey commented: “The truth of it is that we don’t have a choice about change. The world is becoming more digital whether we like it or not.
“The only choice we have is how successful we want to be in that world. Digital doesn’t threaten our way of life, our values, or what is unique about Jersey, it protects it.
“It is being used in agriculture, tourism, finance, and in every one of our homes. It isn’t some separate ‘necessary evil’ that is being inflicted on our island, it is a tool that benefits every one of us.”