Brussels, 22/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - In a speech made to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 21 May, Commissioner for the Digital Strategy Neelie Kroes underlined the crucial role played by digital technologies in eradicating poverty in the world, as part of the United Nations' post-2015 development programme. The commissioner stated that “access to mobile devices and networks and big data processing are two of strongest enablers of economic opportunity. We know for certain now that digital inclusion is directly linked to increasing GDP”. She added that what is needed is a “connected world” not as a goal in itself for accessing technology but because this technology is the means of attaining other objectives, in sectors such as health and education, encouraging inclusive growth and promoting gender equality.
On 22 May at an event organised by the Lisbon Council on EUROPE 2020, Kroes officially launched the two flagship initiatives she had announced at the Economic Forum in Davos at the end of January: the European Digital Forum and the Startup Europe Partnership, whose objectives are to stimulate the creativity of web entrepreneurs and make Europe into a start-up friendly environment (see EUROPE 11007). The start-up leaders who participated in the Startup Europe Manifesto, including the chief executives of Rovio, Spotify and The Next Web, came to present their “success stories”. They underlined the initiatives that need to be put into place in Europe to promote the emergence of start-ups. The founder of The Next Web, Boris Veldhuizen van Zanten, who had been involved in drafting the Manifesto together, stated that “entrepreneurs are by nature strong individuals who believe in their chances of succeeding by themselves. This does not mean that we should not help them succeed in achieving even greater things”. (IL)