It is a great honour and pleasure to be addressing the opening ceremony of Reflect festival, marking the beginning of a unique 3-day experience where government, business and academia meet innovation and entrepreneurship through a series of fascinating workshops, interactive panels and insightful discussions with top-notch speakers from around the globe. Tackling issues such as society, economy and the future of business, Reflect aims at providing an in-depth understanding of the new world being shaped in the aftermath of Covid19, identifying key driving forces of change and fostering international collaboration.
Digital transformation is occurring at an unprecedented pace at global level. Technology is a key lever and enabler for this transformation, as well as a strategic tool in the fight against the pandemic and in our path towards recovery. Imagine for a moment life without digital in our lives, especially under the recent lockdown conditions. Technology allowed us to learn, work and communicate from home, enabled companies to sell their products and basically keep running, and governments to deploy measures, critical for public health and safety. International initiatives, such as Reflect, uniting “doers” with passion, vision, knowledge and expertise, can be truly valuable in crafting a coordinated, targeted and efficient response to the numerous challenges lying ahead, both in terms of reinforcing our society’s resilience against the Covid-19 socioeconomic emergency as well as facilitating the digital and green transition, critical components of a sustainable model leading to social welfare and economic competitiveness.
Dear friends,
In a digital economic reality, nations and organizations need to develop that agile and holistic innovation and optimization capacity that stretches beyond today’s state of affairs and is designed to allow continuous adjustment, as global changes and technological evolutions continue to take place, accelerate and evolve. Set up in March 2020, the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy undertook this exact challenge: to fundamentally transform the Cypriot society and economy, through a well-tuned research and innovation ecosystem and digital technology exploitation.
Leveraging state-of-the art technologies, including AI and blockchain, to further streamline and automate processes, we designed a two-dimensional approach consisting of the rapid deployment of small-scale digital solutions and the parallel long-term implementation of mega e-government projects. Revalidating the Ministry’s enterprise architecture, governance, and citizen-service model, institutionalising a framework and action plan for fast delivery of public microservices and enhancing the specialisation competencies of our staff, we aim to improve the overall citizen and businesses experience throughout their interactions and ‘touch-points’ with the public sector, drive cost efficiencies, enhance reliability, security and resilience, and draw genuine trust in the system and the technologies themselves. Placing, of course, emphasis to the following core principles: the right to privacy, freedom of speech, free flow of data and cybersecurity.
Dear guests,
A high level of broadband penetration is also key for digital services to be made practical and accessible, and of course affordable; we, therefore, aim to facilitate high-speed connectivity, as well as proceed with the deployment of 5G networks within 2021. In order to minimize the widening digital divide, we are running stimulating programs, interventions and instruments to strengthen digital fitness and enhance the skills of our workforce and our citizens, while infusing a digital and innovative mindset and developing a culture of life-long learning across the whole spectrum of enterprises and society.
Innovation and the knowledge that enables such innovation, are important sources of sustainable competitive advantage and the foundation of a knowledge-based economy. Apart from actively supporting research activity and strengthening our scientific capabilities, we aim to create an environment that supports and encourages innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as incentivises actors in the local ecosystem – government, academic and businesses - to innovate and adopt new technologies. A number of financial instruments are available to promote innovative entrepreneurship and investment, such as tax incentives for investment in innovative companies, a new Equity Fund (that is under development and will be functional by 2021) set up to facilitate access to finance for SMEs and start-ups, and, of course, the funding programs launched by the Research and Innovation Foundation, which also offers consulting and coaching services to enhance the innovation management capacity of start-ups and enterprises. Promoting synergies, interconnecting and strengthening our innovation ecosystems through the exchange of best practices, resources and skills will practically benefit all parties, for it will support economic recovery and pave the way for sustainable development.
Our end goal is to develop a future-proof economy and society and further strengthen Cyprus’ position as a dynamic business hub in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Strategically located at the crux of Europe, Africa and Asia and offering wide access to high growth markets, skilled, quality talent, an attractive tax regime, a pro-business environment and a well-balanced, diversified economy, Cyprus is an ideal location for multinationals, and specifically high-tech firms seeking for a place to invest, set up and grow their business. The Deputy Ministry is at the disposal of any interested party to listen to your needs and work together to create that business-conducive environment that would offer you the best possible experience.
Cyprus is rapidly making notable progress in its development towards a knowledge-based, digital economy and it is an undisputable fact that Covid-19 acted as a facilitator and agent of change in this regard. The 2020 Digital Economy and Society Index highlighted the improvement of Cyprus’ scores on all dimensions, and also praised the effort and the efficiency of digital solutions introduced to deal with Covid19-induced needs. I am also very glad to report the recent improvement of Cyprus’ rank - from the 54th to the 40th position - in the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking measuring the capacity and readiness of 63 economies to adopt and explore digital technologies as a key driver for economic transformation. Cyprus recorded significant progress in all 3 parameters: Knowledge necessary for the learning and discovery dimensions of technology, technology, which quantifies the landscape of developing digital technologies, and Future Readiness, which examines the level of preparedness of an economy to assume its digital transformation.
There is, though, a critical factor of success which applies to all aspects of our strategy; establishing a two-way, efficient communication and cooperation with the private sector and our citizens. We all need to work together to co-create our future, open up new opportunities for businesses, foster an open and democratic society and enable a vibrant and sustainable economy.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In the past few months, the world has shown both how strong and how fragile it is. However, it is now time for all of us to lead the way from this fragility towards a new vitality, moving forward and moving fast. In the words of President von der Leyen, it is time to make change happen by design, create opportunities for the world of tomorrow and not just build contingencies for the world of yesterday.
I wish to thank you all once again for joining us and wish you a productive and enlightening experience in the next 3 days.
Thank you very much.