Thinkathon – Our Digital Future c’est ici

About the Thinkathon – Over the past 30 years, a new digital culture, interactivity, and instantaneous communication have fundamentally changed our world. We are now at a new crossroads: advances in augmented, virtual reality and artificial intelligence; the ‘ internet of things’; big data and user experiences that are tailored to the individual will all change how we live, work, play and participate in society – administratively, economically, socially and politically. What are the potential benefits of these changes, what are the drawbacks? How can we ensure that such changes lead to the further development of inclusive societies? While public awareness of some ‘negative aspects’ of a digital world (online bullying, ‘ fake news’) has increased, there has as yet been very little public discourse on how these aspects can be ‘fixed’. ‘Our digital future, c’est ICI’ offers young adults a new platform for debate that addresses our digital future in a holistic and positive way and focuses on identifying the principles, processes, and decisions that will lead to the most inclusive digital societies.

For each Thinkathon event, a Canadian and a European city were matched. In each city, 50 participants were divided into three working groups with different purposes, all guided by a moderator.