The INSULEUR General Assembly and Forum were held at the Grand Hotel, Mgarr Gozo, during which a number of foreign delegates from Greece, Spain, France, Italy and Jersey attended the events.

INSULEUR is the Network of the Insular Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the European Union.

It was set up in 2000 with the primary objective of improving economic and social conditions in European insular regions. Currently the Gozo Business Chamber holds the presidency of INSULEUR.

During the General Assembly, which was reserved for INSULEUR members only, themes such as “Blue Growth and Islands,” a proposal for revisions to the state aid framework to better target islands’ needs, VAT regulations and islands, and the issue of refugees, were discussed.

The theme for this year’s INSULEUR Forum was – Digital Transformation of European Islands.

Daniel Borg (CEO of the Gozo Business Chamber) opened the Forum. Keynote speeches were made by Minister for Gozo Justyne Caruana, Constantine Michalos, Executive vice president of Eurochambres, and Juan Gual de Torrella Guasp, President of the Port Authority of the Balearic islands.

Key note speakers included Linda Randall (Research Fellow / Nordregio), Tony Moretta (CEO / Digital Jersey), Jonathan Mizzi (Chief Information Officer / Ministry for Gozo), Elias Michelioudakis (Management Consultant – Intramuros / European Commission – DG DIGIT), Josianne Cutajar (Member of the European Parliament), Professor Theocharis Tsoutsos (Director and Founder / Renewable & Sustainable Energy Lab, Technical University of Crete), Alex Agius Saliba (Member of the European Parliament), Christoph Riedmann (Adviser Digital Agenda / Eurochambres), Michael Aim (Head of Digital Transformation / French Chamber of Commerce and Industry Network), Gianni’s Roussos (President / Cyclades Chamber of Commerce), Vassilis Salapats (Head of ICT Department / Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Dana Farruiga (Chief Executive Officer / Tech Malta), Dr George Vital Zammit (Senior Lecturer / University of Malta), Alfred Sant (Member of the European Parliament), Dr Samuel Azzopardi (EPP Coordinator NAT Commission, Member CIVEX and COTER Commissions / European Committee of the Regions), and Antoni Vicens (Director General of External Relations / Balearic Islands Government).

The 3 panels during the Forum discussed: Insular Economies and Digitalisation; Insular Chambers’ Initiatives for the Digitalisation of Insular Economies and SMEs; and Towards a Digitalisation Strategy for EU Islands.

The respective panels were moderated by Dr Jonathan Mintoff (Gozo Business Chamber), Henri Malosse (30th President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Adviser of the Association of the French Chambers of Commerce), and Dr Gordon Cordina (E-Cubed Islands).

A statement of conclusions and Intent on Developing a Common Digitalisation Strategy for EU islands was formulated as a result of the outcome of the Forum.

The GBC said that this statement “recognised the importance and potential of digitalisation for insular economies where digitalisation can serve as a roadmap to tackle the difficulties that are generally associated with their geographical isolation by developing stronger links with the main centres of economic activity, developing innovative products and services and diversify business activity.”

On the basis of its proceedings the Conference recommended that EU islands: “Educate the community; Develop a clear understanding of the digitalisation process so that the critical elements are in place; Introduce changes in curricula to upskill their human resources; Ensure equality of opportunity; Find a delicate balance to allow for sustainable innovation and introduce legislation in order to protect sensitive ecosystems and ensure digital security; Transform insular Chambers and SMEs through the exploitation of new and innovative technologies; Develop place-based strategies to take concrete actions and promote their territorial potential based on a bottom-up approach.”

The Forum was concluded by Joseph Borg, President of INSULEUR and the Gozo Business Chamber. He highlighted the importance for islands to unite in order to make their voices heard at a European level.

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