UNESCO invites all the “digital innovator” to take part to Netexplo Forum 2020, which will be held online on 17-19 March 2020 at http://en.unesco.org/netexplo. The Forum consists of two parts: Netexplo Innovation Forum 2020 and Netexplo Smart Cities Accelerator.
Netexplo, an independent observatory that studies the impact of digital tech on society and business, has been a UNESCO partner since 2011. It was created in 2007 by Martine Bidegain and Thierry Happe with the support of the French Senate and Ministry of Innovation and the Digital Economy. The Netexplo Observatory takes a unique, innovative approach to the study of digital society. Through its international spotting network, made up of globally renowned universities in the technology sphere, Netexplo explores the world for new uses of digital tech.
The Innovation Forum 2020 will showcase 10 breakthrough digital innovations with the potential of profound and lasting impact on the digital society. The innovations are spotted worldwide through a year-long work by the Netexplo University Network, made up of globally renowned universities in the technology domain. The Innovation Forum will highlight some of the most promising global innovators in digital technologies, whose innovations have influences the development of our society through new forms of education, communication, information, solidarity and management around the globe.
The UNESCO Netexplo Forum 2020 will also comprise of the second edition of the Netexplo Smart Cities Accelerator programme. Building on its first edition, the event aims to share the best practices on Smart Cities all around the world. Cities decision-makers face a range of questions in the attempt of meeting their citizens’ most urgent needs. These vary from safety, to funding models, to infrastructure and attractiveness. There are as many solutions as there are cultures and territories. And all of them are sources of inspiration. The event aims at helping city decision-makers to seize the opportunities offered by Smart Cities to improve the lives of women and men worldwide.
The Netexplo Observatory addresses these goals by highlighting promising digital initiatives from around the world and fostering the emergence of knowledge societies. To study digital society and explore the world for new uses of tech, the Netexplo Observatory builds its original approach on an international university network.
This voluntary network is made up of lecturers in tech-related subjects at globally renowned universities. In return for their participation they benefit from Netexplo’s work and content. Their students are tasked with spotting the most innovative and promising digital projects worldwide.
The universities in the Netexplo Network are:
Bezalel Art & Design Academy, Jerusalem (Israel)
Columbia University, New York (USA)
ESPM, Sao Paolo (Brazil)
HEC Paris (France)
HEC Montreal (Canada)
IHECS Brussels, (Belgium)
Indian Institute of Technology, Bangalore (India)
Kaist (South Korea)
Keio University, Graduate School of Media Design, Tokyo (Japan)
MIT Media Lab, Boston (USA)
National University of Singapore (Singapore)
University of Chile, Santiago (Chile)
Cape Town University, Cape Town, (South Africa)
University of Technology, Sydney (Australia)
Stanford University, California (USA)
UTSEUS Shanghai University, Shanghai (China)
Oxford University, (United Kingdom)
IE Business School, Madrid, (Spain)
Jawarwal Nehru University, Delhi, (India)