2018 will be a vital year for Digitales. It will be because the association is only a few months old, but it will also be because in the digital revolution there is no time to rest. Advances in science follow one after the other and their application in practical life advances at a dizzying pace, the pace of society today.

For this reason, the role of the 32 companies that make up the Association today will be more important than ever. We have a clear mission: to make Spain a benchmark for digital development in Europe.  Although81% of Spaniards are Internet users, this is not enough. Digitales is firmly committed to ensuring that no one is left out of the digital transformation. The aim is to humanize technology so that it does not generate rejection, and to this end we place our experience and knowledge at the service of society, companies and public administrations.

Now, what concrete actions have already been launched and which ones will be in place during the first months of 2018? 

The association has launched the first think tank in Spain specialized exclusively in technological issues. In this think tank, experts from leading companies in the sector discuss how the Digital Revolution will affect society and the profound changes that are already taking place.

To this end, monthly colloquia are organized in which philosophers, historians, political scientists, anthropologists and writers contribute their views on the present and the future. These talks, baptized as “las mañanas del Mañana” have already been attended by personalities such as Florentino Portero, Andrés Ortega or Fernando Vallespín and others such as Ignacio de la Torre, Manuel Muñiz and Montserrat del Pozo are confirmed for 2018.

This think tank is actually just one of the 8 vertical working groups into which the association has organized itself to build an increasingly digital and efficient country. In total, more than 200 experts participate in these groups, which address topics such as Education, Digital Life, Business Transformation, Innovation, Digital Trust, Content and Intellectual Property and Regulation.

The Innovation group, focused on identifying disruptive technologies and their best applications, has also organized several forums or demos where experts show experts the applications in topics such as Blockchain or Artificial Intelligence, today on everyone’s lips.

Industry 4.0, 5G, Augmented Reality, Digital Identity, Drones or Cybersecurity are some of the topics already scheduled by this working group for 2018. The hottest current affairs subjected to debate and reflection in talks with a high practical component. 

More emotional impact will have the informative pieces sponsored by the working group focused on Digital Life. Each month of 2018 will be dedicated to a cause or group (adolescence, senior citizens, cybersecurity, digital health…) about which videos, infographics or, in short, content will be prepared to inform citizens about what really worries them in their day-to-day digital environment.

All this, of course, without neglecting the daily activities of an association. Digitales has already responded to 17 public consultations in its first 4 months of life, has signed an agreement with the FEMP for the digital transformation of municipalities and has attended and participated in different colloquiums on topics as diverse as the NYS Directive, Smart Cities or Consumer Protection.

In short, an intense but exciting year. An era of changes and revolutions in the way we buy, sell or produce, teach or learn is opening up. This is not a minor issue; the development of the digital economy is at stake for a large part of what Spain can be in the coming decades. From Digitales we want to be at the forefront of this change. We will work towards this in the new year.