GovTech Summit

 
Pictured are Dan and Alex, of-founders of PUBLIC, opening their GovTech summit in Paris. Wow.  It was an amazing day.  The auditorium was full from the start, with hordes of people standing at the back and sides of the room.  I understand that nearly 2,000 people attended including several heads of state and many senior officials.  It’s such a privilege to have the support of Dan, Alex and the rest of the PUBLIC team as part of the GovStart programme my company is on.
 
The first big speaker was Kersti Kaljuaid, President of Estonia.  A genetic scientist turned politician, she was completely inspiring.  A clear vision, pragmatic approach, and no fear of driving radical change with the ultimate aim of empowering citizens through digital government.  Estonia is the most digital government in the world, and President Kaljuiad asked “What have your governments done to you that you trust them less than facebook or Google”.  An interesting question to ponder in the current political situation in the UK…  I wish we elected more politicians like her.  Smart, straight talking and driven. 
 
The rest of the day was a blur of meetings and conversations with entrepreneurs, investors and officials from governments around Europe.  Just before lunch I was privileged to be part of a pan-European pitching competition – one of only 9 companies from across Europe to be selected to speak on the main stage (as pictured above) and hosted by Mike Butcher of TechCrunch.  After lunch I was invited to a private round table discussion which included senior EU officials as well as experts from across the continent.  The icing on the cake was finding out in the afternoon that we had won the pitch competition!!!  Great PR for the business.
 
In the evening I was invited to a (VIP!) reception at the British Embassy – a fabulous building originally purchased by the Duke of Wellington in 1814, complete with period décor…  I chatted to some really interesting people there, one of whom had formerly worked there (she’s based in London now) and was kind enough to tell me something of the history and show me one or two of the treasures on display.  I was a little nervous when she started taking things out of display cabinets, but she assured me she knew the butler well enough that it was no problem!  One of the artefacts was a gold wine cup moulded from the breast of Pauline Bonaparte (who once owned the house and sold it to Wellington to raise funds to rescue Napoleon from Elba).  It’s a rather impractical beverage container but fascinating nonetheless.   Tipple from a nipple anyone?  How the other half live… Perhaps I should have sought out a career as a diplomat – is it too late?
 
I had a bit of a mad dash to and through the airport, which didn’t suit me as I like to be there in plenty of time for flights.  I made it to the gate just as they started paging me over the tannoy…  Still, it was worth it for the chance to visit the embassy!
 
I made it home safe after a long, busy but rewarding day!