TERI digital libraries conference places lens on smart governance

Focuses on promoting innovation in digital and knowledge-driven services and solutions

New Delhi, December 8, 2016: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), as part of its ongoing endeavours to create a better world for future generations through the adoption of new digital technologies, is hosting the 5^th edition of the International Conference on Digital Libraries (ICDL) 2016 here in Delhi.Initiated in 2004, the conference focuses on promoting innovation in digital and knowledge-driven services and solutions, which help in identifying and preparing for the challenges of a smart future.

The conference and its vision aligns with India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that the country has committed to UNFCCC as part of SDGs to strengthen the global effort to mitigate the risks of climate change. The conference is rooted in Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of economic growth—a blueprint of “minimum government and maximum governance” through the optimum use of intelligent digital technologies and networks.

National flagship policy programmes like ‘Digital India’, ‘Smart Cities’ and ‘Clean India’ exemplify the ground action being implemented in India in order to achieve the NDCs. These programmes provide a strong ecosystem that will help India develop its advanced social, physical and digital infrastructure in order to make the great leap forward.

The conference this year is called “ICDL 2016: Smart Future—Knowledge Trends that will Change the World” and focuses on understanding, visualizing, and exploring the possible scenarios of the future, today so that we are able to prepare ourselves better. It will not only create a roadmap to guide us through what is coming next, but also tell us how to prepare ourselves for new challenges and opportunities. It will suggest how to manage the key trends to improve our life in future.

Advertisement

The conference will host thematic workshops on subjects as commonplace today—and as misunderstood and complex in their application and consumption—like innovation and knowledge management, social media and analytics, Big Data and analytics, all complemented by a range of panel discussions, discussion papers and poster presentations.

According to Mr. Prabir Sengupta, Distinguished Fellow, Knowledge Management, TERI, Knowledge Management is the most important instrument today for knowledge assimilation and knowledge dissemination. If you look at our economic activities, some of the obvious advantages of digitisation are reduction in transactions, corruption and an overall economic change in its transparency. As we talk about the digital divide and Digital India, it is imperative that we become attuned to this new development. The ICDL of TERI would be discussing a plethora of issues connected to this.

Some key dignitaries who are expected to speak at the event are Mr Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Government of India; Donna Scheeder, IFLA, Deputy Chief Information Officer, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, Washington, USA; Ganesh Natarajan, Founder, 5F World; Chairman, NASSCOM Foundation & Global Talent Track; Mr Shrikant Sinha, CEO, NASSCOM President – HBS Club of India, India. A total of 120 speakers from 20 countries will be participating in more than 30 sessions during the four-day digital summit.

This conference will help audiences understand and relate to the on-going developments in digital technologies and their correlation to India’s economic development, and how they can impact our efforts for a cleaner planet within the larger effort to ensure equitable socio-economic growth in India. The discussions will help predict the future challenges and prepare for it, and take requisite actions based on this knowledge to create the future, which are the three objectives of “Smart Future”.Having the strategic knowledge about the key trends that will shape our future will enable us to create or discover something with the potential to touch millions of lives.

Given the fast-paced digitization era, possessing the knowledge of associated technologies and processes is equally important to pursue. Knowledge of possible trends is essential in order to prepare to manage present risks and it will facilitate decision-making by converting challenges into opportunities in the future.

Advertisement

Advertisements