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Global Digital Summit

Digital technologies are the foundation for transforming development to end poverty on a livable planet. When fast internet becomes available, employment probability increases, poverty goes down and opportunities abound.

Digital technologies can be transformative for economic and social development – providing new tools and unlocking new approaches to end poverty and create a more livable planet. The evidence is clear - when fast internet becomes available, employment increases, poverty goes down and opportunities abound.  As innovative uses of data and artificial intelligence race ahead, the possibilities for progress are growing exponentially. At the same time, progress for some is equating to a digital divide for others and digitization is creating new risks to privacy and security.  These challenges need to be tackled to maximize the benefits of digitalization for all while minimizing the risks.

The World Bank Group is launching its inaugural Global Digital Summit to bring together government officials, private sector, partner organizations and thought leaders to explore these opportunities and risks, around the shared goal of Accelerating Digital for Development.  The Summit will showcase cutting-edge thinking, technology, and practical insights on a wide range of digital topics, with a focus on three pillars of how digitalization can (1) Connect, (2) Innovate, and (3) Transform. 

Discussions will include:

  1. Connect: Shaping a Decade of Digital Inclusion: Access, Affordability, and Internet for All
  2. Innovate: Doing Digital Faster, Smarter and Safer
  3. Transform: A World Transformed: Key Scenarios for Our Digital Future

The summit will also include an exhibit of transformative technologies that are changing the realities of development around the world. 

Breakout sessions will delve into topics ranging from artificial intelligence to skills, data governance, cloud, digital public infrastructure, cybersecurity and more.

The Summit will feature high-level participants including ministers, private sector leaders and thought leaders across diverse sectors.  Confirmed speakers include:

  • Ajay Banga, President, World Bank Group 
  • Afua Bruce, Engineer and Author of The Tech That Comes Next
  • Vint Cerf, VP & Chief Internet Evangelist, Google
  • Tomas Lamanauskas, Deputy Secretary General, ITU
  • Stephanie Mehta, CEO of Fast Company
  • Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO, Microsoft
  • Hans Vestberg, Chairman and CEO, Verizon 

Registration for the Summit is by invitation only.  

DigitalSummitLogos

Monday: March 4

Time

Location

Session

3:00 – 5:00 pm

Atrium & MC Entrance

Pre-registration

5:00 – 8:00 pm

Atrium

Plenary 1. Keynote & Networking Reception

The Internet Turns Fifty: Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist at Google and Afua Bruce, Engineer and Author of The Tech That Comes Next

Tuesday: March 5

Time

Location

Session

8:00 – 9:00 am

Atrium & MC Entrance

Breakfast, Registration, and Networking

9:00 – 9:15 am  

Atrium

Welcome 

9:15 – 10:15 am  

Atrium

Summit Opening:

Accelerating Digital: A Conversation with Ajay Banga and Hans Vestberg

Ajay Banga, President, World Bank Group & Hans Vestberg, Chairman and CEO, Verizon

Moderated by Stephanie Mehta, CEO, Fast Company

10:15 – 10:45 am

Atrium

Plenary 2: Building a Collective Digital Agenda: Partnerships

Vilas Dhar, President, McGovern Foundation & Amandeep Gill, Secretary General’s Envoy on Technology, United Nations

Moderated by Stephanie Mehta, CEO, Fast Company

10:45 – 11:00 am

Atrium

Coffee break

Breakout Sessions (1)

11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Atrium
  • Can Satellite Close the Rural Connectivity Gap?

 

11:00 am – 12:30 pm

MC 4-800
  • Cyber Resilience in the Age of AI – How Can the Global South Stay Ahead of the Curve?

11:00 am – 12:30 pm
  • MC 7-800
  • Government in Your Pocket: Innovations in Service Delivery
    MC 8-100 (French) | MC 9-100 (Portuguese) | MC 10-100 (Overflow)

12:30 – 1:00 pm

Atrium

Spark Talks

1:00 – 2:00 pm 

Atrium

Lunch & Exhibition

Breakout Sessions (2)

2:00 – 3:30 pm 

Atrium
  • Who’s Afraid of Cloud?

2:00 – 3:30 pm 

Preston
  • Getting it Right: What it Takes for Digital Investments to Deliver Better Health Results for Everyone

2:00 – 3:30 pm 

MC 4-800
  • Transforming small holder agriculture through data, AI and digital technologies

3:30 – 4:00 pm

Atrium

Coffee break

4:00 – 5:15 pm

Atrium

Plenary 3. CONNECT

Panel: Shaping A Decade of Digital Inclusion: Access, Affordability, and Internet for All

Wednesday: March 6

Time

Location

Session

8:30 – 9:00 am

Atrium & MC Entrance

Breakfast & Registration

9:00 – 9:15 am 

Atrium

Day 2 Opening: Development in the Digital Era

Axel van Trotsenburg, Senior Managing Director, World Bank

9:15 – 10:30 am  

Atrium

Plenary 4. INNOVATE  

Panel: Doing Digital Faster, Smarter, and Safer

10:30 – 11:00 am

Atrium

Coffee break  

Breakout Sessions​ (3)

11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Atrium
  • From “What” to “How”: Lessons for Scaling DPI

11:00 am – 12:30 pm

MC 4-800
  • Navigating the Linguistic Gap in AI 

11:00 am – 12:30 pm

MC 7-100
  • Powering digital transformation – why digital needs energy and vice versa
    MC 8-100 (French) | MC 9-100 (Portuguese) | MC 10-100 (Overflow) 

12:30 – 12:50 pm 

Atrium

A Conversation with Satya Nadella (virtual)

Anna Bjerde, Managing Director, Operations, World Bank & Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO, Microsoft

1:00 – 2:00 pm

Atrium

Lunch & Exhibition

Breakout Sessions (4)

2:00 – 3:30 pm

MC 4-800
  • Digital Solutions for a More Resilient Future

2:00 – 3:30 pm

MC 7-100
  • Governing the Digital Future: Optimizing Trust in Data-Driven Economies
    MC 8-100 (French) | MC 9-100 (Portuguese) | MC 10-100 (Overflow)

2:00 – 3:30 pm

 Atrium
  • Digital Futures: Building Digital Skills Today for the Jobs of Tomorrow

3:30 – 4:00 pm

Atrium

Coffee break & Transition Atrium

4:00 – 5:00 pm

Atrium

Plenary 5. TRANSFORM

Panel: A World Transformed: Key Scenarios for Our Digital Future

5:00 – 5:30 pm

Atrium

Plenary 6. Event Close

Guangzhe Chen, Vice President for Infrastructure, World Bank

5:30 – 7:00 pm

Atrium

Networking Reception

Date: March 04 - 07, 2024 ET

Location: Washington, D.C.