How the UK is thinking smart
The British Embassy and Reykjavik University, in cooperation with the British-Icelandic Chamber of Commerce and SI - the Federation of Icelandic Industries, hosted a well-attended workshop last Wednesday that addressed questions about how countries can succeed in a digital economy and how government can help to foster good ideas. The workshop also explored how British cutting edge technology solutions are improving peoples' lives in the digital economy. The title of the workshop was Smart Solutions for Better Living.
How much the UK experts advocated for freedom on information suprised the Icelandic guests. For instance, Liam Maxvell, the UK chief technology officer, said the the code for the highly successful gov.uk public service website is open source.
The British Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy, Ed Vaizey, hosted the workshop. Other participants were leading UK experts:
- Ed Vaizey, UK's Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy
- Azmat Yusuf, Founder and CEO of Citymapper
- Hannah Barry, Founder of Bold Tendencies
- Herman Narula, Founder and CEO of Improbable
- Jenny Griffiths, Founder and CEO of Snapfashion
- Liam Maxwell, UK Chief Technology Officer
Moderator was Ari Kristinn Jónsson, President of Reykjavik University and closing remarks were made by Almar Gudmundsson, managing Director of the Federation of Icelandic Industries (SI).
