Cape Town: Member of the Mayoral Committee for Corporate Services – Alderman Theresa Uys attended the invitation-only Tallinn Digital Summit hosted by the Prime Minister of Estonia – Kristen Michal. Theme for this year’s forum was ‘Collectively at the Crossroads: Towards Secure and Resilient AI Futures’ and allowed for constructive and pragmatic dialogue among leaders from political, business, innovation, financial, digital and defence domains.
Theresa Uys further said that invitation to 2025 Tallinn Digital Summit stands as a testament to the City of Cape Town digital advancements to date. Cape Town is at the forefront of a major digital shift and in 2024 they became the first African city to launch a comprehensive public data strategy.
As they embrace the exciting world of AI, they are also cognisant of the fact that AI models are only as good as the data on which they are trained, and this is what drives the renewed investment and focus on data.
The data is more than information, it is the foundation for accountability, innovation and citizen empowerment. Also, the City of Cape Town was recognised as data-driven blueprint pioneer for a high-growth African economy.
Alderman Uys was a part of a panel of architects and key decision makers behind three globally distinct models for success, namely: Tallinn, the benchmark for a frictionless digital society; Cape Town, pioneering a data-driven blueprint for a high-growth African economy and Coimbra, cultivating a specialised deep-tech ecosystem.
The 2025 summit aims to establish how cities are developing cutting edge services and frameworks for high-impact public-private investment and exploring how data and entrepreneurship that will define the very nature of governance and urban competitive advantage.
The two days Tallinn Digital Summit focussed on examples that drive government efficiency, viable applications of technologies in strengthening cybersecurity and resilience, as well as investing in the next generation.
This high-level conference featuring moderated panel discussions and keynote addresses, complemented by an extensive bilateral programme facilitating state-to-state, state-to-business, business-to-business and cross-sectoral meetings.
Notably, the summit included an innovation and business expo specifically focusing on showcasing the digital capabilities of Estonia, and building strategic collaboration, dialogue, and relations between Estonian and global actors.