i3 - July/August 2018 - 29

By Bronwyn Flores

Policy

P O L I CY N E WS

Foreign Ambassadors Attend
Digital Patriots Dinner

TA's new International Innovation Scorecard - unveiled
at CES 2018 - identifies 13 top-tier Innovation Champion
countries: Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Finland, Portugal, Singapore, Sweden, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. At
CTA's Digital Patriots Dinner, diplomatic representatives from
nine of those countries were present to accept their 2018 awards.
Four Ambassadors - Her Excellency Kirsti
Helena Kauppi, ambassador of Finland;
H.E. Domingos Fezas Vital, ambassador of
Portugal; H.E. Dr. Wolfgang A. Waldner,
ambassador of Austria; and H.E. Hynek
Kmoníček, ambassador of the Czech
Republic - and five other embassy representatives from Australia, Canada,
Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden
dined alongside U.S. policymakers and
tech industry representatives at the
National Portrait Gallery to recognize
global trends in innovation.
"The trend lines are clear - innovation
is encouraged where governments are
hospitable to new ideas, people enjoy
great freedom and clean environments,
and innovators are embraced," said Gary
Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA.
"Countries' futures are tied to innovation, because it will bolster economic
growth and provide future generations
with the jobs they want."

A Common Thread

Each of the champions encourage innovation via government investments and support for emerging technologies including
drones, self-driving vehicles and shortterm rental platforms.
"Finland has long put its most precious possession - its people - first.
Investments in education and R&D
combined with policies to embrace the
digital revolution have been a wise
choice," said Ambassador Kauppi.
Austria earned high marks on research
and development for spending more than
C TA . t e c h / i 3

Austrian
Ambassador
Wolfgang Waldner

three percent of its GDP on
R&D. Its spending is higher
than most other countries,
including the U.S. "This recognition is not a coincidence,
it is the result of a process,"
said Austrian Ambassador
Waldner. "Moving innovations from discovery through
to commercialization
involves numerous actors,
and Austria's government is
one of them. Like Americans,
Foreign
we are open to new ideas,
Ambassadors
and embrace innovators."
Portugal emerged an
Innovation Champion with its thriving
Czechs, innovation is crucial," said
startup sector supported by a $200 mil- Ambassador Kmoníček. "From nanolion investment pledge by the governtechnology to cybersecurity fields, my
ment and annual new business entry
advice is to go and see [Czech Republic]
rate of 4.62 percent. "Portugal is an old
for yourself. You might find that this
nation that has this unique ability for
country in the heart of Europe is exactly
combining tradition with innovation,"
the one thing missing in your life."
said Ambassador Vital. "This is why I
The Scorecard uses several objective
often say we are '900 years young.' As an criteria including whether governments
example of our striving youthfulness and welcome disruptive business models and
openness to innovation, I would point
technologies such as the sharing econout our startup sector, which is growing
omy and self-driving vehicles; the
quite significantly with most of the com- friendliness of their tax systems; how
panies focusing on technology and inno- well they protect the environment; and
vation, and some of them having
issues such as broadband speed and
achieved the unicorn status in just over
cost. The Scorecard also gauges counone year after launching."
tries on diversity; the ratio of female-toAnd, despite its small size, the Czech
male employees in the workplace in key
Republic has seen big tech success stoage demographics; immigrants as a
ries, including security firm Avast,
share of the national population; and
which is valued at nearly $4 billion.
freedom of thought and expression. Visit
"For the mid-size open economy of
InternationalScorecard.com.
JULY/AUGUST 2018

http://www.cta.tech/internationalscorecard http://www.cta.tech/internationalscorecard http://www.CTA.tech

i3 - July/August 2018

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