It has definitely become an event that arouses particular interest by bringing together prominent speakers who address issues of great topical. The 6ht edition of the Monaco Women Forum (MWF®), under the patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, was held on the 24th March 2023 at One Monte-Carlo conference hall, followed by the Prix Monte-Carlo Femme de l'Année - Monte-Carlo Women Award, sponsored by Walgreens Boots Alliance, at the Belle Époque ball room within the Hermitage Hotel, in the presence of the Sovereign Prince and H.S.H. Princess Charlene of Monaco, Honorary President.
A distinguished panel of speakers from different backgrounds and generational affiliation debated on “The global and transversal impact of digitalization and technology in society”. By the will of Cinzia Sgambati-Colman, journalist and founder of the initiative, the core mission of this one-day round table is to enhance the role of women starting from their advanced knowledge, capable of making a difference in various fields.
« MWF® aims to connect, inspire and catalyze collective efforts to act for a more inclusive, sustainable and innovative ecosystem », this is the common thread of the event as reaffirmed by its founder, Mrs. Sgambati-Colman. Web 3.0, Immersive Tech, Cybersecurity, Sustainability, Health Technology, Financial and Digital Inclusion were on the top list of various interventions in line with the ongoing pioneering project, Extended Monaco, the cutting-edge digital transition programme financed and implemented by the Gouvernement Princier (Prince Government).
Ornella Barra, Chief Operating Officer - International of Walgreens Boots Alliance highlighted the high value of the rendezvous by enhancing: « Since its foundation, the company I represent was honoured to support the MWF® and the Award giving the opportunity to present to the public clear examples of women winning stories based on a constant desire to bring something new and best suited to meet customers' needs ». High technology is a pivotal driving force to lead to a better change. Maria Betti, former Director of the European Commission and the UN Environment Programme, moderated the meeting. She pointed out: « Digitalisation is helping the green economy transition towards a completely different lifestyle from what we are used to ».
Leanne Robers, founder and President of She Loves Tech Global (Singapore), the world's largest startup platform for women and tech, stressed the necessity to enable talented women to express themselves freely in the field of high-tech, notwithstanding misconceptions. Diversity is the basis of the concept of sustainability as the result of a proactive collaboration among stakeholders, both at local and global level. Manila Di Giovanni, Founder and President of DWorld VR and the youngest entrepreneur to be awarded the Monte-Carlo Women Award, stressed how close is the link between the technology of the future, notably the Metaverse, and sustainable development in its social, environmental and economic aspects. Healthcare, circular economy, green urbanization and tourism are integral part of The Monaco Metaverse, the first augmented reality covering a whole State, developed by using low-emission technologies and compensation actions to achieve carbon neutrality.
The digital ecosystem must become even safer, without losing its human side. Domitilla Benigni, CEO & COO Elettronica, President of CY4GATE, President of Women4Cyber Foundation Italy, underlined the importance of providing more effective risk-analysis devices to fight the almost every day cyber-attack we have to face in the present “digital endemic era”. Malicious intruders are increasingly breaching the privacy of our sensitive data or steal digital identities for illegal practices. The problem is more evident after the boom of distance working during the pandemic as well as the subsequent conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Veronica Iacovacci, expert in bio-robotics at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna Institute of Pisa (Italy), showed the strong bond between high-tech research and healthcare, integral part of being sustainable. Advanced technology and robotics are improving treatment and prevention of invasive diseases such as diabetes, giving an added value to the human well-being. The public and private sectors are increasingly supporting projects in this regard, allowing a reduction in treatment costs in the near future.
On the digital payment front, digitisation has experienced a great acceleration in recent years fostering a process of e-democratisation through institutional and social-use digital platforms together with online business and market, as reaffirmed by Maria Teresa Minotti, General Manager of PayPal Italy. New digital currencies are regaining confidence in international markets after the initial mistrust, under the impulse of the new generations, unless it takes a lot of preparation before you can use them, as stated by Laurent Marochini, Head of Innovation at Societe Generale Luxembourg, in his conclusions. ***
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By Maurice Abbati
Springer International Publishing
