Experts in innovation and business leaders from the United-States, Europe and Canada will address the impact and scope of IT and the Internet on community socio-economic development.

2 p.m. - KEYNOTE CONFERENCES

• Reinventing Economics Support Policies for Cities and Regions : IT'S TIME TO GO OFFENSIVE!

International economic changes have on low density regions (which represent three quarter of the OECD countries surface area and one quarter of their population) greater impacts than on cities. But both cities and regions can now tap on IT and the Internet to let go of essentially defensive conventional economic strategies and conquer new sectors or new markets.

In this conference, two speakers and two commentators will answer questions such as: What are the most important changes in regions of OECD countries?  How does IT influence the behavior of regional economic stakeholders? How do they influence the evolution of region support policies? How can OECD cities and regions make the best of IT to go on the offensive economically? What strategies is Denmark, a country similar in size to Quebec, building on to support the development of its cities and regions? 

Moderator

• Réal Jacob, Director of Executive and Continuing Education Member, HEC, Montréal, Canada.

Speakers

• Nicola Crosta, Director of the Regional Development Program, Public Governance and Territorial Development Branch, OECD, France.
• Lars Bo Jeppesen, Director, Danish User-Centered Innovation Lab, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Commentators

• André Joyal, Associate Professor, Department of Management Sciences, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Canada.
• Jacques Proulx, President, Solidarité rurale du Québec, Canada (Invited)

Thursday April 10

8:30 a.m. - KEYNOTE CONFERENCE

• The Web Revolution ans the Development of our Societies : THE BEGINNING OF A NEW STORY

Nicholas Carr is the author of IT Does Not Matter?, a book that triggered much debates on the role of IT in the business world, and of the recently released The Big Switch: Rewriting the World, From Edison to Google. Mr. Carr is a known speaker who often publishes articles in newspapers such as The New York Times and The Guardian, as well as in magazines like Wired or Strategy + Business, in which he usually addresses IT use related issues.

In his speech, Nicholas Carr will address the social, cultural and economical impacts of the Internet on the future development of Western societies and their regions, organizations and workers. These will be major impacts. According to Carr, the strengthening of Web 2.0 will bring about changes as important as those that occurred in organizations in the first half of the 20th century with the implementation of widespread electronic networks.

Speaker

• Nicholas Carr, Author and ex-publisher of the prestigious Harvard Business Review, United States.

12:15 p.m. - CONFERENCE LUNCH

• Turning our Regions into Creative Centers

In a world where ideas are key factors for success, regions must attract talented workers and keep their most dynamic citizens. But just like Quebec and other areas, the United-States are divided in two: on one side are those regions capable of attracting the brains much needed in the 21st Century businesses, on the other are those who struggle in their effort to support highly productive organizations and pay good wages to their inhabitants. In his speech, Randall Kempner will address the challenges now facing the richest and poorest regions of North America.

With his field experience and the accumulated knowledge of his organization, the Council on Competitiveness, a non-for-profit US organization of business executives, rectors and union leaders, he will also explain what development means and models are involved in turning a region into a creative Region. Randall Kempner is Vice-President, Regional Innovation of the Council on Competitiveness. He is also author of three books: Regional Innovation: National Prosperity; Measuring Regional Innovation; and Illuminate: A Roadmap to Regional Asset Mapping.

Speaker

• Randall Kempner, Vice-President, Regional Innovation, Council on Competitiveness, United States

2 p.m. - INTERNATIONAL ROUNDTABLE - Right to Speak Formula

Moderator: Réal Jacob, Director of Executive and Continuing Education Member, HEC Montréal, Canada.

Speakers

• Francine Bonicalzi, President & CEO, Technopole Vallée du Saint-Maurice, Trois-Rivières, Canada.
•  Frédéric Creplet,  PHD in Management, Associate Professor, Economic & Management Sciences Department, Université Louis-Pasteur, Strasburg, and Associate Director, VOIRIN Consultants, France.
•  Paul-Arthur Huot, President & CEO, Pôle Québec Chaudière-Appalache, Québec, Canada
• Randall Kempner, Vice-President, Regional Innovation,  Council on Competitiveness, United States.
• Geneviève Tanguay, Assistant Deputy Minister at the Research, Innovation, Science and Society Branch of the Quebec Ministry of Economic Development, Innovation and Exportation, Canada.

This symposium-ending Right-to-Speak session will provide five economic development experts with an opportunity to address the major topics of the symposium. Participants to this roundtable will specifically address the following:

• What is a knowledge-based society? What milestone have Quebec and other Western societies reached in their transformation into knowledge-based societies?
• What are the major obstacles to the implementation of true knowledge-based societies, regions and businesses?
• What priority changes should economic stakeholders try to implement and support for the success of our regions and organizations in the knowledge-based world?
• In the next few years, what will be the impact of IT and the Internet on the development capabilities of our regions and businesses?
• What IT and Internet practices should our organizations implement in priority and what are the main obstacles to their implementation?

4:15 p.m. - CLOSING REMARKS

• Monique Charbonneau, President & CEO, CEFRIO, Canada