This symposium-ending Right-to-Speak session will provide five economic development experts with an opportunity to address the major topics of the Symposium.

14 p.m. - INTERNATIONAL ROUNDTABLE

Right to Speak

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?
  

Speakers

• Frédéric Creplet, Associate Professor of Management Sciences, Economic and Management Department, Université Louis-Pasteur, Strasburg, and Associate Director, VOIRIN Consultants, Schiltigheim, France.
• Francine Bonicalzi, President & CEO, Technopole Vallée du Saint-Maurice, Trois-Rivières, Canada.
• 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.