TEAC16 Report
TEAC 2016 Report – Digital Skills for Future Work
On 6-8 October, 2016, 125 delegates from 70 organisations and 25 countries across Europe attended the 9th Telecentre
Europe Annual Conference (TEAC) that was organised in conjunction with the I-LINC project, and hosted by Digipolis, the
non-commercial ICT services organization for Flanders, Belgium. The conference is the annual meeting point of
Telecentre Europe members and partners: non-profit organisations, libraries and telecentre networks, as well as policy
makers, government bodies and private companies who empower citizens across Europe with technology.
Overall Event Narrative
The key theme of the event explored the skills, both ICT and soft skills, that citizens will need in the future. This was put
in the context of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” and the advances in technology that are starting now and likely to
continue for the next generation, such as Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Internet of Things, 3D Printing, Virtual Reality,
etc. Citizens will need to gain new skills to not only take advantage of these new technologies, but to remain in
employment, and telecentres should consider how to support citizens in these technologies. Thus, Day 1 was focused
on policy and practice around digital skills for future technologies and modes of employment, while Day 2 provided
further in-depth discussion on future skills for learning and recruitment and practical sessions.
See the links for the short video of the event, a longer video exploring themes in more detail; full Agenda, photos, and
the Twitter feed from the event.
The First International I-LINC Event
In 2016, TEAC hosted the first international I-LINC event. I-LINC, which is developing a sustainable and all-encompassing
platform on the topic of ICT (for) learning and inclusion, offers its growing community of registered users an online
environment for networking, participation, and learning that focuses on boosting the employability and
entrepreneurship capacities of young people.
The I-LINC platform was a vehicle towards TEAC16 central theme and significantly contributed to shaping the
programme and the audience at the event. During the event, various aspects of the I-LINC platform were discussed.
First, it was introduced during the welcoming speech of TE CEO Laurentiu Bunescu; then during the discussion panel it
was shown in more detail. Later, during the Unconference, a workshop was led by I-LINC young digital changemakers,
who were carefully selected and have been working with the project since its onset. I-LINC findings were also presented
at the Lightning Talks, with the focus on challenges and accomplishments of the platform and community.
Plenary Sessions
There were three plenary sessions with ten speakers in total. The opening plenary on 6 October was addressed by:
Alexander De Croo – Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium & Minister for the Digital Agenda
Rodrigo Ballester – Member of the Cabinet of Commissioner Tibor Navracsics, European Commission
Saskia Van Uffelen – CEO of Ericsson BeLux and Digital Champion of Belgium
Eva Pascoe – Director of Cybersalon
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