Representatives of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries' digital industry are set to meet in Warsaw in October. Together they hope to find answers to digital transformation challenges the region faces. Cybersecurity is one of the main topics to be discussed. The attendees are expected to come up with suitable recommendations. Digital Trident Award - an award for the most prominent figure contributing to the region's digital transformation - is going to be presented.

The meeting is organised by the CEE Digital Coalition, an alliance of digital industry organisations from the Three Seas countries. Digital Poland Association (Związek Cyfrowa Polska) launched this initiative in September 2020. Its aim is to deepen cooperation in order to foster the region's digital development and to support authorities and business in the digital transformation process.

- For the last 2 years we have been expressing a strong, unified opinions concerning digitisation, both in the regional and EU forums. The meeting in Warsaw is the third in a row. We want to summarise our activities so far and to develop joint recommendations in response to today's challenges. We want to show the region's leaders the right path towards building a digital economy under today's geopolitical conditions. We also want to identify the obstacles and come up with proposals on how to solve them – says Michał Kanownik, President of Digital Poland Association.

Digital industry's representatives are going to discuss cybersecurity and EU regulations

The organisers expect industry's representatives from 10 countries to be present in Warsaw: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Partner organisations from Ukraine have also been invited to the meeting. According to the organisers' announcements, cybersecurity, 5G, digital transformation and new technology experts are going to be present at the meeting. Moreover, MEPs from the Three Seas countries and their ambassadors are going to attend. Janusz Cieszynski, minister at Digital Affairs – Chancellery of the Prime Minister, and representatives of the Lithuanian and Czech governments have already announced their presence - the latter holds the EU's presidency this year.

As Michal Kanownik announces, one of the main themes of this year's digital summit in Warsaw is going to be cybersecurity. - This is a key issue today due to the war in Ukraine. We believe that countries in our region should work together to protect administration, business and consumers digitally. As an industry we are here to help. In this field we shall take some sort of joint initiative, which will be presented during the meeting in Warsaw – announces the President of Digital Poland Association.

During the summit the guests are going to debate regulatory issues, particularly regarding the EU legislation. Experts plan to discuss digital transformation and transatlantic cooperation.

Industry award

The CEE Digital Coalition's Digital Trident award is going to be presented for the first time. It recognises the figure whose contribution to the digital economy's development within the CEE region in the past 12 months was most significant. The decision was made by coalition members in a joint voting. The winner is to be officially announced at the October meeting in Warsaw.

CEE Digital Summit 2022 is a free event and open to anyone with an interest in digitisation. It is possible to participate online or on site - at the Warsaw hotel Nobu.