Israel, a country at the forefront of all things digital, hosted its biggest tech conference ever, the Digital Life Design conference, in Tel Aviv on September 3-6. Tel Aviv, also known as "Sillicon Wadi" for its large concentration of startups, is an active member of the international DLD community, which hosts events and conferences in major cities around the world such as New York, Berlin, and Singapore.
The four-day conference brought together hundreds of local startups and more than 5,000 industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors from 55 countries, who discussed recent developments, challenges, and opportunities in the digital age. The conference which featured representatives from leading digital companies such as Amazon, Intel, Google, and IBM, included a series of lectures, events, and panels on innovation and technology. These sessions explored a number of topics ranging from cyber-security, to women in tech, to trends in the mobile industry.
DLD also referred to the influential role that technology is playing in the governmental and diplomatic arenas. Ranked amongst the world's top
10 Foreign Ministries in the field of digital diplomacy, the Israel MFA showcased its experience in sharing Israel's story online, with millions. Israel’s foreign ministry uses its online presence of more than
800 online channels in over 50 languages to highlight Israel's diplomatic efforts and activities around the world and to engage with local & international audiences. In a panel titled
"Diplomacy in the Age of Information Technology," Noam Katz, Deputy Director-General for Public Diplomacy at the Israel MFA outlined some of the challenges that governmental agencies and foreign ministries continue to face in the digital age.
“The digital world is shaping how we do diplomacy. It’s presenting new threats and promising new opportunities,” noted Katz.
While the panel referred to the role that algorithms and artificial intelligence continue to play in the realm of online diplomacy, experts also emphasized the importance of combining technology with human interaction.
“Even in the digital age, as a ministry of foreign affairs, our biggest asset is our connection with people on the ground,” noted Elad Ratson, Director of Research and Development at the Israel MFA.
This year's DLD conference looked towards the future, highlighting the ideas, digital, platforms, and technologies which will shape the way in which we make contact, do business, conduct diplomacy, and live our daily lives. Israeli entrepreneurs, innovators, and diplomats alike, are proud to stand at the center of these efforts.