GDD Summit 2021

For three days, policy makers, executives, government representatives, NGO management, data scientists, digital health technologists and others showcased real life case studies of life improvement through digitization, explored in depth new and emerging technologies, and provided insights into harnessing the power of data to enable thriving societies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced all of us to innovate on many levels, in some ways fundamentally changing how we operate. We are witnessing one of the largest collective innovation periods, likely in our lifetime. The scale and speed at which new digital solutions are being developed and adapted could not have been imagined pre-COVID-19. In all aspects of our collective organizations, the pandemic has provided us with opportunities to increase our impact on a scale of which we never imagined possible.

It is under this global seismic shift that we shaped the overarching theme of Impact-First to harness all of this collective energy and showcase the innovations we have made over the last year. This summit highlighted how necessary change has revealed the power and flexibility of the global digital development community. This means looking across adjoining sectors and new technologies to see where there are natural symbiosis and new ways of thinking that we can leverage. To do this, the GDD Summit curated topics and sessions that prioritize demonstrable impact, innovation, and emerging technologies that are changing the way we’ve previously thought about digital development. You can view our full agenda here.