La Convención Azul is New Direction’s pre-eminent free-market forum, taking place on February 27th-28th in Madrid, Spain.
La Convención Azul brings together the foremost free-market advocates and thought-leaders from business, government, academia and the non-for-profit sector from across Europe and the Americas, in order to shape the debate on how trade and digital economy can become the driving force of global growth.
From keynote speeches to topic-driven panel discussions, La Convención Azul will provide participants with valuable insights into the ideas that are shaping our time and our century.
The agenda for this event reflects on major policy challenges in the digital economy and trade including:
• The digital market in Latin America: setting regulation to promote its development;
• Creative industries in digital convergence and the growth of intelligent mobility; and
• How free trade can spur economic growth between Europe and Latin America.
The event will be held in English and Spanish.
Our past distinguished guests and speakers have included: Tomasz Poreba MEP, President of New Direction and Vice President of the Polish Olympic Committee, Poland; Sérgio Sá Leitão, Minister for Culture, Brazil; Hernan Lombardi, Minister of Public Media and Content, Argentina; Daniel Hannan MEP, President of the Institute for Free Trade (IFT), UK; Professor Ryszard Legutko MEP, co-Chairman of ECR Parliamentary Caucus, Poland; Adina-Ioana Vălean, European Commissioner for Transport, Romania; Jeff McElfresh, CEO of DirecTV Latin America, USA; Guibert Englebienne, CTO and co-founder of Globant, Argentina; and many more.
The agenda for this event reflects on major policy challenges in the digital economy and trade including:
• The digital market in Latin America: setting regulation to promote its development;
• Creative industries in digital convergence and the growth of intelligent mobility; and
• How free trade can spur economic growth between Europe and Latin America.
The event will be held in English and Spanish.
Friday, 28th February
9:15h – 10:00h
Registration
10:00h – 10:15h
Opening Address
Tomasz Poreba MEP – President, New Direction, Poland
10:15h – 11:00h
Panel
Europe and the Americas – Shaping Global Competitiveness
Digitization now impacts every segment of social and economic life. The coming fourth industrial revolution will only deepen societies’ dependence on online platforms and internet-enabled devices, creating new opportunities for large internet companies to continue to expand into traditional sectors. This panel will explore tools and frameworks that can help to preserve and enlarge competition and innovation in light of increasing global convergence among different economic sectors.
Moderator:
Alexandros Koronakis – Editor & CEO of New Europe, Greece
Panelists:
Arminio Muñoz – Director of Public Policy Spain and Portugal, Mastercard
Jorge Sicilia – Chief Economist of BBVA and Director of BBVA Research
Robert Gerber – Political and Economic Counselor, US Embassy, Reykjavik
Pascual Fernández –Vice-president Spain’s Economists Association & President Madrid’s Economists Association
11:00h – 11:45h
Panel
Digital Taxes, IP, and Content – How the right regulations help attract global investment
The internet and the benefits of digital products and services are not confined by borders. This session will explore how national governments and industry can cooperate to develop fair, transparent, and comprehensive standards in areas such as digital taxation, intellectual property, and content production.
Moderator:
Jose Ramon Garcia Hernandez – Former Member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain
Panelists:
Dr. Marta Cantero Gamito – Assistant Professor of Law at CUNEF
Diego Sanchez de la Cruz – CEO Foro Regulacion Inteligente, Researcher at Instituto de Estudios Económicos
James Wharton – Former UK Minister
11:45h – 12:15h
Break / Networking
12:15h – 1:00h
Fireside Chat
Future of a Connected World
The 4th industrial revolution promises to connect all people and things through an intelligent mobile network, how are business preparing and transforming to this newly connected reality. What are some of the consumer benefits to this new world and how quickly will the ubiquity of this transformation be felt. What are some of the challenges that industry faces regarding the deployment of infrastructure and how important will that be to achieving a connect world that all consumers can access.
Moderator:
Isabelle Mauro - Head of Telecommunications, World Economic Forum
Panelists:
Juan C. Flores – Vice President International External and Regulatory Affairs AT&T
Enrique Medina Malo – Chief Policy Officer, Telefonica
1:00h – 1:45h
Panel
Global Economic Impact of Brexit on Trade
The official departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union will continue to reshape the flow of people, goods, and services across key economic sectors. Experts will discuss what we can expect from the next phase of negotiations, how the economies of the UK and EU might adapt, and how the global landscape for trade might shift in response to this new political reality.
Moderator:
Mehreen Khan – FT Europe Correspondent
Panelists:
Lord Martin Callanan – Business and Energy Minister, UK
Isabel Benjumea MEP – European People’s Party
Marta Blanco – President of CEOE International
Daniel Lacalle – Chief Economist, Tressis
2:00h – 2:15h
Conference Keynote
Javier Fernández-Lasquetty – Minister of Finance and Public Function, Community of Madrid, Spain
2:15h – 3:00h
Closing Address
Hernan Lombardi – Former Minister of Public Media and Content, Argentina
2:15h – 3:00h
Networking Lunch
La Convención Azul is supported by the following partners:
Please visit our Eventbrite event page and register.
Early Bird deadline: 14th February 2020.
If you have any questions, please contact us at info@laconvencionazul.com
