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Brussels, Belgium, will be the hosting city for important events in July: It will be the venue of the EU-CELAC Summit of Heads of State and Government (July 17 and 18), the place where the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) will reaffirm their Digital Alliance, as a strategic framework to foster bi-regional cooperation across the full spectrum of digital issues, and home to the first BELLA II Strategic Dialogue in 2023.

The BELLA II Open Strategic Dialogues (OSD) will contribute to the consolidation of the digital ecosystem, generating innovative and valuable proposals and boosting meaningful connectivity in both regions.

This process, conducted by RedCLARA, will be one of the main activities of the BELLA II Project, during the first year of execution, and its kick-off will be part of the agenda parallel to the EU-CELAC Summit. The dialogue will be held on July 18, in Thon Hotel.

The meeting will be attended by senior representatives of national and regional research and education networks, multilateral investment banks, telecommunications providers, and centers of excellence in digital transformation technologies (AI, IoT, HPC, cyber security, etc.).

The objectives of this dialogue will be to identify the cooperation opportunities, funding strategies, value-added services that leverage meaningful connectivity, and key enablers of the digital ecosystem, in the framework of the BELLA II project. Also, to discuss alternative governance models for public-private partnerships to be created and to share the initial set of connectivity projects identified during the first six months of the BELLA II project.

The expected outcomes are an initial proposal of a set of projects, the identification of viable governance models and viable funding strategies to support the project investments, the commitments of the participants, and an action roadmap for the following twelve months. Furthermore, the identification of partners for the coproduction of value and the cocreation of innovations, as well as taking meaningful connectivity to a new dimension.

Strategic dialogues will continue in other EU-LAC cities. Hopefully, this approach will ensure that the achievements of the BELLA II project have a long-term impact and that all stakeholders in the resulting digital ecosystem build sustainable relationships, acting as smart networks capable of driving continuous learning, innovative educational and research solutions, and sustainable socio-economic growth.

During the EU-CELAC Summit, there will be the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with leaders and decision-makers that could make a difference in the execution of the BELLA II project. The side events of the Summit should provide the spaces for socio-technical interactions leading to technological advancements, disrupting social and technological innovations, groundbreaking ideas, visionary solutions, revolutionary policies, or any other influential factor that reshapes the context and creates significant socioeconomic growth.