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Canada 3.0 is a two-day national forum that brings Canada’s digital media stakeholders together.

Its purpose: set goals for Canada’s digital future, create a plan that enables digital media initiatives and companies, and act on that plan.

The Canada 3.0 Conferences of 2009 and 2010 helped build a common understanding of the challenges and goals, with industry, public sector and academic attendees sharing their successes and challenges

2010 Speakers included:

o The Hon. Tony Clement, Canada’s Minister of Industry
o Kevin Newman, Anchor and Executive Editor, Global National
o Tony Chapman, CEO, Capital C
o Sarah Prevette, CEO and Founder, Sprouter.com
o Tom Jenkins, Executive Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer, Open Text
o And many more including David Usher, former front man for Moist!

Content

Content was divided into six tracks:
o Imagining – What are others doing globally? What does Canada do well? What should Canada be doing?
o Revolutionizing – focus on Health ICT and how to leverage digital technology to enhance service capabilities
o Empowering – Focusing on networks, infrastructure and mobility to enable digital media.
o Changing – Discussing how digital rights, regulations and policies need to change in Canada.
o Creating – Concentrating on developing content and commercialization opportunities.
o Learning – Finding and retaining talent and research opportunities to continue the evolution of digital media.

Features

o The Digital Media Showcase and Showcase Lounge
o 50 exhibitors – leading companies in the digital media space
o Digital Media Face-Off in the Showcase Lounge, where start-up companies will presented their company ideas to a panel of experts
o Soap Box forum: 15-minute free forum to discuss thoughts, ideas and frustrations on the Lounge Stage.

2010 Forum Consensus

• considering the global situation, the widely shared perception is that Canada is falling behind
• To succeed, an unprecedented level of collaboration is essential across all sectors of society
• The focus in the new economy has shifted from the digital tool makers to the digital tool users.
• The emerging foundation of the digital era is not digital media (the technology) but rather connectivity (the social and cultural outcome of the new technology).
• Canada faces formidable international competition in the digital media space and has to rise to the challenges of a fast-changing, intense global environment.
• Responding to the realities of the digital age carries great urgency. Canada does not have the luxury of time in developing comprehensive, collaborative and integrated approaches to education and training, business development, infrastructure provision and policy-making.

Canada 3.0 2010 is organized by the Canadian Digital Media Network (CDMN) with the University of Waterloo Stratford Campus. It was conceived to harness our national know-how to create greater momentum for all areas of digital media. Canada 3.0 was born to start the discussion. To create critical connections and networks. And to determine how we can position our nation to advantage as we move from the 2.0 world of information sharing, collaboration, interoperability, and user-centred design, to 3.0 and the opportunities it presents.

Visit the Canada 3.0 Forum website for a complete summary of the 2 day event.