AAVIT in 2024: Shaping the Future of Digital Czechia
AAVIT in 2024: Shaping the Future of Digital Czechia
Perhaps the most frequently repeated slogan of the public debate in 2024 was “The Czech economic model has exhausted itself”. A model based primarily on manufacturing industry, cheap yet skilled and disciplined labour, at the same time energy intensive and prone to disruption of supply chains.
As AAVIT, we have argued since its inception that it is only a matter of time before the unsustainable structure of the Czech economy “catches up”. The stagnation of Germany and the threat of politically motivated trade wars with the US only further reinforce the deep-seated problems of the Czech economy.
So when else but now should we put the emphasis on transforming our economy towards a digital economy? At AAVIT, we are working steadily on this transformation. Look back with us at the most important activities of our association in 2024.
Digital legislation and fundraising for the digital sector
While 2023 was marked by the negotiation of major pieces of digital legislation such as the Chips Act, Data Act, AI Act, NIS2 or Cyber Resilience Act, 2024 brought a discussion on implementation at the national level and addressing the specific challenges of translating this legislation into practice (e.g. in terms of the capacity the Czech Republic has allocated to this issue).
AAVIT representatives participated in a number of round tables, panel discussions and persistently sent comments to the responsible authorities. In total, we participated 15 times in working groups for the preparation of public support instruments and commented on 7 programmes and subsidy calls with a total allocation of CZK 13 billion.
In May, we organised our first major international conference entitled Quo Vadis, Digital Czechia? With the participation of inspiring guests from among MEPs, MPs, senior officials and representatives of business and business associations, we discussed how to approach digital regulation, how to secure more funding for the Czech digital sector, how to increase the digital competences of our citizens or change the overall mindset of the population. DIGITALEUROPE Director Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl and Digital Poland President Michal Kanownik sent us their greetings.
Internationalisation
The year 2024 was extremely busy – we realized and participated in 17 conferences, workshops and international trips.
Traditionally, through our membership in DIGITALEUROPE, we participated in two NTA Summits, which took place this year in Budapest and Warsaw. Their main topics were:
- Completing the Digital Single Market in the EU
- responding to the Draghi/Letta reports and supporting the digital economy
- implementing European digital legislation
But that was far from all. Thanks to cluster trips to Chile/Uruguay and Algeria, we established contacts with partners from other continents and provided a platform for our members to seek new business opportunities. In Warsaw, apart from the NTA Summit, we also attended the CEE Digital Coalition and the CEE Innovation Day, whose main mission was to work together to strengthen digital economies in CEE countries.
In the spring we strengthened our relations with regional partners and Czech stakeholders at the 3Seas Summit in Vilnius and our summer trips to the DIGITALEUROPE Summer Summit in Brussels should not be forgotten. Our director Jaromír Hanzal was officially confirmed as a member of the DIGITALEUROPE executive board there. We then went to Strasbourg for the DIGITALEUROPE reception on the occasion of the first plenary session of the European Parliament.
Cluster activities and support for digital competences
In the past year, we have significantly accelerated our cluster activities. In addition to a number of matchmaking and policy-focused trips abroad, we have conducted several trainings and workshops for our members and partners. We created good conditions for networking for cluster members, thanks to which they strengthened project cooperation and established new business relationships.
We confirmed our cluster activities by obtaining the Bronze Label awarded by the European Cluster Excellence Initiative. This seal opens the door to further projects in the future and widens our scope for cooperation at European level.
Just like last year, we participated in the implementation of the IT Fitness Test initiative with our partners from Digital Coalition, Zwiazek Cyfrowa Polska and IVZS, this year as the main gestor of the project in the Czech Republic. Once again we managed to test a significant number of Czech pupils, students and teachers. Over 67 thousand of them completed the test.
¼ of primary schools and almost ½ of secondary and higher vocational schools participated in the testing. We presented the results of the initiative during the Digital Czechia Week and at several events dedicated to digital education. In January 2025, we will organise an expert panel on this topic, where we will discuss them in more depth with the initiative’s partners and experts.
New members, partnerships and a look to the future
During 2024, 9 new members joined AAVIT; ranging from digital start-ups, large technology giants, established Czech IT companies or a major law firm focusing on business law and the digital sector.
Among other things, the Czech AI Association has enriched the ranks of AAVIT, which, in addition to increasing our expertise in the field of AI, has brought us more than 250 associate members and the opportunity to work with exciting new partners.
In addition to our long-term institutional anchorages, last year we became members of the Union of Employers’ Associations and the Czech-Israeli Joint Chamber of Commerce. These new ties expand our potential to comment on key legislation and public support instruments and strengthen AAVIT’s innovative ethos.
Looking ahead to 2025, we will continue our current activities. A major theme for AAVIT will be the preparation of the new EU Multiannual Financial Framework, the final form of which will form the backbone for future public support instruments. We will do our best to ensure that the areas of innovation and digitalisation receive the largest possible share of funding, through negotiations at both domestic and European level.
We will once again introduce the IT Fitness Test – 4th year starting in February and only in the spring part of the school year. We will continue to oversee and comment on the implementation of digital legislation, especially the AI Act, and systematically improve the position of digital business in the Czech economy. We will focus in detail on the parliamentary elections coming up in the Czech Republic in the fall of 2025.
The EU and the Czech Republic are in a situation where we have found the courage to name the structural problems facing our economies. We will show the way out.
📅 Save the date/month
20/02/2025 – Masters of Digital in Brussels, DIGITALEUROPE event
02/2025 – Launch of IT Fitness Test 2025
05/2025 – NTA Summit DIGITALEUROPE in Copenhagen
09/2025 – AAVIT Membership Meeting
09/2025 – CEE Digital Coalition meeting in Warsaw
11/2025 – NTA DIGITALEUROPE Summit in Nicosia
