“We are really excited,” said Dominic Goulet, General Manager of Québec Numérique. “We thought it was super important to organize the event in 2021 because it takes a while in the year to allow digital professionals to come together, talk about what happened and take stock of the technological advancements that have occurred, and there are many, around topical issues. ”
Mr. Goulet did not hide the fact that in an ideal world, the fifth NumériQC Week would have been presented in face-to-face mode. But faced with the uncertainty caused by the evolution of the pandemic, the organizing committee of the event had developed two scenarios.
“We worked on both at the same time. And in the fall, we always hoped to present a face-to-face event. But we realized during the holidays that there was no way that would happen. ”
Mr. Goulet indicated that no matter how the SNQC was presented, some of the work remained the same. He added that what changed a lot was in the production and operation of the event. Contrary to what people may believe, organizing an event online costs a lot more than it does face-to-face.
“Renting the cruise terminal costs money. But filming 250 speakers in production studios with film crews is much more expensive. There are therefore many more expenses to be expected in a virtual event. In addition, because of the pandemic, we do not have access to volunteers, passionate and very appreciated people who come to lend a hand. These are therefore additional costs.
“At the same time, people are not prepared to pay that much for a ticket to attend a virtual event. And even if the partners are all present and happy to be there for the community, a virtual sponsorship is not the same as a face-to-face sponsorship. They are not the same prices. ”
Mr. Goulet explained that the idea of organizing NumériQC Week was to keep the community alive despite the fact that the event was not going to generate profits. “We wanted to make sure that the digital community could meet again at its favorite event in Quebec. We are still the largest French-speaking digital festival in North America. And there are a lot of projects, collaborations and business contacts emerging from it. We thought it was essential to present the Week even if it was not a logical choice. ”
Programming
Without a doubt, the year 2020 was not only fertile in twists and turns, but it also confirmed the important place that digital occupies in the lives of citizens. From the start of the pandemic, the issues of teleworking, online meeting platforms, high-speed internet connection and cybersecurity have been part of the daily life of a majority of people and they still remain so.
At the same time, several fields of activity, which were not necessarily familiar with digital technology, had to make a giant leap forward in order to ingest it into their way of doing things. The confinement forced them to equip themselves with the necessary tools to allow teleworking, videoconferences, teamwork, presentations, etc.
“We did great things. We have completely changed the face of work. We started from a world where face-to-face was very important and where we said that it could not work with 100% of people working from home. And we managed to do it. Yes by necessity, but we realize that it works very well. Here we are perhaps a little in the extreme spectrum of teleworking. Probably that following the pandemic we will find a balance. “
Mr. Goulet said the pandemic has brought digital technology back to a solution to a problem. He explained that several large companies had stopped planning mega projects over several years requiring significant investments to bring their employees into telecommuting because the crisis had forced them to turn around quickly. What was put in place at the start of the crisis was not perfect at the start, but companies took the time to continuously improve it. “The important thing was to solve the immediate problem.”
NumériQC Week opens on Friday (today). More than 250 activities will be accessible, including workshops, conferences and interactive panels. This first day will be presented under the theme of the Next Generation of Intelligence and Data Day and it will feature students from Laval University. On the menu: 16 presentations on the discoveries made in the Quebec City region in artificial intelligence in data science.
Another highlight of the Week (April 12 and 13), the first presentation of the TechSantéQC event, the fourth of the Augmented Reality Quebec (RAQ) and the third of the Rendez-vous en intelligence artificial (IA) Quebec. These events will be followed on April 14 by the Forum of Cultural Innovations (FIC) and the Connected Territories event. Also on the program on April 15, the annual SéQCure cybersecurity gathering will be attended by Éric Caire, Minister for Government Transformation and responsible for Access to Information and Personal Information Protection, and the Insurtech QC event. . Finally, the last day of the Week will be marked by the presentation of the Government Digital Initiatives event and by the eCommerce day which will bring together more than 750 online merchants and players in the Canadian eCommerce scene.
Speaking of the NumériQC Week of 2022, Mr. Goulet mentioned that it would be presented in person … provided that the situation allows it. He added, however, that a virtual component would certainly be kept, a component that would take the form of a companion mobile application that could accompany participants during the event in order to help them make their programming, plan their business meetings, to discover the people present on site and to have quick and easy access to them. And as all the conferences will be filmed, another tool will allow participants to view them throughout the year.
Those wishing to obtain more information on NumériQC Week can go to the semainenumeriQC.com.
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