Hosted by the AHHAA Science Centre in Tartu (Estonia) last week, the Directors Forum gathered senior managers of Ecsite Full member organizations. Four keynote speeches explored the “Downloading the future” theme. Estonian President Toomas Hendrick Ilves presented his country’s enduring commitment to e-governance, putting digital technologies at the service of citizens. He explored the benefits of e-health and presented an impressive vision for the future.

Peret Mürk-Dubout from telecommunications giant TeliaSonera painted the portrait of an ultra-connected tomorrow in which smart objects will make our lives easier: what if the table you lay your mug on was able to recognize who is drinking it, how much milk and sugar they use and to order some automatically from an online shop when stocks are diminishing?

Jaan Tallinn, founder of Skype, outlined his current work on cyber-security. He explained how he inspires youngsters to take on programming while urging them to never lose sight of the “big picture” of how created programmes might be used – or misused.

Teo Haren, Co-author of “The Idea Book”, challenged participants to review their perception of their own creativity. He ran a series of tests that gave the audience food for thought.

Directors also took part in two “Ecsite strategic dialogues”. Among others, they discussed their current use of and future aspirations for Ecsite communications channel. A plan to strengthen the Ecsite website and make the Spokes magazine digital was received positively. Generally speaking, attendees expressed the wish to open Ecsite communications channels as widely as possible, while giving members priority access to carefully selected items like calls for grants and projects.

Not to forget a night of adult entertainment at the AHHAA Science Centre and a great Gala dinner at the Tartu University Museum.

A warm thank you to AHHAA, who hosted an inspiring top-quality event.