The opportunities and challenges of digitisation will be in focus at the 20th William G. Demas Memorial Lecture on June 4 in Trinidad and Tobago. Keynote speaker, Mr. Calum Cameron of Proud Engineers in Estonia will speak on the topic, “Transforming to a Digital Society: Principles and Challenges.”

Scheduled to take place at the Auditorium of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, during his keynote address, Mr. Cameron will share lessons from the digital transformation journey undertaken in Estonia, and elsewhere. The Lecture will be attended by more than 200 delegates to the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) 49th Annual Meeting, officials from the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and representatives from the private sector.

“Our Borrowing Member Countries are facing myriad and complex challenges. They must be prepared, therefore, to adopt innovative solutions to advance the Region’s development agenda. The topic of the Lecture is both timely and relevant to the theme of transformation for this year’s Annual Meeting,” said Dr. Warren Smith, President, CDB. “We are pleased to add Calum Cameron to the roster of distinguished William G. Demas Memorial Lecture speakers and look forward to his presentation,” he added.

Mr. Cameron has over 20 years’ experience in building and leading digital project teams transforming financial services enterprises. He has also been a key influencer in the development of the Estonian startup ecosystem. As Head of Europe's premier B2B and B2G startup accelerator, he leads the marketing of Estonia as a startup incubator and sandbox for disruptive businesses, and has worked closely with many of the companies which now deliver Estonia's digital society. His mission is to build digital societies with adaptive governments around the world, leveraging the people and solutions that built e-Estonia.

The William G. Demas Memorial Lecture is held in honour of the late Honourable William Gilbert Demas, second President of CDB. An outstanding economic scholar and public servant to the Caribbean, Mr. Demas held some of the highest offices in major regional institutions, which promote integration through economic and social development.

The Lecture takes place annually as part of the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of CDB, and showcases the best intellectual discourse on topics of relevance to the Caribbean Region.

The 49th Annual Meeting will take place on June 5 and 6. The flagship event will highlight the scope and impact of the Bank’s investments in its 19 Borrowing Member Countries. In addition, stakeholders will take part in strategic discussions on resolving some of the Caribbean Region’s most pressing economic and social development issues.

For more information, visit: www.caribank.org/bog49.