Sunshine Coast responding to digital opportunities - Silicon Coast

The Sunshine Coast is already at the forefront of the digital economy, providing the platform for businesses and communities to thrive well into the future.

Regional Development Australia (RDA) Sunshine Coast CEO Russell Mason said businesses, community groups and leaders were actively leading initiatives and a range of programs to ensure the region responded to the challenges and opportunities of digital disruption.

“These efforts have been recognised with the Sunshine Coast being named one of the world’s Smart21 Communities of 2014 and 2015, as well as receiving the Queensland Google eTown Award for 2013,” he said.

“We are part of a global community and it is critical that the Sunshine Coast not only continues to embrace digital capacity, infrastructure and culture, but to adopt the learnings, look for best practice and seek to emulate or improve them,” he said.

Mr Mason was responding to comments in the Technology Spectator article Australia’s lost digital tribes, on the importance of digital technologies to the future of regional centres.

In the article, Macquarie Telecom chief executive David Tudenhope said if Australia still wanted to enjoy living standards in the top tier of first world nations in the middle of the 21st century, there was no choice but to be at the forefront of technology across all aspects of life and society.

Mr Mason said the Sunshine Coast was well placed to benefit from the continued growth in the digital economy, with digital innovation embedded in key regional documents such as RDA Sunshine Coast’s 2013-16 Regional Roadmap, and Sunshine Coast Council’s Sunshine Coast Regional Economic Development Strategy 2013-2033 which led to the development of the Digital Sunshine Coast project and the Draft Digital Action Plan.

Read the Technology Spectator article: Australia’s lost digital tribes

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