Digital Scotland Debate: First event fixed

The effort to draft a far-reaching blueprint for Scotland's approach to the digital age has stepped up a gear.

The response has been extremely encouraging. Thanks to the efforts of Clare Walshe and Christine Crawford from the Sunday Herald's events team, Microsoft have agreed to sponsor the inaugural public debate, which will be held on Wednesday December 12th in Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall from 9.00am to 11.30am.

I've meanwhile assembled a panel of Scotland's top technology players to get things rolling. Headlining on the day will be Raymond O'Hare (Regional Director, Microsoft Scotland); Gordon Thomson (Director of Scotland & Ireland, Cisco Systems); Steve Leach (Founder & CEO of Bigmouthmedia); Polly Purvis (Executive Director, ScotlandIS); Brendan Dick (Director, BT Scotland); Steven Thurlow (Technical Director, Graham Technology) and Neil MacCallum (Head of Policy and Strategy, Scottish Chambers of Commerce).

A senior representative from the Scottish Government will also be participating and I'll confirm their identity very soon. Google have also done their best to contribute. Unfortunately a combination of factors means they won't have someone on the panel first time round, but their support and encouragement for the project has been most welcome.

All and all it should amount to a very interesting start to the campaign, so please come along and participate in the first of what will become a major series of discussions and conferences.

To book your free ticket, call 0141 302 7407