Opening, introduction into the Conference and welcome addresses

Mario Döller, Moderator of the event
Stefan Clara – Major of Amlach
Carlo Vigna – Leader of EUSALP Action Group 5
Michael Roth and Angelika Layr – EUSALP AT/FL Presidency
Martin Mayerl – Member of the Tyrolean Parliament, Mayor of Doelsach

Digital Alps Conference – 29 April 2025
Plenary session part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cfvE1CfS6M

Keynote speech on the relevance of the digital transformation of rural and mountain territories
Reinhard Willfort – Innovation Service Network GmbH

Keynote – The relevance of the digital transformation of rural and mountain territories
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2olxoRDZobI

Keynote speech on AI perspectives for mountain and rural areas
Sabine Singer – Sophisticated Simplicity GmbH

Introduction to parallel workshops
Mario Döller, Moderator of the event

Keynote – AI perspectives for mountain and rural areas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0QKW05Y6dc

Workshop

“Artificial Intelligence, Dataspaces & future challenges in the Alpine area ”

Moderated by:
Sabine Singer – Sophisticated Simplicity GmbH

Speakers:
Fritz Fahringer – Standortagentur Tirol GmbH
Christian Micheloni – University of Udine
Gianmarco Piola – Piemonte Innova Foundation
Eleonora Tassan – Trentino Digitale
Alexander Valentinitsch – SCCH
Robin Mannhorst – EUSALP Youth Council

“Artificial Intelligence, Dataspaces & future challenges in the Alpine area”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tybaCGTlXxQ

WS 1 – Artificial Intelligence, Dataspaces & future challenges in the Alpine area

Workshop
“Different ways of digital transformation of rural territories and cross-macroregional perspectives”

Moderated by:
Peter Niederer – SAB

Speakers:
Elena Not – Bruno Kessler Foundation
Jure Trilar – University of Ljubljana
Luciano Galetti and Francesca Leoni – Autonomous Province of Trento
Claudia Singer – PA10 EUSDR
Michael Roth – EUSALP AT/FL Presidency and Executive Board member
Franz Josef Allmayer – digihub.li

WS 2 – Different ways of digital transformation of rural territories and cross-macroregional perspectives

Workshop

“Building Resilient Digital Infrastructures for a Smarter Alpine Future”

Moderated by:
Paolo Perucci – FVG Region

Speakers:
Stefan Clara – Municipality of Amlach
Kussai Shahin– Trentino Digitale
Angelo Bassi – University of Trieste
Luigi Palopoli – University of Trento
Patrik Stacher – Liechtenstein State Administration

“Building Resilient Digital Infrastructures for a Smarter Alpine Future”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jccj2GBq-xc

WS 3 – Building Resilient Digital Infrastructures for a Smarter Alpine Future

Workshop

“Discovering Hidden Treasures: Enabling Open Platforms on EUSALP Key Priorities”

Moderated by:
Gianluca Lentini – Poliedra

Speakers:
Cassiano Luminati – Polo Poschiavo
Sara Stemberg – Bruno Kessler Foundation
Fabio Carnelli – EURAC Research
Wolfgang Lexer – Umweltbundesamt GmbH
James Runnalls – Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG)
Claire Morrier – EUSALP Youth Council

“Discovering Hidden Treasures: Enabling Open Platforms on EUSALP Key Priorities”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV9GrGnjzhs

WS 4 – Discovering Hidden Treasures_ Enabling Open Platforms on EUSALP Key Priorities

Plenary session: Wrap-up of the workshops

Conclusions and way ahead
Carlo Vigna
Leader of AG5

Digital Alps Conference 2024 – 29 April 2025
Plenary session part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6_m5F4FiQs

Held at the MCI campus in Lienz, the second day highlighted best practices of digitalisation across the Alps.

Mayor of Lienz Elisabeth Blanik stressed the vital role of digital tools in education, healthcare, and tourism, asserting that rural success hinges on cooperation. In this regard, Hansjörg Jaufenthaler (MCI Lienz) showcased how bringing applied sciences to the city of Lienz is discouraging youth emigration and stimulating regional innovation.

Raphael Schaller (Digital Innovation Hub West) and Michael Rader (Fraunhofer Austria) explored the challenge of secure data use in distributed systems. They highlighted advanced techniques, such as multi-party computation, homomorphic encryption, and synthetic data, that enable privacy-preserving collaboration across organizations. They stressed the importance of data protection as a key argument for raising awareness among policymakers.

Johannes Georg Larcher (FH Kufstein Tirol) introduced event cameras, a smart technology that captures only necessary visual data, dramatically reducing data volume. To be well-suited for rural and mountainous areas, this innovation requires macroregional support, to help make such tools affordable and accessible to local communities.

Alberto Dianin (EURAC Research) presented a study on Rural Accessibility and Automated Vehicles. He emphasized a critical distinction: mobility is the ability to move, whereas accessibility is the ability to obtain what you need without moving. This shift in perspective is especially relevant for remote Alpine communities facing accessibility challenges. As the field requires more experimentation, funding, and political will, he called on EUSALP to invest in real-world pilots and use European funding mechanisms to begin scaling these solutions.