Making Remote Work

14 July at 14:00

REGISTER

With 55,000 remote jobs currently open across Europe, the potential for remote work to help to develop communities is immense.  As a result of our experience during the pandemic, the mindset has changed and the move to remote working is now inevitable.

Such a seismic change poses threats to communities across the EU but it also offers significant opportunities.  If we handle this transition well rural, remote and disadvantaged communities in particular stand to benefit.  Be part of the discussion that will identify the key enablers that will make this change a reality.

The event will take the form of lightning inputs from leaders in community development, remote working and policy making followed by a fast-paced Q&A as well as a keynote address from Vice-President Dubravka Šuica, Commissioner for Democracy and Demography.

Through these interactions we hope to identify key improvements that can be made at an EU level to ensure that remote works for all and acts as a driver to develop communities across the Union.

Contributors

Dubravka Šuica

Commission Vice-President Dubravka Šuica is charged with overseeing the Commission work on Democracy and Demography.  She served as a member of the European Parliament for Croatia from 2013 to 2019, and as the first female Mayor of Dubrovnik from 2001 to 2009.

As Vice President, her responsibilities include:

• Co-ordinating work on a long-term vision for rural areas. This key priority for the Commission was unveiled in recent days, and identifies the challenges and concerns that these areas are facing, as well as highlighting some of the most promising opportunities that are available to the stakeholders active in these regions.
• Identifying demographic trends and the resulting need for support, such as investment in infrastructure and access to services for those most vulnerable to demographic change.
• Leading the Commission’s work on deliberative democracy and the Conference on the Future of Europe, giving people a say on how the EU is run and what it does.

Lise Sørensen

Lise is Head of Secretariat at the Association of Danish Small Islands.  The association is the voice of 27 small islands with all-year-populations from about 10 to 900 inhabitants and their main task is to preserve and develop these islands as communities of all-year-residents.  Infrastructure and employment prospects are two of the main issues that they face.

 Chris Herd

Chris Herd is the founder and CEO of Firstbase, an all-in-one provisioning platform that lets companies provide all the practical equipment remote workers need at the touch of a button.

Previously Chris founded a remote-first FinTech startup and installed physical equipment in the most remote environments on the planet. He regularly shares his thoughts on remote through twitter, his blog, and speaking engagements.

Darren Murph

As GitLab’s (the world’s largest all remote company) Head of Remote, Darren works at the intersection of culture, operations, people, talent branding, marketing, and communication.

He’s spent his career leading remote teams and charting remote transformations. He holds a Guinness World Record in publishing, and authored GitLab’s Remote Playbook and “Living the Remote Dream: A Guide To Seeing the World, Setting Records, and Advancing Your Career.”

 Maeve McElwee

Maeve McElwee is Director of Employer Relations with the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC). Prior to joining IBEC, Maeve worked with the World Bank in Washington DC.

Her role explores the different approaches and ways of thinking critical in employer relations as the pace of change in our workplaces accelerates driven by new technology, increasing diversity and globalisation.

 Tracey Keogh

Tracy is a co-founder of Grow Remote and a recognised international leader in the world of remote.  Having over 10 years of experience in technology start-ups, Tracy spent the last few years in community development in regional and rural Ireland.

A graduate of economics and finance from the University of Limerick, Tracy formerly worked for Bank of Ireland having set up their innovation programmes in the west.

Colm Markey MEP

Colm Markey is an Irish Member of the European Parliament for the Midlands-North-West constituency. As a former President of Macra na Feirme (Ireland’s rural youth organisation), former Chair of Louth County Council and former Chairperson of a LEADER company, Colm has had a diverse record of leadership in community development.  Colm serves as a full member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Affairs and is also a farmer and businessperson.

Agenda

14:00 – 14.05: Welcome and Introduction by Colm Markey MEP

14.05 – 14:20: Keynote Address by Vice-President Dubravka Šuica,

Commissioner for Democracy and Demography

14:20 – 14:40: Panelist perspectives (5 mins each)

• Lise Sørensen – Association Of Danish Small Islands
  • Remote Community
• Darren Murphy – Head of Remote at GitLab Inc
  • Hiring across the EU
• Chris Herd – Founder & CEO at Firstbase
  • How policy can drive the increase of remote jobs
• Maeve McElwee – Director of Employer Relations, IBEC
  • Issues for Employers and Employees

14:40 – 15:10: Discussion and Q&A

15:10 – 15.20: Tracy Keogh – Grow Remote

• Bringing it all together

15:20 – 15:30: Where Do We Go From Here

• Wrap-up and summary by Colm Markey MEP