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In February, 13 experts from nine Asian nations have travelled to Berlin to exchange ideas with German representatives from politics, science and industry at the invitation of KAS.

In talks at the Chancellery, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and the Federal Foreign Office, with researchers from the newly established Weizenbaum Institute and the Technical University of Munich, the “Stiftung Neue Verantwortung”, the German Armed Forces, the security expert Dr Sandro Gaycken, the German digital association Bitkom, fashion online shop Zalando and Facebook the group has discussed digital developments in the areas of society, economy and security in Germany and Asia.

The range of issues discussed reflects the profound changes that digitalization brings for all areas of society. The topics ranged from digital infrastructure, e-government and data protection to Industry 4.0, platform economy, artificial intelligence, the economic power of major US Internet companies, and technological development in China.

This dialogue will be continued in Singapore in July 2018. The high-tech city state is an interesting example when it comes to shaping the digital society of the future. The government's stated goal is to make Singapore a "smart nation" and to be the number one in the world in terms of using digital technologies to create economic and social value. Accordingly, the focus of this study programme to Singapore will be on exchanging views with government officials and experts on Singapore's "Smart Nations Initiative". In addition, the discussion on topics such as fake news, radicalization, and the importance of cybersecurity that has been started in Berlin will continue.