How can Europe build an AI future that delivers for businesses, citizens and the environment? And what role do the stories we tell about AI have in that future? For two days in Brussels, Re-Imagine Europa brought together research on the narratives shaping AI and expert discussions on the practical choices ahead.
On 12 October 2026, Re-Imagine Europa joined policymakers, industry leaders, and international experts at the Digital with Purpose Summit (GeSI), hosted at the Maison de la Poste as part of Brussels Climate Week. Addressing the Summit’s core focus on the infrastructure and business foundations of Europe’s AI ambitions, RIE brought two closely connected perspectives to the discussion: how AI ecosystems can be harnessed to address systemic societal challenges, and how the underlying stories surrounding technology influence public trust, policy, and capital allocation.
Opening the day, Maria João Rodrigues, Chairwoman of Re-Imagine Europa and Coordinator of the Global AI Impact Network (GAIN), set the vision in her keynote address. She framed AI not merely as a technological frontier, but as a catalyst for European renewal, calling for a bold alignment of market demand, digital infrastructure, and public-private investment. Grounded in initiatives like the Global AI Impact Network, her vision charts a path toward a competitive, inclusive, and sustainable digital future powered by purpose-driven international partnerships.
Later in the program, Rodrigues moderated an international roundtable on twin digital and sustainable transformation that translated this high-level ambition into a practical roadmap. Moving from vision to global strategy, the panel explored distinct AI development models across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Bringing together leaders from GeSI, the World Bank, and industry, the discussion reinforced a central thesis: Europe does not need to replicate foreign models such as US venture innovation, China’s industrial application, or India’s digital inclusion, but rather build on its own strengths in industrial expertise, values-based regulation, and sustainability. Key priorities highlighted include scaling SME adoption, aligning AI with decarbonization, and leveraging international partnerships through GAIN to shape a competitive, inclusive digital economy.