Comment Neelie (Kroes)

It's such a pleasure to be here, in Madrid. Madrid has a special place in my heart. The beginning of my mandate in 2009 started with one the most inspiring events: the Campus Party! Thousands of young innovating entrepreneurs sharing and communicating their ideas. Making ICT and innovation come to life, in real time!sentence permalink

When I started my job as Commissioner for the Digital Agenda in 2009, a lot of people felt sorry for me. They asked me if I wasn't disappointed because I only had to deal with 'digital issues'. What an understatement! Soon, in the next Commission, will be a digital Commission, with three men being responsible for my portfolio on 'digital issues'. Can you imagine?sentence permalink

In 5 years' time a lot of things have changed. Sometimes even beyond our imagination. Digital is everywhere in our economy and society. Digital is part of our daily lives. Digital technologies are not only boosting our economic growth and creating jobs. Digital technologies also provide young people like you with an inspiring career and a challenging future. You are the living proof of what digital can do for you. And of course, what you can do for digital technologies!sentence permalink

Politicians go on and on about jobs and growth. But who is out there actually creating those jobs? And building that growth? Not people like me – but people like you. Entrepreneurs and innovators. Especially those using the power of the web.sentence permalink

Online – there's no limit to your imagination. No obstacle to a world of open opportunity.sentence permalink

It's not just about coding. Or computers. Or communications technology: it's about what you can do with them.sentence permalink

It's not about the canvas - it's about the picture you can paint on it.sentence permalink

And you can paint something amazing.

That is why I have made this my priority. It matters so much to our future.sentence permalink

Unemployment for young people keeps me awake at night; here in Spain it's over 50%. It should be a priority for every politician. We should not be turning our backs on any tool that could help – no way!sentence permalink

Yet these young people are digital natives. They have the skills and mindset to succeed.sentence permalink

So web entrepreneurs matter.

It's not all about Silicon Valley. It's not just about Northern Europe.sentence permalink

It's not just for geeks, it's not just for guys.sentence permalink

No - this is everywhere, and for everyone. A powerful spark to light a fire under our economy - everywhere. And I hope you can light that spark with me.sentence permalink

Here in Spain I've seen success stories like Tuenti. Female entrepreneurs like Ana Maiques, winner of a European Women Innovators Award. Accelerators like Wayra and SeedRocket. Events like this one, gathering and energising this vibrant community. I recently met some very talented women startups from Greece and Romania. This is all over Europe!sentence permalink

In those five years, I noticed that something else has changed. Europe doesn't need a Silicon Valley. That is a thing of the past. We have Start-Up Europe. A large network of many excellent and ambitious Start-Up hubs all across the EU. We have so many ideas, so much talent. So much creativity.sentence permalink

Europe's talent needs the right recognition, rules and resources.sentence permalink

Every parent should be proud if their kids want to set up a startup. Every professor should be encouraging and teaching those skills – though often I know it's the kids teaching the teachers, not the other way round. Every policy-maker should be giving Europe the right environment for startup success.sentence permalink

We are helping. We are providing 80 million euros for the best app ideas for the future internet. We are building European communities of support: investors, accelerators, and more. We are reforming the rules: open data, copyright, roaming. So you can steer a clear course throughout our single market and spread your bright idea.sentence permalink

And soon we will be linking up the startup hubs of Europe! As of January, we launch a new network linking Madrid with the ecosystems in Berlin, Dublin, and Milan – just a few of the 16 European cities connected by a pilot as part of Startup Europe. Meanwhile the Startup Europe Partnership (SEP) will bring corporates, startups and academia together; including Telefonica, BBVA and IE Empresa.sentence permalink

And I want every European – every child and every adult – to have the digital skills they need to face the future.sentence permalink

It's crazy that jobs go unfilled while people are unemployed. Nearly one million digital jobs in fact!sentence permalink

Many countries have launched a national coalition for digital jobs – from Italy to Romania, Malta to Lithuania. I would like to see that happen here in Spain too. In a country so devastated by unemployment that should be top of the government's list.sentence permalink

Those skills need to start young: coding in the classroom. Just like you'd learn to read and write. Secondary schools here in Madrid will be making coding compulsory on the curriculum - fantastic. It's teaching people a new way of creating and a new way of thinking. A new life skill.sentence permalink

And for those who want more, EU Code Week starts on Saturday! There will be thousands of events in more than 36 countries across Europe. Here in Spain there's over 50 events, from classroom hackathons to university workshops to live link-ups with the rest of Europe. Check out codeweek.eu for what's on!sentence permalink

There are many ways to make life easier for startups. The Start Up Leaders Club has put forward 22 ideas in a European startup manifesto that almost 8,000 have already signed. This example has now also been followed by Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Luxemburg, Portugal and Spain. The Start Up world is buzzing with energy!sentence permalink

Today I want to focus on just one thing we can change. One thing we really need to change to be able to make the difference.sentence permalink

It's about having the right mindset. It is about risk-taking. It is one that celebrates success, and also embraces failure.sentence permalink

Europe has many of those successes. Skype, Spotify, Skyscanner, Shazam, Swiftkey, Supercell. All born in Europe. And that's just the ones who begin with S. I could give you many others, from Angry Birds to Zendesk.sentence permalink

Let's celebrate them and start talking about them.sentence permalink

But let's also learn to fail. That's the most important thing you can learn as a startup. Learning to fail is about managing risks much better. Playing it safe, won't help you to make the difference.sentence permalink

Every company you can name started with a failure. But the founders didn't give up at that first hurdle. They kept on going and that's why we have Facebook, Google, and Apple.sentence permalink

Failure isn't a stigma, a black mark on your career. No: it's an event you learn from.sentence permalink

Here in Europe people might look at a CV with many projects on it. And they think – what a list of failures. They think failure is a person, not an event. I don't want to go near this. Investors, banks, employees, employers: too often they think that.sentence permalink

But that's exactly the wrong way to think.sentence permalink

In Silicon Valley they look at a CV and they expect to see that list of failures. If they don't see any - if you didn't ever fail – they know you can't have been trying, and you certainly weren't innovating.sentence permalink

That's an attitude we need to change in Europe. It's time people learned to deal with failure, learned to take a risk. In short – learned how to innovate.sentence permalink

We've come a long way in 5 years.

Now we have many successes to celebrate, many role models to recognise and reward . A community that is visible, viable, vibrant: and finding its voice.sentence permalink

So let's not stop making a noise. Many EU countries are producing their own national startup manifestos. Governments are starting to read them, taking them seriously, implementing and adapting. Starting to listen to the voice of startups.sentence permalink

Let's keep it up. Let's give everyone in Europe the ingredients for startup success. Let's educate younger people about entrepreneurship. Let's create the environment where your idea can flourish and grow. Let's cut red tape, open access to resources and investors. Let's spread the message that failure is a necessary part of a journey. And let's recognise the role these rock stars play in our economy.sentence permalink

That's my startup manifesto. I'm shouting about it in every visit I make in Europe, right up until the end. I hope you will join me.sentence permalink