I’m a man, I’m 37 years old, I have short, dark hair,
blue eyes and white skin. I’m sitting down
and behind me is a white wall with 2 pictures.
I am Mikel Zorrilla and I work at Vicomtech.
Vicomtech is a research centre and I'm in charge of
Digital Media.There, my work is to design,
develop and manage research projects and among other things,
I am the coordinator the European project TRACTION.
As I said, Vicomtech is a centre that carries out
applied research and one of our
objectives is to improve the competitiveness
of businesses in the audiovisual industry in media
and other areas, such as industrial processes,
energy, transport systems, biomedical applications
and many others. Our mission isn’t only to improve
the competitiveness of businesses,
but also to uphold a social commitment
and deliver a positive social impact.
In that sense, it’s not a surprise that
we have participated in projects such as HBB4ALL,
in which we developed technology
to make interactive television usable for all,
and that today we are coordinating a project like TRACTION.
Since I was little, music has always been a fundamental part of my life.
I started a music school when I was very young and there,
I learnt to play several instruments. Also,
I have participated in several musical groups. That's why
for me, when music and technology converge
with my professional development
it's an extra motivation. I also firmly believe in the concept
of co-creation which is why it's such a pleasure
to be coordinating a project like TRACTION.
We can't deny that COVID-19 has made a huge impact.
The supposed changes that seemed almost impossible
a few months ago have proven possible.
It has led to huge leaps
towards digitization, and very quickly.
When we created the TRACTION project and still knew
nothing of this pandemic, we had already set out
to create new audiovisual formats
and use technology as a key factor in the creative process.
What is clear, is it is more necessary than ever
and that we need it more urgently than ever.
I believe that with or without a pandemic,
the steps that are being taken towards digitalization
are here to stay
as part of our future.
This is not an easy question to answer.
With or without technology, I fully believe in a society
with social equality, where there is no place for discrimination.
But people are the ones who need to take that path.
Here, technology can be a useful tool
in speeding up this process
and offering a range of possibilities.
However, technology alone won't guarantee the process.
That’s why it’s very important that organizations like Vicomtech
show sensitivity to a social commitment, focussing
its research in the field where there are projects like TRACTION,
where the nine participating organizations clearly share
the objective, and the European commission
keep putting adequate mechanisms in place
so there can be more projects like TRACTION.