Prof. Paul De Hert and ESR Barbara Lazarotto at the Norface Governance Online Lecture Series

On 01 March 2023, Prof. Paul de Hert and ESR Barbara Lazarotto participated in the third NORFACE GOVERNANCE Online Lecture Series at the University of Luxembourg. They were joined by Prof. Jean-Bernard Auby, Emeritus Professor of Public Law, Sciences Po Paris – Former Director of “Mutations de l’Action Publique et du Droit Public” («Changes in Governance and Public Law»), Former Deputy Director of the Oxford Institute of European and Comparative Law. The online lecture series was a part of the dissemination practices for the governance program.

The lecture was titled “Should the state be smart?“, and approached the concept of “smartness” as a buzzword that is sold by private companies to governments, which often adopt technology to micromanage individuals’ lives, confusing it with administrative effectiveness. The lecture explored possible alternative paradigms for governments for the future and their relationship with technology.