Tallinn e-Governance Conference 2018: People are online, governments are not
The Tallinn e-Governance Conference, which will take place in Tallinn from 29 to 30 May, will bring to Estonia several internationally renowned experts in the digital field and introduce the latest trends from e-Estonia to representatives from nearly 80 countries.
This year the conference participants are arriving from all continents, 6 states — Afganistan, Antigua ja Barbuda, Bangladesh, Ghana, Santa Lucia and Ukraine — are represented by high-level ministerial delegations.
According to Deputy Director of the e-Governance Academy, Hannes Astok, the conference focuses on the challenges states face when communicating with and providing services to digital citizens. “Governments and local authorities need to face the fact that people are online but they are not, or even if they are, then not in the most convenient way for their users. The aim of the conference is to make governments and organisations more aware of the need to be available for their people online, and offer some ideas as to how communities, municipalities, IT-companies and start-ups can be brought together to develop necessary and handy services for their people,” explains Hannes Astok. “Developing an e-state should be a joint project, not just a pastime for the authorities. Estonia could set an example here.”
The two-day conference will feature more than 30 experts and leaders in the area of digital developments. Keynote speakers will include Beth Simone Noveck, Andrew Keen, Guénaëlle Gault and Niels Godfredsen. The conference will be opened by President Kersti Kaljulaid.
The topics explored in the panel discussions include, for example, the question of whether the European Union’s new data protection regulation impedes or supports digital developments, whether states are able to offer their citizens user-centred e-services, and the challenges for democracy in the digital age.
The e-Governance Academy will present an updated version of the Cyber Security Index, which maps the cyber capabilities of more than 100 countries.
The e-Governance conference will take place for the fourth time. The conference is organised by the e-Governance Academy in cooperation with the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish Government, Tallinn City, and European Regional Development Fund.
More information about the presenters and the programme is available on the website of the Tallinn e-Governance Conference at http://tallinnconference.ee/, where you will also be able to follow the live broadcast of the discussions held at the conference.
