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20
Sep
2023
by Federico Plantera
Podcast 🎧 & blog: Innovation in healthcare provision

  E-governance practitioners well know that the implementation of digital tools is essential, to enhance the provision and reach of public services. This applies across domains, from the most specific in user base to the more generalist ones. But innovation gains even further relevance when services matter to the entire population at large when it […]

6
Jun
2023
by Federico Plantera
Podcast 🎧 & blog: Cyber diplomats from all around the globe will soon gather in Tallinn

  The Tallinn Summer School of Cyber Diplomacy returns for its fourth edition, keeping up the pace with global developments in diplomacy and cybersecurity. But it’s not just about the mainstreaming of cyber diplomacy as a foreign policy topic, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In both war and peace times, it has become evident how […]

8
Mar
2023
by Federico Plantera
Podcast 🎧 & blog: Internet voters are now the majority in Estonia

The last time we started with a question “Is i-voting here to stay?”; this one around, we move on from a strong statement. One week ago, national elections were held in Estonia, and more than a few important records have been set. Among these, the highest ever overall turnout, and the highest ever amount of […]

23
Nov
2022
by Federico Plantera
Podcast 🎧 & blog: Digital transformation in Brazil, and how Estonia can help

Based on essentially all wiki facts and general information, Brazil and Estonia could not be more different. Geographically, culturally, and socially. And still, as we luckily very often saw happen in the past years, these too have a joint meeting point – digital transformation. Interest in Estonia’s digital journey remains constant among policy and changemakers from the […]

25
Oct
2022
by Federico Plantera
Podcast 🎧 & blog: Digital identity – usage across borders

Digital citizens in a digital Europe? We are not quite there yet, but significant steps forward have been made in recent years with eIDAS. And progress doesn’t stop at the borders of political Europe, as a bilateral agreement between the Union and Ukraine is set to enhance the mutual recognition of trust services. We hear […]

28
Sep
2022
by Federico Plantera
Podcast 🎧 & blog: Building a future-ready society in Sarawak, Malaysia

  In Borneo Island, Malaysia, the largest of the 13 states making up the country has an ambitious plan – to turn the region into a digital economy powerhouse of the area. Through the works of the Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) as its implementing agency, government in the region is driving initiative to give the state a […]

27
Apr
2022
by Federico Plantera
Podcast 🎧 & blog: Lessons from effective digital leaders

  Siim Sikkut barely needs any introduction. 17 years in the civil service, of which five as Chief Information Officer of the Government of Estonia. Throughout this time, many of our readers and listeners have had the chance to meet him, or hear from his team about what a constant process of digital transformation looks like. […]

16
Feb
2022
by ega
Podcast 🎧 : What will post-pandemic schools look like?

  In this episode, IT-visionary Linnar Viik talks about the post-pandemic trends of teaching and learning at schools, and shares with us the findings from the survey he conducted among teachers and parents in Estonia. Listen to the discussion and find out how did the schools in various countries react to the lockdowns and how […]

31
Jan
2022
by Federico Plantera
Perhaps, the AI revolution is not as loud as we thought

It seems almost physiological that the latest tech buzzwords, with time, undergo some sort of resizing. Technology advances, consulting firms and market actors take the leap envisioning how the latest development could change everything, and then we notice how such upheavals are slower to unfold than expected – or they even underachieve, compared to the […]

10
Nov
2021
by Federico Plantera
Priit Vinkel: Internet voting is a very sticky method of participating in elections

    More and more Estonian residents have decided to participate in the recent local elections in October 2021 simply using internet and their own digital ID. To be precise, more than ever. From the comfort of home, the office, or even a holiday destination. Priit Vinkel, Senior Expert of Smart Governance at e-Governance Academy, […]

20
Oct
2021
by ega
Podcast 🎧 : Is i-voting here to stay?

  Estonia conducted i-voting for the 12th time, in the recent local elections on 11 – 17 October 2021. In this episode, we cast light on these election results and explore with Priit Vinkel, the former Head of the Estonian Electoral Office and one of the implementers of the internet voting system in Estonia, what […]

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6
Oct
2021
by ega
Podcast 🎧: Does technology increase or decrease democracy?

  In this episode of the Digital Government Podcast, you are welcome to meet our distinguished e-democracy expert Liia Hänni, who recently celebrated her 75th birthday! Known as the “mother” of the Estonian Constitution, she has had a massive impact in the design of Estonia’s democratic face and digital society. Within the following 21 minutes, […]

22
Sep
2021
by Anu Vahtra-Hellat
Podcast 🎧: Will e-census be our next normality?

  Estonia is preparing for its first e-census or register-based census, where all Population and Housing Census data will be compiled from the data of the national registers. About 24 national registers will be included, and they involve data on many fields of life. Only the information that is not available in registers will be […]

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15
Sep
2021
by Anu Vahtra-Hellat
Podcast 🎧: Pros and cons of using biometric data

  While we approach the international identity day on September 16, we are addressing the topic that concerns our identity and its use, online or offline. In today’s episode of Digital Government Podcast, we explore with Kaija Kirch, Head of Digital Identity Technologies at Cybernetica AS, the pros and cons of using biometric data in identification and providing access […]

2
Jun
2021
by Anu Vahtra-Hellat
Podcast 🎧 : How do Finland and Estonia benefit from the cross-border secure data exchange?

In today’s episode Ville Sirviö, the CEO of the Nordic Institute for Interoperability Solutions (NIIS), casts light on how to get digital data securely running between two countries, based on the X-road trust federation, and how citizens of Finland and Estonia have benefited from it. As we know, Finland and Estonia are exchanging data of […]

26
May
2021
by Anu Vahtra-Hellat
Podcast 🎧: The role of civil society organisations in a digital society

  In this episode of Digital Government Podcast, Urmo Kübar, the former advisor to the Estonian President and the Executive Director of Praxis, talks about the role of civil society organizations in a digital society and explains how can they benefit from digital tools for building a more seamless society.  Being involved in the Estonian […]

5
May
2021
by Adhele Tuulas
Podcast 🎧 : Digital transformation trends for governments entering the next normal

  This year’s e-Governance Conference – A Digital Decade in One Year – looks at the implications of the accelerated digital transformation resulting from the pandemic. The programme creates space to explore the new normal in which we find ourselves today, and the next normal that we are entering. In the build-up to the Conference, […]

10
Mar
2021
by Federico Plantera
Podcast 🎧 and blog: Addressing the demands for digital responsibility

  Digital technologies have become ever more embedded in our everyday lives, introducing topical questions over their fair and ethical use. Openness and transparency in service delivery enable such requests. But, also, these trigger a change in values and attitudes that intensify pressure on governments and companies to be more accountable for the impact of […]

3
Mar
2021
by Anu Vahtra-Hellat
Podcast 🎧 : Opportunities and challenges of using AI for public service provision

In this episode of the Digital Government Podcast, our guest Marten Kaevats, the National Digital Advisor of the Estonian Government, will shed light on why and how to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) for public service provision. Is AI a viral buzzword or a beneficial tool to make public service provision smarter and more efficient? He […]

16
Dec
2020
by ega
Podcast 🎧 : Lessons learned from 2020 for governments

What lessons learned should governments and public officials take away from this year? In this year’s final episode of the Digital Government Podcast, former President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves shares his hopes, fears and criticisms on how governments have coped with the pandemic challenges. As expected from the former President of Estonia, his recipe […]

19
Nov
2020
by Anu Vahtra-Hellat
Podcast 🎧: The challenges of secure elections

Recent elections in the US and in other countries raised a lot of claims that election results might be manipulated. Our CyberConf2020, to be held online on 24 November, dives deep into the topic of how to secure elections in the digital era. In this episode of Digital Government Podcast, Mr Toomas Hendrik Ilves, former […]

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12
Nov
2020
by Federico Plantera
Podcast 🎧 & blog: Benin has taken off on its digital journey

| The project is responsive to the following SDGs of the United Nations: 5 – 8 – 9 – 16 | What do a small north-eastern European country and the massive continent of Africa have in common? Originally, very little. At first glance, even less. And still, these two dimensions introduced through only a few […]

4
Nov
2020
by ega
Podcast 🎧: Why governments do not want the Internet to be free?

In the Digital Government Podcast Episode, the previous contributors to the report “Freedom on The Net”, Linnar Viik and Katrin Nyman-Metcalf, shed light on this year’s Internet Freedom Index global report. They clarify two different views on freedom of expression, which is one of the cornerstones of Internet freedom, and answer the question of why […]

28
Oct
2020
by Merle Maigre
Podcast 🎧 and blog: What is cyber hygiene?

At times of COVID-19, cyber hygiene became particularly important. Being more cyber aware and practising healthy cyber hygiene is what will ultimately help you keep your business or administration continuity when you need it. In this blogpost and podcast, our senior cybersecurity expert Merle Maigre shares best practices of cyber hygiene from France, Estonia, the UK  that is […]

14
Oct
2020
by Federico Plantera
Podcast 🎧 and blog: Risks and opportunities in voting on the internet

When it comes to political participation, elections represent something that most countries have in common, but that differentiates them between each other at the same time. All democratic nations set rounds of voting to renew people’s representatives in national assemblies; however, almost all nations vary in the ways elections are carried out. From registration to […]

9
Oct
2020
by Adhele Tuulas
Podcast 🎧 & blog: How to boost your country’s digital transformation remotely

In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, countries undertook years’ worth of digital transformation in a matter of weeks. The public sector – traditionally viewed as the slower player in the digital game– accelerated its innovation efforts to keep countries in function while decreasing risks to public health. It was only natural that governments would […]

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23
Sep
2020
by Federico Plantera
Podcast 🎧 and blog: Legal obstacles to e-government (that don’t exist)

To many, the road to e-governance may seem rocky. Not only during some client meetings, but also in seminars and just conversations in general, an age-old question is often brought up: “Digitalization, okay, great. But there are too many legal obstacles to implement it in our country.” Today, we get this one off the board […]

6
Jul
2020
by Federico Plantera
DESI 2020 – Europe’s digital society advances, but at very different speeds

Since 2014, the yearly appointment with the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) of the European Commission is a perfect opportunity to assess the state of affairs on digitalization in all Member States. The 2020 issue of the Index, despite relying on data previous to the pandemic outbreak, gives us the possibility to evaluate countries’ […]

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