The co-organizers of the e-Governance Conference are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ESTDEV
The e-Governance Academy (eGA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Estonian Center for International Development Cooperation (ESTDEV) signed a cooperation agreement for the organization of the e-Governance Conference in the years 2023 – 2025.
The purpose of the cooperation is to discuss Estonia’s foreign policy goals and international development cooperation topics in the conference program, in order to increase the visibility and influence of Estonia as a donor country among target countries and partner organizations.
“Digital government and society development is one of the priorities for the Estonian government in international collaboration. The e-Governance Conference is one of the key events in this field and a good opportunity for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to develop global relations and promote principles that are important for Estonia,” said Tanel Sepp, Director General of the Department of Digital and Cyber Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
With this year’s Conference, eGA celebrates its 20 years of activity in championing digital societies. During this time, in cooperation with Estonian and international organizations, eGA has carried out more than 300 cooperation projects, with over 280 organizations, in 141 countries and regions. The experience gained has inspired the theme of this year’s Conference “Digital Innovation as Catalyst for Social Change”. The Conference will focus on how to implement digital innovations more efficiently to benefit the entire society.
“In 9 years, the e-Governance Conference has become a meeting place for representatives of transforming countries, Estonian e-government developers and international donors. Many digital cooperation projects have received a boost from this Conference, for example, the development of a data exchange platform in Djibouti and Benin, the creation of a digital country roadmap for Pacific countries, and cooperation with the governments of Aruba, Dominica, Namibia and the Cayman Islands,” said Hannes Astok, Executive Director of the e-Governance Academy.
The Estonian government has always promoted the benefits of a digital society throughout the world and has supported the digital development of several countries within the framework of development cooperation.
“Development cooperation provides a good opportunity to share Estonia’s experience and skills in creating a digital-prone society. Introducing and testing Estonian solutions in a new environment provides new possibilities, which can lead to a leap in digital development in Estonia itself. Therefore, covering the topics of development cooperation at an influential international conference is important for both Estonia and our partner countries,” explained Andrea Kivi, Executive Director of ESTDEV.
The e-Governance Conference has been organized by the e-Governance Academy since 2015. The title of this year’s conference is “Digital Innovations as Catalyst for Social Change” and it will be focused on the role of digital innovation in the development of society. The Conference will be held onsite in Tallinn on May 30-31 at Kultuurikatel and online at egovconference.ee.The two-day event will feature digital development strategists, experts, practitioners, and donors from more than 70 countries.