Digital Government Podcast

The pandemic caused countries around the world to employ digital solutions, which they had been ignoring or postponing, almost overnight. Such rapid development also raises several questions related to digital responsibility and accountability. Digital responsibility has mainly been addressed by the business sector. However, the expectations to the governments to set the agenda for digital respons...

The rapid digitalisation of societies introduces new expectations towards tech companies. People expect companies to take care of their ecological footprint, support free expression, respect privacy and develop a more secure cyberspace.   Explore how enterprises and governments can address these demands for digital responsibility with tech innovator Üllar Jaaksoo , from Greenergy, technology and p...

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 are the lessons learned from i-voting, both for Estonia and as well as for other gover...

Today we invite you to listen to the episode on the next normal of digital transformation featured by futurist Thrond Arne Undheim and the former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves .  Follow their discussion on what have the governments learned from 2020 and what they have refused to learn. Moreover, the guest will talk about the trends that will influence digital transformation the most in t...

In today's 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, she talks about the relationsh...

In this episode, Heiko Vainsalu , a Senior Expert on Technology at the e-Governance Academy, debunks the most viral tech myths. These myths, expressed by buzzwords, are accompanying us while we are talking or listening to discussions on digital transformation and government innovations. Join us to find out: What are today's most common tech buzzwords? How the following tech buzzwords influenc...

Tänavu 17.oktoobril toimuvad kohalikud valimised, mille eel on kõigil soovijatel juba 12. korda võimalus e-hääletada. Pühendame oma saate e-hääletamisele ning e-riigi akadeemia eestvõttel loodud e-hääletamise heale tavale. Saates räägivad e-hääletuse hea tava üks väljatöötajatest Liia Hänni ja kauaaegne valimisteenistuse juht, pregune E-riigi Akadeemia vanemekspert Priit Vinkel e-hääletamise prots...

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 asked from people.  The e-census will take place at 00:00 on 31 Decembe...

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, 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 online or onsite.  In particular, you will learn  What...

The globalisation of economies, technologies and communication has challenged country sovereignty relative to actions and protection. In the global scene, we can witness every day how fake news attack democracy, and how hackers do the same to supply chains, electricity networks or hospitals. The problem of one country concerns simultaneously other countries too, as we all are connected to each oth...

At the beginning of the school year, it is timely to talk about digital skills development since digital skills are one of the most critical enablers of digital transformation. In today's episode (a recording from the e-Governance Conference 2021),  Kristo Vaher from Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communication of Estonia, Cigdem Ertem (INTEL) and Kristel Rillo shed light on what kind of di...

Cyber attacks are becoming a natural part of our digital life. Hence it is wise to know how to defend your data and infrastructure to avoid losses. In today's episode of the Digital Government Podcast, we invite you to explore how governments and organisations can be better prepared for cyber attacks. Two distinguished cyber experts Ragnar Rattas, from CybExer Technologies , and Merle Maigre...

In this 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 their population and business registers, and also their tax bo...

In today's episode, 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 civic society development for more than 20 years, he is the right person to cast lig...

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, our podcasts will introduce some main speakers and topics that will...

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, our podcasts will introduce some main speakers and topics that will t...

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, our podcasts will introduce some main speakers and topics that will t...

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, our podcasts will introduce some of the main speakers that will take...

For more than four years, the e-Governance Academy's team has assisted digital transformation in Ukraine by creating the conditions for digital services' provision. In this episode, our Ukrainian team leader, Mari Pedak , casts light on the technical developments within the EGOV4Ukraine project, the organisational developments in the Ukrainian government, and the changes in Ukraine'...

With the COVID19 vaccines developed and immunization campaigns being rolled out, governments and international organisations are now seeking a way to harmonize how to exit the crisis with vaccine certificates. In this Digital Government Podcast, we invite you to examine what are the technological and organisational enablers to raise trust towards vaccine certificates. The podcast features Konstant...

In this episode, we invite you to listen to the topical discussion on cross-border health-data exchange challenges due to the new vaccine certificate. We examine the challenges and opportunities from the perspective of hospitals, governments and worldwide organisations as the World Health Organisation. How could we benefit from the health data exchange between countries? Why it is so hard to reach...

Cyber threats and attacks are part of the daily management of IT systems and e-services. Usually, we, as regular users of e-services, do not know about attacks as long as the e-service is available and working. In this episode, Epp Maaten, Programme Director of Cyber Security, talks about how to secure e-services, IT systems or even networks from cyber attacks. She casts light on a process called...

The COVID19 pandemic has created a new reality for the healthcare sector, globally testing its limits. The European Commission, along with the World Health Organisation, is looking for a scalable digital infrastructure for secure vaccination certification to help governments to reopen societies and economies.   In this episode, Merle Maigre , the organizer of the Digital Transformation Talks intro...

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 their activities. This impact might be soc...

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 for public service provision. Is AI a viral buzzword or a beneficial tool to make public service provision smarter and more efficient?  He familiarizes us with the new creature, the ‘Kratt’, that assi...