Estonia’s digital ambassador: Nele Leosk’s journey and insights

April 17, 2024

by Justin Petrone

Nele Leosk, ambassador-at-large for digital affairs at the Estonian Foreign Ministry since 2020, reflects on Estonia and e-Governance.

Nele Leosk has led extensive digital, economic, and governance reforms in various countries around the world. Whether working in academia, as a consultant, or for the government, she has become a highly sought-after expert in e-governance.

We recently interviewed Leosk about her current role as ambassador-at-large for digital affairs, the state of e-governance, and the global role that Estonia continues to play as a pioneer and instigator.

How did you get into GovTech? Was it a personal choice, or did someone encourage you to become an expert?

I have worked developing our digital space for the past 22 years. I got my first glimpse into the area in the early 2000s when I worked at the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, which is also responsible for digitalisation in Estonia. When I was looking for new opportunities, my colleagues from the digital branch introduced me to the e-Governance Academy that the Estonian government had just founded, the United Nations Development Program, and the Open Foundation. I looked it up, and it seemed interesting, though I didn’t know much about e-governance back then.

It was the time of digital identity, the time of X-Road®, and the time of laying the legal framework that enabled the development of an open, inclusive and safe digital society. In a way, digitalisation gave the impetus for modernising Estonian culture. Quite a bit was happening even before 2000. Several preparations had started earlier, such as the introduction of the eID. We all know about the Tiger Leap and Look at World – the initiatives that introduced Estonian people to the internet and digital technologies. These also happened before then.

So, I started to work at the e-Governance Academy. Initially, I worked closely with questions about digital democracy; then, I served as a program director for digital education and skills. Later, I was involved in different areas of digitalisation. I led economic and government reforms all over the globe, from Haiti to Mongolia, from Tunisia to Ukraine. It was fascinating. Implementing reforms and achieving results in different economies and political, governmental, and cultural environments was also challenging.

Since then, my career path has always involved digital technologies from different fields and regions in other organisations. I have worked with political leaders and high government officials and have been hands-on in developing services and e-participation tools. I have experience in academia, international organisations, and the private sector. After 11 years abroad, I returned to Estonia and started to work on the foreign policy aspects of digital technologies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia.   

What does your current job as ambassador-at-large for digital affairs entail?

Digital diplomacy has been rooted as an essential domain in foreign politics in recent years. The space and scale of technological development and the impacts of these on the economy, democracy and security are immense. For example, comparing current developments to the 2000s is a very different scale. 

Digital technologies do not recognise borders. They bring along opportunities and globalisation. Estonia has benefitted from these. It is not an understatement that digitalisation put Estonia on the world map, with our digital services and startup scene. Estonia is looked up at around the globe, and rightly so. 

But, increasingly, digital technologies bring along risks. Privacy is being violated, and cyber-attacks and technological interdependencies are increasing. What is also a concern is that technological developments are concentrated in very few countries, and big tech and their platforms have increased influence. There is quite a race for digitalisation. 

So, how can we globally ensure technologies are used for good and not for bad? How do we make sure they are used democratically and not autocratically? How do we ensure that everybody benefits from technology, not just a few? How do we make sure that everyone has the necessary skills and capacity to use these technologies: countries, towns, companies, universities, schools, people, also public officials and diplomats? Finding answers to these questions unites diplomats working on tech issues.

But aside from these global issues, I also have the pleasure of representing Estonia globally, our developments, companies, and interests. We recently adopted our digital diplomacy concept paper, which includes several main work streams. Besides global technology governance, it also covers digital cooperation and economic diplomacy. As part of Estonia’s digital diplomacy, e-Estonia still has a substantial role. This is how Estonia is known to the world, and maintaining and increasing Estonia’s global position is one part of Estonia’s digital diplomacy.

Are there special conferences or forums for digital diplomats and cyber attaché where you talk about these issues?

Increasingly so, both in the EU and globally. There is an active network of EU digital ambassadors. We work closely with the European External Action Service, like the European Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other EU and international organisations, such as the UN. Increasingly, big tech companies are at the table. We have a very close network that I am very grateful for, as this is where we share our views, discuss different topics, and support each other. 

We also gather globally and often attend events around digital and technology governance.

Is Estonia still seen as a pioneer when it comes to GovTech?

Estonia still has a strong global position and is known as a digital leader. And rightfully so. I have not come across a society where everything comes so holistically together. We can conduct most of our public and private business digitally and conveniently. Digital signatures, for example, have made my life so much easier, especially when living abroad, from selling my car to voting via the internet. Still, we also need to be mindful that though Estonia leads in the public sector in digitalisation, we also have to take our industry and companies to higher levels and complexity of the use of technologies. The other aspect we need to understand is that it is increasingly challenging to keep up with the technological developments and investments in infrastructure, as the need for computing power is increasing. But Estonia has always been an intelligent adopter and a brave implementer of technologies, and further investments are needed to keep this going. 

Of course, global expectations for Estonia are high, too. In my field, there are several areas that we need answers for. Estonians are expected to have many answers to these common issues that technology brings. AI governance, data governance, and cross-border data sharing require a lot of resources to understand the problems and what is at stake. 

Estonia has influenced several EU developments, such as the European Interoperability Act and European eIDAS, as Estonia had prior experience here. 

You have advised governments in Europe, Asia, Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East. What sets them apart or makes them similar?

Now that we are many years into digitalisation, we have come to realise that despite our differences, there are so many similarities, joint problems and solutions to these problems. For example, all countries need digital identity, data-sharing solutions, registries, and payment systems. This has put co-creation, sharing and re-use of digital solutions on the global agenda. Digital public infrastructure, digital public goods, and digital commons – these trends support openness, sharing, and building on existing experiences. 

Estonia’s X-Road is a perfect example of a global public good that has been re-used in many countries. GovStack – an initiative that Estonia co-leads with Germany, the International Telecommunication Union, and DIAl, is another excellent example of global cooperation that builds on similarities. Amidst these trends, we should not forget that digitalisation is much more than technology, and solutions comprise only a tiny part of the whole. 

But, of course, there are also differences. Differences in economic level, income, and size of a country influence our digital paths. We see countries in the Middle East moving fast, using cutting-edge technologies. However, some countries must consider illiteracy issues and require more electricity when designing digitalisation programs. 

Still, cooperation is essential, regardless of where we stand. Several of the emerging topics are common to all of us. There are challenges that Estonia, or any country alone, may need help to solve. We must find ways to fight disinformation, protect our citizens’ privacy, and regulate tech companies. The EU has been a pathfinder here, and I am glad that some of what we have done in Estonia or the EU could benefit others and the other way around. 

Resouce: e-estonia

GovTech for sustainable development goals

April 17, 2024 by Peeter Vihma

Governments worldwide are attempting to do their part to fulfill sustainable development goals. How can GovTech help?

Not just any “public good”

The world faces enormous challenges of unsustainable energy and material use, degradation of biodiversity, and crumbling of democracy and global justice. Governments are tackling this by, for example, setting up missions to solve problems in cooperation with the private sector. However, until recently, little attention has been paid to understanding GovTech solutions about the Sustainable Development Goals. This is a gap that Alena Labanava, PhD student at the Institute of Software Science at Tallinn University of Technology, is aiming to fill.

Educational gaps for public sector administrators

One of the first tasks that Ms Labanava set herself was assessing the role of an e-government education programme of TalTech in achieving SDGs. It is the study program where most current and future public administrators in Estonia come in close contact with the potential of GovTech. Her research was done on a cohort of students consisting of current mid-career public sector professionals.

The most significant finding from this research is the growing interest in the contribution of digital government to affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), reduced inequalities (SDG 10), responsible consumption (SDG 12), and climate action (SDG 13). 

“The results show that it is not just any solutions dubbed as “public good” that the administrators are interested in, but they are actively seeking solutions in specific areas,” says Ms Labanava. These areas of digital government education have the potential to improve. }

Evaluating GovTech by SDG-s

Ms. Labanava’s next step in her research is to create a catalogue of GovTech solutions and place them on the map. 

“Inspiration came from the GovTech Catalogue designed by the GovTech Connect project, but I think this can be improved,” says Ms Labanava. “It currently shows only labs and accelerators, but not individual solutions. We also want to classify them by SDGs so that public administrators can easily track what problem they solve.” 

Having assembled a small team, the work on the catalogue has just begun. The plan is to collect a list of companies and check how and where their solutions have been used (success stories and use cases) so that it would become a handy tool.

“The market for GovTech is global. Public sector employees need to know what solutions are being produced not only in their own country, Europe, and elsewhere,” says Ms Labanava.

A global picture is essential for accelerating the adoption of already well-working solutions across geographies and helping public sector procurers make better-informed purchasing decisions.

Addressing the bottleneck of implementation 

Providing a comprehensive overview is crucial, but implementing any solution requires cooperation. This is why governments in Europe and elsewhere are setting up InnovationLabs, Bootcamps, and Accelerators. Their main aim is to catalyse innovation between the private and public spheres. 

In Estonia, one promising initiative is Grab2Go, which aims to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable areas by developing automated pharmacies. For them, the main challenge is not technological but legislative. This is what their cooperation with Accelerate Estonia is focused on.

Grab2Go solution optimizes resources by enabling a single pharmacist to assist patients from any corner of Estonia through video consultations, breaking geographical barriers. It also grants pharmacists more time for face-to-face consultations, allowing them to apply their expertise effectively.

However, even testing automated pharmacies in rural areas requires amendments to the Medicines Act.  “We set up a test machine in one of the rural areas in Estonia, but due to legislative constraints, we were only able to operate it during the opening hours of the actual pharmacy,” says Olari Püvi, head of Accelerate Estonia. “This did not provide us with the necessary advantage nor the data that we required, and that would not bring out the benefits of an automated system.”

Hence, besides conducting risk analyses with mitigation strategies, the collaboration between Accelerate Estonia and Grab2Go is focused on legal changes. It would bring Estonia’s sustainable goals a step closer.

Resouce: e-estonia

Madis Tapupere: the evolution towards a more personalised, complex, and integrated digital state

April 17, 2024

by Peeter Vihma

Article content

Rare is a glance into the head of the Chief Technology Officer of Estonia. Having been in office for three months, Madis Tapupere agreed to share his ideas on some of the country’s challenges. We discussed the “personal state”, the EU integration and the development of systemic capabilities of a digital state of growing complexity.

The challenges for the state as a whole

How have the first three months in the public sector been?

I am settling in. In some respects, a country is unlike a big company with a complex digital system. What is new compared to the private sector is understanding how many activities are rooted in laws. In a private company, the board can decide instantly and move on. Important changes in the whole country, however, need regulation change. And it takes a lot of energy to change a big system. I am trying to get a feel for the suitable methods for driving change. Finding a balance between autocracy and collaboration is the key. I follow the “narrow waistline” principle: I try to focus on the most important things instead of controlling everything.

What is your vision for your time in office?

Although it is still in formation, I see multiple areas where we need to address the bigger challenges for the state as a whole: first, further development of general state capabilities, such as advancing the “personal state”; second, EU integration and, third, developing systemic capabilities to address business, data and technology management challenges, including cybersecurity.

And then, there is the task of finding a suitable approach to dealing with these topics. For example, the “personal state” aim can be tackled using a startup mindset, but several other challenges are like those of large companies. How can we innovate in the face of growing complexity and backlog? The existing must be preserved and renewed at the same time.

Therefore, in some areas, we need streamlining, but in other areas, we need to simplify the business and the process side, and hopefully, this will free up hands to deal with new capabilities.

Taking the idea of a “personal state” to the next level

What is your attitude towards the idea of a “personal state” – event-based, invisible, personalised, and integrated digital services for the citizen?

As a strategic goal, a “personal state” is valuable. It relies on principles such as citizen-centred and easy-to-use state services and the once-only principle of data clarity and findability prevalent in several countries. However, while some countries focus on goals we have already achieved, such as information exchange between databases, we should take it to the next level by improving the user experience.

I also recognise that the “personal state” idea goes a long way for Estonia. I have already mentioned that good information exchange between state systems is the foundation of our digital state. Event-based and as invisible as possible services have also been in the works for several years. The added values resulting from data usage are more future-looking and, therefore, blurrier. The challenge is providing a cross-country service within a distributed organisation like our country. And this is not a technology challenge, at least initially, but a governance challenge. Each register in Estonia has its own responsibility, as specified in the law. A citizen-centred view requires changing these basic principles.

In short, the “personal state” is the vision and the direction along which we are going, and our immediate task is to understand where the low-hanging fruit is. The criterion for finding them is the value to the citizen.

Giving people more control

What are the main challenges for developing the “personal state”?

The privacy control mechanism is one of the central questions in developing a more person-centred and invisible service. The more personal the state services become, the more means of control must be given to the person. Otherwise, there is a risk of growing resentment, because we already see that the digital state is not universally accepted by everyone. This tendency must not be exacerbated. Rather, we must find ways to ensure citizens are in control when interacting with the digital state. This can be done by developing consent services and data trackers.

Do you feel you understand things when you go to FB privacy settings? Using data in a large system is difficult for developers and users. How do you convey this info to people? How do you empower people to go along with it? These are the pressing challenges we need to address.

We have been taking the first steps in constructing consent management in Estonia. For example, everyone will have an overview of the use of their data at the Eesti.ee level. However, as we develop our personal state further, the consent service must also be developed to make the complex world understandable and manageable for people.

Innovators dilemma in integration with the EU

Where do you see the challenges and opportunities for EU digital integration?

I would phrase our biggest issue here as the “innovators dilemma”: what brought us here may not take us further. The prerequisites for Estonia’s success may not be applicable in the wider world, and vice-versa — the solutions of the wider world may not fit well with our digital society. My task is to maintain the prerequisites for our success, such as tightly integrated registries, and fit in other solutions and work methods that address the needs and situations of other European countries.

The Digital Identity Wallet is a good case in point. We have used eID and direct system-to-system integration in Estonia to handle personal data. The wallet introduces a new one whereas the data is carried along in the wallet as certificates. You ask for data directly from the register or transfer them through the wallet certificate. Adopting the Wallet logic in Estonia poses some challenges that must be addressed.

Estonia is developing a wallet as a nationally approved and functional authentication and identity verification method. The next step is to develop its capacity as a platform. We are developing a strategy along with the use cases for this.  We know, for example, that Estonia already supports using a digital driver’s license in the EU and elsewhere. However, making a comprehensive road map of the additional possibilities is too early.

In the bigger picture, I see an analogy with open banking. After forcing the banks to open their APIs, a whole ecosystem of certified startups and fintechs emerged. I suspect a similar pattern will also emerge in conjunction with the Wallet.

Estonia: an evangelist with a sense of empathy

What is Estonia’s role in these developments in the interoperable EU?

Regarding data interoperability at the EU level, we must distinguish between two options. First, where there are specific needs, such as stemming from regulations, the data exchange is built up specifically based on these needs.

Secondly, we are also building the foundation of a more general data exchange.  We are supporting the emergence of a broader data exchange ecosystem in the form of “data spaces”. It is a structured description of workflows, data exchange, and how data is agreed upon and monetised. Estonia is involved in the experiments at the EU level, and the future version of our X-road will integrate in this direction. It is an interesting time of emerging standards and proofs-of-concept, so we are closely monitoring this.

I see Estonia’s role in adding pressure to increase ambition. We have real-life experience of how a well-designed digital state can function. Sure, we must accept that everyone’s ability is not the same, but we can be the ones who say that things are possible if done well. Sort of evangelists in what we believe, but also with a sense of empathy.

Technology as an asset

How to deal with the common problem of all systems: legacy?

We must ensure we direct enough active interest towards managing the legacy. In Estonia, we constantly deal with legacy systems, and it is an accepted justification for current investments. However, there is little cross-national management information on the situation.

One of the sources of difficulties is that “a legacy system” does not have a clear definition. It is at least partly subjective. For example, a way to define a legacy system is “system that works”.

However, legacy needs to be addressed because this allows a country to be clear about its limitations. Strategic choices can be made when there is an understanding of what can and cannot be done. This allows meaningful portfolio management and directing of resources. Instruments for dealing with legacy are diverse: technological innovation, cutting the system into smaller pieces and changing them, or even completely rewriting the business process. In the end, we may even have to shut a system down. We need to ensure the pile of stones is not allowed to get too big so it can no longer be stacked around.

The principle I would like to establish is that technology is an asset. Technology is not only an investment that does something new. It is an asset with characteristics, risks, and costs; therefore, it must be managed so that the risks do not become too high and the costs do not become too high. In this way, we can get the maximum out of our portfolio.

Has digitalisation gone too far?

What is your attitude towards the “twin transitions” approach of aligning digital and sustainable transitions?

We need to take the turn to sustainability as one of the parameters of technological development. Some aspects we already share with it, such as optimisation and resource efficiency.

If we accept that all technology management has a cost and creates complexity, then we can clearly see that, in some places, digitisation has gone too far. We should start at the business process level and pressure our operations to optimise.

This capacity could be improved on the national level. The beginnings are there as the capabilities of service management and service portfolio management are already in place. Activities in this field will continue in the context of the green transition. Having a clear map of the scene is its prerequisite.

Resouce: e-estonia

Ukrainian digital journey: Estonia’s role in Ukraine’s EU integration

March 13, 2024

by Peeter Vihma

Estonia and Ukraine have cooperated on digital development for more than a decade. However, this collaboration has grown more intense and important as Ukraine integrates into the European Union.

Why Estonia?

In recent years, Ukraine has evolved into a global GovTech powerhouse. It showcases digital solutions that have yet to be developed in many EU countries, such as digital IDs or driver’s licenses. In line with Ukraine’s goal to make 100% of public services available online, almost 20 million Ukrainians already use the Diia application to access key documents and government services.

Estonia has been closely engaged with the Ukrainian digital success story. The main partner for Ukrainian-Estonian digital cooperation has been the e-Governance Academy (eGA). Why has this cooperation endured?

“eGA came to Ukraine first in 2012 to support the digital development of local government, and since these projects were successful, they led to more ambitious projects on national level,” explains Dr Oleg Burba, Senior Expert at e-Governance Academy

“Probably the most prominent was involvement in developing the Trembita data exchange system, which has Cybernetica’s UXP at its core and is similar to the X-Road. So, at least partly, trust in eGA has been based on the success and flawless operation of Trembita.”

“Ukrainians have appreciated the practical and sustainable orientation of eGA. Their projects have always included Ukrainian experts instead of acting as paratroopers who fly in and solve problems. It has always been like a symbiosis,” adds Oleksandr Kozlov, senior expert on eID at eGA.

“Although other countries can build internal systems, Estonia has the unique capacity to share its experience and know-how through the wide pool of experts at eGA, many of whom have been directly involved in developing the Estonian digital state.”

War created pressing needs

In digital cooperation between countries, it is easy to lose the development process in the cracks of short-term projects. Ukraine proves that this is not inevitable.

“War in Ukraine has created a need for continuous and fast development of Ukraine in the digital realm. We cannot afford projects after projects that end with useless reports. Rather, we see the development as a continuous process where projects are only ways of funding and focusing activities,” comments Dr Burba.

“Ukraine was lucky to have main state systems and registries before the full-scale war. This helped us develop new services quickly. For example, Trembita provides services for internal refugees, relocation and work services, and compensation for damaged properties.”

Developing an electronic ID with Estonia

The cornerstone of digital services is digital identification. EU4DigitalUA project played an important role in developing this in a country where, due to its large size and the urgency of war, the issuance of physical ID cards with sophisticated chips was not feasible.

“The project’s main focus was the development of the technical and legal aspects of digital identity, with a focus on aligning them with the EU requirements,” says Mr Kozlov.

“The Ukrainian electronic identity system is quite unique. It takes into account that many people may have their ID cards lost, damaged, or stolen. Ukrainians can still log in to the Diia ecosystem and create a digital ID based on the registry data. Everyone who has had an ID card or biometric passport issued previously can use their biometric data to prove they are actually the person they claim to be.”

Also, EU4DigitalUA project supported developing a digital signature for the Diia ecosystem. What makes it special is the opportunity to use it on mobile phones, which Ukrainians predominantly use to access digital services. The user interface and the logic are otherwise similar to Estonian Smart-ID. Interestingly, in Ukraine, you must also confirm the signature using biometrics. This includes a liveness check where a person is asked to do random small movements, such as opening and closing the eyes or smiling. A sad necessity for a country in war.

“Mission Impossible” – proofing of digital systems

The project DT4EU, with which Mr Kozlov and Dr Burba have been engaged since 2022, aims to further integrate the already advanced Ukrainian digital ID and signature systems with the EU. This is a crucial step on the road to becoming the next member state of the European Union.

“Although Ukraine has its internal standards, now we must demonstrate how these standards are implemented and how secure they are. This involves self-assessment and auditing by third parties,” says Mr Kozlov.

“For example, we are putting our biometric identification under pressure. We use advanced sensors, such as 58 DSLR cameras, that take hundreds of pictures and turn them into a 3D model to create a “digital person” for the attackers.

“And then we even created a high-quality 3D-printed silicone mask that mimics and has eye movement capacity. It’s stuff you would usually see in Mission Impossible movies. We are trying to make sure that our liveness tests are bulletproof.”

The project also involves auditing the entire information management system and Diia’s overall system based on EU standards.

Several further developments are also in the project. One pressing challenge is providing a functioning digital legal representation and document validation system. “This is like DigiDoc4 in Estonia—only in Ukraine. We are working on an easy user interface that can also be used on a mobile phone. These would also be EU-compatible to validate signatures and documents from all EU member states,” explains Kozlov.

Jumping on the moving train of EIDAS 2.0

As Europe advances with updates in EIDAS regulation, Ukraine needs to catch this moving train.

“On the one hand, Diia already meets all the functionality of the proposed electronic identity wallet – we have eID, signature, driving license, and document sharing capabilities in Diia ecosystem,” says Dr Burba,

“But as usual, the devil is in the details. So, we are working on harmonising the technical and legal requirements with the still-developing EIDAS framework. So, just like other EU countries, in 2 years, we will have a fully functional and compatible wallet.”

“We see that Estonia can support us in EU integration,” says Mr Kozlov. Estonia may not be the largest member state of the EU, but it has a strong voice inside expert groups and diplomatic talks regarding digital identity. Estonian experts have been part of building the Ukrainian digital state. It is good to have someone on the inside to explain and ask the right questions.”

Interested in Ukraine’s lessons learned in preparing to enter the EU’s Digital Single Market? Join the e-Governance Conference on 22 – 23 May 2024! Explore more at egovconference.ee/.

Recouse: e-estonia

6 lessons in building a digital society

October 2, 2023

by Justin Petrone

Around the world, Estonia is still often seen as something of an innovative newcomer. But when it comes to digitisation, the country is quickly becoming the grandfather or grandmother of digital nations. With over 20 years of experience, Estonia has stories to tell about the lessons it has learned. 

This was also apparent during a panel discussion, “Building Resilient and Effective Digital Societies: Lessons and Opportunities”, at the recent Tallinn Digital Summit. Florian Marcus, a project manager at Proud Engineers, moderated the panel, which also included Proud Engineers CEO Laura Kask; Ave Lauringson, managing director of the e-Estonia Briefing Centre; Ants Sild, chairman of the Baltic Computer System (BCS) Digital Skills Academy; and Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who served as president of the Republic of Estonia from 2006 to 2016.

1. Offer digital skills to everyone

The topics discussed by the panel were varied and wide-ranging. Still, when asked about the lessons Estonia had learned from its early embrace of digitisation, dating back to the dawn of the online era in the 1990s, a consensus emerged that building a digital society required more than investing in equipment or software. Rather, public outreach was needed to educate citizens about using new technologies, improve their digital skills, and change their mindset.

According to Ants Sild, digital skills have been one source of Estonia’s success in creating a digital society. He said that the state began cultivating digital skills long before it began to transfer its services online seriously. “These were not just IT and technology skills, but more societal skills,” he said. Ilves, who was one of the initiators of the Tiger Leap Program in Estonia in the mid-1990s, agreed. Tiger Leap was an effort to modernise the country’s educational system, focusing on making computers accessible to all students, as well as connectivity to the internet, alongside teacher training and providing new courses in Estonian.

“At that time, the idea was just to get the digital skills out,” Ilves said. He said that the focus was on investing in education and infrastructure for the first few years, including understanding digitisation and coding. It wasn’t until 2000 that the X-Road data exchange layer was introduced, creating the backbone for an ever-expanding ecosystem of digital services.

2. Make it mandatory

Here, Ilves underscored that Estonia created a mandatory digital identity for all residents, a step he called “key to developing a digital society.” He said that digitisation efforts had failed to coalesce in countries where such identities were optional, as people weren’t motivated to use an optional identity. Governments were similarly not motivated to create digital services.

“You have to make it mandatory for it to be successful,” Ilves said. 

Estonia has borrowed ideas from other countries, too, though. Proud Engineers’ Laura Kask said that the idea to create a digital identity actually came from Finland, where non-mandatory electronic identity cards were introduced in 1999, three years before Estonia.

“The idea came from Finland, and we incorporated our ideas on top of it, tested it, made it compulsory, and now almost 99 per cent of the [Estonian] population uses it,” Kask said.

3. The need for political will

Other factors enabled Estonia’s digital transition. Ilves said that governments must be committed to undertaking reforms that may outlast current administrations. “You need to have the political will to do it,” Ilves said. “Too many countries think that digitisation is about buying stuff,” he said. It requires, he insisted, “knowledge and commitment on the part of political leadership.” The legal framework also has to be solid.

“Laws are the software of society,” commented Ilves. He said that Estonia would not have been able to achieve what it has had it not adopted the Digital Signature Act, enacted in 2000. “If you want to change society, you have to change some of that software, too,” he said. 

Private sector adoption has also spurred on change. Sild agreed that private investments from the banking and telecommunications sectors had played significant roles in digitisation, with almost no government support or engagement at all.

4. Exchange ideas with other governments

However, the creation of a digital society in Estonia has not only been solely a success story. The panellist said there are opportunities to innovate. Proud Engineers’ Kask said that Estonia should continue interacting with other countries to share ideas and learn about new concepts.

“It’s important to exchange ideas, to talk to each other and with government officials worldwide,” said Kask.

According to Lauringson, who directs the e-Estonia Briefing Centre, about 90,000 people have visited to learn more about Estonia’s digitisation efforts. “e-Estonia is the best-known brand of Estonia,” she said, adding that the impact of digitisation on both the government and private sector in the country has been “huge and difficult to measure.” Visitors are mostly interested in how Estonian e-governance works. “The fancy show about the ID card doesn’t give them much,” said Lauringson. “They want to see how the system is built and how we e-govern.”

5. Don’t expect quick success

Lauringson has told them not to expect quick success and said that within Estonia, more could be done to improve the skills of state employees. “We have done well in engaging Estonian citizens in the digital society but have not focused on our government people,” she said. Last year, Estonia rolled out a Digital Competence Initiative. As part of the initiative, courses in digitisation have been offered to state employees through the country’s e-Governance Academy.

“For 20 years, we have been engaging society but haven’t paid attention to high-level officials,” Lauringson said. “They are still a target group.”

6. Being a digital native requires a revolution in thought

Regarding educational outreach, Ilves has been heavily involved with creating a master’s program in digital administration at the University of Tartu, where he has given lectures. Ilves said that the program is intended for senior civil servants to understand the nature of transitioning to e-governance, and is geared especially toward students from developing countries. Ilves noted that digitisation has also entered an era where it is no longer focused on moving paper documents online but rethinking how to build services without a link to legacy systems. He called this perspective being a digital native and said it will require “a revolution in thought.”

Recorse: e-estonia

Estonia’s thriving digital partnership with Africa

July 10, 2023

by Blessing Oyetunde

In the bustling streets of Lagos, Nigeria, and across Africa, Bolt quickly emerged, revolutionising transportation in the continent. The all-in-one mobility giant currently has about 900,000 drivers catering to over 47 million customers across its dominant markets in the vast continent of Africa. Yet, it is only one of many success stories of collaborations and socio-economic ties between Estonia and Africa.

Estonia’s engagement with African nations has gained momentum over the past decade, bolstered by high-level visits and cooperative initiatives. Jana Silaškova, Head of Internationalisation of the Estonian ICT Cluster, affirms the fruitful outcomes of these engagements, highlighting invaluable connections and relationships, leading to cooperation projects with countries such as Benin, Kenya, and Namibia, as well as regional organisations like Smart Africa.

The seven-year journey started when the Estonian ICT Cluster embarked on its first foray into Africa, marking a significant milestone in Estonia’s engagement with the continent. Accompanying high-level visits organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia during their campaign for the UN Security Council, the ICT Cluster paved the way for fruitful collaborations across various African countries, Jana explains. 

Trade with Estonia in Kenya

While Estonia has long been active in and with Kenya, its trade horizons recently expanded physically to the country with the opening of Enterprise Estonia’s trade office. This move enables Estonian companies to target investments in Kenya’s public and private sectors, fostering economic collaboration. The trade agency facilitates investments in agri-produce, information technologies, and wastewater management, among others, while enhancing export access for Kenyan produce to the European market.

According to Joel Karubiu, the Estonian Trade Development Agency’s Export Adviser in Kenya and Country Representative for East Africa, the collaboration between Estonia and Kenya is a vibrant example of the transformative power of partnerships. He also notes that the success of the cooperation between the two countries paves the way for similar initiatives in other African countries, with the scalability and replicability of projects being critical factors for their adoption.

Commenting on the impact of the physical trade office in Kenya, Joel highlights that it has become a hub of trade inquiries and dialogue, empowering engagement between Estonian and Kenyan businesses and unlocking untapped opportunities for further cooperation. Already, eight Estonian ICT companies, including Cybernetica and Nortal, are actively and aggressively pursuing opportunities in the Kenyan market. 

Namibia’s very own X-Road

Estonia’s collaborations with African countries have yielded tangible success stories, driving innovation and transforming digital landscapes. In Namibia, a pioneering partnership emerged between Estonian IT company Cybernetica and the Namibian Government, resulting in implementation of the e-Government interoperability system Nam-X. 

“Our collaboration with Estonia in implementing the Nam-X system has revolutionised our e-Government capabilities, enabling efficient and secure digital services for our citizens,” says Emma Theofelus, Deputy Minister of Information, Communication and Technology of Namibia. In cooperation with the e-Governance Academy, this venture exemplifies how Estonia’s expertise can be harnessed to propel digitisation efforts in African countries.

Driving Southern Africa’s digital transformation journey

Namibia recognises digital transformation as a key enabler in its long-term vision to become a prosperous knowledge-based, and industrialised nation by 2030. Estonia has a role to play in it. Ms Theofelus affirms that collaboration with Estonia aligns with Namibia’s overall development goals. This stems from the nation’s demonstrated excellence in e-governance and extensive experience, making it a trusted partner for Namibia’s digitisation efforts.

Meanwhile, beyond Nam-X, Namibia’s partnership with Estonia has yielded other positive outcomes in its digitalisation journey. Ms Theofelus cites capacity-building initiatives and engagement platforms as significant impact areas. The collaboration has stimulated increased adoption of digital services within Namibia, generating heightened interest in digital transformation across various entities. 

A multiple-fold cooperation

Estonia’s cooperation with Africa spans various fronts, encompassing growth initiatives, exportation of solutions, and foreign aid for development. This is captured in the nation’s regional strategy for Africa for 2020-2030, emphasising the importance of partnership-based relations and the exchange of e-state expertise. The strategy covers foreign and security policy, economic relations, development cooperation, and humanitarian assistance, and EstDev has been one of its vehicles for implementing these strategies.

EstDev, the nation’s esteemed development cooperation program, is aligned with the development cooperation and humanitarian assistance agenda of the Africa 2020-2030 strategy by facilitating knowledge transfer and supporting initiatives in partner nations. Specifically, by supporting initiatives in e-governance, entrepreneurship, and education, EstDev is helping shape the continent’s digital and socio-economic future. 

Currently, the agency is working actively with four African countries – Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, and Uganda to foster sustainable development. Liina Link, Desk Officer at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, notes that selecting specific countries aims to ensure focused action for impact. 

The road ahead: continued collaboration and global partnerships

Overall, Estonia’s partnership with Africa epitomises the power of collaboration in driving digital transformation and innovation. The country’s tailored e-government solutions, ongoing initiatives, and collaborations address critical challenges, while its expertise is a valuable resource for African nations on their digitalisation journey.

Namibia, Kenya, and many others stand as examples of successful collaborations, inspiring similar paths and trajectories throughout Africa. As the continent continues to embrace digital transformation and monumental socio-economic development, Estonia remains a trusted partner and an inspiration for achieving a thriving and sustainable society.

Resource: e-estonia

eGA to support Ukraine’s digital transformation with € 17,4 M

February 21, 2023

e-Governance Academy leads the European Union-supported project “Digital transformation for Ukraine” (DT4UA). With the aim to continue improving the efficiency and security of public service delivery and their access to citizens and businesses in Ukraine, provide rapid response to the needs caused by the war and empower daily governance. The EU is supporting developments with a total budget of € 17,4 million.

„Ukraine shows one of the most dynamic digital transformation processes worldwide – and this despite Russia’s full-scale war. Our duty is to help Ukraine ensure the continuous development of its digital services. They are essential during the war and will remain so during reconstruction. Therefore, European Union supports Ukraine in enhancing digital service provision and e-governance,” said Ambassador Matti Maasikas, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, said.

The project focuses on four priority areas: 1) the development of digital services and a services provision environment of ’Diia’, 2) the improvement of data exchange between registers and service providers, 3) the development of the eID infrastructure in line with the eIDAS regulation, 4) development of the e-Case management system enabling a more efficient and transparent processing of criminal cases, including war crimes.

The project is implemented by the Estonian e-Governance Academy, which has 12 years of experience in cooperation with the Ukrainian public sector. The latest collaboration projects have been the EGOV4UKRAINE, EU4DigitalUA and EU Support to Strengthening cybersecurity in Ukraine. Currently, the e-Governance Academy is running four projects in Ukraine with a total budget of € 41 million. “Our team is excited to continue our joint efforts, with the European Union and the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, of making Ukraine one of the most digitized societies in the world,” Hannes Astok, the Executive Director of the e-Governance Academy, said.

The beneficiary of the project is the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.

“The Ministry’s team is building the most convenient digital state in the world by user experience. One of the main goals is to digitize 100% of government services. In three years, we have digitized the most popular and used government services, and the Diya application is already reaching the international level. In parallel with the launch of online services, we are working on improving data exchange between registries and mutual recognition of Ukrainian digital identity. Thank you, the European Union, for its support in these areas. Together we will be able to speed up the digital transformation of Ukraine,” Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine noted.

Background information

The EU-supported project Digital transformation for Ukraine (DT4UA) lasts from November 2022 until April 2025. The objective of the project is to improve the efficiency and security of public service delivery and their access to citizens and businesses in Ukraine, in line with EU requirements, and provide rapid response to the needs caused by the war. The total budget is € 17 400 000. E-Governance Academy from Estonia (EGA) is the implementer of the project. The project DT4UA is built upon the achievements of the EGOV4UKRAINE and EU4DigitalUA projects.

Within the last projects, the eGA team has made data running, not people in Ukraine, by implementing Trembita, a secure data exchange system and Vulyk, an information system which helps local governments to provide public services for citizen faster and more conveniently. Also, the eGA team contributed to the development of public e-services and helped to ensure the safety and sustainability of Ukraine’s digital society. Together with the Ministry of Digital Transformation eGA team enhanced cyber skills and ensured the safety of public registers and databases.

The e-Governance Academy (eGA) is a centre of excellence to increase the prosperity and openness of societies through digital transformation. Active since 2002.

Resouce: e-estonia

Digitising taxation secures Estonia’s #1 position in Tax Competitiveness Index

January 25, 2023

by Peeter Vihma

According to the Tax Competitiveness Index 2022 Estonian tax system is the most competitive among OECD countries for the ninth year in a row. This is largely due to the digitalisation of the tax system, which significantly reduces the administrative burden for the state, businesses as well as individuals.

Why do Estonians love paying taxes?

The most visible aspect of digitalisation for the end user is the single access “window” for e-services created by the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (ETCB) already at the beginning of this millennium. This, plus the fact that 98% of all data sent to the Tax Board is in digital form, ensures that when a user opens their tax forms, they are already at least partially filled in. As a result, 96% of private individuals and 99% of companies use digital services for paying their taxes.

While these numbers are telling already, the most significant outcome of transparent, simple and functional digitalisation of paying taxes is the high trust in tax administration. According to Jevgeni Shoron, International Relations Specialist at ETCB, their annual public survey shows that 91% of Estonians agree that paying taxes is every citizen’s duty, and 88% know when and how taxes should be paid. Public trust in the Estonian Tax and Customs Board is one of the highest among public offices in Estonia. Thanks to these advances, people generally correct any potential mistakes in their tax declaration themselves and tax administrators can focus only on problematic cases.

One of the first tax administrations with an AI strategy

„We realised that by developing AI utilities through fragmented projects, we would soon run into difficulties. Harnessing AI requires a lot of work in the back office, including creating new roles for our employees,” says Ms Pille Muni. “Now, instead, we have mapped 43 instances where AI could be of use, prioritised them and created a roadmap for achieving our goals.”

Ms Muni elaborates that while it is widely recognised that additional benefits for any digital services come from interoperability, adding more databases into the system creates challenges. As an example, while there were about 90 open data databases in Estonia just a few years ago, now there are more than 170 databases that could potentially be used by the ETCB. To use them, however, a rule-based risk model is required that takes about 2 years to complete manually. With the help of AI, a model can be completed in 6 months, creating additional opportunities for cross-checking, automated data flows and ease of declaring taxes.

AI fights tax evasio n

Several AI-based pilot projects have already been put into action, for example, in the problematic field of “envelope wages” (that is, unofficially paid wages that avoid taxes) and VAT. These experimental pilots have incorporated private sector partners such as MindTitan for injecting digital know-how into ETCB. Together they have trained AI to recognise tax patterns and anomalies in those patterns indicating potential tax evasions with 97% accuracy. For example, ETCB models of VAT risk scoring have helped to detect a large-scale VAT fraud in Saaremaa, a municipality worth hundreds of thousands of euros. These encouraging results boost organisations’ readiness to implement AI more widely.

The future of paying tax is in real-time

The developing economic environment and digitalisation of society require the continuous development of the tax administrator. In tax collection, digitisation of services is not the ultimate goal but a prerequisite for the quality of services and for ensuring a reliable and transparent business environment. A real-time economy is a future that ETCB is aiming for. This would change the tax system from declaration-based reporting to data-based reporting, thus eradicating the need to declare the data separately. The data would flow from the company’s accounting system directly to ETCB. The transition to data-based reporting would create opportunities to present the same data simultaneously to several different state institutions and thereby further reduce the administrative burden on the company. Already fully functional digital invoicing used widely by Estonian companies is among the first steps in this direction.

Supporting smaller businesses and creating common good

Also, a significant development is the business account for small and medium-sized companies. In 2017, in cooperation with LHV Bank, the Estonian Tax and Customs Board opened this innovative payment service for small and medium-sized companies. For them, a simple and convenient tax service is especially needed because keeping a professional accountant would be burdensome. The business account creates a simple and affordable form of conducting tax-related transactions. The bank, in cooperation with the tax administration, allows entrepreneurs to pay for goods, pay salaries, and taxes in the same digital environment. Tax liability for the users of the account is automatic, and no additional financial reporting is required. Follow-up surveys by ETCB show that the business account has been warmly welcomed by starting entrepreneurs.

By considering the benefits of digitalisation, one should not only think of the savings on administration. The state is potentially losing hundreds of millions in tax evasions annually. Therefore, a real-time economy, along with AI, can significantly increase the delivery of public goods.

Resourse: e-estonia

The carbon footprint of Estonian digital public services

November 16, 2022

by Peeter Vihma

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communication and the Estonian Information System Authority (RIA) commissioned an analysis of the environmental impact of digitalisation on the Estonian public sector. Since Estonia is the global leader in the field with 99% of the public services available online, this study offers valuable insights into the topic. According to the lead author Raivo Ruusalepp, a consultant from Ernst & Young, recommendations based on the analysis could also benefit other countries.

The emerging concern of ICT’s environmental impact

Estonia – like the European Union – sees digitalisation and the adoption of ICT solutions as the important tools for creating greener solutions. But while doing so, the tools themselves must be environmentally sustainable. A recent study indicates that the electricity consumption of the ICT sector currently forms around 5-9% of the world’s total consumption and over 2-4% of total emissions. This is 2-3,5 thousand million tonnes of CO2 annually. Considering the trends towards more digitalisation, this is problematic. More so, given that the environmental impact of ICT is an emerging concern, clear best practices in terms of countries’ approaches and methods in assessing these practices are not available yet.

“Due to the complexity of the IT sector, the measurement of the environmental impact is almost a wicked problem itself,” admits Raivo Ruusalepp, the report’s lead author. “We are using widely used life-cycle analysis, but we are merely contributing to the ongoing effort of addressing an increasingly burning problem that many bright minds are tackling as we speak.”

Mr Ruusalepp points out that there are considerable discrepancies between different measurement methods. To begin with, while middle-of-the-road scenarios indicate a doubling of energy demand by the ICT sector during the next decade, other scenarios claim that the world could simply run out of energy capacity before achieving ITC expansion. This has already happened in Singapore, where, in 2020, the city stopped licensing new data centres because they were already consuming almost 10% of the city’s energy. New data centres would have made meeting the Paris Climate Agreement goals impossible. Also, a widely acknowledged study by Geological Survey of Finland shows that there might not be enough precious metals on planet Earth to satisfy the growing demand for green energy.

Life-cycle analysis of the Estonian digital state

Analysis conducted in Estonia shows that the total impact of the workstation equipment life cycle of all Estonian state agencies is 26,000 t CO2e, which is generated throughout the use period of a piece of equipment (4-6 years). This is slightly more than 1% of the total emissions of Estonia, equivalent to the annual environmental impact of around 5,000 households or the use of 5,555 diesel cars.

To give a sense of the scale of the sector, the survey shows, for example, that Estonian public servants are using slightly more than 10 000 laptops. The survey also lists other equipment, such as servers, printers, and monitors. However, public servants also use a wide array of minuscule equipment.

“The smaller are the gadgets, the less their impact is monitored,” says Mr Ruusalepp. “For example, flash drives, cameras or ID card readers which we rarely pay attention to, actually amount to a lot of waste”

The environmental footprint of the equipment is the largest in production, forming approximately 75% of the total footprint of a piece of equipment. The impact of on-site use and disposal of equipment forms around 25% of the device’s total footprint. For instance, the use of a Dell Latitude 5420 laptop over four years generates around 72-96 kgCO2e while emissions from manufacturing a computer emit 309 kgCO2e.

As computers are produced and often re-used outside Estonia, the local environmental impact is mainly due to the electricity consumption of the equipment. Since the carbon footprint of Estonian energy production is great (89% of Estonia’s total emissions currently originate from the energy sector), this increases the environmental footprint of ICT equipment used by around two times the manufacturers’ reference values.

Cloud services offer the biggest potential for savings

In Estonia, the government uses the Estonian Government Cloud (Riigipilv) for IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS opportunities (Infrastructure, Platform and Software as a Service).  Unsurprisingly, the analysis pointed out that eliminating in-house servers as well as server rooms and relying on cloud services via data centres offers the biggest potential for cutting emissions. Consolidating servers into locations is up to six times more efficient! While data centres are still big emitters, they are also the most environmentally conscious. Among other sustainability indicators, data centres of the Estonian government use ISO 50001 energy management certification. Also, consolidating serves into data rooms allows using innovative solutions, such as heating homes with excess heat.

According to Kaidi-Kerli Kärner, Strategic Planning Director at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, already before the analysis, the Estonian public sector was determined to increase the use of Government Cloud.

„The analysis confirms that we have been moving in the right direction by increasing reliance on Government Cloud in everyday activities. Since its opening in 2021, we are also consolidating data centres Under the National Information and Communication Technology Centre, or „IT house” as we call it,” says Ms Kärner. “This is all to achieve the goal we have stated in Estonia’s Digital Agenda: Estonia will be the greenest digital country in the world by 2030.

Universal recommendations

The report’s authors make 9 recommendations for decreasing the carbon footprint of the digital state. These recommendations have universal value and hence are worth listing here in full.

1. Consolidation of servers and server rooms to data centres and promoting the environmental performance of data centres
2. Development of a financing model supporting green ICT choices, especially in using green procurement standards for purchasing new equipment
3. Increasing the environmental awareness and competence of the ICT field, from increasing the motivation for the public sector to become green evangelists to mundane things such as awareness of digital trash, prudent use of equipment, avoiding printing etc.
4. Development and implementation of environmental footprint measuring methods, especially in data centres
5. Extending the life cycle of ICT equipment
6. Removing obstacles related to the use of cloud services, including outdated legal restrictions
7. Widespread deployment of cloud services
8. Implementation of green practices in software development, including modular architecture, e.g. solutions based on microservices and adhering to minimum viable product principles for reducing power usage
9. Promoting cleaning up digital trash

Read the full analysis.

Resouce: e-estonia

Estonia to pilot a national mobile app based on the Ukrainian Diia application

September 2, 2022

Estonia and Ukraine have signed a cooperation agreement in Kyiv to promote an exchange of experiences in digital transformation. The work focuses on cyber security and national digital solutions.

According to the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology Kristjan Järvan, Estonia and Ukraine have learned a lot from each other in the course of their cooperation to date, which has helped with preparing for crises. “Cybersecurity is one of the cornerstones of national security, as in addition to physical combat, active battles are increasingly being fought online. Ukraine’s success in countering cyber attacks shows that the exchange of knowledge between the two countries is fruitful,” said Järvan. Järvan noted that Estonia is one of the most highly valued advocates of cybersecurity in the world and local experts have consistently advised Ukraine in increasing the country’s cyber resilience. “Estonia continues to offer Ukraine broad-based assistance in ensuring cyber security both during the current brave fight against Russia and in the future,” the minister assured.

Järvan added that Ukraine sees Estonia as the key partner in developing its digital government, as we are one of the most innovative and developed digital societies in the world. “Estonia is happy to promote the integration of Ukrainian digital services with Europe, supporting their cyber capability and continued work on creating a digital state,” said the minister.

“Estonia was the first country whose´​example we followed when we started establishing the Ministry of Digital Transformation. Their vision of digital transformation and the creation of a digital state inspired and inspires us to launch services in a few clicks. It is very nice that now Estonia will be able to adopt our mobile first-state experience, where all important data and services are right in the smartphone,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov.

As part of the cooperation agreement, Estonia and Ukraine plan to increase cooperation in developing user-centered and mobile-based digital government. The Estonian Information System Authority and Ukrainian agency Diia shall pilot a national mobile application based on the Diia application in Estonia.

Cooperation between Estonia and Ukraine has quite a long history. The first large project, EGOV4UKRAINE, was led by the e-Governance Academy – between 2016 and 2021 – and it laid the digital architecture for current developments. Today e-Governance Academy (eGA) is tasked with harmonizing Ukraine with the EU Digital Single Market and implementing the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. European and Ukrainian experts are cooperating to develop Trembita, state registers, digital identity, e-services and strengthen cybersecurity capabilities. Thus, it is paving the way for even closer embeddedness of Ukraine into Europe.

Estonia has a lot to learn from Ukraine

Undersecretary for Digital Transformation Luukas Kristjan Ilves emphasized that the capability of Ukraine’s digital government has grown rapidly in recent years. “In the last five years, Ukraine has built a powerful digital state, which follows Estonia’s lead in many ways. Ukraine’s data exchange layer Trembita was developed by the Estonian company Cybernetica and is very similar to our X-Road. Ukraine has also relied on our experience in creating its digital identity and many sector-specific services. We have much to learn from Ukraine, whose new services are user-friendly and mobile-based. During the war, Ukrainians have demonstrated incredible agility, creating completely new e-services within days and weeks,” said Ilves.

Estonia considers it important to ensure that sharing digital government experiences and code goes both ways. “Estonia contributes to developing digital public goods to make our digital government more effective and sustainable. Therefore we cooperated with Finland to create NIIS for the joint development of X-Road and contribute to the GovStack initiative,” Ilves explained.

Cybersecurity-related cooperation between Estonia and Ukraine is also mutually beneficial. Since the start of the war, Estonian authorities have supported the continuity of Ukrainian digital government services and boosted Ukraine’s resilience against cyber attacks. According to Ilves, this cooperation also benefits Estonia. “By helping to ward off attacks against Ukraine, we also boost our own ability to defend ourselves from cyber attacks. We also learn from Ukraine’s experience in ensuring the uninterrupted functioning of both its communications networks and e-services in a state of war,” said Ilves.

Ukraine and Estonia are also planning to deepen cooperation in the international arena. Ukraine is on the road to membership in the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence located in Tallinn at the invitation of Estonia, which is also inviting Ukraine to participate in various international projects. “I am convinced that the development of Ukraine’s digital society will continue on a positive course after the war has ended. The partnership with Ukraine makes us both stronger and contributes to the security and digital development of Western societies in general,” said Ilves.

Resouce: e-etonia