On Tueday morning, President Kersti Kaljulaid delivered the opening remarks at the two-day Tallinn e-Governance Conference 2017, which has brought together participants from 115 countries around the world.
"A quarter of a century ago, when Estonia restored its independent statehood, we were a poor country," Kaljulaid said in her opening remarks as published by the Office of the President. "The crucial question stood in front of us — how to overcome the legacy left to us by the Soviet occupation? Our response was — we need to build up a modern, efficient and democratic state. Radical reforms were carried out in all walks of life. The forward-looking idea was to harness the innovative potential of information and communication technology (ICT). Neither we nor anyone else knew 20 years ago how important the internet and ICT would become and what role it would play in the organization of state and society.
Read more: EE: Kaljulaid: E-governance now a vital commodity in global information society
A tiny Baltic country tries to automate everything smartly.
This former Soviet republic thinks of itself as a country in the cloud and its politicians think of its government as a service.
The newly independent Estonia maximized its legacy as the home of the Soviet Institute of Cybernetics, betting big on high tech and startups to counter a flatlining 1990s economy. By the turn of the century, all Estonian schools were online, and today students as young as 5 learn coding skills through a course called “Programming Tiger.” That knowledge base is complemented by a mandatory electronic ID card system that gave digital public services the benefit of scale from the beginning, said Gunnar Njålsson, a research expert in public technology management.
Read more: Test driving the ultimate connected society: (E-)stonia
Following the principle set in the first version, Tallinn Manual 2.0 – a document that provides guidance on how the existing international law could be adapted to cyber operations in the most appropriate way – reiterates that cyber activity should not be perceived as happening in a legal vacuum.
Estonia has become one of the forerunners and success stories of introducing digital identity, e-governance and an online voting system. The e-residency programme, which allows foreign citizens living outside of the physical national borders of Estonia to obtain a secure digital identity and benefit from some of the services available, has further increased the interest in Estonia’s digital developments, contributing to Estonia’s image as one of the world’s most digitally advanced countries.
Read more: EE: Tallinn Manual 2.0 – the invaluable guide for state action in cyber space
The Tallinn-based multinational strategic change and technology company, Nortal, is helping Dubai’s government become fully digital by 2021.
According to Andres Käärik, Nortal’s business development manager, the company helped Dubai create a vision and roadmap of where they want to go and advised on how to get there. In a blog post, Käärik explained that by 2021, all Dubai’s public services would be available in electronic channels around the clock, and its government would work 365 days a year. “There will be no need to visit any government service centre in person; users receive the results and documentation of services in electronic form on mobile devices.”
Read more: Estonia’s Nortal helps Dubai create a paperless government
Early next year, Estonia rolls out its new Smart-ID digital identity system, which is not dependent on a SIM card and can be used around the world.
Using a mobile device to access e-services and provide digital signatures isn't new in Estonia. A very popular SIM-based mobile digital identity system, called Mobiil-ID, was introduced in 2007.
Read more: Android, iOS secure ID: Estonia says it's taking digital authentication to new levels