Fifteen of 17 "smartovka" murals for Tartu's SmartEnCity smart city project have been completed and the remaining two should be finished next year. ERR News spoke to city council coordinator Raimond Tamm about the ambitious project and its future. SmartEnCity or the Smart Tartu (Tark Tartu) was launched in 2015 and is part of the European Commission's Horizon 2020 program to fund ambitious projects aiming to become more energy efficient, inclusive and smart. Tartu is one of three cities taking part, alongside Victoria-Gasteiz in Spain and Sonderborg in Denmark.
Read more: EE: 15 of Tartu's SmartEnCity 'smartovka' murals have been completed
The Bank of Estonia (Eesti Pank) is launching a multi-year research project to assess the suitability of its e-Government technology in operating a central bank digital currency.
The initiative, in collaboration with the technology companies Guardtime, the long-term blockchain partner of the Estonian government, and The SW7 Group, will focus on a solution based on the KSI Blockchain, a core technology of e-government in Estonia.
Read more: Estonia’s central bank launches research project to assess digital currency
What country does elections best? With all the focus on securing the upcoming U.S. elections, let’s take a look at elections in Estonia with Joseph Carson, a global cybersecurity expert who lives there.
As we head into October 2020, everyone is talking about election security from various perspectives.
Back in June, this blog explained how election security has become a top issue. Since that time, the focus and political posturing by governments, the media, cybersecurity pros and both political parties has only increased, with a special scrutiny on voting by mail.
Read more: Could Estonia Be the Model for Secure Online Voting?
Many nations are joining China in developing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). At the beginning of October, Estonia's Central Bank announced the launch of its own digital currency research initiative.
This decision was made following other central banks’ activities in virtual currency, including the European Central Bank (ECB).
Read more: Estonian Central Bank May Launch Digital Currency
According to Johns Hopkins University, Estonia’s novel coronavirus numbers have generally stayed similar to those of its neighbors in the European Union. With an infection number so far at just above 2,000 it is slightly above the rates of nearby Latvia and Lithuania, but well below Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. By the end of July the death toll remained below 70, and with over 2,000 cases had recovered. However, in addition to its relatively low coronavirus numbers compared to those of other European nations, Estonia appears to have also experienced one of the lowest levels of panic amidst the pandemic. To fight the virus, Estonia has deployed familiar techniques: lockdowns, testing, emptying of intensive care wards, human contact-tracing, and government-mandated quarantine. However, Estonia’s coronavirus response is most distinguishable from its global counterparts because of its digital capabilities and “solutions” to the virus.