Digital Government Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Governments worldwide are eager to harness AI — yet many remain stronger on ambition than readiness. 

In this episode, “The Learning Curve for Effective AI in Government,” we talk with Piret Hirv, Head of the Data Management Competence Centre at the e-Governance Academy, about what it takes to turn AI pilots into lasting impact in public services.

We also speak with Oscar Del Campo Barxias, Deputy Director General for Entrepreneurship of the Community of Madrid, who shares the lessons learned for implementing AI in public services in the Madrid region. 

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In this podcast episode with Dr. Lili Milani, Head of the Estonian Biobank and Professor of Pharmacogenomics at the University of Tartu, we discuss how Estonia’s national biobank has become a trusted platform where science, ethics, and personal agency meet. 

The Estonian Biobank began as a research initiative focused on the genetics of disease, but over time, its purpose has deepened and broadened. 

“The original goal was to understand how genes relate to diseases so we could improve care,” Milani explains. As more participants joined and the scope of available data expanded, the Biobank grew into a national tool for real, tangible benefits to people’s personal lives. 

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In cyberspace, borders are invisible, but the consequences are very real. As states continue integrating digital tools into national defence, diplomacy, and daily governance, the question of how international law applies to this domain has become increasingly urgent.

The Tallinn Cyber Diplomacy Summer School sharpens this conversation with sessions that this year include speakers Liis Vihul, CEO of Cyber Law International, and Agnes Kasper, Head of the Law Branch at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE).

So, we brought them together. In this second instalment of our dedicated podcast mini-series to the Cyber Diplomacy fest taking place in Tallinn, we dug deep into what makes momentum grow among countries to shape and publish national positions on international law in cyberspace, with all the complexity, ambiguity, and realpolitik that surround this effort laid bare too.

In today's podcast, Hannes Astok, a member of the e-Governance Academy Board, sheds light on the two main keywords that should describe the future goals of digital transformation for every government organisation - resilience and seamlessness.  Tune in to the episode to find out why these features are critical for any digital government!

Interested in more? Join the e-Governance Conference on 10 - 12 May to get the best insights into and lessons learnt about the digital ecosystems that cope with crises and create seamless digital services to help citizens cope with them.

Yurii Kopytin, Cybersecurity Component Leader of EU4DigitalUA project and general architect of Ukrainian data exchange platform the Trembita system, works now 18 hours per day by safeguarding the Ukrainian digital government, keeping the Trembita system functional and fighting with cyber attacks and fake news together with the government authorities of Ukraine. 

Even the workload and conditions are very hard the digital transformation in Ukraine is not stopped during the war. Slowly but still some developments take place according to the project plan. Listen to the episode with him to find out how is the situation there and what developments are still ongoing despite the war!

Slava Ukraini!

Something might have caught many observers by surprise in Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. After a solid history of cyber threats that could be linked back to the Federation’s territory, cyber warfare seems to not be playing a major role in the attackers’ plans this time.  It hasn’t been the same in the past, and no one guarantees the current situation can’t change in a matter of weeks, or even days. Perhaps particularly when, on the ground, the Russian army appears to not proceed at the pace initially envisioned by the architects of the invasion.

Does that mean we can overlook the cyber side of the conflict? Absolutely not, Merle Maigre, Senior Cybersecurity Expert at e-Governance Academy and former top NATO diplomat in this field, warns in our conversation. 

Let’s look at what is happening in Ukraine now and how to be better prepared at all levels – personal, organizational, national – to protect our systems and data in the face of a cyberattack.  

The episode is hosted by Federico Plantera.

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This week, the world looks quite different from what it used to. We’re here to talk about a tragedy taking shape just before our eyes – the war in Ukraine. Oleh Burba is not a war correspondent, but a Component Leader in our EU4DigitalUA team in Kyiv, Ukraine.
With him, we look at how safety suddenly had to become the priority, and how the e-Governance Academy team there is dealing with the quickly escalating conflict.
The episode is hosted by Kristina Mänd.

Contribute to support Ukrainians in the fight for democracy in Europe and the freedom of Ukraine!

International Red Cross, https://www.icrc.org/en 

Doctors Without Borders, http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

United help to Ukraine, http://www.unitedhelpukraine.org/

Ukraina heaks, https://www.ukrainaheaks.ee/ (in Estonia)

Can a digital society exist sustainably without e-citizens? Who are the e-citizens - the user the e-services or something more? This is a topic we will discuss today with e-democracy expert Kristina Reinsalu. 

In this episode, she introduces us to the e-citizen concept and to the digital nudging in society that supports the citizens' use of digital tools and better engagement in decision-making processes. You can explore examples from Island and Estonia with us. 

Moreover, you will get more insights into the digital divide that digitalization can create, and how Estonia has decreased it. And finally, we address the governments and civil society organizations, while asking where to begin to have active e-citizens in a society. The podcast is hosted by Federico Plantera.

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In today's episode, IT-visionary Linnar Viik talks about the post-pandemic trends of teaching and learning at schools, and shares with us the findings from the survey he conducted among teachers and parents in Estonia. Listen to the discussion and find out how did the schools in various countries react to the lockdowns and how did the experiences that we gained from lockdowns change the expectations towards teaching and learning at schools. 

Is there something useful that could be implemented in schools in the future or even right away? Tune in!

Every digital transformation journey needs a good place to start from. What’s the first step? Understanding where you stand, what are your valuable assets, how to move forward from there, and what to focus on first.

The Digital Readiness Review does just that. For a long, e-Governance Academy has been offering this analysis to both governments and businesses – to pinpoint strengths, and weaker spots to work on.

With Marit Lani, Programme Director of Smart Governance, we take a look at how both public and private sector organizations can benefit from it and become more digital. Tune in!