The ELF “Ralf Dahrendorf Roundtable” was hosted by Friedrich Naumann Foundation Ukraine and Belarus together with the Center for Civic Initiatives (CEHRIN) in Lviv. The round table was addressed to members of the Network of Free Local Politicians, around 100 persons attended. The Estonian speakers gave very practical insights in how much the relation between citizen and the Estonian state has been digitalised. Victor Guzun, visiting lecturer at Tallinn University of Technology and former Ambassador of Moldova to Estonia, provided the audience with a systematic overview of digital public services in Estonia. Showing his personal e-portal on eesti.ee, he demonstrated how the whole life circle can be managed online.
Andres Jaadla, Member of the Committee of the Regions and former mayor of Rakvere, introduced the work of the Committee of the Regions and focused on the efforts of his home town Rakvere to digitalise using many practical examples.
Valeriy Bakal, Deputy Head of the State Agency for Electronic Government of Ukraine, stressed in particular that digitization alone will not bring much improvement but has to come together with a simplification of nonadministrative procedures and that the whole project has to be accompanied by communication and transparency in order to increase public trust and reduce corruption.
Victor Tymoshchuk, expert in public administration and Deputy Head of the Centre for Political and Legal Reforms, stated that the number of digital services is not an indicator for success. The core question is not a question of digitization, but a question of bureaucracy. First, the ideology has to change, and then digitization can follow. The following discussion covered the inclusion of elderly people into the process, data security and possible misuse. The audience was encouraged and inspired to bring open and accessible public se