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The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia (MFA Estonia), the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany (BMZ), and the Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL) at the United Nations Foundation, have signed a joint declaration to accelerate digital transformation and digitalization of government services, particularly in low-resource settings.

 

The partnership will establish a framework for digital cooperation among governments to assist countries in implementing scalable digital services and applications in a cost efficient, accelerated, and integrated manner.

 

The aim is to scale the framework to global level for all ITU Member States to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as to facilitate the development of transformative and paperless citizen-centric services that are accessible and available to all members of society.

 

“In the last few months, digital transformation has accelerated at an unprecedented speed and scale, and governments are on the frontline," said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. “This new partnership between ITU, Estonia, Germany and DIAL is an important step in advancing digital government services, in particular in low-income countries, in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals."

 

One of the main goals of the partnership is to implement a reference digital government platform, called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Digital Platform, as a digital public good based on reusable, standards-driven, secure and interoperable building blocks in line with the whole-of-government approach to building and deploying digital services and applications.

 

Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau said: “Successful digital transformation efforts require cooperation across all actors. ITU welcomes the opportunity to work with Estonia, Germany and DIAL to continue to advance ICT-related solutions that can power country-level action to achieve the SDGs."

 

Furthermore, the partnership aims at facilitating fundraising to support relevant and interested stakeholders who can contribute to deploying and scaling up digital services by building shared digital infrastructures that will power future innovations centred around citizen needs.

 

“This collaboration will truly power digital transformation and give governments the chance to build and deploy their digital services and applications in a cost efficient, accelerated and integrated manner," explained Norbert Barthle, Parliamentary State Secretary to the German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). “Particularly governments in low-resource settings that have not yet digitized their services will now have the freedom to make decisions based on the state of technology as it is today – cloud, microservices and artificial intelligence – without being held back by legacy solutions of past decades."

 

Other goals of the partnership include contributing to the work of the international community to power digital transformation by sharing expertise, guidelines, best practices and case studies on relevant topics, and undertaking joint actions, such as thematic meetings, capacity building workshops, and knowledge sharing and exchanges.

 

Raul Siem, Minister of Foreign Trade and Information Technology​ of Estonia, noted his country's openness to sharing expertise in digital transformation: “Estonia has a long experience in building a holistic digital society, from the technological standpoint to putting in place proper legislation. Our digital ecosystem relies on strong public-private partnerships which, among other things, is something we are also keen on sharing within this partnership and working towards the Sustainable Development Goals."

 

“One of DIAL's main objectives is to connect, scale and support proven solutions that are necessary for digital transformation to be successful," said Kate Wilson, CEO of DIAL. “This partnership will support our efforts to do that, expand our existing work with ITU, including the Digital Investment Framework, and learn from both Estonia and Germany to help other countries on their digital transformation journey."

 

The partnership and the establishment of the Sustainable Development Goals Digital Platform will be implemented within the framework of the ITU Regional Initiatives for Europe, a citizen-centric approach to building services for national administrations. ​

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About the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the specialized United Nations agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs), driving innovation in ICTs together with 193 Member States and a membership of over 900 companies, universities, and international and regional organizations. Established over 150 years ago in 1865, ITU is the intergovernmental body responsible for coordinating the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promoting international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, improving communication infrastructure in the developing world, and establishing the worldwide standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communications systems. From broadband networks to cutting-edge wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, oceanographic and satellite-based earth monitoring as well as converging fixed-mobile phone, Internet and broadcasting technologies, ITU is committed to connecting the world. For more information, visit 1f8a81b9b0707b63-19211.webchannel-proxy.scarabresearch.com.

 

About the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia (MFA Estonia)

The MFA Estonia is helping Estonia as a country to share with the rest of the world the expertise and the lessons learned in e-governance and digital transformation that have made Estonia a digital leader. Estonia has unique experience in building an extensive e-governance ecosystem with fully integrated public services. Additionally, the Estonian expertise is not only limited to technology, but also building comprehensive legislative frameworks and policies that enable digital transformation. The MFA Estonia is committed to supporting partner countries in bridging the digital gap and working towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For more information, visit vm.ee/en.

 

About the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany (BMZ)

BMZ aims at providing freedom and security for all and a life without poverty, fear and environmental destruction. The BMZ is committed to support partner countries in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. To this end, it supports its partner countries in harnessing the potential of digital technologies for sustainable development and shaping a digital future worth living for all. For more information, visit www.bmz.de/en/.

 

About the Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL)

The Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL) is an independent global alliance funded through a collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and hosted within the United Nations Foundation in Washington, D.C. DIAL was established in 2015 as a “think, do, replicate" tank. We combine practical research with evidence-based advocacy to advance digital inclusion to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). DIAL identifies barriers to the routine use of digital solutions and data by development actors (countries, NGOs, multilateral institutions); tests ways to remove them; and package solutions for these actors to use in service delivery efforts. For more information, visit www.digitalimpactalliance.org.​