A brief chronology of information society 2011 – July 2012
January 2011
A survey is published by the Praxis Center for Policy Studies and the eGovernance Academy at the behest of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications regarding the possibilities of use of digital TV and mobile telephones for providing public services. http://www.riso.ee/et/files/DigiMobi_uuring_2011_final.pdf (in Estonian)
February 2011
The electronic public procurements environment is launched, consisting of an information website and public procurements register, that allows all operations related to public procurements to be conducted electronically in one place.
https://riigihanked.riik.ee
The state begins issuing mobile-ID certificates. Mobile-ID is an alternative to the ID card and enables electronic identification and digital signing by mobile phone. Mobile-ID can also be used for electronic voting at elections.
http://www.politsei.ee/et/teenused/isikut-toendavad-dokumendid/mobiil-id
(in Estonian)
Garage48 is held: over one weekend, developers of Internet services come up with public services of benefit to society. The winner is 112 Mobile – a mobile and web service that can be used to contact emergency responders without making a call. http://garage48.org/blogger/garage48-public-services-ideas-in-process
March 2011
Elections for the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament) are held. For the fifth time, Esto-nians can vote for candidates electronically. The share of Internet voters sees continued growth, this time reaching 24.3 % of all voters. For the first time, mobile-ID is one of the options for authentication, making voting especially convenient, as no ID card reader connected to the computer is required.
http://www.vvk.ee/valijale/e-haaletamine/e-statistika (in Estonian)
The Estonian Development Fund starts the Fututuba blog devoted to future trends. Foresight experts bring readers coverage of ideas from world-leading think tanks and research centres. http://www.fututuba.ee (in Estonian)
April 2011
The Government Office adopts use of the new information system for draft legal acts (EIS), which allows bills to be tracked as they make their way toward becoming law. Documents in the information system can be retrieved and opinions on documents can be submitted during the public comment period. EIS can also be used by drafters to submit a draft legal act to the participatory website http://www.osale.ee for public comment before the endorsement process.
http://eelnoud.valitsus.ee (in Estonian)
A study conducted by the American human rights organization Freedom House ranks Estonia #1 in the world for Internet freedom. Estonia is followed by the US, Germany, Australia and Great Britain.
http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/freedom-net-2011
May 2011
The Estonian version of the open office software site LibreOffice meant for public use is launched, with Estonian-language user support and containing a wealth of interactive study resources. http://www.libreoffice.ee (in Estonian)
An analysis of the Riigikogu elections’ online campaign is released. It examines how much political parties and individual candidates used the Internet, including social networks, to organize their campaigns during the run-up to the elections.
http://www.ega.ee/et/node/853 (in Estonian)
June 2011
The Estonian Informatics Centre is restructured into a national authority. The new functions of the Estonian Information System’s Authority (RIA) include performing regulatory supervision of the security of vital service providers and the development of new information systems. http://www.ria.ee.
Estonia’s electronic environment for filing annual reports wins first place at the World Summit Awards (WSA) 2011, an international competition recognizing creative use of digital media. The environment’s interface makes it convenient for companies to enter and send data by providing a specific place, format and method for entering all required data. https://ettevotjaportaal.rik.ee
July 2011
The Environmental Board opens its e-services portal. The first electronic service offered to customers is a facility for compiling and filing declarations of environmental charges. https://eteenus.keskkonnaamet.ee (in Estonian)
August 2011
The first part of EstWin, a project to bring high-speed Internet to Estonia’s rural areas, is completed. All of Estonia’s cities – in particular, towns with a population of 1,000-10,000 – are now connected by fibre-optic cables. By 2015 Estonia should have a fully developed fibre-optic trunk network built so that 98 % of households, companies and institutions are no farther than 1.5 km to a network connection point. To attain this goal, the Estonian Broadband Development Foundation will have to replace over 6,000 km of optic cables and establish over 1,400 network connection points. http://www.elasa.ee
September 2011
Tallinn hosts the international e-governance conference ICEGOV 2011. This major event, held under the aegis of the UN, brings together practitioners, entrepreneurs and academicians in the field of e-governance to discuss developments in the field and to share experience. The Estonian organizer of the event is the eGovernance Academy. http://www.icegov.org
The annual information society conference organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications focuses on copyright in the digital age, and is titled “Õigus luua, õigus tarbida” (Right to create, right to consume). It discusses rights, obligations and opportunities related to use of digital content in a world of changing technological possibilities. http://infoyhiskond.eesti.ee (in Estonian)
October 2011
The information technology and telecommunication conference “From vision to solutions 2011” is held. The main topic is open data and competitiveness – it focuses on the necessity of freedom of movement of data and on business possibilities in this field. http://www.visioonistlahendusteni2011.ee (in Estonian)
The role of the public sector and its experience in social media are discussed at the seminar “Public authorities in the social media – friend or uninvited guest?”
http://www.ega.ee/et/node/896 (in Estonian)
November 2011
The new and improved state portal eesti.ee is opened. The main keywords of the new version are usability and personalization. Searching for information and services has been made easier, and greater emphasis has been laid on availability of information in English and Russian. http://www.eesti.ee
The Internet and computer training project Ole Kaasas! (Come Along!) ends its three-year run, during which 100,000 people in Estonia gained new computer knowledge under the leadership of the look@world (Vaata Maailma) Foundation. In addition, the program introduced possibilities for using smart work possibilities at home and in the office, and 35 Ole Kaasas! computer clubs across Estonia were founded.
http://www.olekaasas.ee (in Estonian)
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications creates a department for the development of information society services, with the aim of improving the quality and usefulness of public services developed in Estonia.
http://www.mkm.ee
December 2011
One of the pillars of e-governance in Estonia, the data exchange layer X-road, celebrates its 10th anniversary. The X-road is the means by which all of the state’s public electronic solutions and key private sector e-services reach the public in a secure fashion. http://www.ria.ee/x-road
A study commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications from Ernst & Young Baltic, “The Role of Green ICT in Enabling Smart Growth in Estonia“, is published. The study assesses the level of awareness of green ICT areas and their potential in Estonia. The results form the basis for measures developed in the framework of the Estonian-Norwegian Green Industry Innovation programme.
http://www.mkm.ee/public/Inno_18_GreenICT.pdf
January