E-Government Ministerial meeting will support economic and social recovery post COVID-19

The VI E-Goverment Ministerial Meeting of Latin America and the Caribbean ended today with a pledge by ministers and other high-ranking officials from 33 nations to promote digital transformation to help with the region’s social and economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 era, with a special emphasis on transborder digital services. In addition, authorities from participating countries designated Colombia as President of the Gealc Network. Colombia will hold this position in 2021 through its Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications (MinTIC).

In a joint statement issued at the end of the meeting, the ministers and other authorities said: “Digital transformation is of the essence to promote the region’s inclusive economic and social reactivation in the face of the COVID 19 crisis. The colossal challenge posed by the COVID-19 virus pandemic has demanded extraordinary innovative efforts from the digital government agencies in the region in order to develop e-government tools to tackle the healthcare and social crises, while at the same time supporting the continuity of government operations, adapting to the different physical distancing methodologies adopted by each country.”

The statement also stressed “the increasingly important role of digital technologies and e-government tools to provide sustainable, inclusive and equitable services,” as well as “the transformative power of digital government to enable more efficient, transparent, and participative administrations in the region.”

The meeting’s inaugural session featured the participation of Costa Rica’s President Carlos Alvarado, whose country hosted the virtual event; Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) President Mauricio Claver-Carone; and Organization of American States Secretary-General Luis Almagro. All in all, more than 800 high-ranking authorities, government officials, digital government experts, and speakers participated in the two-day event.

In addition, more than 350 e-government officials took part in a series of thematic meetings on a number of relevant e-government issues such as cybersecurity , innovation, open data, and emerging technologies. Experts from Spain, Estonia, France, Israel, Portugal, and the United Kingdom also participated. Digital government directors approved an ambitious collaborative work agenda for 2021 focusing on key areas for digital transformation such as interoperability, digital signature, cybersecurity, and digital ID.

The event also included a successful test of digital certificates’ validation operation between Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Uruguay. This was made possible by the collaborative work of officials from these countries, with technical and financial support from the IDB. The exercise was complemented with the signing of a document promoting the transborder digital signature – a feature that will boost the validation of the digital signature among countries in the region.

Also, the ExcelGOB 2020 edition prizes were awarded to the best e-government solutions in the region. The ExcelGOB awards are presented by the Inter-American Digital Government Network (Red Gealc), with support from the OAS and the IDB. The delegations of the countries that took part in the VI Digital Government Ministerial Meeting used an online tool to pick the winners of this year’s edition. They were:

WINNERS

• Brazil – digital transformation category, with a solution to digitalize procedures and transactions
• Panama – digital government in the face of COVID-19 category, with the Plan Panamá Solidario solution.

SPECIAL MENTIONS

• Argentina – gender focus, with App 144 against gender violence
• Peru – open data focus, with single work certificate for young workers-CERTIJOVEN
• Colombia – emerging technologies focus, with a special mention shared by blockchain for land adjudication, and artificial intelligence for the Sustainable Development Goals.

The ExcelGOB 2020 edition received 53 proposals from 14 countries. This year the contest made it possible to know and systematize the most innovative solutions in the region in terms of digital government in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.

Lastly, the meeting announced that Panama will host the XV Gealc Network Conference and Annual Meeting in 2021, whereas Peru will host the VII Digital Government Ministerial Meeting of Latin America and the Caribbean in 2022.