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e-Estonia reached +200K people worldwide despite a turbulent year

Anna Piperal, e-Estonia Briefing Centre managing director

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In 2019 we hosted almost 12 000 physical visitors at the e-Estonia Briefing Centre in Tallinn. This year, as we all know too well, everything changed. 

Like the rest of the world, we had to move to digital channels almost overnight. And the e-Estonia Briefing Centre had to become even more “e.”

We added online briefings, conferences, and podcasts to the occasional physical visits and were able to tell the e-Estonia story to more than 200 000 people worldwide.

Our next generation of e-services

We came to see this as a perfect time to build our centre’s next generation of e-services, available from anywhere globally, following the best traditions of the Estonian digital state of mind. We continued offering our briefings online.

From our 1-hour briefing introducing the e-Estonia story, success factors, and the future to e-Estonia Best Practice with key players for a more in-depth approach and e-Estonia Deep Dive Experience that includes a moderated 2-hour workshop and solutions’ design with IT and state experts. This year we hosted over 280 delegations, 69 of them participated in programmes with Estonian experts.

27 live talks + a brand new “baby”

One of the new ways to tell the e-Estonia story is through Facebook live talks, where we interview key players that have put e-Estonia on the map – ranging from e-health and e-governance to e-education. During these 27 live talks, we covered topics from i-voting and smart cities to internet freedom and digitising legal systems with exciting speakers from both the private and public sectors.

We are incredibly proud of our youngest “baby” –  a brand-new online event series called Digital Discussions that introduces diverse digitalisation topics with leading experts from the field. So far, we covered e-education and e-health to over 500 viewers/listeners from over 85 different countries. Our January edition will focus on cybersecurity.

We all live online now

Our Digital Transformation Advisers Florian Marcus and Anett Numa haven’t been able to travel to give keynotes and talk during panels like in the good old days. But they have shared their experience in an impressive number of online conferences, podcasts, articles, and forums.

One of the most memorable podcasts where Florian Marcus spoke this year was Listen Notes, which covered topics like youth participation in politics, how digitalisation can help hold a government accountable, and much more. The PrivSec Conference in London did not just mark a great get-together of cybersecurity and privacy specialists worldwide but was also the last “traditional” conference Marcus joined before Covid struck Europe. Anett Numa had the opportunity to attend Globsec Bratislava Forum that despite the pandemic took place physically and tackled the complex topic “Let’s heal the world together.”

Wishing they were just a little bit more Estonian

Anett’s interview for the Startup community outlet Sifted gathered a lot of feedback worldwide. “When Covid-19 hit Europe, medics working in pretty much every healthcare system wished they were just a little bit more…Estonian,“ Sifted concluded in their interview with Anett.

Our Managing Director, TED speaker Anna Piperal had the opportunity to speak to an audience of over 70 000 at TEDxGateway Webinar about how to design a digital society that will withstand any crisis and keep people safe.

Can’t travel but want to hear the e-Estonia story or want to implement e-services in your country or company? Take a look at our services and get in touch – we’ve got you covered!

The e-Estonia Briefing Centre is part of Enterprise Estonia and is located in Tallinn, Estonia. The Briefing Centre has operated for 11 years. We aim to inspire global policy makers, political leaders, corporate executives, investors, and international media with the success story of e-Estonia and build links to leading IT-service providers. We have hosted more than 70 000 people, including His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, President of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, and many other heads of states, prime ministers, and other high-level dignitaries.

Contact

Visit us physically or virtually

We host impactful events both in our centre and online for government institutions, companies, and media. You’ll get an overview of e-Estonia’s best practices and build links to leading IT-service providers and state experts to support your digitalisation plans.

Questions? Have a chat with us.

E-mail:
Media:
Call us: +372 6273157 (Monday to Friday, 9:00-16:30 Estonian time)
Regarding e-Residency, visit their official webpage.

Find us

The Briefing Centre is conveniently located just a 2-minute drive from the airport and 15- to 20-minute drive from the city centre.

You will find us on the ground floor of Valukoja 8, at the central entrance behind the statue of Mr Ernst Julius Öpik. We will meet the delegation at the building’s reception. Kindly note that a booking is required to visit us.

Valukoja 8
11415 Tallinn, Estonia