Digital Iceland at global conferences

The Global Government Forum hosts a number of international conferences each year on public affairs and services. The annual conference of digital leaders took place in Ottowa last week at the invitation of the Canadian Government. Digital Iceland was among the speakers to report on Iceland's success in digitization.

These were, in fact, two back-to-back conferences, AccelerateGov and Digital Summit. AccelerateGov was open to all public sector employees and was also streamed. There is a great need for streaming in Canada, where public sector workers are many still working from home following Covid-19. Streaming also gives public servants from all over the world a chance to participate. About a thousand people were registered at the conference, which is similar to Connecting the State conference held end of September this year in Iceland. The agenda was based mostly on panel discussions of digital leaders from all over the world with the aim of sharing knowledge and experience across borders.

The discussion topics were very varied and interesting. From the human dimension of digital transformation to funding and practical solutions. Andri Heiðar Kristinsson, CEO of Digital Iceland, participated in a panel that discussed project management and funding of digital projects along with digital leaders from Canada, Brasilia, and the UK.

The second conference, Digital Summit, was a closed-door event where digital leaders shared their experiences of both success and problems. The agenda was diverse and the discussions were open and honest. Great interest is in the results that Iceland has shown in a short period in terms of digitization. Andri Heiðar spoke about the digital transformation Iceland has undergone and how it has been conducted. The digital leader of the US President and the British Government also shared the transformations that have taken place in those countries over the last few years.

Iceland's success in digital transformation has received considerable international attention and a significant increase in the demand for counseling. Even though Iceland is already performing well in international comparison, there is still much work to be done in government digital service. We are a competitive nation that wants to be a leader internationally, but above all, the goal of Digital Iceland is to support institutions in providing better digital services.