IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

Blockchain technology firm Bitfury Group has announced its partnership with Government of the Republic of Georgia in a move to expand historic blockchain land-titling project.

The cutting-edge blockchain project is being built with the Republic of Georgia’s National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR) that will continue to advance in 2017. The parties have also signed in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in order to expand its blockchain solutions to other government departments.

At EuroDIG 2018 official opening ceremony, the First Vice Prime Minister of Georgia, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Dimitry Kumsishvili introduced the vision and initiative of the Georgian Government regarding the ICT sector.

“In order to develop the knowledge-based and an innovation-driven economy, Georgian Government intends to transform the country into a regional hub of Information Technologies with highly skilled workforce,” – Dimitry Kumsishvili stated. In this context, the First Vice Prime Minister stressed on the importance of the improvement of the legal framework covering privacy, censorship and self-censorship, protection from copyright infringement, and protection of children from harmful effects, and are directly connected to the freedom of expression on the internet as well as the significance of educational and infrastructural projects, according to Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia.

A ranking of UN Member States comparing E-government - digital interactions between Governments and people - varied greatly among and within regions but most countries had made progress on providing greater access, according to the new survey.

Reported in DFwatch.com, a cross-faction group presented a proposalin parliament regarding a new biometric election system, including their recommendations for managing the republic’s voter list.

Currently, the biometric data of 750,000 citizens exist in state databases, and the current total population in the republic is nearly 4.7 million. According to the DFwatch report, the group which presented the proposal for a biometric system suggested collecting the remaining data door-to-door as well the use of public advertisements to inform citizens.

When it comes to the Caribbean’s vision for 21st Century Government, Estonia is an excellent example of the possibilities for transforming governments and countries.

With a population of 1.3 million, Estonia is ranked among the world’s top leaders in the development of e-government having 99% of its public services available online 24/7.

Election lists have been subject to disputes for a long time, especially during the National Movement government, when there were claims that the lists were manipulated in a way that amounted to doctoring the results. No-one complained about the lists during the last presidential election though, but still, the new government has decided to use biometrics to conduct elections in the future.

The project, which is worth Euro 1.2 million will develop and adopt information and communication technologies in the public services, according to press release from the EU Delegation in Tbilisi.

"The project will help the public administration in Georgia to better perform its services, and to facilitate an efficient, speedy and transparent dissemination of information to other public agencies and the public," as per the information shared in the EU Neighborhood Info Center website.

The publication, concerned with access to public information in Georgia issued as part of the “public information database” project has become a subject for public discussion. Talking of the level of electronic transparency in our country, Director of IDFI Giorgi Kldiashvili stressed the importance of cooperation between the public community and state agencies. “The obligations of the Georgian Government towards their citizens have been wonderfully defined by Georgian legislation but how the particular articles are being interpreted and implemented remains in question,” Kldiashvili told The Messenger.

The Estonian e-Governance Academy is launching a twin project in Georgia to support the development the e-Georgia concept and strategy, which is set to bring the country's e-governance and cyber security in line with European Union standards.

The Foreign Ministry in Tallinn said throughout the 18-month project, experts who built up the Estonian e-state and experts from Italy will advise and train employees of the Georgian Data Exchange Agency and other government institutions.

Eight opposition parties, which last October presented a joint proposal on election system reform and agreed to speak with one voice during the talks with the authorities on election-related issues, presented their case about biometric registration and its cost before media and civil society groups on March 7.

In the hills overlooking Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, sits a nondescript building housing rows of humming computer servers. The data centre, operated by the BitFury Group, a technology company, was built to “mine” (cryptographically generate) bitcoin, the digital currency. But now it also uses the technology underlying bitcoin, called the “blockchain”, to help secure Georgian government records. Experts are eyeing the experiment for proof of whether blockchain technology could alter the infrastructure of government everywhere.

The Government of Sweden has allocated a €1.5 million (3.3 million GEL) grant for Georgia’s Public Service Development Agency.

Specifically, the money will be used by the Agency, a legal entity of public law operating under the management of the Ministry of Justice, to develop the services offered to those in Georgia’s central and rural areas.

“To be competitive in the global economy today it is very important that businesses can produce very efficiently and quickly and having an e-government makes it easier for businesses to do that,” said Lisa Kaestner, IFC, World Bank Group, regional manager for Investment Climate Advisory Service, Europe and Central Asia.

Representatives of the Justice Ministry on Monday presented an action plan for 2014-2018 named ‘digital Georgia’ which has 11 priority areas.

The goal is to improve state services for people and strengthen the local level of government.

The Digital Quality of Life (DQL) Index has published its annual study on what tangible factors have the greatest impact on various countries’ digital wellbeing, and which areas should be prioritized in improving their potential.

The DQL index is published annually based on research conducted by the privacy protection company Surfshark. The study indexes countries by looking at five fundamental pillars that define the digital quality of life: internet quality, affordability, e-security, online government services and e-infrastructure.

EBRD conducted a study in 2012-2013 which showed that since the last assessment of the system of electronic public procurement in Georgia, there was significant progress in all criteria and among the 26 member countries Georgia came out on top, a report of the country's Ministry of Economy said.

“The idea Everything in One Space has already been patented and many countries are interested in importing it,” said Nino Chichua, Executive Director of the House of Justice. The cost of the idea Everything in One Space has not yet been determined. The price will depend on the service that the particular ‘buyer’ wants to get, Chichua explains. “For example, it is possible to sell only one service and not the whole idea. It depends on what the country wants to get - whether it wants to purchase the whole idea or just a part of it,” she said.

During his meeting with Maia Panjikidze, the Foreign Minister of Georgia, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip assured that we definitely have experts and businesses who are ready to provide their experience in developing the eHealth system in Georgia.

The proposition, brought forward by a non-parliamentary initiative boasts a 130,000-signature petition in its support, Trend.az reports.

Eight opposition parties came together to sign the proposal, which, if passed, will help the nation determine the exact number of voters involved in the upcoming election.