Digitization

President of the Romanian Court of Accounts, Mihai Busuioc, and ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark to Romania, Soren Jensen signed today in Bucharest a Memorandum of Understanding on identifying digital solutions to the supreme audit institution's needs related to its external public audit activity.

Describing technology as a catalyst for the return to normalcy and recovery, Mr. Matt Britten, president of Google for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, spoke exclusively to "Vima" about the upheavals brought about by the pandemic, the jobs of the "future" and Google's goal to shield the world from the digital challenges of the day after.

The chairman of the Authority for Romania's Digitization (ADR), Octavian Oprea, and the head of the Code4Romania Board of Directors, Bogdan Ivanel, signed on Monday, March 8, a Partnership Agreement which consolidates the cooperation between the two organizations for the digitization of the public administration of Romania.

The ultimate goal of the Digital Transformation plan the government will put up for public consultation on Thursday is the overhaul of the entire state mechanism. This is a 340-page bill drafted by Digital Governance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis and his Deputy Giorgos Georgantas, including some 450 projects to be implemented by 2025.

Europe needs an investment plan in cybersecurity now more than ever, to be adjusted to the challenges generated by the novel coronavirus crisis, Minister of transport, Infrastructure and Communications Lucian Bode, who participated in the informal meeting of the ministers of telecommunications, through video conferencing, said on Tuesday.

The coronavirus epidemic has expedited the modernization of the state and even the private sector. We have all seen the digitization of many public services, the growing and efficient use of the internet, the expansion of teleworking, the successful implementation of online education, while at the same time appreciating the resilience of the National Healthcare System.

Although Greece has made strides in digitizing governance and public administration in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which provided an urgent impetus for the reduction of face-to-face exchanges, the government's efforts have been partially thwarted by pushback from state functionaries and professionals, Kathimerini understands. 

The Government, through the Authority for the Digitization of Romania, and the non-governmental organization Code for Romania launched the online platform "COVID-19 Official News" (stirioficiale.ro) and is working on several other such projects regarding responsible social conduct in preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Half of employers in Bulgaria say that most of their staff have very good digital skills, BNR reported.

Turkey's Bilkent University has taken a lead in digitizing a maximum number of publications and making them available to readers across the globe free of cost.