Estonia: From taxes to healthcare, what life is like in a country that has digitized its entire public administration.

It was March 9, 2020, when, to address the coronavirus emergency, the government ordered the closure of schools and universities throughout Italy. After countless discussions on protocols and guidelines, students finally returned to school in September: distance learning would be offered only when necessary. Since then, however, distance teaching It has repeatedly become an essential choice to contain the wave of infections. And a year after the sudden closure of all schools of all levels, classrooms are once again empty and eight out of ten students follow lessons remotely (distance learning). This is happening in schools in Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto, the Autonomous Province of Trento, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Emilia Romagna, Marche, Lazio, Campania, Molise, and Puglia, currently in the red zone. But schools are also closed in some orange-zone regions, such as Abruzzo and Umbria. In total, out of just over eight million students, over seven million are attending classes from home every day.

ESTONIA, THE DIGITAL COUNTRY

During the first lockdown, digital teaching was characterised by enormous difficulties which had made online learning a veritable obstacle course. Not all families had access to the computers and tablets needed for their children to continue their studies. Many students found themselves following lessons from a cell phone. And then poor internet connections, or worse still, no way to connect to the Internet to continue with lessons and tests, and insufficient data traffic on smartphones and tablets. Connection problems also depend on infrastructure: in some areas of Italy, fiber optics are not available, and in many cases, the Internet has a decidedly slow data transmission speed that doesn't allow for optimal follow-up of live streaming lessons. The sudden digitalization of our lives has, inevitably, increased the inequalities and highlighted the centrality of the Internet, on a par with other essential services.

According to data emerging from research conducted by the SIRD, Italian Society of Educational ResearchThroughout Italy, between March and June 2020, 8 percent of students were not reached by distance learning. 18 percent were partially reached. In practice, approximately two million students, during the first lockdown and until the end of the school year, have been achieved little or not at all by distance learningNearly one in four students interacted little or not at all with their teachers during those months, a full 37 percent of elementary school children.

The third report Auditel-Censis "Post-lockdown Italy: The new digital normal for Italian families”, further noted that, in 2019, nearly three and a half million families in Italy did not have an internet connection. This number drops to 300 among families with at least one employed person or student.

Recently, a research carried out by the Research Office UNICEF – Innocents e Catholic University of Sacred Heart documented the effects of distance learning on family life and education during the lockdown. The survey, conducted through questionnaires administered to 1.028 families across Italy, found that 27 percent of families lacked adequate technology. A full 30 percent of parents reported not having enough time to support their children with distance learning, while 6 percent of children were unable to participate in distance learning due to connectivity issues or a lack of devices.

ALSO READ: Pc4u.tech, an idea from four 18-year-olds from Milan to donate PCs and tablets to students in need.

ESTONIA, THE MOST DIGITALIZED COUNTRY IN EUROPE

But it's not just Italy. The pandemic has paralyzed school systems in many parts of the world. Yet, there is one country that, when the government ordered school closures, had no problems with digital learning; in fact, it continued distance learning as if it were a completely normal situation. This is theEstonia, one of the most digitalized and technologically advanced countries in the world. In this surprising Northern European country, bordering Russia and Latvia, overlooking the Baltic Sea, and almost uninhabited (it has only 1.3 million inhabitants), ultra-broadband internet reaches everywhere, even in the most remote countryside: In 1997, the government declared free Internet access a fundamental right..

E-SCHOOL IN ESTONIA

As many as 99 percent of households in Estonia have broadband internet access and all Estonian schools have been using broadband internet access for years now. e-schoolDigitalization in Estonia started right from schools. In 1999, all educational institutions were equipped with ultra-fast internet connections, as well as personal computers, tablets, digital textbooks, and interactive whiteboards. But at the heart of digital solutions for learning is "eKool“, a system that, in addition to offering numerous opportunities for teaching and learning, connects students, teachers and parents.

THE EKOOL PLATFORM

The “eKool” platform allows teachers to enter grades and attendance, view comments and ratings written by other teachers and send messages to parents so that they are informed of the progress and results achieved by their children at school. Therefore there are no paper report cards or registers where grades, attendance, and absences can be recorded, but all information is shared digitally. Homework assignments are also assigned through "eKool," and all students have access to a personal page, a sort of e-portfolio, where they can store assignments or papers that have received good grades.

School managers, on the other hand, through “eKool” organize the lesson timetable and create reports and statistics which then flow into theEstonian Education Information System (EHIS), a system that collects all information related to education in Estonia and provides a comprehensive overview of educational achievement. And that's not all. Through the system, you can enroll in a university program by submitting your academic details to the chosen institution, without submitting any paperwork, or, upon completion of your studies, obtain a degree certificate.

Registration for "eKool" is free for students, teachers, and parents: the system is funded through education-related advertisements. Additional, optional, paid services are also available. Schools, however, pay a monthly fee that varies based on the number of students (starting at 50 euros for schools with fewer than 250 students).

X-ROAD IN ESTONIA

eKool is part of the government project e-Estonia Launched in 1997 to facilitate citizen-government interactions through school networking and the digitalization of public administration at all levels, the most important infrastructure, which has transformed Estonia into the most digital country in the world, is called X-ROAD: a sort of virtual gateway connecting all public administration services, from taxes to healthcare to motor vehicle registration. The system allows authorized public and private offices to securely access their databases to obtain the data needed to complete a transaction. The system stores the trace of who has accessed the dataAll unauthorized access is prohibited by law. This means that each administration can collect only the data it needs and see only the data it retains because it is within its jurisdiction. For example, your doctor can access all data regarding your patient's medical history but cannot access any other information not strictly necessary for the patient's care. It is through X-ROAD that different institutions, if authorized, can exchange data regarding a specific individual. Each access, of course, is notifiedCitizens always have the right to know who accessed their data and when. The State protects citizens' privacy, and citizens comply with the rules, in a system of mutual transparency.

ONLINE VOTING IN ESTONIA

In Estonia, no paper is wasted e there are no long queues at public counters. And, in case of elections, citizens can, without any worries, vote onlineThe first experiment of e-vote It dates back to 2004: in the 2019 political elections, over 350 thousand citizens voted online.

TO KNOW MORE: Women in power, in Estonia they hold the two highest offices of the state

ELECTRONIC IDENTITY CARD IN ESTONIA

A real revolution made possible by the introduction of a electronic identity card on which all the data and information of each individual citizen is stored. While in Italy, for example, to identify ourselves, we have an identity card in addition to a driving license, a health card, and a smart card or USB stick for digital signature, in Estonia, digital identification takes place through a single electronic card (ID card) used to pay for parking or rent, or book a doctor's appointment. Once inserted into a computer, the ID card allows access to a portal containing all of your personal information, from personal details to school, health, banking, and employment details.

 (Photo credit: Serov Aleksei / Shutterstock.com)

E-ESTONIA

In Estonia, All documents can be signed with the ID cardCitizens can also access public administration services via apps: in this case, they need to request a special SIM card with an associated PIN from their mobile operator. This Mobile ID system allows them to digitally sign documents, pay taxes, and access many other services.

TO KNOW MORE: Smart working in Italy, now it's getting serious. The challenge for public administration.

DIGITALIZED PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN ESTONIA

A fully digitalized public administration This allows Estonians to save up to 2,8 million working hours each year. This digital revolution was also driven by necessity: to allow those living in small towns far from cities to access public services. In Estonia, free public Wi-Fi is available everywhere, in cities but also in more remote areas such as forests, on beaches, on public transport, and on long-distance buses. What Estonia has achieved has been a true cultural revolution that has involved everyone in the process. digital literacy program, from the capital Tallinn to small, almost uninhabited towns.

DIGITAL RESIDENCE IN ESTONIA

And that's not all: in Estonia, since 2014, it is possible to apply for virtual citizenship from anywhere in the world and obtain a digital residence (e-Residency), a tool that allows you to open a company or business in just a few minutes and for just a few euros. There are currently over 50 e-residents, and of these, over 2 thousand are ItalianNo bureaucracy and low taxes: if the company doesn't generate income or reinvests its profits, taxes are zero. Many companies don't even need to hire an accountant.

STARTUP IN ESTONIA

Home of SkypeEstonia is first in the world in the World Economic Forum's entrepreneurship ranking. And third in Europe for number of startups per capita: there are 31 per 100.000 inhabitants.

When the government identifies a service that can be improved through technology and the Internet, it organizes a team effort and invests time and money until the desired goal is achieved. For example, last March, once the emergency situation became clear, a public-private consortium launched a competition to identify ideas and projects capable of addressing the pandemic, allocating initial funding to five startups.

ROBOT DELIVERY GUARD IN ESTONIA

A startup founded in 2014 by two co-founders of Skype, Starship Technologies, in Tallinn (but also in the United States), in collaboration with some food delivery companies, delivers sandwiches, pizzas and other foods to a person's home. delivery robot Able to navigate autonomously thanks to the installation of GPS and cameras. An app allows you to track the robot delivery driver's progress in real time.

THE ROBOT JUDGE IN ESTONIA

Currently, among the most significant projects is the one that involves the use of artificial intelligence to create a robot judge Able to resolve small-scale legal disputes (under €7) and thus resolve the many cases accumulated over the years. Decisions will still be appealable or subject to judicial review. This project, too, is part of a broader technological innovation program for the Public Administration.

ISEAUTO

Iseauto It is instead a self-driving vehicle developed by thirty students under 30: programmed to travel short distances of no more than two kilometers and monitored by a control center, the minibus has a maximum speed of 30 km/h, and is an additional solution to public transport, completely free of charge for all Estonian citizens.

Estonia is a true European Silicon Valley.

DIGITAL GOVERNMENT IN ESTONIA

And universities and courses are completely free for a large part of the students, including foreign ones. Among the courses there is, for example, one in "Cyber ​​security", and one in “E-governance Technologies & Services”, essential in a country where even government activities are conducted digitally, starting with ministerial elections. Tallinn University of Technology also hosts more than 100 hi-tech companies. Students have the opportunity to connect with companies and entrepreneurs and find the right support to bring their ideas and projects to life. Not to mention that Tallinn it was the European Capital of Culture in 2011.

(In the picture: Tallinn, the capital of Estonia)

The pandemic has reshaped our lives and our priorities: at a time when digital teaching has returned to the agenda to carry on school activities, and when the use of smart working it is confirmed as an important measure to limit infections, we cannot afford further delays on the path to bridging the technological and infrastructural gap that still characterizes our country. This also helps make distance learning and smart working finally virtuous solutions, no longer just emergency measures.

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