On June 18, over 40 vice ministers and heads of departments of Kazakh state bodies started their 5-week training on digital transformation of public administration, developed by the Estonian Academy of Electronic Governance (eGA).

In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Taavi Aas, Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications of the Republic of Estonia, noted that “the pandemic has shown many countries that new technologies and e-government are among the tools that help overcome limitations and obstacles and ensure effective government work”. He also stressed the need for the secure exchange of data between various government agencies in compliance with all principles of personal data protection.

During the training course, international experts will share the latest global digitalization trends, best practices, and business models of Estonia, Denmark, Singapore, and the UK. The course will also cover the effective methods of reengineering of public services and outline new opportunities for digital transformation of public administration.

“Digitalization is high on the agenda of many governments, both in the economy and in public administration. Citizens must remain in focus as digital government evolves. It is important to apply disruptive technologies in such a way as to ensure transparent and open decision-making, excluding any abuse, thereby guaranteeing the observance of the rights and freedoms of citizens,’’ said Mr. Alikhan Baimenov,

Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Astana Civil Service Hub.

In the course of the training, the participants will also explore the key issues of the development of unified IT-architecture for government agencies, optimization of the legal framework for digital government, cybersecurity issues, policy planning, the use of agile project management techniques and decision-making in the context of e-democracy.

According to Mr. Askar Zhambakin, Vice Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan “today the introduction of technologies is the most effective and efficient tool for implementing structural reforms. The concept of digital transformation goes beyond the use of technology, since the state apparatus and private sector are being transformed, and, accordingly, new approaches and methods are developed based on technologies”.

Special attention will be paid to the discussion of main directions of the ‘Digital Kazakhstan’ State Programme and the ‘DigitEL’ National Project. Overall, the training includes 8 online sessions and a series of video courses.

The training course is organized by the Astana Civil Service Hub together with United Nations Development Programme in Kazakhstan, ‘Zerde’ National Infocommunication Holding’ JSC, the e-Governance Academy of Estonia and with the support of the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan.