1. At the Spring ITAPA conference, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank Vazil Hudák signed a cooperation agreement with Smart Cities for Vice-President of the Government for Investments and Informatisation Richard Raši. Slovak cities and municipalities will have up to 70 million euros available from the EIB.

2.  It is not easy to cope with the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. “If technological change does not meet expectations, it can have a disruptive effect on economic security,“ said the OSCE Coordinator for Economic and Environmental Activities Vuk Žugić at the ITAPA conference.

3. The OSCE as an organization has been focusing not only on economic growth itself, but also on fostering a safe environment in general. It has been involved in various conflict locations in Europe, overseeing transparency and fairness in elections and promoting anti-corruption practices.  Today, its goal is to be instrumental in digital transformation challenges as well. Žugić stated that it mostly concerns  ethical standards and transparency in terms of using artificial intelligence or protecting public resources through de-bureaucratisation processes.

4. According to the Deputy Prime Minister for Informatics and Investment Richard Raši, we should see the results of the first and the second wave of the anti- bureaucracy action that aims to save more than 30 million euros in fees, travel costs and time by 2020.

5. The World Economic Forum study "The Future of Jobs" showed that the automatization will lead to dissapearance of 75 million jobs in the coming years. It will, however, create the potential for new 133 million positions, which is almost a double. Current estimates show that the labor and technology ratio is 71% to 29% to perform one task. This ratio should change drastically by 2022 to 58% of the time used by a man and 42% by a technic.

6. Smart cities experts agreed that Slovakia laggs behind the Czech Republic when it comes to introduction of smart innovations in cities and municipalities for about 3-5 years.

7. NASES CEO Peter Ďurica presented the first results since the start of this institution's transformation in November 2018. As he stated, “NASES 'vision is to be a stable, trustworthy and efficient service provider that is able to respond flexibly to legislative changes, new e-Government requirements and customer needs.”

8. Even in IT, basic social norms must apply, said Tatiana Kováčiková from the University of Žilina. “ Ethical aspects and solutions must play a central role in ensuring public acceptance and trust in new technologies. Further research and innovation in areas such as cyber security and data protection are needed to have the right knowledge at the right time, “ Kováčiková said.

9. More than 400 participants attended this year's Spring ITAPA conference and over 6,000 people watched it through the online stream.

 

10. ITAPA has been an independent and apolitical platform for the exchange of knowledge and opinions on the processes of informatisation of public administration for 18 years. Twice a year, in May and November, it organizes the Spring  ITAPA Conference and the ITAPA International Congress.