Slovakia on Mobile will start in a few days. The project, which not only aims to change the digitization of our country and the state's attitude to solving the basic life situations of citizens, but also dares to completely change people's thinking. So from the previous "I'd rather go to the office" to "I'll solve everything I need with the state online". "The main goal of the Slovakia on Mobile project is to gradually eliminate paper bureaucracy and bring proactive communication between the state and citizens and entrepreneurs through priority life situations, which we put in digital form," said Veronika Remišová, head of Slovak informatization, at the JARNÁ ITAPA conference.

THE STATE IS HERE FOR PEOPLE, NOT THE OPPOSITE

In practice, this will mean that we should no longer submit statements to the authorities in person, as they will be able to exchange them electronically. The state should also be able to identify our needs and offer us solutions. "You can log in to more than 400 state and public administration portals via your mobile phone. By the end of the year, the new system will acquire additional functionalities. We will gradually supplement the proactive notification of social security arrears or electronic incapacity for work, and we will also introduce the concept of mobile documents at the European level, "added Deputy Prime Minister Veronika Remišová  at ITAPA 2022.

So it seems that our philosophy is finally changing. The state realized that it should serve the people and not the other way around. "In April, we launched the first life situation - the parent no longer has to remember the allowance at the birth of the child, this allowance will be given proactively by the state. Simply put, the authorities will exchange data and the parents will receive the money on their behalf, "added Ján Hargaš,  State Secretary at the Ministry of Investment, Regional Development and Informatics, adding that they would like to put four more life situations into practice. "For example, when a citizen wants to buy or sell a residential property, he wants to start a business, he loses his job and he wants to find a new one, he wants to buy or sell a vehicle." As early as June, a plan should be known for how the government wants to proceed in digitizing these other key points, and they should be implemented by the end of next year.

EDUCATION ACROSS GENERATIONS

Modern technology should make our lives easier, just as it is in Estonia. The country from which we should - as President Barack Obama once said - learn. And it's a fact. After all, Estonia can only save up to 2 percent of a country's GDP a year, or 1,400 hours of civil servant a year, thanks to a digital signature. "Estonia is a small country with a relatively small budget. The lack of funding has prompted us to start addressing the digital transformation. We started with it in the 90's and today we are also the fastest growing post-Soviet country thanks to it, " Erika Piirmets,,, consultant for digital transformation in the e-Estonia organization    Erika Piirmets, Digital Transformation Consultant at e-Estonia.

explained to ITAPA. And clearly right. After all, Estonia now has 99 percent of its public services digitized, and the country also deals with weddings, divorces, school applications, car purchases, driver's licenses and business start-ups. "There is nothing that cannot be solved online. And since we are not a big country, we want to move forward in technology and innovation, recognizing that digital transformation is not so much a matter of technology, but above all of the people who should use it safely, ”said Erika Piirmets. THE

OLDER GENERATION NEEDS TO LEARN

Piirmets also agreed with Minister Remišová on one thing: it is necessary to educate all generations so that the individual services can be able to use them. And not only in relation to the young generation, but also in relation to the elderly. Slovakia is already taking its first steps here. We have recently launched a pilot phase of an unparalleled project in Europe. These are digital trainings for 172,000 seniors, which are financed from the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic.

 REVOLUTION IN TEACHING

The revolution is also to come in the field of young people's education. Slovakia has recently launched a unique and ambitious project, which was previously the prerogative of commercial companies. The Ministry of Finance has launched an adaptation program for the education of its own students. Students will have the opportunity to work on real government projects during school. "The only way forward is to keep up with the developed countries of Europe. That is why we have established cooperation with top universities in order to obtain experts in state administration. Students are the future not only of the private but also of the public sphere. Therefore, I am glad that the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic has decided to be one of the first ministries to implement this ambitious project, "said Veronika Gmiterko,  Secretary General of the State Office of the Ministry of Finance at the SPRING ITAPA conference. The problem of Slovak education is that no domestic university appears in the rankings of the best universities in the world. It is this program that is supposed to change that.