Shaping digital transformation actively and intelligently

type:
News
, Topic:
Administrative reform
, Date:
15 October 2024

Federal Minister Nancy Faeser opens the Smart Country Convention

Source: Messe Berlin GmbH

On 15 October, Federal Minister Faeser opened the 2024 Smart Country Convention, for which the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community acted as patron again this year. The Smart Country Convention brings together policy-makers and representatives from public administration, the digital economy, start-ups, associations and the research community to discuss crucial issues of modern public administration, digital technology in public agencies, and networked cities.

In her opening keynote, Federal Minister Faeser stressed the Federal Government’s goal of modernising Germany and its public administration, pointing to the Online Access Act 2.0 that entered into force in July.

quote:

“We want to make life easier for people by making administrative processes less complicated – and simpler to manage.”

Nancy Faeser, Federal Minister of the Interior and Community

A milestone in the digital transformation of public administration

Federal Minister Faeser said that the question was not whether, but how to shape change actively and intelligently. Following the Online Access Act (OZG), the federal level has already made more than 90% of its priority services available online, including applications for child benefits, Schengen visas and widow’s and orphan’s pensions.

The Act to Amend the Online Access Act now smooths the path to fully digital administrative services. The individual user account with the BundID system and the standardised user account for companies are legally secure digital solutions that make it possible to use public administration services without having to leave one’s home or place of business. “This clearly shows that this Federal Government understands public administration as a service that must constantly keep developing,” Federal Minister Faeser said, adding that in future the federal administration would be required by law to provide online access to its services.

Digital solutions to improve sustainability

By 2030, federal authorities and organisations must adopt Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) for their IT to significantly reduce their energy consumption. The federal programme to support migration to IPv6, sponsored by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community, took second place in the 2024 eGovernment competition in the category of sustainability through digital transformation and IT.

AI in public administration

The Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community is setting up an Advisory Centre for Artificial Intelligence (BeKI) to serve as a central point of contact and coordinating office for AI projects in the federal administration. AI applications offer a great deal of potential, especially in the field of security. With the help of AI, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the Federal Police will in future be able to carry out automated analyses of law enforcement data and thereby identify suspects more easily. “The security of people in our country is our absolute priority,” the federal minister said. “We must be able to keep up with the technology that terrorists and criminals are already using.”

Cyber security

The Federal Government is meeting current challenges in the field of cyber security too. That is the purpose of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). The BSI prevents and combats cyber threats and makes our society more resilient in cyberspace. This benefits our businesses and industry as well as our government agencies.

This year’s Smart Country Convention was held from 15 to 17 October. For more information, see below:

zur Website

Source: Messe Berlin GmbH
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser with (from left) Dr Ralf Wintergerst, the president of Bitkom; Latvia’s President Edgars Rinkēvičs; and Dr Mario Tobias, CEO of Messe Berlin.