World Economic Forum, public.affairs@weforum.org
Zurich, Switzerland, 29 May 2024 – The World Economic Forum, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and the East Europe Foundation will establish a Global Government Technology Centre in Kyiv (GGTC Kyiv).
The Kyiv Centre will be part of the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) Network and represents only the second centre globally with a focus on GovTech following the signing of the Global Government Technology Centre Berlin (GGTC Berlin) in January 2024.Together with GGTC Berlin, GGTC Kyiv will connect national GovTech ecosystems with a global network of experts to promote more efficient, effective and accessible public services.
“The centre in Ukraine will contribute to our global efforts to help unlock the significant potential of digital technologies for improving public services and creating new value,” said Mirek Dušek, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. “The centre will act as a catalyst for public-private collaboration, driving forward digital development and innovation at such a critical time for Ukraine and Europe.”
With technological advancements rapidly reshaping industries and societies globally, it is becoming increasingly imperative for nations to harness these innovations. In recent years, Ukraine has emerged as a global leader in GovTech and its experience can inform others in driving digital transformation within the public sector. Its Diia app with over 20 million users and the Diia platform integrate over 100 government services and tens of digital documents, ranging from digital ID cards and driver licences to business registration and social benefits, exemplifying the ways in which digital tools can simplify interactions between citizens and the state.
“In 2019, we started building a digital state literally from scratch, and today, Ukraine will become the second country in the world to host a Global Government Technology Centre. This is not a coincidence,” said Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine for Innovations, Development of Education, Science, and Technologies, and Minister of Digital Transformation. “We have created one of the best technological solutions for governments – Diia. It's great that international partners such as the World Economic Forum team consider Diia as a case study and the experience of Ukraine's digital transformation can become an example for other countries.”
The official signing of GGTC Kyiv took place on the sidelines of the Diia Summit in Zurich, an event aimed at showcasing the results of reforms driven by Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, emphasizing how international collaboration, particularly with Swiss partners, has contributed to these achievements.
Victor Liakh, President of the East Europe Foundation, emphasized the importance of this collaboration: “The centre will serve as a platform for integrating global best practices into local initiatives, fostering innovation and contributing to the development of a robust technological ecosystem in Ukraine.”
GGTC Kyiv will leverage the expertise and knowledge networks of the World Economic Forum’s global C4IR Network and the East Europe Foundation, creating a unique and innovative environment for multi-stakeholder collaboration. The centre will support the implementation of GovTech projects, disseminate successful case studies and promote widespread digital literacy.
This initiative fulfils the commitments made in the letter of intent signed during the Annual Meeting 2024 in Davos, where both parties pledged to collaborate on the digital transformation of Ukraine.
About the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution is a platform for multi-stakeholder collaboration bringing together public and private sectors to maximize technological benefits to society while minimizing the risks. The World Economic Forum launched the first Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco in 2017, shortly followed by centres in Japan and India. The network now includes centres in Austin (Centre for Trustworthy Technology), Azerbaijan, Detroit (US Centre for Advanced Manufacturing), Germany (Global Government Technology Centre), Israel, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Telangana (India), the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.
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