Estonia's Public and Private Sectors Come Together in E-Hackathon to Develop Innovative Solutions Admist the Crisis
PR83632
TALLINN, Estonia, April 9, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --
Estonia hopes to give example on how government, citizens and businesses can
unite for a joint effort to reduce the economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis
On the day the state of emergency was declared in Estonia, a public-private
e-hackathon was held as one of the first crisis responses to offer quick and
feasible solutions to combat the impacts of COVID-19 outbreak. Estonia has a
number of digital and globally successful startups which include four unicorn
digital startups Skype, TransferWise, Bolt and Playtech valued at over 1
billion dollars.
Named "the most advanced digital society in the world" by Wired, Estonians have
experienced first-hand how digital society is a true necessity in emergency
situations such as the current COVID-19 outbreak. While doctors are working
hard in hospitals to take care of the sick, the public and private sector have
worked on e-solutions to tackle the crisis with innovative answers.
The hackathon has produced projects that have already started operating. With
the state chatbot Suve now up and running on many public sites, answering
pandemic-related questions. Additionally, a platform named Zelos that matches
volunteers with people needing assistance in the crisis, and platform Share The
Force helping companies share the workforce that would otherwise remain idle,
are also successfully working.
According to Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid, organizing an online
hackathon demonstrates the attitude of Estonians, who at difficult times do
their best to start working on solutions. "In difficult times we have always
two options: remain seated when the ground is burning or start searching for
solutions. We chose the second option," said President Kaljulaid.
"Startup-government collaboration is in the DNA of the Estonian digital
society. With around 1,000 examples, Estonia is among the top countries by
startup per capita. In terms of startup regulation, Estonia is the best in the
world according to a study by Index Ventures from late 2018. This asset is now
being used rapidly to turn the crisis into economic opportunities," President
Kaljulaid added.
Estonia's country-wide COVID-19-hacking initiative has already gone
international and is expected to be adopted by other countries such as The
Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, etc
SOURCE: Meta Advisory Group
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