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DE RUEHTL #0390/01 3371338
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R 031337Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY TALLINN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0264
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TALLINN 000390 
 
SIPDIS 
DEPT FOR EUR/ACE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL EAID EN
SUBJECT: Estonia Shares E-Governance with World 
 
¶1. Summary:  Estonia certainly is an e-state. It has been one of 
the world's leading users of information and communication 
technology (IT) in the fields of government, banking and social 
responsibility (such as e-tax filing and voting on the internet). 
According to the World Economic Forum, Estonia ranks 18th 
worldwide, and leads in Central and Eastern Europe, in the 
Networked Readiness Index.  Estonia is now making this expertise a 
cornerstone of its foreign assistance.  The GOE, with the United 
Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Open Society Institute, 
established in 2002 a regional e-Governance center -- the 
e-Governance Academy (EGA). The EGA is a non-governmental 
organization that trains politicians, specialists and 
representatives of the third sector to increase government 
efficiency and improve democratic processes through building open 
information societies.  The EGA focuses its work on the former 
Soviet republics, Southern and Eastern Europe, and Asia.  The GOE 
is interested in partnering with the United States to e-development 
projects.  End summary. 
 
 
 
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e-Governance Academy 
 
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¶2. The EGA is a non-profit organization that runs projects 
commissioned by Estonian and international donors.  The EGA shares 
Estonia's extensive e-governance experience with other countries, 
but has also become something of an IT clearinghouse, by collecting 
e-governance experiences from around the world.  National wealth is 
not an issue: EGA points out that Estonia has built strong 
e-governance despite a per capita GDP that is only one-third the EU 
average.   EGA has four major areas of operations: local 
e-governance, e-democracy, central e-governance, and IT-based 
education.  EGA's mission is to train and advise governments and 
civil societies in the use of technology to promote government 
efficiency, enhance civil society, and improve democratic 
processes. 
 
 
 
¶3. The academy has run projects in both the developing and 
developed world, in countries ranging from Afghanistan, Armenia, 
and Iraq, to Great Britain and Japan.  In all, EGA has operated in 
25 countries and provided training to over 500 people.  This year 
the MFA is funding a project in the West Bank to implement 
e-governance and e-services for Palestinians.  A team of Estonian 
experts visited the West Bank in July, and 20 Palestinians came to 
Estonia for a week's training at EGA in September.  Other projects 
in 2009 included a training program for African officials in 
Switzerland on the provision of e-services and cyber security, 
assisting the Macedonia Land Board, sharing best practices with 
Albania and Montenegro, e-governance training in Iraq, and 
assisting with building an e-training facility in Crimea.  EGA will 
also shortly provide training on information systems to the Afghan 
parliament.  EGA programs are funded by a variety of sources, 
including the GOE, UNDP, Soros Foundation, European Commission, 
World Bank, and foreign governments and institutions. 
 
 
 
¶4. In addition to training and consulting activities, the EGA has 
been active in promoting the use of free and open software, 
particularly in the public sector, and is developing methodologies 
and guidelines for the reduction of corruption using IT.  EGA is 
also active in promoting data security and privacy protection. 
 
 
 
 
 
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Seeking USG Partnership 
 
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¶5. Estonia is an active participant in global development 
assistance.  It has been successful in rebuilding a democratic 
state and society at home, and now is sharing its reform 
experiences and practical knowledge with partner countries. 
Estonia's priority development assistance partners are Afghanistan, 
 
TALLINN 00000390  002 OF 002 
 
 
Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.  Sharing its own e-governance 
experience, through EGA projects, has been a major aspect of 
Estonian assistance.  Besides bilateral co-operation, Estonia seeks 
opportunities for trilateral cooperation with other donor countries 
to leverage its assistance resources.  MFA contacts have indicated 
a strong interest in collaborating with the Unites States. 
Trilateral projects have already taken place in co-operation with 
Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Canada and the United Kingdom (supporting 
Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia). The EGA plays an important role not 
only in implementing development assistance projects, but also 
plays an important role in drafting Estonia's development 
assistance policy. 
 
 
 
¶6. Comment: The USG and Estonia share an interest in promoting 
transparent, democratic governance and strong civil societies, and 
are focused on many of the same priority countries.  Estonia lacks 
resources, but can bring to the table strong first-hand reform 
experience and the credibility that comes from having successfully 
undertaken reform.  Its experience in e-governing is moreover 
considerable, and the EGA already has a track record in many parts 
of the world.  Partnering with Estonia in trilateral development 
assistance could be an effective means of leveraging U.S. 
development resources. 
DECKER