German citizens are calling for a digital administration. 90 percent want their city or municipal administration to pursue the topic of digitalization more vigorously. Five years ago, the figure was only 69%, last year it was already 87%. The desire for digital services from administrations is particularly strong among younger people (95% of 18 to 29-year-olds and 97% of 30 to 49-year-olds), but older people aged 65 and over are also calling for a faster pace of digitization with a large majority of 82%. These are the results of a representative survey of 1,003 people aged 18 and over in Germany. They were presented at the opening of the Smart Country Convention in Berlin. “People are demanding digital administration and politicians must deliver now - at federal, state and local level,” says Bitkom President Dr. Ralf Wintergerst. “The digital applications are on the market, from electronic files to the cloud and artificial intelligence. We now need to implement them across the board instead of constantly launching new lighthouse projects and reinventing the wheel.”

At the opening of the three-day Smart Country Convention, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser said: “This year's Smart Country Convention shows: Together, we can drive forward the digital transformation of cities and rural areas and create a modern, citizen-oriented state with an administration that is capable of taking action. With the OZG 2.0, which came into force in July, we as the federal government have paved the way for the complete digitalization of administrative services. Targeted exchange across city and state borders was and remains indispensable in order to develop new solutions and strategies and to win over citizens for them. The Smart Country Convention makes a decisive contribution to this and has established itself as one of the most important meeting places for the transfer of knowledge in the public sector and the exchange of best practices. I would like to thank all those involved at federal, state and local level for their cooperation and wish them a successful event.”

With a combination of congress, workshops, expo and networking, the Smart Country Convention focuses on the digitalization of cities, authorities and the public sector. This year, more than 15,000 participants, 350 exhibitors and 600 speakers from business, administration and politics are expected at the Berlin exhibition grounds. The topics range from cloud solutions and IT infrastructure, artificial intelligence and data rooms to digital participation and sustainability. This year's partner country is the Republic of Latvia.

Dr. Mario Tobias, CEO of Messe Berlin, said: “The Smart Country Convention is growing from year to year and is increasingly becoming the central platform for the digitalization of the public sector. This year, we are particularly pleased to welcome Latvia as Partner Country 2024. Latvia is a digital pioneer, be it with the eID or the digital health record. The Smart Country Convention shows that digitalization is not just about innovations and technologies, but also about exchange, networking and cooperation. Because only together can we master the challenges of the future and modernize the public sector sustainably.”

Edgars Rinkēvičs, President of the Republic of Latvia, said: "Diversity is Europe’s asset. However, for businesses, this often translates into higher costs when trading within the Single market. Digital and innovative solutions are key to addressing the integration of business processes. And Latvia is eager to share our expertise in digitalization of public services for both citizens and businesses."

Smart Country Convention: Participation of seven federal ministries

With Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser, Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özedmir, Federal Minister for Family Affairs Lisa Paus, Federal Minister for Digital Affairs Dr. Volker Wissing, and State Secretaries Elisabeth Kaiser, Dr. Rolf Bösinger, Prof. Dr. Luise Hölscher and Udo Philipp, seven federal ministries are taking part in this year's Smart Country Convention. At state level, Kai Wegner, Governing Mayor of Berlin, Dr. Lydia Hüskens, Minister for Infrastructure and Digital Affairs of Saxony-Anhalt and Prof. Dr. Kristina Sinemus, Hessian Minister for Digitalization and Innovation, are expected to attend.

Numerous international representatives will also be attending the Smart Country Convention. In addition to Edgars Rinkēvičs, the President of the partner country Latvia, Daniel Risch, Head of Government and Minister for Presidential Affairs and Finance of the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Northern Irish Minister for Economic Affairs Conor Murphy and the Latvian Minister for Economic Affairs Viktors Valainis will also be speaking.

Informationen zu Programm, Ausstellern und Teilnahme gibt es unter www.smartcountry.berlin.

Methodological note: The data is based on a survey conducted by Bitkom Research on behalf of the digital association Bitkom. This involved a telephone survey of 1,003 people in Germany aged 18 and over. The survey took place in the period from week 31 to week 35 2024. The survey is representative.