Ukraine is partner country of SCCON 2023

Ukraine has made a name for itself in the world of digitalization, especially in the field of public administration - despite the fact that Russia started the war of aggression on the country in February 2022. The authorities have continued to work for the citizens despite all the circumstances.

Ukraine will showcase its innovative digital applications related to administrations, the public sector, cities and municipalities at the Berlin exhibition center.

Commenting on the announcement of the partner country, Bitkom President Dr. Ralf Wintergerst says: "We can learn from Ukraine what an important contribution the digitalization of public administrations can make to the resilience of a country. For example, the Diia portal enables people inside and outside Ukraine to store IDs and official documents on their smartphones, and it allows online access to central services provided by the state, such as social benefits or financial authorities. Ukraine's presence at the Smart Country Convention is also an opportunity to connect with the country's innovative digital economy and initiate joint projects."

Dr. Mario Tobias, CEO of Messe Berlin adds, "I am extremely pleased to welcome Ukraine as a partner country of the Smart Country Convention. Especially since the start of the Russian war of aggression, many of us have become even more aware of the country. When it comes to digitization, we can learn a lot from Ukraine - digital government processes, for example, have been common practice here for a long time. The Smart Country Convention is the ideal place for the international exchange of experience around public services and the digital development of the public sector."

Lived practice in digitalization

The Smart Country Convention will bring together digitization experts from Germany and Europe in Berlin from November 7 to 9. Almost 300 exhibitors and around 400 speakers will present their ideas and solutions for the digital transformation of the public sector. Ukraine will be represented by a number of companies at its own booth. Experts from Ukraine will speak on the SCCON stages about digitalization in their country.

Digitalization is a fundamental national concept in Ukraine. The country was the first nation in the world to introduce electronic passports and make them equal to traditional paper passports. In addition, the Ukrainian mobile application "Diia" is already installed on 70% of Ukrainian smartphones - providing seamless online access to government services. 19 million people use the application. Estonia, also a pioneer in digitalization, was the first country to launch its own version of Ukrainian "Diia" earlier this year.

Ukraine is also far ahead in cybersecurity, ranking 24th in the world on the Cybersecurity 2022 indicator, surpassing countries such as Canada, Luxembourg and South Korea. The country is also a pioneer in contactless payment with gadgets, ranking among the top five countries worldwide in this area.

For more information on the partner country of SCCON 2023, please visit our partner country page here.