Estonia is creating new paths and solutions in its digital development. We take a look at two of them, X-Road and E-citizenship, and draw inspiration for a more secure development of Danish digital solutions. 

X-Road, the backbone of e-Estonia, is an open source software that enables data exchange between private and public organisations, allowing the country's different sectors to communicate and exchange data and information.

Estonia's X-Road environment includes a full range of services to the public and, as each service has its own information system, they all rely on X-Road. To ensure secure transfers, all outgoing data is digitally signed and encrypted, and all incoming data is authorised and logged.

Should we be digital citizens in an E-state, fuelled by Open Source? - that's what's happening right now in Estonia, where X-Road is connecting citizens with the state via digital solutions that, unlike in Denmark, are not based on the usual tech giants from Microsoft or Apple, but are open code that everyone can consider, validate and improve. But what IS X-Road and E-state and how has Estonia made it work? And this Open Source code - how does it work?

Speakers:

Mr. Mart Laanemäe has been the Estonian ambassador to Denmark since January 2020.
His previous assignment was advisor in the process of founding the Cyber Diplomacy Department at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign affairs.  For a long time he was Estonia’s senior official for internet freedom issues.  At different times he has been State Secretary for foreign policy, for Europe and for trade and development co-operation.  As Ambassador, he has been posted twice to Germany and earlier also to Vienna, from where he was accredited to several neighbouring countries and to international organizations. Born in Vancouver, BC, Canada, he has degrees in engineering from the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto and a doctorate in chemistry from Stuttgart University.