Dear Minister,

Honorable Partners – I think this is the title that suits us all

One of my favourite quotes is that the leader is the one who hears the footsteps of the horses in time. Three years ago, Kyriakos Pierrakakis heard this footstep in a generalised crisis environment and chose us to participate in a great experiment, necessary for the survival of the country itself: The forward and dynamic path towards the digital transformation of the State for the benefit of society.

A process that is not at all easy, if we consider that we are referring to a country with large genealogical gaps, with great discontinuities and gaps in the familiarisation and use of digital tools, with a belief in traditionalism and clientelism and established suspicion of major institutional changes.

In our company – the older ones understand this better – the Minister provided all the necessary supplies to achieve this goal – you heard numbers and projects in detail a while ago – and I think we did it mainly because we managed to convince through our work that digital shock, that is, the digital transformation, concerns everyone and concerns them in the same way.

Inclusion and Equality, because the digital transformation concerns the pensioner who makes a solemn declaration at his/her home, the parent who declares electronically his child’s self-test for school, the elderly person who can take medicines at home, the citizen who acquires a relationship of intimacy and trust with the public sector without any reservations and suspicions.

The public administration in the service of the citizen with efficient and quality services.  The digital transformation is perhaps the most important revolution of our time. A social equality but not downwards but upwards with the provision of high level services to all, without discrimination.

Did everything go well? It never happens, but believe me we are bold in our assessment, we study our deviations and any failures and be sure that they will be corrected. After all, evaluation is a process related to our company’s identity that helps us become better over the last three years.

So, this is a positive report and this is not our arbitrary interpretation, but the feeling that the public bodies, the ecosystem of the IT sector, the citizens who ultimately use the results of our work, such as Freedom pass and the Digital Care, communicate to us.

But this does not create complacency. The pressing question is what the next day holds for both digital transformation and the company itself. Here we can certainly put some important axes.

– In the short term, we can certainly include the immediate and correct implementation of the projects that we have already announced, so that, on the one hand, the Public Administration can further upgrade its digital services, and on the other hand, the citizens can have even more tools at their disposal that facilitate their daily lives.

But we do not stop at short-term planning. We are already planning the future.

–Continuous field exploration, citizen needs investigation and more personalised solutions. I think we are now able to offer the citizens more upgraded and more specialised solutions to make their lives easier and more functional, but allow me to use the term TRANSPARENCY, which is something we have already achieved and I think we will be able to complete. Transactions of the citizen with the public sector, which are fast, efficient, transparent, personalised, adapted to his needs without inconvenience.

–Transformation of the Public Sector. During these years of continuous crisis, the public sector has re-established itself as a pillar of security and stability. Let us not forget that we were the EU country with the least trust in the public sector. This has changed today and everyone here has contributed to it together with us, and we can feel proud of it. But we must not rest on our laurels, because we still have a long way to go and we have limited time to make good use of all the financial opportunities available to the country.

The space, that we want to transform into, includes inevitably both the public sector and the wider society, while the role of the IS at the heart of this transformation must further become a focal point of interest. We want a public sector with employees adapted to the new digital age, trained in it, able to operate more efficiently and in better conditions. The reduction of contacts, the greater use of digital communications, the horizontal interconnection, the facilitation of employees, the development of digital skills are bets to be won in the near future. Because for 21 years now, we have been serving this very purpose. It is in the DNA of the company to work for a better, technologically equipped public sector, which has the appropriate digital tools, so that its executives can work more efficiently and citizens can easily enjoy the services they need and are entitled to.

And finally, our heart, that is, the IS.  We have achieved a lot, we want more. It sounds a bit like a political slogan, but I think it expresses our desireto transform the IS from a core executive agency of the Ministry of Digital Governance into a central hub for the design, development and implementation of projects that strengthen the citizen’s digital relationship with the Public Administration and actively promote Greece in the 4th  industrial revolution.

We want to be behind every action that makes the Public Administration more friendly and accessible, with digital tools that serve the citizens’ transactions, in every corner of the country, offering solutions to every existing need. Either this is teleworking, distance learning, justice, telemedicine or financial transactions.

We want to be behind every action that enhances the accessibility of citizens and makes the digital world accessible and available wherever needed, so that no one can feel excluded from opportunities. The student from Andros, who excelled in the Panhellenic Exams through tele-education, is an inspiration for us, but she also gives us the trigger to become better. Accessibility and Affordability from everywhere for all, not only in public services but also in education, health and culture.

Finally, we want to be behind every action that strengthens the course and the role of the country in the digital future. A country is not only shielded defensively but also digitally.

The IS, under the guidance of the Ministry of Digital Governance, which is leading this effort, in cooperation with all public services, will continue to implement the digital transformation, will enhance the digital capabilities so that public officials can work more efficiently, respond promptly and effective on social needs. And it will certainly continue to grow dynamically.

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreamsand here at the IS, not only we are dreaming, but we are acting for a better, more inclusive world, with multiple opportunities for all, in a place for today and for tomorrow.

Thank you very much