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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Gütersloh, January 26, 2017. This year’s Reinhard Mohn Prize “Smart Country: Connected. Intelligent. Digital.” will go to Toomas Hendrik Ilves (63), the former President of Estonia
The Bertelsmann Stiftung has awarded Ilves the prize in honor of his pioneering work on the promotion of digitalization in government, education and public services. During his ten-year term of office (2006-2016), Ilves made digital transformation in Estonia a presidential responsi-bility, pursuing his course consistently and prudently. Estonia is now considered an exemplary digital nation. Ilves will be awarded the prize worth €200,000 at a ceremony in Gütersloh on June 29, 2017.
Toomas Hendrik Ilves has been a driving force for political change, contributing greatly to the success of Estonia’s exceptional digitalization process. It is one of the reasons the Bertelsmann Stiftung is awarding him the prize. Most notable was his contribution to successfully concen-trating and bundling the digitalization efforts of individual ministries into a coherent national strategy. Ilves instigated fast internet access and mobile broadband for all; the development of e-skills particularly among children and young adults; and the Estonian population’s universally open and positive attitude towards digital technologies.
"Estonia is an exemplary model of what digitalization in Germany could look like in the future," says Brigitte Mohn, a member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung's executive board. Personal visits to public authorities are the absolute exception for Estonians. Since 2002, Estonian citizens have been able to process nearly all official transactions with their electronic ID, which includes a digital signature. In 2005, Estonia was the first country to enable its citizens to cast an electron-ic vote at nationwide elections. Even foreigners can apply for a virtual ID, allowing them to set up businesses, fill in their tax returns and carry out bank transactions.
In 1995, while he was the Estonian Ambassador to the USA, Toomas Hendrik Ilves initiated a groundbreaking project for the promotion of e-skills in his native country. Ilves is regarded as the father of the "Tiger Leap Program", which was the stepping stone for a series of large-scale digital projects aimed at developing the internet as a standard medium in all areas of soci-ety. Young people were the first to benefit from the "Tiger Leap Program": schools were con-nected to the internet, issued with the necessary hardware and software, and teachers re-ceived appropriate training. The second stage of the process was to establish e-learning as a daily fixture in the timetable at Estonian schools. The program was extended to include univer-sities, and a national online learning platform, which is available to every pupil, parent and teacher.
"Toomas Hendrik Ilves introduced digitalization to schools and classrooms ten years before the invention of the smartphone. He realized just how important the early adoption and acquisition of digital skills were before many others did,” says Brigitte Mohn. She adds that this step ena-bled Estonians to seize the opportunities digitalization offers as a motor for growth and social change - with a “healthy optimism, without reservations, but also without euphoric naivety".
The Bertelsmann Stiftung is also honoring Ilves as a politician who was quick to recognize the possibilities that came with digitalization in the interest of social change and renewal. As a for-mer satellite state under Soviet rule, Estonia also used early, consistent digitalization in the fight against corruption, promote the development of rural infrastructure, and to establish an open environment where free speech and freedom of opinion flourish. Ilves sees data privacy as a tool rather than a problem, and his concept enables each and every citizen to be the master and controller of his or her own data.
After the end of his term of office in October 2016, Ilves was appointed Visiting Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University. He co-chairs the Blockchain Future Council at the World Economic Forum, and previously chaired the WEF’s Council on Cybersecurity. During his presidency, Ilves headed the EU Commission’s Task Force on e-Health and the EU Commission’s Steering Group on Cloud Computing. In addi-tion, Ilves chaired the High-Level Panel on Global Internet Cooperation and Governance Mechanisms convened by ICANN. Along with the former Chief Economist of the World Bank, Kaushik Basu, Ilves co-chaired the editorial advisory board overseeing the World Bank’s 2016 Development Report on Digital Dividends, a major study on the use of digital technology to promote development.
About the Reinhard Mohn Prize:
The Reinhard Mohn Prize is awarded in honor of Bertelsmann Stiftung founder Reinhard Mohn († October, 2009). The prize is awarded every year to exceptional, globally active individuals who have played a key role in creating solutions for social and political issues. In order to iden-tify and select a prize recipient, the Bertelsmann Stiftung conducts a worldwide search for in-novative concepts and solutions to sustainability challenges with relevance for Germany. The theme for this year's prize, “Smart Country – Connected. Intelligent. Digital.”. The award cere-mony for the Reinhard Mohn Prize will take place at 11 am on June 29, 2017 at Gütersloh Theater.
About the Bertelsmann Stiftung:
The Bertelsmann Stiftung works to promote social inclusion for everyone. It is committed to advancing this goal through programs aiming to improve education, shape democracy, advance society, promote health, vitalize culture and strengthen economies. Through its activities, the Stiftung aims to encourage citizens to contribute to the common good. Founded in 1977 by Reinhard Mohn, the non-profit foundation holds the majority of shares in the Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA. The Bertelsmann Stiftung is a non-partisan, private operating foundation.
Contact: Dr. Kirsten Witte, telephone: 0 52 41/81 81 030
E-Mail: kirsten.witte@bertelsmann-stiftung.de
Carsten Große Starmann, telephone: 05241/81 81 228
E-Mail: carsten.grosse.starmann@bertelsmann-stiftung.de
http://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de
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