The meeting was opened by the Mayor of Sonderborg Aase Nyegaard, who outlined Sonderborg's objectives and challenges in the digital area.
Use of assistive technology in the care sector One example is the care for the elderly where there have already been several tests with assistive technologies. It was a little surprising that not only the technical results were good, but the positive take-up of the technologies with the elderly was very good. It is essential to use assistive technologies if the current level of service is to be maintained. Interaction with the citizens Regarding the daily interaction with the citizens it is the goal for Sonderborg municipality to have 50% of communications done using different digital channels.
Innovative use of ICT to reduce CO2 emission The Mayor also mentioned the Sonderborg's objective to become CO2 neutral. That means that it is essential to use ICT innovative in order to take advantage of alternative energy sources and minimise the energy consumption in the municipality.
Policy officer Rasmus Shermer from the European Commission gave an overview of the Digital Agenda for Europe and especially the parts of the agenda that concerns eGovernment services and focuses on cross border activities for citizens and enterprises. The presentation can be found here. Director Mikkel Hemmingsen from Region Southdenmark gave a presentation on Digital services for the citizens that cross the border. He presented two scenarios about an employee and a tourist, who need public services in relation to their stay in the Region of Southdenmark. The presentation concluded that the European level should focus on the legal barriers and create good framework conditions, but there must be a critical mass of transactions before large investments in automated information exchange pay of and are useful. The presentation can be found here (Only in Danish) Following the presentations the participants gave a number of concrete proposals to the Commission to be included in either existing or future initiatives.
Standards It was mentioned that the Commission should ensure common European standards for exchange of the necessary data.
Possibilities and barriers for students One suggestion regarding the education sector was to create services with quality controlled information about the educational institutions for the student when they want to apply for admission to educational institutions abroad. Students with any given nationality should be able to use the services. It was also mentioned that a larger extent of integration and interaction between the IT systems used by universities etc. would increase the mobility for students across Europe. Another example is that in relation to corporation between Danish and German universities it is not possible to obtain public funding from Denmark if for example an exam took place in Germany even though the corporation could be purely practical about facilities.
Access to information on public authorities areas of competence It was also mentioned that a European project was launched recently where relevant information on public institutions which delivers social services are made available in all languages in a standardised format. It gives a person, which is abroad access to information on which institution would be relevant to approach. The information is available in all languages.
eSkills It was mentioned that when discussing the development of common European ICT systems it should be acknowledged that the eSkills and number of services are very different in the Member States.
Administrative flexibility Another area where a common effort could benefit is the administrative challenges in relation to crossing borders. One example is that most Danish companies' use a so-called eBoks for sending payslips, but it is only possible to get such an eBoks if you have a Danish postal address.
Portability of e-mail addresses and max prices on bank transfers The Commission was also asked to work for the possibility to take your e-mail address with you if you change internet providers in the same way that you can with your telephone number. In relation to the discussions on the possibilities to increase the level of eCommerce both national and cross border it was suggested to set maximum prices on bank transfer in the same way as for roaming.
Access to public data Another question there was discussed was the access to public data where there was a large acknowledgement of the enormous innovation potential that lies in using public data. Specifically, the possibility of using GIS data was discussed. In that relation Galileo was also mentioned as an important part of the total growth potential within the access and use of public data. The current challenges and possibilities in the existing mobile platforms where mentioned. One example is the increasing demand for standards for services to be delivered on the mobile platforms.
Conclusions It was concluded that there is a need for legislative frames from the European level base done through case studies, which apart from identifying the challenges also does a cost benefit analysis of the necessary investments.