The Minister of Governance, Public Administrations and Housing, Meritxell Borràs, closed the second edition of the Digital Government Congress, "The challenge of the digital society and the transformation of Public Administrations", organized by the Generalitat of Catalonia, the AOC Consortium and the Consorci Localret, with the collaboration of the Diputació de Barcelona, and which was held at the Center de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB). The event was also attended by the managing director of the AOC Consortium, Manel Sanromà, and the vice-president of the Association of Secretaries, Comptrollers and Treasurers of Catalonia, Celia Argilés.
The minister, who is also president of the AOC Consortium, took the opportunity toelicitar to the organizers and participants, and also highlighted the success of the two editions of this congress: “This success demonstrates the firm commitment of the Catalan administrations to digital administration”, he said. Borràs highlighted the importance of the digital revolution due to the number of tools it offers to the administration to continue advancing, “from what the policy of the administrations is to the appreciation of public services, including our own regulations, and the opportunity it offers us to conceive of administration in a different way”.
The Head of Government recalled that Catalonia, despite being a small country in Europe, "centuries ago it was at the forefront of the industrial revolution and today we must have the commitment to be so in the digital revolution" because the citizens "ask for it, they want to be direct actors in this public life", and because the digital government will make it possible to gain in efficiency and therefore provide a better service to the citizen. In this sense, the minister has referred to the study by the AOC Consortium, which determines that the digital government "will allow us to offer this better service in a more economical way, because for every euro that is invested in this matter, we save 15".
In addition to highlighting the use of electronic administration tools to reduce costs, Councilor Borràs has insisted on the need to incorporate them into the day-to-day operation of administrations as a "path towards a new model which aims at efficiency and sustainability". It is at this point that Borràs recalled the Government's will to build an administration "at the service of the citizen, centered on the citizen, anti-bureaucratic, effective, efficient, agile, simple, open, transparent, personalized, proactive, collaborative, participative , reliable and close", and went on to say that "this is possible thanks to the tools we have at our disposal and the will and determination to deal with it. The councilor ended by reminding that "our strength is our people and our ability to work".
For his part, Manel Sanromà highlighted the joint work of the administrations when looking for formulas to improve attention to the citizen and noted that in Catalonia "we have a lot of experience in collaboration, here the administrations they have adopted a dynamic of working together".
At the end, the minister, together with Argilés, presented the various Open Administration awards to the 69 councils that have excelled in the use of electronic administration tools, to the 14 county councils that have brought electronic administration closer in the territory, and, finally, in the 4 councils that have been the most productive and those that have made the most use of the AOC's tools. The winners were 15 municipalities with less than 1.000 inhabitants, 17 from 1.001 to 5.000 inhabitants, 14 from 5.001 to 20.000 inhabitants, 11 from 20.001 to 50.000 and 12 from more than 50.000 inhabitants.
The aim of the Congress, this year structured in four thematic axes (Open Government, Digital Administration al, Business and intelligent management of the territory), is to create a space for exchange and debate around the infrastructures that must allow good governance and efficient public management, through an open and innovative administration that responds to the demands and expectations of society. In addition, the Congress also wants to assert the role of the organizing administrations in the new administration; share experiences in progress, projects in the process of being launched, applicable technologies and opportunities for collaboration; establish permanent channels of communication and transfer of experiences and technologies between public officials, as well as disseminating the contents of the different sessions.
The second edition of this biennial congress, organized by the Generalitat of Catalonia through the Secretariat of Telecommunications, Cybersecurity and Digital Society, the AOC Consortium and the Localret Consortium, and with the collaboration of the Diputació de Barcelona, has brought together more than 1.200 conference participants under the motto "The challenge of the digital society and the transformation of Public Administrations".
Reference appointment
The success of the first edition of the Digital Government Congress, held in 2015 at the Barcelona Congress Center, highlighted the interest of representants from the different public administrations of Catalonia, the main companies in the sector and professionals and experts to participate in a forum of these characteristics and, therefore, the need to convert this congress into a benchmark event for debate and exchange of knowledge around the digital transformation of public administrations.
Both the significant participation of this second edition and the high interest that the 1.200 congress participants have shown in the various sessions, round tables and workshops that the congress has offered around the four thematic axes proposed show that this objective has been achieved: the Digital Government Congress is consolidated in the Catalan congress calendar as the reference appointment for the debate around the infrastructures that must allow good governance and efficient public management, through an open and innovative administration that responds to the demands and expectations of society.
This conference is part of the smar strategytCAT of the Catalan Government to make Catalonia a SmartCountry of international reference and in the National Pact for the Digital Society that the Generalitat, provincial councils and the local community signed last October to jointly promote the development of the Catalan digital society and provide a joint response to the main challenges it poses.
We are awarded
Less than 1.000 inhabitants: Barberà de la Conca, Belianes, Vimbodí i Poblet, Vimbodí i Poblet, Solivella, Guixers, Alòs de Balaguer, Passanant i Beltall, Castellar de la Ribera, La Coma i la Pedra, Ginestar, Massoteres, Blancafort, Cubells, Preixens
From 1.001 to 5.000 inhabitants: Aitona, L'Espluga de Francolí, Callús, La Vall de Bianya, Santa Pau, Ascó, Juneda, Móra la Nova, Arbeca, Avinyó, Castellterçol, Bellvís, Riudellots de la Selva, Anglesola, Benissanet, Vilanova from Bellpuig, Torres de Segre
From 5.001 to 20.000 inhabitants: Roses, Tremp, Alpicat, La Garriga, Sant Fruitós de Bages, Banyoles, Vilanova del Camí, Santpedor, Santa Cristina d'Aro, Santa Cristina d'Aro, Malgrat de Mar, Llinars del Vallès, Capellades, load
From 20.001 to 50.000 inhabitants: Salt, El Masnou, Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Cambrils, Castellar del Vallès, Palafrugell, Esplugues de Llobregat, Manlleu, Blanes.
More than 50.000 inhabitants: Terrassa, Girona, Mollet del Vallès, Tarragona, Reus, El Prat de Llobregat, Barcelona, Lleida, Cornellà de Llobregat, Granollers, Manresa, Mataró.
Regional Councils: Alt Camp, Alt Urgell, Anoia, Bages, Baix Camp, Conca de Barberà, Garrotxa, Osona, Ribera d'Ebre, Segarra, Solsonès, Terra Alta, Urgell, Vallès Occidental
Top: Ajuntament de Roses, Ajuntament de Tremp, Ajuntament de Barberà de la Conca*, Ajuntament de Belianes* (*These councils were tied for third place in points).
More photographs of the awarding ceremony at Facebook of the Department of Governance
