IOD SCOTLAND WINTER 2022

Technical briefing: IT matters
Estonia, Europe’s digital leader,
says Scotland is on the right
path to a high-tech future
Scotland is on the right global cybertrack to grasp transformative
opportunities that going digital present, Estonian Ambassador to the
UK, Viljar Lubi told IT and digital business commentator Bill Magee
Digital Scotland attracted around
800 delegates to its annual
conference at Edinburgh
International Conference Centre,
where they heard just how
transformative going digital can be
towards creating a fully connected
country fit to make its mark on the
global stage.
FutureScot conference organiser’s
keynote speaker, Estonia’s
Ambassador to the UK Viljar Lubi,
charted the rise of the Baltic nation
from post-Soviet republic to
worldwide tech powerhouse.
Credited with creating multiple
‘Unicorns’ – privately held start-ups
worth at least $1 billion (£897m) –
every Estonian citizen has a digital
ID.
He told delegates working life is
so increasingly digital and therefore
we cannot and should not shy away
from it. Exactly the opposite so that
no one is left behind digitally.
“We should grasp the opportunity
and transform it to the benefit of
everyone. Let’s not talk about
challenges, let’s talk about
opportunities. This is the Estonian
philosophy.”
Scotland is developing stronger
ties with Estonia, one of the world’s
smallest but most advanced digital
economies. Earlier in my Daily
Business Tech Talk column, Mr Lubi
exclusively revealed he is in talks to
strike significant e-partnerships
with the Scottish Government.
This includes a pilot programme
to improve services and crossborder
links between Edinburgh
and Tallin. Estonia has a population
of around 1.2 million and regained
its independence in 1991 after 70
years of Soviet and Nazi
occupation, emerging as one of the
most advanced digital societies in
the world and the ‘champion’ within
Europe when it comes to digital
skills and internet usage by its
companies and citizens.
Mr Lubi, his country’s former
Business Secretary, views the
Scotland/Estonia relationship as a
two-way process: “There is a great
deal more we could learn from
Scotland... and establish closer ties
in business, culture and other areas.
He said he could see nothing but
Estonia’s Ambassador to
the UK, Viljar Lubi
26 WINTER 2022