President Simon Rijsdijk opens the 21st EVS Congress in Tallinn.

EVS President’s greeting – Mr. Simon Rijsdijk

Mayor Mihhail Kõlvart, it is my great honor and pleasure that we may be your guest here in your beautiful historic city of Tallinn.

I was allowed to be in Estonia a few times before for a study trip with various governments from the Netherlands. The first time was in 2015, during which we were intensively guided and informed by the e-governance academy for a week. I was and am fascinated by everything that Estonia shows in terms of digital developments. But also how Estonian society is organized. It strikes me that many young people can be seen in many places and in many high positions. A vibrant country! In my images I often call Estonia the Silicon Valley of Europe. Now can we think of a better place for the EVS congress where the central theme is digitization of government functions!

Thanks and congratulations to the Estonian Association of Registrars and the Organizing Committee, who have put together a fantastic program for this 21st EVS Congress.

We are gathered here these days with participants from 15 European countries. I look into the room and see the strength of Europe. The connection. The unity in diversity. We are here these days to hear a lot of information, to be included in the digital developments and what else is going on in the field of international civil status. But there is also two days of meeting, talking to each other and exchanging experiences. Because what I also experience as extraordinarily beautiful is the connection that we feel here. This is more important than ever in this time of geopolitical tension.

The congress program is extensive and includes discussions on current sectoral topics in Europe and overviews of developments in civil status procedures.

The congress offers the opportunity to exchange experiences of registrars of European countries in order to make the use of public services for people as easy and convenient as possible.

Estonia’s digital solutions are not the only ones being introduced. We are also included in the digital solutions and developments of Finland, Latvia, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Georgia, Spain and Germany. The EU project Identities on the move and The current state of affairs within CIEC and its future developments will also receive attention: Alexander Schuster and Nicholas Nord, ICCS Secretary General, are particularly welcome.

The topics of discussion concern various other civil status and population procedures.

Everything to improve cooperation between countries and to provide eGovernment services in a more accessible, user-oriented and more unified way. As a result, it is hoped that it will contribute to the launch of new digital solutions in other European countries, which could speed up the movement of civil status documents within Europe. All in the interest of the people of Europe.

There are, of course, points for attention to all digital developments. In this regard, I look forward to the speech of Prof. Dr. Guillermo Palao Moreno, Professor of Private International, University of Valencia. Perhaps the panel discussion at the start of day two will also mention points for attention. Because there is also a downside. If you just think about the developments around Artificial Intelligence, that can bring us a lot of great things, but it also raises concerns. But perhaps that’s for tomorrow.

Of course we are also looking forward to introducing Estonia through a cultural program and a festive joint event. Because as I said before: being together in connection is also a very important aspect of this conference!

Thanks again to the city of Tallinn for their hospitality and the Estonian Association of Registrars and the Organizing Committee for organizing this wonderful congress!

I thank you for your attention!