Studio Session 1 Reflection

The topic E-Estonia caught my eye from the start. I know little about the country and its history so I was very interested in learning about this new digital age. E-Estonia is a recent development. It was started by the Estonian government to increase citizen interaction. This program enables citizens to pay their taxes on line, go to school online, do their banking online as well as many other things. One of its most interesting features is that it allows people e-residency. This means people that don't live in the physical boundaries of Estonia can be online residences. This gives them the ability to access the same electronic services that a citizen of Estonia would. This aspect of the program was developed mostly for entrepreneurs and people in the world of business. The Estonian government hoped it would bring additional economic growth to their country. Officials hope that it will create a better educated population, a more transparent government, better access to social services and a more flexible exchange of data. I find E-Estonia fascinating and I think it is something that with some improvement could be a global phenomenon. Its capabilities would allow people to vote from their own homes for big elections. It has the potential to change the way people all across the world interact. This development makes Estonia on of the most advanced e-societies in the world.