Estonian Ambassador's visit to Jersey inspires government to create a digital society

WATCH: ITV Channel's Jess Dunsdon sits down with His Excellency, Viljar Lubi to discuss how Estonia could inspire the Channel Islands...

The Estonian Ambassador to the UK has been visiting Jersey over the past couple of days to help the government improve its technology.

During his visit, His Excellency, Viljar Lubi, has met various ministers including the Chief Minister and the Minister for External Relations to provide an insight into how Estonia runs its online services.

Over the past couple of decades, Estonia has become a world leader in making services available online and has the highest number of tech start ups in the world for its size. One of its most famous exports - Skype - was the trailblazer for free calls over the internet.

People in Estonia can access the majority of government services online. Credit: ITV Channel

His Excellency says: "Everybody just wants to make their lives more comfortable. We don't always need to travel or stand in long queues; we want to have everything online because it's all about simplicity and convenience."

When asked how Jersey and Guernsey might learn from Estonia, His Excellency said the islands need to focus on "better service, simpler service, cheaper service."

The Estonian government collects its data on many different databases to protect the country from leaks and hackers.

He says: "We've been talking with Jersey's government about cyber security, and I think benchmarking is the key."

Deputy Philip Ozouf, Minister for External Relations, says: “Estonia’s expertise in the digital sector provides opportunity for us to further develop our digital infrastructure.

"Jersey enjoys some of the fastest and most comprehensive broadband cover in the world, but as always there are areas we can and should look to improve in.

"The discussions we held over the last few days, particularly on e-governance and digital education, have provided valuable insights into the lessons that the Estonian government has learnt building a digital society, and how best to apply that to a Jersey context."