NIGHT OWL In December last year, Hungary approved its National Digital Citizenship Program that is aimed at creating a digital environment that would streamline communication between the government and its citizens. This program hopes to create public administration spaces that are accessible...
NIGHT OWL Digitalization is an integral component of realizing a nations’ sustainable development agenda. In the United Kingdom, the government has launched a digital strategy that it sees as vital to achieving its ambitious priorities of decarbonizing its economy to net zero by 2050, as well as...
NIGHT OWL There’s no arguing that the Covid-19 pandemic gave much emphasis to the need for digital transformation. A lot of nations have set out their digitalization plans based on the challenges and opportunities that emerged during that period of our history. Ireland, for instance, launched its...
NIGHT OWL It gives us much pride when the Filipino talent is recognized on a global stage. But our support for culture and the arts, and the creative industry as a whole, should not be limited to our praises and applauses. In fact, the World Economic Forum (WEF) says that cultural...
NIGHT OWL In its Creative Economy Outlook 2022, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that the creative economy offers a feasible development option to all countries, particularly developing economies. A creative economy, according to UNCTAD, “builds on the...
NIGHT OWL The United States of America (USA) is a global leader in digitalization. It has been on top of the IMD’s World Digital Competitiveness Rankings since 2017. Although the US went down to second place in the 2022 rankings, it only revealed more opportunities for development and...
NIGHT OWL The world’s third largest economy, Japan, is known for being a global leader in the robotics industry. The use of both industrial and service robots has also been beneficial to the country’s ageing population. But despite the high-tech image of Japan, the pandemic revealed the...
NIGHT OWL The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is harnessing the benefits of blockchain technology in improving governance and the delivery of public services. In 2020, the UAE government launched a blockchain-powered medical platform to improve the efficiency of its Ministry of Health and Prevention...
NIGHT OWL Portugal is one of the countries who has invested early on digital transformation and sustained it over the years to be among the world’s leaders in digitalization. It is a member of Digital Nations, a group of leading digital governments — whose founding members include Estonia,...
NIGHT OWL In 2022, the government of Austria launched its digital driver’s license. Called the mobile driving license (mDLs), Austrian citizens can now access their driver’s license through their smartphones after registering for the digital ID. Eventually, the Austrian federal government hopes...
NIGHT OWL One of the first cities in Europe to adopt smart city technologies is the Spanish city of Barcelona. Digital technologies are integrated in many parts of the city. They provide free public Wi-Fi; they have LED lampposts with sensors that turn on when there’s a pedestrian and turns off...
NIGHT OWL When community quarantines due to the Covid-19 pandemic were initially imposed in 2020, only essential workers and those with quarantine passes were allowed to go out. As majority of the population was stuck at home, many reverted to cable TV, streaming sites, and social media to pass...
