Govtech4Impact World Congress: why we are interested and why you will be interested.

There are opportunities that can't be missed. Like the one we were offered a few months ago: to collaborate in the organization of a global congress on digital transformation of public administrations, here in Madrid: the GovTech for Impact World Congress (G4I).

Seeing the importance of technological events such as the Mobile World Congress, we realized that there is no equivalent event focused on the topic we are passionate about: the digital transformation of the public sector. Our team is small and the challenge of taking on the agenda of such a congress was enormous, but we decided to take the plunge.

Why did we get into this mess? Because we understood that it would help us to put on the international agenda an issue that sometimes does not have sufficient priority. In the public debate, there is a lot of discussion about the design of this or that policy, or the approval of this or that law. However, if our administrations are not capable of implementing effective public policies and constantly improving them, all these laws remain on paper. Just as companies depend on technology to produce and deliver their products and services, the capacity of the welfare state depends, to a large extent, on the use of data, digital infrastructure, the cloud and new technologies in the delivery of services. Digital has become a critical infrastructure for the functioning of our governments, and with this event we want to give it the importance it deserves.

In addition to bringing the most relevant international players in this space closer to our country, this opportunity will also make it possible to publicize the titanic work that is being carried out in many parts of Spain, thus attracting international attention to the initiatives and advances that are being made. We believe that generating synergies in this agenda at a global level is essential, and we could not overlook the opportunity to contribute to that goal.

After a few months of hard work, today we can tell you that the G4I will be held from May 21st to 23rd, and that it will be a unique space to foster public-private collaborations more diverse than the usual "public sector-big provider" binomial. Given that the digital transformation agenda is not limited to technology, but integrates public policies and citizen needs, we will bring together at the discussion table large companies, international organizations, universities, foundations, citizen associations and emerging providers such as startups and scaleups. During these two and a half days, topics such as institutional design for transformation, technologies with the greatest impact on the public sector, data sharing and its impact on policies, as well as the new European govtech agenda will be addressed.

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As of today, more than 100 international leaders have confirmed their attendance. Among them are all those responsible for public sector digitization in international organizations such as the OECD, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, United Nations agencies, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Andean Development Corporation, or the International Telecommunication Union. Also many of the public leaders who are promoting this agenda in their governments, such as the Deputy Minister of Digitalization of Ukraine, the Minister of Education (and former digitalization) of Greece, the Minister of Innovation of Sierra Leone, or the Chief Innovation Officers of cities like Boston or Rio de Janeiro. We will also have the participation of representatives from international universities such as UCL, Harvard and NYU, or Spanish universities such as IE University and ESADE. And as if that were not enough, one of the leading figures in the field of digital transformation, the creator of the paradigmatic Government Digital Service of the United Kingdom, Mike Bracken, will close the event.

We knew it was going to be an ambitious project and it has been confirmed. With more than 120 panelists, 48 sessions and three parallel conversation rooms, we believe we have laid the groundwork to make G4I the global event of reference in the field of public digital transformation. All this has been possible thanks to the investment of Kenes Group, one of the world's leading congress organization companies, companies like MasterCard, Visa or Intellera that have bet with their resources for an event that has just been born, and the Madrid City Council, as host of this first edition, along with the many other national and international institutions that bring delegations, give visibility to the G4I and make the potential of all this great.

At GOBE we are proud to have embarked on this adventure, and we are convinced that the G4I will mark a before and after. But we are missing something. What? Your presence and collaboration! Your participation and contribution are essential to make this event a real success. We invite you to join us and be part of this global conversation on the digital transformation of public institutions. Together we can make a difference and make public digital transformation a global priority to strengthen public services and ultimately improve people's lives.

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