I EVENTS Another goal is to spread the message that Estonia is successful, interesting and open to investments. In introducing Estonia, Margus Reinsalu has found that when someone simply talks about Estonia to foreigners they will politely listen but will soon forget. “However if these same people can visit Estonia and see for themselves how successful Estonia is, what good opportunities there are for investments and how beautiful the environment is, then they will remember and will return.” Every year a slightly different selection of friends is invited to Estonia, since the organisers would like Estonia to have a lot of good and influential friends all over the world. The meeting gives those who have an interest in Estonia an opportunity to meet and exchange ideas. Last year discussion of Estonia’s role in the European Union and the future of the European Union was the main focus of the symposium. This year the main theme of the symposium will be e-democracy and e-governance, and their roles in modern societies. As is traditional, one of the keynote speakers of the symposium will be President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who is widely recognised for his expertise in e-governance, cyber security and cloud computing. The other keynote speaker will be Andrew M. Thompson, President, CEO and cofounder of Proteus Digital Health. Proteus has created a digital health feedback system to allow people of all ages and cultures to power their own health, to take better care of themselves and each other. This year the symposium will be held for the first time in the new innovation and business centre Mektory, where guests will be able to acquaint themselves with the latest technologies in Estonia. The attendees of the Estonia’s Friends International Meeting will also be joined at the symposium by Estonia’s honorary consuls, which will bring more interesting viewpoints to the discussion. On the same day, the friends of Estonia will be able to meet Prime Minister of Estonia Taavi Rõivas, who will introduce the Estonian e-government system. In addition, Enterprise Estonia will organise a seminar on the topic „Estonia–contributing towards a country without borders”, which centres on Estonian innovation and start-ups. Besides discussions of Estonia´s development, innovation and investment opportunities, the participants in the meeting will be offered a wonderful cultural programme. It has become a tradition that on the first night of the meeting there is a concert by the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the renowned maestro Neeme Järvi. This concert has become a popular cultural event in its own right.
Estonia - Contributing To A World Without Borders This year’s Estonia’s Friends International Meeting will feature a business seminar hosted by Enterprise Estonia, focusing on the initiatives and ideas of Estonian entrepreneurs worldwide who contribute to a world without borders. Estonia is the native home of several successful entrepreneurs who have achieved global success or have created ideas that disrupt the world order as we know it today. The seminar which will take place on 3 July will shed light on some of these projects, including TransferWise, Teleport Inc, PlanetOS and GrabCAD. Estonians are playing a key role in shaping the future of the world, by introducing peer-to-peer currency exchange, by helping people find the most suitable location for living, by bringing engineers together to work on exciting projects and by collecting and analysing big data from the planet’s ecosystem. The distinguished foreign investor Mr. Sonny Aswani from Singapore will give a presentation on his time in Estonia during the past two decades and on further growth opportunities for a country with a unique geopolitical position. The CIO of the Government of Estonia, Mr. Taavi Kotka, will introduce an ambitious programme to increase the number of Estonian digital citizens to over 10 million. The Estonian government has approved the concept of issuing digital IDs to non-residents. From the end of 2014, foreigners will be able to receive a secure Estonian eidentity. This creates a unique opportunity to create a new set of remotely usable global services. The development of the appropriate infrastructure and a range of services require the coordination and stimulation of the public and private sectors. The aim is to make Estonia great: make sure that at least 10 million people around the world choose to associate with Estonia via e-identities. The seminar not only aims to promote Estonia as a hotspot for foreign direct investment, but also to demonstrate the truly global reach of its brightest young minds. By combining these efforts, the world will become more integrated and thus will move closer to being without borders in human interaction.
The next evening there will be a concert by the Andres Mustonen Jazz Quartet in the Oandu watermill in Lahemaa, surrounded by beautiful Estonian nature. Exceptionally this year, the guests will also be able to attend the famous Estonian Song and Dance Celebration ”Touched by Time. The Time to Touch.” The Estonia’s Friends International Meeting is jointly organised by the Office of the President of the Republic of Estonia, Enterprise Estonia and the entrepreneur Margus Reinsalu. Feedback from previous events has been very positive and surely this year’s event will be memorable for all who attend, and will instigate many new friendships and interesting discussions on the future of Estonia.
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LIFE IN ESTONIA I 2014 SUMMER
Prime Minister at the time Andrus Ansip gives the friends of Estonia a tour of Stenbock House in 2013.