The Estonian Embassy in Berlin cordially invites you to an evening event on the eve of the Smart Country Convention “GovStack as a Model: A Blueprint for Europe?”
Date: Monday, 29 September 2025
Time: 18:30 – 21:30
Place: Berlin
Across Europe, there is growing momentum for sovereign, open, and interoperable digital public infrastructure. With the emergence of various national “stack” initiatives – including in Germany – the need for alignment, a shared vision, and mutual learning is more important than ever.
What lessons can be drawn from GovStack, an initiative launched in 2020 by Estonia, Germany, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL)? GovStack promotes the development of standardized digital building blocks – such as digital identity, data management, and more – that enable governments to deliver scalable, secure, and user-centric public services efficiently and interoperably.
This event will bring together leading experts from Germany and Estonia to explore a timely and strategic question: What can we learn from five years of GovStack – and how many stacks does a digital state really need?
Speakers:
- Björn Piibur, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in Berlin
- Katharina Mänz, Head of Division for Digital Technologies, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
- Andrea Donath, Program Lead, GovStack Initiative, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
- Hendrik Lume, Partner, Nortal
Among the participants will also be Estonia’s leading digital transformation companies, including Nortal, Net Group, and Cybernetica – all of which have played a key role in building Estonia’s renowned e-government ecosystem.
Following the discussion, we invite you to a reception with a warm buffet – including the legendary Pavlova dessert – offering an opportunity for informal networking and exchange.
You are also warmly invited to visit the Estonia booth at the Smart Country Convention, where Estonia’s digital expertise and innovation will be on full display.
Please register by September 24 to be part of the event at [email protected]. After registration, we will share full information about the event.
We look forward to welcoming you!
The event is supported by NextGenerationEU.
