Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/922844
maltatoday SUNDAY 7 JANUARY 2018 44 Information Technology 2018 is going to be an exciting year for MITA, in which the Agency will be exploit- ing emerging and disruptive technologies for the benefit of citizens and businesses alike. MITA will assist Government in the implementation of digital services that will help improve the experience of the Public Sector. However, before we start writing about projects that are planned for this year, it would be nice to recollect the most impor- tant projects delivered during 2017, some of which also served as a stepping stone towards other projects that will be imple- mented during this year. The CONvErGE project One of the most important projects launched in 2017 was the CONvErGE, and it was launched by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat himself. Through this project, the Maltese Government will be investing €40 million to strengthen the Public Services by developing its ICT systems. In the last four years, Government in- vested over €200 million for the develop- ment of Government ICT systems, and must continue doing so to keep the momentum. Through the ConvErGE, a number of new services will be developed for the benefit of citizens and businesses in various sectors like health, social services, justice, public finance, tourism, emergency systems and business sectors. Other investment will be made to strengthen Government's IT infra- structure. Another important part of this project is the building up of a platform for Govern- ment systems which will be used for the On- ly-Once Principle, where common systems can be used by different departments and information will only be requested once from the citizen. The Maltese EU Presidency Another important milestone during last year was the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, during which MITA was an important partner before and during the six months in which Malta held hundreds of important meetings. Not only was MITA in charge of the build- ing up of the IT infrastructure and systems used during the Presidency, but it was also providing continuous support during all the meetings that were held. This support was also extended during other important meetings like the Arraiolos Malta 2017, a forum during which 13 non- executive European Union Presidents met to discuss migration and social solidarity. A visit by the President of Malta Together with representatives from the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation, the President of Malta, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca visited MITA's Head Office where she was given a presentation about MITA's Cor- porate Social Responsibility. On the same occasion, President Coleiro Preca met MITA's employees, where she expressed her pride in meeting what she described as the digital heart of our coun- try. While encouraging MITA's workers to be innovative, creative and proactive in mak- ing the necessary changes that help our country become better and more efficient, the Maltese President also told them to con- tinue helping the community. Visit by the Parliamentary Secretary for the Digital Economy 2017 was also characterised by a general election, in which there was a change in the Ministry who oversees MITA. Whereas before the election MITA was directed by Emmanuel Malta as the Minister for Com- petitiveness, Digital, Maritime and Services Economy; after the election, it was Silvio Schembri as the Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and In- novation who was given this responsibility. In his first visit, Schembri visited MITA's Data Centre where he was given further insight about the agency's role within Gov- ernment. He was accompanied by Perma- nent Secretary, Vincent Muscat and both met with MITA's senior management who toured them around the data centre and gave them an overview about MITA's pro- jects. A National Cyber Awareness Campaign After the launch of the first National Cyber Security Strategy in late 2016, the Ministry for Competitiveness, Digital, Maritime and Services Economy in collaboration with the Steering Committee for the implementa- tion of the strategy launched an awareness campaign spread over two years. The campaign, entitled "Sigurtá Onlajn Ghalik" aims to address the online security interests of the public sector, the citizens, as well as the private sector. It seeks to en- sure a nation-wide understanding of what cybersecurity means and implies, focusing upon the realities being faced by various stakeholders, so that they are prepared and protected from possible threats within cy- ber space. Launch of the first Government mobile apps As part of the first phase of the Mobile Government Strategy, MITA in collaboration with the Office of the Principal Permanent Secretary, launched the first set of mobile apps to be used by the general public. Amongst these apps, there is the maltapps which provides visibility and access to the Maltese Government published apps. It also allows the user to install and launch the re- spective apps directly from within the mal- tapps launcher. The services are classified into 12 sectors which represent Government entities and departments. In the next phase of the strategy, more apps will be released, this time providing functionalities such as the ability to affect payments via mobile devices. This will al- low citizens to pay fines online or requested public registry certificates, hence promot- ing the availability of Government services on a 24x7 basis. Malta at the forefront in regulating block- chain In a press conference at MITA's Data Cen- tre, Parliamentary Secretary Silvio Schem- bri explained that Government is working on a plan how to implement a national strat- egy about blockchain technology, through a taskforce that has been setup for this pur- pose. Schembri said that Government will estab- lish a National Blockchain Laboratory at MI- TA where the adequate skills and speciali- A fruitful year leading us to an exciting One of the most important projects launched in 2017 was the CONvErGE which was launched by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat himself. Parliamentary Secretary Silvio Schembri explained that Government is working on a plan how to implement a national strategy about blockchain technology, through a taskforce that has been setup for this purpose. The campaign "Sigurtá Onlajn Ghalik" aims to address the online security interests of the public sector, the citizens, as well as the private sector.