The digital revolution taking place in Poland results not only from the necessity dictated by the pandemic but also from a mental change. Entrepreneurs and consumers have seen how quickly and safely many things can be done online, and officials have finally trusted citizens. The next stage should be the expansion of broadband infrastructure – agreed by the participants of the panel discussion devoted to e-administration and e-services during the XXX Economic Forum in Karpacz (7-9 September 2021).
“By 2020, more than 4 million Poles have created their trusted profiles, enabling them to handle a range of administrative matters online. This means that 47 percent of currently active accounts were created after the pandemic broke out. We are talking about an increase – in 2019 there were 2 million fewer trusted profiles,” noted Wojciech Surmacz, president of the Polish Press Agency, who moderated the debate.
Participants in the debate pointed out that during the pandemic, almost overnight, Poles found themselves in a completely unfamiliar reality, in which basic activities such as study or work were switched to a remote mode.
“In the first few months of the pandemic, we saw a doubling of demand for using public services via the Internet,” said Antoni Rytel, deputy director of the GovTech Poland Program.
According to him, many citizens decided that they wanted to avoid constant visits to offices and remembered the possibilities of taking care of many matters thanks to, for example, a trusted profile or video verification.
“Months go by and this trend is not weakening, as the society has established the belief that using e-services is simple, safe, and speeds up the whole procedure,” added Antoni Rytel.