Preparations for the 9th e-Governance Conference are well under way, for what has come to be one of the highest level e-governance events globally. In the past few years, we addressed ever-so-salient topics such as resilience and crisis management, with the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine inevitably driving the agenda. In the 2023 edition we look at what are the sustainable and distributed societal returns that come from technological development. “Digital Innovation as Catalyst for Social Change” is the umbrella for this year’s programme, and Senior Expert on e-Democracy Kristina Mänd joins us today for the appetizer, a preview of what to expect from the conference on May 30-31 in Tallinn and online. ‘Present calls the future’ – a conference about social change This year’s e-Governance Conference features stories of digital transformation from all corners of the globe – from Costa Rica to Georgia, from Ukraine to Tonga. But the overarching scope lies on the long run, on how technology can serve lasting, viable social change.  “Because social change can be defined by human interactions and the relationships that transform our cultural and social innovations, and the impact they need to have,” Mänd explains. In the past few years, digital development happened very quickly, so to say. “Now we are wondering what we can do in the field of healthcare, now in artificial intelligence implementation, now on improving this or that particular service. But the social change view needs to come along with that, to make sure that with those digital innovations we are not harming societies, the way they function, and the system of human interactions between people, and with the state.” Find out more on the official website of the 2023 e-Governance Conference. And whether in person or online, join us to build better and inclusive digital societies, together.