The government of Austria has published its Digital Roadmap. This strategy analyses the country’s challenges and describes nearly 150 measures and activities that promote digitalisation and digitisation.
The roadmap (“Die digitale Strategie der österreichischen Bundesregierung”) was unveiled on 19 January.
“For the first time, the activities of all ministries are bundled together in a joint strategy paper of the Federal Government”, the government writes. “Because digitalisation is rapidly changing our world, the digital roadmap is a moving target. The dynamic strategy paper is continuously adapted to the latest developments, to offer a reliable common guide towards the digital future.”
The strategy lists twelve ‘guiding principles’. For example, everyone in Austria should be able to participate in digitalisation, the government writes, adding that it wants “to close the digital divide”. Digitalisation creates new business and working models, the roadmap states, and Austria will need to adapt its legal framework to these. The country also wants to strengthen the development of digital scientific research and development, and help shape the European Digital Single Market.
Forefront
The compilation of the Digital Strategy involved more than 100 experts from ministries, federal states, municipalities and social partners. A draft text was opened to public consultation, drawing some 2,200 comments.
The ambitious strategy should help citizens and businesses to benefit from digitalisation, says Muna Duzdar, the State Secretary for Digitalisation, in a statement. “We need to be at the forefront of the next technological development, and become a 5G pioneer country, which could lead to additional gross domestic product of between EUR 30 and 40 billion by 2030.”
Austria wants to give priority to developing its 5G telecommunications network and promote digitalisation in the public sector, the statement quotes Harald Mahrer, State Secretary for Science, Research and Economy, as saying.
More information:
Austria’s Digital Strategy (in German)
Austria’s Digital Strategy (PDF, in German)
Announcement by Digitales Oesterreich (in German)