Directors General responsible for Public Administration in the EU Member States and the European Commission will discuss trust and the development of public administration in Helsinki

The meeting on 28–29 November will address topical issues and challenges related to the development of administration. The main theme of the discussions is trust.

The meeting is part of the activity of the European Public Administration Network (EUPAN). Finland will chair the network during Finland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Openness and participation as keys to a trust-based society

The programme of Finland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union highlights the importance of openness and participation in building trust. Trust is also a central element in discussions at the meeting of Directors-General responsible for public administration.

“Citizens’ trust in public administration is on the common agenda of us all – there are no shortcuts to strengthening it. Our discussions at EU level keep coming back to two different ways to promote trust. These are precisely openness and participation. I consider forums like this meeting important so we can share experiences and develop solutions to our challenges together. Work for trust is never completed, but it must be at the heart of the development of public administration continuously,” says Juha Sarkio, Director General of the Ministry of Finance, chair of the EUPAN Director-General Meeting in Helsinki.

How can the conditions for building mutual trust be secured? The meeting will also focus on the components of the operational culture based on trust and integrity.

Through knowledge, artificial intelligence and robotics to better public administration

In addition to trust, the meeting will also consider how public administration and services could be developed by utilising knowledge, artificial intelligence and robotics. In addition to improving the efficiency of administration, artificial intelligence and robotics can also be used to promote other administrative objectives, such as trust, enabling participation and openness.

The EUPAN meeting will also look at Finnish examples of the utilisation of artificial intelligence and knowledge. The meeting will present the Tietokiri project Link to an external websiteOpens in a new tabthat aims to promote knowledge-based management and the culture of knowledge-based decision-making in public administration. In addition, the meeting will include experiences of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland on how to manage and support the ethical implementation of services based on artificial intelligence.

See the meeting programme and follow the discussion live

A webcast of the EUPAN meeting's panel discussion and keynote speech can be viewed live. The meeting will be held in English.

Follow the webcastLink to an external websiteOpens in a new tab on 28 November from 10 am to 11.45 am
View the programme of the EUPAN Directors-General MeetingLink to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
Read more about the activities of the EUPAN networkLink to an external websiteOpens in a new tab

Inquiries:

Johanna Nurmi, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 2955 30171, johanna.nurmi(at)vm.fi