The EU-funded ‘House of Europe’ programme invites Ukrainian exhibition curators, artists, tutors, city planners and urbanists to apply for its Digital Labs. This intensive programme of online courses provides opportunities to meet experts from Ukraine and the European Union and receive up to 500 EUR for professional development. The deadline for applications is 19 December 2023.

EU4Digital Facility has published a study report that maps and diagnoses the start-up ecosystem in the Eastern Partnership (EaP). Produced by the EU4Digital ICT Innovation stream, the report defines the concept of high-performing incubation, presents analysis of the current situation and provides recommendations for the development of associated support programmes in the partner countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The report is available online and feedback is invited.

The European Training Foundation (ETF) helps countries around the European Union (EU) to reform their education, training and labour market systems. The 2024 work programme of this EU agency will promote digitalisation and innovation in education, with a focus on Ukraine and EU candidate countries including Georgia and Moldova, among other goals and focus points. This strategic plan was approved on 24 November 2023.

EU4Digital Facility has marked a significant milestone in its activities to accelerate the ability of Eastern partner countries to gather data in line with EU best practices and incorporate more accurate digital performance-related data in their national strategies. A regional event on 24 November 2023 provided an opportunity to close and reflect on the first phase of EU4Digital DESI Accelerator activities and start to prepare for the second.

Azerbaijan and Georgia are set to become digital hubs in a fibre-optic telecommunication ‘corridor’ linking Europe to Central and South Asia. AzerTelecom is implementing the major ‘Digital Silk Way’ project that aims to develop the region's digital ecosystem according to the world's most advanced standards. Within Azerbaijan, construction of fibre-optic cables is underway and phase one of a backbone link across the Caspian Sea has begun, to connect Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan by the end of 2024.

Video surveillance, drones and biometric technologies are the reality of today’s world. With the rapid development of technology, personal data protection needs extend far beyond traditional paper-based record-keeping. Understanding the importance of advancing skills in this field, the EU4DigitalUA project, a partner of the EU4Digital Initiative, organised an internship for staff of the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights on 13–24 November 2023 in Madrid, Spain.

A new collaboration aims to advance education in artificial intelligence (AI) in Armenia. The Ministry of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia, headed by Minister Robert Khachatryan, and the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on 20 November 2023. Other goals of the memorandum are to foster collaboration between sectoral companies and the educational system, and to cultivate a generation of competitive and innovative specialists.

Digital has become central to everyday life in the Eastern Partnership (EaP), so a coordinated approach to strategic planning, policy and legislation alignment and investment are now crucial. This was the key message that emerged from the 5th annual meeting of the EU4Digital Steering Committee held online on 15 November 2023.

Human-centred needs and benefits must be kept in mind as we aim for digital transformation, agreed participants in the EU4Digital Digital Conference for the Eastern Partnership (EaP) on 14 November 2023. The event theme, ‘Digital strategic autonomy: leveraging digital technologies to empower societies and economies’, provided scope to explore how digital connectivity and newer technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) can unlock innovation in working towards resilient government, economy and society.

Representatives of institutions that collect Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) related indicators in Eastern partner countries are invited to participate in an EU4Digital Facility event online on 24 November 2023. In the event, experts from the EU4Digital Digital Skills thematic area will present analysis of DESI implementation, discuss regional and national recommendations around the adoption of full DESI measurement, and reflect on insights and milestones from the DESI Accelerator activity.

With the growth of online provision of health, educational, financial, business and governance services, digital connectivity has become increasingly crucial to everyday life. Following a pathway to digital connectivity improvement in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region, EU4Digital Facility has been closely cooperating with the Eastern partner countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine since 2019. Together, they promote and facilitate access to high-speed, secure and sustainable digital connectivity at affordable prices for citizens and businesses. So, what has been achieved and how does this support wider policy goals for EaP digital transformation?

The Armenian national research and education network (NREN) ASNET-AM has become a 6-month ‘twin’ with its Malawian counterpart MAREN. As part of a pilot programme to exchange knowledge with and foster the development of emerging NRENs such as MAREN, the ‘EU4Digital: Connecting Research and Education Communities (EaPConnect)’ project partner ASNET-AM is providing knowledge and technical support in High Performance Computing and cyber-emergency response among other topics.