africa.cgtn.com (28.07.2020) Zambia on Tuesday launched an emergency COVID-19 social cash transfer scheme to help vulnerable communities affected by the pandemic. Kampamba Mulenga, Minister of Community Development, said the emergency social cash transfer will help mitigate the impact of the pandemic in vulnerable homes of the elderly, women and their children. The beneficiaries will be given money as well as food hampers for a period of six months, she added. World Food Programme Country Director Jayoung Lee said the United Nations agency will work with the government to distribute food across the country in vulnerable homes.

UNDP (23.07.2020) This paper provides estimates for a Temporary Basic Income (TBI), a minimum guaranteed income above the poverty line, for vulnerable people in 132 developing countries. A TBI amounts to between 0.27 and 0.63 per cent of their combined GDPs, depending on the policy choice: i. top-ups on existing average incomes in each country up to a vulnerability threshold; ii. lump-sum transfers that are sensitive to cross-country differences in the median standard of living; or, iii. lump-sum transfers that are uniform regardless of the country where people live. Unconditional emergency cash transfers can mitigate the worst immediate effects of the COVID-19 crisis on poor and near-poor households that do not currently have access to social assistance or insurance protection. A temporary basic income is within reach and can inform a larger conversation about how to build comprehensive social protection systems that make the poor and near-poor more resilient to economic downturns in the future.

The North Africa Post (04.08.2020) Morocco will expand social welfare protection to all its citizens within five years through a gradual approach, said Finance Minister Mohammed Benchaaboun, after King Mohammed VI urged in the State of the Nation speech on July 29 speeding up such a national project. Benchaaboun said the plan will proceed gradually with the first phase (2021-2023) focusing on the generalization of mandatory health insurance and family allowances followed by a second phase (2024-2025) to enlist citizens in pension funds and launch unemployment benefits.

boliviaemprende.com (14.04.2020) Se establece el Plan de Emergencia de Apoyo al Empleo y Estabilidad Laboral, con el fin de otorgar recursos a las empresas legalmente constituidas y que sus trabajadores estén registrados en el Sistema Integral de Pensiones a fin de permitir un apoyo en el pago de los salarios de los trabajadores de las empresas, dada la emergencia sanitaria nacional y cuarentena total.

El Plan de Emergencia de Apoyo al Empleo y Estabilidad Laboral, se realizará mediante la otorgación de créditos a través del sistema financiero, por un monto equivalente a dos (2) salarios mínimos nacionales, por trabajador, por mes, por un máximo de dos (2) meses.

Los créditos serán de carácter concesional, con un plazo de hasta dieciocho (18) meses y con seis (6) meses de gracia.

periodicobolivia.com.bo (01.04.2020) El Decreto Supremo 1293 del 1 de abril, en su artículo 6 (Flexibilidad laboral) parágrafo I señala que, de manera excepcional y temporal, se reducirá la jornada laboral para el sector público y privado y que el Ministerio de Trabajo, Empleo y Previsión Social, emitirá la reglamentación correspondiente.

periodicobolivia.com.bo (14.04.2020) Decreto Supremo 4218 que en su artículo 1 da a conocer la implementación y la regulación del Teletrabajo, como una “modalidad especial de prestación de servicios caracterizada por la utilización de Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación – TIC en los sectores público y privado”. La misma que garantiza y protege el trabajo en sus distintas formas (comunitario, estatal, privado y social cooperativo) “considerando la equidad laboral, de ingresos y medioambiental, así como la igualdad de oportunidades”, según establece el artículo 86 del Decreto Supremo 29894 del 7 de febrero de 2009

eriodicobolivia.com.bo (21.03.2020) De acuerdo al Decreto 4199 del 21 de marzo, durante la vigencia de la cuarentena total, los servidores públicos, trabajadores y todo personal que preste funciones en el sector público y privado en el territorio nacional, tendrán derecho al pago de sus salarios, para lo cual los responsables de su procesamiento tendrán la autorización para movilizarse y realizar las actividades que demande.

elperiodico.com.gt (25.05.2020) La primera estimación del pago del Bono de Riesgo que el Congreso aprobó para el personal del Ministerio de Salud Pública y Asistencia Social (MSPAS) sería otorgar Q870 para los trabajadores de esa cartera en los renglones 011, 021, 022 y 031. Este bono fue aprobado por el Congreso mediante el Decreto 20-2020, por un monto de Q26 millones para los trabajadores de salud expuestos al COVID-19. El bono, que cubre al personal permanente solamente, aún no se ha desembolsado (07.08.2020).

Según la estimación, este bono se entregaría a 29 mil 885 trabajadores de esa cartera. En el renglón 011 (personal permanente) se cubren 24 mil 308 puestos con un total de Q21.1 millones, en el renglón 021 (personal supernumerario) a 1,734 trabajadores con Q1.5 millones. El personal por contrato y por jornales de los renglones 022 y 031 son 89 y 3 mil 754, lo que equivale a Q77 mil 430 y Q3.2 millones.

CEPAL (Julio 2020) Este Informe Especial es el quinto de una serie que elabora la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) sobre la evolución y los efectos del COVID-19 en América Latina y el Caribe. Esta edición se centra en los efectos económicos cada vez mayores de la pandemia en el mundo y la región en aras de una reactivación con igualdad. Se proponen medidas de protección social como central en la recuperación de la región.

CEPAL (02.04.2020) Esta reunión tuvo como objetivo compartir experiencias sobre el rol de los Ministerios de Desarrollo Social y entidades equivalentes frente a la actual crisis causada por el COVID-19. En especial, interesaba conocer cómo cada institución ha respondido a la pandemia en relación a tres puntos: i) los principales problemas socioeconómicos y prioridades de acción en protección social; ii) las dificultades, desafíos y aprendizajes en la respuesta a la crisis; y, iii) las necesidades de cooperación. Se pudo observar que el foco central de los países ha sido mitigar el impacto en costos humanos, así como evitar la profundización de la pobreza y la pobreza extrema. Para ello, han actuado en conjunto a otros ministerios (economía, salud, educación, etc) y actores (universidades, asociaciones profesionales, sector privado, entre otros).

knowledge.leglobal.org (2020) Resumen de las principales y primeras medidas laborales que se adoptaron en Iberoamérica para mitigar el desempleo en el contexto de la pandemia.

dca.gob.gt (14.04.2020) El Acuerdo Ministerial 825-2020 permite a las organizaciones de padres de familia utilizar los recursos transferidos por el Mineduc para que puedan adquirir alimentos y entregarlos a los padres de familia. Dicho aporte consiste en Q4 por estudiante para un período de 15 días lo que da un total de Q60 por alumno. DIGEPSA destacó que 2 millones 482 mil 475 estudiantes han sido beneficiado con segundo desembolso luego de la suspensión de clases el 16 de marzo cuando se declaró estado de calamidad pública por la pandemia del coronavirus.

elperiodico.com.gt (02.05.2020) El programa denominado Bono al Comercio Popular a cargo del Ministerio de Desarrollo  (Mides) destinado a los trabajadores de la economía informal, durante la emergencia sanitaria de COVID-19 ya realizó las primeras 2 mil 598 transferencias de Q1,000 a vendedores de la capital, que iniciaron a desembolsarse el 8 de abril.

republica.gt (06.08.2020) El Bono Familia se otorgará por tres meses: julio, agosto y septiembre (3 pagos). El Ministerio de Desarrollo (Mides) recordó que aún siguen entregando el primer pago y esperan comenzar con el segundo el 15 de agosto. Gómez indicó que las personas que aún no han actualizado los datos, deben enviar el mensaje de BonoPago al 2020 para continuar con el proceso y ser beneficiados del Bono Familia. De acuerdo con la página web del bono, el fondo es de 6,000 millones de quetzales y ha beneficiado a 10 milliones de personas (2 milliones de hogares).

Agencia Boliviana de Información (20.07.2020) El Gobierno, a través del 4289, destinó Bs 15.406.000 para contratar un seguro de invalidez total y permanente o muerte derivada del coronavirus COVID-19 para los miembros de la Policía Nacional.     Mediante la nueva normativa se autorizó al Ministerio de Economía, a través del Tesoro General de la Nación (TGN), realizar en la gestión 2020 la asignación presupuestaria de recursos adicionales por el monto señalado, a favor del Ministerio de Gobierno para contratar el seguro.

boliviasegura.gob.bo (15.07.2020) El Decreto 4288 autoriza de manera excepcional y temporal, la ampliación de la vigencia del Carnet de Discapacidad que se encuentren vencidos para las personas con Discapacidad grave y muy grave, para el pago del bono mensual.

Finland launches its AuroraAI National Artificial Intelligence program. AuroraAI will be fully available in 2022. By Susan Fourtané July 09, 2020

The promise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a concept taken from science fiction. Businesses around the world are taking advantage of AI and automation, moving the enterprise right at the center of digital business transformation.

Similarly, Government AI is not just a trend but a response from governments around the globe to the current state of Artificial Intelligence evolution, societal implications, enterprise disruption, and industry adoption.

National Artificial Intelligence strategies are a response to the need that urges governments to remain in sync with strategic technology trends that have been emerging in recent years, technology trends that are shaping the way we live, socialize, work, and educate the future generations.

KrattAI is the vision of how public services should digitally work in the age of Artificial Intelligence. By Susan Fourtané June 08, 2020

In Estonia, there are around 30 Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions deployed in the Estonian public sector that were identified as active as of the beginning of June 2020. The Baltic nation aims to have at least 50 AI use cases by the end of 2020.

And that is just the beginning. Estonia's AI strategy is the next stage of digital public services, all part of e-Estonia. What is most interesting about it, is that its vision sounds as if it was taken from a science fiction script. Yet, it is all almost around the corner. In 2020, Estonia is working toward realizing its AI Strategy vision, called KrattAI. 

Estonian companies widely use AI solutions in several business areas for optimizing business processes, automating customer service, in product quality control, and in risk mitigation to name just a few. 

In May 2019, an expert group led by Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications (MKM) and Government Office presented proposals on advancing the take-up of artificial intelligence (AI) in Estonia aka for Estonia’s national AI strategy. ​

This current strategy has been prepared based on these proposals, as a plan on how to implement the expert group’s recommendations. It was adopted at Cabinet meeting on 25 July 2019. ​

The strategy is a sum of actions that Estonian government will take to advance the take-up of AI in both private and public sector, to increase the relevant skills and research and development (R&D) base as well as to develop the legal environment. According to the current strategy and based on existing knowledge, Estonian government will invest at least 10M euros in 2019-2021 to implementation of AI strategy in its different directions.

Unless you’re familiar with old Estonian mythology, it’s likely you don’t know what the word “Kratt” means. Created out of hay and miscellaneous household objects, a kratt was a magical creature who would come alive once a pact was made between its master and the devil. This then allowed the kratt’s master to order it to do whatever menial labour or even nefarious tasks were needed or desired.

For many, it might be enough to leave the kratts in the past or to the folklorists. Not so in Estonia, where culture is not only preserved, but enhanced by digitalisation. And as such, kratts are still woven into today’s digital society. The similarity of the creature to artificial intelligence (AI) technology has led the Estonian government to repurpose the term for modern life. They can be found in the 2018 algorithmic-liability law, aka, Kratt law and are referenced in the current national AI “kratt” strategy.

Adopted by the government in July 2019, the “Kratt” strategy is a number of actions that the Estonian government plans to take. Relying on four pillars, the strategy seeks to boost the take-up of AI in both the private and public sectors. As well as a way to increase the relevant skills and research and development (R&D) base and develop the legal environment. With #KrattAI the government plans to invest at least 10M euros in 2019-2021 for the implementation of a proposed 50 AI use cases by 2020.

Suve is already working on the webpages of Government of Estonia, Estonia’s Health Board, Ministry of Social Affairs, Work in Estonia, International House of Estonia and Invest in Estonia – with other sites soon to follow. During the emergency situation in Estonia, Suve focuses on questions related to the crisis situation. Her main goals are to find official information during the crisis situation, keep various emergency phone lines free for those in need of information that she cannot provide and help prevent the spread of fake news. The Government of Estonia declared an emergency situation on 12th March due to the worldwide pandemic of Coronavirus COVID-19 and the threat of mass infections.

To guarantee trustworthy and accurate information, Suve’s parents – the eeBot team – is co-operating with Estonian Government Communication Unit.

Around the globe, people are searching for innovative ideas to tackle problems created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Countries are scrambling to find solutions to combat the looming economic crisis, manage pressure on the medical system all the while trying to ensure that life can continue as normally as possible. Even the New York Times recently estimated that some countries might have a competitive edge in their way out the Covid-19 crisis. Estonia among them due to the digital society, startup ecosystem, and agile business and government partnerships. However, a lot of the ideas entrepreneurial Estonians have come up with, can be implemented elsewhere, not to mention that businesses are offering some solutions for free as well.

Suve (https://eebot.ee/en/) is an automated chatbot, whose main task is to make sure that you and everyone living in or visiting Estonia get their questions answered from official sources. Suve has been integrated into several public websites. During the emergency situation related to COVID-19, she helps to provide accurate and trustworthy information in English, Estonian and Russian.

Suve  is an automated chatbot, whose main task is to make sure that you and everyone living in or visiting Estonia get their questions answered from official sources. Suve has been integrated into several public websites. During the emergency situation related to COVID-19, she helps to provide accurate and trustworthy information in English, Estonian and Russian.

Implementation of the national AuroraAI programme The aim of the Aurora national artificial intelligence (AI) programme is to implement an operations model based on people’s needs, where artificial intelligence helps citizens and companies to utilise services in a timely and ethically sustainable manner. The activities of the relevant authorities will be organised in such a way that they support people’s life-events and companies’ business-related events, facilitating seamless, effective and smoothly functioning service paths consisting of the services of several service providers. This will provide people with access to a new way of taking care of their overall well-being and, at the same time, will promote service providers’ ability to form customer-oriented and dynamic service chains in collaboration with other operators and to manage their activities based on up-to-date information.

AuroraAI will strengthen our ability to solve difficult issues in our society relating, for example, to the national economy’s sustainability gap, the aging population or the social exclusion of young people. This will be made possible by creating snapshots across administrative boundaries about people’s true needs and the state of their well-being. Creating such a snapshot will require a new kind of utilisation of information, data analytics and other applications of artificial intelligence. At the same time, services will be allocated efficiently from the point of view of central government finances, and the waste and underutilisation of resources will be removed.

Asean Briefing (05.08.2020) Under the fifth stimulus package, the government has extended its financial support for private sector employees, in particular, those in the garment, textiles, and footwear industries. Introduced under the previous stimulus package, companies who want to suspend employment contracts must first submit an application to the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (MLVT). The suspended employees are then eligible to receive monthly subsidies. This program has now been extended through the latest economic package until September 2020. Suspended employees are entitled to the following monthly subsidies: US$15 for 7-10 days of employment suspension; US$30 for 11-20 days of employment suspension; and US$40 for 21 days to one month of employment suspension.