Administrative digitization in Germany

Bremen, January 27, 2025

On February 25 and 26, 2025, everything in Berlin will once again revolve around current and pressing issues of administrative digitizationwhen the Governikus Summit opens its doors. True to the motto "Shaping the future together", Governikus invites experts and interested parties from administration, business, science and IT to discuss obstacles and opportunities. The two-day conference promotes synergies by bringing together a wide range of clients, which can lead to creative solutions. The joint discussions will focus on the IT Planning Council's digital strategy, the NKR's annual report, register modernization, the EUDI wallet, eID and much more.

Conference on the digital transformation

In this interview, Summit organizer and Governikus proxy Petra Waldmüller-Schantz talks about the added value the two-day conference offers for digital administration at all levels.

Question: What distinguishes the Governikus Summit from other conferences on administrative digitization?

Waldmüller-Schantz: It is rather unusual for a company event to bring together the relevant players in administrative digitization, to network them with each other and to create a discourse. But that's exactly what we do. Two important factors play a role here: on the one hand, there is the content of the summit. We want to offer real added value for the entire spectrum of guests, customers and partners. And we do this by talking constructively about the pain points of all of us. For 25 years, we have been pursuing the strategy that we can only tackle these together and turn challenges into opportunities. Furthermore, we did not choose the topics entirely on our own: Interested parties had the chance to help steer the content by submitting ideas and requests to the "Call for Papers". We also included many suggestions in the program.

On the other hand, the Summit is characterized by its networking character by addressing different target groups. It is aimed at decision-makers in IT, but also addresses specific technical issues - we try to map the multifaceted content together with our guests for the various federal levels. Only through dialog with all stakeholders can we tackle problems. All in all, the conference stands out from other events thanks to its distinctive co-creative approach and precise content.

The fact that this year's event is taking place two days after the German parliamentary elections promises additional excitement. It will be interesting to formulate wishes for a new government in the area of administrative digitization together with all participants at the summit.

Question: What's new in this year's edition?

Waldmüller-Schantz: A lot has changed from the outside: Name, location and structure. The "Governikus Annual Conference" has become the "Governikus Summit". Many years ago, we concentrated our focus on the solutions and the exchange of ideas that arose from joint collaboration with customers and partners. This is why we gave our partners a stage early on in the form of program items and a stand in our accompanying exhibition. Both the number of participants and the exhibition have grown steadily in recent years, so we have been looking for a new venue. Wilhelm Studios in the north of Berlin, with its spacious halls and industrial charm, offers us enough creative freedom for our exhibition and the three formats Talk, Hub and Work. We want to use these to discuss various topics with our guests and partners, either on the podium or directly with the guests about their questions.

Question: What are you personally looking forward to the most?

Waldmüller-Schantz: I could name quite a few program items or speakers and I already regret that I won't be able to attend all the sessions. However, I'm particularly looking forward to meeting companions who I don't get to speak to every day. Above all, our get-together on the first day of the conference offers the ideal setting for a friendly reunion and interesting exchange - and not least to toast 25 years of Governikus and 30 years of Governikus ITU. How often does it happen that the daughter is older than the mother?

And of course, at the end of the Summit, I would be most pleased if the feedback from guests and partners was that they were able to take something away from these two days for themselves and would like to attend the next Summit again.

Ticket sales open

The Governikus Summit 2025 promises to be an insightful event for all those interested in shaping a future-proof digital administration. Join us and shape the future together! Click here for ticket sales.