Estonia?s Tiger Leap to Technology??

Tallinn, Estonia-How many countries in the world, let alone in the ruins of the Soviet empire, would dare declare Internet access a human right? Leave it to Estonia, the tiny nation of 1.5 million on the Baltic Sea, to make such a bold proclamation. Earlier this year, in a move considered the first of its kind in the new digital world order, Estonia?s parliament voted to guarantee Net access, just like any other right, to its citizens.

Not that the resourceful Estonians needed any encouraging. In its first years of post- Soviet sovereignty, Estonia has become the most cyber-oriented state to emerge from the collapsed Soviet Union. Thanks to an explosive growth in personal computer ownership, today more than one in 10 Estonians use the Net-a higher rate, in relative terms, than in France or Italy. Thanks to a state crusade led by Estonia?s President, Lennart Meri, the whole country is being wired-from the National Library in the capital, Tallinn, to the most remote pastoral corners.

In the national campaign, launched by President Meri in 1997 and sponsored in part by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), more than 80 public Internet access sites, cyber visitor centres where Estonians can surf the web and use e-mail for free, have opened. UNDP led the drive, opening the first four public access points. A total of 300 are planned by the year 2002.

The prime mover of the crusade to wire Estonia-code-named "Tiger Leap"-is President Meri, who even answers his own (publicly advertised) e-mail address. In 1997, Meri helped to create the Tiger Leap Foundation, an effort that united the Ministry of Education and Estonia?s computer companies.

"We played a role in making Internet access a human right," explains Petra Lantz-de Bernardis, UNDP Resident Representative in Tallinn, "It grew out of a government request in 1997 for help in developing Estonia?s information technology (IT). "They came to us with a question," recalls Lantz-de Bernardis, " ?How do we best invest in human capital?? "

"This is a small country, with limited natural resources that is suffering a negative population growth," adds Robert Juhkam, the UNDP programme advisor in Tallinn who led the development of a framework document, bringing together IT experts from the local private sector and government. "Human capital is their greatest strength."

The UNDP?s investment in the project has not been costly-US$200,000 to date-but the dividends have been great. The framework document became the basis for the country?s new telecommunications law. "The government," Lantz-de Bernardis reports, "adopted verbatim all of our suggestions."

An Internet lifeline

The small blue and white road sign-announcing "Internet 100 metres"-looks a bit out of place on the rustic island of Hiiumaa in the middle of the Baltic Sea. The sign, just one of many that dot the island, reveals the proximity of one of Estonia?s first public access points. Personal computers first hit Hiiumaa?s main library in 1997 and the 106-year-old book repository has never been the same.

Life on Hiiumaa-population about 12,000, territory just under 1,000 square kilometres-has never been leisurely. The island?s history of farming and fishing dates back to the 13th Century. But Estonia?s first years of post-Soviet sovereignty have not been terribly kind to Hiiumaa. Farming is down. Fishing has been hit hard as a result of turbulent markets in Russia and Ukraine, where 80 percent of the fish canned on Hiiumaa is sold. And eco-tourism remains a dream. The dense forests that cover two-thirds of the island are pock-marked with patches clear-cut in the rush for fast cash. Worse still, the tide of youth emigrating to the mainland has only risen since Estonia won its independence.

On Hiiumaa, however, the Net is spawning more than cyber pen pals. In a triumph of technology over geography, the Net has lent the island a lifeline, helping it to overcome many of the traditional obstacles of isolation.

Vaike and Valdo Laid?s farmstead on Hiiumaa?s north coast is one place that will never be the same. The family farm, a small quadrant shared with a handful of horses, cows and piglets, was one of the first locales transformed into a Net visitor centre. Long a hub of news for local villagers, the Laid farmstead served as a post office during Estonia?s brief independence before Soviet annexation in 1940.

So when UNDP officials suggested plugging in a computer in the Laid?s old granary storage room, Vaike and Valdo stepped into the digital age with ease. "We didn?t know what it all meant," says Vaike, "but when the lines formed at our door, we knew our farm had joined the rest of the world."

Hiiumaa, not coincidentally, boasts a fibre optic cable that runs along the floor of the Baltic Sea to Stockholm, some 250 kilometres to the north. In 1997, Telia, the Swedish telephone company, laid the cable to connect St. Petersburg with Stockholm. But as Telia partly owns Estonia?s telephone company, they also operate the cable in Estonia. Hiiumaa officials were asked whether they would allow one of the switches to be located on the island and they agreed.

Imported technology, wedded with an indigenous ingenuity, has helped Hiiumaa to overcome its isolation and to reduce the instability of its traditional trades. Consider how the Net has changed life for Toomas Kokovkin, an Estonian geographer who moved to the island a decade ago. Working from a gleaming hi-tech office, he is able to earn a living as a digital cartographer. One recent order came from a Swedish company that hired Kokovkin to digitize a stack of hand-made maps of Uganda. The exchange was conducted entirely via the parties? web pages. "It makes great sense for us and the Swedes," says Kokovkin, "we offer cheap labour for the same quality product, and they give us the means to keep on living on the island."

Extending the cyber crusade

The state guardians nurturing Estonia?s fledgling democracy believe the Net will be a cornerstone of liberty. Tiger Leap?s first goal-"A computer for every 20 pupils"-fast grew into a national slogan. With that mark within reach, Estonia is moving on. Prime Minister Mart Laar hopes to create "a virtual government" in a cyber down-sizing that aims to replace bureaucrats with online services.

Estonia also boasts a state IT advisor who attends cabinet meetings and guides the country?s cyber course. Linnar Viik, the Net guru who was one of the architects of the Tiger Leap campaign, is a celebrity in Estonia. "We?re not just making idle declarations," Viik says. "We?re building a public domain infrastructure-with equal access and equal pricing for all."

Thanks to the state?s digital crusaders, Estonians enjoy a wide range of online government services. "What we are attempting to do," says Viik, "is to make the entire legislative process transparent and give people an opportunity to comment on the laws beforehand and publicly."

Estonia?s state portal is scheduled to go into operation in August. But at present 280 public services are already available via the Net. The Ministry of Finance posts the state?s daily accounts on the web. And this spring, Estonians began to submit their taxes via the Net.

Estonia?s cyber crusade may be ambitious, but it is not a romantic fancy. The community Net centres not only lure Estonians to the Web, they also act as a catalyst for economic development. Consider the rapid rise of Microlink, Estonia?s leading computer manufacturer. Founded in 1995 by a pair of college drop-outs, Microlink is run by a 32-year-old Chief Executive Officer, Allan Martinson, who makes no effort
to hide the secret of his company?s success. "I don?t know why so many people fear globalization," he says, "I love it." Microlink, Martinson explains, has benefited from orders outsourced by neighbouring hi-tech giants in Finland, Norway and Sweden. Moreover, Microlink is 40 percent owned by Finnish and US investment funds.

Microlink also runs the most popular portal in the Baltics (Delfi.com). With news, debates and e-commerce, the site claims to have upwards of 200,000 hits a day. Microlink, however, also shares the public service streak of many Estonian dot.coms. Its latest product line includes sleek stand-alone computer terminals (a metal podium topped by a large-screen touch-activated monitor) that are now being installed in the foyers of state ministries for public use.

Estonia?s e-boom only threatens to grow. A leading Estonian bank, Hansabank, reports that an astounding 85 percent of all clients? transactions are made over the Internet. Local versions of eBay (where farmers are offering their potatoes and squash) and Amazon.com are cropping up. Web design outfits are sprouting across Tallinn and working for clients worldwide. Still, Estonia?s Net entrepreneurs are well aware of the greatest threat: the dearth of native venture capital. "Many of our companies depend on Finnish, Norwegian or Swedish big brothers," says Viik. "Estonian e-commerce needs Estonian venture capital," adds Martinson.

Estonia also remains plagued by the flight of its youth and scientific experts, who seek education and employment abroad. Viik is convinced that the Net will help staunch this haemorrhaging of the country?s intellectual capital.

This fall, a new IT college for the digital arts and sciences will open in Tallinn. There will be no shortage of applicants among Estonia?s first post-Soviet generation. Recent surveys of children between the ages of seven and 14 reveal a remarkable digital aptitude among Estonian youth. "For our young people," Viik says, "the Net is like electricity. For them, the main thing is openness. They know no borders."

"Estonians had been disconnected for so long," adds UNDP?s Lantz-de Bernardis, "but now they?re one of the world?s leaders in connectivity. The Tiger Leap programme is not simply about surfing the Internet. It?s about access to information. It?s about democracy."