Communication has changed radically

When citizens of Tartu had to do any transactions with the City Government 20 years ago, they had to take a couple of hours off from work to visit one of the offices in the city centre. Now it is possible to do most of the transactions on the Internet or by phone. The way the City Government communicates with the citizens has changed radically during the last 20 years.

Information Centre of Tartu on the ground floor of the Town Hall in the downtown

In 1994 Tartu launched its webpage, which has developed over the years. It contains a lot of useful information, from phone numbers and records management procedures to current affairs. There has been a shift from paper to the Internet in the performance of lots of transactions. By means of e-ap-plication one can ask for land tax incentives, submit applications for different allowances, ask for a place in the kindergarten and more.

Tartu has been in the forefront of innovations that help to make the governance of the city more open and communicative. 12 years ago, the city webpage introduced the service 'Ask from a city govern- ment official', where people can ask questions. The questions and answers are published on the webpage. Tartu homepage is also a medium for different surveys and competitions.

To carry out transactions in municipal authorities or other administrative agencies, the citizens can find information and get support from the City Information Centre that has been existing for 15 years. Tartu also uses social media to communicate with citizens, being one of the first cities in Estonia to open its account in the popular social media portals Twitter and Facebook. At present, the Tartu's Facebook page has over 10,000 followers, being one of the most popular city government Facebook pages in Estonia.

Tartu shares its experience with many other countries. The City is one of the partners in the international project eCitizen II -"Towards citizen-centered eGovernment in European cities and regions". The project is financed by the INTERREG IVC and its aim is to share with best practices in the field of e-engagement.

Tartu finds it very important to consider the interests and opinions of as many people as possible in the process of administering the affairs of the city. One way to achieve this is to make the best use of electronic channels.