The series will explain to Ukrainians what an electronic signature is, and how to use it properly

Kyiv, 27 October 2020 — The Ministry of Digital Transformation, with support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has unveiled a new online educational series on the benefits of using electronic signatures.  The technology is used to quickly, securely and efficiently authenticate documents with a uniquely identifiable mark, and is now widely used in legal affairs, business transactions, and when signing official government documents.

The seven educational videos, available on the Diia. Digital Education platform, were developed under the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme with funds provided by the governments of Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland.

UNDP Resident Representative Dafina Gercheva said electronic signatures are safer and more secure than traditional paper documents and are increasingly being used to make government services more efficient, transparent, and accountable. “Not only do they contain a signature,” she said, “they also have traceable information on who signed the document, when they signed it, and where they signed it.”

Gercheva emphasized that electronic signatures are especially convenient during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. They are particularly useful for citizens who do not want to spend hours, for example, arranging an appointment with a doctor, applying for a driver's license, registering as a sole proprietor, or registered for a pension. Special attention in the series is focused on problems facing internally displaced persons from eastern Ukraine – for example, how IDPs, using an electronic signature, can quickly change their place of registration to participate in elections.

Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for the European Integration Valeriia Ionan stressed that the Ministry of Digital Transformation is making great efforts to promote digital technologies so that Ukrainians can use them without fear in education, communication, and doing business. “This is the 35th educational series on the Diia.Digital Education platform,” she said. We are sure that it will help lots of people become acquainted with digital signature technology and start using it for business without prejudice.”

Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for the Development of Public Services Liudmyla Rabchynska said electronic signatures were a first step to people accessing all the benefits of the digital world. “Electronic signatures are now more secure than ever. Instead of using ink and paper, qualified electronic signatures use mathematical algorithms and encryption methods for people to sign and verify documents,” she said.

Mr. Oleksandr Kozlov, an expert of the Ministry of Digital Transformation in the field of electronic verification services, and Ukrainian actors Tetiana Sheliha and Maksym Samchyk took part in the series. In addition to the Ukrainian version, the series also is available in sign language.

Background

The United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (UN RPP) is being implemented by four United Nations organizations: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Thirteen international partners support the Programme: the European Union (EU), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, and the governments of Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

Media enquiries

Maksym Kytsiuk, Communications Associate, the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, maksym.kytsiuk@undp.org, +380 63 576 1839