The 547 Citizen Spots spread throughout Portugal, and also Paris and São Paulo, are user-centered physical counters that offer citizens a single point of access to 233 online public services with the personal assistance of a specialized “mediator”. The services provided range from civil registration documents to the request of the European Health Insurance Card, land registry with the Tax Authority, social security and tax services, and so on.

With a strong pedagogical component, these Spots are equipped with a double-screen system (one screen for the mediator and the other one for the citizen), that enables citizens to follow the steps being taken by the mediator at all times, allowing them to learn and control the procedures being done, so that they can thereafter use the digital public services by themselves.

By assisting digitally unskilled people, namely the elderly and citizens from more rural regions, in becoming more familiar with digital public services, this project boost social equity and empowers citizens to use online public services in a trustworthy way, respecting the rights to privacy and data, thus strengthening the trust and confidence in the use of ICTs, and encouraging its use by all citizens. This initiative helps to turn the digital divide into a digital opportunity, and as a result promotes an equitable development for all.

https://www.ama.gov.pt/web/english/citizen-spot?inheritredirect=true

• Portugal