The morning part of the first day of the meeting was focused on trust as one of the main topics to which Finland as the presidency country gives a lot of attention.

Professors from Finish universities and a representative of the Open Government Partnership presented their views on how to increase trust in public administration. They highlighted the investment of time in communication, consultation with citizens with the aim of taking their opinions into account, smarter management of financial resources and better control of the digitalisation of procedures.

This was followed by a presentation on the importance of leadership in building trust in public administration by Marcos Bonturi, Director for Public Governance at the OECD. He emphasised the introduction of innovations, cooperation and the openness of public administration.

The afternoon session and tomorrow will be devoted to workshops on cooperation, the use of artificial intelligence in public administration, trust and lifelong learning, where the directors-general will have the opportunity to exchange their views and good practices of their countries.