On May 23, 2023 the first Diia in DC Summit took place in Washington. Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Development of Education, Science and Technology - Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, US Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power, Ukrainian Ambassador to the USA Oksana Markarova presented  the groundbreaking and award-winning mobile application Diia that connects 19 million Ukrainians with more than 120 government services, dozens of digital documents, and has distinguished Ukraine as a world leader in e-government innovation. 

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Diia has also been used as a critical platform for supporting displaced Ukrainians and providing a range of services to those impacted by the war. 

Diia is the practical implementation of President Zelenskyy's and then Minister Fedorov's vision to create the State in a Smartphone, that will transform the way people connect with the government by simplifying the interaction between people and the state.

Since 2019, USAID has been providing technical, financial and legal support to Diia. With the assistance of USAID, Ukraine implemented a revolutionary reform of the construction industry, which in 2022 alone provided 1.5 billion hryvnias of anti-corruption effect and 9.6 billion hryvnias of savings. They jointly launched the Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property, which will become the basis of transparent reconstruction of Ukraine. Conducted Bug Bounty Actions to ensure the reliability of the application, launched digital social services, etc. 

The application not only changed the culture and attitude towards the digital state in Ukraine, but also became popular abroad. 

The team of the Ministry of Digital Affairs is negotiating with 10 countries regarding the export of Diia, including the countries supported by USAID.

As the Ambassador of Ukraine stressed in her remarks, Grain and Brain are key powers of the Ukrainian people. Diia is about the Brain. Ukraine has not only managed to develop and introduce innovation amid a war, but is working to make Diia an open source digital public good that it will give to other countries so that they can build digital public infrastructure that serves their citizens. 

USAID Administrator Samantha Power underlined: "Together, we are sending the world a clear message. When democracies are challenged – when we are tested – we work together, we share great ideas, we invest in each other’s futures. We unleash the incredible innovation and insight of our citizens to solve tough problems and make people’s lives better. And in doing so, we emerge stronger than ever...

Our teams are building something incredible during unimaginable circumstances. And now, we want to share what they’ve built with the world, and help bring other democracies into the future, too". 

President Zelenskyy's video message opened the discussion, New York Magazine Editor-at-Large Kara Swisher, Executive Chairman of Visa Alfred F. Kelly, Jr., and Chair of Eurasia Foundation Pamela L. Spratlen spoke at the event.

The Embassy wants to thank USAID teams at UK AidUK Aid and at the Eurasia Foundation for the foresight to invest in Ukraine’s digital transformation beginning eight years ago. 

As well as to thank the companies that made possible for Diia to keep expanding its services – companies like Google and Visa which also cosponsored the Diia in Washington event.

To watch the event https://www.usaid.gov/diiaindc