Luxchat Instant Messaging Service Launch Announced at Luxembourg Internet Days

On Wednesday 16 November 2022, on the second day of this year's Luxembourg Internet Days event, Marc Hansen, Luxembourg's Minister Delegate for Digitalisation, announced the launch in the coming months of a new instant messaging service called "Luxchat", fully developed and hosted in Luxembourg.

In his address to a large audience of IT experts attending Luxembourg Internet Days 2022, Minister Delegate Hansen made a point of stressing how the issues of data management and processing are essential for any successful digital transformation.

Government agencies have a substantial amount of data that can help improve digital processes or services. Therefore, data security and digital sovereignty are at the heart of several projects of the Ministry for Digitalisation which are about to be completed.

The Luxchat application is the result of the ministry's desire to provide a secure means of professional communication within the public sector. It is built on a proven open source standard and runs on a redundant and secure infrastructure located in Luxembourg.

This new instant messaging service will be launched in the coming months. Initially, it will be a version intended only for agents of the Luxembourg State (civil servants). In view of the perceived advantages that this application presents in terms of security, the Ministry for Digitalisation has joined forces with LU-CIX ASBL, organiser of Luxembourg Internet Days, and the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce to subsequently launch a version of Luxchat that is open to the entire population.

During his address, Minister Delegate Hansen also recalled that the Luxembourg State's electronic wallet will soon be launched. This e-wallet for official documents will initially include identity cards and driving licences. It will thus allow its holder to identify him/herself or present his/her driving licence without having to have his/her physical documents on him/her.

Minister Delegate Hansen stressed that these projects are also in line with the OECD recommendations presented in the study "Digital Government Review of Luxembourg - Towards more digital, innovative and inclusive public services". He concluded by stating that the conclusions of the OECD study as well as the results of the latest eGovernment benchmark are very encouraging and stimulating: "It is now up to us to build on this momentum and provide citizens with online services that take advantage of cutting-edge technologies".