The III EUROSAI–ASOSAI Joint Conference took place in Jerusalem, Israel, from 10 to 14 March 2019, and was kindly hosted by the Office of the State Comptroller and Ombudsman of Israel, coinciding with its 70th anniversary and the last months in office of Judge (Ret.) Joseph H. Shapira, who in July 2019 will conclude his seven-year term as the State Comptroller and Ombudsman of Israel. The central theme of this interregional conference was "Emerging Issues and Emergency Situations".

The conference, which was held at the Van-Leer Institute in Jerusalem, was attended by 21 Heads of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) and more than 130 delegates, from 43 SAIs from Europe and Asia, including the INTOSAI General Secretariat.

The III EUROSAI–ASOSAI Joint Conference granted the participants the opportunity to contemplate, discuss, debate, exchange and present fresh questions, problems, ideas, successes and failures - as well as possible solutions - regarding the topic of "Emerging Issues and Emergency Situations", covering a wide variety of fascinating issues such as preparations for natural disasters (earthquakes, wildfires, tsunamis, etc.); disaster management; coping with terror attacks; cyber security threats; dealing with the challenges of migration and refugees; aging populations; pensions; UN sustainable development goals (SDGs); digitalization; blockchain; big data and more.

The conference included special plenary session by Heads of SAIs, and open-mic style short presentations on the following topics: Initiatives in IT Audit; D³ Readiness; Dealing with Ethics in a Digital world; Audit of the Management of Programs for Elderly with Dementia; E-governance and Digitalization in the Public Sector; Internal Information Security Developments; Foresight Task Force; SDGs Audit; Challenges of Rapidly Shrinking Lithuania, and much more. In addition, there were 12 inter-active workshops in which discussions were held on many important topics: Audit of Data Analysis in the Big Data Era; Real Time Audit in Emergency Situations; Auditing of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR); National Emergency Management; Getting the Most Out of Information Technologies; Facilitating Audits on Emerging Issues; Increase in Life Expectancy and Pension Plans; and more. There were also experts' lectures about: Challenges of the Global Technology-Driven Economy; Cyber Security Situations and How to Better Prepare for Them; Government Incentives to Stimulate Innovation; and 21st Century Mega-trends.

The conference was an inspiring professional experience, in which the participants shared their information, experiences, practices and ideas on the Conference's central themes. As reflected above, the program of the conference was very rich with content, and enabled participants to design their own personal program. And, as the Secretary General of EUROSAI, President of SAI Spain, Ms. María José de la Fuente y de la Calle highlighted during the closing session of the conference, the event had created a unique opportunity to learn from peers and build upon each other's experiences, providing an excellent opportunity to share knowledge between colleagues from both Regional Organizations and allowing them to broaden the EUROSAI vision on new practices and tools to face the challenges that emerging issues represent in the daily life of SAIs.

During the conference, the 21 Heads of attending SAIs also met with the President of the State Israel, His Excellency Mr. Reuven Rivlin, who highlighted the important role that the State Comptroller has in Israel, under whose leadership the State Comptroller's Office enjoys the entire public's trust, being an active and independent institution. The President also stressed how the sharing of knowledge and working methods can enhance professional work and cooperation.

In conclusion, the III EUROSAI–ASOSAI Joint Conference in Israel was a great success, and another excellent example of fruitful inter-regional cooperation. It also shows that EUROSAI and ASOSAI members have valuable lessons to offer to each other and can organize modern ways of knowledge sharing in an innovative and inspiring way.

All the content of the Conference will be soon made available online for their wider dissemination. Links to the videos of the two Plenary Sessions are displayed below:

Plenary Session (11.3.2019) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9iLTP1_f24

Plenary Session (12.3.2019) -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlGfFwHxns8