"Digitalisation Working Group Meeting" in Skopje
2023-04-05
In the course of the BACID III project (Building Administrative Capacities in the Danube Region), KDZ expert Verena Weixlbraun attended the "Digitalisation Working Group Meeting" in Skopje at the end of March. The group was set up together with NALAS (Network of associations of local authorities of South-East Europe) to strengthen digitalisation in local government.
The group consists of representatives of cities and municipalities as well as digitalisation managers from the Western Balkans and the Republic of Moldova. During the workshop days, best practices and insights in the field of digital transformation were discussed and the experts exchanged best practices. Among others, cities such as Sofia, Zagreb, Podgorica, Chișinău and Istanbul presented their current projects and plans in this field. Funding opportunities at EU level were also discussed and at the Center for Technology Transfer and Innovations - INNOFEIT some private sector companies presented their connectivity and smart city solutions related to the use of data.
From an initial analysis as well as the exchange in the working group, potentials for increased digitalisation in local governments are to be found. The aim is to provide the best possible support to national associations of cities and municipalities so that their members and ultimately the citizens benefit from increased digitisation in the direction of a smart city.
Many thanks to Digitalisation Officer Jana Belcheva Andreevska for planning, organising and coordinating the group and the meeting.
The BACID project is co-funded by the Austrian Development Agency and implemented by KDZ on behalf of the Austrian Association of Cities.