UNDP | Europe & CIS | Sarajevo – Center of The Initiative For Development of Information Society in Southeastern Europe

Sarajevo – Center of The Initiative For Development of Information Society in Southeastern Europe

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The eSEE Agenda Plus document was signed, laying out the region’s common goals for the future with respect to the Information Society in South East Europe during the 3rd Information Society Conference: e-Government and Public Administration Reform held in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 November, 2007

From 29 to 30 October 2007, two important events for the development of the information society in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Southeastern Europe were held in Sarajevo. Under the leadership of the Stability Pact, the Ministry for Communication and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United Nations Development Programme BiH (UNDP), with the close cooperation of the European Commission Delegation in BiH, the South Eastern Europe Ministerial Conference on Information Society Development and the 3rd Information Society Conference: e-Government and Public Administration Reform are being held in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Those participating are the ministers of Transport and Communication or of Information Society from the participants in the Stability Pact’s electronic South East Europe (eSEE) initiative – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia, Romania and UNMIK/Kosovo, senior officials of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, UNDP, EC and the Secretary General of the Regional Co-operation Council.

The event was crowned by the signing of the eSEE Agenda Plus document, which lays out the region’s common goals for the future with respect to the Information Society in South East Europe.

This Ministerial Conference draws on the collaborative efforts made under the framework of the Electronic South Eastern Europe Initiative (eSEE) and its Taskforce for Broadband South East Europe (bSEE).

The Conference has set itself the objective of building upon the common whish of the countries of the region to jointly employ information and communication technologies as tools for economic growth, job creation, EU integration, and to underpin long-term stability in the region.

The opportunity to have such an event organized in Sarajevo highlights the important strategic potential of ICT and the Information Society for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the SEE region. As a host country, Bosnia and Herzegovina, its experts, information industry and the total telecommunication and informatics sector, would benefit in particular from such an event, from the presence and contribution by outstanding international experts in eGovernance.

The expected outcomes of the two events are envisaged are: a) adoption of the new regional action plan for the Information Society development in South Eastern Europe for 2007-2012: “eSEE Agenda Plus“, as well as the Ministers’ Declaration; b) Showcase the good practices in EU and the SEE; c) Promotion of e-Government Center for SEE; and d) Explore the possibility of building partnerships with the private sector for full implementation of eSEE „Agenda Plus“.