Inclusive E-government in Western Balkans

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Most of the participants in the workshops on inclusive e-government that
took place in the capitals of six Western Balkan countries, considered that
their countries have established very few mechanisms for e-inclusion and
interoperability, even though the interest in e-Government development is
high.

The workshops took place within the framework of the project “Western
Balkans Network for Inclusive e-Government” and were meant to present the
draft research on the levels of sophistication and inclusiveness of e-gov
services conducted by project partners using the EU-level Capgemini
methodology, with a goal to develop Regional eGovernment Roadmap to
facilitate joint efforts by the countries aspiring to soon join the EU.

The six workshops on inclusive e-government were organized by national
project partners, and had as targets the review of draft research results,
awareness raising and networking between stakeholders including government
officials, IT and human rights experts, as well as representatives of NGOs
dealing with issues of inclusion of disadvantaged groups such as people with
disabilities from both the host countries and the neighborhood.

Each workshop was organized by project partners from the respective
countries, and they took place in:
a. Skopje, Macedonia (23 November 2007) – organized by EDRi-member
Metamorphosis Foundation
b. Tirana, Albania (26 November 2007) – organized by Comport
c. Belgrade, Serbia (11 December 2007) – organized by Belgrade Open
School
d. Zagreb, Croatia (13 December 2007) – organized by ZaMirNet
e. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (13 December 2007) – organized by
OneWorld SEE
f. Podgorica, Montenegro (20 December 2007) – organized by the Institute
for Strategic Studies and Projections

The level of online sophistication of e-government services in all countries
where research has been completed so far are similar (Albania 33%, Serbia
40%, Montenegro 45%, Macedonia 50%, Croatia 57%) and most of them need to
develop under similar circumstances and face similar obstacles, lagging 5-7
years behind the levels of EU. The potential benefit from mutual cooperation
is great, both to the states-which have so far mostly invested in
revenue-generating services such as e-taxes-and their citizens who need more
efficient and transparent governance.

The “Western Balkans Network for Inclusive e-Government” project is
supported by the East East: Partnership Beyond Borders Program of the Open
Society Institute and led by the Metamorphosis Foundation. Alongside the
workshops, the project activities included the Third International
Conference e-Society.Mk (29-30 November 2007 in Skopje) which facilitated
exchange
of know-how and experiences both between stakeholders from the region and
from the European Union.

Project website
http://www.e-society.org.mk

(Contribution by Filip Stojanovski, EDRI-member Metamorphosis – Macedonia )