Conference "Digitalization of Bosnian Society" begins in Sarajevo

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The conference on the topic “Digitalization of Bosnian Society“ opened today in Sarajevo, and through numerous sessions, more than 20 speakers addressed the audience on the necessity of digitalization of various spheres of society.

During the three-day conference, numerous experts will exchange views, experiences, and best practices on digitalization with more than 500 participants.

In the first part of the Conference, participants were addressed by representatives of UNDP, EUSR, and BiH ministers.

Nemanja Vasić, President of the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH, emphasized in his address that the ICT sector is the fastest-growing branch of industry in BiH, which can be a generator of overall development of our country.

Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, Head of the EU Delegation, spoke about positive examples of digital business.

“Digitalization of society is a process that we have started, and the ICT sector is a tool for the digitalization of all spheres of society. It is necessary to understand the importance and utilization of the huge potentials for the development of Bosnia and Herzegovina that are opened up by this process,“ said Haris Hadžialić, consultant of the FTC for the digitalization process of BiH society and director of GlobalGPS BiH.

One way for the authorities of our country to obtain data on our country's position regarding ICT technologies and their application in all spheres of society is certainly an objective comparison with neighboring countries and world powers, which will be discussed during the conference.

Experts will present a snapshot of the nation in 12 thematic units, the pillars of development of BiH society.

The greatest achievement of this phase of work is the definition and preparation for the collection of over 1,000 indicators that will be used to calculate BiH's performance indices annually in relation to the EU and other reference countries. Through the established Information Society Development Program, following the example of work in the EU, committees will be formed whose main task will be to work on mass adoption of the process, as well as the collection of relevant data for the calculation of indicators.

Participants can expect panels on the digital transformation of state administration and public administration, opportunities and possibilities for establishing the digitalization process of health services, and management of health insurance fund systems. The digitalization of work processes in the judiciary, prosecution, and advocacy will also be discussed - a closed system that is complex due to the exchange and connection of various judicial and enforcement subsystems.

According to the announcements of the organizer, the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH, the next conference “Digitalization of BiH Society“ will be held in January 2020, and at that time, the first official calculations on the state of the nation after the launch of the Program will be presented.