A conference on creating conditions for a digital future with trust, innovation and impeccable public services is being held in Sarajevo today and tomorrow under the motto “Shaping the Digital Future of BiH”.

At the opening of the conference Minister of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina Edin Forto stated that digital transformation should not be seen as a luxury but as a need for our society.

As a positive example, he cited the Agency for Identification Documents, Records and Data Exchange (IDDEEA) of BiH, which, as one of the key actors in digital transformation, has become synonymous with processes such as digital signature and digital identity.

The Head of the Department of Operations for Justice, Internal Affairs and Public Administration Reform of the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Karel Lizerot, pointed out that the EU has joined Bosnia and Herzegovina as a partner in the process of digital transformation of society and public administration in order to welcome the new periods that are coming very soon. She added that the conference was organized in cooperation with the project “EU support for the interoperable infrastructure of the e-government platform in BiH – DIGI BiH” and the GovStack Initiative in order to provide Bosnia and Herzegovina with tools and knowledge for the best solutions in the field of digitization. It was emphasized that the specific goal of the EU DIGI BiH project is to create a concept of an interoperable e-government infrastructure platform in BiH, with special contributions for sectors, which will include basic, administrative and legal ICT recommendations for further steps.

Kristo Vaher, Technology Director of the GovStack Initiative, presented the successes of the GovStack Initiative in many countries, since this initiative is based on standards developed by top international experts and has been verified in many countries around the world and that has made a huge leap forward, which is also an opportunity for BiH. He said that the key to the development of digital transformation in Estonia was early education, which enabled a base of experts who were the bearers of the digitalization of administration in Estonia, that has become a leader in innovation and digitalization of public administration. In addition to experts in administration, an important element for a successful digital transformation in Estonia is the existence of a leading institution responsible for managing digital transformation activities.

Mr. Ivar Tallo presented initial observations on the processes in the administration in BiH that are still taking place in the classical sense, and that it is only in the initial stage of digitalization and digital transformation. He confirmed that there is great potential for Bosnia and Herzegovina for digital transformation and related to solutions that experts from the GovStack initiative can contribute to. The purpose of today’s workshop is to encourage discussion on key issues with key actors within institutions, interested participants such as employer associations and chambers. Also, this conference is an important step for the DIGI BiH project which should offer proposals for reshaping the digital transformation process in BiH. Based on relevant experiences, BiH could make a significant step forward and leap in the digital transformation processes.

Sabahudin Suljević, advisor for information technology and service delivery at the Public Administration Reform Coordinator’s Office – an institution that, along with the Ministry of Transport and Communications and IDDEEA, is one of the beneficiaries of this project – spoke about the challenges of interoperability in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the conference.

Trust services, laying their foundations, secure and transparent tax services will be discussed tomorrow during the continuation of the conference.

Today’s conference, attended by IT experts from public administration from different levels of government, should provide a unique platform for cooperation and knowledge exchange with the aim of improving the digital infrastructure of public institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region.

The conference was attended by the Public Administration Reform Coordinator in Bosnia and Herzegovina Darko Kasap, Deputy Amira Mašović, Nedžib Delić-Head of the Operational Unit and Aneta Raić – Head of the Unit for Donor Coordination, Finance, Monitoring and Evaluation with associates.