GovStack's presence at Western Balkans Digital Summit 2023

Owned by Sirine Ameur
Last updated: Oct 12, 2023 by Stadnic, Valentina
3 min read

On the 4th and 5th of November 2023, the 6th Western Balkans Digital Summit served as a significant platform for spotlighting ITU’s value propositions and support provided to the Western Balkan countries all the whilst highlighting GovStack's pivotal role in the government technology landscape. Notably, the ITU’s Secretary General Doreen Bogdan-Martin speech at the event opening set the stage for hfurther interventions throughout the event.

ITU Secretary General, Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin

The seamless integration of GovStack's value proposition into various interventions aimed to make it an integral part of the discourse across a wide range of subjects addressed at the Summit. This approach ensured that GovStack's impact and relevance were consistently emphasized in every panel discussion ITU Office for Europe was part of.

Firstly, at the panel "BUILDING A GOVTECH ECOSYSTEM IN THE WESTERN BALKANS" the GovStack's crucial role in advancing digital government services was highlighted. The intervention focused on its impact on government capacity to develop citizen-centric digital solutions, emphasizing its comprehensive suite of open-source tools, and contributions to green tech. The GovStack's potential in bridging the skills gap and its potential to foster a regional GovTech ecosystem in the Western Balkans was also addressed, inviting participants to explore collaboration opportunities with the GovStack initiative.

Secondly, during the panel “TACKLING GENDER DIGITAL DIVIDE”, the GovStack’s “Women in GovTech Challenge” was presented as one of the key initiatives of ITU aimed at upskilling, retraining and mentoring women in government digital teams to empower and inspire them to drive citizens-centric digital transformation. 

At last, during the “DIGITAL SKILLS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR IN THE WESTERN BALKANS” panel, was emphasized GovStack's global knowledge hub status for advancing digital e-government initiatives. The ITU Office for Europe underscored GovStack's support, ranging from tools and workshops to strategic guidance and communities of practice. Furthermore, the audience was informed about the efforts to complement these training efforts through online courses to be hosted by ATINGI platform and the significance of the Implementation Playbook. And lastly, the value of the Communities of Practice and Digital Leaders Forum, was highlighted emphasizing their role in fostering knowledge exchange among leaders and experts, including the CIO Digital Leaders Forum and the Women in GovTech Challenge. 

Overall, the ITU Office for Europe also reinforced its presence by taking part in a launch of the D4D (Digital for Development) hub for the Western Balkans. This served as a great opportunity for reinforcing the ITU’s commitment to fostering digital development and collaboration in the long term and extending its engagement to the Western Balkans region. 

Finally, ITU Office for Europe held a booth throughout the event where GovStack was displayed, and its value proposition presented to visitors.