Thanks to the support of the Office for IT and eGovernment, Trgovište has also joined the eZUP and “Baby, welcome to the world” systems
The town and municipality of Trgovište, situated in the extreme southeast of Serbia, covers an area of 370km2 immediately alongside the border with Macedonia. The town itself is home to around 2,000 inhabitants, while the municipality has a total population of slightly over 5,000 inhabitants. One of the major problems it faces, like all other underdeveloped communities, is the emigration of young people.
Thanks to a recent donation of the Office for IT and eGovernment, which provided computers, Trgovište has also joined the ‘eZUP’ and ‘Baby, welcome to the world’ systems. How significant is cooperation with state bodies when it comes to Trgovište’s road to digital transformation?
– The Municipality of Trgovište’s cooperation with state bodies, first and foremost the Office for IT and eGovernment, is very significant on our road to digital transformation. The first segment of cooperation with the Office is reflected in the donation of computers to the Municipality of Trgovište. The second segment, which is also much more important, is raising awareness within the leadership of the Municipality regarding the importance of building and using IT infrastructure – both among those employed by the local self-government and also among citizens.
With the application of new technologies, we can present our potential for attracting investors and creating new jobs in a quick and simple way
In your opinion, in which areas can new technologies prove most useful for the development of small communities? How do you cope with the lack of resources?
– The main goal of the leadership of the Municipality of Trgovište is to create conditions for the creation of new jobs that thereby reduce the departures of young people. With the application of new technologies, we can present our potential for attracting investors and creating new jobs in a quick and simple way. We try to compensate for the lack of financial resources by participating in public calls for projects, both at the level of the Republic of Serbia and cross-border cooperation programmes with Bulgaria and [North] Macedonia.
What are the further plans of the local self-government when it comes to introducing elements of digitalisation?
– The Municipality of Trgovište, in cooperation with the Office for IT and eGovernment, has enabled the Republic of Serbia’s eGovernment system for delegated affairs. We are exerting great efforts to raise awareness about the importance of using this system among citizens.
The further plans relate to the introduction of eGovernment in areas of the source competences of the local self-government and local public enterprises and institutions, for the comprehensive benefit of citizens, other institutions and businesses.