The National Open Data Portal data.gov.rs, a central place where the data of state authorities will be aggregated and made available to citizens, companies and NGOs, was presented today under the project “Open Data – Open Possibilities”.
Ana Brnabić, Prime Minister of Serbia, announced that the portal, which currently contains 136 pieces of open data from eight state bodies, grouped in 45 categories and six topics, will contribute to economic development and better information for citizens. As she pointed out, opening the data of all state institutions in Serbia could lead to GDP growth of 1%, and an improvement in the employment rate of up to 2%, as is the case with other European countries.
“If we look at the opportunities that opening data brings to business, it is worth mentioning that on the territory of the European Union alone, the open data market is estimated at 43 billion euros. This confirms that data are a resource with the greatest potential, which at the same time is the least exploited,” said Brnabić, adding “This project is a priority in the Government‘s work. Through the Office of IT and eGovernment we will continue to support the inclusion of all state bodies until their data are regularly published on the portal. Right now, one of the priorities is to provide the legal framework.”
In order to open up the data and develop knowledge and skills for their processing over the next two years and to involve business, the scientific community, civil society and the media, the Office for IT and eGovernmentand the UN Development Programme (UNDP) have signed a protocol on cooperation on the project “Open Data – Open Possibilities“.
“Serbia has about 300 state and local government bodies with huge data sets. Their opening has a massive potential that could completely change the economic image of our country. The fact is that we already have an engine to launch our economy, we just need to get it started – we will do this by involving state institutions, citizens and civil society in this important process”, said Mihailo Jovanović, director of the Office for IT and eGovernment.
Karla Hershey, UN permanent coordinator in Serbia, pointed out that in addition to allowing innovation in business, which stimulates economic growth, open data contribute to overall sustainable development of society, especially in areas such as education, environmental protection and public finance.
“Data also enable greater transparency of the work of state bodies and encourage the public to be involved in the decision-making process,” Hershey added.
Presentation of the national portal was also attended by Denis Keefe, Ambassador to Serbia of the UK, a leading country in this field, and representatives of the World Bank. They have helped and will continue to help the process of opening data in our country.