Workshop on E-Transformation for Competitiveness and Growth
Author: Mikhail Doroshevich
30/06/2010
A seminar on E-Transformation for Competitiveness and Growth was carried out in Minsk in June 30. The seminar was organized by the World Bank representatives in the Republic of Belarus.
As Minister of telecommunications and informatisation of the Republic of Belarus Nikolai Pantelei said, one of the main goals of ICT development in the Republic of Belarus is a liquidation of differences in Internet access between a city and a village. The entire population of the country should be able to use Internet resources, and to have access to state e-services, e-government.
Mrs Anna Ryabova, from the administration of the president of the Republic of Belarus, spoke about importance of providing digital services to the population. Monitoring of existing services, learning from international experience and consideration of possible failures of e-government projects as well as conducting research, discussions, focus groups, public consultations aimed at finding and understanding of most needed e-services are important for developing effective policies in the sphere .
It is important to remember that today about 40% of Internet users in Belarus are young people 15-24 years old, and communication between this auditory and state institutions. This means the importnace of young auditory as active future users of governmental services. E-services must be attractive and user-friendly for young citizens. Educational aspect is one of the basic elements of interaction between government and citizens. Here newest world practices should be studied and implemented.
Possible e-government projects that could be found useful in Belarus:
- smart grid;
- banking services, development of purchasing services which were mentioned by Beltelecom general director Mr. Constantine Tikar. It is possible that such mobile services could be implemented as well.
- improvement of municipal administration;
- e-medicine as a way of diagnosing people in rural areas.
These projects must be effective and efficient. This could be another way to help change the attitude of public servants towards ICT, and another component of their learning.
All of that would serve as a basis for rethinking of ICT governance experience, make government e-services more useful and friendly for citizens.
Useful links:
World Bank in Belarus
http://go.worldbank.org/7GQVYBIM80
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