Skopje, 21 March 2023 (MIA) – With the aim of intensifying the activities for a successful digital transformation of society, as a prerequisite for development, the fight against corruption and for strengthening transparency and good governance, the government adopted the Concept for a Digital Transformation of Society at a session Tuesday.

The document, according to a government press release, was adopted in February by the National Council for a Digital Transformation of Society, which is led by Deputy Prime Minister in charge of good governance policies Slavica Grkovska.

 “The Concept defines the basic principles that will lead the digital transformation of all areas in society, which will be carried out in cooperation with the government, public institutions, private companies, civil sector and the academic community,” the government states in the press release.

The basic principles of the Concept are the rule of law, social cohesion and public-private partnership, free access to public information, trustworthy sources of data and standardization of the use of digital records and signatures.

The press release states that the Concept for a Digital Transformation of Society aims to carry out fundamental changes in the way the institutions function and improve their efficiency as a service to the citizens.

Apart from improving free access to public information, one of the key changes from the Concept, according to the government, is prioritizing the digital versions of records and electronic signatures. Data which has already been submitted to the public registry, will not be requested again, and the digital signature created with the ID card will be equivalent with a regular signature.

The implementation of the Concept obliges the government to introduce an electronic ID and to carry out measures in support of connecting all households to broadband services in the next five years.

 “In order to achieve the goals set out in the Concept, an Agency for Digitization will be established, which will be in charge of managing the environment of secure information exchange, setting ICT standards and cyber security for all affected parties, creating guidelines for managing change during the digital transformation of the administration and raising public awareness about the issue,” the press release adds.

The text of the Concept for a Digital Transformation of Society is a result of the project for upgrading the digitization in the country, with financial support from the U.S. and Estonia and expert support from the Estonian Centre for International Development. ad/nn/