SEE and leading technology companies to invest in regional eGovernance center

BERLIN, Jan. 25- Slovenian Minister for Growth, Ziga Turk, and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates have announced a major public-private partnership between Southeastern European governments, nongovernmental organizations and leading technology companies to create a center for eGovernance in the region. The announcement was made at the Government Leaders Forum-Europe held last week in the German capital.
To be located in Slovenia and supported by a broad network of stakeholders throughout the region, the Southeastern Europe Center for eGovernance Development (CeGD) will be a jointly funded institution promoting strategies and technology policies for effective governance, public administration and providing public services.
Participants in the eGovernance Center project include the Electronic South East Europe (eSEE) Initiative of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, which represents all of the eSEE participants including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and the United Nations Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK) in Kosova.
In addition, the center’s public- and private-sector stakeholders and partners include the United Nations Development Program and the European Foundation for Information Society and eGovernment (Madrid, Spain), as well as the INA Academy, Siemens AG Austria and SRC.SI in Slovenia.
The CeGD effort enjoys wide and growing support, including from the United States which is offering financial support. Interested potential partners include the World Bank, the Central European Initiative and CSI-Piemonte.