Dear Madam/Sir,

The Centre for eGovernance Development for South East Europe (CeGD), Information Society of Serbia, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the eLeadership Programme for the Western Balkans funded by the Government of Italy and in partnership with the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) are organising the conference entitled “Towards Information Society in South East Europe: The Role of eDemocracy” that will be held at the Hotel Continental (rooms Adriatic and Mediteran) Belgrade, Serbia on the 19th of May 2009. 

The conference will address the role of eDemocracy in policy-making processes, thus presenting the eParticipation view of eDemocracy, the role of relevant stakeholders in the development of Information Society, presenting the eInclusion view and the tools for participatory and representative e-Democracy. Although the primary aim of the conference will be demonstrating the potential of eDemocracy in South Eastern Europe, a number of good EU practices will be showcased, such as Estonian, Austrian and Slovene models, in order to present the advantages, challenges and the lessons learnt in the process of the development of eDemocracy as an important element of the Information Society development. Additionally, participants will be able to learn about Foresight methodology for bottom-up priority setting through showcasing presentations from relevant strategic priorities of the SEE region.

Based upon the conclusions of particular sessions and the conference as a whole, the principal goal of the conference is to discuss relevant issues the countries of the SEE region are facing today and create “The Belgrade Approach: Re-Thinking eDemocracy”. Thus, the aim is to propose “The Belgrade Approach” as a conceptual contribution to the future development of eDemocracy in SEE Region, thus creating a basis for a fresh and innovative perception of eDemocracy. The approach will get its first form and impetus at the eDemocracy Conference in Belgrade, Serbia and it will be further developed with future activities in the field of eDemocracy.

All participants who are obliged to arrange a visa will receive a formal invitation in order to settle the procedure.

For further inquiries please send an email to info.cegd@cegd.eu or contact the persons listed below.

Please feel free to pass this invitation to all whom it may concern.

With kind regards,

Organising Committee representatives,

Blaž Golob, CeGD, Director

prof. Miodrag Ivković, Information Society of Serbia, President

Tarik Zaimović,  UNDP eGovernance and ICT 4D Portfolio Manager           

The full Agenda is available at http://www.cegd.eu/,  http://www.e-drustvo.org/ http://www.undp.org/ or by visiting the registration website listed below.

(Online) Registration (there is no registration fee) at:

http://www.edemocracy-belgrade.eventbrite.com

CONTACTS:

TINA VUGA, CeGD, eGovernance Academy Coordinator, Tržaška cesta 21, 1000 Ljubljana +386-1-478-87-83; e-mail: tina.vuga@cegd.eu

Technical assistance regarding registration procedure

TIT NEUBAUER, CeGD, Knowledge Platform Coordinator, Tržaška 21, 1000 Ljubljana

+386-1-478-18-29, e-mail: tit.neubauer@cegd.eu  

Additional information is also available at info.cegd@cegd.eu

Please note that the number of participants is limited and registration closes on Thursday 14^th of May 2009 at 2.00 PM

Links:

Centre for eGovernance Development for South East Europe (CeGD)

www.cegd.eu

Infromation Society of Serbia

www.e-drustvo.org

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

http://www.undp.org/, http://www.undp.ba/

Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)

http://www.rcc.int/