The event brought together 15 representatives from state institutions, academia, non-governmental organizations and the media to review the main conclusions.
Open Data and Digitalization in the Western Balkans: The State of Play analyses the availability and digitalization of open data in the Western Balkans, thousands of e-services and maps over 3,000 open data sets.
More than 50 interviews were conducted to explore the capacities and engagement of key stakeholders in these areas. The research also highlights negative trends, such as data leaks, privacy breaches, inadequate responses to cyberattacks and inconsistent policy implementation, which pose challenges to progress.
The event in Skopje, moderated by the national researcher for North Macedonia, German Filkov, highlighted the main conclusions from the report and the research process, while also providing a platform for dialogue on open data and digitalization efforts both within the country and across the region.
The event began with a presentation by Filkov who outlined the research process, key conclusions and takeaways from the report.
This was followed by a panel discussion that included Gordana Dimitrovska Gapic, Open Government Partnership’s National Coordinator, Marijana Janceska from Foundation Metamorphosis and Konstantin Bitrakov, a researcher and teaching assistant at the Faculty of Law at Skopje’s Ss Cyril and Methodius University.
Gapic emphasized the importance of a structured and ongoing involvement of all institutions and stakeholders in the process of opening and utilizing data. She also shared insights into the creation of the national portal, uslugi.gov.mk, highlighting the need for continuous promotion of the platform to ensure its success and wider adoption.
Janceska shared Metamorphosis Foundation’s work on opening data sets and providing mentorship for state institutions and local municipalities.
Konstantin Bitrakov shared his perspective on the need for open data and digitalization, viewed through an academic lens and within the context of the national legal framework.
The final conclusions emphasized the need for the full digitalization of services and the opening of more data sets for citizens in North Macedonia.
It was also noted that a robust system is essential to support these efforts, ensuring the regular maintenance of both the digitalized services and the opened data sets.
The report can be found here.