Digital Serbia: Back to the future

Event report

[Read more session reports and live updates from the 2nd Western Balkan Digital Summit]

Mr Nemanja Đorđević (Programme Director in Education at Digital Serbia Initiative) gave a presentation about some of the occupational and educational challenges faced in Serbia, and some digital solutions the Government of Serbia is employing to address them – namely, the Digital Serbia Initiative, a private, non-profit organisation leading the transformation of Serbia into a digital society. It is a holistic solution that focuses on examining legal and regulatory frameworks, boosting education, enriching the startup ecosystem, developing sectors that offer a competitive advantage for Serbia, and engaging in public dialogue to better understand the needs and challenges faced by citizens, as well as how to better respond to them.

He underscored how it is usually assumed that basic digital skills are universal, however, their research has shown that this is not the case, especially in rural Serbia. As part of the initiative, they are working with schools and faculties across Serbia to help prepare the next generation of students and entrepreneurs how to better prepare for the future of work, which includes bridging knowledge between business sector and students, which includes helping them develop applied skills such as critical thinking and project management. He also underscored that humans tend to be bad at predicting the future problems of society, which is why robust educational programmes that incorporate skills to make students “futureproof” are important.

By Michael J. Oghia