Another Serbian-Korean Information Access Center (SKIP) was solemnly opened today in Niš, with the financial support of the National Information Society Agency of the Republic of Korea, making Serbia the only country in the region that has two such centers for free training of citizens in the field of Information and Communications Technology.
The opening of the new SKIP Center in Niš represents a kind of recognition of the Republic of Korea to the Republic of Serbia for the results achieved in the domain of the IT industry and digitization of public administration, and is an additional indicator of successful cooperation between the two countries. The functioning of this SKIP Center, which is equipped with cutting-edge equipment and computers, shall contribute to raising the level of e-services in the City of Niš, as well as in the entire Nišava Administrative District.
The State Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Čedomir Rakić, has pointed out that it is particularly important that this center shall enable citizens in this part of Serbia to be additionally empowered to use e-administration services, as well as to receive better and faster services.
“In accordance with the commitment of the Government of the Republic of Serbia to modernize public administration, we have focused on strategic planning of the development of e-administration and its services, strengthening the legal framework and capacities. At the same time, we continuously support and encourage city and municipal administrations to provide better, higher quality services to citizens and the economy, as we continuously work to make public administration grow into a service dedicated to the needs of citizens,” Rakić has said.
The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Serbia, Jaewoong Lee, had stressed that the SKIP Center is a exemplary project of cooperation between Korea and Serbia in the sector of Information and Communications Technology, which aims to improve the quality of life of citizens by enabling better access to information. The opening of the second such center in Serbia indicates the close relations between the two countries, as Ambassador Lee had explained, expressing his hope that its functioning shall contribute to the improvement of citizens’ skills in the use of new technologies, as well as to the digitization of society, which has been promoted as the primary task of the Serbian government.
The Vice President of the National Information Society Agency of the Republic of Korea, Jae Ho Lee, had pointed out that the SKIP Center in Niš is equipped with the cutting-edge equipment, which, among other things, includes educational drones for experimental learning and special assistive devices for people with disabilities. He had expressed his belief that Niš, which has always been at the crossroads of trade routes and civilizations, will also become the seat of innovation in the digital world, and that this center will help overcome the digital divide and respond to the needs of marginalized social groups.
The Mayor of Niš, Dragana Sotirovski, had pointed out that, in light of the Public Administration Reform and its goals, as well as due to increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of public services, Niš was recognized as the best place to establish a second SKIP Center in Serbia, where the digital literacy of citizens will primarily be worked on. She added that the participants of the training in this training center will have the opportunity to master the use of digital tools in everyday life, but also to participate in advanced courses, emphasizing that the equipment is adapted to the blind, visually impaired and people with hearing problems.
As a reminder, the first SKIP Center, which operates within the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, was opened in Belgrade at the end of 2017 and, in less than six years of its operation, nearly 4,000 free trainings have been conducted and nearly 80,000 citizens have undergone training. In 2021, the SKIP Center in Belgrade received the Golden Plaque as the most successful center of this type in the world, out of a total of 55 which are functional thanks to the support of the Republic of Korea.
Photo gallery – source: MDULS
