“The Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government has been working hard for years on modernization and reform of public administration, but the most important thing is to bring everything we have achieved so far closer to the citizens and the economy.” The success of the reforms also depends on the way we communicate the reform process to them”, minister Marija Obradović has said at the opening ceremony of the Regional Conference on Modernization of Public Administration “Connect Regionally – Improve Individually”.
Speaking about the importance of communication for informing the public about the benefits of the mentioned reform, she has pointed out that the Ministry is actively working on clarifying the very concept of PAR, which is why it became recognizable by its slogan “Administration tailored to all of us”, tailored to citizens, economy and civil servants.
Minister Obradović has stressed that efficient provision of services to beneficiaries and saving of their time and money is the ultimate goal of the reform processes. According to her, the real example of public administration as a service for citizens and economic entities is the One-Stop Shop, a counter at which they can complete all administrative tasks in a fast and easy manner.
“Digitization is the most visible change in regards to public administration. Nowadays, there is almost not a single person in Serbia who has not heard of something that entails electronic services, be it eBaby, eKindergarten registration service, ePortal, or eCitizen. The state managed to interest the end-users in this type of communication, and for the needs of professional training of civil servants themselves, we created eTraining, which is why our National Academy of Public Administration was established”, the Minister has stressed.
Minister Obradović has added that communication with citizens in electronic format proved to be especially important in the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, reminding the attendees of a large number of services available on the eGovernment Portal, from scheduling appointments for coronavirus testing and vaccination, to issuing a digital green certificate, all the way to applying for state financial aid.
The two-day conference on the role of communication and digitization in public administration is organized by NAPA in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Serbia, within the project “Civil Service Training for the 21st Century in the Republic of Serbia”, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
Photo gallery – source: Tanjug, NAPA – Produkcija 46, UNDP
Video gallery – source Tanjug
Cover – source Tanjug
Marija Obradović statement 1 - source Tanjug
Marija Obradović statement 2 - source Tanjug