The Serbian-Korean Information Access Centre (SKIP Centre), established within the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, was awarded the prestigious Gold Award Plaque for the best Information Access Centre in the world (“Best IAC Award”) in 2021, in competition with more than 60 similar centres around the world, whose work is supported by the Republic of Korea.
The award for the contribution to the development of digitization at the global level, based on “recognized exceptional commitment to the management of the SKIP Centre”, is a confirmation of the effectiveness of this Centre in Serbia, but also of the great commitment of civil servants.
In five years of its existence and functioning, the SKIP Centre has conducted more than 1,500 different trainings in the field of application of innovative technologies, within which more than 40,000 participants have received training free of charge. In order to strengthen e-Government in the Republic of Serbia and its continuous modernization, more than 190 workshops, attended by 6,920 participants, were held at the SKIP Centre in the last year alone, despite the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is the third time that the Republic of Korea has recognized the SKIP Centre of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government. For two years in a row, in 2018 and 2019, the Centre was awarded as the best and most visited IAC in the world. Thanks to the results of its work, but also to the exceptional cooperation between the two countries in the field of e-Government development, Serbia has received support for the establishment of another Information Access Centre in the City of Niš, which is expected to be opened by the end of 2022.
SKIP Centre is a high-tech area, which includes modern classrooms with smart podiums for interactive teaching and the latest computers connected to one of the fastest wireless networks in Serbia. Within this facility, there are also meeting rooms, seminar rooms and a video conference room. This area is intended for provision of free trainings for citizens in the field of application of computer software, as well as for learning about the latest digital platforms and information systems.