Zvornik as an example of good practice in the field of digital transformation

19.03.2024.

Bit Alliance organized a study visit to Zvornik as part of the "Smart Cities - Digital Transformation of Cities in BiH" project, and on that occasion representatives of local self-governments were presented with the processes implemented in Zvornik. The mayor of Zvornik, Bojan Ivanović, greeted the attendees and wished them a pleasant stay in our city.

"Zvornik has been part of the "Smart Cities" project for two years and a lot has been done. The basic result resulting from the given project implies a significant shortening of the time from noticing to reporting the problem, as well as to its concrete solution. We established a Geographical Information System (GIS), and launched the "Parking" and "Citizen Patrol" applications. Thanks to this concept, numerous problems faced by our fellow citizens are solved more quickly, and I wish that the people of Zvornik have quality service and timely information at all times. Local communities in these types of projects need support from higher levels of government, as well as the economy and the profession," said Mayor Ivanović.

The "Citizen Patrol" application is an extremely useful digital service, which enables citizens to report utility problems in their surroundings via mobile phone, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, directly to the City Administration department or utility company, which is responsible for solving them.

The two-year process of project implementation in Zvornik was presented to those present and all steps from the beginning of implementation to the preparation of strategic documents, action plans and application application were explained. The Assembly of the city of Zvornik adopted the Digital Transformation Roadmap, and the consultant for its preparation was Aleksandar Mastilović. According to him, Zvornik has achieved a lot in the previous two years when it comes to fulfilling the prerequisites for digital transformation. The priority is focused on creating a legal basis, building a data infrastructure and establishing a digital service, starting from the implementation of the legal framework for the protection of personal data and the creation of open data sets for the future open data portal.

The "Citizen Patrol" application was presented to Zvornik by the company "DVC Solutions", and its director Bojan Vuković pointed out that their vision is to include every citizen in this process.

"Here it is important to mention and praise the city administration of the City of Zvornik, which invests significant energy and efforts to respond to all incoming applications, which the citizens certainly recognized. Local institutions have shown courage and willingness to include citizens as a key partner in the establishment of the digital transformation process through this project, which has certainly raised citizens' trust in the institutions," Vuković pointed out.

The challenges that local governments in BiH face are the same regardless of the size of the local community. Kristina Erak, program manager of the Bit Alliance, expressed her gratitude to the City of Zvornik, but also to the representatives of other local communities, who showed their willingness to work on digital transformation. According to her, this was a positive experience for all project participants.

The subject of the exchange of ideas included the presentation of the initiative in the field of digital transformation and the strategic decisions of the city of Zvornik, as well as the methodology for strategic planning of digital transformation, as well as innovations in the field of communication with citizens in Zvornik.

The study visit ended with a tour of the company "Smrčak", which is the winner of the award for leaders of sustainable development. Miladin Mijatović, the director of the company, showed the plants and explained the processes that are applied in his company. "Smrčak" is a company that collects, processes and trades mushrooms, medicinal plants, forest fruits, fruits and vegetables, as well as the production of berries. They are export-oriented, and currently employ 40 workers, 95% of whom are women.

The project "Smart cities - towards digital transformation" is implemented by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) in cooperation with Bit Alliance, and in partnership with the companies Lanaco and DVC Solutions.