IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

The e-government must be developed from the bottom up, putting people first. That was one of the main conclusions of a conference organised by the CoR and the Prefecture of the Cyclades in Santorini, Greece on May 12-13, 2003. The conference, which brought together local and regional representatives from across the EU, focussed on the ways in which greater use of information technology can help improve the efficiency of local and regional authorities and, at the same time, help to involve citizens more directly in their work.

The other main conclusions were that:

• Local and regional authorities have a key role to play in promoting e-government
• The exchange of information and dissemination of best practice should be strongly supported at EU level
• The local and regional dimension of e-government should be given strong emphasis in the development of e-government policy at EU level
• E-government is a new tool for modernising local and regional administrations

The conference was opened by Henning Jensen (DK/PES), Mayor of Naestved in Denmark and President of the CoR Commission for Culture and Education and Panagiotis Rigas (GR/PES) Prefect of the Cyclades, Greece, and CoR member.

Mr. Jensen told the conference that the “information society should not be limited to certain geographical areas. If we want to reap the benefits of the information society it is essential to adapt online delivery public services to local needs and conditions in order to ensure effective and user friendly e-government solutions at the local and regional level in Europe. E-government is not just a question of efficiency. A key goal of the Committee of the Regions continues to be the creation of a socially and regionally equitable European information society which is accessible to all.”

According to Mr. Rigas, e-government was particularly important in island areas. “Participation in the information society and the introduction of e-government can improve the citizens' access to public services and reduce the communication difficulties caused by geographical remoteness. The proximity of local authorities to their citizens means they have a particular responsibility to promote the best applications of e-government. Our objective is the enlargement of social democracy with increased participation and responsibility”, said Mr. Rigas.

The discussions at the conference helped in the development of a CoR study on the subject of e-government at local and regional level, which is scheduled to be completed in October 2003.

Quelle: Macedonian Press Agency