Roundtable “Challenges of e-democracy development”

In the media centre of Tanjug on March 19, 2009 a presentation of so called WEB-DEP project was held for journalists, ministries and members of the Council of Europe, in which are take part all national media information agencies from the Balkans, then Athens Technology Center, International Teledemocracy Centre - of the Napier University from Edinburgh, as well as National Technical University of Athens from Greece. On this occasion at the roundtable spoke: Nebojsa Vasiljevic, Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Information Society, Zivko Subotic, executive in chief of Macedonian information agency and deacon M.sci. Oliver Subotic, a manager of the Centre for study and use of modern technologies of the Archbishopric Belgrade and Karlovac.

Using the portal web-dep.tanjug.rs it is possible to inform on most up-to-date themes and events in the country and a region, as well as in an easy way to express your attitudes or thoughts taking part in forums and polls on this website. The main goal of this project is to establish communication and information network in which are , except public news agencies and citizens, involved also creators of politics and interested groups from the West Balkans. The whole idea is financed by the European Union. Vasiljevic, as well as Georgijevski spoke about functioning of the portal, in which way countries of the West Balkans are involved in it and about what possibilities and challenges it enables.

One of discussed subjects regarding the portal was of religious content, so the  organizers decided to invite also the manager of the Centre for study and use of modern technologies, deacon Oliver Subotic. At first, he pointed at similar projects in orthodox world and using arguments he opposed stereotypes about the SOC not following new technologies. Deacon suggested to the creators of WEB-DEP project that a concept of electronic democracy should be led by three key principles: justice, truth and freedom, because all this is crucial for free information society. Deacon also pointed out an importance of freedom, which in the concept of e-democracy needed to defend with a polycentric structure of moderation, alternative sources of information and the privacy protection. Deacon Subotic also criticized some solutions and pointed out some lack of their system, as well as problems that could cause activities in forums, which was accepted as a valid argumentation.

Source: Centre for for study and use of modern technologies of the Archbishopric Belgrade and Karlovac