Revolutionary Road – Where does Serbia Stand on the Road to Digital (R)evolution? – Fifth Annual Digital Conference of Confindustria Serbia Held

The online conference dedicated to digital revolution in business was held on December 18, organized by the Association of Italian Industrialists – Confindustria Serbia, with the support of Vip Mobile, under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications of Serbia and the Embassy of Italy in Belgrade.

Continuing from the previous DIGITAL initiative, which Confindustria has been promoting for the past five years, this year’s conference focused on two aspects of the digital economy which have experienced a boom due to the global health crisis; the building of a broadband network and e-trade. The meeting was also an opportunity to take a look at the 5G technologies, their status, but also the pre-conditions for the 5G network.

Opening the conference, which gathered the most important telecommunications companies in Serbia, numerous expects in the field of electronic trade, but also representatives of traditional companies, the president of Confindustria Serbia, Patrizio Dei Tos, stated:

– This year, which is slowly drawing to a close, made us all become more digital than we were used to, planned to, or expected to. At the same time, the need for internet access has become a pre-condition worldwide for the exercising of our basic rights: the rights of citizens, pupils, students and workers. I honestly believe that this is the aspect of essential importance: the lack of equality that can arise as a consequence of lack of access to the network should be a challenge for all of us to face our conscience.

Regarding the considerable increase in electronic trade in 2020, Dei Tos added that electronic trade is an opportunity that opens a new vision and perspective of sales, contact with the consumer, logistics and production. It is a question that affects us all, Dei Tos concluded.

The Ambassador of Italy to Serbia, Carlo Lo Cascio, emphasized the fact that digitalization is a crucial issue, especially given the challenges of the pandemic. He pointed out that numerous Italian IT companies, which carry the important Italian heritage in the field of innovations, had been present in the Serbian market for a long time.

Addressing the audience within the panel dedicated to the broadband and 5G network, Milan Dobrijevic of the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications of Serbia mentioned the new priorities of the ministry, which are, primarily, the securing of internet access for all citizens of Serbia, from urban to rural areas, and the pre-condition for that kind of connectivity is adequate infrastructure, which is the main focus of the ministry at the moment.

Continuing the topic of the challenge of the pandemic regarding the overloading of the network, Marko Jovic of Vip Mobile also mentioned the advantages that the 5G network will bring in that sense and the readiness of all operators to equally take part in the auction for the right of use of the 5G frequency range, which has been postponed by a year due to the recent circumstances.

Nevena Praizovic of the Department for the Development of the Digital Agenda of the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications presented an overview of the development of e-trade in the past two year, as well as the active campaigns of the ministry toward promoting online safety and safe e-trade.

Konfindustrija Srbija

A1 Srbija d.o.o. Beograd

Ministarstvo turizma i omladine Republike Srbije

Ambasada Italije Srbija

Patrizio Dei Tos

Carlo Lo Cascio

Milan Dobrijević

Marko Jović

Nevena Praizović

digitalization

5G network

IT companies

electronic trade

online conference about digital revolution