State Secretary in the Ministry of Trade, Tourism, and Telecommunications Tatjana Matić has said that for the Public Call for granting funds for programmes for development of information society 24 projects have been approved.

She has stressed that the supported programmes are those with the focus on development and promotion of digital skills of both young talents, where the funds have been approved for competitions of primary and secondary school pupils in scientific fields, and of our elderly citizens, through the programmes of IT trainings for pensioners.

“Due to the lack of staff in ICT on one hand, and a constant challenges of the digital era set before the citizens, a development of digital skills is not only an issue of generation, but of profession as well”, Ms Matić said.

“Digitalisation changes the way the business is done, production and administration, but also communication at all levels, and the lifestyle in general. This is why it is necessary to ensure conditions for development of digital literacy and digital skills for all citizens, and thus reduce the digital gap made between different social groups and different generations”, she added.

In the competition of the Ministry, 17 projects have been approves for trainings of pensioners with the aim to raise the level of their digital literacy and digital competences and seven projects for developing talents in the field of computer science, mathematics and physics.

Projects are present in all regions and for their realisation from RSD 200.000 to 940.000, are granted, which is RSD 15.2 million in total.