The State Secretary handed the agreements to the winners of the competition

Published on September 27, 2013.

The State Secretary Tatjana Matić handed today at the Palace of Serbia the agreements to the winners of the First public competition for granting funds for programs in the field of information society.

The Ministry of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications supported 38 program proposals out of 125 associations, foundations and endowments, which applied for the competition on the five suggested topics: Competition in the field of computing, information technology, mathematics and physics; Children safety on the Internet; Digitalization of cultural heritage; Teaching in digital classrooms; Improving the social inclusion of people with disabilities using information and communication technology.

The State Secretary Tatjana Matić congratulated the best ranked programs, and expressed hope that the implementation of these programs will improve the quality of life of Serbia’s citizens.
“Even though we are still lagging behind the most developed countries in numerous segments, this is certainly not the case when it comes to information and communication technology. ICT is surely a vast sea of opportunities and our job is to use them in the best way possible”, emphasized the State secretary.
The largest number of programs which received the funds, eleven of them, is in the field of improving the social inclusion of people with disabilities using information and communication technology. “We are proud of the fact that the largest number of program proposals is in this field because it shows that nowadays, more than in previous years, the need for the social inclusion of people with disabilities is recognized in our country, and not only do we recognize this need but we are working actively in that field”, stated Tatjana Matić.
The organizations which received the funds from the budget of the Republic of Serbia will implement their programs in the nine months following the signing of the agreements, and the Ministry of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications will monitor the progress of their implementation.