NATIONAL POLICIES AND NATIONAL POLICIES AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE ON THE SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE ON THE WAY TO INFORMATION SOCIETYWAY TO INFORMATION SOCIETY

Prof. Marius GURAN - Romania

UNCTAD-UNECE High-Level Regional Conference for Transition Economies

“ICT & E-Commerce Strategies for Development”

Palais des Nations, Geneva, 20-21 Oct. 2003

The South Eastern Europe (SEE) area represents a high potential for growth in information and communication technologies (ICT). Discrepancies in the progress on the way to information society (IS) can turn into advantages through right national policies and international cooperation, by coordinating the different initiatives, programs, and projects, promoted by EU, UN, SP, NGOs etc. In the Bucharest Declaration (Nov. 2002), the Pan European Regional Ministerial Conference, in preparation of the WSIS, have been expressed the vision on an IS beneficial for all (E-Inclusion), under the seven principles and four priority themes.

The principles of IS for all: Securing access to information and knowledge Promoting universal access at affordable cost Developing human capacity through education and training Setting up an enabling environment, including legal, regulatory and

policy frameworks Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs Addressing global issues

Priority themes for e-strategies: E-Government: more efficient and accountable E-Business: more competitiveness and better jobs E-Society: broader local content and applications E-Learning and E-Education: empowering people

E-COMMERCE PARADIGM SHIFTE-COMMERCE PARADIGM SHIFT

ICTs as technological drivers for:

A new thinking and new organizational forms

New economic perspectives and growth of new jobs

New socio-cultural settings (new values, knowledge workers, empowered customers etc.)

NEW ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVESNEW ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES

Past + Present

Complex organization and simple jobs

Tangible assets

Efficient organization as a vision

Simple products and processes on the mass market

Future

Complex jobs and simple organization

Tangible + Intangible assets

Learning organization as a vision

Value-added product and processes, customer focused on highly dynamic and global market

E-COMMERCE ORGANIZATIONSE-COMMERCE ORGANIZATIONS

The intra-organizational view Change from the hierarchical structures to networked structures:

chain of command knowledge networking authority of position authority of competence sequential processes concurrent processes vertical communication horizontal communication

The inter-organizational view Open universe of organizations Clusters of internet worked organizations

e-business communities economic webs value networks

Virtual organizations: core activities outsourcing subcontractors

E-COMMERCE IN SEEE-COMMERCE IN SEE

E-commerce as a driver in SEE Building a competitive local infrastructure Building transactional systems, not only informational

sites ICT and e-Commerce as a driver in policy development,

institutional reform, socio-economic development

Needed initiatives in e-Business and e-Commerce Telecommunication and IT markets liberalization Interoperability: common projects, open-access concept

and global standards adopted RDT as basis for innovation and competition International industrial cooperation, in the complex

projects (hardware and software), based on national initiatives and projects

DIGITAL DIVIDE FOR SEEDIGITAL DIVIDE FOR SEE

Per capita ICT expense range in 2000 between 567 USD 25 USD in SEE and 1215 USD for EU countries

SEE has 2.4 times less PCs, 2.9 less Internet users, and 5 times less domain names, compared to Europe’s average

SEE has problems with connectivity, information security, e-business climate, laws and regulations

Digital Divide exists because ICT readiness is correlated with general level of the economic development (expressed by GDP/capita):

A cost of PC in equivalent cost of labors hours ( 64 in EU and 950 or 1140 in SEE);

Internet access cost is still high, reaching up to 60% of a monthly wage;

Digital illiteracy or other priorities.

GENERAL DIGITAL OPPORTUNITIES GENERAL DIGITAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR SEEFOR SEE

SEE is an area able to participate to the New/Digital Economy, offering several favorable conditions:

Human resources are abundant and education system enough performant

Performance/cost capability may be turned in a competitive advantage

Software and ICT services outsourcing capabilities are in a better position on the global ICT markets

Chance to leapfrog in implementing e-business and e-commerce under the presence of multinationals or strategic partners, by promoting domestic policies aimed to encourage ICT development

Possibility to promote larger regional projects for ICT infrastructures, education, and applications, within Stability Pact or other international organizations.

NEED TO DISSEMINATE GOOD PRACTICES NEED TO DISSEMINATE GOOD PRACTICES AND GOOD POLICIES THROUGH SEEAND GOOD POLICIES THROUGH SEE

The good experience accumulated in every country of SEE area must be disseminated as “good practices” and “good policies”, promoting a regional project for this purpose, in the next fields:

Legislative and regulatory framework for development of the IS services (e-commerce, e-signature, e-payment for taxes, e-procurement etc.)

Education and training (e-learning, new skills for IS, LLL etc.)

E-Government (G2C, G2B, G2E, G2G) and Public Administration

Statistical indicators to measure and monitor the progress of IS

The support for SMEs in using new ICT

The project can be promoted under the joint effort of different international organizations and every country of SEE area