Estonia hosts a high-level digital security forum for six Western Balkan partners
On 15 June 2022, the Western Balkan Digital Security Forum will attract cybersecurity leaders and decision-makers of the European Union and the Western Balkans to Tallinn, Estonia, to discuss cybersecurity in the region and to explore the best practices of the European Union.
According to the Western Balkan project manager and senior expert on cybersecurity at the e-Governance Academy Merle Maigre, the Digital Security Forum spotlights the EU-supported cybersecurity capacity building efforts in the Western Balkans.
”Digital transformation in the Western Balkans has become a key driver for economic growth and societal changes. But when introducing digital government practices, we need to be aware of increasing cyber threats. Digital services cannot safely exist without a solid cybersecurity framework. Therefore, cybersecurity and resilience have become important focus of domestic reforms in the Western Balkans and an aspect to be strengthened in international cooperation,“ Merle Maigre said.
In addition to discussions on secure digitalization and efforts to ensure cyber resilience, Merle Maigre will present the cybersecurity study on the Western Balkans that includes an overview of the state of affairs, gaps, needs and recommendations for further development.
The high-level speakers of the Forum include Maciej Popowski, Acting Director General of the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood & Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission; Andres Sutt, Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology of Estonia; Slavica Grkovska, Deputy Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Admirim Aliti, Minister of Information Society and Administration of North Macedonia; Agron M. Camaj, State Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration of Montenegro, and Vilma Tomco, Director General of Cybersecurity Agency of Albania. Moreover, leaders and experts of cybersecurity from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, Estonia, Latvia and the European Commission will share their views and thoughts in the three panel discussions of the forum.
The Western Balkan Digital Security Forum is a high-level meeting discussing the EU-supported cybersecurity capacity building efforts under the project titled ’Cybersecurity identification and formulation study on the Western Balkans’ and implemented by the e-Governance Academy of Estonia. The event is organized in collaboration with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communication and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia.
More information is available at the Forum website: https://ega.ee/wb-digisec-forum
Photos of the event are at eGA Flickr account.
Podcast 🎧 & blog: Why cybersecurity capacity of the Western Balkan should matter?