Press Releases

Road Show Introduces Macedonians to the Internet

Photo: Internews Macedonia Assisted by the e-Gov Deputy Chief of Party Jovce Plastinovski, dedo (dedo means grandfather in Macedonian) Stavre used a computer mouse for the first time, and talked to his daughter, living in Australia, via Skype..

(November 2, 2006) Macedonian citizens young and old got a crash course in how to use the Internet during a road show held by Internews Network’s e-Gov Project in ten cities of Macedonia October 14-31. In each town, visitors to the "Macedonia Surfing" road show, guided by IT students, learned how to get online on one of the many Internet-connected computers that were set up.  The road show was co-sponsored by Hewlett-Packard, which also provided all the computers, and by Microsoft Corporation.

In Bitola several Roma children who had never before used a computer opened their first email accounts and sent messages to the President of the Republic. 

In Skopje, the elderly "Dedo" (Grandfather) Stavre held his first computer mouse, and spoke with his adult daughter in Australia via the Skype peer-to-peer Voice over IP (VoIP) network.  “This takes me back to the time when I went to first grade, learning how to write and read," he said. "I just applied for e-banking service which will help me not to stand in long lines to collect my retirement check every month.”

In his speech opening the road show in Skopje, Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski emphasized the importance of the Internet and other communications technologies to Macedonia's development, saying, "We acknowledge the need to urgently and continually invest in information and communications technology to enable Macedonia and its citizens a connection with the modern information technologies in Europe and worldwide."

According to InternetWorldStats, Macedonia has an Internet penetration rate of only around 19%. The road show was intended to introduce more Macedonian citizens to information and communications technology.

“The key people in the 'Macedonia Surfing' road show are the citizens of Macedonia, who deserve to benefit from all the improvements to their daily life ICT services can bring,” said Jerker Torngren, Chief of Party of the e-Gov Project.  “Through 'Macedonia Surfing' we would like to encourage everyone to use all these services."

After opening in the capital of Skopje, the road show continued on to Bitola, Ohrid, Shtip, Strumica, Veles, Kumanovo, Kavadarci, Resen and Kocani. The event was well-attended by people from a range of ages and ethnic backgrounds, including many members of Macedonia's Roma community.

At the opening of the road show in Resen, Mayor Dimitar Buzlevski, said, “The town of Resen is creating a strategy for e-Municipality that will improve the communication between the citizens and the local government office, as well as with the business community. Thanks to 'Macedonia Surfing' I know that our dream about modern Resen and modern Macedonia is coming true."

The e-Gov Project, implemented by Internews Network and funded by the US Agency for International Development, develops and implements e-government solutions in order to improve transparency and efficiency in Macedonia's public sector.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

e-Gov Project web site

Vanja Mirkovski, e-Gov Project Press Officer, at