Novo mesto, 3. August 2023 – Novo mesto Municipality is among the 31. July and 2. In August 2023, in cooperation with the European Commission, which has recognised the municipality of Novo mesto at European level as an advanced development environment in the field of digital transition in the local community, hosted representatives of the Montenegrin municipalities of Berane, Pljevlja, Danilovgrad, Cetinje and the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro for a study visit. During their three-day visit to Novo mesto, the guests learned about the challenges and experiences of digital transformation of local communities, technology development, smart city, e-government and e-services for citizens.
In recent years, Novo mesto Municipality has already taken a number of steps in the field of digitisation, which is reflected in the provision of energy efficiency, quality drinking water with modern IoT sensors and analytical systems, occupancy monitoring of public parking spaces, air quality measurement with the help of environmental sensors, and the development of smart street lighting, especially through sustainable solutions and smart city policies. The Internet of Things (IoT) allows a large number of devices with embedded sensors to be connected and communicate independently with each other and with different applications. In addition to the smart city solutions listed above, Montenegrin municipal representatives in Novo mesto were also advised on effective multi-level governance in the local community, including e-government, e-services at local level, open data and transparency.
The meeting took place in the framework of the TAIEX mechanism, which is a European Commission technical assistance, information exchange and exchange of good practices between public administrations in the application and enforcement of European Union legislation, with the municipality of Novo mesto participating by sharing experiences and good practices in the digital transition of Montenegrin local authorities. As Peter Geršič, Head of the Development Project Office at the Municipality of Novo mesto, pointed out, the municipality of Novo mesto has established itself at national and international level as a digitally advanced municipality, which, in addition to its participation in the TAIEX mechanism, is further confirmed by its partnership in the European project SRC-EDIH, the European Digital Innovation Hub, which develops competences and training for local communities specifically in the field of digitalisation and governance. Many of these activities are also part of the Varcities project, which focuses on digital solutions to promote exercise and healthy lifestyles.
