The sixth Western Balkans Digital Summit will be held in Sarajevo on 4-5 October 2023 with the aim to enhance collaboration and innovation in the digital sphere among Western Balkan economies, bringing together industry leaders, political decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and technology enthusiasts. Hosted by the Ministry of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the event will serve as a platform for sharing knowledge, experiences, and best practices with the goal of fostering digital transformation and economic growth in the Western Balkans. 

The Western Balkans Digital Summit will also be the occasion for the European Union and its Member States to launch a new regional branch of the Digital for Development (D4D) Hub to advance digital cooperation with partners in the EU neighbouring countries.  

The D4D Hub is a strategic platform aimed at fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships and boosting investments to advance a human-centric digital transformation worldwide. The initiative was launched in December 2020 by the President of the European Commission, European Heads of State and partners representing the private sector, academia, and civil society organisations. Currently, the European Union and 14 Member States are members of the D4D Hub. 

The D4D Hub is already active in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean. It serves open platform for partners in these regions to engage with the European Union and its Member States, discuss joint priorities in the digital field, and identify concrete opportunities to advance cooperation.   

The objectives of the EU Neighbouring Countries branch of the D4D Hub will be to: 

1. Coordinate European digital cooperation efforts in the EU neighbouring countries to increase their impact.  
2. Boost joint investments and strengthen digital cooperation between partners in the EU and its neighbouring countries. 
3. Foster multi-stakeholder collaboration and knowledge sharing between the public sector, civil society, academia, and private sector actors. 
4. Promote a human-centric digital transformation, driven by people’s needs, fundamental rights, and intersectional challenges to closing digital divides. 

Join the side event organised by the D4D Hub on 4 October at 12:00 CEST to discover how to engage with the new branch and to jointly identify priorities and opportunities for collaboration. 

For more information, please contact: secretariat@d4dhub.eu