In Sarajevo, the Resource Center and the BH Journalists Association organized a presentation of the Roadmap for Chapter 10 – Information Society and Media, developed within the framework of the European integration process of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Roadmap presents a comprehensive overview of the existing regulatory framework and institutional capacities in BiH, with specific recommendations for harmonizing domestic regulations and practices with European Union standards.
The goal of organizing the presentation of the Roadmap for Chapter 10 and a public discussion on this topic was to inform the public, competent institutions, media organizations, the IT sector and civil society organizations about the current state and progress achieved in the areas of the Internet, telephony, and the quality and availability of various media services.
Legal expert Dejan Lučka, one of the researchers and co-authors of the Roadmap for Chapter 10, pointed out that the area of information society is one of the most dynamic chapters, because technology is changing faster than laws can keep up.
“Citizens will experience the most benefits in their everyday lives through this chapter – from faster internet and easier access to state administration services, to electronic signatures and digital documents that will replace paper ones. However, the biggest challenge is that BiH still has laws that were created before smartphones and artificial intelligence. It is necessary to harmonize with European regulations, but also to ensure their actual implementation in practice. Only in this way can we talk about a functional digital society, and not about digitalization on paper,” said Lučka.
The Roadmap is the result of months of work by experts and external associates of BH Novinari, who, through consultations with citizens, representatives of competent institutions and the professional community from the media, telecommunications and IT sectors, determined the current situation in these areas. The process aimed to offer, from the perspective of service users and the professional public, concrete proposals on how the Bosnian and Herzegovina authorities can improve the regulatory framework, legal practice and institutional capacities, in line with the standards and acquis communautaire of the European Union.
“Chapter 10 should prepare BiH for a modern information society and membership in the European Union. However, our country has not yet harmonized its laws with the EU acquis, nor has it provided sufficiently independent and professional institutions to implement it. Political interference in the work of regulatory bodies and non-transparent financing of the media are a particular problem. Citizens, who are still not sufficiently informed about the services and opportunities of the information society, suffer the most,” says Professor Haris Hasić, researcher and co-author of this document.
The chapter on media and information society is one of the most important chapters of the Stabilization and Association Agreement in the European integration process, as it covers the development of the information society, electronic communications and audiovisual media policies. Digitalization in these areas brings numerous benefits to citizens: easier access to administrative services, lower prices for telecommunications services, better protection of privacy and greater availability of information.
“When we mention Chapter 10, most citizens do not know what it is. However, when we add that this chapter covers media, internet and digital services – interest immediately grows. However, institutions rarely inform citizens about their activities, which is why they often do not have enough knowledge to ask the right questions or to understand how certain processes could facilitate everyday obligations on BiH’s path to EU membership,” emphasized journalist Rubina Čengić, and stated that “BiH must harmonize regulations with European standards, especially in terms of transparency of ownership and a greater degree of public accountability of the media.” Čengić also reminded of the need to improve codes of ethics regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the creation of media content.” The implementation of the Roadmap for Chapter 10 should ensure the independence of regulatory bodies for media and electronic communications, and introduce a clear framework for the protection of copyright and the fight against disinformation.
The Roadmap for Chapter 10 presented today is the beginning of the first phase in which, based on a common understanding and the knowledge gathered, educational and advocacy processes will be launched for more concrete and inclusive changes in the field of media and information society with the aim of improving the quality of life of all citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Resource Center aims to strengthen capacities through the development of research documents – the Roadmap, in order to bring Bosnia and Herzegovina closer to the standards of the European Union in all segments. According to Alen Čular, the implementation of individual segments from these maps will take up to ten years. “The Roadmap for Chapter 10 has been finalized and will be published soon,” said Čular.
The content of this press release is the sole responsibility of BH journalists and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union, the Embassy of Sweden in BiH, or the Resource Center for Civil Society Organizations in BiH.
