Title: Promoting electronic participation systems in the Balkans: the case of national press agencies

Authors: Yannis Charalabidis, Sotirios Koussouris, George Gionis, Dimitrios Askounis

Addresses: Decision Support Systems Laboratory, National Technical University of Athens, Iroon Polytexneiou 9, 15780 Zografou, Greece. ' Decision Support Systems Laboratory, National Technical University of Athens, Iroon Polytexneiou 9, 15780 Zografou, Greece. ' Decision Support Systems Laboratory, National Technical University of Athens, Iroon Polytexneiou 9, 15780 Zografou, Greece. ' Decision Support Systems Laboratory, National Technical University of Athens, Iroon Polytexneiou 9, 15780 Zografou, Greece

Abstract: While e-participation systems are being deployed in many European member states, their operation in converging regions is still a problem. Socio-economic conditions, familiarisation with new democratic processes and low penetration of information technology still pose barriers for these e-participation applications and their successful deployment calls for joint participation and cooperation of citizens and organisational bodies in order to form a unified framework consisting of guidelines and common codes of ethics. This paper presents a case study of the establishment of an e-participation platform based on the cooperation of national news agencies in the converging regions of the Balkans.

Keywords: e-participation; converging regions; regional e-government; electronic government; electronic participation; Balkans; national press agencies; cooperation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEG.2009.029134

International Journal of Electronic Governance, 2009 Vol.2 No.2/3, pp.272 - 276

Received: 10 Jun 2008
Accepted: 15 May 2009

Published online: 06 Nov 2009 *

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