Belgrade, 4 June 2018 – The Ministry of Environmental Protection and UNDP organised the Awarding Ceremony as part of a joint project called Climate Smart Urban Development Challenge (CSUD). The awards were granted to the winners of the Open Data Challenge, calling the municipalities and cities to come up with innovative ideas for opening, making accessible and improving management of data relevant for the fight against the climate change.

The search for innovative solutions in this area received a great response across Serbia, and independent experts chose eight best project ideas, which initially will find their use in Kragujevac, Krusevac, Belgrade municipality of Zvezdara, Sabac, Kraljevo, Sremska Mitrovica, Cuprija and Krupanj, but also throughout Serbia because of the excellent potential for their further application in the field of energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste management, etc.

Open data stimulates economic growth as it creates a stimulating environment for the development of innovations and "green" ideas, and enables the attraction of "climate-friendly" investments. Availability of data is necessary for efficient planning and decision  making, ensures greater transparency of work of local self-governments and stimulates public involvement in decision-making processes.

"I consider the project as an extremely important one, as it promotes innovation in Serbia, which  strategically defined digitization and modernization as a priority. Without the adequate data there will be no technical documentation necessary to implement projects worth nearly 15 billion euros", said Minister of Environmental Protection Goran Trivan.

UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Serbia Steliana Nedera said that eight local governments, the winners of the Open Data Challenge, will receive, besides financial support of up to $10,000 per project, the expert and advisory support within the Climate Incubator for further development of ideas into mature projects ready for implementation. In the Climate Incubator, a software solution for improving data management will be created, which will enable the data of different local communities to be networked, and also connected to the databases of state institutions.

“Climate Smart Urban Development Challenge” is a five-year project aimed at supporting, through a partnership between the public, private and civil sectors, the development of projects aimed at reducing GHG emissions and ensuring that local communities in Serbia are more resilient to climate change. The Ministry of Environmental Protection implements the project with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the financial support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The project partners are the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Serbia, the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden, the Government of Switzerland, Innovation Fund and the Standing Conference of Cities and Municipalities.