Over the past weeks, our GPAer Erjon Curraj, CEO of Smart360, has been on the ground across three countries, taking part in conversations that are shaping the Western Balkans’ approach to AI governance.
Three countries, one conversation
SELDI Regional Anti-Corruption Policy Forum
On the panel “Digital Sovereignty and Governance: AI as a Tool for Protecting EU’s Information Space, Economic Security and Democratic Resilience,” alongside senior public officials from Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Erjon argued that the region needs fewer pilot projects and more evidence-based priorities, institutional accountability and genuine regional cooperation.
SELDI.NET ↗Exploring New Democratic Frontiers
At the University of Tirana, he presented SCiDEV’s CivicAI Lab, a programme building AI literacy, verification skills and digital resilience for journalists, civil society and young people. The session drew strong interest and made one point clear: without interventions like this, the civic sector, and the groups it represents, risks being left behind.
SCIDEVCENTER.ORG ↗AI Tech Summit
The conversations continued well beyond the stage, with international AI leaders, including Microsoft’s London-based Chief AI Architect, open to contributing to Albanian and regional initiatives, both pro bono and commercially.
TECHSUMMIT.AI ↗Fewer pilot projects. More evidence-based priorities, accountability and genuine regional cooperation.
Erjon Curraj, CEO of Smart360, on the Digital Sovereignty and Governance panel at the SELDI Regional Anti-Corruption Policy Forum in Podgorica.
What comes next for the region
All three engagements connect to Erjon’s consultancy on the WB6 AI Roadmap, the regional plan covering all six Western Balkan economies. The first phase is now complete, validated by all six economies, and was set for ministerial endorsement at the Western Balkans Digital Summit in Montenegro on 13–14 October.
Next comes the Regional AI Readiness work and the Regional AI Action Plan. This is the phase where concrete opportunities open up for the GPA ecosystem: technical assistance, research, pilots and investment partnerships.
GPA PERSPECTIVEThe next phase of the Roadmap is where policy turns into opportunity, and where the GPA ecosystem can help build what comes next.
Working in AI, governance, or anything connected to the Roadmap’s next phase?
Reach out to Erjon directly and tell him what you’re working on. LinkedIn ↗People & Partners
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