Nikolai Sherstnev: Belarus has always stood out for its commitment to the implementation of advanced technologies and the development of science
The priority areas of the forum in Vitebsk are digital solutions in the petrochemical, energy, forestry, and cultural sectors. These areas are defined taking into account the specifics and interests of the Vitebsk region.
According to **Nikolai Sherstnev, Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee**, Belarus has always been distinguished by its commitment to implementing advanced technologies, developing science, and practically applying innovations in the national economy:
– Today, it is simply impossible to imagine life without digital technologies. The Vitebsk region has its own distinctive features due to its natural and climatic conditions. For this reason, among others, we are interested in minimizing unnecessary costs in production, everyday life, and other areas by implementing advanced technologies. The forum allows us to showcase the best digitalization projects that exist in the country today and are feasible for implementation.
And this must certainly be done, the head of the region is convinced. He cited the agro-industrial complex as an example. "It is a rather costly industry. But there are many reserves for savings. This includes the use of precision farming technologies. In advanced farms where they are used, cost savings reach 20-25%. These are huge resources. The same applies to everyday life. It is impossible to imagine a polyclinic today without an electronic queue, an electronic prescription. And there are many such examples in all areas," Nikolai Sherstnev stated.
The focus of the forum participants is on recently adopted regulatory legal acts, the operation of new services that allow for effective interdepartmental information exchange, the provision of electronic services to the public and businesses, as well as ensuring an increase in the export potential of Belarus. Special attention is paid to the organization of personal data protection, the specifics of the main provisions of the Law "On Personal Data Protection", and the use of the Protected Segment of the Unified Republican Data Transmission Network.
Digitalization of the cultural sphere was also an important topic of discussion. In particular, the implementation of large digital projects related to the information systems of museums, libraries, and archives, in terms of providing a large-scale object storage on the republican cloud platform. Its uniqueness is associated with the ability to store large data arrays. An example is the automated system "Museum", designed for storing collections of museums of republican significance, as well as large projects of the National Library of Belarus and the Belarusian State Archive of Audio-Visual Documents. At the same time, the National Library already ensures the backup storage of all electronic materials and information systems on the premises of the Republican Data Processing Center.
The organizers of the event are the National Traffic Exchange Center, the National Electronic Services Center, and Belarusian Cloud Technologies with the support of the Operational-Analytical Center under the President of the Republic of Belarus and the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee.