Croatia’s e-Građani (eCitizens) project was declared the best European eGovernment services project, in an awards ceremony at the Open Government Partnership Global Summit 2015 in Mexico on Wednesday.

The Croatian e-Citizens portal allows citizens to request copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates and partnership registration. Users can also request documents including their vehicle registration records and residence permits.

The OGP award was received on behalf of the Croatian Government by Josko Klisović, Deputy Minister of Foreign and European Affairs. “The Croatian government has made the biggest progress in providing quality public services in Europe, which is why we have received the award of the initiative Open Government Partnership”, the Deputy Minister was quoted as saying by the news website Dalje.com.

Simplifying government

“The award is an acknowledgement of the systematic and dedicated work of the government to openness and transparency, government accountability, and involving citizens in shaping public policy” the Deputy Minister said, according to a report in the newspaper Večernji list.

The e-Građani portal was launched in June 2014. By October 2015, its services had been used by over 200,000 citizens, and each day the site handles some 13,000 requests. The project is meant to simplify and speed-up government services.

The portal is closely linked to two other eGovernment projects. The first, “personal mailbox”, offers secure electronic communication between citizens and public administrations. The second, the National Identification and Authentication System (NIAS), ensures that identification and authentication for public electronic services is performed only once.

More information:

Open Government Partnership Global Summit 2015
Video on e-Građani
Government announcement
NIFO case study on e-Građani