9-11 November 2026, Tirana, Albania

Continuing its tradition of bringing together public administration professionals and international experts to advance digital transformation, ReSPA organised its Digital Transformation Seasonal School 2026 in cooperation with Albania's National Agency for Information Society (NAIS/AKSHI).

The three-day programme brought together representatives from the Western Balkans, Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine, reinforcing the Seasonal School's role as a platform for knowledge exchange, practical learning and stronger cooperation between the two regions. This year's edition focused on building secure, interoperable and trusted digital public services aligned with European standards.

The event was opened by Nevila Repishti, Director of the e-Albania Government Portal at NAIS, and Bojana Bajić, ReSPA Digitalisation and Innovation Officer.

Nevila Repishti highlighted ReSPA's contribution to regional cooperation and institutional capacity building, recalling her participation in a ReSPA event in 2024 and welcoming the opportunity to host this year's Seasonal School in Albania.

Emphasising the importance of moving from digitalisation towards truly connected and trusted public services, Bojana Bajić stated: “Digital transformation is no longer simply about putting public services online. It is about creating a digital environment in which citizens and businesses can interact with public institutions securely, seamlessly and with confidence. Through our Seasonal School, ReSPA connects the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership, bringing European standards, international expertise and regional experiences closer together. Our ambition is to turn shared knowledge into practical solutions that genuinely improve people's lives.”

Under the theme “Trust Services, European Digital Trust Framework, eIDAS 2.0 and European Digital Identity Wallet”, the programme explored the regulatory, institutional and technical foundations of trusted digital government.

Discussions and practical sessions addressed the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet), electronic identification, trust services, interoperability, cybersecurity and AI in digital identity, alongside national implementation roadmaps and opportunities for regional cooperation.

Participants benefited from practical experiences and lessons from Slovenia, Estonia and Germany, exploring how European digital identity solutions can be adapted to their national administrative contexts.

The programme featured an international team of experts: Aleš Pelan and Alenka Žužek Nemec from Slovenia's Ministry of Digital Transformation; Rudi Ponikvar and Miha Poberaj, specialists in digital identity and trust services; Laura Kask, digital governance and legal expert sharing Estonia's experience; Christoph Meyn from Germany's Federal Ministry for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation; and Goran Pastrović from the AI4Gov-X project, who addressed the role of artificial intelligence in digital identity.

Through interactive exercises and expert guidance, participants explored practical approaches to designing trusted digital public services and identified common challenges, implementation priorities and opportunities for shared solutions.

Beyond technical knowledge, the Seasonal School strengthened professional networks and encouraged closer cooperation among public administrations facing similar digital transformation challenges.

By connecting the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership with European expertise and practical implementation experience, ReSPA continued to support stronger institutional capacities, closer alignment with European standards and the development of citizen-centred digital public services.

Building on the tradition of its Seasonal School, ReSPA reaffirmed its commitment to transforming shared knowledge and regional cooperation into tangible progress towards a more connected, secure and trusted digital future.