1. Regional Authority Kyustendil Introduction to the region and the current projects by VLADISLAV STOIKOV Governor

2. Who are we and what we do? Regional Authority Kyustendil is the governing body for the Kyustendil Region located in South-Western Bulgaria, home of 136,686 people (2011). The region’s economy depends mainly on the electricity and pharmaceutical industries, shoes, furniture and construction materials manufacturing. Furthermore the fruit and vegetable sector is highly developed.

3. The Region of Kyustendil has been inhabited as early as 5000 B.C., due to its nice climate, fertility and mineral springs. There are numerous archeological, historical and cultural monuments representing the different cultures

4. Tourism All the abovementioned facts make Kyustendil and its region a worth-visiting touristic destination. There are opportunities for balneology, spa, cultural, mountain, rural, hunting and winter tourism

5. Area: 110 000 sq. m Potential for future investments in the areas of: Education- Technology And Science Park; Business Incubator; Recreation and Sports; Multifunctional Halls; Hotel areas and Attractions; Ex-Military Units in Kyustendil

6. Key Transport Role

7. Current projects SECOVIA SIVA GROW Mobile The priority axis of the projects is the improvement of the internet accessibility. The Area of intervention: Developing strategies to tackle the “digital divide”

8. SECOVIA: South East Europe jointly developed common advanced virtual accessibility solutions to support public services Promotes experience exchange and cooperation among territorial administrations on: setting up transnational organisational structures to support common, cross-border sharing and provision of cloud-based digital public services and IT resources in SEE. Thus, sharing and re-using IT solutions and resources is more cost-efficient, as it avoids duplication and waste of resources: more services to citizens & businesses for the same investment

9. SIVA: South East Europe improved virtual accessibility through joint initiatives facilitating the rollout of broadband networks The project aims at tackling the accessibility gap represented by the following:  poor infrastructure: insufficient telecommunication infrastructures  fragmentation : disparities in broadband penetration; several territories are underserved or not covered  market failure: in serving the needs of rural and remote areas

10. GROW MOBILE, which is an action under the European Mobile and Mobility Industries Alliance, aims to stimulate the development of innovative services for sustainable tourism through the use of mobile applications and integrated tourism management systems in the Kyustendil and Varna regions of Bulgaria, Medjimur in Croatia and Saxony in Germany

11. Thank You Contacts: Regional Authority Kyustendil 44 Demokratsia Str. 2500 Kyustendil Bulgaria E-mail: oblast@kn.government.bg Phone: +35978 550670 Fax: +359 550690 web: www.kn.government.bg