The concept of "Smart City" has appeared in recent years in literature, as an attractive topic who deals with the growing concentration of population and economic activities in urban centers, as it ensures a sustainable environment with the aim of digital technologies. In addition, the strategy of Smart is in line with European Policy of Sustainable Urban Development and the 2030 Agenda goals.

In the last decade, there has been given a strong emphasis on Smart growth, which was mainly achieved through the transition of cities to the digital era and introducing the concept of Smart City. However, the transition to the digital age has only been achieved at the city level and there is no reference at the regional level examined by literature. Regions in contrast to a city are associations of more areas or cities with different growth rates, with different spatial development and physical - technological infrastructure and with different needs of citizens.

The scope of this study is to contribute to literature and to the public discussion of smartness in our life, by introducing the concept of Digital Region. The idea of Digital Region is the result of the rapid Industry 4.0 and its applications: Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Big Data that transform both economy and society. More specifically, we describe the concept of Digital Region as a conceptual framework that refers to an area which consists of regions with common characteristics, common problems to face and focuses on development of strategies and policies in order to face the new world socioeconomic challenges.