Friedrich Hayek wrote in 1945: “The knowledge of the circumstances of which we must make use never exists in concentrated or integrated form.” Today’s networks enable institutions to gain access to the wealth of creativity and insights that exists in the wider society. In a previous blog post we talked...
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Every month, we curate a list of interesting articles and thought pieces within the realm of Civic Tech and digital democracy. COVID-inspired tech innovations, AI and European regulations affecting privacy, and Londoners deciding on the usage of their data: data and tech were the talks of the town this month....
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Born in 1981 in Taiwan, Audrey Tang has made waves as a software programmer and civic hacker-turned-Digital Minister. She’s young, transgender, a self-proclaimed anarchist, and often described as one of the “ten greats of Taiwanese computing personalities.” As the current Digital Minister of Taiwan, she ended up joining the government...
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This article was published on Apolitical. Find the original article here. In recent years, “Civic Tech” and “GovTech” have become popular catch-phrases, often loosely used to describe innovations in the field of government and citizen participation. But are they really the same thing? Despite sounding very similar Civic Tech and GovTech actually...
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It’s Friday afternoon and — just making assumptions here — we bet you’re almost ready to leave the office. But don’t drop everything just yet, because we’ve gathered our favourite civic tech reads to wrap up the week. Grab a cup of coffee and follow us down the rabbit hole...
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New governance technologies are redefining authority and change what it means to be a citizen in the 21st century. Thanks to this digital transformation, decision-making will become more collaborative, government budgets more transparent and their data open for the outside world. The following 5 TED Talks will inspire you about how our governments will evolve over the next years.
1. Pia Mancini: How to upgrade democracy for the Internet era
Pia Mancini and her colleagues want to upgrade democracy in Argentina and beyond. Through their open-source mobile platform they want to bring citizens inside the legislative process, and run candidates who will listen to what they say.
2. Clay Shirky: How the Internet will (one day) transform government
The open-source world has learned to deal with a flood of new, oftentimes divergent, ideas using hosting services like GitHub — so why can’t governments? In this rousing talk Clay Shirky shows how democracies can take a lesson from the Internet, to be not just transparent but also to draw on the knowledge of all their citizens.
3. Jennifer Pahlka: Coding a better government
Can government be run like the Internet, permissionless and open? Coder and activist Jennifer Pahlka believes it can — and that apps, built quickly and cheaply, are a powerful new way to connect citizens to their governments — and their neighbors.
4. Catherine Bracy: Why good hackers make good citizens
Hacking is about more than mischief-making or political subversion. As Catherine Bracy describes in this spirited talk, it can be just as much a force for good as it is for evil. She spins through some inspiring civically-minded projects in Honolulu, Oakland and Mexico City — and makes a compelling case that we all have what it takes to get involved.
5. Beth Noveck: Demand a more open-source government
What can governments learn from the open-data revolution? In this stirring talk, Beth Noveck, the former deputy CTO at the White House, shares a vision of practical openness — connecting bureaucracies to citizens, sharing data, creating a truly participatory democracy. Imagine the “writable society”.
