People’s Assembly Presented as One of the Bright Spots of Open Government

Estonian crowdsourcing democracy initiative People’s Assembly (Rahvakogu) will be presented this week as one of the Bright Spots at Open Government Partnership (OGP) Annual Summit in London.

Seven examples of how open and accountable government is changing people’s lives were selected for a 7-minute talk on the main stage at the OGP Summit on 31 October and 1 November.

The seven shortlisted initiatives vying for the Bright Spots award show how the citizens and governments of the OGP countries are working to sharpen governance, harness new technologies to increase public participation, and improve government responsiveness. After hearing all of the finalists, the crowd will have a chance to vote on the most inspiring talk. The winning project, the Bright Spot, will be announced in the summit’s final plenary session.

People’s Assembly took place from January to April this year. Using crowdsourcing as a method, this initiative provided a tool to channel public input on the legislative agenda. Ca. 3’000 people participated by proposing, commenting and selecting ideas on how to increase the transparency of party funding, encourage public participation, etc. Estonian parliament has set a timetable when these legislative changes will be discussed in the formal procedures; currently they are working with first two law amendments that came through People’s Assembly.

The other shortlisted projects come from Chile, Georgia, Indonesia, Montenegro, Philippines and Romania. They include mobilising citizens to audit government projects; an online portal for complaints about public services; a mobile app for people to report problems in their communities; and an open system for civil service appointments.

“We’ve all heard lectures about how open government should work, but it’s much more compelling to hear about where it’s actually working. Our seven finalists are reformers on the frontlines, and we hope their practical stories of results will inspire others to take up the challenge,” said Linda Frey, Executive Director of the OGP Support Unit.

All of the summit plenaries will be live-streamed to allow for remote viewing. See the agenda and read more about the summit http://www.opengovpartnership.org/get-involved/london-summit-2013.

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