Program for the Steering Committee of the Open Government Partnership : a night for democracy and a path for the future.
I. The Process
This program is made from citizen’s propositions during Democracy Night that took place at the OGP Paris summit on December 8th 2016. More than 70 propositions and more than 2 000 votes were made through an online platform on how to better democracy and open government. Julien is not an individual, he is the voice of the citizens and here is what they want for making the OGP more effective and for making open government a credible reality. This program is what we propose for course of action for the OGP Steering Committee, we are candidates for one of the 11 seats representing civil society in the next mandate and we believe because of our open methodology in creating this program and our further actions to better it with the help of all, we can win. It is a program of inclusiveness, on how engaging all citizens and all stakeholders in the making of society. This program is a program of ambition, on how to connect open government makers around the world, on how to bring the best initiatives to everyone and on how to give to the OGP community the institutional and international strength to make real change happen. From this collective intelligence three key issues and fields of action emerged for our candidacy to the OGP steering committee: educating citizens as early as possible to engage both online and offline, enabling all civil society to engage in open government and creating the right environment to make open government possible.
During Democracy Night (find full slide share here to relive this unique event), three questions were asked to citizen-participants: here they are and here are the most up voted propositions for each.
II. The Program 1.1
From these more than 70 propositions that collected more than 2000 votes we drafted these first concrete measures to better open government. This would be our first platform of action when we get involve in OGP steering committee.
Three key points emerged from the citizens’ propositions, here is how we translate them into concrete actions to further open government:
- Educate citizens to engage as early as possible both online and offline
« Digital literacy Data literacy In school NOW »
« Model civic engagement in universities by adopting educational practices that embody the values and ideas of open government. »
« Create a right for students to engage in social innovation projects »
« Democratic education, peer learning, interdisciplinary learning ! »
« Recognize that contribution = learning »
« Educating our children to participate and engage politically both on and offline »
« Recognize citizens who engage themselves into digital democracy process »
« Digital education- how to read, think and act online »- JULIEN LETAILLEUR
Open Government is not just tools and data it is a culture of empowerment, of participation and of mutual enlightenment.
Julien proposes to create partnerships with high schools and universities in OGP member countries and provide them with online tools and knowledge around open government.
These partnerships will be based on OGP committees that will:
- implement new learning techniques based on peer learning and give access to tools and knowledge for the universities to spread,
- provide participatory technologies from the OGP community and favor participation and transparency in the university or high school functioning,
- provide data and digital literacy to students.
An online service is created where partners find tools to bring to their students and MOOCS on digital and data literacy (the OGP toolbox will be put forward through these partnerships), on how to use and implement those tools. The contents and tools of this service are provided by the OGP international network.
The OGP provides for a huge network of people developing tools and knowledge to empower citizens, let’s connect this network to our universities and high schools to bring these technologies and knowledge to our youth, to our future. Online toolboxes and MOOCs should be made available but this should be paired with an offline committee that goes from partner to partner to explain and implement.
Participation and engagement should be valued:
- Julien advocates that engagement in civic activities should be considered as learning and proposes that the OGP helps giving credits to students in the partner universities and high schools based on their engagement.
- Everyone should be valued for their engagement for society if we want people to believe in their impact. Students will be able to apply for these credits in the partner universities by explaining their engagement, OGP could help them being credited after selection.
Engagement is always seen as benevolent and without direct value, this is why only the most engaged and motivated students give from their time to do it. If we want everybody to take part into the making of society and give democracy its true meaning, we have to show that civil action has value and is recognized by society.
2. Enabling an enlarged scope of civil society representatives to engage in Open Government.
“Local activism should be more integrated into public debate”
“Mentoring and best practice sharing. People: beings who are capable of learning from each other :)”
“Create a community of citizen experts to help make sense of all the open data”
“Create a time bank of opengov practitioners that can volounteer a couple of hours to help out”
“Develop live data tools to track civic movements and build campaigns”
“open spaces for citizens to create and innovate together”
“Adapt political institutions (such as political parties) to digital age — promote quality engagement in political parties via internet”
“Create both digital and physical processes”
“Create a tool for democratic issues that is allied with social networks”
“Take the digital tools to the streets””- JULIEN LETAILLEUR
OGP is a wonderful network of people willing to share their knowledge and their tools.
Julien wants the OGP to become a network of tools and knowledge, internationally and freely shared and made accessible to all members of civil society.
The OGP Toolbox created at the end of the Summit is a great first step and should be risen to its full potential.
- OGP should create its own social network where any NGO or public service can register, see the latest news on best practices and tools and easily find practices and tools related to their activity thanks to an OGP designed algorithm. Civil society would also have contact with open government practitioners willing to help and assist them in becoming more engaging and more open.
- OGP has to communicate it to the civil society of every member state and so create a strong relationship with associations and NGOs.
- This network should always be used and filled by exchanges of open technologies and best practices from around the world.
OGP has to focus on bringing these tools and knowledge to local activists and help them be part of open government.
- OGP should open an international fund for local activism, activists can then submit projects to receive funds.
- OGP should engage with political parties and propose them to help them implement more open practices in their functioning.
OGP should gather its developers and its thinkers and build its own R&D department.
- This department should be a laboratory for open and safe tech to then spread through the network and to those that most need it, mainly developing countries or small local activists. OGP has to become a center for innovation in open government.
- OGP should work on a tool allowing civic participation through social media. The international weight of the OGP allows it to negotiate and work with the main internet firms.
Participation should not only be online.
- OGP has to co create with the civil society of each member state events and physical spaces to directly engage with citizens.
- Spaces should be created where OGP’s free and open technology can be accessible and taught.
- OGP has to create monitoring teams in each member state that are available to civil society, to public services and that follow the implementation of open government engagements.
For an open government to be efficient, every aspect of civil society, every organization, every association and every citizen should have equal opportunities to engage in the decision making process. In this sense, OGP should focus on bringing the tools to those who most need it, to those who are outside the engagement process.
3. Creating the right environment for open government.
“State and city governments need to create enabling environments (TRUST), then things start happening”
“Make algorithmic decision making transparent and accountable”
“Build trust in the facts that underpin open government data”- JULIEN LETAILLEUR
OGP has to take a stand and unite nations around democratic principles for the development and use of these technologies.
OGP has to advocate for a safe and democratic use of data, not only in the tools OGP promotes and offers but generally in the tech world.
- OGP should build, through a Research & Development department, tools for citizens to better manage and monitor the use of their personal data. There is mistrust from citizens regarding the online services they use and how they collect and manage their data. This could lead to two dangers for open government: the citizens abandon these tools or these tools are used for general surveillance and control.
- OGP should engage politically to implement international principles for a democratic and transparent use of data, and provide the tools to make it happen.
- Many online tools and services rely on algorithms that make decisions for the citizens.
- If we want for democracy to adapt to the digital age their should be transparency and debate on how these algorithms make their decisions and on which criteria. OGP should advocate and take political action to set international democratic principles on algorithm transparency and decision making. Democracy relies on people being able to take part and understand how decisions are made. A opaque algorithm is an authoritarian regime.
OGP has to draft a chart on these issues and then engage member states on it to make those principles happen. Only international logics can have weight on digital forces.
All of the rest has no point if we don’t guarantee that the technologies we use follow democratic principles : by creating democratic technologies and by fighting, at the international level, authoritarian use of digital technologies. Digital technologies will gain more and more power in the functioning of our societies, OGP has to assure that this new power follows democratic principles. Otherwise people won’t trust these technologies and won’t truly be able to use them in a democratic purpose.
III. What’s next ? 1.2/1.3/1.4….
Educating citizens to take part in the making of society, providing tools, creating international dynamics and exchanges around these tools and around best practices and making sure that the digital technologies follow democratic principles are the main fields of action citizens from Democracy Night want the OGP to engage in. These are the issues Julien Letailleur will be committed to make happen and follow from the executive committee. By creating partnerships with the places where education is conveyed, by creating relationships with civil society through an international network and through physical presence and by taking a political stand and action on the democratic use of digital technology, this program assures a deep implementation of open government principles and gives them the strength to shape reality and society.
But the action of Julien is not set in stone, we do not come with a fixed ideology we want to defend, we come with the will to make always new ideas emerge from citizens that make democracy happen everyday. This is why this program is not finished and that we will keep you posted on all evolutions, this is why YOU can join us and better this program with your ideas, with your vision of a better and lasting democracy.
We will soon provide you with tools in order to make your ideas known on these subjects, you can also contact us. We will draft the most inclusive program because we believe an international organization focused on opening government should include in its steering committee the will of citizens and not only agendas from organizations. Because of that, if elected, we pledge to fully commit to this program but also to always open consultations on various subjects we are working on in order to enrich our actions and decisions with your point of view and ideas.
