Aproximando cidadãos
Transparency: a tool for a government to govern.
All stories from Revista Gotas‘ first issue will be posted here – one per week. Follow and share.
Vote on the web
It’s almost one month since we released in beta version the Votenaweb, a site where any person may vote to approve or to reject bills moving in the National Congress.
A site made for you to get closer to decisions in the National Congress directly affecting your life. Vote and be heard.
As with any collaborative site, it will get better with time, as more people visit it to register and vote. So I’ll be very grateful if you help spreading the news.
We are very happy with this small beginning. We could notice that people are interested in participating. 7,000 votes have already been given by more than 10,000 people. We already got around to three hundreds comments, in addition to 100 emails with suggestions on how to improve the site – and we’re working hard on it. In general, the site exudes a desire to rescue the idea of citizenship. Look at some of the nice comments we got so far:
Regarding a project proposing the compulsory use of the national flag on the uniforms of public school students:
“Make me be proud again of the public administration of my country, and I’ll even tattoo your face on my chest, but for now leave it as it is…”
Regarding a project to turn compulsory the periodic public hearings by the Public Ministry in order to identify the population desires, the comment was:
“In this Internet age they still want to do a public hearing? Make a portal as votenaweb and we are in the right direction!”
Comments about weird projects, such as the institution of a Wine National Day or the prohibition of demeaning images in reality shows are a fun side show.
We have already noticed that the site is very useful to get to know our politicians better, comparing your own opinions to theirs. To do that, you register and enter to vote in every project. When the elections come next year, you may be able to see the statistics about your own opinions and to compare them with those of the politicians, finding out which one is more like you.
We are full of hope that the site will be also of use to influence the politicians. Who knows, maybe they will be more eager to take into consideration the public opinion, if the disconnection between what they do and what the rest of us think is revealed. We are also considering adding a tool for creating cooperative bills, eventually taking them for vote in Congress. Today that looks like a delirious dream, but one which can become reality, if enough Brazilian citizens show they are concerned.
Of course there are also frustrations. Organizing this data made clear to us how much governmental laws are created with the objective of not being understood. Why the hell is their language so twisted, so full of turnings, with that which is truly important hidden at the end, after paragraphs and paragraphs with no content at all?
Well, our dream is the day in which, before proposing a law, a politician will think like that:
“Let me make a special effort, because everyone will read.”
Everything simple and shared
Data revolution, more and more, always and non-stop. Organizing all the currently available information for a better understanding of our society isn’t an easy task, be it to count public transport data, or even to understand a soap opera. This is what Fernanda Viégas did, using the data visualization resource.
She’s a computing designer and has presented the site Many Eyes to the audience at TEDx SP. The site aims to change complex statistics into visually easy to understand graphics. “It’s very hard when information is delivered in massive amounts of data in spreadsheets” Fernanda confirms.
Then came Many Eyes. At that site any person can insert data, and the site changes them into graphics that can be understood by a glance. As mentioned, even a Brazilian soap opera can be an example. The exemplification made all the audience laugh, when they realized they could follow the entire plot without even watching it on TV.
Fernanda shows this project that is very much in tune with the TEDx SP proposition: to share ideas, possibilities and to pave ways which indicate a harmonious world. And she does all that, making us laugh.
Second drop: salaries and transparency
All articles from Revista Gotas‘ first issue will be posted here – one per week. Follow, and share.
Tears and laughs
The engineering Osvaldo Stella Martins is coordinator of projects for the Programa de Mudança Climática from IPAM (Amazonia Environment Research Institute) and one of the directors of Iniciativa Verde, an organization devoted to the task to grow trees in ciliar forests to compensate carbon emissions. He also researches clean energy sources, as biogas, and he’s one of the Brazilian scholars acting more in the fight against climate change and in defense of Amazonia. He was invited by TEDxSP to tell about these things. But, when he stepped onto stage, Stella has warned he was so excited by the other speeches he didn’t even remember what he would talk about anymore. Moments before, he had told that, if someone would make him cry once again, he would dehydrate.
Stella, with his sincere behavior and the talent of a storyteller, he was one of the speakers that makes the audience laughs more at TEDxSP. He talked about climate changes, but his main subject was personal changes: the courage to dream, to change ways, to start again. To me, it was inspiring
Inspiration
Where comes from the unconscious gaze taking people to have exceptional ideas? Could be the moment? Could be the place? Maybe it’s just the way how we see the occurrences in front of us, the way how we notice them. To the advertiser and musician Jarbas Agnelli it’s “possible to see poetry anywhere, depending on the way we see”. And he did just that.
During some time, Jarbas was divided into music and commercials direction. In doubt he’s decided to be with both and has created the AD Studio. There, designers and animators work alongside with musicians in the creative process for movies. Especially in music they had a good experience with the band Avenida Paulista which placed hits on radios of London. As advertiser he had prominence as the only Brazilian to win the Grand Clio, American advertising award in addition to have worked more than 13 years for the agency W/Brasil.
In his speech at TEDxSP, Jarbas shared the story of the picture which was the origin for the composition “Birds on the wire”. The song has traveled for thousands of homes through Internet and has won a proportion greater than he thought. An account which makes us believe that good ideas can come from inconceivable places and accomplishment depends only on the will power.
One gota (drop) per post
The first issue of @revistagotas was released during the TEDxSP event and is now a subject for a post by Denis Burgierman in our blg. The good news is that all of the magazines’s stories will be featured also here, once a week, for everyone to read, discuss and comment. Here comes the first part: the editorial.
Theory and practice
AIDS kills almost 1,000 people per year in São Paulo. Air pollution kills 4,000. AIDS is considered a public health problem, and doctors have a say on defining public policies. Air pollution isn’t – even though it shortens the life of the average person in the city of São Paulo by two years. Taking care of car pollution isn’t a subject for the public health system – it’s for the public transportation agency, for the traffic engineers, and nobody takes into consideration the impact caused in people’s lungs when designing more avenues. It is based on this paradox that the pathologist Paulo Saldiva began TEDxSP talk.
Saldiva’s a rare kind of Brazilian scholar. He’s a researcher, and a great one. Doctor, specialist on pollution, he’s worked in Harvard, publishes regularly in specialized magazines, and is respected in the entire world. But he’s also an activist. He tries to use the data he collects to influence public policies, to change habits, to improve people’s life. He speaks up against the car culture, criticizes the dominant point of view, is always discussing with politicians and business people. Not mentioning that he rides his bike to the hospital he works every day. In short, he connects theory to practice, thought to action. In addition to all this, he’s a fun guy.
It’s good to pay attention to the things he says. A nice opportunity to do it is by watching his talk at TEDxSP. It must go on air today on the TEDxSP site.
November 17th, 2009
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Hangover and Magazine
Hangover.
That’s the word to define the mood of everyone involved in TEDx SP in the last few days. Everybody has that blurry look, that slow reaction, that dull expression, a half smile on the face. Geez. TEDx SP was super intense. 12 hours of excitement, new friends, an evident feeling that everything is possible, and that the world will start to change, the easy or the hard way. Of course, when the flood of ideasin our bloodstream stops, the body feels the abstinence.
To whoever went there, a hug. To whoever didn’t go, a relief: there will always be a next year.
But time to go back to reality.
How is everybody doing?
Let me to introduce myself. I’m Denis Russo Burgierman, journalist, last week I said good-bye to Editora Abril in order to come to work for WebCitizen. From now on, I will visit this blog at least once a week.
My role at WebCitizen isn’t very clear yet. Some say I’m the Content Director. I don’t really like this name too much – I don’t think it is useful to separate content from channel, or content from form. In this new world, these things walk hand in hand. It doesn’t really matter what contains what – what’s important is the message, what matters is the information and what its user can do with it. I’d rather say then that I’m the Information Director. Besides being more elegant, it sounds like a secret agent thing. (The other day I met a guy who has a very cool project called Architecture for Humanity whose job in the company is “Chief Eternal Optimist”, for the acronym to be CEO. He thinks we should create more cool titles for our positions. It’s a first step to enjoy our job better).
Well, whoever attended TEDx São Paulo got a very big yellow magazine. That’s the first issue of Gotas, which was already born as one of the best yellow covered magazines in Brazil. (If you attended the event but didn’t get one, please let us know: some kits were distributed before the magazine came from the printer.) Gotas is Webcitizen’s magazine. To participate in the creation of this independent project was an amazing experience, which left me radiant and frightened, sometimes both simultaneously. Take a look at the cover below.
Transparency is like a trail in the woods on a sunny Sunday after lunch. Everybody is up to it, but nobody wants to start. (continues on page 4)
Pretty, right?
The issue is thematic, and the theme for the first issue is transparency. Number 2 comes in February, 2010. The theme will be “stop talking, it is time to do”. Take a look at the last page:
We’ve got an idea for Gotas issue 2, which will come in February of 2010. The theme we imagined was: “Stop talking, it is time to do”. Then we’d invent a magazine that does things, instead of only discussing them. We thought that, instead of simply filling pages, we could truly intervene in the things of the world out there, registering them and only then put them on the magazine. Did you like the idea? Do you want to participate? Do you have other ideas? Suggestions about where and how could we intervene? Ideas about what could we do it? How can a collaborative creative team, in a short time and with not much money, cause a real impact? Guesses, ideas, insults, suggestions, threats, comments are all welcome by email denis@webcitizen.com.br
The invitation is for this blog’s readers. Send us ideas, please. We want to create a historical issue, a magazine to make us proud, to make things that never have been done before in the world, to become a case study, to inspire people. Finally, we want a magazine to relieve us from the TEDx abstinence syndrome. Let’s get to work, guys?
Ah!
A little bird told me that the first TEDx SP lecture goes online today. And they will start rocking from the start.
A big hug,
Denis
What does Brazil have to offer to the world now?
TEDx São Paulo, Ideas worth spreading. WebCitizen is proud to sponsor the first TEDx São Paulo and to be part of this movement to change Brazil.
On November 14th, the first TED event in Brazil will take place: TEDx São Paulo. At the event, around 600 thinkers from various areas of knowledge and practice will get together to discuss “What does Brazil have to offer the world now?”, a theme that will guide the presentations of 28 speakers, each one of them lasting up to 15 minutes.
The meeting form surpasses criticism or contemplation. The breaks between the presentations will also be extremely important, for the approximation between the attendees. The intent is for the audience to be encouraged to materialize innovative ideas, from many perspectives. Therefore, the same care the organization board took to select the speakers, it is taking in the selection of the attendees, who can apply until October 31st, free of charge, through the community channel.
More than a conference, the date marks the formation of an community of achievers in the country, a link between the dissemination of innovative ideas and their practical execution. Always under the perspective of the collective benefit.
“The first motivation is always individual, but the compensation is collective. We have started to notice that there is a critical mass that seeks its fulfillment through something that reflects positively on society. This behaviour is transformational”, explains Helder Araújo, member of the international TED community, licensee for TEDx São Paulo, and co-founder of WebCitizen.
To be a patron of TEDx São Paulo is to participate actively of a shift based on the exchange of knowledge and the study of new educational formats. It’s our duty as citizens to discuss and practice transformational ideas, and that’s why it is our great pleasure to be a TEDx São Paulo patron.
About TED
TED started in 1984 as a yearly conference in California, and already has had among its speakers, names such as Bill Clinton, Paul Simon, Bill Gates, Bono Vox, Al Gore, Michele Obama and Philippe Starck. Despite the one thousand available seats, the applications are sold out a year in advance. Today, the official TED website streams free of cost more than 500 lectures performed until now, watched by more than 50 million people, from 150 different countries.
Through 4 actions: TED Conference, TED Talks, TED Prize and TEDx, the organization has been changing its motto “Ideas worth spreading” into real accomplishments. Every year TED Prize, for instance, elects a thinker and grants him or her 100 thousand dollars, helping materialize yet another “Wish that Will Change the World”.
TEDx São Paulo
Where: Moóca Theater
When: November 14th, 2009
Application: free of charge here.
