Webcitizen gains confidence from UN

Civic engagement and governmental transparency are even more shown as really important ways for economic and social development for any government, as well, a channel to accomplish the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the 191 member states of United Nations.

Some of the usual challenges to the most of the nations regard to growing suspicion in governmental institutions and the need to bypass the rhetoric about social responsibility to an actual efficient participation, which can bring actual results. Besides, it’s remarkable that the citizen demands more fair, efficient and participative services even more.

A consequence of the multiple crisis affecting all governments around the planet is the growing mistrust in public institutions, at the same time that citizens increasingly demand for a more just, efficient, participatory and citizen-centric services, and for a greater civic involvement in the legislatorial process.

Here is where we come into the stage: Webcitizen, through its ingenious and transformative civic activation and political inclusion tool Votenaweb, immediately after its lightning presence at the Gov 2.0 Showcase Expo event in Washington, D.C. in May, was invited by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), to participate in an important workshop and forum on civic engagement in Barcelona, Spain last week, organized in collaboration with the Government of Catalunya.

Webcitizen is aligned to one of the most influent and ranged global institutions on the planet, and for us, it meant a lot to gain the confidence and interest from UN, by including us in this so relevant dialogue. We believe that our confidence in the power of citizenship, the transparent dialogue, the intelligence and the collective well-being have taken us to such recognition. We are all subjects in this transformative and bold task in favor of a more fair society. And that is just the beginning

Read below some topics from the Barcelona Statement about the Critical Role of Public Service for the Accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals, document disclosed in the end of the event in Spain:

* Reforms in public management should not have as purpose make governments more efficient, but also improve the quality of civic participation in laws politics, as part of the evolution of democracy.

* Legislative processes must be transparent, responsible and participative. Information regarding to governmental decisions on public questions for development must be clear and accessible to everyone.

* Civic engagement must exercise an essential role on laws in every step, including design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, especially in local level, by means of decentralization, offering a socioeconomic progress and larger participation in public business and services, as well as a feeling of co-responsibility.

* Governments must offer the development of electronic management practices centered on citizens and focused on people’s needs, and not only on the technology.

* All governments must encourage the engagement of its citizens, civilian societies and private sectors, to make all them together improve life conditions.

* Social responsibility must be emphasized, consolidating confidence and making civic engagement useful and solvent. Sharing of knowledge and positive experiences must be offered to make the spreading of efficient practices, methodologies, institutions and civic engagement mechanisms, adaptable to the specific context of each country, easy.

* To improve transparency and civic responsibility, governments must offer wider use and access to information, communication and technology, by the purpose to make costs of administrative processes simple and low. Sharing of information and use of ICT tools must be a priority in every government.

André Blas