Civic Tech Weekly Aug 13: Giving Taipei Residents Radical Transparency on Public Housing
This week: Civic tech news from Taiwan🇹🇼 Brazil🇧🇷 and Japan 🇯🇵
1. Taipei City platform lets residents monitor public housing construction
It doesn't matter what city one lives in, public housing construction always seems to move at a snail's pace. But a new website in Taipei is helping citizens watch the speed of construction, right down to a video feed at building sites. Taiwan boasts some of the most expensive housing prices in the world, and residents are demanding affordable housing. Taipei City is planning dozens of social housing projects across the city, but many won't see completion for years.
So in order to let residents keep track of construction, the City government has launched a "Battle Center" concept site that shows the level of project completion, how much is budgeted (and spent) for each project, and whether building work is temporarily suspended because of bad weather. Residents can also watch over a dozen live-feeds to see what workers are doing at the site. Taiwan tech new site TechBang commends the openness of the idea, but also urges residents to verify the authenticity of the government provided data themselves.
2. News rooms in Brazil are fact-checking misinformation on WhatsApp collectively
Over the past few years, messaging apps like WhatsApp and Messenger have become hives of rumours and false reports. Tech firms have struggled to control the spread of mis- and dis-information on their platforms, especially during sensitive periods like elections and natural disasters. As Brazil ramps up for an election in October 2018, a consortium of news organizations are working together to create a fact-checking service — called Comprova — on WhatsApp that can answer user questions about suspect news items.
Brazil’s fact-checking service comes after Mexico tested a similar fact-checking service called Verificad, that was rolled out during the 2018 Mexican general elections this summer. Meanwhile in Taiwan, the g0v civic hacking community has launched an open-source fact-checking service called Cofacts for messaging app LINE.
3. Election observers in Taiwan are crowdsourcing what they see
It's election season in Taiwan, and that means candidates are out on the streets glad handing constituents and giving out campaign material. Taiwan is one of Asia's most vibrant democracies, but news reports of vote-buying occasionally float to the surface as voting day nears.
So Taiwan's National Chengchi University is asking volunteers to sign up to be election observers, and upload campaign material to a website called "Campaign Watch." Observers are encouraged to upload a variety of campaign materials, from billboard and online ads, to live recordings of election events. For example, New Taipei City candidate Su Tseng-chang of the DPP already has eight internet ads, two billboard ads and two tv interviews uploaded to a special page dedicated to his campaign material. If you live in Taiwan, you can sign up to be an observer here.
4. Talking to politicians in Japan just got easier
A 19-year old in Japan has created an app that makes it easier for the public to ask questions to election candidates. PoliPoli shows the profiles and electoral platforms of candidates, and a bulletin board where users can ask questions of the candidates. Since its introduction in late 2017, a number of big name politicians have already appeared on the app, including Japan's defence minister, and the leader of the opposition.
5. Making it easy to sign a referendum in support of marriage equality
Taiwan made headlines around the globe when Taiwan's constitutional court ruled that the current laws barring gay couples from marrying violated "the people's rights to equality." Since then, a bill that would change the law to recognize same-sex unions has stalled in congress.
So supporters of same-sex marriage are pushing for a referendum on the issue, and have launched an e-petition site that simplifies the signing process. In just a few steps, users can enter their name and full address, and then have their petition printed off to be sent to organizers. Supporters are hoping for 300,000 signatures by August 29th 2018, in order for same-sex marriage to be a question on the ballot during the November 2018 local elections.
6. Regional civic tech news
Global
Using A.I to fix Wikipedia's gender problem
Big data is getting bigger. So are the privacy and ethical questions
A hundred places where governments are using tech to crowdsource policy
Middle East and Northern Africa
North America
This tech helps corporate lawyers donate time to defend people in need
DOJ and FCC request Supreme Court vacate 2016 net neutrality ruling
South and Central Asia
First-ever election prediction contest in Pakistan concludes
OGP Georgia: the benefits of openness, bump space and codes of conduct
Sub-Saharan Africa
Inspired by Mandela, South Africa wants to re-engage with citizens
Western and Eastern Europe
Satellites in Europe can advance sustainable development by highlighting poverty
Open Access Project: Opening new data and new possibilities for Ukraine
For more civic tech news, check out last week’s Civic Tech Weekly!
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