Democracy & Tech: Stories from the Code for All Network

What will this session be about?

For several years now, we’ve witnessed how technology is shaping not only the digitalization of in-person democratic processes (elections, decision making processes, openness and accountability procedures, etc.), but also their narrative and information flow. Civil society organizations and citizens are appropriating technological tools for mobilizing, direct action, and overall implementing, collaboratively with government institutions or not, projects that reflect the needs of their communities and foster democratic values.

Led by Colombina Schaeffer from Ciudadanía Inteligente, Hal Seki from Code for Japan, Alma Rangel from Codeando México and Em Burnett from Code for America, in this panel you will get to know more about civic tech projects our members have implemented to promote democracy, encourage citizen participation in decision-making processes, and safeguard political and legislative cycles.

About the speakers:

Colombina Schaeffer (she/her) is a sociologist with a PhD in political science. She is the deputy director at Ciudadanía Inteligente, a Latin American, inclusive and feminist organization that fights for social justice and for the transformation of democracies, since 2017. Previously, she worked in academia and in socio-ecological movements and organizations.

Hal Seki (he/him) is the founder and CEO of Code for Japan, one of Japan's biggest civic tech communities. Since Code for Japan was established in 2013, it has widely promoted citizen participation in fostering open government movement.

Alma Rangel (she/her) is an internationalist who has specialized in civic technology and digital solutions for public problems. She’s currently the Executive Director in Codeando Mexico, an organization that works with teams and organizations working in the public sphere to amplify their impact through useful, sustainable and accessible tech and data products.

Em Burnett (they/them) is a Senior Community Manager with the Code for America Network. Em has led several successful local political campaigns and has a passion for bringing open source & decentralized values to civic and political systems.

When is this session happening?

Wednesday, September 29th at 14:00 UTC (covert to your time zone here)

What is the Summit?

Code for All's 2021 Summit wishes to welcome everyone and anyone interested in civic tech to attend our free sessions. From those who have been involved in the community since its inception to those only hearing about it now - all are welcome to come and find out more, make some friends, and workshop new ways to help.

What exactly is civic tech?

Civic tech, in short, is technology that positively impacts society — but that’s not the whole story. It’s about creating civic innovation tools (tools that help make more democratic, transparent and people centered governments), but it isn’t only about the tools themselves — it’s about the process through which these tools are created. Here's a good place to learn more.

Who is Code for All?

Code for All is an international network of organizations supporting each other to empower citizens to meaningfully engage in the public sphere and have a positive impact on their communities.