The Opportunity behind Open Government

Pablo Díaz @pablodc

An unexplored ocean

Vasco Núñez de Balboa:

The first European to make out the Pacific Ocean

He was also de the FIRST EUROPEAN to found a lasting city on American continental lands.

Santa María la Antigua del Darién

In order to do this, he established an

OPEN TOWN COUNCIL

Which elected a MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT (the first one in the American continent)

We are hanging around YEAR 1510!

OPEN TOWN COUNCIL?

TRADITIONAL OPEN TOWN COUNCILS used to involve neighbor meetings in case of emergency.

They were usually summoned by the town council, but only the most important ones would get such

invitation, thus leaving aside low class Creoles, aboriginal people, women, slaves, people of mixed

race, and many others.

The old tradition of open town councils came back in 1810 after Napoleon held Ferdinand VII of Spain

under arrest in France.

The most well-known one is the one held on 22nd May 1810 in Buenos Aires.

REVOLUTIONARY OPEN TOWN COUNCILS

OPEN TOWN COUNCIL 22ND MAY 1810

CHRONOLOGY Monday 21st May 1810: Four hundred and fifty invitations were distributed among the most important neighbors and authorities of the capital city. The guest list was prepared by the Town Council with prominency as the only criterion in mind. However, Agustín Donado, mate to French and Beruti, the one in charge of printing said invitations, printed so many more invitations that he ended up distributing them among the Creoles too. Tuesday 22nd May 1810: Out of the four hundred and fifty invited neighbors and authorities, only around two hundred and fifty attended. French and Beruti, commanding six hundred armed men carrying knives, blunderbusses, and rifles, managed to take control of the access to the town square so as to make sure the town council got taken by Creoles. That open town council went on from morning until midnight. The main topic of discussion was the legitimacy of the government and the viceroy’s authority. It was eventually decided by the vast majority that the viceroy was to be divested of his power.

OPEN TOWN COUNCIL OF 22ND MAY 1810

CHRONOLOGY Wednesday 23rd May 1810: After the Open Town Council came to an end, several notices were posted across the city to inform the population of the creation of a committee and of the summoning of province representatives while it also urged people not to cause a breach of the peace. Thursday 24th May 1810: The will of the Town Council was not respected and a new committee was formed, which gave the viceroy a “different post” but retained all his authority. This caused unrest once again among the working classes and the popular militias, which led to the occupation of the town square by a mob that saw this cunning argument as mockery towards the will of the Open Town Council. Some soldiers rebel against this decision and refuse to repress the agitators. Friday 25th May 1810: Because of the delays in reaching a final decision, in the course of the morning the mob gathered around Plaza Mayor (currently known as Plaza de Mayo)

and started yelling:

The people want to know what it’s about

15th MAY 2011 15-M MOVEMENT

21st MAY 1810 MAY REVOLUTION

COMPARATIVE STUDY

The people want to know what it’s about

OPEN GOVERNMENT

OPEN TOWN COUNCIL

VS

NEWS USED TO TRAVEL BY BOAT

NEWS TRAVEL BY BITS

VS

SLOW INFORMATION TRANSMISSION

FAST INFORMATION TRANSMISSION

VS

THERE WERE FORBIDDEN BOOKS PEOPLE WERE NOT PERMITTED TO

READ

BOOKS YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO DOWNLOAD

VS

INFORMATION SHORTAGE

INFORMATION WEALTH

VS

BESIEGED BY NAPOLEONIC ARMIES

BESIEGED BY THE CAPITAL MARKETS

VS

GREED OVER THE LAND

GREED OVER MONEY

VS

IMPORTANT CITIZENS WERE SUMMONED BY PERSONAL

INVITATION

ANY CITIZEN CAN BE INVITED VIA E-MAIL, WHATSAPP, ETC.

VS

PROTESTS WERE HARD TO ORGANIZE

PROTESTS ARE EASY TO ORGANIZE

NO

FEW CITIZENS WITH PLENTY OF FREE TIME

MANY CITIZENS WITH LITTLE FREE TIME

VS

MORE TIME TO REFLECT

LESS TIME TO REFLECT

PARADOX?

OPEN GOVERNMENT

OPENT TOWN COUNCIL

¿VS?

(LACK OF) INTEREST IN POLITICS

(LACK OF) INTEREST IN POLITICS

BLUE OCEAN?

CHANGING THE DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM?

CHANGING THE DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM? Forced his way in in 1936… Found his way out due to force majeure…

Finds his way in “digitally”

Finds his way out in XXXX due to “big-game hunting”

WINNING THE ELECTIONS?

WINNING THE ELECTIONS?

CONNECTING WITH THE PEOPLE

CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE MEANS INNOVATING

INNOVATING MEANS RISKING

RISKING MEANS MAKING PROGRESS

“I found it really sad, irritating, and contemptible to listen to a socialist spokesman showing off about the fact that Spain is the third country, after Holland and Belgium, to institutionalize gay marriage.” “Abortion is not a legal right, just like gay unions are not marriage”

MAKING PROGRESS IS THE GOAL OF THE LEFT-WING FRONT

THE THREE PILLARS OF OPEN GOVERNMENT

TRANSPARENCY JUST LIKE

FOR DEMOCRATIC DISAFFECTION

INHIBITOR

PARTICIPATION JUST LIKE

OF THE DEMOCRATIC CULTURE

GAMIFICATION

COLLABORATION JUST LIKE

OF THE DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM

CODEVELOPER

THE RAW MATERIAL OF THESE PILLARS

DATA

WITH THE PRESENT RAW MATERIALS AND TOOLS

WE MAY OBTAIN NEW WAYS OF CONNECTING AND TRANSMITING

EXAMPLES

OPEN GOVERNMENT

It provides updated information on empty properties so that communities are allowed to find other ways of fitting these spaces.

It simplifies bureaucracy and all the requirements citizens need to register and start new businesses by means of open-source software.

It is a simulator that helps people understand the impact public politics such as health care reforms, changes in education, and education budget cuts will have on local economies and communities.

It allows journalists, academics, and the general public to obtain, in an uncomplicated fashion, Estate Court appeal papers summarizing in an approachable language the desicions made, giving out free audio extracts, and much more.

It makes interaction with the government much easier by simplifying the hiring and licensing processes so that SMEs may operate with the government in a much faster and uncomplicated fashion.

It promotes governmental innovation by creating tools and servers that fulfill government regulation so that developers can build and adapt new technologies easily.

It is a tool thought to simplify information related to local planning projects. This is done by means of a tool used by governments and contractors that provides a simplified way of creating updated websites gathering the opinion of the people.

It provides Chicago’s most poverty-stricken neighborhoods with the tools needed to access and demand their government to supply them with information on important issues, such as education and housing.

EXAMPLES

OPEN POLITICAL PARTIES

It allows organizations to create real-time alerts for web or social media notices regarding themselves or other relevant stakeholders and competitors. This service also allows the electoral campaign team to respond to questions and comments efficiently.

It allows organizations to create real-time alerts for web or social media notices regarding themselves or other relevant stakeholders and competitors. This service also allows the electoral campaign team to respond to questions and comments efficiently.

It allows organizations to create real-time alerts for web or social media notices regarding themselves or other relevant stakeholders and competitors. This service also allows the electoral campaign team to respond to questions and comments efficiently.

Stu led the vision for the NGP VAN’s innovative new Social Organizing tool, which allows campaign supporters to match their Facebook friends to the voter file. This way, a given campaign may create target universes and supporters can use web-based tools like a Virtual Phone Bank to engage their friends in that universe. Following the NGP VAN merger, Stu led the launch of NGP VAN’s new Accelerator digital product, which is now the most widely used website platform among Democratic candidates.

Thank you very much! @pablodc