Monitoring ,analysis and capacity building of citizen protests
To create freely available public access to data on citizen protests in Africa.
This data will be easily accessible on the internet and via cell-phone and will afford citizens the ability to contribute to the analysis and reporting of on citizen protests. The creation of a citizen protest charter and the development of an ethics of citizen protest will be supported through capacity building programmes.
Over the past five years South Africa has experienced a growing phenomenon of citizen protests. These protests lack any ongoing tracking or analysis available in the public domain. The press alone has been unable to cover these protests comprehensively. There are newspaper articles on various events and citizen protests but they tend to lack any analysis. There is also a very costly proprietary service offering some coverage of the estimated 8 000 to 13 000 protests across Africa last year alone. This data is however not available to the public.
The creation of awareness and public discourse on citizen protests will enhance the legitimacy of this important form of democratic culture in Africa.
About You
Section 1: About You
First Name
Douglas
Last Name
Racionzer
Website
Organization
IDASA
Country
South Africa
Section 2: About Your Organization
Organization Name
Community and Citizen Empowermant Programme of IDASA
Organization Website
Organization Phone
27 123920500
Organization Address
357 Visagie Street, Pretoria
Organization Country
South Africa
Your idea
Name Your Project
Monitoring ,analysis and capacity building of citizen protests
What is your idea? What makes it innovative? Why is it important?
To create freely available public access to data on citizen protests in Africa.
This data will be easily accessible on the internet and via cell-phone and will afford citizens the ability to contribute to the analysis and reporting of on citizen protests. The creation of a citizen protest charter and the development of an ethics of citizen protest will be supported through capacity building programmes.
Over the past five years South Africa has experienced a growing phenomenon of citizen protests. These protests lack any ongoing tracking or analysis available in the public domain. The press alone has been unable to cover these protests comprehensively. There are newspaper articles on various events and citizen protests but they tend to lack any analysis. There is also a very costly proprietary service offering some coverage of the estimated 8 000 to 13 000 protests across Africa last year alone. This data is however not available to the public.
The creation of awareness and public discourse on citizen protests will enhance the legitimacy of this important form of democratic culture in Africa.
Will you launch your idea as a business or non-profit?
Business
Country your work focuses on
South Africa
What will be the impact of your idea?
The impact of such a service will be:
• The creation of a public discourse on citizen protest thus giving legitimacy to non-violent citizen protest as a crucial element in democratic governance
• The creation of early warning systems for effective democratic governance
• The acceptance of citizen protests as legitimate public participation and active citizenship
Who will help you develop your idea? Why are you the one to make this happen?
The Citizen and Community Empowerment Programme in Idasa specializes in facilitating learning in open and closed systems in Africa. As a political and governance facilitator within IDASA, I convened a meeting of concerned citizens and citizen groups on the 18th December 2009. At this workshop, we identified the need for a freely available public monitoring service to which citizens could send information and engage in analysis and debate. It was agreed at the workshop that this service would be available to the public for their contributions to analyse the protests and not merely report protests. The creation of a citizen protest charter and the development of an ethics of citizen protest are also planned as projects within this service.
The Sedibeng District Council has committed itself to acting as a pilot project so that we can develop a replicable model which may then be adopted across the country.
How much will it cost to launch your idea? (This can be an estimate)
We estimate that it will costs us around R500 000 ( US$72 000) to launch the project with a pilot in Sedibeng in 2010. A significant portion of this would be paid for by the Sedibeng District Council.
This Entry is about (Issues)
 | 124 weeks agoa. b said: Would you build a 'cause' around this Charter, bring on the 2 states for advertising, & get the rest to join through a social site like ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 124 weeks agoDouglas Racionzer said: It is very easy to fall into a cynicism when working for social transformation in Africa but the evidence of a vibrant and increasingly ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 124 weeks agoa. b said: Analyzing meaning & causes of protest is a VERY important contribution to the overall public governance of the ENTIRE WORLD, and this ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 124 weeks agoDouglas Racionzer said: Thanks ab Perhaps first we should agree that "media" is not simply print or radio and TV...if we can agree that media may also be an ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 124 weeks agoa. b said: Please explain why your idea/project, is suited/perfect to using... 'media' ...to bring about A BETTER "WORLD"...the entire planet...? ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 124 weeks agoTyler Ahn updated this Competition Entry. |
| 124 weeks agoDouglas Racionzer submitted this idea. |
| 124 weeks agoDouglas Racionzer submitted this idea. |
