Võrgustik esitas rahvakogu konkursile
Käesoleva aasta AVP tippsündmuseks on 31.oktoobril ja 1. novembril Londonis toimuv konverents, kus osavõtjatel on võimalik esitleda uusi huvitavaid algatusi avatud valitsemise põhimõtete elluviimiseks. Plenaaristungile pääsejad selgitatakse välja nn “bright spot” konkursil, kuhu 9. septembrini sai esitada ettepanekuid. AVP võrgustiku arutelus jäi söelale idee esitada vabaühenduste poolt konkursile rahvakogu protsess kui näide selle kohta, kuidas kodanikühiskond saab avatud valitsemist tagant tõugata. Ettepaneku esitamiseks mahutasime vastvasse vormi järgneva teksti.
People’s Assembly in Estonia – crowd-sourcing solutions for complex problems
A former Estonian MP, member of the ruling Reform Party, announced in 2012 that the party’s officials gave him 7600 euros of unknown origin that he then had to donate to the party. He claimed that dozens of members had donated funds to the party this way, including MPs.
Although the party rejected the accusations and the subsequent investigation was ended due to a lack of hard evidence, the public did not find party’s denials convincing. Widespread protest yielded to the street demonstrations and petitions in autumn, demanding more transparency in party funding as well as more dialogue and openness in the political system.
How to turn this wave of activism into something constructive? Civil society activists proposed crowdsourcing as a method for finding solutions to these complex problems.
A working group of CSO and political parties’ representatives gathered in November, 2012. Five weeks later a website was opened where everyone could propose ideas for improving the situation in the areas such as elections, public participation, political parties and their funding. Within three weeks, it gained 60’000 visitors; 1’800 registered users posted nearly 6’000 ideas and comments. All these were grouped and provided with impact analysis by scholars and practitioners. These were sent to the Deliberation Day on 6th of April, where a representative sample of 314 people discussed the pros and cons of ideas and casted then their preferences. The outcomes were presented to the Parliament who has then set a timetable when these legislative changes will be discussed in the formal procedures.
The impact of this process, called People’s Assembly, is yet too early to summarize. None of the legislative changes has been done so far, but they are in the agenda.The process clearly proved that if good conditions are created, people are willing and capable to participate in the policy making. Crowd-sourcing mechanisms can provide a valuable tool for implementing the principles of open government and bridging the gap between government and the public.
Jääme huviga ootama, kas Eestis toimunu pälvib rahvusvahelist tähelepanu.
Liia Hänni
AVP ümarlaua koordinaator
