The Technology for Social Accountability Expo (TSA-expo) is a networking opportunity to bring PEOPLE together with TECHNOLOGY. Citizens and institutions focused on building a more cohesive, transparent and accountable Uganda can interact with technology service providers who have tools and skills to make those efforts more efficient and effective.
Technology tools that improve performance, accelerate communication, and enhance transparency between individuals, civic and political groups, businesses, and governments are increasingly available in Uganda. As we write, ICT is being used to improve services, build knowledge, organize people to debate policy and provide innovative solutions for the country’s most pressing challenges.
Uganda’s rapidly developing technological infrastructure, expertise, and mobile phone user base offers the opportunity for the nation to shine with the development and scaling up of technology applications that improve social accountability and cohesion.
RIC-NET/ CEW-IT was represented by M John Silco Chair person CEW-IT /Director RIC-NET, Mukasine Betty the IT officer at CEW-IT National Data Centre, and Erastus the Documentation officer RIC-NET.John Silco a member on the panel discussing "Citizen Participation through Mobile Technology",presented the efforts of CEW-IT based on Uchaguzi platform.
centering on Citizens participation through Information Sharing using ICT, the ICT is used in two ways:
1.Strengthening Transparency and Accountability through access to Information.
On line district e-library www.kaseseelibrary.org
Information centres & e-society resource centre.
Interactive radio programme
Citizens access easily repackaged policies and government guidelines, government contracts, reports and budget estimates.
2. Facilitating feedback from the citizens and the local government .
This is done through:
Stake holders meeting on M&E reports.
Interactive community radio
Quarterly magazine
Online blog and website
after carrying out Independent budget analysis, public expenditure tracking and service delivery tracking.
He clarified that ;Uchaguzi Uganda, www.uchaguzi.co.ug is a collaborative platform by Citizens Election Watch - IT (CEW-IT), that allows citizens actively participate in observation of the election process.
Facilitates the citizens and observers to report incidents in real time, synthesizing, aggregating and displaying reports on the map.Observers report detailed account of issues on blog http://uchaguzi-uganda.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html
The information access possibilities available are: The District website, an e-library www.kaseseelibrary.org a district blog, a civil society portal and CSO blog http://rwecovoice.blogspot.com allows citizens access and share information within the community. http://uchaguzi-uganda.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html www.rwenzoripeoplesvoice.org .
Offline channels: feedback stakeholders meetings, Radio talk shows, quarterly magazine "the peoples voice” copies are on: http://www.ricnet.info/files/pub
The CEW-IT team demonstrated on how the tools are used and provided copies of the videos and quarterly magazines at the exhibition table.
