Code for All Newsletter — May 2022
Words by Mar Marín • May 31 2022
> Welcome
Mar from Code for All here. I’m excited to welcome you to the Mid-Year Edition of 2022. With the full blooming spring comes a lot of exciting news and events to share with the best community. Buckle up and let’s go!
> Code for All Updates
- The Code for All family keeps growing! We have welcomed four new member organizations: Red Ciudadana, ÇeskoDigital, Dark Matter Labs, and the Sentinel Project.
- Help us give a warm welcome to Melissa Zisengwe, our Program Assistant. She will coordinate the Community of Practice and Support Squads for the Network and so far she has been rocking our community-building actions!
- Matt Stempeck (Civic Tech Field Guide), NDI and CfAll are currently working on a research project on how civic tech can help confront disinformation. Do you have any recent work confronting digital (or other) disinformation? If so, reach out to us to be part of our project.
- Mark your calendar! Code for All’s 2022 Summit will be happening September 26-29 this year. Please let us know what you most want to discuss and learn about at this year’s event by voting on theme options, or submitting your own ideas, here.
- Our Community of Practices (CoPs) are active again! In May, we hosted two CoP meetings around Digital Citizen Engagement and Good Governance to discuss lessons and considerations for the civic tech community. Don’t miss it! Take part NOW! Register here and join the Slack channels: #good-governance and #citizen-engagement.
> Member Updates
Here find updates from a handful of our 28 member organizations.
→ Ciudadanía Inteligente ????
Organized ReimaginaLA to connect the Latin American agendas with the Chilean Constituent Process. Great news from our advocacy area: direct democracy mechanisms will be part of the Chilean New Constitution!
→ Code for Africa ????
Launched a new tool called PesaYetu, an easy-to-use data and visualisation portal for Kenyan journalists, researchers, and activists.
→ Code for America ????????
Recently received a landmark investment through The Audacious Project to transform America’s social safety net and reimagine the delivery of accessible and equitable benefits. Our national network is also reshaping itself, read more here.
→ Code for Australia ????????
Is launching a government Digital Maturity Indicator Survey to benchmark teams across the Australian public sector and provide insights and recommendations; and, an educational offering that will help folks working in government learn how to be a part of digital projects.
→ Code for Germany ????????
Is currently in a post corona re-networking process. We will talk about self-image and political demands at our first in-person meetup this year in Karlsruhe!
→ Code for Hungary ????????
Along with K-Monitor developed an interactive map to show the billions worth of properties that went from state-owned to privately owned in recent years. It’s open-source. Use it and share it from our GitHub page.
→ Code for Pakistan ????????
Was invited to lead the conversation around smart cities, digital governance, and citizen engagement at Pakistan Tech Fest ’22. In April we celebrated our 9th anniversary. In May, our Government Innovation Fellowship Program completed its 7th cycle.
→ Code for Romania ????????
Celebrated its 6 years anniversary! We continued to develop digital solutions for the Ukrainian refugees: Consiliere HIV and Cine Ce Face. Also, we were delighted to receive the Digital Innovation Award at Biz Sustainability Awards 2022.
→ Dark Matter Labs ????????
Our project work TreesAI got featured in an article in Domus magazine.
→ OpenUp ????????
Check out our newsletter here! Learn about our gender work, increased contact with our beneficiaries as well as our team-building activities in this issue.
→ SlashRoots Foundation ????????
Took some time earlier this year to reflect on our organization’s purpose and the impact we want to create. This led to a refining of our mission. The first public-facing write-up of that evolution can found be here.
→ mySociety ????????
Celebrated their 4th TICTeC Civic Tech Surgery around storytelling and reach. We’re also deep in prototyping weeks for our climate program focusing on different themes to solve local UK issues. Check it out!
→ Open Data Kosovo ????????
Delivered the workshop “Kosovo Policy Lab: Creating Partnerships between Public and the Third Sector with Open Data”. They also took part in the launching event of “Celebrating Kosovo’s Trustbuilders” as part of the KTB platform.
> ⏰ 5 Minutes With Sonja Fischbauer
Community Strategist and Organizational Development Specialist at the Open Knowledge Foundation Germany
Here’s a sneak peek of our monthly series of brief conversations with grassroots activists, creative technologists, and change-makers, featuring Code for Germany’s Representative: Sonja. Find the full conversation here.
What is the first thing that comes into your mind when you think about civic tech?
Empowerment; providing solutions; doing something to make life better for everyone, not just for a few privileged people.
> Job & Opportunities
This is where we share current job opportunities we’ve found within and around the network.
- Code for Africa: Climate fact-checker
> Events around the world
This is where we share upcoming events within the civic tech realm.
> Listening & Reading Room
Here’s a list of some of the latest articles and podcasts that we recommend. Find a nice spot, grab your ???? and tune in:
- Out in the Open Series: Linked Open Data and Freedom of Information Legislations
- More than calories: a deep code transformation of our food systems
- Tipping Points and the adoption of a digital solution
- Dopomoha, the open-source platform developed to support asylum seekers
- Interdependence, Transition & Agency in an Age of Volatility
> That’s all folks!
If you wish to connect with our member organizations or are interested in giving a hand with a particular project, please get in touch with us – we’d love to hear from you! Find us on Slack (@sofia, @lorin, @mar, @melissa, and @nonso).
Ready to share what you know and inspire your peers? If you haven’t subscribed or you know anyone else who wants to join the conversation: sign up to receive updates here!
Until next month — keep up the good work!
