It is often the case we do not get what we feel we deserve or that there is more that can be done. During these times, it is incredibly difficult to stop yourself falling into a spiral of demotivation and a feeling of despair. Not-for-profit social enterprise, MySociety, gives the UK’s public access to online tools so that real change is no longer a fantasy.
We believe
MySociety, mysociety.org
… that strong democratic accountability and a thriving civil society are vital to our common welfare, and that these only survive when people engage with government and communities.
We work with online technologies
… because the internet can lower the barriers to taking the first civic or democratic steps in a citizen’s life, and it can do so at scale.
In three connected areas of civic life
– Our Transparency services make it easy for citizens to surface information
– Our Democracy tools help people hold their parliaments to account
– Our Community technologies empower local authorities and residents to make improvements in their own neighbourhoods.
You hardly hear about a practical means of impacting decisions which seem to be determined by an elite group of people sitting in an ivory tower. MySociety is groundbreaking in this respect. Chief Executive, Mark Cridge, is driving away the stigma that as members of the public, we are just bystanders to what our government decides to do or not do. They believe we are active citizens who deserve the right to make a difference and not just mark X on the piece of paper going into the ballot box.
Online technologies are endless. Some are futile, some fun, but some, like the tools MySociety has built, are powerful. Powerful enough to create real change for civilian life through research, partnerships, local goverment support, international collaboration and a passion to increase the impact any one citizen can have.
SDG 16, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions is one of the harder goals to achieve because of the number of dependencies its progress relies on. Dependencies on government, on large corporations, on smaller businesses, on legal and justice systems and most importantly, the dependency on us. Though, not us as bystanders, but as civilians who strive for better. Thanks to MySociety, we now have tools to help us achieve this.
Specifically within SDG 16, they progress target 16.6, to develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions, target 16.7, to ensure responsive, inclusive and representative decision-making and 16.10, to ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms.
Let’s hope MySociety continue to grow the reach of their impact and the development of their civic technologies, so that the feeling of despair when decisions do not go your way can be acted on and not left to manifest itself into something far worse! Learn more about this awesome enterprise on their website linked below.
Links:
MySociety Website
mysociety.org
FutureSphere 