Grantee Project
Open Knowledge Foundation Brazil is bringing attention to issues surrounding freedom of speech, transparency and privacy during Brazil’s 2014 presidential election. Information about candidates is usually dominated by a populist discourse; to offer voters more and open information, Open Knowledge Foundation Brazil is creating a platform where the public positions of candidates (for state and federal representatives, governors, and the President) on the above issues of freedom of speech, transparency and privacy will be published.
Candidates have been invited to express their thoughts on topics such as the Civil Rights Framework of the Internet. The goal is to bring visibility to these political debates, provide stimulating discussion, and create an album of records of that commitments that each candidate makes. Providing a public platform for candidates to share their views will allow citizens to monitor and hold politicians accountable to their stated policy positions on issues relating to the open Web. Open Knowledge Brazil also hopes that putting this information on such a platform will help to enrich the public debate on these and related issues and will help to inform voters’ decisions.
Articles:
Contact: dialogando@okfn.org.br.
This project is a strong example of making election technology concrete instead of abstract. I liked how the platform connects freedom of speech, transparency, and privacy to statements voters can actually compare later. That kind of public record is useful beyond one campaign cycle. For civic groups that share candidate clips or forum recordings, a simple Compress Video step can also make materials easier for volunteers to distribute and archive.