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ARMENIA'S CAPITAL CITY LAUNCHES INTERACTIVE MUNICIPAL WEBSITE
TechPresident
Nov 9 2012
BY Onnik Krikorian | Friday, November 9 2012
Since the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991, democratization
in the South Caucasus, a region sandwiched between Russia, Iran,
and Turkey which comprises Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, has
not been without its problems. But, with Internet penetration slowly
growing and some activists and citizens finding their voice online,
international donors are increasingly looking towards Information
Communication Technology (ICT) as a means not only to empower the
population, but to also introduce much needed accountability and
transparency into local and national government.
In Armenia, the smallest of the three countries categorized by Freedom
House as "partly free," one such project is iYerevan.am.
Launched in the capital, Yerevan, on November 1, the site is funded
by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). It is an attempt
to encourage residents of Armenia's largest city, by some accounts
home to just under half of the country's population of 3 million, to
engage with the municipality, which became an elected body in 2009,
following the constitutional amendments of 2005.
At the press conference to launch the site, municipal officials made a
point of stressing the interest of Mayor Taron Margaryan in actively
encouraging the participation of residents in the city's management
and not least following high-profile demonstrations opposing urban
development and the further erosion of the city's green areas by
environmental activists earlier this year.
"These types of online platforms for citizens are usually started by
NGOs or activists, and that's why this project makes me so proud of
our municipal partners who have thoroughly embraced the concept,"
wrote Tatevik Koloyan, UNDP's manager for the project, in a post
on the international organization's Voices from Eurasia blog. "Less
than 24 hours after its launch, the website already features several
proposals from citizens, as well as proposals for public discussion
from the Yerevan Municipality."
Speaking to techPresident, Koloyan said iYerevan was inspired by the
Russian StreetJournal.org. "UNDP Armenia developed a project proposal
for the creation of a [similar] website that would serve as a direct
link and real-time communication tool between the municipality and
the citizens of the city," she says. "The online map featured on the
website allows citizens to tag or discuss their ideas and suggestions
on how to improve the city, making it a better place to live and
to visit."
Koloyan says the project proposal was approved in June. "UNDP Armenia
strongly emphasized municipality involvement in the project's
development and implementation since eventually it would be the
municipality and its respective departments who would be receiving
suggestions from citizens," she explains. "Only with the municipality's
ownership and maintenance can each suggestion receive a respective
response or action."
Nevertheless, with Internet penetration still relatively low in a
country with a GDP per capita of just $5,500 in 2011, it remains to
be seen whether iYerevan is embraced by residents. Despite government
claims that penetration stood at just over 60 percent (ITU data)
in 2011, others believe the figure is much lower. According to
a USAID-funded study the same year for the Eurasia Partnership
Foundation (EPF), Internews, and Yerevan Press Club, for example,
only 34 percent of Armenians said they owned a computer with just 28
percent saying they accessed the Internet. That includes those with
Internet-enabled mobile phones.
But, illustrating how connectivity is more prevalent in Yerevan, the
same household survey also noted that while a staggering 86 percent
of Armenians living in rural areas said they had never accessed the
Internet at all, that figure was much lower at 56 percent in the
capital. Indeed, with 43 percent of Yerevan residents having access
to the Internet, many going online daily, there is at least some
potential for e-governance sites to establish themselves as conduits
for communication between citizens and the local authorities in the
capital at least.
Even so, others remain unconvinced. "I'm aware of iYerevan and similar
sites, but many others I know are not," says Zhirayr Terzyan, a young
Internet-savvy marketing professional who also works extensively
online. "I don't think iYerevan will see massive adoption because
Armenian Internet users are still very much media-consumers rather
than creators or contributors."
For now, such a belief seems to be supported by interest to date
in the site. According to Koloyan, and despite television and other
coverage including social media, one week after its official launch
iYerevan had been accessed 882 times by 634 unique visitors with 48
suggestions made by residents. Nevertheless, it is hoped that this
will dramatically change when an outreach and publicity campaign
using traditional methods such as posters and flyers is launched
towards the end of the month.
But, potentially confusing potential users of iYerevan, is
the existence of another site, CityBugs.am, a project that won a
Microsoft-sponsored hackathon in December 2011 and which was officially
launched on October 1 this year with financial support from USAID,
Internews and EPF. Like iYerevan, it too seeks to engage residents in
the capital's development and now has the cooperation of the Yerevan
municipality. "There is lot of similar functionality [with iYerevan],
but that project will not cover the same areas," says Arman Atoyan,
CEO and founder of the X-Tech Creative Studio responsible for the site.
Moreover, he says, there is the firm belief that over time such tools
can benefit citizens, especially as Internet penetration increases.
"Our slogan is 'let's make our city a better place for our lives,'"
he told techPresident, voicing a sentiment that UNDP's Koloyan shares.
"Through this site we aim to support the development of a constructive
partnership between the local authorities and the citizens, resulting
in more active civic engagement, citizen reporting, and a higher
level of accountability from the local authorities."
Personal Democracy Media is grateful to the Omidyar Network for its
generous support of techPresident's WeGov section.
http://techpresident.com/news/wegov/23120/armenias-capital-city-launches-interactive-municipal-website
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
TechPresident
Nov 9 2012
BY Onnik Krikorian | Friday, November 9 2012
Since the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991, democratization
in the South Caucasus, a region sandwiched between Russia, Iran,
and Turkey which comprises Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, has
not been without its problems. But, with Internet penetration slowly
growing and some activists and citizens finding their voice online,
international donors are increasingly looking towards Information
Communication Technology (ICT) as a means not only to empower the
population, but to also introduce much needed accountability and
transparency into local and national government.
In Armenia, the smallest of the three countries categorized by Freedom
House as "partly free," one such project is iYerevan.am.
Launched in the capital, Yerevan, on November 1, the site is funded
by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). It is an attempt
to encourage residents of Armenia's largest city, by some accounts
home to just under half of the country's population of 3 million, to
engage with the municipality, which became an elected body in 2009,
following the constitutional amendments of 2005.
At the press conference to launch the site, municipal officials made a
point of stressing the interest of Mayor Taron Margaryan in actively
encouraging the participation of residents in the city's management
and not least following high-profile demonstrations opposing urban
development and the further erosion of the city's green areas by
environmental activists earlier this year.
"These types of online platforms for citizens are usually started by
NGOs or activists, and that's why this project makes me so proud of
our municipal partners who have thoroughly embraced the concept,"
wrote Tatevik Koloyan, UNDP's manager for the project, in a post
on the international organization's Voices from Eurasia blog. "Less
than 24 hours after its launch, the website already features several
proposals from citizens, as well as proposals for public discussion
from the Yerevan Municipality."
Speaking to techPresident, Koloyan said iYerevan was inspired by the
Russian StreetJournal.org. "UNDP Armenia developed a project proposal
for the creation of a [similar] website that would serve as a direct
link and real-time communication tool between the municipality and
the citizens of the city," she says. "The online map featured on the
website allows citizens to tag or discuss their ideas and suggestions
on how to improve the city, making it a better place to live and
to visit."
Koloyan says the project proposal was approved in June. "UNDP Armenia
strongly emphasized municipality involvement in the project's
development and implementation since eventually it would be the
municipality and its respective departments who would be receiving
suggestions from citizens," she explains. "Only with the municipality's
ownership and maintenance can each suggestion receive a respective
response or action."
Nevertheless, with Internet penetration still relatively low in a
country with a GDP per capita of just $5,500 in 2011, it remains to
be seen whether iYerevan is embraced by residents. Despite government
claims that penetration stood at just over 60 percent (ITU data)
in 2011, others believe the figure is much lower. According to
a USAID-funded study the same year for the Eurasia Partnership
Foundation (EPF), Internews, and Yerevan Press Club, for example,
only 34 percent of Armenians said they owned a computer with just 28
percent saying they accessed the Internet. That includes those with
Internet-enabled mobile phones.
But, illustrating how connectivity is more prevalent in Yerevan, the
same household survey also noted that while a staggering 86 percent
of Armenians living in rural areas said they had never accessed the
Internet at all, that figure was much lower at 56 percent in the
capital. Indeed, with 43 percent of Yerevan residents having access
to the Internet, many going online daily, there is at least some
potential for e-governance sites to establish themselves as conduits
for communication between citizens and the local authorities in the
capital at least.
Even so, others remain unconvinced. "I'm aware of iYerevan and similar
sites, but many others I know are not," says Zhirayr Terzyan, a young
Internet-savvy marketing professional who also works extensively
online. "I don't think iYerevan will see massive adoption because
Armenian Internet users are still very much media-consumers rather
than creators or contributors."
For now, such a belief seems to be supported by interest to date
in the site. According to Koloyan, and despite television and other
coverage including social media, one week after its official launch
iYerevan had been accessed 882 times by 634 unique visitors with 48
suggestions made by residents. Nevertheless, it is hoped that this
will dramatically change when an outreach and publicity campaign
using traditional methods such as posters and flyers is launched
towards the end of the month.
But, potentially confusing potential users of iYerevan, is
the existence of another site, CityBugs.am, a project that won a
Microsoft-sponsored hackathon in December 2011 and which was officially
launched on October 1 this year with financial support from USAID,
Internews and EPF. Like iYerevan, it too seeks to engage residents in
the capital's development and now has the cooperation of the Yerevan
municipality. "There is lot of similar functionality [with iYerevan],
but that project will not cover the same areas," says Arman Atoyan,
CEO and founder of the X-Tech Creative Studio responsible for the site.
Moreover, he says, there is the firm belief that over time such tools
can benefit citizens, especially as Internet penetration increases.
"Our slogan is 'let's make our city a better place for our lives,'"
he told techPresident, voicing a sentiment that UNDP's Koloyan shares.
"Through this site we aim to support the development of a constructive
partnership between the local authorities and the citizens, resulting
in more active civic engagement, citizen reporting, and a higher
level of accountability from the local authorities."
Personal Democracy Media is grateful to the Omidyar Network for its
generous support of techPresident's WeGov section.
http://techpresident.com/news/wegov/23120/armenias-capital-city-launches-interactive-municipal-website
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress