[Sponsored] Making All Voices Count Aims to Create Better Governance through Global Innovation Competition

To have democratic and transparent governance is not only Indonesian people’s dream. It was reflected by the number of participants that joined the Global Innovation Competition (GIC) which is held by Making All Voices Count. Last year, almost 200 ideas to be implemented in a number or countries, including Bangladesh, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Philippines, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. After series of public voting and peer review, these ideas were reduced to 10, who later competed as finalists in the programme’s Global Innovation Week in Nairobi, Kenya.

Making All Voices Count is a global-scale initiative which aims to push and support new ideas in the spirit of the creation of active society and responsive government. The second annual Global Innovation Competition was launched on September 15, 2014, on the same day as the International Democratic Day, with the hope to strengthen people’s vote. The application period will last for a month before being closed on October 15, 2014.

In advance, this year’s competition emphasized on these four main points:

1. Legislative Openness – Inclusive and Participatory Lawmaking
2. Sub-National Governance
3. Gender Equality
4. Building Resilience and Response to Humanitarian Crisis

Daudi Were, the Innovation Director of Making All Voices Count, stated that although anyone can have ideas, only true innovators can turn those ideas into real implementation, and these exceptional innovators are practically what GIC is looking for.

“GIC 2015 talks less about technology and focuses more on its implementation to solve various end-users’ problems, ranging from culture to politics, economic, and geographic,” Were stated.

The competition provides GBP 300 thousands (around Rp 5,8 billion) of cash to the winners. All the finalists would also be flown to Jakarta, Indonesia, to join the Global Innovation Week, a more intensive mentoring program. For further information about registering your ideas, check this link out.

In last year’s competition, GIC crowned the Pakistan-based Bahawalpur Service Delivery Unit (BSDU) as the winner. The innovation aims to cover up any data-based management and other administrative stuffs in conflict areas. The competition also had two runner-ups. They are Going The Extra Mile from South Africa and Reducing Maternal Mortality with SMS from Indonesia.

To get Indonesian people more accustomed to community lives and social participation, Making All Voices Count has funded a program which aims to enrich the people with the knowledge of budgeting process in Indonesia. By the implementation of the program, it is expected that people, especially youth, can contribute actively in the government’s budgeting process. The program is carried on by Making All Voices Count and its partner, Sinergantara, in the form of a game, entitled “Game My Village”. Through the game, gamers may “build” their own village by making use of provided database that contains regional budget and other spatial data.

Do you want to submit your idea to improve the relationship between government and citizens? Apply here.

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*) This article is sponsored by Making All Voices Count