Launch Event of Making All Voices Count

Event ID: 2066524
Event Started: 12/5/2012 3:00:00 PM ----------
>> Please standby for realtime captions. >> David Adelman, please take your seats and
switch your cell phones to silence. Please feel free to tweak.
>> Everyday solvable problems go unsolved. >> Because governments are transparent, accessible,
accountable. >> Some problems go unsolved because government
doesn't know how to help. >> All because they just don't want to.
>> Everyday citizens needs are ignored. >> Overlooked.
>> Unheard. >> When this happens, the link between citizen
and government becomes weaker. >> Representation is fractured, progress is
stunted. >> But there is a movement. It's growing.
>> It's about opening government. It's about responding to citizens.
>> It is about using technology and innovation to find new ways for governments to respond
to your needs efficiently, effectively, fairly. >> Is happening all around us.
>> Is changing how people in government engage. Because some people still think they have
no voice or that no one will listen. >> It's about creating partnerships to bring
down barriers that still exist. Because today in the 21st century, there are opportunities
for governments and citizens to engage like never before.
>> This is our grand challenge. To ensure that all voices are heard.
>> To ensure that governments listen. >> And respond effectively, fairly.
>> Find new ways that technology can improve government performance.
>> To build trust and accountability in democracies worldwide. This is our grand challenge. To
make all voices count. Join us. >> Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome master
of ceremonies, and grew a shade. Founder of personal democracy media.
>> Good morning, everybody. [ applause ] I have to say, looking around the room and seeing
so many faces, I feel a little bit like Einstein's chauffeur. If you don't know the story, he
was chauffeuring Einstein around while he was making his first presentations about the
village of it. He was making the speech three or four times a day. After about three months,
he got pretty tired of it and sat back and told his chauffeur he didn't want to do it
any more. He says, I've been listening to the speech the three months, so how about
at the next place we change places. At the next University, that's exactly what happened.
Einstein put on the chauffeur's hat. The chauffeur got onstage and deliver the speech exactly
the same way without missing a beat. Of course, there was a very learned professor who raised
his hand and asked a very coveted question. Without missing a beat, the chauffeur said,
that question needs to be answered by my chauffeur. I feel little bit like his chauffeur. It's
really great to have you here. Think you for coming all this wait to hear about this amazing
and very important program. I'm going to act as the MC today but try to move things as
quickly as possible. Just a few quick opening remarks.
>>> The world is getting more connected. It's estimated by the year 2020 that 6 billion
people will have smart phones, and the smart phones that they are carrying are going to
make the iPhone and Android phones that we carry with ourselves today look like the Motorola
briefcase cult following week. 15 years ago and didn't really know how to make work. This
new way of technology is emerging. Whether you look at the way women use social media
to save money for healthcare and contraception or will the video ricochet around world. It's
pretty clear what we call it personal democracy for a new Internet public emerging. To be
a member of the Internet public means that for you, the Internet and mobile technologies
are central to your life. Either professionally, economically, culturally, or even spiritually.
Members of the Internet public, you know, think in terms of networks. They don't talk
about crowd sourcing. They do it. They use social media easily. And they are a lawyer
that they can connect to each other globally, instantly, and they can reach the eyes and
ears of their brother and around the world and they can make sure that their voices are
heard. They also can make sure that the governments are hearing them as well. Storm governments
that fail to recognize this dynamic and those in government who are not listening and responding
and participating in this ongoing to logically enabled global conversation will find that
they are more and more marginalized and unable to authoritatively lead and represent their
citizens. Those that do will discover new opportunities to empower their democracies,
improve their effectiveness, enhance their economic futures, and develop partnerships
that have already discovered the benefits of more openness and transparency, which will
facilitate more trust between governments and their citizens and vice versa. This is
the reason why this particular initiative is so important. It seeks to amplify the voices
of citizens to bring about change, enabled governments in new and emerging democracies
to be more open and transparent and accountable and help governments listen and respond to
citizens while improving government performance. So we will get started.
>>> A few small housekeeping notes. Please turn your cell phones to silent so we can
be reminded that it is not all about the technology. We are CA. You can use C 9. We have good WiFi
here, but there's a lot of people, so everybody at the same time a slow start. Please switch
to 3G if you can. And please don't download the latest version of homeland or some other
movie while you are watching the proceedings. With a packed agenda, I will play sort of
the moderator role to keep things moving. We are going to be very crisp and to the point.
We are kind to give you as much time so you can meet after the ceremonies are over. Without
further ado, please let me introduce to the stage doctor. [ applause ]
>> Thank you, thank you. Thank you, Andrew, for taking on this response ability today
and for your leadership. It is so exciting to welcome everyone here to our fourth grand
challenge in global development watch. Thank you so much for being here and for all of
the energy and enthusiasm that you are bringing to the task we have today, which is to make
every voice counts in the battle to end corruption and achieve transparency and effective governance
around the world. We are excited that our keynote speaker, Secretary Madeleine Albright,
will be here later, and thank you, can walk, the head of NDI for also being with us. We
are very grateful. Samantha Powers, we appreciate your being here and your leadership and guiding
and shaping this grand challenge, but also in deciding for these issues and tough and
ongoing environments. I would also like to welcome the British ambassador to the United
States and Ambassador Jonas Hofstra and from Sweden. We are thrilled that this is not an
American initiative, this is a global partnership with the UK, Sweden, and the MTR network.
In that respect, some folks who have done a lot of heavy lifting to make this work.
Sarah Mendelson from USAID, Mark Robinson, Stephen King, and Charlotte Petri-cornice
the period at we are glad that you are here with us.
>>> Earlier this week, there was an article in the New York Times about a wave of violence
surrounding a hotly contested election for Ward counselor in a small end poverty town
in South Africa. The town isn't alone. In fact, since 2010, violence in local elections
in South Africa has led to the death of over 40 politicians. The thing is, it isn't such
a popular job in and of itself. It pays little, it has thankless and difficult responsibilities.
But what it does have and what makes it so valuable that people would kill is, in fact,
a steady stream of kickbacks, bribes, and off the book deals. For this time in South
Africa, violence and corruption hasn't just cost lives. It has diminished the faith citizens
have that their government is actually trying to fight for and serve themselves and their
children's futures. We know that every year corruption is estimated to cost the world
more than $1 trillion undermining everything from infrastructure to education, health to
economic growth. In fact, the World Bank estimates that there is a 400 percent governance dividend
in terms of growth rates that it's possible when countries achieve transparency and effectively
beat out corruption from how they work and their book of business. These are extraordinarily
important results. If you think about the scale of that relative to all foreign assistance
that we Ambassador probably in development, it far exceeds what we as donors probably
invest to serve those who are most vulnerable and help lift them up to a better future.
And that's why today's launch is so important. To build on President Obama's call for open
government and to inspire a global movement to end corruption and strengthen accountability,
which starts with each individual citizen. Hopefully, evermore enabled by technology
and innovation. This grand challenge calls on the world's brightest innovators, entrepreneurs,
and engineers to design breakthrough technologies and approaches to make all voices come. We
are seeing examples everywhere in Indonesia but we work with local organizations to create
many atlases that Mac community assets like clinics and schools. Here in this light, Brown
dots represent clinics and are overlaid on a map of poverty levels by household. The
organizations that do this work post these in neighborhood public spaces helping to inform
the community and encourage them to be responsive and demanding of better services in the settings.
In Bangalore, India, students have helped design ask it surveys for citizens as they
leave government offices. The team then maps survey results onto a similar map which tracks
corruption and efficiency in the provision of government services. It's for everyone
in the community to see and observe.
>>> These exercises are doing more than just mapping where the problem is. The beauty of
this work is by bringing visibility to the challenge, people immediately expect more
and people that partake in these activities are usually ashamed of the publicity that
they've received from these types of efforts. In a world where three quarters of the global
population has access to mobile phones and mobile connectivity, we can expect that more
texting to see if teachers are showing up in schools and more GIS-based mapping to identify
where corruption is robbing people of critically needed services is taking place. We can expect
results to, therefore, improve. In fact, there is no better example of the power of mobile
technology to fight corruption in the use of electronic payments and mobile money in
settings where the alternative is highly vulnerable to corrupt practices. In 2011, when Koppel
bank in Afghanistan, essentially, collapsed after insiders were involved in stealing serious
assets, we took a similar approach. In addition to demanding more accountability and oversight,
we said, why are donors relying on the system to pay civil service employees, police officers,
members of the military? Why would we rely on a system where people actually walk bags
of cash to a household and then we are surprised when those bags seem to get later along the
path. By helping to create a better than cash alliance with more than a dozen partners,
including the network, governments of countries all around the world, we are now accelerating
the adoption of electronic systems that can ensure end to end payment and serve as a closed
loop that fights corruption at its source. When he piloted his effort in Afghanistan
with employees and police officers, those receiving payments dot they were getting a
30 percent raise. These types of examples show the power of technology to transform
development outcomes. We are particularly excited with the example of the president's
grand challenges in development program. We are -- our first grand challenge, saving lives
at birth, has already resulted in exciting, new innovation, some of which have come from
student groups that are in the field saving infants lives in the first 48 hours of life.
Last November we launched a grand challenge in education to ensure we use technology and
innovation to get every child the opportunity to read and improve literacy outcomes at grade
level. We have already awarded more than 32 awards through this program, many two local
organizations that have come up with the most innovative ideas. This past June watched the
third grand challenge, which was powering agriculture, helping small to scale agriculture
producers get off grid energy on their farms for the purpose of improving incomes and outputs.
In total, these programs have attracted more than 1600 innovative ideas, 30 percent of
the proposals we get come from sources that have never worked with the U.S. government
before on these types of issues, and 50 percent come from the developing world itself. That
is proving that the best ideas must -- most important innovations, often will come directly
from the communities that stand to benefit from implementing them at scale.
>>> The truth is, these ideas can come from anywhere. It is our goal to adopt them, help
them scale, and help them transform people's lives in the most vulnerable settings around
the world. So as today's launch demonstrates, we want to continue to be a platform for open
source development, for open innovation and new ideas. We believe that technology applied
thoughtfully and in a manner that is respectful of local norms and customs and cultures can
empower people to demand democratic change and processes as we've seen through the air
of spring, to demand greater credibility and services as we are seeing in Bangladesh and
India and Kenya and Haiti, and to demand that when you are paying a civil service employee,
they are actually receiving their paycheck. So thank you for being here to celebrate this,
but most importantly, thank you for the work you will do leaving today to encourage others
to look up the grand challenge, to propose new innovative ideas no matter how small,
no matter where they come from. We know innovation can come from anywhere and can help make our
world more peaceful and more prosperous in the future. Thank you. [ applause ]
>> When your voices are heard in government, it's far more likely that your basic needs
will be met. That's why reform must reach of the daily lives of those who are hungry
and those who are ill and those who live without electricity or water. Today I say to you and
I say to everybody, the United States of America is with you, including those who have been
forgotten, those who are dispossessed, those who are ostracized, those who are poor. We
carry your story in our heads and your hopes in our hearts. Because in his 21st century
with the spread of technology and the breaking down of barriers, the frontlines of freedom
are within nations and individuals, not simply between them. As one former prisoner put it
in speaking to his fellow citizens, politics is your job. It's not only for politicians.
We have expression in the United States that the most important office in the democracy
is the office of Citizen, not president, not speaker that citizen.
>> Please welcome to the stage, Samantha power, special assistant to the President and Senior
Director for multilateral human affairs and rights. [ applause ]
>> Never a good idea to follow Barack Obama. It's wonderful to be here. It's a huge honor.
I want to thank everybody that Raj thanks. Let me say a special word about Sarah Mendelson
who is the USAID ideas, meets with citizens around the world, feels their needs and just
works 24/7 to operationalize them. I hope you don't mind, see 11, that I'm calling her
out in this way. Having just e-mailed with her, I think 10:00 p.m., 1:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m.
around a series of issues this night. I am just reminded that efforts like this require
people like Sarah. Thanks also to our great colleagues from Sweden and from the UK. Again,
Raj has named everybody, but the network, this is just an emblem, I think, this effort
about when he toured together, private sector, foundations, governments from around the world.
Pooling resources but more partly even pooling ideas and the innovative spirit that I think
underlines the great effort. I was with President Obama in Burma when he gave that speech. One
thing you should know, the many things you should know, but what you saw is a very large
part was just ad lib. He was so taken by the moment. That applause line, which is a line
from Louis Brandeis, was something that he came up with on the spot. Again, just so taken
by the students who were gathering in that university for the first time in a very long
time, as many of you know. The university was closed in the wake of protests back in
1990. For students to gather in that way and even hear the president would itself just
a month or so, certainly a couple years ago, have been illegal. It was an incredibly moving
trip. In the audience, also, it should be noticed that there were recently released
political leaders and current activists. The president met with a group of those people
just in advance of the speech. One of them was a woman who helped organize peaceful protests
on December 21st and who had been arrested, just underscoring how great the challenges
remain in the political reform journey. By coincidence, her court date was coincided
with the time of the president's speech. So when she got the invitation to the speech,
she was able to use it as an excuse with the judge to get out of her appearance. The sort
of strands kind of came together. I think what you hear are the president's words is
the recognition coming from his own experience, of course, back in Chicago and also through
the campaign back in 2007/2000 and eight and most recently. Of the critical role of the
bottom-up players. There is no change without citizenry, as he said, very eloquently.
>>> I also had the privilege of being with the president, as I think was Raj, in December
2010 at the U.N. General assembly when he told the world that the strongest foundation
for human progress lies in open economies, open government, and open society. So this
was September 2010 in his U.N. General assembly speech. What he did in that speech was he
challenged the countries, the heads of state who gathered in the General assembly, leaders
meeting to come back 1 year hence with a set of specific commitments to promote transparency,
to fight corruption, and to energize civic engagement leveraging new technologies so
that we all strengthen the foundation of freedom in our own countries. Again, this is in keeping
with President Obama's firm conviction that we have to start by leading by example and
the best of the best foundation for our leadership abroad. A year later, the following U.N. General
assembly in 2011, really remarkably nearly 40 countries came together and answer that
challenge. President recess of Brazil and President Obama created OGP. We will be showing
a video in just a few minutes. Six other countries were part of the founding steering body, which
included Mexico, Indonesia, and South Africa. Very important to see emerging democracies
stepping out and leading on these critical issues beyond their borders. As well as the
UK, which is currently the current cochair of OGP with Indonesia. Our leadership has
passed from the United States and Brazil to the UK and Indonesia. We are in a very critical
phase of Raj development -- of OGP development. As I mentioned, the president issues has shaped
by his experience on the streets of Chicago working with communities to try to make local,
state, and federal government more responsive to the real needs of real people. Since 2009,
one of the first think that the president did domestically was issue an open government
memorandum making what had previously been closed government data sets open and available
to the outside world, promoting greater disclosure and greater progress on freedom information,
and just making sure that citizens have access to health and safety and environmental information
that could change the decisions that they make day-to-day.
>>> Finally, soliciting ideas from citizens day today. We have all the way the petition
on site now. The open source for that has been made available for countries all around
the world, as has the Ada.gov platform. So the question is, as the president said that
in his first in a row address, the question is not whether government is too big or too
small, it's whether it works. It's a question of struggle with those who work in government
to insert in the affirmative every day. Today the OGP has grown to include 57 countries
with many more countries such as Tunisia and most recently Burma in association with the
trip making reforms in the aspiration that they will become eligible. Countries are eligible
to join if they meet rigorous objective standards measuring freedom information, disclosure
laws, transparency of budgets, civil liberties, and accountability, again, to citizenry. Each
OGP limit of the 57 has endorsed an open government declaration which lays out a good governance
grounded in openness. Each government has committed to develop and implement their own
author's national action plan. That plan, the one requirement that is pretty rigid -- I
don't mean to hold our other accountable, is that that be with civil society at the
table. We have struggled to make that real in some countries were struggled to make even
a single site is at one table at one time for it to be generally consulted process is
a work in progress with some of our country partners. But that said, collectively the
57 countries who are part of OGP international action plans have made over 300 commitments
that could begin to impact over 2 billion people. That is the number of people covered
by the countries involved. Just a few examples of where we have already seen very concrete
steps taken. Brazil now has a powerful freedom information blog that have been stalled for
many, many years and then got through. Thanks to the president's leadership. Definitely
not strong by the framework. The Philippines and Indonesia has shared their experiences
on check my school so citizens can know whether money is reaching schools or whether children
are actually learning. The plants contain strong commitments to implement reforms focused
on enhanced transparency, the fight against corruption, and the strengthening of communication
between governments and citizens. If you look at them, they are all on open government website.
There is some really impressive commitments and pledges that have been laid down. But
we have to ensure that they are not just plans. But they are put in motion in a hurry.
>>> Over the past year, OGP has established clear processes through which government and
civil society can work together as partners. A OGP now has a technical support unit and
is just bringing on new people. It will be based in the United States but should be operating
in partnering with countries all around the world. USAID supports that and works in this
unit with local and international civil society to help governments fulfill these commitments
and USAID and other development partners are doing the same out of the field. That is a
critical piece of the interface. We have, obviously, offices and experts in places that
a small support unit never will. So things are moving. But I think it's important, if
I could, just before I close out, to issue a little bit of a warning on all of this.
Here I would quote the words of a recent OGP gathering. He never lets us get too fat or
happy. You would hear why. He says, changing long-established cultures and practices anywhere
is hard. Changing the culture of government is even harder. Long ago, my father gave me
some stern advice. Sun, he told me, you need to avoid three things in life. Fire, stormy
seas, and the government. Many people across the world would agree with that advice, because
they're kinder experience of government is not a positive one. In Kenya, for instance,
we have these great commitments, the open beta portal makes an impressive level of data
public for the first time, but few are using it. These are his examples. In Tanzania, the
project to enable citizens to report broken water points to their mobile phones, a project
that will be featured in the OG P1 shown you are about to see, has largely failed because
people simply didn't believe that reporting data would make a difference. How do you activate
the citizens and give them that faith? The true metric of this partnership and, ultimately,
the measure of making voices count is not how many countries sign on to the open government,
the ideals of open government, but how many citizens experience concrete improvements
in their lives. That's why the new independent review mechanism, which is now being comprised,
will be so important and critical to the success of OGP. One of the key premises of making
all places, is this remarkable new initiative is that feedback from citizens on government
performance is the most wrecked way to encourage greater governmental reform. The premise of
this new initiative ulster citizens as well as to capital the core issue of helping governments
listen and respond to that feedback and trust in government. So it isn't listed with the
stormy seas and fire. We have high hopes, and we look forward to working with his team
of remarkable partners. Thank you. [ applause ]
>> So we are going to watch a video now, which is about the open government partnership,
which I'd like you to think of as the foundation for this entire movement and four, in fact,
this program today. >> [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ music ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC
] >> Please welcome to the stage, the British
ambassador. [ applause ] >> Thank you very much for the welcome. It's
a great treat to be here with so many distinguished development will experts. Just a few days
ago, I was with Raj while he was at a different sort of alliance, which was between government
CEOs and NGO in order to try to do more about deforestation. Here we are a few days later
doing something about open government. I'm very pleased to be part of the process. Who
would've thought that back in the days when a tweet was something that birds dead and
a cloud was something that was up in the sky, and Apple is something you sent to the university
admissions office hoping you might get an education, and Google was a misprint for the
word that means 10 to the power of 100, which it was. by mistake, that's how it came to
be part of our vocabulary. In those days, mobile phones would very soon become a means
of improving the daily lives of people in the poorest countries in the world. The Spring
would be something that is generated by social media with new ways of communicating with
citizens making a difference to the daily lives and holding government accountable.
The farmers today could find that they could crop prices on their mobile telephones in
India, and that Pakistani could hold her or option by reporting misdeeds by mobile telephones.
All this extraordinary transformation of technology of the lives of ordinary people is the background
against which my government and our partners come together as part of this exercise. We
are delighted to be part of making all voices count, because there are so many more ways
know in which voices can count with our friends from the United States, from Sweden, from
our network. It is against the background of two or three really big policy initiatives
that we are taking part in this. First of all, as Samantha was just a moment ago, British
government is front and center as part of the open government partnership. We are just
a governments. A year ago I think when open government partnership was founded, 47 more
have joined us since then. It has made I think an extraordinary difference to the whole business
of open government. Less crushing, more information, citizen participation, and improving the quality
of governance around the world. That's a big priority for my government as it is for the
United States government. It links separately to the role which we now have as cochair of
the high-level group, which is designed to take forward the millennium development goals,
which are going to expire in a couple years time. David Cameron is there with the own
Indonesian government looking for ways of taking that forward. It is part of open government,
but it is also an exercise in his view of trying to ensure that international development
policy from here on and not only will the providing relief where there is poverty and
need, but also by focusing on the fundamental reasons for poverty, getting down to the root
causes of what's going wrong in so many countries.
>>> In the context of open government of the millennium development goals follow-up and
of our own presidency, which we assume from the United States at the end of the year,
the British government is really very proud to be part of this exercise. Allow me to say
also that it is against the background of the government in which a pretty tricky economic
environment three consecutive quarters of negative growth until we got a little better
news in the last quarter, has stuck steadfastly to the commitment to spending .7 percent of
national income. It is against this background of wanting to make a difference -- [ applause
] -- thank you for that. I will pass it on to David Cameron. He doesn't get much thanks
these days. [ laughter ] Is partly because we are convinced is the right thing to do,
but it's also because we think that it is by assisting governments of countries which
need that support that we have got our own self-interest in mind and that we can develop
more markets, more prosperity, and find more of that economic recovery which we all need.
David Cameron recently put out his thoughts on many of these issues in the Wall Street
Journal. Allow me to quote a few words and I will pass it on to explain the British government.
In the journal what David Cameron will was the way out of poverty is to help people stand
on their own 2 feet, incentivize and reward hard work, and make aspiration engine of growth.
In other words, support where we need it but let's help people stand on their own 2 feet.
That is the biggest single objective we are trained to do alongside public eradication
with our own commitment to a very strong international development contribution.
>>> Now, we have a new secretary. She hasn't been in a position very long, but just in
a moment she will be coming on. She's a member of Parliament since 2005 but she took over
as international development secretary at Department for international development just
a few weeks ago. She is Ari made her mark and summarized perhaps our approach to the
job when she remarked just recently in a speech the challenge to our generation is to use
the technologies of the 21st century, mobile apps, although since I was talking about,
to transform people's lives. That's what we are going to try to do. That's what the technology
will now explain to you better than I can buy the British government is so proud to
be part of making all voices count. Thank you very much for your attention. [ applause
] >> Good morning. I'm sorry I can't be with
you today, but thanks for this opportunity to say a few words. I'm really pleased that
my department is joining with USAID on the network and Sweden to set up this particular
branch on for developers which will help prove science and technology can be used to find
solutions to some of the big challenges facing us in development. Right now I think is a
really important moment when we can grasp yet the opportunities of mobile and Internet
technologies to change the ways that governments interact. To generate economic opportunities
and to transform service delivery. Since taking charge of my department, I've been clear that
technology and innovation will be a constant theme in my work and that I expect to see
the department making the most of the latest advances in technology and research. Making
all voices, integrated sample of the kind of programs that I hope we will support in
the future. Including funding initiatives that use information and communication technology
for development for years, some of those were successful and made a difference, some failed
despite large financial investments because they were all about the technology and not
about people using it. Making all voices, will look first at the problem that needs
to be salt and then invite new ideas and applications that have the potential to address that problem.
It will start with the people with individuals, with community organizations, with local governments
and support them to find ways to harness mobile and Internet technologies to solve the problems.
We are going to focus on a small number of emerging democracies so that we can maximize
opportunities for change. Also, it will be investing significantly in robust monitoring
of every initiative that it funds, whether a small grant for innovation or a larger program
to take early success to scale. So I think this is a really exciting time to be working
to find new ways to help people use mobile and web technologies to change their lives
into open up their societies and their governments. I look forward to working with you on this
grand challenge for development. [ applause ]
>> I'd like to invite our first panelist up onto the stage, if I could. While they are
getting themselves here, I will do a short introduction of them. We are going to be joined
by Charlotte Petri grenades go, director general of Swedish international development agency.
We will also be joined by Susan Glasser, editor in chief of foreign policy, and also joined
by my friend and longtime activist in this arena, Jeannie Hunt, innovation at Google.
They will talk a little bit about the current state of the world related to open government
accountability and transparency. Of course, citizen engagement. I'm going to have Susan
if you could give us our quick view to start us off.
>> Thank you so much. Thank you to all of you. It's a little bit of a risky move to
go to the journalist first. [ laughter ] But one thing I have learned from listening to
the speakers so far and to seeing these videos is that we are definitely filled with a group
of people who are on the optimism side of what technology can do to power change in
the world. In many ways, I was struck by in the video introducing the open government
initiative. Not fully straight-line but almost straight line that we had between technology
and faith in government. You know, I want to get the thoughts of the other panelists
this morning on the question of whether there is really that much of a direct connection
that you are seeing in your work between these incredible new tools and whether you see a
direct link between that. That being said, as a journalist, I am also struck by the fact
that in many ways these new tools are empowering not only citizens but government is finally
getting the message that investigative reporters have known all along, which is that openness
and transparency are the tools that can turn you to change the world. Whether they can
directly change the world in such a straight line or not, I'm not quite sure. I think it
would look today at some of the issues that we read about all the time, whether it is
the year after where it is not entirely clear, that you might have a viral video that millions
of people see around the world that inspires them to think about what they could do to
catch Joseph Cooney. But in the end you still have to catch him. by the way, we still haven't
done that. And so I would interject a note of caution as someone who has been out there
preaching the virtues of openness and transparency. These are better tools than we have ever have.
Everybody needs to change what they do in many ways. The fact that government is putting
data sets online and thinking in a radically different way for government, that's a big
foreign policy story in a way that you certainly wouldn't have said, what does technology have
to do with foreign policy? That's not the case now. It's a big part of what we write
about. But we are not at the end of the story. We are at the beginning of the story. Select
talk about through arrested, just through seas and through started. Through should know
but exciting about this challenge and about the political will and leadership we have
seen behind transparency and openness is it really comes down to collaboration. Not just
at a national level but a local level and scale. It's exciting about the influence that
we've seen. In many ways technology is catching up and enabling what we are seeing with the
growth and political will. To identify and solve problems. Onto the community level.
I think to your point, it is to be told who to follow the same trajectory. What's exciting
to see is that capacity is enabled with the politically we've seen around the world. Do
you agree? >> Well, I think we should be on the positive
side. The challenge is not a new one, but the way that we are tackling it together and
representing Sweden, which I must say I'm very proud to be part of this, we must realize
that the effort to maybe that technology gives is fantastic. Just one example is will find
ways to reach out to people that we have had so many excuses not to reach out to. To disable
people, who actually communicate better with the new tools. So the new tools will enable
-- will enable change, but I think that if we underestimate, especially government already
up and running, if we underestimate the work that it will mean for governments in managing
expectations, changing ways of working, and believe that the new technology is the solution
itself, then we are in the risky part. So I think this will actually lead to a lot of
work to be done on top of the new possibilities that the technology has delivered.
>> And I'm struck by how much our embrace of new technologies and our creativity collectively
that has led us to these new tools. We have out stated in many ways the regime for thinking
about internationally about how to regulate. What are the rules of the Road? There is a
controversial meeting this week in the Middle East to talk about Internet government of
the future. Free speech is Google and other corporations who are leading us to think about,
what do you do is you operate? I think I'm curious as a government person looking at
it from the perspective of Sweden, do you have the right setup, the right international
government to be able to take these tools into different countries all over the world
that don't have the same standards for free speech, or what about these corruption fighting
tools that you put in the hands of people? >> Well, I think it is the early stages. As
to give you one example of what the Swedish development agency that I run, what we do
now is the actually have a call for the postal for new ideas for freedom of expression. We
have had a lot of applications, so there's a great interest out there. But still the
focus is in groups working for freedom of expression. It is still being -- we still
need more dialogue with governments and really preparation and political will. I think it
is too early to say that this is an easy task to tackle just wanted by many yet. That is
also what I think we need to distinguish between emerging governments to build a possibility
to listen to people but also thinking about the challenge around the Spring, which is
different. We mustn't believe that this is one solution fits all. It's really, really
a broad topic that has to be contextualize. >> And where do companies like Google, do
you think, come down in this? You have to operate in many different companies, but you
have to come at it from the U.S. per company. What is your role in helping to navigate and
to create this speech environment for this new global architecture?
>> Well, on behalf of our users in particular, I think we definitely believe that it's hard
to make all voices count if those voices can be heard. As a starting point. And I also
just came in from niobate -- from Nairobi around the conversation. I think you are point
of local governments and around the world. The strong message they brought back was,
we know how to organize our communities. We've been working on how to make voices heard and
make voices count in many different ways and many different contexts. I think what is interesting
about technology is it enables communities to define how they can be constructed and
it enables a platform for that to take place transparently.
>> When you have -- when you run up against the opposition, what do you think is going
to be the response of this new kind of coalition? This is something very different. Have you
talked much about that? >> Well, I think that is really the strength
of this collaboration. That we are the ones that we are and really can discuss together
and we have a voice together in tackling this issue, which is a very strong voice. Also,
the multistakeholder. We use this word so often, but really to have the private sector
as well and also that this is about new ideas from everywhere. I think together if we wouldn't
tackle the opposition were the problems that we face in this collaboration, we wouldn't
do what is expected out of a challenge like this. It is a grand challenge, so we have
to do that. But we are very much looking forward to it. We work much better together than separately.
Probably this will be an opportunity to feed into the OGP program as well. So looking forward
to it very much. >> I agree. And to reference a comment used
earlier, the question of the office of Citizen is I think something that we across all sectors
support. I think the question becomes, how do we empower that office through this challenge
in moving forward? >> Just one final question. I know we have
a busy program today. What happens when you run up against societies with the office of
Citizen which has not signed up for this program? Do you have the sense of where this coalition
and this group, how far you can pursue this agenda?
>> I don't have the one and only answer to that. I think, obviously, that there will
be a lot of showing by example. There will be a lot of pressure, both opportunities and
a lot of pressure and especially around this OGP in connection with this challenge. I would
be disappointed if the governments included in this challenge wouldn't tackle that together.
But how to I don't have the answer for you today.
>> With another question. This one comes from Twitter, which goes right to the heart of
what you were talking about. Will citizens use mobile tools for engagement if they don't
feel safe to speak out? The question that actually builds on that, how do we ensure
that citizen reporting can be anonymous? >> Well, I think that's a great question.
I don't know what the plan for this initiative is, but thinking of the country who brought
us all here today, estimate that said, she and I know best, which is Russia. This is
a country where these tools are not seen as an effort to improve the workings of government
but as a direct threat to the established order. The very first video says the government
has to want to help you. Maybe they don't want to. There is just a three-day traffic
-- traffic jam. When desperate motorists trapped in their cars finally reached the government
agency responsible, but they are told as we know all about it, there's nothing we can
do for you. >> That's where we are. Senior is supporting
projects which are actually helping to make it possible to be -- even when you are pressed
find paths through the system. We are promoting activists knowing that the political will
is not in place. At the same time, what is important is to support local community groups
that can actually support the activists and build protection around activists that are
really using not only new technologies but actually being citizens. So there are ways
but we have to work with systems around. If we really believe in this, we cannot just
work with countries that are willing to. We also need to demonstrate what is needed and
what's happening in countries that are not willing to. -- to be credible.
>> I would agree with that. I think a big part of the challenge we collectively face
is making sure that as we bring potentially very empowering tools and information to citizens
that we protect them in this process and that we educate them and also make sure that when
they do participate in monitoring and accountability and reporting that in doing so they remain
safe and protected. >> So one more. It also goes to the heart
of everyone what we are thinking about. It's quite clear. Can you make connection more
clear how what we are thinking about. It's quite clear. Can you make connection more
clear how what we are thinking about. It's quite clear. Can you make connection more
clear how so how are we going to measure ourselves, basically?
>> I think it's a very good question. There's a lot of hope in this program now in finding
the measurements, but just to give you one example from my country is that I think probably
a bit advanced in this. There is still work to be done on demonstrating to citizens how
point of the user being used. And I think this is really what has to be measured is
a clear process to start with. This is the information you need to respond and this is
the way we are going to use the response. That has to be measured. I don't know enough
examples to tell you that it is up and running and it's working and there is good practice,
but maybe you have more. >> And I think we would be believed that there
is a single sort of shining solution. I think what we all know is that basic building blocks
of transparency enable accountability in a way that was never before possible. So making
budgets available online via SMS and mobile by default enables people to see an track
how resources are being spent, being able to report if teachers show up in classrooms
by default enables the notion of transparency and accountability that we will be able to
track over time. So I think it can only move in a positive direction. I think part of the
challenge we collectively have is helping identify key metrics that we can share across
communities. >> I think it's a great conversation. The
only point I would add is just one thing that journalists have always known is that accountability
and faith in government are not the same thing. One might be a prerequisite for the other.
While accountability may increase as a result of this increased transparency, that does
not necessarily mean that faith in government will necessarily follow. That's why I think
you have a good example here in the United States where you have seen the Obama administration
has certainly taken steps as have local and state governments over the last few years
to increase transparency when it comes to certain measures. Ultimately, there needs
to be views about what needs to be done about it. Journalists all know the feeling of breaking
some important story that really showcases something that's been going on behind the
scenes in government in a way that you think that's going to bring result, that's going
to change things. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.
>> Just to sort of walk the talk, anybody who is online, anybody who is here wants to
talk about ideas about how we can do a better job measuring how to make government more
responsive to their citizens, please send it in. We will take it into account. With
that, I'd like to thank our first panel. Please thank him for joining us. [ applause ] now,
when we came into the room, you may have heard what is commonly known for those of us who
have spent some time on the stage, the voice of God inviting us to sit down. For those
of us who are active in the Internet and technology arena, the voice of God is about to appear.
Please welcome a short video message from Vince Cerf.
>> Hello, my name is Vince Cerf. I'm googles chief Internet evangelist. Today I like to
speak to you about making our voices count. I can imagine anything more important in a
world where the Internet is beginning to spread to all corners of the globe. But more pertinent,
it is not yet accessible to everyone. We think that there are about 3 billion people who
are online, including many who use mobile's as their sole means of access to the Internet.
That still means that we have billions more to bring to the table. What is very important
I think is to make sure that this technology is, in fact, accessible and affordable all
around the world. The good fortune, physics is in our favor. I think the cost of equipment,
cost of communications is dropping. We can increasingly cover larger and larger economic
territories with access to the Internet. But there must be a well in each country to foster,
to create frameworks and to foster the investment to create this infrastructure and make it
accessible to everyone. At the Internet society, we have an expression. Internet is for everyone.
Of course, we want it to be but we have work to do to make that, true. I think another
important notion is that this is a two-way communications Channel. Governments can be
very helpful to their citizens by providing information to them to allow them to act effectively
as citizens and to know what things they can do, what things they can expect from the government,
what the government six -- with the government expects from them. In the same token, governments
need to make it possible for individuals to communicate back the other way. I know when
Internet became popular in political circles, many of the senators and congressmen in the
United States saw it as an opportunity to push information out to their constituents,
and they were surprised, many of them, that this was a two-way street. They were getting
a great deal of information back from their constituents in many different forms. Sometimes
e-mail, sometimes blogs, and other sorts of means of expression. I think, perhaps, the
most in Porton thing that we must all concentrate on is to assure that those voices that would
ordinarily not be heard not only are amplified but are able to reach the persons who should
hear those expressions. The stories that we tell each other in the blogs, but YouTube
videos that people put up are in some sense I'm -- in some sense fundamental talking to
each other and making each other over of what's going on in the world. In places where the
Internet is suppressed, we need to work around that to make it accessible and titles were
magicians. And I think in places where the Internet is widely available, we need to explore
ways to improve this remarkable infrastructure for everyone. I know you have many important
things to discuss, and I wish very much that I could be there with you, but since I cannot,
I hope someone is taking good notes so that the rest of us are able to share in the things
that you discovered and the things that you recognize are actionable for the rest of us.
So thanks again for letting me chat for a few minutes. I look forward to seeing you
on the net. [ applause ] >> Few people are strong advocates for development.
She witnessed firsthand the power of citizens voices to advocate on behalf of people to
ensure that they are heard. We are thrilled to have such a powerful voice with us today.
Please welcome to the stage, former U.S. Secretary of State and current chair of the Albright
Stone group, Madeleine K Albright. [ applause ]
>> Thank you very much. Greetings to everybody. I'm very pleased to be here to join with you
in launching the grand challenge for development. I want to congratulate the network and the
development agencies of Sweden and the United Kingdom and the United States for coming together
in really what is a very, very exciting four-way partnership. It's great to be with you here.
I am very, very happy to be part of this. Without question, making all voices count
is a concept whose time has come. Recent events in Burma and the Middle East and North Africa
remind us how powerful the desire for freedom is and how quickly the world can change. Technology
has opened the door to further democratic gains by enhancing the capacity of people
to organize and to do so as we have seen with lightning speed and from the bottom up. Our
collective task is to support that capability and to encourage people to express themselves
in ways that contribute to social progress. At the same time, I believe that we have to
press governments across the globe to be more open, transparent, and accessible. Dictators
and demagogues learned long ago that having a monopoly on information is the best way
to seize and maintain power. The making all voices count initiative is based on our understanding
that it is more difficult now than it has ever been to control the flow of knowledge,
and that is all to the good. Democracy thrives on diversity and becomes stronger through
vigorous debate. It is very identity -- it's very identity is based on the free expression
of popular will. That's one reason why the new information and social networking technologies
have such potential. It's been very interesting to listen to all of the ideas that are out
there. We can see that they can be used in a host of ways to educate, inform, create
links among groups and help people everywhere to be heard.
>>> They also have the ability, if employed wisely, to level the economic playing field
for women and to shine a spotlight on such violations of public trust as corruption,
incompetence, and the abuse of human rights. To its credit, the grand challenge for development
focuses on both sides of the communication equation. First, aiding the public in articulating
its concerns and then helping governments to respond. This matters, because in a democracy,
the people and their representatives should act as partners. The principle that even in
our own nation we sometimes forget.
>>> In the best case, there will be a balance between what the public demands and what institutions
can deliver. This requires realistic expectations on one side, affective governance on the other,
and first rate communication between the two. As chair of the national Democratic Institute,
and I'm very happy to be here with President Ken Wallach, I've been involved in many products
to achieve such a balance. Including one currently underway with friends from the network and
others. This initiative seeks to engage techno-savvy civil society groups in helping Parliament's
harness technology to better respond to citizen demand. This effort has led to the development
of a declaration on parliamentary openness endorsed by over 100 organizations from over
70 countries. The declaration serves as a roadmap for a representative institutions
eking to become more open and transparent and encourages partnership between civic groups
and parliaments. I have long believed in the importance of such partnerships. When I was
Secretary of State, I helped to launch a movement called the community of democracies. Based
on the idea that democratic governments and cooperation with civil society should help
them learn from one another. The making all voices count initiative reflects that same
approach.
>>> Democratic solidarity is vital, because the transition from an authoritative would
seem -- bridging is so very difficult. As they can see today in the Middle East, the
euphoria that accompanied a popular resolution can be hard to sustain. Empowered citizens
are essential to democracy, but they are not sufficient. Representative institutions must
be equipped to govern and governments are often required to do unpopular things to take
on powerful institutions, raise revenue, set priorities, and embrace compromise. To avoid
misunderstanding, tough decisions must be justified and explained. Here again, modern
communications can help to accomplish that. But as we go forward, we must also bear in
mind that technology for all its promise has no inherent moral value. In the middle of
the last century, Hitler's propaganda is used radio to bring millions of people under the
spell of a single monstrous ideology. In that same era, my father was heard -- was head
of wartime broadcasting for the Czechoslovakian government from London. Each night for five
years, the airwaves became a battleground between vicious lies and endangered truth.
In the 1940s when the communists seized control in Central Europe, they began by taking over
newspapers and radio stations. Decades later the distribution of Czechoslovakia charter
77 in the Polish Solidarity's underground press helped to destroy the Berlin wall and
liberate half the continent. In the 1990s, hate radio did much to ignite genocide in
Rwanda, something Samantha has written about. But the Internet proved vital in reuniting
refugee families who had fled violence in close about. More recently, Al Qaeda and its
allies have relied on the new technologies to organize and publicize their crimes. Meanwhile,
demonstrators have used online connections to build momentum for democracy.
>>> The latest inventions are amazing, because they help people to accomplish what they choose.
But our future depends on what people choose to do. That is why it matters so much that
we make the most of technology's potential to encourage critical thinking, expand knowledge,
defend human rights, and strengthen democracy. It's also why we need to support collaboration
such as this to ensure that every voice is heard and that all voices count. In that regard,
I want to reiterate my thanks to the network and to our three participating governments
and to everybody here. Anything worth doing is done in faith. So let's go forward with
the faith that freedom of thought when combined with a genius to innovate and a healthy dose
of conscience can lead us to a world more just and humane in the future than it has
ever been in the past. Thank you all very, very much for all of your work. [ applause
] >> I'd like to invite our next panelist onto
the stage. We will are a little bit behind on time, but we will do our best to try to
include some Twitter questions at the end. This panel is really a discussion with partner
technologists. Please welcome Stephen King, the partner from the network. The cofounder
of the co-creation hauled, and [ indiscernible ], executive director of enough is enough
from Nigeria. Steven? >> Thank you, Andrea. -- thank you Andrew.
I would echo the thanks I have been given to the other partners and to the people present.
Certainly, on behalf of our network, we are very privileged to be part of this I think
you need collaboration. We are talking a little bit today with partners supported plus others
about some of the real potential for technology to drive open government and to drive participation.
Also, to overcome some of those challenges we've talked about this morning. This is a
really important part of what we do. The founder of eBay set up a network to tackle some of
the world's most intractable problems. Not surprisingly, given our heritage and background,
we believe technology has a really important role to play in driving citizen engagement
with government and also opening up government as well. I think it has been set up a poll
times this morning that technology is a tool, not the silver bullets. I think we need to
remember that as we think about the potential and also the exciting challenges that lay
ahead with the making all voices count initiative. So I wanted to start off perhaps and ask from
the perspective of enough is enough, which is a citizen movement in Nigeria, the ways
in which technology has helped to drive that movement, particularly around the presidential
elections. Share with us some of your thoughts and the good and bad sides of this.
>> I think the situation within the context of government that is threatened by technology.
I think what technology is social media in Nigeria has gotten hugely popular over the
last few years. It's uncensored and it's free. So you have a lot of Young's that take to
social media to express their angst, and ideas and solutions. We actually created a tracking
Center which is the first of its kind in the world as we know. So from Facebook post to
tweak and blog. When there was postelection violence in the north, the media picked it
up as well. So I think mostly developing a tool that allows you resort. So that in terms
of encouraging to use a medium familiar to them to get engaging in the process and report
what they see and engage both the citizen reporters and also people who I participated.
I think it's also change the dynamics of how people see the tool of technology and governance.
>> Do you think it is as widespread as people think? To some extent five years ago we would
have had this conversation. It would have been this is for the geeks in the developed
world. Seeing it from afar, there is that sort of idea that it is not used in villages.
It's not used outside of the urban elite. Is that the case?
>> I think there is some truth to that. If you look at the reports with God, I've actually
followed Nigeria's broadband. We got the most resorts -- -- for the fact that they forget
the percentages, they access it from the mobile phones also showing the growth. There's a
commitment on part of the government to deepen penetration of broadband penetration. People
will use the Internet more. Yes, that is the case. Five years ago we had this conversation,
now we are having a bit more. In another five years, there would be a wider audience.
>> You are one of the founders of the co-creation. Now I think there is more than 70 of these
across Africa. The number grows every week as we see these emerge. This is obviously
an opportunity for those technologies to get together. Are they particularly focusing on
social innovations do you find? >> I think we have a strong forecast. But
interesting that two all we do, which is likely different from the elections, we have always
been in a situation where citizens engage in governance only to interact. The question
we started asking was, how can we use technology to then engage people? There is, of course,
the corruption and the widespread helplessness how people feel that things are not going
the way they should go. We believe we are going to drive good governance commission
just elected governments. Citizens should also look for ways to take actions to create
solutions. They can actually help bridge the gap between government and citizens. I think
we have done quite a bit of this. We can already see that technology is actually amplifying
the voices of people. It's bringing to the floor and trusting conversations. But along
the line as well, we have also noticed that deeper issues that are sort of coming up as
barriers to making our voices count. Some of the things we see is that there is a culture
within our society, which traditionally wouldn't expect raising your voice. The popular culture
as well would tell you that if you are part of that you eat, you may handle into your
sign. So you don't want to talk too much. We have an education system that simply teaches
you not to question your teachers. If a lot of people are raised through this sort of
system, how do you expect them to be able to ask questions? Most important, we are very
religious as well. For those who practice Islam or even -- the way we practice in our
society, a lot of this will be told not to question but to actually pray for them and
ask for God to lead them. These are some of the challenges we've seen. We are being sort
of propelled and encouraged to actually look for more so civic actors within the society
who understand some of these deep issues and can come up with solutions to some of the
problems. Part of the challenge with that is going to be a lot of experimentation in
the Mets. What you get is a lot of the things people do drive in by a strong sense of belief
that change is possible and not fact. So you find people doing things that all of a sudden
we are not successful with. Your attitudes are up supporting experimentation. I think
this trust as well. To believe that you can actually invest in people to try something
out. Some of the things they try and actually become successful. I think we are seeing that
in transparency. We have the sort of people that look into public box implementation to
see they are actually being incremented. We have a new platform by pulling people's opinions
on certain social economic and political issues, and then pulling back on engaging them in
discussions. >> One of the things that I think we've noticed
through many of the grants and investments that we've done is there's a lot of activity
at a city -- at a city and state level. Often that is where people feel that they have the
problems of government or lack of service delivery are more real for them. It's about
their area, about their school, it's their hospital. Both of you live in a great city.
What do you think is the opportunity to use these kind of funds that make your voices
count will provide to sponsor that kind of innovation or risk-taking that you are talking
about but at a city level? How do you think that would work?
>> I think that part of government is also the most delicate. In Nigeria, of course.
The guys at the top use lower-level. Things are not done properly. It's actually the most
difficult place to seek transparency. Part of what we are trying to do at that level
is the entr&#é;es can see. How can we talk to the expertise to help those guys at that
level to deliver for this society? The general discipline as they are there, not necessarily
to be divine. So it comes back to the issue of good governments. People begin to see their
role in doing a better society as against a portion because we are a state that we push
too hard the governments push back and they will find a way to suppress. How can we walk
with them? There is this general belief that they are very aware of what they should be
doing. The truth is, it's not always the case in most of our societies. A lot of them lack
the understanding. How can we get good people from within society to walk with these guys?
>> One of the things we've mentioned, again this morning and in a number of different
panels, was the opportunity for making voices count has to spark those collaborations between
reform and champions in government and those within civil society. What do you think about
that? Do you think that something worth question my.
>> Definitely. I think it's probably the only way for sustained change. We talked about
earlier, there is technology both for citizens to report but also for government to manage
results that it they get. One of the things that has been interesting is that you've got
a rational government official came on Twitter to engage. I think that they forgot is that
unlike traditional media, Twitter is a two-way street. So you push information and people
push back. If you say something, they will tell you you are. I think that for a lot of
them was a big shock. One of the ministers actually planted and couldn't continue because
he just cannot handle not only the level of suggestions he was getting but what he had
poor level of the people attacking him and asking really a pointed questions. I think
when you find partners in government who want to help, who want to take in the results.
At the end of the day, if you do fix my street, for example, and to report that there is a
pot hole somewhere, if there's nobody on the other end willing to take that example and
do something about it, then it just becomes dead data. I think that is extremely important,
and I am pushing government to deliver services that are willing to work with them to make
sure that what you're asking for actually gets done. And I think just to think about
it earlier, if you take the from one of the social enterprise. In other words, the budget
is used for graphics to make the budget easier for people to understand. For example, one
of the big things was that when we found out a billion dollars would be of the food budget.
That became the butt of jokes. But there are a lot of people to think about the budget
in ways that we'd never thought about before. Now you have a tool that makes it easy for
you to understand the numbers. How do you know use that information to demand better
accountability or better use of the funds that we have?
>> So we have time for a couple of quick questions from Twitter. One is really interesting, because
we've been talking a little bit about how citizens connect to governments and governments
might be able to respond back. This question is, how do we ensure that open marginalized
voices on the ground help shape the global development agenda. How do we do them -- how
we get them to do more? It's a very good question. But the UK is helping to sort of court shared
-- to cochair. One of the interesting developments is that there is not an attempt to crowd source
and see people's input into the next stage of the money and development goals. Again,
reflecting that 15 years ago when these original goals were being thought of, there wasn't
that attempt and it wasn't that technology that allowed us. Now, I think the fact that
there is now those technology channels really gives us I think a responsibility to be going
out and asking people, what are your priorities? What should shape these goals or other government
projects in the future? >> The next question actually, you listed
a couple of tools. I'm just curious, what are your favorite tools for citizens to use
to hold governments accountable? >> I think I'm pretty well sold on the whole
thought of driving. Because I think the government is followed to society. -- is about to society.
The best tool for me to choose a strong and encourage citizens to also learn more about
global issues around government as a whole and how individuals can begin to contribute
to making things better. Budget is a good example. Budget is not necessarily trying
to breed thousands of people to take district. But trying to build a knowledge of evolution
and the stance that we understand from budget perspective what's available to your government.
You are pushing for an intelligence point of view. It's all about educating our people
and getting our strongest times. >> The last one is interesting. How can start
up companies share their capabilities with actors who can leverage them? How do emerging
technologies plug into this initiative and make themselves available to a much wider
out against and a much wider goal. >> If we are talking about using technology
to drive transparency, what are the unique features of successful technology businesses,
which for me is transparency. This time the -- there's tons of investment in trying to
come up with knowledge and solutions that are superior. That's what sets them aside.
If we take the example of Google, for instance. Google is a good organization that came out
of that some people thought there was a need to distract. They cannot with that. They have
the potential to support to do that. I think that's what we need to encourage in Africa
as well. If we are going to use technology to make things happen, we need to allow people
to fail. In the midst of failing, you actually see some people falling forward. That's the
solution. The. >> I think some of the technology is part
of the answer to this. They provide a space for technologists for society organizations,
for innovators and risk takers. They can congregate. There is that meeting that happens. There
is the mentoring and the funding that you and others provide. It can marry those two
worlds. Also, those who are trying to do social good. I think that's the real opportunity
and real promise of these kinds of initiatives. >> Please join me in thanking our panelists
for joining us this morning. I would like for USAID, I'd like to knowledge that you
heard about some of the partners in this project, but there are many others that people didn't
get a chance to mention. We should really think everybody involved in this effort, and
you should keep an eye on the space because it's going to continue to grow, bring more
partners, and we encourage you to join us. Thank you to all of those who put this event
on today, and think you for coming. Outside we have some examples for you to continue
to see and also. Thank you again. >> 'S --
>> [ event concluded ]