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News from the Field: Citizens' participation through technology in remote regions of Peru

Technology plays a key part in facilitating citizens’ participation in countries with dispersed populations, distant from the centre of decision-making. In Peru, UNDEF supports the pilot project “Innovative System for Citizens’ Participation with Congressmen and Congresswomen”. Implemented by the Hanns Seidel Foundation, the pilot works to help a Congresswoman and a Congressman in the regions of Arequipa and Piura respectively, from different political parties, better represent their constituencies through the use of technology. The aim is for citizens to have access to their congress representative from any telephone or Internet café, in Spanish or in Quecha. All staff of the Congress representatives are offered personalized training in the use of the system, backed up by 24-hour technical support from the Foundation’s technology partner, Voxiva. A database is kept of all questions, enabling the Congress representative to prepare timely and comprehensive responses, while fostering transparency and accountability. Special consideration is given to the needs of women and minorities.

In October 2008, the Hanns Seidel Foundation’s Dr. Peter Witterauf and Dr. Dietmar Ehm visited the project and interviewed the Congress representatives, who described the communication channel as “effective and pertinent”. The Foundation notes that the system is highly recommended for countries with similar situations -- where many citizens are excluded from political process, are dispersed and are far away from decision-making centers.

 

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