CSO to launch portal to allow citizens engage with government officials

Raising New Voices (RNV), a non-profit organisation, says it will launch a portal to allow citizens to engage with government officials.

According to a statement issued by Victor Terhemba, RVN’s acting executive director, the portal will display the contacts of elected and appointed officials to allow citizens to engage with them on issues relating to governance.

Terhemba said the civic engagement tool named ‘Gov Engage’, will be launched ahead of the 2023 general election.

“The tech tool, which leverages technology to enhance the capacity of citizens to engage with elected leaders, is coming on the heels of the 2023 elections,” the statement reads.

“The tool is a web-based portal that allows citizens to engage directly with elected and appointed leaders on advocacy issues that they are concerned about. The launch of the portal is scheduled to happen in the coming weeks.

“The web-based application is an improvement of the earlier developed portal, ‘Call Your Reps’, which was developed specifically for the electoral reform campaign in 2021.

“Due to its overwhelming success and impact which saw over 5,000 Nigerians use the portal in the first two weeks, the organisation saw the need to further improve on the initiative to allow for greater participation of citizens on issues that they are really concerned about.

“Unlike the predecessor portal, other organisations can also now host their advocacy campaigns on the portal. The launch will feature a demo of the technology with selected civil society organisations to create a campaign and test the application.

“Once the portal is officially unveiled and launched, organisations and individuals can log on to the portal to create campaigns or participate in campaigns. Each campaign created by an organisation undergoes a review to ensure it meets the required standards before it is approved. This is also to prevent the abuse of the use of the portal.

“Since 2018, RNV has promoted the participation and inclusion of young people through various programs and leveraged technology to increase civic engagement.“

Jude Feranmi, convener of RVN, said the portal will have a “seamless” user interface.

“This civic-tech tool provides the opportunity for organisations who are advocating for any issue to create an account and host their advocacy campaign on the portal. The portal comes with a seamless user journey experience,” he said.