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Here's why: the internet offers virtual spaces where citizens, in absolute equality, can reclaim an active role in the political process. In essence, these virtual rooms today have the same function as the public squares in ancient times, where citizens gathered to exchange ideas and jointly agree to common solutions. So ironically, it is only through sophisticated information and communication technology that we will succesfully revive the fundamental principles of democracy and citizenship, and confront the global issues of our time.

Our Policy and Citizen Engagement Unit works to enhance the legislative process and its outcomes by promoting representative, transparent and accountable governance. By improving the interface between citizens and decision-makers we aim at increasing civil society's input in policy-making. Because Democracy is not only about votes, it's also about deliberation.

We build open source software. We help agencies open up their data. We report on urban issues. We offer technical assistance to public agencies, and we build communities around our initiatives in order to seed an open and evolving ecosystem of technology tools that further the public interest.