Technology Brings Open Government Access
- on 09.25.06
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COSLA, a watchdog group for Waukegan School District 60, is using technology to bring truly open access to the people of Waukegan. They are videotaping the school board meetings and placing them on YouTube for all to see.
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Now, with a camcorder, free editing software and an Internet connection, a local citizens group has given the board a potential audience of billions. Videos of board meetings share a corner of cyberspace with about 100 million other pieces of homemade digital flotsam–the video-sharing Web site YouTube. |
This use of technology brings truly open government access to the people. This is an idea that can revolutionize the way the public can hold its board members accountable. There can be noe more excuses about “I didn’t say that”. It will allow more people to see how decisions are made. This needs to be implemented in every school district across Illinois and the country for that matter. Let’s have totally open government.
Some school district already videotape meetings. These districts usually place a copy in the local library to check out. This is burdensome on most people who have trouble making it to meetings and the library. The convenience of having the tapes online would greatly open up the access of citizens to see how their local government body is working.
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While many school boards already air their meetings on cable-access channels, the advent of YouTube allows viewers to watch meetings whenever they want. They can easily pause, skip over boring parts and e-mail links to others. People who follow the goings-on of Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 say a new form of empowerment is afoot, one that demands accountability from elected officials with what-you-see-is-what-you-get clarity. “It’s very important because it’s a permanent documentation of what was said and how it was said,†said Jane Vester of Community Organizing for School Leadership Accountability, the Waukegan group that monitors the city’s school district and the board and films the meetings. “There can’t be any questions, as in, `No, I didn’t say that.’†|
Read more about COSLA at their website and the story about them in the Chicago Tribune. Then get active and start bringing open access to your local school district or governing body.
