Association Civic Tech Europe - ACTE

📣 Meet our member Antoine Brachet from bluenove 🇫🇷 🇪🇺 Thank you for sharing your unique background in Civic Tech. 🔹 What is your background? How and why did you start working in Civic Tech ?   In 2012-2013, I founded "Les Barbares", a citizen movement focused on positive denunciation, which quickly attracted thousands of people and generated numerous Civic Tech initiatives. I created one of them, a fictional candidate for the 2017 presidential election, Julien Letailleur, to question the role of ego in exercising power. Simultaneously, I joined bluenove and became co-president of Démocratie Ouverte. My interest in Civic Tech transformed my career, as I discovered how changing our mindset regarding cooperation and collective intelligence could help solve challenges we face as mankind. And I find it fascinating to see its importance grow with each election.   🔹 What motivated you to join Association Civic Tech Europe - ACTE? ACTE was created to structure the Civic Tech sector at the European level. We joined naturally, sharing the idea that a European perspective is essential. Within ACTE, every member plays a role, and we contribute as "magicians." The main objective of ACTE is to give visibility to its members and enhance its legitimacy and importance. This allows for a better understanding and management of what is happening in other countries.   🔹 How do you see the future of Civic Tech in the coming years? The coming years present both a threat and an opportunity. The current political tensions make it necessary to provide an alternative to fear and anger, which offers an opportunity for Civic Tech. However, this requires overcoming individual egos and remaining fundamentally non-partisan. We need to create a non-partisan replacement force for 2027, in response to a shifting political system. This involves coming together and working collectively, beyond endless debates.   🔹 Do you want to share a recent initiative from bluenove? bluenove is working on a mission for Amaris, with an event in Le Havre on October 5th focused on industrial pollution. For a year, we have been bringing together various stakeholders to discuss solutions regarding water, energy, and pollution. The goal is to create a genuine dialogue between industrialists, residents, associations, and consumers to build a common solution. It is crucial that each party can express their priorities and needs.   🔹 Do you have a small anecdote about your experience in Civic Tech? I created Bright Mirror, a project where thousands of people write positive scenarios for the future. A woman in the United States asked to use these scenarios in Montessori schools to counter the effects of Trump's policies. We hope this will come to fruition. It's a recent and promising initiative, showing the global impact potential of Civic Tech projects. Association Civic Tech Europe - ACTE #civictech #govtech #futureofdemocracy #DigitalDemocracy #BrightMirror

🇪🇺 Meet Association Civic Tech Europe - ACTE members 🇪🇺 Get to know better Renata Klánová from Decision 21 🇨🇿 1) Tell us a bit about yourself. What’s your background? How and why did you start working with Civic Tech? I’m a sociologist and public policy analyst with a background in the PR and creative industry. After working at the Department of eGovernment of the Czech Ministry of the Interior and participating in a few politically and PR-oriented projects, I realized I like the mix of politics, communication, and technology. And that somehow led me to Civic Tech.    2) What inspired you to join ACTE? Civic Tech is a very narrowly focused field so it can be difficult to find expert groups and events for this topic. As a small Czech company operating globally, we joined ACTE to cooperate and gain recognition at the European level. Civic Tech is full of challenges, and it is better not to deal with them alone.    3) How do you see the future of Civic Tech heading during the next mandate? In my opinion, the Civic Tech field will be increasingly important. We live in a digital world and that also applies to how governments communicate with citizens. Digitalization and democratic engagement are big topics nowadays.    4) Could you share a project or initiative you’ve recently been involved in? The participatory budget called “Change It” encourages young people to enhance the public space of the Czech city Ricany using the Decision 21 online participation platform. I’m happy the project is among the Finalists of this year’s Innovation in Politics Awards in the category “Democracy Technologies”.   5) Do you have a short anecdote to share from your experience in Civic Tech? I got used to the fact that many people don't actually understand what Civic Tech stands for, what I do, and what civic tech tools are good for. And that's okay, it's our job to explain it! 

Thanks to Go Vocal (formerly CitizenLab) for organising a fireside chat in your Brussels office to tell about an entrepreneurial journey in GovTech & CivicTech. Co-founders Aline Muylaert (also Association Civic Tech Europe - ACTE board member) and Wietse Van Ransbeeck exchanged with Anthony Jamison (CivStart ) sharing experiences, challenges and best practices at EU🇪🇺 level. An inspiring journey! #CivicTech #GovTech #FutureDemocracy #innovation #startups

Mainstream use of #ArtificialIntelligence is just around the corner. As we approach this new era, the challenge is clear: how can we harness this #technology as a true force for good? Today, alongside a group of civil society organizations at the European Parliament, we had the privilege of hearing from Philipp Schulmeister, Marion Loonela, MEP Brando Benifei, Adrien Duguet and Aline Muylaert who shared their insights on this vital issue. Safety, #transparency, #traceability, #non-discrimination, and #environmental #responsibility - these are the pillars guiding #Europe’s efforts to set standards for the ethical and effective use of #AI. We also explored the fascinating Democratic Commons project, which is developing debiased, open-source #LLMs (large language models) to ensure inclusive and transparent AI for all. Association Civic Tech Europe - ACTE, Go Vocal (formerly CitizenLab) #DSA #AIAct

Great event in the EU capital 🇪🇺 organised by our member Go Vocal (formerly CitizenLab) 👇 #civictech #govtech #futureofdemocracy Association Civic Tech Europe - ACTE Wietse Van Ransbeeck Aline Muylaert

Association Civic Tech Europe - ACTE is glad to be a partner and to take part to the next Political Tech Summit on 25 January 2025 in Berlin. #civictech #EU #futureofEU

Great collaboration between Association Civic Tech Europe - ACTE and European Capital Of Democracy #ECoD . Stay tuned for future conversation on #CivicTech #AI #Democracy. 🙏 Thank you again Helfried Carl !

Association Civic Tech Europe - ACTE was glad to kick off this new mandate with a high-level roundtable in the EU Capital to debate about "AI & Democracy: A New Frontier for the EU". The event was organized in partnership with European Capital Of Democracy #ECoD and hosted by Make.org at Impact House . ACTE was honored to welcome : - Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission - Chloé R. MEP (S&D) - Sergey Lagodinsky MEP (Greens), - Michał Wawrykiewicz MEP (EPP) - Dragos Tudorache, former MEP and co-rapporteur of the #AIAct 🙏 Adrien Duguet, in the name of all ACTE members thanks them for their participation, energy and insights on the challenges and opportunities that AI represents for EU democracies. Thank you to Axel Dauchez and to Helfried Carl for the active involvement of both their organisations. 📢 Debates and questions have shown the importance of having AI applications that are beneficial to citizens, foster trust, and respect individual freedoms. Association Civic Tech Europe - ACTE is committed to support EU values and to continue to be part of a transparent and rigorous debate between EU institutions, Civic Tech professionals, and civil society. #CivicTech #AIandDemocracy #AI #Democracy #EUvalues

How can AI contribute to strengthening democracy in the EU? This topic has sparked enthusiastic debates in the #CivicTech ecosystem over the past two years. To kick off the new European mandate in the best possible conditions, Association Civic Tech Europe - ACTE organized last Tuesday a high-level roundtable in Brussels titled "AI & Democracy: A New Frontier for the EU," in partnership with the European Capital Of Democracy #ECoD and hosted by Make.org. We were honored to welcome Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission, alongside three newly elected MEPs and the co-rapporteur of the AI Act. A big thank you to Chloé Ridel, Sergey Lagodinsky, @Michał Wawrykiewicz and Dragos Tudorache for their participation and insights on the challenges and opportunities that AI represents for our democracies. On behalf of ACTE professionals, I reiterated the civic tech sector's commitment to offering AI applications that are beneficial to citizens, foster trust, and respect individual freedoms. We are convinced that such tools should be the subject of a transparent and rigorous debate between EU institutions, Civic Tech professionals, and civil society. I also take this opportunity to thanks Axel Dauchez and Helfried Carl for their active commitment to the emergence of an ethical AI for democracy framework in Europe. 

🇪🇺 🇨🇿 Association Civic Tech Europe - ACTE is glad to introduce its new member Decision 21 ! We look forward to working together to represent Civic Tech at the EU level and strengthen participatory democracy in Europe. Decision 21 is dedicated to involving #citizens in #decisionmaking using digital technology. It developed an #innovative online #platform for civic participation, facilitating a wide range of participatory projects in collaboration with cities, schools, and organizations worldwide - from New York City to small Czech towns. Welcome to Renata Klánová, and the whole Decision 21 team! #EU #civictech #democracy #innovation #participation #engagement #tech