From the Egyptian Government Blog (used auto-translate from the page, plus some of my own tidying).
What do you think? Open government and government 2.0 issues are the same, wherever we live, eh?
I bolded my favorite lines…
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Dear Co-Reader,
Like every new experience, blogging has been a different event for me.
Although I use community-based communication tools in different ways, it’s especially different when you write about a day in your life!
When looking closely at what you have learned in the last period of blogging, I would like to share some observations with you:
There is an ongoing and growing need for communication between government agencies and citizens. Available means of communication between the parties is limited (capacity and number) and is used most often to deliver messages from citizens in one direction only!
There is increased faith (among most staff in the ministry) that there are many good ideas which could be developed among the citizens and benefit government performance.
Most of the participants through the opinions (suggestions – complaints) were appropriate, which confirms that the dialogue and communication between the parties can be positive.
There is a need to change our perception of ourselves and our potential, for every problem is a positive aspect and a chance for success.
Ask yourself always at every crisis: What are the opportunities offered by this crisis to me? How do I benefit? How I can be a solution to the problem, not a problem for others?
I would like to follow up to comments (either complaints or proposals) that young people in my country are capable of success, but must be equipped with the initiative and insist upon the will to succeed.
Now, do you see the blog as a suitable environment for communication between government and citizens?
Did you benefit from it?
We heard what you think!!!
And in order to make maximum use of this medium, complaints will be converted automatically to manage the service of citizens (to be answered in case there is data to connect to the complainant).
Waiting for your opinions …
D. Ashraf Hassan Abdel Wahab
D. Ashraf Hassan Abdel Wahab
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Interested in more stories about “Global Gov 2.0”?
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The issues that Dr. Wahab describes are definitely commonalities. That said, as with Gov 2.0 initiatives in Russia, the context of different approaches to governance, free speech and the media might cast some doubt on your comment that “open government and government 2.0 issues are the same, wherever we live.”
@Alex – Good point. Maybe should have used the word similar instead of same, but your use of commonalities definitely works, too. The key is looking at those common themes (one-way vs. two-way communication, generational issues, dealing with complaints, etc.) and working together to find the most effective approaches to address them.