Context
Information and communication technology (ICT) is opening up new possibilities in governance. It makes it possible, for example, to provide government services even during crisis situations. This is why the countries of the Middle East and North Africa are focusing increasingly on innovation in administration and building up structures for e-governance.
Especially in fragile settings like the Palestinian territories, digital services and innovative participation formats can mitigate regional differences and improve both social cohesion and the ability of local populations to take part in matters that affect them.
To make this possible, however, citizens must also be involved in the development of such solutions. This has not been sufficiently taken into account in the MENA region. As a result, the digital services and participation formats that are currently available are seldom user-friendly and thus see little use.
Objective
Palestinian communities successfully provide citizen-oriented digital services and participation formats. The countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region) collaborate more on approaches to e-governance.
Approach
The project is cooperating with an array of partner organisations in government and civil society. It is supporting select Palestinian communities in building long-term structures for inclusive e-governance.
Local citizens are directly involved in the development of corresponding digital services to ensure human-centred design. They are also helping to improve the quality of life in their communities by participating in hackathons, gamification and other innovative formats. In this way, women, people with disabilities and people from marginalised regions are contributing to the creation of new and inclusive solutions.
Meanwhile, the annual INDIGO Festival and a series of innovation labs serve as creative spaces for fostering regional collaboration where participants from the MENA region connect and develop e-governance solutions together.
This project is part of BMZ’s special initiative on stability and development in the MENA region.