Twitterthon for the right to know

1. DG Twitterthon for the right to know Marcela Smutt Gobernabilidad Democrática Comunidad de Práctica - COP México DF, México Oct. 16 – 17, 2012

2. El Salvador October 2012 “Twitterthon for the right to know” International Right to Know Day Target Groups: Youth *Groups of young opinion leaders *Students of all universities *Civil society organizations *Media • Main Topics • Access to public information • Social Audit • Accountability Project Activities During 8 hours, on September 28, was motivated to use the hashtag #ExijoSaber with a request for public information. Impact/ Expected Results Strengthen citizens skills for the exercise of the right to access to public information. Raise awareness about citizen participation, transparency and accountability. Promote the use of social media as a mechanism to implement processes of social auditing. The Hashtag #ExijoSaber was used 1,427 times in a day. It was a trending topic in the country. MONTH/ YEAR

3. El Salvador Octubre2012 “Twitterthon for the right to know” International Right to Know Day APPROACH AND INNOVATION • The participation of young people was given in 3 phases: • Preparation of the initiative through direct consultations with organizations and youth groups. • Activation of the initiative through the use hashtag #exijosaber and stands with blankets simulating the wall of Twitter in universities. • Citizens requests delivered to Government officials • The activity is part of the planned actions to strengthen the use of public information as a mechanism to promote the social audit and strengthening democracy. • The activity is the first in the country that systematically uses social media as a platform to encourage citizen participation, especially that of young people, on issues related to access and use of public information. • The activity allowed to approach a complex topic to people’s everyday life of the people. MONTH/ YEAR

4. El Salvador Octubre 2012 “Twitterthon for the right to know” International Right to Know Day APPROACH AND INNOVATION • TheTwittertónencouragedyouthparticipation and strengthen citizen’s skills to: • Create a space for expression on the exercise of the right of access to public information. • Promote the reflection of the use of public information as a key instrument for the exercise of social audit. • Create a channel of communication between citizens and public officials. • Identify the topics of public administration which are priority for youth in El Salvador. MONTH/ YEAR

5. El Salvador Octubre2012 “Twitterthon for the right to know” LESSONS LEARNT TO SHARE • Youth participation in the discussion of public affairs, as dynamic agents of change is essential for the transformation of the political culture of the country • The issues raised by youth in the Twitterthon showed the high interest in fostering processes of citizenship on issues such as watching the management of public resources, access to public services and control overt the exercise of public service. • The social media interaction allowed the active participation of public administration, in particular by the Secretariat for Transparency and Anti-corruption, giving answer to young people and strengthening the link between citizens and public authorities. • A joint effort between initiatives that encourage the use of social media and the use of traditional media to access to public information is key to strengthen the effectiveness of the right of access to information. • The knowledge of public information is a privileged means to enhance the enforceability of other citizenship rights. MONTH/ YEAR

6. THANKS Marcela Smutt Area Gobernabilidad-PNUD Marcela.smutt@undp.org 2209.3545 undp.org.sv