Working with Cities: The unfolding role of civic tech-meets-gov in urban development

A session at the Civic Tech Innovation Forum & Jamfest 2022.

African cities face entrenched complex challenges including unemployment, wide spread poverty, inequality, the digital divide and climate change among others. Today’s policy environment in African cities is currently not aligned wiith emerging technologies and the rate and speed of innovation. Presently, bureaucratic local government systems and processes act as a barrier to innovative approaches to service delivery. Yet there are champions of innovation in government as well as civil society working towards tangible changes in communities. Levels of collaboration between civic tech actors and local government departments are, although limited, are emerging and evolving. This session will explore the unfolding role of civic tech as it relates to current partnerships between civil society and government that are being leveraged to support more sustainable and equitable urban development, as well as the needs and priorities of local governments in Africa. We will present and discuss key insights and experiences from civic tech actors, civil society organisations and civic activists working in the urban development space in cities across the African continent.

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