Back in 2012, a few Yellowknifers had an idea for a simple system that could radically change how people weigh in on government decisions. Our city seemed like the ideal theatre for it, but then we did what most people do when they have a decent idea: nothing. We sat on it for three years, until we found ourselves in an election year facing the same old choices. Then, we chose to act — and quickly.
We're working to bring the most innovative and engaging municipal government platform in the world for citizens to influence the local decisions that affect the development of their city. Around the world, groups like DemocracyOS and other people-powered parties are launching similar initiatives. Candidates around the world have been elected with the promise of bringing more accountability, transparency, and agility to their governments. governments. By electing candidates to City Hall who have chosen to use IserveU — Rommel Silverio being the first — we wanted Yellowknife to become the world's first-ever participatory democracy.
We officially launched our in house version to the public in March 2017, with non-binding motions and a fully-functioning forum. We also setup an install for a group called Ecology North allowing people to weigh in and participate on various government proposals. Going forward though we decided to instead use others software rather than making our own as building good e-Democracy software is a full time job.
We have spoken with politicians, academics, and leaders across the world interested in these kinds of modern solutions for participatory decision-making. It's a growing movement, and we intend to be part of conversation.
Get in touch with us any time if you have any questions about who we are, what we do, or what our vision is for the organization; we'd love to see as many people as possible get involved.