The IDEAT project launched by the Partit Nazzjonalista a few days ago offers a glimpse into how Maltese politics can be transformed through a digital platform which bridges the divide between the citizen and the Party that represents it.

IDEAT is built around an eDemocracy framework in which ICT serves as a tool of choice in order to, not only engage and communicate with the population, but empower it to be better equipped to participate in the democratic process.

Crowdsourcing is less a new idea than a new concept. It covers a wide array of tools that use the power and knowledge of crowds brought together through the Internet, especially by means of social media and other applications which primarily focus on bottom-up information flow. Citizens can take part in brainstorming, discussing, developing, and formulating ideas that used to be the limited domain of political elites.

This IDEAT project seeks to explore methods to obtain active citizen input in the policymaking processes - an input which has been severely curtailed by this government. It serves to empower each and every one of us, enabling our voice and ideas to be heard. Politics for the people can be more than just casting your vote when a general election comes by.

Politics for the people can be more than just casting your vote when a general election comes by

The platform has been online for just over 200 hours and has registered significant engagement:

  • 1 visitor sees the platform every 37 seconds.
  • A new user registration occurs every four minutes.
  • A new policy proposals idea is received every six minutes.
  • Policy proposals were read 150,000+ since launch.
  • Over 30,000 votes were received to prioritise policy ideas submitted. That’s a vote every few seconds.
  • Citizens are engaged and spend around six minutes per session focused on the ideas of interest.

People want and expect empowerment. The IDEAT portal proposes a citizen-centric approach to using ICT whereby people are considered participant members of the society, active players in the formulation of ideas. Party leader Simon Busuttil is committed to transform IDEAT into a national reality if elected on the 3rd June.

Imagine a new government that is open to ideas, a government that immediately opens up its policy proposals for public consultation, fine-tuning and feedback. Imagine a government where the people (or social partners) don’t just receive a fait accompli but are empowered to voice their positions and opinion immediately. The past few years have been rife of situations where the people were simply not informed, let alone empowered.  IDEAT can address that, finally bringing our democratic values back to centre-stage through active participation and empowerment.

We will change the way we do politics.

We will transform the democratic processes that has lived undisturbed deep within our country for too long. We will choose Malta.

Visit www.forzanazzjonali.com/ideat to take the first step.

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