Andrea Botero

ricercatrice / researcher Media Lab & ARKY | Lun/Mon 29/06/2009 | 14:00-15:00

1. What are your channels of information? From Agency (company, citizen, research-students) to the citizen? (eg phone, fax, sms, website, newsletter, mailing lists, chat - skype, forum)

Of course the portal, because we have done so many things in the past with them. I would say that mailing list is the main communication channel. Because they also know what we are doing. And so if there is something interesting or that they would wish to participate or something, they always informed.

2. What are your channels of communication? By citizens to the Agency (company, citizen, research-students) and vice versa? (eg phone, fax, text messages, mailing lists, blogs, chat, wikis, forums)

I would said portal and TAIK web site as well, both. There have been some more discussions that could be integrated than more even before the company that did the latest versions of the arabianranta portal. It's the same one of TAIK. And the guy is graduated from this department. But there are some discussions to have possibility to use more RSS feed. So it could be more integrated. But I don't know the plan but how far they are.

We are also a working group in Arbianranta that we need every year or twice a year meetings (with a certain kind of frequency) when everybody share what they are doing. So it's another moment (face to face) moment of communication. And it's organised by university and the local agency and master of art, together. Events are also important.

3. Where did your interest for the use of ICT to inform, communicate and to participate (engage, consult)?

It's our department mission. In the personal way, I've an e-mail account —I think— since 1993, so, it's already quite some time ago. I think I even use Internet before there was a lot [...] I even use Gopher and Veronica at some point. I've been able to organise my trip to Helsinki through that. It has been just a normal progression from doing simple staff and keeping in touch with family and friends and organise things to make it a central part of what I interest in.

Actually I guess there are so a gig amount of information as a kind of e-mail, that some time is more easier to call.

4. What are your resources and equipment of IT infrastructure?

The school infrastructure is connected to the Finnish university network, one of the fresh network, it's quite good and reliable and fast. At home I have wireless connection through the service provider which is some kind of adsl. And here I have a Machintosh and at home I have a small a small internet tablet, which I also use. I still don't have any mobile which has connection to the web.

5. All of the workers (members, partners, research group) have the ability to use ICT tools?

Yes.

6. There is a responsibility of communication? An employee communication? Of tutors or consultants?

In here probably pretty everybody can. Of course the department has their amanuensis in charge of the communication department that is usually the one that take care about news, press realises and up-dates for all department. But our small research group everybody does its part.

7. Occurring phenomena empowerment or voluntarism?

For as volunteers have been very important because for the project we have been always very lucky because they were interesting, tested and come to the workshop and discuss; gave their opinions. Of course is a fundamental thing to think.. and count with their helps. And also think about what bring of this discussion, who important has to have empower activists.

We have find people by local agency, they were very helpful with sending information. But we are searching pople to do that, thought the moderators and we have always find people to do that are interest to collaborate. We now also know all the people from the area, so if is not from the local agency, now we also know some of the so, we can contact them directly. Of course is not so easy because it's take time and the people work so... you know.

8. Communication is differentiated according to target audience?

Our scope of action is more limited, of course write research papers, but we also organise workshops and things related with the project, so in that sense of course, we change the way to present the things.

We have start we the schools (12-15 years old) but it's part of the normal design work: you plan the activities and things depending on the persons will participate.

9. Can you tell me the experiences of information, consultation and active participation made using the ICT and NOT as a factor of involvement? (past, present, and future plans)

Yes, of course that's the central theme of some of the staff we are doing here, and at list a lot of project that we have had always collaborations with the people and residents of Arabianranta. We have had another project with group of senior that built the house, that involved a lot of ICT. And another project related with family media, we also had seven families that also live in Arabianranta that were part of the project test and prototipes (Encompass: Enabling Community Communication Platform and Application).

Then Icing which was a specificity targeted interaction between citizen and city administration.

Then we have been part also of the Helsinki Living Lab project that it was not so much about participation in the planning of the city but also making planning of different services.

Of course many, we are a department that's what we do in ICT.

10. Have you had other experiences point and specific areas? (eg historical, tourism, management and design of the neighbourhood, social cohesion, organization of events, planning, gas, real estate services ...) (past, present, and future plans)

With the case of Urban Mediator that was one some of the trials but —I mean— because we design a tool that could be more generic for a kind of interaction. There was a consultation that regards the problem of the rabbits; there was a big problems with the rabbits but the public administration didn't knew much people opinions about the rabbits. So for one year we used urban mediator and there was a big consultation. We were sceptical in the begging that anybody gonna be interest about rabbits. But actually is a popular topic and a lot of people give their opinions, suggestions and discussion including provide recipes of rabbit dishes.

Of course Urban mediator has been use for small planning like new streets and new routes of bus and tram. We also use it in Ruohhlahti to discuss about the plans about the new youth centre, with skate park. A process of the environmental centre of the city to map the cultural site, but non historical but environmental important. So the people [describe] this part of the river or small patch of forest in urban area. So workers and citizen go around and have opinions and tell what spot be like from the natural point of view.

So those are all little project inside this big project too.

11. Have you tried other combinations, systems and tools, and between real and virtual? How to reach non digitization?

If somebody claim that there is something only virtual, they are kind of stupid and don't know that there is no such things that are only virtual things. Of course all the participation and everything happen also in the real live. And if you don't have coffees, fliers and so on. All these projects that I've mention have also been discuss on the local newspaper and in papers and posters. Because no everybody reach the mail everyday. We promoted events from different channels.

What is on-line is the real live, belong to the real. So, yes of course; I don't believe on the thins that are only on-line. I don't believe on the things that are only virtual.

12. Have you taken action to mediation and communication with the council or other bodies?

I think that the conditions will change very much on the next years, regarding that. For example now one of my college is organising another part of the research group to project something about e-democracy where asking citizen to send idea application that could developing  the data city has; something is public available and something is not available any more. So there are not so many channels of communication now from the city directly to citizen alse go trough some instance, some project. If we would have that mediator environment. Also initiatives from the citizen would be connected to the city and reach what are the advances of that. But I things it will go to chance a lot from the result of research, project and initiative and things will gonnna change completely in the next years.

Fore example there is another guy that has now a little project with big bikers association here in Helsinki and he're using them for reporting and driving bikers agenda. He has a little system that is connect directly to the issue tracker of the city. So it starts from initiative and particular community of bikers.

13. What are your perspectives, orientations and evaluations of general use of ICT?

Of course for the city, in its strategy, and the things that it said always ICT are important. In the official documents is written all over that things and they talk about that much. I'm not so sure if the model of broad is the right on, but at policy level it is one of the main argument that they have. The whole information to say that plan of Finland is built on the premiss that ICT will save the innovation, capability and the Finnish state.

14. Acknowledges an interest, a push on the part of institutions? What funds or claims regarding the use of ICT?

If it's specific on the role of the city and the systems, I think that will be more push on the interoperable and the city will offer more datas that now it take for their own, for them self. For example the maps; we have been working with the Icing, and was very complicated to have access to the maps of Helsinki, because for reasons they believe still  to earn money out of the maps and geographical information system that was payed by tax, with our money. So they have outsource the all maintenance of the address database of Helsinki to some company. So if you have to do a query about something you'll be force to pay a very big amount of money. So, that is not sostenible and nobody want to innovate things on top of such plan. Then other they change their mind and make things more interoperable and datas —which is paid by tax, our money— have to be available to the tax payers, to small enterprenoures and everybody. So if they do this, it will be full of useful services.

15. You start courses approach to new technologies? Literacy? What's missing citizens?

This school have continuous educations programs about that. In general I think that is different, because Finland has a long traditions on courses [Schools for the citizen, for the people] open to everybody. Very very chip price, organised by public government. So they have pc and infrastructure to teach and to give something like driven lices for pc that everybody can take. It's a very popular course, so you get the bases from how to start a computer to send and to get a mail account. The pc driven licence is like a kind of product which is widely spread in Finland.

I don't think that schools and local agency will take care of that because these courses are support by "Citizen school" network. But they even teach art, bakery, how to make the family budget and so on.

16. The people in your neighbourhood, feel a lack of services ICT?

I'm not so sure because I don't really leave in Arabianranta and our infrastructure is provided by Finnish university network.

17. Felt that push too much on Ict reinforce inequality? Or open the territory to the phenomena of greater democracy?

It's depends so much on the conditions. Here in Finland if you want to have a wiev of this discussion about Finnish policy there is a book written about Castells and Pekka Himanen, but there are a lot of critics of the so positive views presented by them. Some people say that it is not right or not complete picture to generalise. However most of the work of the things that we have done are based on premis on the level of efficiency and infrastructure is so low. Is technological determinism or not it makes it happen. Is like inevitable and is already here and all kind of discussion seem to be have or not have ticket to take the bus. Is not a problem digital divide but everybody have to be provide and involved in design that and how much they are able to participate. It's more the issue of how the things go against or forward.

18. Could you speak more of your active contribution to planning and land management? The participation of citizens with regard to land and public spaces?

Yeah, I told some experiences. We have also done the participation project in Kalasatama about youth centre. How the youth centre would be plan even interior. We engage youth and it was a mix of both social media and face to face event to involved the youth. In that case we have only helps them and done a consultancy work on organize events.

In Arabianranta we have documented a lot the mode of fight for the childcare a very small childcare. They use this petitions. And there was a lot of discussion also when the planning of tram lines happen: until when and who.