Our website is called Jarokelo.hu; here Budapest (Hungary) citizens can report any problem with a photo to their local municipality (eg. potholes, broken street plates etc.). We would like to introduce a mobile application to the website to make the submission of the reports easier. In addition to this we would like to hold two workshops (one for journalists, one for citizen journalists/bloggers) to help the creation of local stories.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Budapest
Describe the specific community with whom you will be working.
We have discovered that many of our most active users are elderly who have the time to report local issues but don't have the technical skills to create and tell their own stories; even though many times it is a success story since a problem gets solved after their report. In Hungary they are underrepresented online because they often don't find the issue to take on; but local stories are something they can very much relate to.
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
Based on the reports posted on our website local stories can be developed; in many cases it is not only a pothole that is visible on a photo but a more complex problem which can be investigated by locals who know to whom they should pose more questions or where they should go to take more photos. We imagine blogposts (articles and digital stories) and short social media reports (Twitter, Tumblr) created with the site's materials.
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established that will contribute to the success of the project.
We would also like to work together with local bloggers and journalists, especially those who cover one district in the city, as often a specific local coverage is more important to a smaller community. Our website was the source of stories on Ittlakunk.hu, a website with pages dedicated to each district in Budapest; we would like to develop an official cooperation with them and/or other local media outlets.
How many participants do you think will be involved in your project?
At two two-day workshops we are expecting ca. 40 participants; at the workshop for citizen journalists one person at least from each Budapest district (there're 23 of them). The participation of the local citizen journalists would be sustained by nominating them our local volunteers who curate stories about their neighborhoods, stories they can publish on our blog and social media accounts.
Besides the microgrant funding, what other resources and support are you seeking for your project to ensure its success?
We imagine that the type of issues we are dealing with are quite common everywhere, so we would like to do an exchange of local stories from other countries about how citizens themselves got a problem solved by speaking out for their neighborhood, be the story related to roads, environment or languages. Stories that can be inspirational for Hungarian citizen journalists to take the first step.
Contact name
Marietta Le
Organization
Média Centrum Közhasznú Egyesület
3 comments
Very interesting and useful project, congratulations and good luck!
Nagyon érdekes és hasznos project, gratulálok és sok sikert kivánok!
Thanks a lot for your support. Köszönjük szépen a támogatást!