Growing a Community of Africa’s Digital Doers
All across Africa, in cities, towns, innovation hubs, government offices, and community spaces, people are quietly and consistently building the digital foundations of our continent’s future. They are integrating systems, designing services, writing the code, testing the tools, and translating ambition into working infrastructure that people can rely on. These are the people at the […]
The Week That Was
At the beginning of November, we experienced one of those truly serendipitous moments in the OCL calendar. It was a “divide-and-conquer” type challenge to be everywhere, all at once – but we did it! The stages, conversations and impact we experienced was humbling, and a testament to a decade of showing up for African cities […]
Key Changes in the 2024 South African Elections
As we approach the 2024 elections in South Africa, voters will encounter significant updates to the voting process. These changes, set by the Electoral Amendment Act signed in April 2023 and a key decision by the Constitutional Court in 2020, are designed to make this year’s elections more inclusive, allowing for a wider range of […]
South Africa’s New Three-Ballot System Explained: Deciding Who Runs South Africa
When you vote in the 2024 South African elections, you’re participating in a process that determines who makes the big decisions for the country and your local area. For the first time in South Africa, your influence is channelled through three different ballots, each serving a unique purpose in shaping the National Assembly and your […]
SCODA: The role of civic technology in addressing urban challenges
The need for civic technology in urban development cannot be overstated. As cities face an increasing number of challenges in the digital transition, it is critical that they are empowered to adopt technology and innovation solutions that are appropriate and suitable for their context . Cities in Africa are facing challenges that include historic and […]
Our dARTa is at Amsterdam!
Thousands upon thousands of African women have been surveyed by fieldworkers in the DHS Programme. They were asked many questions about their health and well being, including very important questions about gender based violence. When asked whether they had experienced any sexual violence or physical violence by their intimate partner in the last 6 months, […]
Find out who you can vote for in your location with ease.
MyCandidate Nigeria is an open source platform that provides access to information on who is running for public office during elections. Welcome to the MyCandidate user guide. We’re here to answer your questions on how to use the MyCandidate Nigeria platform as well as the associated data that we’ve used to make the platform possible. […]
Youth engagement and active citizenship is more than casting a vote.
Open Cities Lab (OCL) hosted a webinar on 25 June 2022 with Youth Lab ZA, Africa Matters Initiative, and Young Urbanists to unpack what youth engagement and active citizenship looks like in South Africa. Anele Ngcoya hosted the discussion with three inspiring activists from three organisations: Dimpho Lekgeu (Youth Lab ZA), Roland Postma (Young Urbanists), […]
How one piece of code empowered hundreds of thousands voters in the South African Local Government Elections 2021
The founder of Open Cities Lab (OCL), Richard Gevers, was all over the South African press recently talking about mycandidate.opencitieslab.org — the tool that tells you who you can vote for in the Local Government Elections (LGE). It was only possible because the open data community made it happen. The portal is a collaboration between […]
What have your experiences been leading up to the South African Local Government Elections 2021?
Abigail Kemper from Open Cities lab interviews mother-daughter duo, Liz and Sarah, about the lead-up to the South African 2021 local municipal elections and their experiences using the MyCandidate.opencitieslab.org tool to find the candidates contesting in their ward. Before now, there was no easy way of knowing who you could possibly vote for. For most […]