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The Role of Media in Improving Democratic Governance
Since 2006, local civil society organization
Colombia Lider
has
evaluated and awarded prizes to local governments for initiatives that
reduce poverty and improve public administration.
Colombia Lider
also works with local governments to help them meet the Millennium
Development Goals. These practices are developed alongside a media
strategy to ensure continual diffusion of best practices and broadcasting
of local achievements through two of the most important media outlets
in the country: RNC Radio and Television, and the news magazine
Semana
.
For Karem Labrador, general coordinator at
Colombia Lider
, the active
participation of media is vital to the process of improving municipal
democratic governance. Media allows the sharing of best practices
among local leaders and informs the citizens of the good things that are
going on in their communities. “At
Colombia Lider
we are convinced
that good local governors make the country shine,” said Labrador at
the Regional Summit on Democratic Governance and Best Practices,
which took place in Bogota in August 2011, funded by the NED and
IRI.
Another good example of the relationship between media, civil
society and government that has been successfully replicated across
the hemisphere is the
Cómo Vamos
project. Founded in 1998 in the
Colombian capital of Bogota, this project is focused on ensuring
government accountability, evaluating the results of local government
initiatives and promoting citizen participation by providing access to
information on government activities. The project also ensures citizen
voices are heard by eliciting citizen feedback through public opinion
research. The
Cómo Vamos
project has partnered with national media
outlet
El Tiempo
to facilitate the sharing of information and ensure
that citizens are informed of government activities, and government is
informed of citizens’ opinions on topics of local interest. By reporting
and sharing information regarding government activities, the project
ultimately builds citizen trust in local institutions.
The
Cómo Vamos
program has been so successful that this model has
