Funky Citizens is an NGO true to its awesome name. They empower citizens by demystifying public information and practices that are essential for civil society: public finances, state institutions, constitutional rights.
Their thinking is that if you, the average citizen, understand how public institutions work and what they do with your money, you’re more likely to keep an eye on their activities, demand transparency and blow the whistle when you spot abuse.
Of course, getting citizens to be more funky is a process and it can’t be done in isolation. Funky Citizens collaborates with other organizations that share the same goal of enabling citizens to ask, participate and change things that aren’t working.
It also supports informal groups and individual citizens by offering access to their knowledge, skills and NGO infrastructure, since they know that small initiatives with a great potential for impact might need some NGO fuel.
They’ve recently moved base to Colivia, a workspace that often doubles as an exhibition venue, launching events and hosting parties, all citizenship themed. The purpose is to gather around a group of friends and supporters that share the funky attitude to citizenship whom might even collaborate on some of the many projects Funky has on the pipeline.
Cosmin Pojoranu is Funky’s communication engine, crafting savvy campaigns built alongside talented designers and programmers. When it comes to making messy and sterile public information sexy, Cosmin (@yozness) is the go-to guy.
Watch the man himself share the story of how Funky came to be, what they’re working on now and what he’s most interested in doing next.
Registered for the #Futurespotters International Workshop? Cosmin will be hosting a session on data visualisation. Have questions about this? Write them in a comment below and we’ll make sure to address them.
