(Photo: Pedro Prieto-Martin)
It takes courage and strength to dare to dream. Pedro Prietro-Martín is “at the service of his dreams”. He followed his heart’s desire. “I actually feel that I couldn’t do anything else! Everything seems to fit now so clearly… that I couldn’t help but follow this way. I have to chase my dream.”
Pedro is the founding president of the Asociación Ciudades Kyosei (www.ckyosei.org), a civic organization whose aim is to foster civic engagement by means of ICT technologies. Founded in 2006, it is the oldest Spanish NGO devoted to the promotion of (e)Participation. Pedro is responsible for creating a virtual system for municipal citizen participation, suited for developed, as well as developing countries.
He created a model that provides citizens and politicians tools promoting a stronger citizen incidence at the municipal level, which is where the interaction representative-represented is easier and closer. Pedro realized there is a need for new tools and methods which enhance the ability of citizens and politicians to work together in solving their daily problems, and thus promote a renewal of politics. A true democracy needs to be guided by an intense and constant dialogue between politicians and the citizens.
Pedro saw he needed to move further from the dualism expressed in the “top-down”/ “bottom-up” opposition, and go in the direction of a “kaleidoscopic governance”, with multiple actors and stakeholders involved. Pedro realized that the requirements needed to support participation… just started to converge.
Read more about Pedro
―Creation of Kyopol system http://edgeryders.ppa.coe.int/share-your-ryde/mission_case/creation-kyopol-system-aka-symbiotic-city-internet-catalyst-civic-engag