In one of its not infrequent moments of translation comedy gold, the trilinguistically-correct Balearic Government recently pressed the click button on its machine translation system of choice and revealed - on its own website - that the minister for public administration had acquired a completely new name. Staggeringly, this was machine translation from Catalan to Castellano and thus Nuria Riera became Nuria Rambla. There is a fairly obvious question here. Why does a government with a firmly pro-Castellano policy in a land where Castellano is a co-official language supposedly spoken by everyone need to use Bing or Google to translate into Castellano? Catalan hasn't taken over that much, surely.
The machine-translation game is one with endless possibilities for amusement and entertainment, and it is one that the regional government has perfected. It has, just as one example, a form on its website in English that allows you to find out about activities of associations. It notes, however: "You can accede to the codes of the purposes and their activities doing click on the attached text document. We noticed to you that the data of the associations enrolled in this new computer science system come from the old application and some still are reviewing since they are updated periodically. By this, it is possible that some data still appear with the old code or information nonupdated. We worked with the objective to reach a complete information. You excuse the annoyances."
Strangely, when one clicks on "directori d'associacions", you get by default this English form. It is doubly strange given that there is virtually nothing else in English on this part of the public administration ministry's section of the government's website. It is a part of the website for "citizen participation" and in particular something called "Balear Opina". This is a new "virtual space", a press release has usefully informed us, to "enhance citizen participation" by bringing together "all resources and tools to enable (citizens') contributions". Just some of these contributions can be questions, suggestions and requests for information, but don't anyone go expecting that there is something approximating freedom of information, because there isn't, while these questions, suggestions and requests had better all be made in Catalan or Castellano. Try asking in English and God alone knows how Google will mangle the question. In fact, to be on the safe side, it would be best to ask in Catalan, as the government doesn't appear to understand Castellano either; hence, Nuria Rambla.
The Balear Opina and citizen participation thing are, so the website tells us, concepts to which the government is committed. As is normal for any government communication, it insists on citing laws and decrees which give credence to this commitment, and it starts by saying that "democracy is based on ... the plurality of ideas and opinions; it is necessary to create a mechanism for control and management (of elected representatives) by the public outside the election period".
Democracy is indeed based on the plurality of opinions, but some opinions become law whereas others remain simply opinions. Take, if you will, the language issue. As the majority of citizens reject the opinion of elected officials who have passed legislation which undermines Catalan, will the Balear Opina mechanism enable the citizens, through control and management, to have this legalised opinion changed? Of course it won't. You can read "mechanism for control and management" as meaning holding elected officials to account, and if they really were held to account, then they would alter legislation that is at variance with majority opinion. But government doesn't work like this. Here or anywhere. The participation thing is a grand illusion.
For Nuria Riera, no doubt, the Balear Opina is a fine creation of governmental openness, communication and explanation. As ever, though, there is a great difference between the practice of openness and its theory. Take another example, the Partido Popular's discount card for members. The hoo-hah over this was brought to an abrupt halt when Riera announced that the card was perfectly legal and that the government had nothing more to say on the matter. The correspondence was closed, so to speak.
Riera is relatively new to governmental circles. She clambered aboard the Good Ship Bauzá, listing because of the storms of Catalan, after the president sacked half his cabinet in May last year. She got the job at public administration, a ministry rarely under public scrutiny because no one is too sure what it does, and also took over the unenviable task of government spokesperson. She's the one, therefore, who has to try and explain what on earth it's up to. And now she can be conscious of what opinion the public has. Or ignore what opinion the public has. There is, if you play the Google-Bing game, a different translation of her name. From Castellano to English. Laugh. Having one.
Showing posts with label Citizen participation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Citizen participation. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 02, 2014
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Have Your Say: Balearic Government opinion seeking
The Balearic Government is giving people their say. An internet campaign that goes under the title of "tú tienes la palabra" offers the possibility to cast opinions as to various initiatives undertaken by the government. The very use of the familiar, informal "you" form ("tú") gives the campaign the air of consultant-led marketing puffery styled in the language of the intimate; citizens are the government's friends. Of course they are.
It's all a bit of catch-up. Together with the informality, it is designed to make the government appear inclusive and to make the citizen participative. It's an approach that has been doing the rounds for years, one that sprang up in the US and which was couched in the managerialist vocabulary of the consultant - accountability, social responsibility, customer-focussed, stakeholder. It has taken it's time to catch on in the Balearics where the notion of citizen participation has only recently started to be given some prominence or respect.
If you are inclined to, you can visit the part of the government's website that enables opinion to be cast - balearsopina.caib.es. There you will find the various initiatives, new ones appearing on a daily basis. Anything from support for immigration to cultural promotion to statistical information that the government pumps out and to the politics of language. An interesting aspect of all this, where I'm concerned at any rate, is that I seem to have written about most of them at some point; some of them on many an occasion.
Whilst the drive towards inclusiveness and participation is not in itself unwelcome, certain questions arise. One is how much interest there is. The answer, given the number of responses to questions regarding initiatives already posted, is not very much. The campaign started on 10 December. Only now is information regarding it surfacing in the media, probably in recognition of the fact that there has been so little response. There isn't a lot of point in inviting opinion and not telling anyone that you wish to. Perhaps further opinion should be invited as to how well the government (and other public bodies) publicise things. I think we know what the answer would be.
A second question is what happens with the information. The fear is that it will simply add to one of the initiatives, that of statistical information provision. Percentages will be released in great abundance to the press who will slavishly reproduce them, and this will be the end of it. There will be an appearance of involvement and no more.
This government campaign is not the only attempt at getting citizens to participate or to voice opinion. Pollensa town hall, for example, invites comments and suggestions. You send them by email. And then? Who knows. One can guess at the sort of thing that they will include, as they are voiced often enough. Dog mess, street cleaning and so on. For a town hall that took little practical notice of some thousand people marching in the streets of Puerto Pollensa to complain about town hall neglect, you would have to wonder what notice they would take of emails from "disgusted of the Moll". The town hall now has its perfect response in any event, having finally got round to rolling out its 800 grands' worth of annual contract for new cleaning equipment combined with satellite positioning technology to show where is being cleaned and which the citizenry of Pollensa will eventually be able to consult via the town hall's website.
A third question that arises, or would were there any real interest in this government campaign, is the potential for manipulation. Not by government but by respondents. The weakness of online voting and opinion is the same weakness that one gets with text voting. It is a weakness that stems from a strength of both the internet and SMS: that of whipping up support, be it for an "X Factor" contestant, a Sports Personality or a political initiative. The democracy of inviting opinion, of quasi-referendums via new technologies, is to also invite the tyranny of minorities masquerading as majorities. It is the modern-day take on John Stuart Mill's tyranny of the majority in a democracy, without even the certainty that it is a majority view.
For the moment, however, there is no fear that this will occur with the government's campaign. So uninterested does the Balearics citizen appear to be in voicing his or her opinion that in one poll - on equality and women - a question as to the prioritisation of a protocol for detecting, preventing and drawing attention to sexist violence drew precisely no responses.
If the government is serious about citizen participation and counselling public opinion then it needs to rethink its online campaign and probably relaunch it with much stronger publicity and a message that you don't just have your say; your opinion will actually matter.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
It's all a bit of catch-up. Together with the informality, it is designed to make the government appear inclusive and to make the citizen participative. It's an approach that has been doing the rounds for years, one that sprang up in the US and which was couched in the managerialist vocabulary of the consultant - accountability, social responsibility, customer-focussed, stakeholder. It has taken it's time to catch on in the Balearics where the notion of citizen participation has only recently started to be given some prominence or respect.
If you are inclined to, you can visit the part of the government's website that enables opinion to be cast - balearsopina.caib.es. There you will find the various initiatives, new ones appearing on a daily basis. Anything from support for immigration to cultural promotion to statistical information that the government pumps out and to the politics of language. An interesting aspect of all this, where I'm concerned at any rate, is that I seem to have written about most of them at some point; some of them on many an occasion.
Whilst the drive towards inclusiveness and participation is not in itself unwelcome, certain questions arise. One is how much interest there is. The answer, given the number of responses to questions regarding initiatives already posted, is not very much. The campaign started on 10 December. Only now is information regarding it surfacing in the media, probably in recognition of the fact that there has been so little response. There isn't a lot of point in inviting opinion and not telling anyone that you wish to. Perhaps further opinion should be invited as to how well the government (and other public bodies) publicise things. I think we know what the answer would be.
A second question is what happens with the information. The fear is that it will simply add to one of the initiatives, that of statistical information provision. Percentages will be released in great abundance to the press who will slavishly reproduce them, and this will be the end of it. There will be an appearance of involvement and no more.
This government campaign is not the only attempt at getting citizens to participate or to voice opinion. Pollensa town hall, for example, invites comments and suggestions. You send them by email. And then? Who knows. One can guess at the sort of thing that they will include, as they are voiced often enough. Dog mess, street cleaning and so on. For a town hall that took little practical notice of some thousand people marching in the streets of Puerto Pollensa to complain about town hall neglect, you would have to wonder what notice they would take of emails from "disgusted of the Moll". The town hall now has its perfect response in any event, having finally got round to rolling out its 800 grands' worth of annual contract for new cleaning equipment combined with satellite positioning technology to show where is being cleaned and which the citizenry of Pollensa will eventually be able to consult via the town hall's website.
A third question that arises, or would were there any real interest in this government campaign, is the potential for manipulation. Not by government but by respondents. The weakness of online voting and opinion is the same weakness that one gets with text voting. It is a weakness that stems from a strength of both the internet and SMS: that of whipping up support, be it for an "X Factor" contestant, a Sports Personality or a political initiative. The democracy of inviting opinion, of quasi-referendums via new technologies, is to also invite the tyranny of minorities masquerading as majorities. It is the modern-day take on John Stuart Mill's tyranny of the majority in a democracy, without even the certainty that it is a majority view.
For the moment, however, there is no fear that this will occur with the government's campaign. So uninterested does the Balearics citizen appear to be in voicing his or her opinion that in one poll - on equality and women - a question as to the prioritisation of a protocol for detecting, preventing and drawing attention to sexist violence drew precisely no responses.
If the government is serious about citizen participation and counselling public opinion then it needs to rethink its online campaign and probably relaunch it with much stronger publicity and a message that you don't just have your say; your opinion will actually matter.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Shock To The System
Man in bar time again. I ought to start a separate blog, call it something like Derek and Clive and make it a dialogue blog of the kind of views that "man in bar" comes out with. Derek and Clive might be quite apt, given the number of times the f-word tends to cross the lips of "man in bar". But anyway, I explain a bit about the piece from yesterday. Cue man in bar to dismiss the whole thing on the grounds that there is a "system" here (of politics) and that there is no point in wasting time and effort and giving yourself a heart attack over it all.
Ah yes, the "system". There is always a system. Wherever or whenever, there always is and always has been a system. Like that of Franco's time. It is said that a reason for the longevity of his "reign" was the sheer apathy of the people. It was the system, and that was it. Apathy and complacency. I can understand this double-header of inaction; it is usually accompanied by something else - comfortableness - and is expressed as couldn't care less. There is also just keeping your head down and getting on with your business despite the "system", and sod the lot of it.
You will never really capture people's interest in local affairs if they simply don't want their interest taste buds stimulated. But the pedestrianisation case in Puerto Pollensa is an example of how just one issue can make people take notice. Talk to anyone there, and you'll get an opinion. What is intriguing, at least I think so, is that, although the lack of consultation and therefore the imposition of the pedestrianisation was an example of how the "system" works, the system can be seen to be challenged and, moreover, challenged in quite a significant way. Partly this is because it is such a physically obvious change, but also because this is down to the publicity the case has generated, not just in the press but also through the likes of the Gotmar Residents Association. It is as though the cause has to be right for people to become engaged, and to that end, though I may have had the slight joke at their expense, the "alternative" United Left and Greens (EU/EV) in Puerto Pollensa have been and are tapping into an undercurrent of dissatisfaction and bringing this to the surface. The EU/EV, in the guise of Pepe Garcia, is firing at all targets. The pedestrianisation case is one with much popular interest. The latest is the problem of street cleaning and the fact that the contract for the company that is supposed to do this ran out back in March, yet it is still actually working (after a fashion) and receiving payment. Garcia has labelled the town hall administration "incompetent" for its management of something of such importance.
One thing that does raise people's hackles, and their interest, is the state of the streets and of course all the dog shit. And it's not just tourists. Publicising the fact that the contracted company has no contract as such could well make this another pedestrianisation story in Puerto Pollensa.
It's very easy for the man in the bar to ignore everything and put it all down to a system that cannot be brought to task, but there was one thing that Garry said about the impression he has of something stirring, and of people genuinely starting to take an interest in how the system works and how it can be made to work better. It may be wishful thinking on his behalf, but there again it may not. These are interesting times in Puerto Pollensa, so much so that even the man in the bar may get his head out of a copy of "The Sun" and take some notice.
GOING DIGITAL
The UK is going digital and Mallorca is to do likewise. The analogue system for televisions is to be superseded by the new digital system from the start of 2010. Most of the island is already covered to enable this, but Alcúdia and Pollensa have been lagging behind. But a couple of days ago (as reported in "The Diario"), there was the activation of the signal from a receiver on top of the Puig de Sant Martí, the hill (some say mountain) at the back of Bellevue, which has made Alcúdia digital. By the end of the year, coverage across the island should have reached 98 per cent, and Pollensa is next in line to get its signal. I'm sure you'll all be happy to know this.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Barry Manilow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKPWzLgvgW4). Today's title - a later song from a one-time punk artist.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Ah yes, the "system". There is always a system. Wherever or whenever, there always is and always has been a system. Like that of Franco's time. It is said that a reason for the longevity of his "reign" was the sheer apathy of the people. It was the system, and that was it. Apathy and complacency. I can understand this double-header of inaction; it is usually accompanied by something else - comfortableness - and is expressed as couldn't care less. There is also just keeping your head down and getting on with your business despite the "system", and sod the lot of it.
You will never really capture people's interest in local affairs if they simply don't want their interest taste buds stimulated. But the pedestrianisation case in Puerto Pollensa is an example of how just one issue can make people take notice. Talk to anyone there, and you'll get an opinion. What is intriguing, at least I think so, is that, although the lack of consultation and therefore the imposition of the pedestrianisation was an example of how the "system" works, the system can be seen to be challenged and, moreover, challenged in quite a significant way. Partly this is because it is such a physically obvious change, but also because this is down to the publicity the case has generated, not just in the press but also through the likes of the Gotmar Residents Association. It is as though the cause has to be right for people to become engaged, and to that end, though I may have had the slight joke at their expense, the "alternative" United Left and Greens (EU/EV) in Puerto Pollensa have been and are tapping into an undercurrent of dissatisfaction and bringing this to the surface. The EU/EV, in the guise of Pepe Garcia, is firing at all targets. The pedestrianisation case is one with much popular interest. The latest is the problem of street cleaning and the fact that the contract for the company that is supposed to do this ran out back in March, yet it is still actually working (after a fashion) and receiving payment. Garcia has labelled the town hall administration "incompetent" for its management of something of such importance.
One thing that does raise people's hackles, and their interest, is the state of the streets and of course all the dog shit. And it's not just tourists. Publicising the fact that the contracted company has no contract as such could well make this another pedestrianisation story in Puerto Pollensa.
It's very easy for the man in the bar to ignore everything and put it all down to a system that cannot be brought to task, but there was one thing that Garry said about the impression he has of something stirring, and of people genuinely starting to take an interest in how the system works and how it can be made to work better. It may be wishful thinking on his behalf, but there again it may not. These are interesting times in Puerto Pollensa, so much so that even the man in the bar may get his head out of a copy of "The Sun" and take some notice.
GOING DIGITAL
The UK is going digital and Mallorca is to do likewise. The analogue system for televisions is to be superseded by the new digital system from the start of 2010. Most of the island is already covered to enable this, but Alcúdia and Pollensa have been lagging behind. But a couple of days ago (as reported in "The Diario"), there was the activation of the signal from a receiver on top of the Puig de Sant Martí, the hill (some say mountain) at the back of Bellevue, which has made Alcúdia digital. By the end of the year, coverage across the island should have reached 98 per cent, and Pollensa is next in line to get its signal. I'm sure you'll all be happy to know this.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Barry Manilow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKPWzLgvgW4). Today's title - a later song from a one-time punk artist.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
