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Description
The Covid-19 pandemic tested the capability of the Romanian society to react to an unprecedented situation, both in terms of medical response and capacity to manage the wave of diseases. After the establishment of the state of emergency, the state took a series of economic and social measures which affects the whole society. It decided to limit certain essential rights for democracy, including the right to information. Much of the information that once fell into the realm of public information is kept secret by the authorities under the guise of a state of emergency.
In this context, ensuring citizens right to information is based on a strong and involved press capable of supplementing, through journalistic tools, the information kept secret by the authorities. Moreover, there are underserved areas in terms of information, where the local press is absent and the authorities excel in hiding information. One of these areas is Ilfov County and the small rural communities around the Capital.
Therefore, through the project, Funky Citizens will address these challenges by offering a mixed response, journalism that exposes and activism that advocates to fix the need for transparency in spending public money during a pandemic.
Through the editorial project Bucharest Bulletin (data journalism) Funky Citizens will analyze all the acquisitions made at the level of the Capital and the local authorities from Ilfov, in order to ensure the reader the right to information, targeting both the information related to the acquisitions made by the hospitals and town halls from the specified areas.
As results, Funky Citizens will present as many of the stories that can bring additional arguments for the need for transparency and accountability.
We estimate the publication of two articles per week for the Ilfov area and of at least one for Bucharest with concrete information about the transparent acquisitions made under the state of emergency, thus reaching 300,000 citizens.
Summary of project results
The Covid-19 epidemic put Romanian society to the test, both in terms of medical response and the ability to manage the wave of diseases. Beyond economic and social measures, essential rights for democracy were affected during this period, including the right to information.
In this context, ensuring the right to information of the citizen is based on a strong and involved press capable of supplementing, through journalistic tools, the information kept secret by the authorities. This effort is all the more important in areas that are insufficiently served in terms of information, where there is no dedicated press with local coverage and where the authorities were opaque anyway. One of these areas is Ilfov County and the small rural communities around the Capital. Through this project, we wanted to offer a mixed response (journalism that exposes and activism that advocates to fix) the need for transparency in spending public money during a pandemic. Moreover, the project provided information at an important time for local communities, covering the campaign period for the September 27, 2020 local elections. Through the editorial project, we analyzed all the procurement made at the level of the Capital and of the local authorities from Ilfov, in order to ensure the reader''s right to information. We covered both the information related to the spending made by the hospitals, as well as by the town halls from the specified areas.
In the 5 months of the project we published over 60 press articles, achieved through a journalistic effort to analyze the databases, but also through over 120 requests addressed to the authorities. Through advocacy materials, we directly reached over 50 local elected officials and candidates to whom we sent materials made (but also invited to debates), over 700 citizens were involved in online events, and the information and awareness raising campaign reached over 300,000 people.