Promise Made = Debt Unpaid

Project facts

Project promoter:
Oštro, Center for investigative journalism in the Adriatic region(SI)
Project Number:
SI-ACTIVECITIZENS-0019
Status:
Completed
Final project cost:
€97,020
Other Project Partners
Today is a new day
Institute for other studies(SI)
Programme:

Description

The project will address the problem of lack of effective mechanisms for monitoring the fulfillment of political promises.

Distrust in politicians is traditionally high in Slovenia where the crisis of democracy is driven by disappointment with politics in general. This helps to maintain low voter participation and low legitimacy of decision makers. This allows for lack of political accountability at all governmental levels.

We will develop the Promise Made = Debt Unpaid online platform as a bulletin board for political promises and a constant reminder to politicians that they will be held accountable. We will combine civic technology tools with investigative journalism to raise the awareness of the public and politicians about the importance of political responsibility.

In public editorial meetings and stakeholder consultations we will establish a two-way communication with target audiences in order to ensure a mutually beneficial transfer of information about political promises. The project will foster political and electoral engagement.

The general public will be significantly better informed and will no longer have to rely on political intuition, memory or daily reporting.

Advocacy NGOs will have a lesser burden to carry because we will empower them with verified information, a methodology to monitor promises, and in trainings with specialised knowledge. In collaboration with NGOs we will prepare 3 advocacy campaigns.

The platform will serve as a source of information and inspiration for media reporting, and we will equip journalists with new skills during hands-on workshops so they will be able to better protect the public interest.

The project will present a mirror to political officials in which their efforts to achieve goals will be reflected, and it will also be a reminder of the public watching which will increase their awareness of their own political responsibility. Political parties are an indirect target group.

Summary of project results

In Slovenia, there has traditionally been a high level of distrust in politicians’ work, which is a significant part of the democracy crisis. This distrust fuels disillusionment with politics, perpetuating a vicious cycle that maintains low political participation among citizens, low legitimacy of decision-makers, and ongoing dissatisfaction.

Using an innovative methodology and a platform developed specifically for this project, we tracked the work of the 14th Slovenian government. Our findings were accompanied by a detailed analysis at the conclusion, and we continue to monitor promises during the tenure of the 15th government. We discussed the platform and the concept of political accountability with various stakeholders—interested members of the public, non-governmental organizations, and targeted users.

While the concept of "Obljuba dela dolg" does not magically solve problems in Slovenian politics that have been accumulating for decades, it serves as a reminder to the public to closely monitor the work of politicians even after elections and to hold them accountable for greater political responsibility. It also acts as a mirror for politicians, reflecting their efforts to fulfill their promises—or the lack thereof.

Information on the projects funded by the EEA and Norway Grants is provided by the Programme and Fund Operators in the Beneficiary States, who are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of this information.