Tag: Stakeholder Engagement
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Civic Engagement: designing a new image for eThekwini Municipality.
Background The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, previously known as the Durban Metropolitan Council, has been using a logo that features a dark blue field with a light blue and white representation of the dome of the Durban City Hall. The City Hall, built in 1910, serves as the seat of municipal government and is a near…
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Artificial Intelligence: implementing ChatGPT services for local government
Introduction The eThekwini Municipality, in its quest to harness the power of artificial intelligence to enhance its Economic Research, Strategy & Innovation Department, contracted Pista Ventures to integrate ChatGPT services. This collaboration aimed to leverage ChatGPT’s capabilities to improve efficiency, innovation, and decision-making processes within the municipality’s operations. Understanding Artificial Intelligence in Government The integration…
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Civic Engagement: solving for misinformation during a pandemic
Introduction Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the world saw an unprecedented surge in misinformation and disinformation, complicating public health efforts. Pista Ventures, in response to this crisis, developed COTU, a WhatsApp-based communication tool designed to provide accurate, validated information about COVID-19 to residents of the eThekwini Municipality. By leveraging geo-targeted messaging, COTU aimed to inform the…
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Polycrisis: civic technology in a time of crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest and recent flooding in KwaZulu-Natal has illustrated the need for data-driven insights to help various stakeholders find the necessary information to assist or be assisted in times of need. Across KwaZulu-Natal, important information is inaccessible to the public, or is difficult to locate, retrieve and analyse during a disaster. In…