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title: Introduction ｜Civic Tech Project Handbook
tags: jothon, NDI
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:book: Return to the homepage of the handbook: https://g0v.hackmd.io/@jothon/ctpbook_en
"g0v Civic Tech Project & Community Handbook" is licensed under CC BY-NC.
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# Introduction
> g0v is not an organization but a community with no fixed scope, no fixed members, no membership requirements, no spokesperson, and no specific leader. “Anyone could participate, and ‘nobody’ can do anything” as a rallying cry for the core operation idea, g0v started its operation on a guerrilla basis at the end of 2012. The idea resembles the initial free imagination of the internet and dissatisfaction with centralization and attracted many people. The g0v community began with bi-monthly hackathons and a summit every two years. This cycle has been sustained, perhaps due to the community’s belief in pursuing openness and freedom, coupled with solid community operation methods.
>
> Excerpt from "A Decade of Observation: g0v's Highs and Flexible" by Ipa Chiu, CL Kao, and Kirby Wu, co-founders of the g0v community. (https://g0v.hackmd.io/@qsl-tuBOSqqgZqsmYAFtzA/HythT2eEs)
g0v’s very first hackathon in late 2012 not only kickstarted the core development of the community but also spread the term “hackathon” in Taiwan.
The event attempted to bridge the gap between technology and society with the core concept that anyone could participate. It is driven by the hacker spirit, interdisciplinary brawls, open-source ideals, and social concern, all rooted in crowd intelligence. Ipa Chiu, a co-founder of the g0v community, believes that the keywords for the g0v community are “open” and “polycentric,” which can prevent a “single point of failure” and the idea that “if one person falls, everything falls.” Through regular hackathons, technological applications in political and social realms, and high adaptability of community, g0v has collectively forged Taiwan’s unique “flexibility” – a diverse and adaptable form of soft power.
Over the past decade, g0v evolved in various ways as civic awareness gradually propelled social movements, industrial innovation, open government, startups, and other domains. The initial enthusiasm turned into a deeper understanding and practice, giving rise to over 1,000 proposals for different social issues and promoting an open government culture, such as open data and the open parliament.
Through g0v’s experiences over the past decade and interactions with civic tech advocates from different countries, the g0v community has managed to extract elements and models for initiating “civic tech communities and projects”, which are included in the “2023 g0v Civic Tech Project & Community Handbook.” The handbook begins with an overview of the g0v civic tech community, then delves into how to develop civic tech communities and expand networks, including the four stages of community initiation and societal environmental factors. It also shares ways and templates for initiating civic tech projects and provides case studies to aid readers’ understanding. Finally, this book draws from past experiences from exchanges among various Asian countries, as well as feedback from participants in the Digital Rights Asia-Pacific Assembly 2023 and 2023 FtO Jeju. It shares insights into the regional diversity and differences in East and South Asia, the impact and relationship of governments on civic tech development, and the involvement of young people from Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea in civic tech communities. This helps us understand the evolving civic tech development models in different societal contexts.
Whether you are already on the path of civic tech or not, we hope to bring you new inspiration and let the spirit and practice of civic tech blossom everywhere.
