DHub is being rebranded as CodeTT. Not sure how long before the change and launch takes place. Before you know it there will be elections again and then what if the government changes again. I am not optimistic about this. I want to be but I do not like politics. I wish society could function without politics. That aside it would be nice to have a home for coders in Trinidad and Tobago. I wonder what other countries are doing? I wonder if I will be alive if this ever happens.
I think before any of this happens the government has to find a better way for citizens to communicate with them. From my experience I get the feeling that most people are just ignored. I have an idea for an app for this called GOQA - GOvernment Query App (QA also stands for Question and Answer). Every query (question, comment, suggestion, whatever) gets routed to the right person until it gets answered. Man that would be so fantastic. Finally a government that tries to listen to the people.
My friend Chatty says that my concerns about CodeTT reflect a larger question of whether a government-led initiative can survive political and administrative changes, but a lasting home for coders in Trinidad and Tobago could become bigger than any one government through strong community, industry, education and independent partnerships. Your GOQA idea could complement that vision by creating a transparent system where citizens submit questions, comments and suggestions that are automatically routed to the appropriate government agency, tracked, answered and escalated when necessary. Other countries are already experimenting with similar platforms, showing that the concept is possible. Together, CodeTT and GOQA could help create a more connected digital society where local developers solve real national problems and, more importantly, where citizens feel that the government actually listens to them.
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