Let us dismiss hypocrisy and enhance democracy
By changing the process
to measure our country’s progress
-Poem "Young People, Take Charge" by TakingITGlobal member
Exercising power and decision-making for a group of people is called governance. It happens everywhere – from urban centres to rural villages – and the well-being of a community depends on the choices made by people granted this authority. Because of the diversity of organizational structures around the world, people such as land lords, heads of associations, cooperatives, NGOs, religious leaders, political parties and of course, government are all actors granted the power to govern.
“Good governance” is a relatively new term that is often used to describe the desired objective of a nation-state’s political development. The principles of good governance, however, are not new. Good governance is, in short, anti-corruption whereas authority and its institutions are accountable, effective and efficient, participatory, transparent, responsive, consensus-oriented, and equitable. These are the major characteristics of good governance as outlined by the United Nations.
The World Leaders at the 2005 World Summit concluded that good governance is integral to economic growth, the eradication of poverty and hunger, and sustainable development. The views of all oppressed groups, including women, youth and the poor, must be heard and considered by governing bodies because they will be the ones most negatively affected if good governance is not achieved.
For good governance to exist in both theory and practice, citizens must be empowered to participate in meaningful ways in decision-making processes. They have a right to information and to access. Although widespread accessibility remains a barrier for many countries, one of those ways is through Information and Communication Technology (ICT) applications such as the Internet. E-governance has emerged as a viable means to address development issues and challenges because citizens find empowerment through access to information. For more on this subject, please see our page on Understanding ICT for Development. (
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