Easy reading, clear communication, and citizens support service for marginalized groups (ESARG0006)

Commitment ID

ESARG0006

Commitment Title

Easy reading, clear communication and citizens support service for marginalized groups

Problem

In Aragon, we aim to involve as many citizens as possible, but we know that citizens’ participation is not equal among all groups due to occupational and social barriers, and that groups such as persons with disabilities are excluded. In addition, the language that public administration uses to communicate with citizens tends to be too technical and is not adapted to the needs of the different collectives. This results in a type of participation that makes society uniform by excluding certain groups such as older persons, foreign people, and persons with disabilities. However, data from the Third Person sector shows that around 300,000 people in Aragon, almost 25% of the total population of the region have some kind of disability, are in a socially vulnerable situation, or are carers for people closest to them. Of these, 105,710 have a degree of disability recognized as equal to or over 33%, which equates to 8% of the total population of Aragon.

Status quo

The Government of Aragon has made progress in this regard with the Easy Government project, although it is an initiative that could be expanded further and is still not widely known internally or among other relevant stakeholders, and although there is a consolidated network of entities from the voluntary sector and the third sector, there is a lack of effective spaces for dialogue among these organizations and public administrations.
In addition, the staff who cater to citizens lack training in easy reading and clear communication. Furthermore, there is not enough communication between the administrative bodies, which contributes to citizens being unaware of the information channels and administrative competencies.

Action

To continue working in the areas of easy reading and clear communication. It is worth bearing in mind that an accessible service extensively reduces processing times and, therefore, frees up resources for faster, more efficient, and customized support. The desire to make progress with clear communication policies forms part of the logic of public transparency, assuming that 21st-century transparency no longer consists of sharing tons of data and information but of communicating with citizens in the same linguistic registers that they use, particularly if it concerns collectives with particular difficulties in terms of comprehension.

However, the commitment does not only encompass support and easy reading, rather it creates spaces for participation and empowerment for voices that are usually ignored. It makes it possible to express views, concerns, and expectations, transforming realities and building a fairer and more equitable society for everyone.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem described above?

Work will continue on Easy Government, and we will expand it with a specific line on accessibility. Another aspect to improve would be an analysis of user experience with the citizen participation and transparency portal, and the launch of a new version of the platform to improve its usability and ease of browsing. The different units of the Government of Aragon would continue to be offered the service to adapt their legal texts and proceedings to accessible language for all citizens, therefore strengthening collaboration with the accessible spaces service and including other services involving linguists or graphic designers for projects that may require such. Additionally, actions will be proposed to improve the communication and services that the administration provides to citizens both in processes as well as in spaces, channels, documents, and support for diversity. Lastly, there will be a focus on creating spaces for communication and work with the entities, and support mechanisms will be prepared, with a special emphasis on training entities and the staff that provide public services.

What long-term goal as identified in your Open Government Strategy does this commitment relate to?

Transparency and the Right to Know: Right to ask the government, to access and use the data, to receive a response, to find out about the Government Plan, to be able to check it, and so on.

Participation and the Right to Decide: Right to express your opinion, to suggest ideas to improve a law or a plan, to influence public policies and to receive a response, and so on.

Primary Policy Area

Civic Space, Inclusion

Primary Sector

Citizenship & Immigration, Cross-sectoral

What OGP value is this commitment relevant to?