AZ Medien and Google launch joint project
As part of the Digital News Initiative (DNI), AZ Medien and Google are launching the joint "Iris" project. "Iris" is the development of a so-called petition portal that can also be integrated into AZ Medien's news sites, among others.
AZ Digital, the digital unit of AZ Medien, submitted a proposal to Google last fall for funding as part of the DNI. This project has now been selected from several hundred applications from all over Europe. The idea is to launch a local petition portal where citizens can publish their own concerns, initiatives and ideas for their local area and put them to the vote. Topics that meet with a high level of interest on the part of the population can then be taken up by the editorial team, addressed, forwarded to the responsible body and accompanied in terms of content. The project, which will be realized in the next 12 months, creates a simple and at the same time specific offer for users to participate in the local political discussion.
For the project, which was developed under the responsibility of Javier Vázquez, Head of Project Management, Google is providing the Aargauer Medienhaus with a mid-six-figure sum. With the "Digital News Initiative" (DNI), Google is pursuing the goal of "promoting high-quality journalism in Europe through technology and innovation" together with European media houses.
"We are very pleased that our project proposal was selected as part of the Google Digital News Initiative. It gives us the opportunity to give the exciting topic of "citizen participation in political processes" a new, digital framework. This will make more local issues known to a wider public and also accessible for media coverage. Everyone involved benefits from this," said Peter Neumann, Chief Digital Officer AZ Medien, in a statement.
