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** November news
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** MPs in the House of Commons Landlords, tennis & democracy
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Our trusty team of WhoFundsThem ([link removed]) volunteers continue to sift through financial interests data to make it more accessible for everyone. Meanwhile, we've been looking at using machine learning to flag when MPs declare an interest in debates.
An interesting question is whether those interests affect the way that an MP speaks or votes in Parliament: Alex digs into that in this post ([link removed]) .
** Better declarations of interest for Parliamentary Questions
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One of the ways we can make a difference is in highlighting processes that don’t make sense, and prodding Parliament to see what happens. We’ve spotted an issue that makes it harder for the public to understand the significance when declarations of interest are made in Written Questions — triggering a review of the process. Read all about it here ([link removed]) .
** Save the date for TICTeC 2025
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It’s always an exciting moment when we reveal not only the dates, but the location, for next year’s TICTeC conference ([link removed]) . Put 11-12 June in your diary now, and we hope to see you in the lovely city of Mechelen near Brussels.
** [DEL: Civic tech :DEL] Pro-democracy technology
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Democracy needs the help of those in our field more than ever. At TICTeC 2025, we’ll be framing our sector's work as ‘pro-democracy technology’ - and here’s the thinking behind the terminology ([link removed]) .
** Discovering TICTeC
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If you find the extensive archive of videos from TICTeCs past ([link removed]) a little daunting, you might enjoy this: mySociety staff have been getting together to discuss their pick of the bunch.
First up: we chat about Sean Russell’s session, on how to truly measure the impact of our work. Watch the video ([link removed]) or enjoy in audio format ([link removed]) .
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** Join the mySociety team
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Text: We are hiring. Photo: A piggy bank on a laptop. Text: Head of Fundraising maternity cover. mysociety.org/about/careers
We’re on the hunt for a passionate, proactive fundraiser to join the mySociety team while our current Head of Fundraising takes maternity leave. If you’ve got skills and experience around grants and donor engagement, and an interest in our work to build a better, stronger democracy, this might be just the job for you.
Interested? You can find out more here. ([link removed])
** A fairer society and a more sustainable future
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Thanks to renewed support from the Patrick J McGovern Foundation, we’ll be exploring the overlaps between our democracy, climate and FOI offerings, and improving accessibility where needed. See what we’ve got planned here ([link removed]) .
The mySociety team standing in front of wording that says "In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision"
** Do you appreciate the work we do?
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At mySociety we're very busy all the time, making democracy more accessible to everyone, and providing the tools to help people play an active part in society.
If you can help us out, please do head to our secure donate page ([link removed]) . Every contribution helps us to work harder and faster towards a better, more inclusive society. Thank you.
** A valued partner, advocate and friend
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All at mySociety were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Helen Darbishire ([link removed]) .
Helen dedicated her life to campaigning for the right to information, and the huge number of deeply-felt tributes that have been shared speak to how many lives she touched while doing so.
The picture above was taken in Madrid, where Helen helped us in bringing FOI advocates from around the world to AlaveteliCon in 2015.
** Access to Information across Europe
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Work continues from the many organisations working for transparency around the world — from a Hungarian think tank’s involvement in the US election, to tax havens hidden in the depths of German forests. Read all about it here ([link removed]) .
** What we're consuming
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* Our own Sally Reader chats about FixMyStreet on Sheffield’s hyperlocal podcast, NUN Local ([link removed]) .
* Martin Rosenbaum looks more closely at the council that grumbled about FOI requests from other authorities ([link removed]) .
* Chatbots and forms ([link removed]) : the key to saving citizens’ time?
* Talking of government forms, there’s a whole festival dedicated to them ([link removed]) . You can attend virtually, but if you’re in the UK it’s an early start!
* The Information Commissioner’s Office is on TikTok ([link removed]) , and having fun by the looks of it.
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We do a lot of different things here at mySociety, and we appreciate that not everyone will be interested in every single part of it.
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Image credits: Question mark - ** Jon Tyson ([link removed])
; MP - ** UK Parliament ([link removed])
(** CC by-nc-nd/2.0 ([link removed])
); Mechelen -Visit Mechelen
