Kansas City Council Civic Tech Forum and Showcase Is Feb. 23 at Union Station

From Google Fiber to the Startup Village, Kansas City is becoming a technology hub … But how do we ensure our elected officials are using this new technology to make our city smarter, stronger and safer?

Join KC Digital Drive on Monday, February 23, at Union Station, for a City Council Technology Forum from 3-5pm followed by a cocktail reception and Civic Apps Showcase from 5-7pm.

Moderated by KCPT’s Nick Haines, this exciting town hall will let candidates running for City Council in the April 7 Kansas City, Missouri, Primary Election discuss how they think technology should play a role in city hall and at the neighborhood level.

This is a public event. We are inviting concerned, plugged-in citizens who have an interest in Kansas City’s future prosperity through the lens of technology. This includes entrepreneurs, educators, civic hackers, young urbanists, makers, developers, designers and anyone with a passion to make their city better.

Admission is free but please REGISTER HERE as space is limited. You may also tweet your questions and comments for the candidates to @kcdigitaldrive using the hashtag #civictechkc.

What Will We Discuss?

• The Digital Divide: How can citizens without access to computers or the internet take part in society?
• Open Data: How does the city making its data available enable and empower all people, not just technologists?
• Procurement: How can the city’s byzantine procurement process be improved through technology?
• Economic Development: How can we attract, encourage and retain technology business?
• Innovation: What do “smart city” projects like free public wifi and sensors in streetlights bring to the community?
• And more!

Do You Have an App to Showcase?

The Forum & Showcase are part of Code for America’s CodeAcross celebration, an event series designed to get technology advocates actively involved in their community. As the KC home for the Code for America Brigade, KC Digital Drive is seeking to showcase local app developers, startups, government workers and others who have built or used technology applications to make local government work better. Those selected will make a five-minute Ignite-style presentation during the showcase. If you are interested, please fill out this form.

AGENDA

COUNCIL TECH FORUM – 3 to 5pm:

All 39 city council candidates have been invited. Those who have confirmed as of Jan. 26 are in bold. *Denotes incumbent.

Cocktail Reception – 5 to 6pm

CIVIC APPS SHOWCASE – 6 to 7pm

Presenters TBD. If you are interested in presenting, please fill out this form.