UN e-Participation Index

• In 2014, Czech Republic ends up at 122nd place out of 193 countries monitored.
• Its e-participation index has a value of 0.2549, which means less than 65 per cent of the world average, or about 55 per cent of the average Eastern European countries.
• In 2016 the Czech Republic moved up to the 76th place out of 193 countries monitored. 
• In 2018, the Czech Republic moved to 92nd place out of 193 countries monitored, with an e-participation index of 0.6180.

The first attempt of the Czech government to promote e-participation was its resolution no. 879/2007, on the proposal of the establishment of a methodology for public involvement in the preparation of government documents. With this resolution, the government approved three pilot projects that could verify the possibility of public participation in the preparation of important documents from Czech public administration, including legislative documents.

Currently, a number of Czech municipalities and some regions are involved in the E-participation scheme. This web service is operated for residents of Czech towns and villages including members of civic associations. Operation and its substantive content are coordinated in cooperation with the relevant municipalities, municipal authorities, civil society organisations and associations. Its aim is to streamline communication between local government and citizens. The user may be any citizen of the city or town or a member of a civic association.

None of the systemic projects or policies is specifically targeting young people. They are part of the overall target group, although they are most capable of taking part in e-participation activities. It is especially obvious in the case of online petitions or pressure groups aiming at cultivating a political environment (Rekonstrukce státu).

However, there were/are several individual projects of NGOs designed for young people:

• Our Space – Czech Youth Association Duha was a partner in this pilot project, financed under the ICT PSP Work Programme. Its aim was to provide new opportunities for engaging young citizens in politics in a manner that reduces the perceived democratic deficit and contributes towards the expected impacts listed under objective 3.5: eParticipation – empower and involve citizens in transparent decision making in the EU.
• Kecejme do toho – see Chapter 5.4. – an e-platform was an integral part of the project.
• Structured Dialogue with Youth - also offers online participation opportunities for each consultation