ACT Newsletter March 2025: First Resolution, Organizers Needed, We Support 18F, Network Roundup, Spring Virtual Happy Hour
First Resolution During the most recent delegates meeting, the first resolution for the Alliance of Civic Technologists (ACT) was unanimously passed. RESOLUTION ONE - TWENTY-TWENTY-FIVE is a direct response from ACT and its members to the current administration’s executive orders and actions that are adversely impacting the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ+) individuals, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) initiatives, immigrant communities, and the federal workforce. This resolution also serves as a strong statement of support for these communities and programs by ACT’s members. “In short, our communities welcome all - but compassionately reject harmful actions.” Join Our Network: Organizers Needed The Alliance of Civic Technologists is actively recruiting organizers to support member organizations in Tulsa, Baltimore, Dallas, and Nebraska. If you’re passionate about making an impact, we’d love to hear from you! Reach out to [email protected] to get involved. We Support 18F As of March 1, 2025, 18F, a program within the General Services Administration (GSA), has officially been shut down. However, the talented team of tech consultants and engineers, who built open-source tools to improve digital services across the federal government has come together. Their dedication to helping, “the government to fix things,” is absolutely inspirational, and we’re excited to witness their work as they continue their mission, driving a positive change in the civic tech community. Network Roundup Here are some quick notes about what’s been happening in the network! Code for Philly is building an ultimate toolkit, called Clean & Green Philly, for local community groups to reduce gun violence by cleaning and greening vacant properties. BetaNYC celebrates over a decade of observing March as “Sunshine Month”, where open government, freedom of information, and the City’s open data law are at the forefront, by co-hosting NYC Open Data Week and NYC School of Data. Chi Hack Night recently held their sixth Board of Directors election, with a majority of their official members turning out to cast their vote. Florida Community Innovation (FCI) released their new handbook, detailing what FCI is, their projects, and more. Open Sacramento celebrates their new name with a new website. Spring Virtual Happy Hour Join the Alliance of Civic Technologists for a Spring Happy Hour where we’ll commiserate and celebrate our wins during the start of 2025. This is an open meeting for the entire civic tech community. You can register for the event here! Network Events Here are some events happening in the network, in the next month! 03/06 - Open Austin’s Design Community of Practice: Service Design at the City of Austin 03/07 - FCI + UMich’s Social Services Technology Community Research Showcase 03/08 - FCI’s GRAT - Community Dialogue & Volunteer Sign-Up 03/10 - Civic Tech Atlanta’s Civic Hack Night at Tech Square ATL (TSQATL) Social Club 03/11 - Code for Boston’s Virtual Weekly Hack Night 03/11 - Code for Philly’s March Hack Night 03/11 - Chi Hack Night’s In-person and Online: Digital Equity with “Retired” Computers 03/11 - Open Eugene’s Tech Tuesday 03/12 - SF Civic Tech’s Virtual Civic Hack Night 03/12 - Code for BTV’s Action Night (formerly Hack Night) 03/12 - Open Sacramento’s Virtual: Community Action Night 03/18 - Code for Boston’s Hybrid Weekly Hack Night 03/18 - Chi Hack Night’s Online: Open Hack 03/18 - Open Eugene’s Tech Tuesday 03/19 - SF Civic Tech’s Virtual Civic Hack Night 03/19 - Open Sacramento’s Virtual: Community Action Night 03/22 - BetaNYC’s NYC Open Data Week 2025 03/25 - Code for Boston’s Virtual Weekly Hack Night 03/25 - Open Eugene’s Tech Tuesday 03/26 - Code for BTV’s Action Night (formerly Hack Night) 03/29 - BetaNYC’s NYC School of Data 2025 04/01 - Code For Dayton’s Monthly User Group Meeting 04/01 - Code for Boston’s Virtual Weekly Hack Night 04/01 - Open Austin’s Data & Dev Community of Practice: April 04/01 - Open Eugene’s Tech Tuesday 04/02 - SF Civic Tech’s Virtual Civic Hack Night 04/02 - Open Sacramento’s Virtual: Community Action Night Stay in Touch Interested in chatting with the community in real time, join our public Discord server. Does your local civic tech organization have a story to tell? Want to be featured in our next newsletter? Reach out to us at [email protected].
Alliance of CivicTechnologists
