COVID-19

A VOST PORTUGAL started monitoring the pandemic in January 2020.

At the beginning of the first wave, the Portuguese government decided to create a “Digital COVID-19 Response Office” to which it invited, among dozens of entities, VOST Portugal.

The invitation came after a hearing with the Secretary of State for the Digital Transition, at the request of VOST Portugal, to present to this government official the following:Contract for the Web“, a task for which we have been mandated by the Web Foundation.

The work done during the first activation of this office is widely documented here and gave rise to a commendation from the Secretary of State for the Digital Transition, Published in Diário da República.

A VOST Portugal ended its collaboration with the COVID-19 Response Office on 1 June 2020 because the country was no longer in a state of emergency.

On 15 January 2021, the government again decided to reactivate the COVID-19 Digital Response Office, and again invited VOST Portugal, an invitation that we accepted.

In this second version of the COVID-19 GRD, VOST Portugal integrates the ‘Data’ and ‘Communication’ groups in order to raise awareness among decision-makers of the importance of more and better public data, and of more active, assertive and transparent communication with all citizens, as well as to contribute ideas and solutions based on the experience of almost a year of monitoring this theme.

The monitoring of social networks, for an effective fight against disinformation, also remains a fundamental part of the presence in this office and the VOST Portugal team is in permanent contact with the most diverse official entities.

Our presence has the same mold of the previous presence, with the same spirit of citizenship and valuing the voice of a civil society that effectively contributes to change.