Inclusion
From Operations to Collaboration — Proud to Be the Invisible Force Behind an Open Culture
g0v became one of the world’s top three civic tech communities within just three and a half years—standing alongside Europe’s OKFN and the United States’ Code for America. We hope that by supporting open culture, we can gradually cultivate a healthier and more diverse cultural ecosystem. And this path still requires many who are willing to step forward as “nobodies.”
Duration：2014~
Rationale
During the 2014 Sunflower Movement (318 Student Movement), beyond its political demands, we noticed something striking—many people who had never been on the streets before showed up.
Engineers, designers, data analysts. They did not stand on stage.
Instead, they applied their professional skills—organizing information, integrating needs, communicating real-time updates.
Some built websites.
Some coordinated supply logistics.
Some turned chaotic information into clear, usable data.
For the first time, we clearly felt how cross-disciplinary collaboration could accelerate civic action.
After the movement ended, we began mapping these open collaboration communities.
That is how we met the team behind g0v (“gov-zero”).
g0v is distinctive in its emphasis on decentralization.
No one is labeled as “the representative” or “the person in charge.”
They have a well-known saying:
“Don’t ask why nobody is doing it. First admit that you are that ‘nobody.’”
The meaning is simple:
Many problems persist not because no one cares, but because everyone is waiting for someone else.
g0v believes that once you begin, you become that “nobody.”
We told them something equally straightforward:
Even if we cannot solve everything, we are willing to provide logistics, space, and resources—to be that “nobody” who jumps in.
Initiatives
At its core, g0v stands for openness, transparency, and sharing.
Through civic technology, they invite the public to reimagine and improve government information—not to oppose, but to make it understandable and usable.
Later, they established the Open Culture Foundation (OCF) to provide stable organizational support for civic tech initiatives.
And we stepped in on the administrative and operational side—happily taking on the role of the “nobody” who fills the gaps.
Engaging with open culture led us to reflect more deeply:
Is information truly public?
Is it posted on a neighborhood bulletin board?
Printed in a small newspaper no one reads?
Or buried in an obscure government website?
If it cannot be found, understood, or used, it is not truly open.
So we began experimenting within areas we knew best:
We even imagined:
What if one day, instead of “No Parking in Front of Garage,” the sign could read, “Temporary Stop? Leave Your Phone Number.”
For us, civic action is not only about pointing out problems—it is about collectively imagining better ways to live together.
At its core, g0v stands for openness, transparency, and sharing.
Through civic technology, they invite the public to reimagine and improve government information—not to oppose, but to make it understandable and usable.
Later, they established the Open Culture Foundation (OCF) to provide stable organizational support for civic tech initiatives.
And we stepped in on the administrative and operational side—happily taking on the role of the “nobody” who fills the gaps.
Engaging with open culture led us to reflect more deeply:
Is information truly public?
Is it posted on a neighborhood bulletin board?
Printed in a small newspaper no one reads?
Or buried in an obscure government website?
If it cannot be found, understood, or used, it is not truly open.
So we began experimenting within areas we knew best:
- Partnering with GC Giving to make resource sharing more transparent.
- Launching a space-sharing initiative, the “Taipei Red No More” app.
- Developing a system to check Taipei’s red-line and yellow-line parking regulations.
- Encouraging civic photo documentation and collaborative mapping to mark illegal parking and obstructions.
We even imagined:
What if one day, instead of “No Parking in Front of Garage,” the sign could read, “Temporary Stop? Leave Your Phone Number.”
For us, civic action is not only about pointing out problems—it is about collectively imagining better ways to live together.
Impact
Within just three and a half years, g0v grew into one of the top three civic tech communities in the world, alongside OKFN in Europe and Code for America in the United States.
But what matters more than scale is what it taught us:
Democracy does not exist only on election day.
It lives in everyday collaboration, mutual support, and shared responsibility.
This experience later became the foundation for establishing our own cultural and arts foundation.
We began paying attention to:
It is about how people communicate, collaborate, and collectively shape public life.
By supporting open culture, we hope to gradually build a healthier and more pluralistic cultural ecosystem.
And this journey still depends on many who are willing to step forward as “nobodies.”
Within just three and a half years, g0v grew into one of the top three civic tech communities in the world, alongside OKFN in Europe and Code for America in the United States.
But what matters more than scale is what it taught us:
Democracy does not exist only on election day.
It lives in everyday collaboration, mutual support, and shared responsibility.
This experience later became the foundation for establishing our own cultural and arts foundation.
We began paying attention to:
- Data visualization teams
- Emerging media
- Cross-disciplinary collaboration
It is about how people communicate, collaborate, and collectively shape public life.
By supporting open culture, we hope to gradually build a healthier and more pluralistic cultural ecosystem.
And this journey still depends on many who are willing to step forward as “nobodies.”
