Devised by Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University graduate Cam Sharplin and co-founder Kieran Belworthy, Buzzy is a free app encouraging digital democracy where Kiwis can propose, support, discuss and vote on ideas they think should be up for political debate.
Cam (pictured at left) who studied International Relations, Economics and Political Science toward a Masters’ of Strategic Studies, describes the app as providing “a virtual public square.”
Users propose ideas for change via the app, which other users can support and comment on. The most supported proposals become Topics - informal referendums that are made easily accessible via the home page of the app - with users given a certain number of days to vote ‘agree’ or ‘disagree’.
Once voting on a Topic ends, Cam and Kieran say the community, including the elusive youth vote, is left with a result that can serve as a mandate for possible change --depending on the balance of opinion expressed.
“We envisage Buzzy helping Kiwis to better understand and contribute to community decision-making on the issues that matter to them, providing a digital space where everyday people can shape local and national discourse and be a catalyst for widespread change.”
Kieran built the first prototype of Buzzy before the 2023 general election and has been refining it ever since.
“I had a frustration that I couldn’t influence change and wanted to create something that was digestible to for people who feel out of the loop and don’t feel involved,” Kieran says.
The Bachelor of Commerce (Information Science and Management) graduate from Otago University paired his technical skills with Cam’s political interests to develop a shared commercial vision and bring the app to life.
Currently, only Te Herenga Waka students can interact with the app as part of the recently completed pilot project. The pilot tested the app’s capacity to offer consensus-based ideas for change sourced directly from students. Cam and Kieran then plan to make the app available nation-wide early next year.
Discussions already posted to the app include proposals such whether New Zealand should replace the adversarial parliamentary system with a directly elected cabinet, whether general elections should introduce Single Transferable Voting (STV), to burning local Wellington issues of the day related to the future of the City to Sea Bridge.
The real-time data generated could then ultimately be used to provide better informed decision making, Cam and Kieran hope.
“What we’re trying to do is a fill a gap in the information sphere between the public and the influence of our political leaders,” Cam says.
Te Herenga Waka political science lecturer Dr Luke Oldfield is academic lead for the project.
He believes the pilot is an important first step for the app’s launch, which will help improve the ease of use and functionality of Buzzy, and inform research on how best to engage students in democratic processes, here on campus and out in all levels of government.
Dr Oldfield feels that Buzzy has enormous potential for an entity wanting to gather fast data for their organisation, on a hot topic or proposed change.
“It’s the kind of initiative that businesses, unions or the media might be interested in taking a look at.”
If your community is in need of better representation or your organisation wants to better understand the views of its members, connect with Buzzy now on LinkedIn or Facebook or go to buzzyapp.co.nz to learn more