BorderWaits App: Making institutions more responsive to citizens’ needs
Anyone who frequently travels by car from Kosovo to neighboring countries is surely not spared by the (often) hours of waiting in line at border crossings.
Anyone who frequently travels by car from Kosovo to neighboring countries is surely not spared by the (often) hours of waiting in line at border crossings. Well now there’s a social app that promises to help you plan ahead for cross-border trips and avoid traffic. The app is called ‘BorderWaits’ and is developed entirely by young adolescents who have undergone TechStitution, a UNICEF Innovations Lab initiative implemented by Open Data Kosovo.
BorderWaits is an interactive tool that monitors the traffic at land borders in real time and shows the time duration one has to wait to cross each border. It also includes other features notifying users on route blocks due to weather conditions.
Developed by young tech enthusiasts mentored by Open Data Kosovo staff, the app is user-friendly and gathers data from 12 border crossings and generates timely videos to show the status of each border crossing point. It automatically displays data on social media profiles and is designed to help users make decisions on the go.
The application collects information from the National Border Management Center which functions within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo. The app algorithms then process the data posted on the Ministry’s page and visualize the waiting period at each of the border points for users to better have access from Social Media in real time.
Fortesa Vranja, a young adolescent from Gjilan, Kosovo, who has been extensively engaged in the development of the app says that: “BorderWaits is the first real project that I have worked on, and it was an extraordinary experience because it allowed me to put all my theoretical knowledge gained at school into practice into a practical application which will help citizens.”
Border Waits is designed to introduce efficiency in the real time monitoring of movement of people and goods at the border. It will make institutions, and especially the Ministry of Internal Affairs more responsive to the needs of people of Kosovo. ADA’s and UNICEF’s support to TechStitution will ultimately contribute to responsive governance systems, achieve the prosperity of Kosovo and progressively realize children’s, adolescents’ and youth’s rights!
Techstitution engages youth in learning practical software engineering skills by developing technologies to digitize institutions. It is a tool that connects public administration and innovation. It provides Open Data Kosovo and young people with increased opportunities to foster digital solutions into governance processes.
Border Waits was launched Open Data Kosovo in cooperation with Girls Coding Kosova and The Ministry of Internal Affairs.
