Guillem Ramírez, Bernat Surroca, Jaume Ríos and Pau Vall are fourth year students of the Bachelor's degree in Political and Administration Sciences. At the end of last academic year they created 'El Teu Parlament', the first Parliamentary Watchdog Organization in Catalonia. Its goal is to engage in politics on the basis of analysis and transparency, at the same time as encouraging the Parliament of Catalonia to modernize and overcome its own limitations.

Although the application is not yet available - the beta version is expected to be ready by the end of January-, the project is taking shape more quickly than they could have imagined. Although they acknowledge that it may sound too utopian, their ambition is quite clear: to contribute to improving the quality of democracy in Catalonia.

We talk to Jaume and Bernat about this new project:

What is 'El Teu Parlament'?

Jaume (J): It's an independent Parliamentary Watchdog Organization (PWO) that seeks to enhance the transparency of Parliament. Our goal is not to make value judgements, but to create electronic access points for users to get access to as much information as possible and to question everything that happens inside and outside the House.

How did the idea arise?

J: I thought about creating an app about the Catalan Parliament during the last European elections, when I discovered VoteWatch, a PWO that works at European level. Gradually, we saw that the project gave rise to two issues that are talked about in the UPF bar: setting the world to rights and finding work.

What is the main appeal of this application?

Bernat (B): That it will adapt to the political interest of the user. Everyone can choose what information to follow: whether about a particular MP, a parliamentary group, the progress of a bill... In addition, the information will be received quickly, but in detail.

How many people are working on the project?

J: At first it was just us four politics students, but as we had no idea of ​​programming, we expanded the team with four computer specialists and two designers, all students. It's the fact that the team is so young and that we are all volunteers that gives extra value to the project.

As political scientists, what is your role within El Teu Parlament?

B: To perform the day-to-day tasks: keep the application running, process and present the information, make yearbooks, studies... Later we'd like to act as consultants, so we should sell analytical reports. And also we would like to organize public debates on what happens in Parliament. As political scientists, however, we must do this as objectively as possible.

It is always said that young people are not interested in politics. What should be done to bring politics closer to them?

J: This is something that concerns us, and therefore we are looking for an attractive formula. We must make politics more appealing and one way to achieve this is by presenting it as a game that you yourself can control. We must make it accessible so that the more informed you are, the more interested you are in politics.

How can Parliament be made more transparent?

J: It's more straightforward than it seems. They should make their agenda public, make their phone available to the citizens! We might act as a pressure group in this regard, but the thing is, for our generation this is nothing out of the ordinary. We are used to finding information at the click of a mouse. The younger MPs are more willing, but try explaining that to a sixty-year old who has spent half their life in Parliament...

You have been featured in various media. Is this a sign that had a project like yours was needed?

B: Yes, we have made quite an impression. And the application isn't even available yet! For us it is very important, it's a sign that it's a good idea. In addition, the issue of transparency and democratic quality is very fashionable, and if you add to that our youth, it is a combination that creates a lot of hype.

You have also spoken to all of the parliamentary groups. What was their reaction to your initiative?

B: We have received very positive feedback, also because nobody says their party isn't transparent. But they've given a lot of constructive criticism, especially the technicians and administrative staff of Parliament. We've sometimes come out of a meeting depressed because we've been presented with a long list of potential problems. But that helps us a lot because it allows us to get down to work and look for the solution.