Vilnius mayor throws whole self into Internet

  • 2001-06-21
  • Mark Taylor
VILNIUS - Soon after launching the controversial "orange bicycle" program, Vilnius Mayor Arturas Zuokas is trying another gimmick that is bound to draw a lot of attention.

Citizens of Lithuania's capital and anyone else who is interested will now be able to peep in on the mayor and his daily work via the Internet.

Launched on June 13 to the amusement of journalists and onlookers, it is the second part of an "e-city" program launched by the municipality. Zuokas believes that the Web-cam idea is a great way to show citizens that work is being done openly.

People will be able to peer in on almost every aspect of Zuokas' daily agenda, everything from meetings with potential investors to appointments with colleagues. Visitors to the Web site will also be able to view the mayor's agenda, send Zuokas messages and read the latest news from his office.

"The idea was originally a way of attracting more businesses to the Vilnius municipality Web site," explained municipality spokeswoman Ieva Dunajevaite.

However, she agreed with Zuokas that the initiative is a great way to show an open and transparent mayoral office.

According to Dunajevaite, 8,000 people logged on to the Web cam over a one-and-a-half day period after its launch last week. Sixty percent of people watching Zuokas were Lithuanians while other visitors included people from Japan, Brazil, Iceland and Moldova. Five percent of onlookers were from the United States.

Dunajevaite said the municipality is pleased with the interest in the idea.

"It's been a positive thing. We're very happy," she said.

Delfi, an Internet service provider in Lithuania, joined the municipality in the initiative after coming up with the funding for its implementation.

Giedrius Karsokas, promotions specialist with Delfi, believes the idea is a logical expression of the city's desire to get "wired." He stressed that although Delfi was involved in the initiative, the idea was the mayor's.

Asked about how and why the company was involved, Karsokas told The Baltic Times that his company provides the technical support and wants to contribute to making Vilnius a modern city.

"It's a new idea, a fresh idea and something interesting," remarked Karsokas.

Latvia's Finance Minister Gundars Berzins received international publicity, including a feature on BBC radio, when he installed a Web cam in his office last fall.