David Wilcox shared an update on a number of highlights from the e-Democracy ‘06 conference in London. I couldn’t make it due to my Ashoka deal, but David brings it home. Below is his recap from the UK and Ireland E-Democracy Exchange – groups.dowire.org (now with 81 members):

Quite importantly, he points out this excellent
BBC report – Web ‘fuelling crisis in politics’. The comments Matthew Taylor, the UK Prime Minister’s strategy adviser, need to be taken to heart. While it certainly isn’t the responsibility of online advocates to equip governance with the tools to “e-listen.”

Those who see an alternative between electronic mob rule and frozen representation need to create online public spaces and methods “of” the new medium that promote transparent, public to public accountability instead of just flooding elected officials with essentially private communication.

What should the online public hearing of the future be? Who should host it? Who should pay for it to be built?

In some ways, the partisan political bloggers have already started to go around the existing virtual Berlin Wall, by working the influence the spin in the mass media – the one and pretty much only thing that really gets the attention of national political leaders.

However, there should be something the actually brings people together online from the local level on up. As reported by the BBC, “there should be more effort to make communities “work together to solve problems,” said Mr Taylor.”

I spent much of last week sharing my vision with fellow Ashoka inductees, so I am rehearsed a bit on what to say when folks say the Internet and plitics they see is nasty. I do believe that Issues Forum style forums are an essential first step toward a more respectful conversation online. Then I mentioned how important it will be to deepen the model through inclusive neighborhood “life” forums and I put out a bookmark for local (perhaps time limited) “solution” forums and active citizens Q and A idea exchange across multiple forums (imagine the power of 100 forums with 30,000 members opting-in to share local problem-solving knowledge). My take is that many well-intentioned folks have tried to jump right to “solution” efforts without building the skills of e-citizenship or attracting an audience of participants used to interacting online with those whom they ideologically differ. I’ll be thinking about (likely much more expensive) “solution forums” in the coming years, so let’s keep connected on this important need.

OK, enough babble from me.

Check out David Wilcox’s excellent reports (with video):

From: David Wilcox
To: UK and Ireland E-Democracy Exchange
groups.dowire.org/groups/ukie

I’ve posted a couple of videos from yesterday’s e-democracy conference. Snips below.

I wish I had managed to capture a conversation between Matthew (No 10 Strategy adviser) and Tom on whether MySpace would build the deliberative tools Matthew is looking for. Or whether Matthew in his new job at the RSA would host a discussion on the new political philosophy Tom is exploring. Did the conversation takes place, I wonder?

The challenge for e-democratisers: deliberation as well as demands – Matthew Taylor( currently No 10, soon CEO RSA) partnerships.typepad.com/civic/2006/11/the_challenge_f.html

The Internet, said Matthew, had helped people to mobilise. It offers new methods of search and exposure. But does it yet really help people engage with dilemmas and challenges, and work their way through to conclusions? He presented that challenge to developers and advocates of e-democracy tools. BBC report news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6155932.stm

Not just e-democracy, new democracy, says MySociety founder – Tom Steinberg
partnerships.typepad.com/civic/2006/11/not_just_edemoc.html

Once you have managed to achieve the funding for tools, fix the bugs, get people interested it’s time, says Tom, to reflect on what changes we might want to see in the system (of representative democracy), as well as in policies. What should we be pushing for, and what are the dangers in doing that? After the rush to practical solutions, it’s time for some theory. Put around the other way “what could be the wrong philosophy of representative democracy that would lead to us all building and spending time on tools that were actually unhelpful”.

And also flagged up George Osborne’s speech elsewhere this week

Seems the Tories really do get the Net. Isn’t that news?
partnerships.typepad.com/civic/2006/11/seems_the_torie.html

Full speech www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=news.story.page&obj_id=133558&speeches=1

Regards
David

Member profile for David Wilcox:
groups.dowire.org/main/contacts/wilcoxdavid

This entry was posted on Monday, November 20th, 2006 at 6:17 am and is filed under Activism, Citizens and Participation, Conferences, Democracy, Governance, National, Politics, Presentations, United Kingdom, Webcasts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.