*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://DoWire.Org ***
To access links, see Steven Clift's blog: http://dowire.org/notes/?p=227 Post: Conference - International e-Participation and Local Democracy Symposium - Budapest July 26-28, AND Baltimore August 3, 2006 Come one. Come all. As a follow up to the first symposium in Minneapolis last year (on-demand webcast now available - http://dowire.org/localedem ), this year a two part event in Budapest, Hungary (July 26-28, 499 Euros) and Baltimore, Maryland (August 3, $99) will take place. These will be great events for information-age democracy builders to connect and network. This year I am chairing the "E-Citizen" panel in Baltimore which will feature real stories from the front lines of e-democracy. The draft Budapest agenda is available and I know in Baltimore, the Deliberative Democracy Consortium is helping organize a few of the panel sessions. I'll post any updates that come across my desk to the new Local E-Democracy Exchange online group mentioned just below. The full details on the symposium see (see below for more text): http://www.edemocracysymposium.org If you are interested in local e-democracy, join the proposed Local E-Democracy Exchange (LEX) right now: http://groups.dowire.org/groups/local Initially, I'll use it to share further public updates I am forwarded from this year's symposium organizers. I'd like to see the LEX online community of practice get launch at the symposiums. With periodic guest presentations via teleconferences/webinars, we'd connect at least 500 local government and civil society e-democracy/e-participation practitioners around the world real knowledge sharing. This knowledge sharing will be supported by e-mail/web online discussions, document sharing, and the increasingly popular "who's who" function built into DoWire Groups. While I am a big fan of in-person conferences, if we are to be serious about helping the civil servants and citizen groups implementing e-democracy locally around the world, the organizations building e-democracy with resources will need to join us and support this idea. In my opinion, well promoted and facilitated two-way online information exchange will lead to bigger and bigger traditional e-democracy networking events and conferences in countries around the world. If you know of groups with funding that should chip in to make make the LEX happen, drop them a note about the Local E-Democracy Exchange proposal or share your advice and contacts with me so we can make this happen: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Below are more details on the Budapest and Baltimore symposiums from their website. Sincerely, Steven Clift http://dowire.org P.S. If you can't quite decide about whether to attend the conferences, watch the just released webcasts from last year to help convince you. See: http://dowire.org/localedem From: http://www.edemocracysymposium.org e-Participation, Social Inclusion, Democratic Engagement: The Next Big e-Agenda has Arrived Citizen Centric e-Government: The UN is talking about it. The EU and Council of Europe are talking about it. Governments around the world are grappling with it. But what is it � simply allowing citizens to conduct their business with government online? Or, using the power of IT to radically reengineer the relationship between citizens and government? What�s really happening � merely hosting a few online consultations to talk to the usual suspects? Or, deploying technology in new and innovative ways to ensure that even the hardest to reach groups are included? What�s really coming next � a few isolated initiatives? Or, a new global policy agenda that will radically redefine the way we have all come to think about ?eGovernment.� This summer, senior government officials from central and local government, NGO�s from around the world and leading eGovernment experts will come together to discuss the evolving relationship between eGovernment and eParticipation and to critically re-examine the way in which ?readiness� in these areas is defined and measured globally. To ensure genuine international input from every level of government and all key sectors, participants will have the opportunity to attend the Symposium in either Budapest or Baltimore. The Budapest Symposium will set the stage for discussion and debate around the critical challenges stakeholders face as they struggle to deliver the full potential of e-Government. The Baltimore Symposium will be a 1 day event on the 3 August, which will take the findings of Budapest and explore them at greater depth in the country that has pioneered the art of online campaigning but now faces the challenge of translating e-advocacy tools into more inclusive governing. Help shape the debate by participating in these highly timely and dynamic events. Topics will break outside the conventional conference agenda to critically re-examine the impact of technology on citizen-centric government as we know it. Plenary panels and small group sessions will highlight key democracy activities from all levels of government and society. If you are interested in exploring new approaches to governance and citizen participation in the new information age then this conference is for you. KEY PARTNERS: � UK Department for Communities and Local Government � United Nations � Department of Economic and Social Affairs � Council of Europe � National Association of Secretaries of State, USA � International Centre of Excellence for Local eDemocracy (www.edemocracy.gov.uk) PARTNERS: (in alphabetical order) � American Association of People with Disabilities � AmericaSpeaks � Association of Central and Eastern European Election Officials � Association of Electoral Administrators � De Montfort University � National Association of State Election Directors, USA � North Lincolnshire Council � Politech Institute � Public Forum Institute � Swindon Borough Council � University of Maryland, Baltimore County Budapest Agenda Engaging and Encouraging the Participation of All Citizens - Budapest DAY ONE Welcome Plenary - Setting the scene and Launching the International Centre of Excellence for Democracy Coffee Research Presentation Findings Plenary � The Results and Findings of a Comparative Study into e-Democracy at Municipal Level in Europe and North America Cocktail Reception DAY TWO Morning Plenary � Best Practice and Learning Seminar 1 e-Voting in Legally Binding Elections: Can it be Trusted? Seminar 2 UNDESA: New Ways to Measure e-Participation on a Global Basis Masterclass 1 Voice Toolkit Coffee Seminar 3 Challenges in the Developing World? Seminar 4 Devolving Power: Making Democracy Work Masterclass 2 Be a Blogger, Vlogger, Podcaster! Lunch Seminar 5 Social Inclusion in the 21st Century Debate 1 Should we be Voting in our Pyjamas? Masterclass 3 Voice Toolkit Seminar 6 Current Technology, What�s Hot and What�s Not? Debate 2 Hard to Reach Groups: Why Bother? Masterclass 4 Be a Blogger, Vlogger, Podcaster! Coffee Seminar 7 Policing the Net: Authentication Debate 3 Online Communities: Are They Just For Dating? Masterclass 5 Access to Accessibility Evening Dinner DAY THREE Morning Plenary � The Future Seminar 7 e-Government Connections and Challenges Seminar 8 >From e-Voting to e-Participation: Connecting Governments, Parliaments and >Civil Society Masterclass 5 TBA Closing Plenary *** Democracies Online Newswire - http://DoWire.Org *** To comment/for links: http://dowire.org/notes/?p=227 To network: http://groups.dowire.org Submit posts: http://dowire.org/submit Member profile for Steven: http://groups.dowire.org/main/contacts/stevenclift ----------------------------------------- Group home for Newswire - Steven Clift's blog posts by e-mail: http://groups.dowire.org/main/groups/newswire Replies go to members of Newswire - Steven Clift's blog posts by e-mail with all posts on this topic here: http://groups.dowire.org/topic/114227 For digest version or to leave Newswire - Steven Clift's blog posts by e-mail, email [email protected] with "digest on" or "unsubscribe" in the *subject*. Newswire - Steven Clift's blog posts by e-mail is hosted by Democracies Online - http://dowire.org.
