[Winona Online Democracy]
Title: Thanks Kathy..-Notes Steering
Committee
NOTES:
WOD STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING
4:00 pm Tues Feb 8th in the Council Chambers of City Hall
Attendees: Roy Nasstrom, Craig Brooks, Karen Fawcett, and Randy
Schenkat
Agenda:
1. Stats on months
and # of subscriptions and changes
Dec of '03 had 45 posts while Dec of '04 had 78
Jan of '05 had 168 posts while Jan of '03 had 43
So volume is up in this cyclical community endeavor
Our number of subscriptions stays slightly over 200- where it has been
for close to 3 years. . We had a discussion on noting who drops
and decided this isn't public information as no one agreed in
signing up to WOD to release their name as member. 8 new members
have subscribed. However, it was noted that in the 9 members who
have left in the last two months 6 were either staff or elected
members of school board or city council. This is a troubling
finding as, according to our mission statement at web site,
Winona Online
Democracy seeks to be an agent for change in our community by
improving the quality of decision making and providing a direct link
between the public and community leaders.
2. Securing a new
moderator- if Kathy steps down
This shouldn't have been phrased if. Kathy has stepped
down. She has been very exemplary in the
professional way she has been a list manager. For an unpaid job,
Kathy gave many hours in managing the list. Her services are greatly
appreciated and will be missed. But as you can see from her spirited,
recent posts, Kathy has not left WOD. Roy Nasstrom has
agreed to be list manager through April, but we'd appreciate
volunteers coming forward to consider taking the position on a
year's basis. If you're interested please contact Kathy
Seifert for more details [EMAIL PROTECTED]
4. Doing a survey
Given that membership is staying stable.. We decided the issues and
reactions would generally parallel the findings of 2 years. For now,
if you have feedback on WOD, please share it with Randy Schenkat or
Roy Nasstrom off [EMAIL PROTECTED]
5. Community Involvement
We pondered the withdrawal of members/staff of the City
Council and School Board as we think of our mission.
Perhaps WOD posts get too embroiled in controversies. We'd
like to work with cooperating elected officials in some up front ways
to demonstrate how WOD could be a mechanism for understanding public
sentiments as new initiatives are being considered and will be working
on some contacts in that function of WOD.
I've posted a draft from Steve Clift on Work being done in UK --
Please read - are we missing something in the way WOD works?
How can the UK be paying for something our governmental bodies seem to
be rejecting?
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Steven Clift, E-Democracy.Org, 0870 340 1266 after 1 p.m.
Mark Walker, Brighton & Hove
Gavin Sealy, Newham
E-mail all: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
New Model For Local Democracy Online Launched in UK
Brighton & Hove and Newham start Issues Forums, more to follow
London - 8 February 2005 - Want true two-way communication with
citizens and leaders interested in the future of your local
community? The communities of Brighton & Hove and the London
Borough
of Newham will have that chance with new online forums launched
today.
Part of the UK Local E-democracy National Project initiated by the
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the issue-based discussions
differ from current government online consultations. Government
doesn't run the forums, but citizens and officials will
participate
to
communicate, and in many cases set agendas on a wide range of
public
policy issues for their localities.
Local volunteers facilitate and coordinate the forums based on
rules
that encourage substantive discussion without the petty, personal
attacks that often make other online political forums unreadable.
Volunteer facilitators consult with citizens and officials, but
are
independent. For full details and simple sign-up instructions,
see:
http://e-democracy.org/uk
The goals of the forums are two-fold: 1) to empower citizens by
giving them a public platform to share their experiences, points
of
view and questions and 2) to help local authorities provide better
leadership and services by connecting with a broader base of
diverse
citizens.
In the U.S., online Issues Forums have proven a rich source of
stories and perspectives for journalists, whose reporting informs
even
more community members.
Local committees are working with the non-partisan community
organization, E-Democracy.Org, to establish a global model for
local
online citizen participation in the UK and beyond. Minnesota-based
E-
Democracy.Org has built a cost-effective volunteer-based effort
that
has engaged citizens for over a decade.
Using the convenience of a web browser or e-mail program, citizens
who
have been unable or unwilling to participate in traditional public
meetings can more easily participate, spurring better
understanding
of
key issues by more citizens. Gavin Sealy, Newham Issues Forum
Manager,
says, "The forum has the potential for building community
cohesion
within a socially diverse or disparate local population. We
believe
that convenient any time, anywhere participation is key to the
future
of local democracy."
Local authorities can provide better leadership and services by
interacting with more citizens. Mark Walker, co-chair of the
Brighton
& Hove E-Democracy explains, "We want to get people involved
from all
over the city, from the people whose decisions affect our lives as
well as the people whose lives are affected. We'll be doing all we
can
to get people involved."
Fraser Henderson, Project Officer for the National Project Local
E-
democracy, NorthLincsNet commented, "Without debate there is
no
community, these Issues Forums provide an important set of online
deliberative tools that connect communities."
Steven Clift, Board Chair of E-Democracy.Org noted, "We must
build e-
democracy with the citizen's needs up front. That provides
real
value
to local authorities, the local media, and the local community as
a
whole."
E-Democracy.Org is using new and innovative open source technology
from New Zealand to host the UK forums. GroupServer
<http://www.groupserver.org> allows citizens to participate via
e-
mail or the web by utilizing a number of emerging social
networking
techniques that effectively bring groups of people together
online.
A pilot forum in the town of Melksham, Wiltshire plans to launch
during the pilot phase - which lasts through March 15, 2005.
Post-
pilot efforts in Blackburn with Darwin as well as other
communities
are possible based on local citizen interest and formal or
informal
support from local authorities, community groups, and/or new media
initiatives.
For more information or to participate in the forums, visit the E-
Democracy UK Issues Forum Pilots web site at: <http://www.e-
democracy.org/uk>
About the UK Local E-democracy National Project and
E-Democracy.Org
The UK Local E-democracy National Project, a project investigating
new
channels that encourage citizen participation and help councils
and
elected representatives work more effectively, funds this pilot
project.
The �80m Office of the Deputy Prime Minister funded National
Projects
Programme <http://www.localegovnp.org> aims to bring
together
councils, central government, the private sector and others to
define
and deliver projects and national Local e-Government solutions.
E-Democracy.Org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, citizen-based
project,
whose mission is to improve participation in democracy through the
use
of information networks. It began in 1994 as the Internet's
first
election-oriented website which included civic dialogue designed
to
help citizens increase their civic participation. E- Democracy
hosts
active local forums with 1000 to 200 ongoing participants in
Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Winona, Minnesota as well as a start-up
forum in Chicago, Illinois.
--
Randy Schenkat 1358 Skyline Dr. Winona, Mn
55987 507-452-7168
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