E-Democracy: Engaging Times - Community of Democracies Panel
1. E-Democracy:
Engaging times for all.
Panel Speech - Community of
Democracies 8th Ministerial Conference
Steven Clift – @democracy
KHub.net & E-Democracy.org
Slides: e-democracy.org/learn
10. Problem
• Online public engagement
disconnected from place
• Representative democracy and
participatory democracy based on
place – geography matters!
11. Solution:
Digital town
square via local
online groups
With democratic intent
E-Democracy.org’s
Neighborhoods today – up to
30% of households – more
Lessons apply to Facebook
Groups et al today.
13. Online groups and place
• Freedom of assembly online –
Place + online groups = powerful impact in
real democracy, in real community
• “The most democratizing aspect of the Internet is the ability
of people to organize and communicate in groups.”
Steven Clift in “Democracy is Online” article published by Internet Society, 1998
25. Digital connecting with dem. intent
• Local online spaces everywhere across
multiple platforms
– Need improved discovery, connecting leaders, joint promotion
• Connect people/govs/civsoc by
topics/projects globally ACROSS local
communities – bring “what works” home
- Beyond, but building on the Twitter hashtag
27. Example groups and themes
Social care Health care Environment Flood defense
Voluntary services Transport Police & Fire Education
Housing Benefits Foster care Community services
Digital projects Technology National policy Regional initiatives
Connect with over 1,500 groups working to improve public services
34. Who We Are
E-Democracy.org's mission:
Harness the power of online tools to support
participation in public life, strengthen communities,
and build democracy.
Creating online spaces for civic engagement
since 1994.
35. Today’s work, Ask me about …
• KHub.Net – Knowledge Hub
online groups for government
and NGOs globally
• E-Democracy.org – Leader…
mySociety/Poplus.org outreach
• 1RadioNews.com – Android app
small start-up company
36. You are in the center
“networked individualism”
You
Friends
Family
Communities
Prof. Peers
Public
“Entities”
37. My Neighborhood
Standish and Ericsson Neighborhood, Minneapolis
About 10,000 residents - Small homes, big hearts
Shared online “Neighbors Forum” for 7 years
1400 members, ~30% households
Survey shows +7% in freq. civic activities online in Edem hoods, more
“All politics is local.” – Tip O’Neill, former US House Speaker
38. Knowledge Hub – KHub.net
Digital collaboration space for public
and non-profit sectors
Where public service professionals
connect, exchange knowledge,
experiences to improve public services
100,000+ registered professionals
across 450 public sector organisations
and 11 countries – started in United
Kingdom