*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** Below are two messages from John Gray who is with the Scottish Highland Council and two releases from the International Teledemocracy Centre in Edinburgh. Scotland is definitely a place to watch when it come to e-democracy developments. Check out ITC's E-Democracy Toolkit <http://www.teledemocracy.org/htmldir/ourwork/toolkit.html> and the Electronic Democracy and Educating Young People article <http://www.teledemocracy.org/htmldir/ourwork/publications.html>. Ann Macintosh's presentation based on this paper was one of the major highlights of the Digital Citizenship last month conference in Sweden. It is a MUST READ article that integrates technology, research, theory, and real world application. The result is one of the most useful and informative articles I have read on e-democracy. Steven Clift Democracies Online Newswire Two messages from John Gray: GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROP TRIALS: A DISCUSSION FORUM: http://www.highland.gov.uk/discussion_forum/gmcrops/forum.html The Highland Council has launched a discussion forum on Genetically Modified Crop Trials. We launched this debate in response to public concern, compounded by the lack of consultation by central government with local communities and their democratically elected representatives. We are keen to engage the public, communities, organisations, interested stakeholders and opinion from further a field in this debate, and warmly welcome your input into this electronic discussion. Our on-line discussion forum has been designed to be user friendly. It is hoped that this will enable and encourage people to participate in the consultation process. The discussion forum can be accessed from The Highland Council's home page http://www.highland.gov.uk/ or directly at the following WWW address: http://www.highland.gov.uk/discussion_forum/gmcrops/forum.html NATIONAL PARKS IN SCOTLAND - LESSONS FROM NORTH AMERICA? http://www.think-net.org/ We in Scotland are just developing National Parks and would welcome your experience on how to do this. What frustrations do you have? Are these because of how you are set up? Could these issues be overcome through better regulations, management procedures, etc. What works well for you? Do your powers go far enough? Are the boundaries of your national park suitable? Do they encompass an appropriate sphere of influence or should they have been drawn tighter or further afield. What features provide a good park boundary, a road side, the edge of a settlement, a river? To assist us with the preliminary stages, we in the Highlands of Scotland are hosting an electronic debate on our think-net website. Please feel free to log on and participate in the debate. We would certainly value input from your experience on issues highlighted above and on the matters raised within the paper as posted on our web site and the emerging discussion. URL: http://www.think-net.org/ Many thanks for your time and consideration, I look forward to reading your comments. Regards John Gray Chief Executive's Office The Highland Council Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, HIGHLAND, IV3 5NX Scotland Europe Tel No: 01463 702706, E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (www.highland.gov.uk)(www.hi-ways.org)(www.think-net.org) From: http://www.teledemocracy.org/htmldir/ourwork/itc_news.html ITC plays key role in Highland Youth Voice Elections 18th September 2000 Our electronic election system called e-voter is being used from 4th September to 10th October 2000, to support the Highland Youth Voice elections. It will support the education of the voters on the purpose of the election, the voting process and arrangements for the counting of the votes. Specifically the site will be used for voting and discussion by young people who have registered in each of 28 schools in the Highland area, and other authorised users, provided that they authenticate their identity. It may also be accessed on a ‘read-only’ basis by any internet user. 11 to 18 year old school pupils - who have registered to use the site are able to - read Election News - vote - read candidate statements - read and post comments in an issue-based threaded discussion forum - read results of the election turnout and voting The system can be seen at the Highland Youth Voice web site. <http://www.highlandyouthvoice.org/> First e-petition to Downing Street - Press Release 20th July 2000 A campaign aiming to protect Scottish fishing jobs is looking to net a whole new raft of supporters including Prime Minister Tony Blair. WWF - the global environment network - today launches its Oceans Recovery Campaign (ORCA) to raise awareness of the plight of the UK's marine environment. A key part of the campaign is the first-ever e-petition to be accepted by No 10 Downing Street. Designed by the International Teledemocracy Centre (ITC) at Napier University, in partnership with BT Scotland, the e-petition is calling for action by government to regenerate the seas, including the piloting of Fishing-Free Zones and a stronger network of Marine Protected Areas. Ann Macintosh, Director of ITC said, “We want to work with government to develop teledemocracy to enable more open, democratic and effective government. Having brought together best practice from around the world to develop the internet petition system, it is very exciting to see the concept transposed onto a real live issue. We are delighted that the value of our work is being recognised at the highest level.” Graham Moore, Director BT Scotland, said: “BT Scotland is playing a key role in delivering an electronic Scotland to ensure that everyone has access to the democratic process and this is a excellent step towards that.” The Centre has already gained a formal agreement with the Scottish Parliament. In May the Parliament agreed to accept petitions submitted to it electronically via the ITC's e-petitioner system for a trial period of one year. Members of the public can sign the ORCA petition online by visiting the e- petitioner. Petitioners can also lend their support by visiting a specially-designed interactive yellow submarine which will be hitting the campaign trail around the UK over the next three months. ^ ^ ^ ^ Steven L. Clift - W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis - - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - - T: +1.612.822.8667 USA - - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE *** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage *** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
