Are you interested in how to build stronger democracies in the information age? While broad access and use of the Internet is required for "citizen" participation online, the reality is that in the most wired countries most of the "e-democracy" activity is institutional in nature. When I visited Mongolia, it was clear to me that e-democracy ideas are not a "wait until most people are online" luxury - social expectations for this medium are being built now and we don't just want it to be viewed as a shopping mall, but also a town square. In that vein, I encourage development organisations to send delegates to the International Symposium on Local E-Democracy. You should also consider proposing a small group session on Developing Democracies and E-Democracy.
Finally, please pass this on to those in government, NGOs, or media "e-participation" circles that you think would benefit from a chance to network with their global peers. Thanks, Steven Clift ************************************************ International Symposium on Local E-Democracy July 26-27, 2005 Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA http://dowire.org/localedem The International Symposium on Local E-Democracy is a dynamic conference exploring leading e-democracy trends around the world. The next day, a field trip to the "wired" chambers of the Minnesota State Legislature and Northfield, Minnesota's community blogging efforts along with traveling color commentary will bring one of birthplaces of "e-democracy" to life. This is the world's first international conference focused specifically on local e-democracy. We expect representatives of a number of government, non-profit, research, and civic organisations to attend. If you are interested in improving governance and citizen participation in the information age, this conference is for you. The symposium is sponsored by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in the United Kingdom and the UK Local e-Democracy National Project along with other partners. * Register Today - Full Conference Details http://dowire.org/localedem Or sign-up for future conference e-mail updates: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Plenary Themes The following panels are being developed: - Informed Elections - From e-voting to voter education online - E-Government and Democracy - Leading e-democracy practices in governance and civic education - Local Citizens and Community Online - Citizen e-activism, local blogging, and media online We promise short presentations with an emphasis on interactive discussion. * Small Group Sessions and Networking Small group sessions, proposed via the conference "wiki" website by conference participants, provide an interactive opportunity for discussion of diverse topics. We expect 50 to 100 participants. Extensive opportunities for networking among practitioners, experts, and researchers will be provided. This includes a "tailgating" pre-conference event with E-Democracy.Org the evening of Monday, July 25 at a St. Paul Saints outdoor minor league baseball game. * 60 Second Pitch Do you have an e-democracy project, idea, technology, etc. that you want to share? Up to 20 speakers will have one minute to powerfully communicate their e-democracy message. * Stay Tuned The final agenda and list of speakers and small group sessions will be released on the conference website: http://dowire.org/localedem ***UPDATE: The full agenda with over 25 speakers is now out: http://www.dowire.org/wiki/Symposium_agenda * Cost and Hotel The fee for the conference is a modest $125 US (~70 GBP, 102 Euros). The enrolled student rate is $75 US. This will cover your symposium participation and the luncheon. For those joining us on the field trip, transportation will be provided at no additional cost. The pre-conference baseball event will be $15. Hotel accommodation in Minneapolis, with free Wi-Fi Internet access, is available at the special conference rate of $99 plus tax per night just a couple blocks away from our conference location, the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota. Please use the conference website to register and reserve your accommodations: http://dowire.org/localedem * Receive E-mail Updates - Note Your Interest If you plan to attend or are not quite ready to register, please sign-up to receive conference announcements. Simply e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Contact Us To contact the conference team, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Additional Details and Link About Minnesota - Plan a Minne-vacation http://www.dowire.org/wiki/Minnesota Transportation Advice http://www.dowire.org/wiki/Symposium_transportation Propose Small Group Sessions http://www.dowire.org/wiki/Sessions Highlights from the Global E-Democracy Best Practices Work http://www.dowire.org/wiki/UK_highlights UK Local E-Democracy National Project http://www.e-democracy.gov.uk Office of the Deputy Prime Minister http://www.odpm.gov.uk Steven Clift - http://publicus.net email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Join DoWire: http://dowire.org E-Democracy: http://e-democracy.org ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
