Archive for the ‘good practice’ Category

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Citizen Space launches- an open source consultation and engagement platform

25. November 2010 – 18:39 by Delib

PEP-NET member Delib has launched Citizen Space, an open-source consultation and engagement platform.  Citizen Space has been developed as a collaborative project between the UK Government and digital democracy company Delib, and has been designed to help government departments to set-up, organise and publicise consultations across the internet with one easy-to-use system.

Co-design

Co-design has been at the heart of the Citizen Space project, with government departments involved at each stage of Citizen Space’s 12 month development process.

Easy-to-use and empowering

Key objectives that Citizen Space has been designed to address include:

- Manage and organise multiple consultations across multiple policy teams

- Share consultation information openly in a structured way

- Create a easy and robust way to create online consultations on complex policy documents

- Provide a way to easily analyse consultation data (both qualitative and quantitative)

- Provide a central space to manage / track responses – whether it’s online responses or postal responses

Open source

Citizen Space has been developed as an open-source consultation and engagement platform, enabling government departments and the wider digital democracy community to build on the foundations that have been developed, leveraging efficiencies by sharing development costs and benefits.

The open source nature of the Citizen Space platform also means that government departments are flexible in how they implement and use Citizen Space, as they’re not bound by specific vendor licenses.

An expandable suite of online engagement tools

Citizen Space is a set of open source software, which consists of Consultation Finder and Quick Consult. Importantly, Citizen Space is designed as an open-source platform which can be freely added to over time – with all improvements benefiting the government community as a whole.

Consultation Finder

Consultation Finder is a centralised hub designed to help in-house teams manage consultation processes efficiently online.

* Central platform for multi-partner management

* Consultation database to find and sort multiple consultations

* Easy-to-use content management system

* RSS syndication for sharing

Quick Consult

Quick Consult is an online consultation app designed to allow government departments to quickly and easily create an interactive policy consultation.

* Easily set up both linear and non-linear online consultations

* Let people comment on complex policy-documents

* Analyse quantitative and qualitative data

* Manage respondents live

To see a demo version of Citizen Space, visit www.citizenspace.com/demo.



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Conclusions from the e-Democracy Conference 2010 held in Ohrid, Macedonia

16. November 2010 – 17:49 by Institute for Electronic Participation

e-Democracy Conference 2010 OhridThis year largest eDemocracy conference in South East Europe took place during 12-14th September, 2010 in Ohrid, Macedonia.

The e-Democracy Conference 2010 welcomed 30 delegations from 15 countries. 100 participants from Parliaments, Governments and Official Journals, as well as representatives from international organizations, business sector and academia were engaged in fruitful and interesting discussions about the role that ICT can play into improving the democracy and transparency of the public institutions.  More information about the conference is available at https://www.edemocracy.mk.

The e-Democracy Conference 2010 topics included:

  • Future and emerging technologies for e-Democracy
  • Compliance and standards (EU perspective)
  • How to support “Green IT” initiative in the policy development
  • ICT in legislative knowledge management
  • How can information technology transform the way parliaments and governments work
  • Interoperability in the legislative process
  • Parliaments and Democracy in the Twenty-first century
  • State of ICT development in Parliaments
  • ICT in parliaments current practices
  • e-Parliaments-The Use of ICT to Improve Parliamentary Processes

The participants at the e-Democracy Conference 2010 agreed that the progress that Macedonia has made in using ICT for improving democracy is an example that all the countries in the region should follow.

Read the rest of this entry »



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Second Life for eParticipation? An exclusive sneak preview of Birmingham’s Virtual Library

16. November 2010 – 12:00 by John Heaven (TuTech Innovation GmbH)

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Birmingham's Virtual Library. Click for larger image

It’s easy to reject Second Life as an eParticipation platform, but Birmingham City Council is just about to launch a virtual model of the planned £193m Library of Birmingham. I spoke to representatives of the Council and the company that they are working with to find out what they are doing, and how they are making the virtual library accessible to a wide audience. What I found was fascinating, and I really think Second Life deserves a second look.

Second Life is a virtual world that allows users to assume a second identity and explore a digital three-dimensional world. It’s not difficult to see how this could be used to enable people to “go” to places they wouldn’t otherwise visit, network with people from far away, or take part in virtual events. That’s the theory; but my big issue with Second Life is that it is a very niche audience and it takes quite a lot of effort to download the software and work out how to use it. Once you’re in there, it’s great to be able to look at these virtual buildings and access information; but I can view videos, read text, and chat to friends much more easily using the internet outside Second Life. So why would a city council be interested in Second Life? Read the rest of this entry »



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Is Internet becoming the most powerful force in the European Union?

11. November 2010 – 11:20 by Institute for Electronic Participation

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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT INFORMATION OFFICE FOR SLOVENIA, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT INFORMATION OFFICE FOR SWEDEN and PRO ET CONTRA, INSTITUTE FOR CULTURE IN DIALOGUE

invite you to join the global virtual community in an
ONLINE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CITIZENS FORUM to discuss

“IS INTERNET BECOMING THE MOST POWERFUL FORCE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION?”

with Members of the European Parliament Tanja Fajon (S&D/SD), participating from Kiberpipa, Slovenia and Christian Engström (Greens-EFA/Pirate Party) participating from Sweden.

Moderator: Simon Delakorda (Institute for Electronic Participation)

In order to participate simply go to the Online Citizens Forum Web Page https://www.evropske-razprave.si/video-stream-Ljubljana-12-11-10.

The web page will support online participation through a video stream of the discussion taking place in Kiberpipa, Ljubljana (https://www.kiberpipa.org) while your direct participation will be supported through a special chat room in which the moderator will be taking questions prior to and during the discussion.

The on-line event is going to start on Friday, November 12th 2010 at 17.30 (CET). Everyone that wishes to join us in the near virtual world is welcome to visit Kiberpipa Kersnikova 6, Ljubljana or in Kibla, Ulica kneza Koclja 9, Maribor.

Content:
(more at https://www.evropske-volitve.si/images/stories/datoteke/pamflet_Internet-Citizens-forum-2010.pdf)

    * Free flow of information and services in the European Union and the protection of copyright and patent laws.
    * The role of the European Union in ensuring the protection of all internet users.
    * The future of information technologies and new forms of political participation with respect to the functioning and the role of the European Parliament in political life.

The event is organized by European Parliament Information Office for Slovenia, European Parliament Information Office for Sweden, Pro et Contra – Institute for Culture in Dialouge (https://www.zainproti.com) in cooperation with Kiberpipa. Web streaming of the European Parliament Citizens Forum is provided by the Institute for Electronic Participation (INePA) – https://www.inepa.si and Studio 12 – https://www.studio12.si.

The European Parliament Citizens Forum started in 2005 with the aim to bring together on the one hand European citizens, NGO representatives and on the other Members of the European Parliament, representatives of national and local authorities to discuss current European affairs.



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Video lecture: Mapping eDemocracy in SEE: from UN eParticipation index to NGOs cases in Slovenia

8. September 2010 – 22:40 by Institute for Electronic Participation

https://videolectures.net/forum2010_delakorda_meis/According to the latest UN E-Participation Index measurement, the majority of South Eastern European countries improved their global standing regarding the quality and usefulness of information and services for the purpose of engaging its citizens in public policy making through the use of e-government programs. Nevertheless, e-participation in SEE countries is still falling behind their e-government developments. An overview of current e-participation situation in SEE within government domain will be presented, highlighting key elements needed for strengthening e-democracy in the region. One of them will be focused on non-governmental organizations and civil society e-participation experience (e.g. on-line Citizen’s forum) needed for shaping inclusive and citizens oriented e-government policy.

Link to video lecture: https://videolectures.net/forum2010_delakorda_meis/
Link to presentation: https://www.inepa.si/images/stories/mapping_edemocracy_see_region_delakorda.pdf.

Lecture presented by Simon Delakorda, M. Sc., executive director, Institute for Electronic Participation (INePA) and member of the Central and Eastern Citizens Network eParticipation expert group.

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E-participation & E-democracy workshop – Citizens Participation University 2010

6. August 2010 – 17:28 by Institute for Electronic Participation

E-participation & E-democracy workshop was organized as a part of the Citizens Participation University 2010 which took place from 20th to 24th of July in the Civil College in Kunszentmiklós-Kunbábony (Hungary).

10 NGOs representatives and activists from Armenia, Belgium, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Poland and Romania attended the workshop.

Participants were introduced with E-participation / E-democracy concept, political documents of the Council of Europe relating to eDemocracy, current e-participation developments in Central and Eastern Europe and different e-participation tools as well as good practices. The second part of the workshop facilitated open discussion about opportunities for involving e-participation tools into current and future civil society projects in the region.

The workshop was lead by Mr. Csaba Madarász (e-democracy expert and consultant, Hungary) and Mr. Simon Delakorda, M.Sc. (Institute for Electronic Participation, Slovenia)

Citizens Participation University 2010 was organized by the Civil College Foundation and Central and Eastern European Citizens Network (CEE CN).

Csaba Madarász and Simon Delakorda

Workshop presentations:
1. eParticipation in the CEE: NGO’s perspective (pdf, 4,10 mb).

E-participation & E-democracy workshop - Citizens Participation University 2010
Citizens Participation University 2010 participants @ CEE CN

Simon Delakorda and Csaba Madarász
Simon Delakorda and Csaba Madarász @ CEE CN



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PEP-NET Summit: ePartizipation diskutieren – fördern – weiterentwickeln

9. July 2010 – 16:11 by Dorothee Ruetschle (TuTech Innovation GmbH)
Photo by fRandi-Shooters on Flickr.com

Photo by fRandi-Shooters on Flickr.com

Europas Netzwerk für ePartizipation PEP-NET – Pan European eParticipation Network – lädt am 23. September 2010 in die historische Speicherstadt der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg ein. Im Mittelpunkt der von Richard Wilson, dem Begründer von Involve and izwe, moderierten eintägigen Veranstaltung steht das Thema Online-Bürgerbeteiligung – ePartizipation.

Beleuchtet werden insbesondere die Facetten
- ePartizipation in Europa: strategische Ziele vs. Umsetzung
- Die Zukunft der ePartizipation: regional, national und international
- Vorzeigeprojekte der ePartizipation: Berichte aus dem Praxisfeld

Die internationale Tagung ist für die Bedürfnisse von Vertretern aus Verwaltung, Wissenschaft, Wirtschaft und Bürgerorganisationen konzeptioniert. Gerade in Zeiten knapper Kassen stehen verschiedene Ausprägungen der ePartizipation, wie Bürgerhaushalte, die Beteiligung der Bürger an Gesetzgebungsverfahren, Open Data, Bürgerbeteiligung in der Politikfeldgestaltung, cooperative government und Transparenz bei Kommunen, Ländern und Nationen auf der Agenda. PEP-NET widmet sich der Förderung der ePartizipation und schafft mit der Veranstaltung eine besondere Plattform für einen intensiven Austausch, weiterführende Diskussionen und anregende Gespräche mit hochrangigen Persönlichkeiten.

PEP-NET freut sich besonders, die Teilnahme beitragsfrei anbieten zu können. Eine Anmeldung für die limitierte Veranstaltung ist ab sofort über die Online-Registrierung unter https://pep-net.eu/pep-net-summit/ möglich.

Der offizielle Hashtag für die Veranstaltung ist #PEPSUM



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Call for nomination for the 10 Who Are Changing the World of Politics & the Internet

7. July 2010 – 08:59 by Eric Legale
PoliticsOnline and the World eGov Forum are proud to open the call for nominations of the Top 10 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics. For the eleventh year in a row, PoliticsOnline subscribers and visitors from around the world will help select the top 10 individuals, organizations and companies having the greatest impact on the way the Internet is changing politics.

Submit your nominations now

The winners will be invited as honored guests to the 11th World eDemocracy Forum October 13-15, 2010, in Issy-les-Moulineaux, (Paris, France), where they’ll take part in an awards ceremony and other special programs throughout the two-day forum.

This prestigious award seeks to recognize the innovators and pioneers – those who blaze new e-political trails everyday, the dreamers and doers who bring democracy online. But we need your help to nominate honorees. If you know of someone or something deserving recognition, send in your nomination today.

Criteria:

  • Highly effective leaders who are making outstanding e-political and e-governmental achievements
  • Forward thinking organizations that have led the way in this revolution
  • Innovative ideas or strategies that have forever changed the political process

You can submit a nomination by filling out the form here, asking for a brief statement (200 words or less) describing the person and or institution, and why they deserve recognition. Be sure to include all necessary reference info and URLs.

A “Top 10 nominee list” will be published July 9, from which voters will be asked to select the final top 10.

Submit your nominations now



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“Our Budget, Our Economy” and “BürgerForum” – two large-scale strategies to involve people in an opinion forming process

29. June 2010 – 10:55 by Simone Gerdesmeier

One of the major tasks the organizers of eParticipation projects face is designing workflows to bring thousands of people together in one online discussion – especially when the aim is not only to deliberate about a specific topic, but to produce concrete and useful outcomes. Two projects in America and Germany try to reach out to citizens all over the nation, using two very different approaches: In the US, “Our Budget, our Economy”, organized by AmericaSpeaks, and in Germany, the BürgerForum, initiated by the Bertelsmann Stiftung and Heinz Nixdorf Stiftung and conducted with the help of Zebralog Hagedorn.

“Our Budget, Our Economy” has reached its peak with a series of live events, so called Town Meetings, all over the USA on June 26th.  Here, approximately 3,500 participants have discussed about the federal budget and worked out a message, saying which reforms they find to be most important. As the organizers announced, the project should help the participants to “weigh-in on the difficult choices necessary to put our federal budget on a sustainable path.”

We at Zebralog are currently working on the third edition of the BürgerForum, an online-discussion forum dedicated to produce the so called citizen agenda. In 2011, about 10,000 German citizens are going to join the discussion about the growing diversity in Germany’s society. Read the rest of this entry »



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€150k for the world’s best inclusion project: the Reinhard Mohn Prize 2011

28. June 2010 – 12:16 by John Heaven (TuTech Innovation GmbH)
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Screenshot of vitalizing-democracy.org

As football fans worldwide roar at their televisions, the German Bertelsmann Stiftung is kicking off another prize with arguably more at stake than the World Cup. Has your project found new ways of involving underrepresented citizens? If so, you could be in with a chance of winning the Reinhard Mohn Prize 2011, with prize money of € 150,000!

If you know of a project run by a governmental organisation that deserves to win the Reinhard Mohn Prize 2011, simply visit vitalizing-democracy.org by 22nd August to nominate it. You can also discuss projects that have been submitted so far. By the following phase, which lasts until 6th October 2010, 20 projects will have been selected and you can continue to discuss them on the website. This will be followed by a public consultation before the prize is presented in June 2011 in Gütersloh, Germany. The person who nominates the winning project will be invited to the award ceremony. Read the rest of this entry »