Reflections on eDemocracyCamp
From their website…
eDemocracyCamp is an unconference (what’s this?) about e-democracy (using the internet to support democratic processes) with a particular focus on e-participation (using the internet to support public participation). The goal is to connect government officials, researchers, developers, practitioners, and regular citizens for a day of intense collaboration and knowledge sharing.
From my perspective it was a lot more, and a lot less as well, and that’s not necessarily critical.
As far as “eDemocracy” goes, I don’t think regular citizens were well represented; every one in attendance seemed to have a solid grasp, if not vested interest in the future, near and far, of eDemocracy. I don’t think that is a bad thing. In truth, I’m not sure if regular citizens are quite ready for it yet, and in examining the (truly excellent) enthusiasm on display, I think its only weakness was its hopefulness. That’s just a personal opinion, and I will be quite happy to be proven wrong.
I did notice that, although plenty of “good ideas” were being presented, the few I pursued for more detail all seemed to lack a common element: engagement with the public prior to the investment of time and energy to further the idea or project. But, of course, I would be sensitive to that — it is what NCDD is all about.
As a gathering to network and share ideas, it was an excellent event, one that I’m very happy to have attended.
