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A Place for Citizens - Introduction to the Democratic Society

An introduction to the work of the Democratic Society, a UK-based NGO working on participation, citizenship and democracy.

The question they pose is:

Can we take take the accessibility, information and passion of the Net and combine them with the common spaces, shared rules and need for compromise of the political world?

Democratic Society Introduction

The aim of the society is to build:

A network of local organisations, dedicated to citizenship, not partisan posturing, involving members in national debates.

It is run on democratic lines locally and centrally.

It concentrates on easy participation and allows the best arguments to rise so people can pick them up quickly.

There is a regular schedule for votes so media and politicians can pick them up, then the issue is closed for a while. 

Membership is open to all, but isn't a free-for-all.

Data is open and easy to access on different devices.

It gives members chances to lead and to gain political skills.

Members too shy or busy to debate can explore issues and participate in votes remotely.

We will have to start small, but will have scalability built in and a goal of being the most popular, most authoritative, most trusted place for citizens. 

 

Follow the Democratic society on twitter @demsoc

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Democracy Online: Can the Internet Bring Change?

Early last month, Google brought together experts, advocates and bloggers for a thoughtful - and timely - discussion of democracy online.

 

The panelists discussed how new technology is being used by opponents of repressive regimes and how this freedom of expression has the potential to bring about great democratic changes. Others, however, outlined a less optimistic future, noting that governments are manipulating Internet activists and that the activity amounts to little more than taking offline techniques and moving them online.

The debate sought to answer the questions:

  • Is the Internet stoking democratic change or is its impact hyped?
  • Are repressive regimes conditioning people not to expect free expression on the Internet?
  • Is online organizing little more than a game of Whac-a-Mole with one form of repression being replaced by another?
  • What are the implications for political organizing of the recent discovery that the email accounts of dozens of Chinese human rights advocates appear to have been hacked?

Moderator: Pablo Chavez, Managing Policy Counsel

Panelists: Larry Diamond, Professor & Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University Daniel Calingaert, Deputy Director of Programs, Freedom House Omid Memarian, Iranian Dissident Blogger

For more on the debate check out Google's Public Policy blog.

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