Exploring Digital Democracy with ECAS Presentation by Elisa Lironi - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Civic Participation in the Age of Digitalization: Exploring Digital Democracy with ECAS

Presentation by Elisa Lironi ENCC Travelling Academy - Krakow, 15 October 2015

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What is ECAS?

WHO? European Citizen Action Service WHAT? ECAS’s mission is to empower citizens to exercise their rights. We provide:

• High quality services (ex. Your Europe Advice)
• Research (ex. Knowledge Centre)
• Capacity building to civil society organisations (ex. Triple A)

WHY? ECAS aspires to be the EU Resource Centre on citizens’ rights, campaigning for

an inclusive, transparent and democratic Europe, where the benefits of EU citizenship can be fully tapped.

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What is ECAS’ contribution to digital democracy?

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What is Digital Democracy?

Digital Democracy (or eDemocracy) refers to the use of Information and

Communication Technology (ICT) to support democratic decision-making in

• rder to enhance democratic institutions and democratic processes.

It relates to the online activities of governments (administration,

representatives, political parties) and citizens.

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Three perspectives on eDemocracy

Digital Democracy is NOT meant to replace traditional forms of representative democracy, but rather to complement them by adding elements of citizen empowerment and direct democracy. (ECAS, 2015)

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What is Crowdsourcing?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-38uPkyH9vI

Case 1: Constitutional reform in Iceland

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Step 1: 1000 citizens in a National Forum to explain the values they would want

to see in the Icelandic Constitution

Step 2: 25 citizens in the Constitutional Council to produce a draft constitution to

be passed in the Parliament; Openness by social media.

Step 3: Non-binding referendum, 49% turnout

Ultimately stalled in the Parliament!

Case 2: Open Ministry in Finland

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Step 1: Finnish Parliament adopted the New Citizens’ Initiative Act (50 000

signatures in six months would lead to a discussion in Parliament)

Step 2: Open Ministry was launched Example: Off-Road Traffic Act

Case 3: Partido de la Red in Argentina

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Step 1: Creation of DemocracyOS: open-source web application designed to

become a bridge between citizens and their elected representatives (better access to information and to indicate support for new proposals)

Step 2: Offering DemocracyOS to traditional political parties so that they can

build a two-way conversation with their constituencies

Step 3: Founding their own political party (the Net Party) where they would vote

in Congress according to what was decided by citizens on DemocracyOS

Challenges and Lessons

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Challenges Lessons

Defining a clear purpose

• ex. need for institutions to respond to citizens’ demands

Tailor your method to your objective Limited access to technology persists Tailor your method to your public Lack of expertise or motivation to press for social change Tailor your method to your topic Challenge of scale

• ex. on a larger scale more things are needed

Tailor your method to your scale

Do not underestimate the fear for digital tools

We’ve got a government in a box ready to roll in.

(General Stanley A. McChrystal, senior American commander in Afghanistan, speaking at the beginning of an offensive to retake territory from the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, February 2010 – quoted in Filkins, 2010)

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Participation tools need to be tailor made even when they are digital!

Thank you!

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@ElisaLironi ecas.org digidem-utopia.com elisa.lironi@ecas.org