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National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation: October 3-5, 2008 in Austin, Texas

Published by Tim on July 2, 2008 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments

Intellitics will attend this year’s National Conference on Dialogue and Deliberation, October 3-5, 2008 in Austin, Texas.

Here’s a quote from the NCDD email newsletter from today that gives you the details:

1.  Latest on the 2008 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation: Creating Cultures of Collaboration

We know your budget is tight this year, but if you are only able to attend one conference in 2008, we think it should be this one. Many people have told us our conferences are the best they’ve ever experienced. I just got an email from Larry Dressler saying the last NCDD conference (his first) was “probably the most innovatively designed meeting of this kind that I’ve ever attended.”

Our conferences are highly participatory (no keynotes and no traditional, dry panels), highly innovative (we try new things each year that are often imitated) and highly accessible (regular registration is only $375, which is about half of what comparable events cost). But the best thing about our conferences, by far, is the people. NCDD events draw the most intelligent, kind-hearted, positive, and thoughtful people I’ve ever encountered, and they’re what make our gatherings great.

So here’s what’s new…

a. The preliminary conference schedule is up at www.thataway.org/events/?page_id=113 - it’s shaping up to be our best conference yet. Confirmed workshops will be added shortly.

b. Our featured speakers are pictured and described at www.thataway.org/events/?page_id=156 - the stellar line-up includes D&D stars Carolyn Lukensmeyer, Bill Isaacs, Frances Moore Lappe, David Campt, Jim Fishkin and Hans-Peter Meister.

c.  At NCDD Austin, we’ll be tackling 5 of the main challenges facing our field. Check them out at www.thataway.org/events/?p=106

NCDD 2008 is co-sponsored by the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy at Kansas State University, the Global Facilitator Service Corps, the Forum Foundation, the Democracy Imperative, the Bluebonnet Hills Christian Church, the LBJ Presidential Library, and Regis University’s Institute on the Common Good, and Everyday Democracy and Hal Saunders are Partners of the conference.

Learn more about the 2008 NCDD conference, which will take place October 3-5 in Austin, Texas, at www.thataway.org/events - or register at www.thataway.org/events/?page_id=136 .  Hope to see you there!

Their 2006 conference was held in San Francisco and a truly spectecular event, in terms of both content and people.

If you’re interested in doing something at or around the conference that focuses on the online component to dialogue, deliberation, or public participation, make sure to drop me a line or simply leave a comment.

New European online community for e-participation and e-democracy

Published by Tim on April 5, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

I just joined a recently launched online community at epractice.eu, a portal created by the European Commission which connects practitioners from the e-government, e-participation, e-health etc. field from all across the European Union. It is “an interactive initiative that empowers its users to discuss and influence open government, policy-making and the way in which public administrations operate and deliver services.”

From the welcome message to their new eParticipation and eDemocracy Network:

Welcome to the eParticipation and eDemocracy Network

The eParticipation and eDemocracy Network is now open to all interested in issues such as eEngagement, eDeliberation, eInvolvement, eLegislation and eVoting, as well as eDecision, eRule and ePolicy-making. Despite this broad remit, however, these issues are all inter-related and contribute to new concepts and practices for the governance of our societies. Thus, it is also important not to see ‘e’ tools as separate from traditional democratic and participatory processes, for example there are potentially fundamental impacts on the relationships between representative and direct democracy. The community is an open platform for meeting and sharing experiences and knowledge, as well as for asking and providing support. It will encompass blog discussions, news items, good practices, promoting events and sharing documents and source material. It will also link to and help coordinate the various European Commission supported studies and projects directly relevant to eParticipation and eDemocracy. [...]

At Intellitics, that sounds like our cup of tea.

Already, a number of well-known European e-democracy practitioners and advocates have signed up. Given epractice.eu’s track record as a valuable resource in this field, I expect this community to get off to a great start.

Feel free to look me up. Look forward to insightful discussions and meeting great people.