Keynote for the Swedish Local Government conference - talking about the differences between participation and democratic participation

1. Civic Architecture for Cyberspace
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i
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2. When does participation
become democratic
participation?
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3. The democratic question…..
Because people are talking……..
they are just not talking to us…….
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4. International growth of social media usage
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/31/top-
social-media-sites-of-2008-facebook-still-rising/
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

5. With social media as the fastest growing trend
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

6. And some Swedish facts
91% of the Swedes between 16-75 years use the Internet
Almost everyone (99%) between 16 and 30 years uses the
Internet
89% have Internet access at home
There are 3 million Swedish people on Facebook
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7. We need to balance the tensions
Offline Online
Control Involvement
Representative Direct
Democracy Democracy
Communication Consultation
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

8. Old web v. New web
Old eGov Gov 2.0
Presentation / Collaboration/
HTML XML
Content Engagement
Websites Communities
Portals Widgets
From a presentation by http://dontapscott.com/
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

9. Democracy vs Social Web
Democracy Social Web
Authenticated Malleable
identity Identity
Broadcast User generated
message content
Representatives
Co-production
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

10. How do we reconcile these
tensions?
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11. The new social web is an environment
superbly suited to Participatory Design:
Co-creation
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

12. Does Local Government need to respond?
Democratic deficit is growing across Europe
– and democracy needs to change
Democracy needs to happen where the
people are – it can’t happen in isolation
You have to start somewhere – and at least
these people are already participating in
something
Online is a growing trend and if we take a
medium to long term view it is essential that
Local Government has a clear role on the web
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

13. The democratic question…..
Social websites are profoundly different to
most government spaces…….
….and so is democracy….
…..we can’t make a decision on
the basis of how many people
join a facebook group
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

14. In democracy - identity matters
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15. You’ll have seen this before…..
But it makes an important point
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

16. Process is established
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17. Because social media is already used…
…by councils and communities
…to communicate and campaign
http://www.harringayonline.com/ http://www.stopheathrowexpansion.com/
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

18. And there is a role for
representatives
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19. By harnessing the potential of social media
Social web Government
Informal Informal
Civic Formal Formal
social civic Space consultation democratic
News and social Council managed
networking sites services
We need to use tools like forums and petitions which
can transition people from informal to formal
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

20. What’s special about Sweden?
Most of the population are online – and its
not just young people
High levels of formal and informal social
capital – you want to solve your problems
within the system
Pirate Party: Sweden is the only EU country
to both create and realise a new, digitally
native political party.
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

21. The Pirate Party – a digitally native political movement
Annotated graph showing
changes in membership count
during the first four years of the
Swedish Pirate Party
* Police raid on The Pirate Bay
servers
** 2006 general election
*** FRA legislation is passed by
the riksdag
**** Events related to the trial of
the founders of The Pirate Bay
Sharp declines can be attributed
to a one year renewal period,
causing inactive members to be
automatically removed
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_Party_%28Sweden%29)
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

22. Imagine a Virtual Town Hall
A permanent civic space which will provide an
online space for democratic activity
Manage identity within this space
Somewhere where citizens can take an equal
part in shaping the outcomes of their
engagement: a co-created space
Not a website – a web space which brings in
content from the existing social web and
connects it with democratic activities and
outcomes
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

23. Case Studies
EU research project UK pilot
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

24. So how we respond?
We concentrate on what we are good at –
councils are not social spaces so don’t try to be
– no-one wants to be your friend
Listen – the conversation is already happening
– you just need to find it
Provide the right support – and leave the
content to the citizens
Organise geographically – not institutionally
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

25. And how does Government need to change?
Ensure that 'Local' is user defined – its not
about you!
Build an environment for co-creation
Unlock the potential within Councils - trust
officers to engage
Create the idea of Councillor 2.0
Change gears to work at a speed closer to that
of the internet: this means taking risks
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

26. How do we build this?
Do not compromise on democratic
principles - accountability is essential even if its
not web 2.0 friendly in terms of identity
Build an idea of better citizens - and help
people to embrace this
Build the spaces which are needed to enable
this to happen
Build beyond the next trend: think of Civic
Architecture
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

27. Thank you for your time
……and more importantly….what do you think???
Catherine.Howe@public-i.info
Curiouscatherine.wordpress.com
www.public-i.info
Presented by Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i
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