Short ten minute presentation to Community of Democracies 8th Ministerial conference in El Salvador. (100+ member nation network)

1. E-Democracy:
Engaging times for all.
Panel Speech - Community of
Democracies 8th Ministerial Conference
Steven Clift – @democracy
KHub.net & E-Democracy.org
Slides: e-democracy.org/learn

2. Breaking the ice …
“I believe in people”

3. I also believe in cats …
see second video for context.

4. 1994 – I woke up
hearing my name
on the radio …
World’s 1st election
information website
E-debate, citizen
forum online

5. Government by day… Citizen by night

6. 20 Years,
6 Lessons

7. 1. About
People

8. Social Media – Private Life First
… about
“Public
Life”
second
Relevance,
necessity
key

9. 2. Local
Matters

10. Problem
• Online public engagement
disconnected from place
• Representative democracy and
participatory democracy based on
place – geography matters!

11. Solution:
Digital town
square via local
online groups
With democratic intent
E-Democracy.org’s
Neighborhoods today – up to
30% of households – more
Lessons apply to Facebook
Groups et al today.

12. 3. Groups

13. Online groups and place
• Freedom of assembly online –
Place + online groups = powerful impact in
real democracy, in real community
• “The most democratizing aspect of the Internet is the ability
of people to organize and communicate in groups.”
Steven Clift in “Democracy is Online” article published by Internet Society, 1998

14. City Hall
In-person
Conversations
Shared on
Facebook
Your
Networks
Local
Media
Y
o
u
Local Biz
Neighbor#1
Local
Online
Groups
Join Group
Online public
space in “real”
community

15. 4. Agenda-
Setting

16. Sharing
power –
People to
people
Social media
today: FB News
Feeds, Hashtags

18. Why do local online spaces
strengthen representative
democracy? Elected officials:
•“They are
my voters.”

19. 5. Engage
Inclusively

20. Raising
New
Voices?
US-wide
numbers
show
divide
Source: PewInternet

21. E-Democracy’s
New Voices Slides
Video
More
Just Ask? Yes.

22. Facebook-Native Local Politicians
● Minneapolis Councillors asking questions,
directly engaging, case study

23. 6. Glocal
Knowledge

24. How do we
connect “what
works” across
communities?

25. Digital connecting with dem. intent
• Local online spaces everywhere across
multiple platforms
– Need improved discovery, connecting leaders, joint promotion
• Connect people/govs/civsoc by
topics/projects globally ACROSS local
communities – bring “what works” home
- Beyond, but building on the Twitter hashtag

26. Work socially, work smarter - KHub.net

27. Example groups and themes
Social care Health care Environment Flood defense
Voluntary services Transport Police & Fire Education
Housing Benefits Foster care Community services
Digital projects Technology National policy Regional initiatives
Connect with over 1,500 groups working to improve public services

28. OpenGov
Facebook
Group
Join 4,000
members from
100+ nations
Sharing daily

29. Conclusion

30. Let’s be the
Engagement
Generation.
Let’s build it local everywhere. Together.

31. Thanks!
StevenClift.com
Slides: e-democracy.org/learn
KHub.net
1RadioNews.com
@democracy
clift@e-democracy.org
+1-612-234-7072 - M

32. Slides I took out for length
For dozens more recent slides, see
my June 2015 slide collection used
in Taiwan and the Philippines
Extra Slides

33. Global
media
attention
A new
Athens of
democracy??!
Media
over-hype.

34. Who We Are
E-Democracy.org's mission:
Harness the power of online tools to support
participation in public life, strengthen communities,
and build democracy.
Creating online spaces for civic engagement
since 1994.

35. Today’s work, Ask me about …
• KHub.Net – Knowledge Hub
online groups for government
and NGOs globally
• E-Democracy.org – Leader…
mySociety/Poplus.org outreach
• 1RadioNews.com – Android app
small start-up company

36. You are in the center
“networked individualism”
You
Friends
Family
Communities
Prof. Peers
Public
“Entities”

37. My Neighborhood
Standish and Ericsson Neighborhood, Minneapolis
About 10,000 residents - Small homes, big hearts
Shared online “Neighbors Forum” for 7 years
1400 members, ~30% households
Survey shows +7% in freq. civic activities online in Edem hoods, more
“All politics is local.” – Tip O’Neill, former US House Speaker

38. Knowledge Hub – KHub.net
Digital collaboration space for public
and non-profit sectors
Where public service professionals
connect, exchange knowledge,
experiences to improve public services
100,000+ registered professionals
across 450 public sector organisations
and 11 countries – started in United
Kingdom

39. #blacklivesmatter #hashtag
fueled
urgent news
and protest
info sharing
Good Fight
podcast

40. X. Info/Data
Notice

41. Open Government Partnership

43. Open Gov
Data
“demand”
from
technical
public,
government
has supply

44. With, not for