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eDemocracyCamp

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on January 31, 2008 at 5:14:06 pm
 

Welcome to eDemocracyCamp!

The place for innovators, optimists, and concerned citizens. March 1-2, 2008 in Washington, DC

 

We are building off the momentum of the 2008 Politics Online Conference which always draws a spectacular crowd. If you are coming into town for one of these events you should definitely check out the other one in order to make the most of your time here in DC.

 

eDemocracyCamp will be the first BarCamp with a focus specifically on e-democracy. eDemocracyCamp will connect citizens, researchers, developers, practitioners and anyone else interested in the topic to learn about the current state of e-democracy and share their visions for its future direction. Topics may include (but aren't limited to): e-democracy, e-participation, e-government, e-voting, online civic engagement, online political campaigning, online dialogue and deliberation. Technical tracks may cover things like the importance of open standards, hacktivism, mashups etc.

 

The general goal is to learn/share how the web can help us better govern ourselves, support democratic structures, make online civic participation more accessible, convenient, fun, efficient etc.

 

  • What is out there today (in terms of tools, processes, projects, products, initiatives etc.)?
  • What works, doesn't work, needs work?
  • What are opportunities for collaboration as we move forward?
  • Meet the movers and shakers in this field.

 

Diversity is key: The more people we have who come to this from different angles, the better.

 

Event details

 

  • When: Saturday, March 1st (11:00 AM - 6:00 PM) and Sunday, March 2nd (10:00 AM - 4:00 PM)
  • Where: Washington DC, (specific venue TBD)
  • Kick-off: Friday, February 29 (dinner/drinks/lounge, starts about 8:00 PM, details tbd)
  • Note: This is the weekend prior to 2008 Politics Online Conference, to be held March 4-5, 2008 in Washington D.C. Hopefully, some of the people attending POLC will be able to make it to eDemocracyCamp as well.
  • Cost: Free to attend.

 

Get involved

 

 

Organizers

 

 

Volunteers

 

  • Your name here...

 

Attendees (a.k.a. Campers)

 

List your name here, if you will participate:

 

At least 52 more people have already signed up on Facebook...

 

  1. Jesse Thomas
  2. Bilaal Ahmed
  3. Justin Abbott
  4. Kathie Legg
  5. Eric Batscha
  6. Pieterson
  7. David Stern
  8. Oliver Zeisberger
  9. Joe LeBlanc
  10. Lucas Cioffi
  11. Mark B. Cohen
  12. James Turk
  13. Christian Hochhuth (online only)
  14. Jasmine Sante
  15. Greg Palmer
  16. John Brothers

 

Topics you'd like to talk/hear about...

 

List here what you're interested in.

 

  • CNN/YouTube and beyond: Making (presidential) debates more meaningful. (Tim)
  • Large-group asymetrical online dialogue (read: how to have a good online conversation between one or few representatives/candidates and many thousands of voters/constituents/citizens) (Tim)
  • How to build consensus online?
  • Better engagement experience through games/gaming
  • Improving direct democracy: Technological and legal reform opportunities for making the ballot initiative process more communal, more deliberative, and more independent from the effects of money and media.

 

Sponsors and budget

 

From past experience, the cost per active participant tends to vary between roughly $15 and $40 (depending on many factors such as venue, food, technology, schwag etc.). We'll list all our sponsoring (incoming cash and in-kind donations) as well as all outgoing expenses publicly on the wiki.

 

List your name here if you or your organization want to become a sponsor. Sponsors are highly encouraged to actively participate in the event. Cash donations are limited to a maximum of $300.

 

Name Amount in $ Status
Democracyinaction.org 300.00 pledged
SunlightFoundation.com 300.00 pledged

 

 

Tagging (for Flickr, del.icio.us, ma.gnolia, Technorati etc.)

 

Please use the tag edemocracycamp for content related to this event.

 

Who's blogging?

 

 

Related *camps

 

 

Related initiatives

 

 

Related communities

 

 

Task List

 

Please cross out when it's done.

 

  • Set a date March 1-2, 2007
  • Create a mailing list (e.g. on Google Groups) http://groups.google.com/group/edemocracycamp/
  • Set up Skype Use the Barcamp channel (someone who's already on it has to invite you)
  • Set up Twitter account
  • Set up IRC chat irc://irc.freenode.net/#barcamp
  • Build team (organizers, volunteers)
    • VP Sponsors
    • VP Food
    • VP T-shirt
    • VP Wi-fi
  • Find sponsors
  • Find an accessible venue (e.g. step-free access to rooms, bathrooms, elevator details)
  • Design logo
  • Organize food (either sponsored on-site, or list restaurants near the venue)
  • Organize drinks, snacks
  • Good coffee
  • List public transportation options (incl. accessibility information for people with disabilities)
  • Create nice badges (make sure name tags work from both sides, names should typed in large-enough font)
  • Childcare (see discussion)
  • Mark the ways to the facilities
  • Gotta have stellar wi-fi
  • Provide enough plugs (to charge your gear)
  • Make sure sessions are recorded and archived on the web
  • T-shirts (incl. girl T's)
  • Little details that make all the difference...
    • Projectors
    • Paper
    • Markers
    • Pens
    • Paper towels
    • Garbage bags
    • Toilet paper
    • Surface cleaners
    • Kitchen gadgets (for breakfast/lunch)
    • Ice chests
    • Garbage cans
    • Add your detail here!
  • Organize trash duty and general clean-up (the day of the event)

 

Thanks, Crystal, Christiane, Fred and others for documenting various Barcamp, conference, or unconference how-to guides!

 

Also, check out the CampKit to see what useful stuff and personal supplies you yourself can shlep along.

 

FAQ

 

  • What is a barcamp? BarCamp is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos, and interaction from attendees. For more, read this article on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BarCamp
  • Is eDemocracyCamp a partisan event? Absolutely not! The event is not affiliated with any party or cause. Like all barcamps, we welcome diversity and encourage participation from anyone who is interested in the topics.
  • What does e-democracy mean, exactly? According to Wikipedia, "E-democracy [...] comprises the use of electronic communications technologies, such as the Internet, in enhancing democratic processes within a democratic republic or representative democracy. It is a political development still in its infancy, as well as the subject of much debate and activity within government, civic-oriented groups and societies around the world. The term is both descriptive and prescriptive. Typically, the kinds of enhancements sought by proponents of e-democracy are framed in terms of making processes more accessible; making citizen participation in public policy decision-making more expansive and direct so as to enable broader influence in policy outcomes as more individuals involved could yield smarter policies; increasing transparency and accountability; and keeping the government closer to the consent of the governed, increasing its political legitimacy. E-democracy includes within its scope electronic voting, but has a much wider span than this single aspect of the democratic process."
  • Isn't that the same as e-government, then? Not quite, though there is definitely some overlap. According to Wikipedia, "e-Government (from electronic government, also known as e-gov, digital government, online government or in a certain context transformational government) refers to government's use of information technology to exchange information and services with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government. e-Government may be applied by the legislature, judiciary, or administration, in order to improve internal efficiency, the delivery of public services, or processes of democratic governance. The primary delivery models are Government-to-Citizen or Government-to-Customer (G2C), Government-to-Business (G2B) and Government-to-Government (G2G) & Government-to-Employees (G2E). The most important anticipated benefits of e-government include improved efficiency, convenience, and better accessibility of public services. [...] There are many considerations and potential implications of implementing and designing e-government, including disintermediation of the government and its citizens, impacts on economic, social, and political factors, and disturbances to the status quo in these areas. In countries such as the United Kingdom, there is interest in using electronic government to re-engage citizens with the political process. In particular, this has taken the form of experiments with electronic voting, aiming to increase voter turnout by making voting easy. The UK Electoral Commission has undertaken several pilots, though concern has been expressed about the potential for fraud with some electronic voting methods."