European Telework Development Initiative (ETD)

Telecooperation: Enhancing the Democratic Process

What is happening today?

• Parliamentary representatives using the world wide web to provide constituents with easier access to find out their representatives' views and positions on issues of the day, and using email as an easy and informal means of dialogue with constituents. At http://www2.polis.net/polis/meps.html there is a list of websites maintained by Members of the European Parliament.
  
  
• Community networks, in which local communities work together to address local problems and develop local opportunities. This is a new form of "bottom up" democracy. In the UK, for example, there is a Communities Online site listing many such local community networks and also an online guide discussing the value of community networks and how to make them work successfully.
  
  
• Access to the Parliamentary process - the Internet provides ordinary citizens with easier and more direct access to the Parliamentary process, so that they can see for themselves what their elected representatives are saying on their behalf, rather than relying on the sometimes biased but inevitably restrictive filter of the media. The European Parliament is online, as is the UK Parliament. A 1996 decision of the UK Parliament illustrates the power of networking to enhance citizen access - until mid-1996 the Parliament's proceedings ("Hansard") were available on paper at a daily cost of more than 15 pounds sterling, now they are available free of charge online.
  
  
• Enhancing public debate on key issues. An interesting experiment in this field is being supported by the ETD Initiative, which worked with the European Parliament's UK Offcie to assist the first online debate of the UK Citizens Online Democracy initiative. Here's a message about that initiative from the Head of the UK Office of the Parliament, Martyn Bond.

What might happen tomorrow?

Learning and preparing

• Here at the ETO website we are supporting both open and private email-based discussion lists in which individuals across European and beyond can participate and learn from each other;
  
  
• We are also supporting selected public experiments and demonstrations such as the UK Citizens Online Democracy discussion on European Monetary Union, where invited participants are being assisted to explore the issues through an extended email and www based debate.
  
  
• Individuals within the ETD network participate widely in other online discussion environments and are encouraged to report their experiences and learning through the eto web pages. We also arrange for contributions to public conferences and seminars. Here is a report on a major conference Politics and the Internet, by the Chief Executive of UK Citizens Online Democracy, whose attendance was sponsored by ETD.

• Lessons learned from initiatives are published by ETD. For example, here is a report on the UK Citizens Online Democracy debate on EMU, and in an appendix to that report ETD has distilled some conclusions on The need for leaders in politics, business and the community to be "effectively connected", which we are following up with relevant authorities.

References