Public Participation 2.0

Participation 2.0: Technology and distributed democracy

September, Social Media Week

Gabriella Razzano, Head Of Legal Research, Open Democracy Advice Centre

Who am I?

Open Democracy Advice Centre

Code4SouthAfrica

Research, policy development, online communications

Human rights and the internet

Introduction

“The experience of democracy is like the experience of life itself -- always changing, infinite in its variety, sometimes turbulent and all the more valuable for having been tested by adversity”.

- Jimmy Carter

When Charlie Chapman first got a voice this happened

Internet and social media as mechanisms for enhancing civic political activism.

Internet and human rights

Socio-economic

Civil political

CollectiveState

v. Private?

Content Access

INTERNET ENHANCES

INTERNET INHIBITS

INTERNET RIGHTS:

Participation

Title of Presentation | Page ‹#›

The citizen is a democratic actor.

Participation 2.0

2013, only 12% of 18-19 year olds registered to vote.

Is the internet and social media the new superhero?

Using internet to enhance participation

ICTs lead to fast COMMUNICATION, over distance, and even anonymous - disseminate messages en masse -

build networks and organise.

Digital neighbourhoods and “public space”

The internet a public space like any other - you can still have places of privacy. The culture of ‘free’ has made us forget the value of protecting our space.

Hyper- local information connects us between our private spaces.

Citizen as user

Understand the citizen user, and their problem, first. Then meet the need. Empower them to use solutions

too.

Case Studies

Housing List Transparency

Hyper-local; creating a neighbourhood & having a say i.e. simply: when can we meet?; fail-fast

(ODAC & Code4SA)

Housing List Transparency

Hyper-local; specific; civil society as a translator only a test; an offline solution the most utilised outcome

(ODAC & Code4SA)

iNeighbourhood

Neighbourhood-centred; peer-to-peer platform; won Evernote comp, private sector; the problem of monetising hyperlocal

(private company)

Ourhood

Organic; social media; facilitated by open data; collaboration; legitimacy

Indonesian Elections 2014

AskAfrica

The development context; bureaucracies and the ‘critical error’; same problems on new technology

(ODAC)

askAFRICA

Vital participation institution; translating complicated info; how/who to market?

(PMG & Code4SA)

People’s Assembly

Emerging issues

• Legal and policy• Regional context• Critical amount of users

• The Ushahidi outlier• Infoglut and the hyperlocal• Sustainability

• Data• Cost

• Apathy/privacy• Repression online • Slow development

• Silos

Recommendations

The internet is not a the new superhero, but it is the new frontier.

Be the pioneer.

1. Don’t focus on the internet. Focus on the problem.

2. True innovation means thinking outside technology.

3. Empower the actors.

Rulz

Thank you for your time.Twitter @jablet | gabriella@opendemocracy.org.za

www.opendemocracy.org.za

IMAGE CREDITS

YAAAAAAYYYYY PIXABAY!!!!

Bassets Running, by BenfromSalem @flickr