I received this from another mailing list. I don't know anything about the
organisations involved it looks an interesting idea.
David Uzzell
DIGITAL DEMOCRACY IN BERKELEY, WHERE ELSE?
Open for Public Discussion
BERKELEY, Calif. (Tuesday, January 25, 2000) - It's the year 2000 and
most of us have become quite comfortable with the use of e-mail and e-
commerce, but what about the idea of an e-democracy? Citizens in
Berkeley, California are about to blaze a new trail into the digital
future by pioneering on-line community forums. Long known for its
active residents, the City wants to use technology to make public
discussions more accessible to all citizens living and working in
Berkeley.
Like anything in Berkeley's democratic experiment, this is no small-
scale event. The City and the City Planning Commission have
partnered with local software pioneers at MoveOn.org to launch the
first on-line discussion about one of the community's most important
issues, the revision of the City's General Plan. The City's General
Plan is a map to Berkeley's future:
§ Should Berkeley be building more housing?
§ Should Downtown development regulations be changed to encourage
more housing?
§ How can Berkeley reduce traffic congestion?
§ How can Berkeley provide more open space and recreational services
for Berkeley citizens?
These are important community questions. Have you ever missed
important community meetings because they are scheduled at an
inconvenient time and you have to get home? The on-line forum can be
the answer to your meeting prayers. It's there waiting for you to
log on and start typing. In fact, last year, less than 400 of the
108,000 citizens who live in Berkeley participated in public hearings
to review and comment on the first draft of the City General Plan.
By offering a more accessible on-line forum throughout the second
draft review, Berkeley hopes to do better.
Local Software Company MoveOn.org will host the discussion on its
website at http://www.ACTIONFORUM.com . The City will provide a
direct link to the forum from its newly revamped home page at
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us.
The goal of the on-line forum is to encourage broader citizen
participation, enable respectful dialog; and foster greater
understanding of the issues involved and encourage consensus whenever
possible. The forum is arranged as an interactive dialogue, which
creates a thread of comments and replies logged in by the preference
of the forum participants.
The forum facilitates large groups of people to work together on
complex issues or problems, allowing for those with diverse interests
to explore in-depth issues that are important to them. The structure
promotes civil dialogue and respects participants' time by filtering
inappropriate or marginally relevant comments. There is no
intimidation, only space and equal access to the conversation.
"Once citizens participate and see that their opinion is relevant to
the conversation, that their voice is heard, it will become almost
addictive," says City Manager James Keene. "Our citizens care about
what is happening in Berkeley. People are active in civic life here.
After all, we are a community with 42 Citizen Boards and
Commissions. The problem is that most of us are trying to juggle
jobs, family and education. We don't always have the time to make it
to every community meeting where the real conversations are
happening. "
The General Plan forum will be ongoing from January 24 through the
fall and will parallel the official City Planning Commission Public
Hearing and Community Workshop schedule for the plan. Each on-line
forum participant will be automatically e-mailed an official schedule
for Commission Public Hearings and Workshops to encourage attendance.
Although the forum comments do not constitute official public
comment under current law, MoveOn.org will provide all final forum
comments to the City Planning Commission at the end of project.
If you do not have Internet access and would like to participate in
the forum, the City is pleased to inform you of a Berkeley Public
Library program that offers citizens free Internet access. Each of
the five branch locations has one computer available for Internet
use, including one computer at the South Berkeley Branch that is
equipped with special features for citizens with disabilities.
RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED. Please contact your local branch library
or call the Central Library Information Number at (510) 644-6095.
For more information about the General Plan on-line forum, please
call Stephanie Lopez in the Office of the City Manager at (510) 665-
7533, TDD (510) 644-6915. For more information about the City
Planning Commission Hearing Agenda, please contact Andrew Thomas,
General Plan Project Manager, at (510) 705-8135.
^ ^ ^ ^
Steven L. Clift - W: http://www.publicus.net
Minneapolis - - - E: [log in to unmask]
Minnesota - - - - - T: +1.612.822.8667
USA - - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183
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David Uzzell, BA, MSc, PhD, FBPsS, CPsychol
Department of Psychology
University of Surrey
Guildford
GU2 5XH
UK
Tel: +44 1483 259430
Fax: +44 1483 259553
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