Dear Colleagues and Friends,
I'd like to ask for some help in preparation for the seminar which is
described in the announcement below (PRE-ASSEMBLY SEMINAR).
This is a pre-congress seminar of the December 2000 Assembly of the
European Regions AER, in Finland, whose main theme is "The new forms of the
European governance". The congress is apparently meant to contribute to a
"white paper" of the European Commission.
The topic on which I have been asked to speak is "The possibilities of
information technology to improve and develop democracy and democratic
processes".
Many regions of eastern and western Europe will be represented so it seems
that this meeting could have some influence on future directions. My topic
is not directly about the future of the European Union. But those questions
which I _will_ consider, such as citizen participation in politics, the
relationship between direct and representative democracy, and the role of
new electronic communication media in these, have some relevance to to the
broader topic of the congress.
In asking for help I mean comments, concepts and ideas, publications
(because time is short, outlines/summaries of long publications would be
helpful). Especially needed are
1) Comments etc. on the role of direct democracy in a future Europe,
especially concerning the regional level of governance.
2) Examples of applications of information and communication technology ICT
to citizen participation in governance, politics, democratic systems,
particularly in Europe, anywhere if they are outstanding or original. E.g.
citizens' policy forums which "work", effective consultations of citizens
by government, fruitful e-communication between citizens and their elected
representatives.
3) Dangers of ICT in these contexts.
Some background information about the Assembly of the European Regions and
an extract from the Congress programme follows the seminar announcement.
Best wishes to all,
Michael
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PRE-ASSEMBLY SEMINAR ORGANISED BY THE REGIONAL COUNCIL OF SOUTH
OSTROBOTHNIA IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING OF THE AER TO
BE HELD IN SEINÄJOKI 6-8 DECEMBER, 2000
Time Thursday 7th December 2000 , from 9 to 12.30.
Place Seinäjoki-sali
Purpose The main theme of the General Assembly will be " The new forms of
the European governance." The idea of the pre assembly seminar is to look
at the needs of developing regional level administration because of the
societal changes. The development of the information society will cause
fundamental changes in industrial structures and spatial development. New
communication technology will give possibilities to develop new types of
services like e-commerce and telemedicine. Wireless communication,
internet etc. also give new possibilities to regional and local authorities
to develop their own working methods.
In the development of European level governance it is thus quite essential
to take into account also the needs which arise from the current and
forthcoming societal development. The purpose of the seminar is to give
some new stimuli for the debate on the main theme of the assembly.
Programme
Chairman of the seminar
Mr. Juha TALVITIE
9.00-9.15 Opening of the seminar
Mr. Esa LATVA-RASKU, Executive Director, Regional Council of South Ostrobothnia
9.15-10.00 Current trends and future prospects in the development of
the regional level administration in the Baltic Sea Region
The fact that the General Assembly of the AER meets for the first time in a
Nordic country is a good reason to inform about the regional level
administration in the Baltic Sea region. This is even more important as in
the Nordic countries local authorities are very powerful, which affects
also the role of regions. In the Baltics there are newly democratised
countries where the role of the regions is just finding its place.
Speaker: Professor Krister STÅHLBERG, Åbo Akademi University, Turku
10.00-10.45 Information society supporting co-operation in the European
local and regional government
Information society offers many opportunities to support co-operation in
the local and regional government. At present public authorities only make
very limited use of these opportunities. The main purpose is to provide
some practical good practice examples and present the possibilities in the
European networking.
Speaker: Mr Heikki LUNNAS, Association of Finnish Local and Regional
Authorities, Helsinki
10.45-11.00 Break
11.00-11.45 The possibilities of information technology to improve and
develop democracy and democratic processes
New information technology gives administration many possibilities to
provide information and give access to information, both to decision makers
and the general public. Also special discussion pages about actual themes
have been seen very useful when preparing proposals for final decision
making. There are many other interesting possibilities, and time will bring
new ones. Information technology can be a real help in safeguarding and
developing democracy in our turbulent world.
Speaker: Dr. Michael MACPHERSON, PSAMRA/Integral Studies, Berlin
11.45-12.30 The European Information Society - the vision and promotional
actions
The European Information Society should provide new opportunities for all
Europeans. There is a need to set objectives in such a way that the
different elements, technology, legislation, economy, commercial
applications, services for citizens, and social and societal aspects are in
a good and sound balance. Several programmes and initiatives have been
launched by EU/EC to reach this target. Implementation of the Information
Society is one of the key priorities for the local and regional development
schemes in Europe.
Speaker: Mr. Karl Henry HAGLUND, Information Society Promotion Office
(ISPO), European Commission, Brussels
Each lecture will be followed by discussion. There will be English, French,
German and Finnish interpretation. Lectures will be held in English.
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BACKGROUND to Assembly of the European Regions AER, there's more at
http://www.are-regions-europe.org/
"... the AER represents almost 300 European regions of varying sizes and
different administrative and political structures with a total population
of nearly 400 million" A recent list of regions which have joined is at
http://www.are-regions-europe.org/COMMUN/A15abis.html
From the congress announcement:
"As each year the General Assembly 2000 will be an occasion to take a look
at past activities and to adopt our activity programme for the coming 12
months, however, this year our meeting will include three important
elements:
- European current affairs, to start with, with the European Council, which
should finalise activities regarding the Intergovernmental Conference,
being held in Nice at the same time;
- the organisation of a debate on the new forms of European governance
(White paper of the European Commission) where the idea will be to show
that, compared with the Union and member State institutions, the Regions
represent an indispensable pillar in the construction of an enlarged
democratic and pluralistic Europe;
- the complete renewal of the ruling authorities of our political movement.
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THURSDAY 7TH DECEMBER 2000
09.00 - 12.30 Seminar organised by the Region of South Ostrobothnia
12.30 - 13.00 Press conference Seinäjoki Areena
13.00 - 14.30 Lunch at the invitation of the Regional Council of South
Ostrobothnia and the town of Seinäjoki
15.00 - 20.15 General Assembly Seinäjoki Areena
15.00 - 15.30 1. Opening speech by Mr Luc Van den Brande, AER President
Welcome speech by Mr Kyösti Virrankoski, Chairman of the Regional Council of
South Ostrobothnia and Member of the European Parliament
Speech by Mr Martti Korhonen, Finnish Minister for regional and municipal
affairs
15.30 - 16.00 Extraordinary General Assembly
Amendments to the Statutes
General Assembly
16.00 - 18.45 (... AER business and election of offficers)
18.45 - 19.00 12. Creation of the first European Youth Parliament
(interventions from three young people)
FRIDAY 8TH DECEMBER 2000
09.00 - 13.00 General Assembly
(chaired by the new AER President)
09.00 - 12.00 European Governance, Intergovernmental conference, Charter of
Fundamental rights: AER positions
Debate (participation to be arranged)
12.00 - 12.30 Coffee break
12.30 - 13.00 Adoption of a final declaration
Meeting calendar
Closing speeches
13.00 - 13.30 Press conference Seinäjoki Areena
13.00 - 14.30 Lunch offered by the Regional Council of South Ostrobothnia
and the town of Seinäjoki Seinäjoki Areena
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Contact:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Michael Macpherson,
PSAMRA/Integral Studies,
Berlin FRG
tel.: +49 30 262 3768
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
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