E-DEMOCRACY or E-HYPOCRISY?

CYBERSALON @ THE DANA CENTRE

The Dana Centre, 165 Queen's Gate, South Kensington, London SW7 5HE <www.danacentre.org.uk>
Cost: This event is free but places must be booked
by calling 020 7942 4040 or by emailing: ><tickets[AT]danacentre.org.uk>>
Nearest tubes: South Kensington/Gloucester
Road

MORE DETAILS HERE

“If liberty and equality, as is thought by some,
are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when
all persons alike share in the government to the utmost” -
Aristotle

Thousands of years after the first democracy was created,
e-Democracy has been claimed by some to be a revolutionary force that
will overthrow existing methods of representative governance and usher
in an era of direct democracy. Others view e-Democracy as an evolution
of existing methods, but with the potential to radically increase access
to decision-making, particularly on single-issue politics and local issues.
Can digital technology make democracy more than placing an 'x' on a card
every five years? Will citizens become tired of being consulted on every
issue that affects them, or will they engage with governments in ways
that haven’t even been thought of yet?

Using its trademark discussion format and complemented
by the Dana Centre's state of the art technological resources, Cybersalon
assembles a panel of experts to explore the nature and future of e-Democracy
alongside an evening of electronic voting and demonstrations of technology
exploring the issues of e-Democracy, e-voting and how to extend citizen
participation. The event starts promptly at 7.00pm with presentations
and demonstrations on the theme to be followed by a panel discussion
exploring the practical implications chaired by Jane
Austin, Recollective with Isobel Harding -
National e-Democracy project, Tim Levell – Editor,
BBC iCan, William Davies - Senior Researcher
at the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) and Minneapolis, USA
based Steven Clift - Publicus.Net via
live video link.

We really want the Cybersalon audience to contribute ideas,
raise questions and respond to the issues via an online WIKI and to bring
their wireless handheld and laptop devices to the event to contribute
to the ongoing discussion throughout the evening. Questions can also
be put to the panel via email in advance of and during the event. Follow
the 'MORE DETAILS HERE' link above.

The Science Museum’s Dana Centre is the UK’s
newest venue for adults to debate and discuss contemporary science issues.
Complete with a wired café-bar connecting it to people all around
the world, the Dana Centre brings exciting, informative and lively discussion
to people who want to talk about challenging and cutting edge topics
in science, the arts and culture. The evening will be web cast live from
the Dana Centre, enabling a worldwide audience to engage and interact
with the event.