Agenda

DAY 1: 18th July 2006; 13:00 – 14:30 CE(S)T

LISTENING PARLIAMENTARIANS: PARLIAMENTARIANS RELATIONS WITH CITIZENS IN DEVELOPING THEIR CAPACITY TO LISTEN & REPRESENT

		Welcome
13:00- 13:10		Bridie Nathanson, Polpit ltd. EPRI Knowledge Project Partner Bridie Nathanson is an expert working in the fields of e-democracy, e-governance and political communications. Her company, Polpit, is a partner in the EU sponsored project EPRI-Knowledge, supporting a network of IST-interested Parliamentarians.
		Discussant & Moderator:
		Professor Stephen Coleman, Institute of Communications, University of Leeds, UK Professor Coleman is one of the most internationally renowned experts in e-democracy, media and political communications. His research areas cover the adaptation of democratic institutions, processes and cultures to digital interactivity, theories of mediated representation and citizenship and political disengagement.
		Introduction:
13:10– 13:20		Listening MPs – An Introduction By Ross Ferguson, Director of e-Democracy Programme, Hansard Society, UK. Ross Ferguson has written and presented extensively on political engagement amongst young people, citizenship education and the role of ICTs in policy-making.
		Vision on:
13:20- 13:30		How Parliamentarians can really Listen By Richard Allan, CISCO (Industry), UK Richard Allan, former MP, is Senior Manager, Government Affairs, UK and Ireland. He leads Cisco's policy work on advanced technologies in the EU and also supports policy work in the Nordic region.
13:30- 13:40		New approaches to democratic renewal By Mary Pat MacKonnon, Director – Public Involvement Network, CPRN (Policy & Research Institute), Canada & Joseph Peters, Director – Ascentum, Canada Mary Pat MacKinnon has directed both small- and large-scale public engagement and consultation exercises in Canada, for government & parliament. Joseph Peters is one of the founders of Ascentum, a professional services firm with expertise in intermodal consultation and dialogue. Joseph has served as a senior advisor to federal government departments, the House of Commons, the Senate, the Romanow Commission, as well as the private sector.
13:40- 13:50		The Art of Conversation: How can MPs ‘listen informally’ By Gez Smith, DELIB (Local Government consultancy), UK Gez Smith is a project manager for the Local Government consultancy at DELIB. His recent research includes issues relating to e-campaigns such as quality of response, cost-per-response and consultation fatigue.
		Discussion:
13:50- 14:00		Panel of Parliamentarians to question Experts & Visionaries on their presentations

DAY 2: 19th July 2006; 15:00 – 16:30 CE(S)T

CITIZENS INITIATIVES: IMPROVING CITIZENS CAPACITY TO TAKE ACTION AND INFLUENCE

		Welcome
15:00- 15:10		By Bridie Nathanson, Polpit ltd. EPRI Knowledge Project Partner Bridie Nathanson is an expert working in the fields of e-democracy, e-governance and political communications. Her company, Polpit, is a partner in the EU sponsored project EPRI-Knowledge, supporting a network of IST-interested Parliamentarians.
		Discussant & Moderator:
		By Professor Stephen Coleman, Institute of Communications, University of Leeds, UK Professor Coleman is one of the most internationally renowned experts in e-democracy, media and political communications. His research areas cover the adaptation of democratic institutions, processes and cultures to digital interactivity, theories of mediated representation and citizenship and political disengagement.
		Introduction:
15:10- 15:20		Citizens initiatives - An Introduction By Tom Steinberg, Founder & Director, MySociety, UK Tom Steinberg’s mySociety, is a charitable body that builds websites which give people simple, tangible benefits in the civic and community aspects of their lives. The best known of these are  WriteToThem.com and  PledgeBank.com.
		Vision on:
15:20– 15:30		Citizens taking action online and the role of politicians: some observations, practical notes and suggestions from a global poverty campaigner By Glen Tarman, New Media Campaign Manager, “Make Poverty History”, Trade Justice Movement (NGO), UK Glen Tarman coordinated the new media arm of the largest ever UK public political action of recent years – “Make Poverty History” which included a coalition of over 70 NGOs, trade unions and other organizations campaigning for change in international trade.
15:30- 15:40		Making Communities Work Online By Zack Rosen, Founder, Civic Space, USA Zack Rosen has developed the CivicSpace platform allows people to build communities, both online and offline, that can communicate effectively, act collectively, and coordinate coherently with a network of other related organizations.
15:40- 15:50		Engaging citizens in decision making By Lars Hasselblad Torres, Senior Researcher, AmericaSpeaks, USA As staff Researcher Lars is responsible for coordinating many of AmericaSpeaks' investigations carried out through the Democracy Lab for Research and Innovation. Lars' activities focus on three primary areas of inquiry: the civic benefits of deliberation, policy and institutional impact, and the state of practice.
15:50- 16:00		Meaningful Connections: New Trends in Public Consultation By Don Lennihan, President, Crossing Boundaries National Council (Research body), Canada Don Lenihan has over 20 years of experience as a researcher and analyst in areas ranging from electronic-government to citizenship and diversity. Over the last decade, he has developed, organized, directed and contributed to dozens of national research projects involving senior public servants, academics, elected officials, journalists and members of the private sector from across the country, on democratic reform and innovation
		Discussion
16:00– 16:30		Panel of Parliamentarians to question Experts & Visionaries on their presentations

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