Thursday 19 April 2007

e-Democracy or fashonable practice


Is online communication evolving with an excessive speed providing us only with comfortable solutions or offers a real possibility of changing the way we communicate and relate to each other, not to mention the way we govern each other.

One of the definitions of the e-democracy is the ongoing need to further democratise and make ICT tools more accessible on the other hand it is also aiming at creating more way for participation of citizens in the decision making process. One might say, that through thinking or writing we are already contributing to the society. We do. No doubt of it, but what would this contribution mean if statesman would use these reflections as a basis for developing a thorough policy that reflects needs of the citizens.

So far we have a reality where politicians would fear of loosing power monopoly that they can exercise in the period of their mandate. Surely in the run up to the elections participatory democracy becomes a slogan and sometimes even a method to gain more political support, but right after the polls things change. Opinions suddenly become less relevant or important as the power grip is settled for at least few years...

So what is it we (bloggers) are trying to achieve? Is it a fashionable exercise of getting a blog and posting your life and views public or is it a contribution that could be taken careful note of and integrated into the democratic system that often distances itself from its citizens. It is a fact that those who use blog is still quite young generation, but this generation will claim its role in the future that it is in the horizon. If we change, democracy should.

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