The event
Hybrid Event realized in collaboration between the Politecnico di Milano and Open University, and in coherence with the goals of the Orbis project, the Critical Deliberative Democracy Tech workshop aimed to address the challenges surrounding decision-making processes and social tensions. Held as part of the 11th International Conference on Communities & Technologies, the workshop focused on empowering grassroot collective actions and exploring innovative ways to enable citizen participation.
As socio-political conflicts continue to emerge worldwide, citizens are increasingly concerned about the transparency and effectiveness of public interest decisions. Existing deliberative spaces often fall short in providing inclusive discussions and co-creation of ideas, exacerbating issues of trust, civic disengagement, and power imbalances.
During the workshop, academics, practitioners, and activists came together to explore the role of technology in facilitating deliberative democracy. Discussions revolved around creating inclusive deliberative spaces, promoting transparency, and empowering citizens for collective action. Participants shared experiences, discussed best practices, and developed strategies to promote deliberative democracy.
Results
The Critical Deliberative Democracy Tech workshop played a significant role in advancing the understanding and implementation of deliberative democracy. By fostering inclusive and participatory decision-making processes, the workshop aimed to empower grassroot collective actions and address the pressing societal challenges of our time. The workshop was aligned with the goals of the Orbis project, which seeks to foster digitization of the public sector and green transition in Europe through an innovative European GovTech platform.
The speeches showed how there is intensive research and experimentation in different parts of the world to develop interesting solutions in line with Orbis’ goals. This also lays the foundation for synergy and the creation of collaborations and networks with the experiences presented in the workshop.
For more comprehensive information and details about the presentations and discussions that took place throughout the day, please visit the website at the following address: https://events.kmi.open.ac.uk/ct-2023/
The presentations were moderated by Grazia Concilio (Department of Architecture and Urban Studies – Politecnico di Milano, Italy) and Anna De Liddo (Knowledge Media Institute, The Open University)
Proposed panel presentations will be available in the coming days.