RBLAC is organizing a meeting on political participation and young Parliamentarians from 1 to 3 October that will take place in Brasilia.
We have been invited to chair a session and run a panel dedicated to ICTs and participation. Here is the session description and content.
Session title: ICTs and participation: What’s really new today?
The purpose of the this session is to provide an overview on the actual impact of the rapid diffusion on new ICTs and their impact on governance process. New ICTs have opened new channels of communication to stakeholders all around the world providing them with voice in many governance processes and allowing them to be active participants in decision-making and political processes. Youth in particular have been most active in this area, fuelling on the emerging middle classes of many of the countries in the region. The session will explore the challenges and opportunities that ICTs offer to people with a focus on youth and
women and present concrete examples to illustrate the process.
The session will have three presentations, each 15 minutes, followed by Q&A from the audience. We will present background information on ICTs and Participation. A Brazilian expert with then speak about Open Data and a UNDP colleague from El Salvador will speak to a Tweetathon that UNDP managed in the country.
Key questions for the panelists are:
1. How do we effectively ensure that the voice of youth are heard by public institutions, parliaments included?
2. What can governments and public institutions need to do to harness ICTs, listen to the youth and effectively respond?
3. How can we ensure that the voices of most vulnerable populations who do not really have access to ICTs are counted?
Key questions for opening the discussions with the audience:
1. How to ICTs actual empower people and foster participation in policy and political processes?
2. What are some of the good practices available in the region and around the world on ICTs and participation?
3. Why are governments/public institutions not rapidly adopting new ICTs to better interact with citizens and stakeholders?
Cheers, Raúl
