Articles
Gov2u proudly presents WeGov: where eGovernment meets the eSociety
What is WeGov?
Many observers conclude that the declining confidence in the value of the traditional instruments of representative democracy, as evidenced by the low, and declining, voter turnout rates in elections, demonstrates the high levels of citizens’ apathy.
But we feel that voter apathy is partly a result of antiquated government consultation models - because a closer look at the increasing levels of mobilization online and on social networking websites, quickly reveals that civic participation has not died – but it has evolved in a form which politicians and institutions are not equipped to understand and use.
Yet, by omitting electronic participatory elements from the political process, decision-makers not only miss out on vast opportunities to gain invaluable input through large scale social collaboration, networks and “crowdsourcing”, but they are also risking to create further alienation from their own electorate. This is especially the case among the youngest voters, who were born into technology and who already feel already estranged from traditional political rituals.
This trend is likely to increase, as future generations used to apply Web2.0 in most aspects of their lives will be less and less willing to use and tolerate traditional mechanisms.
One way to reverse this trend is to establish the appropriate framework for online deliberation and provide decision-makers with the tools to engage, interact and listen to what people really want. Ultimately, it is the only thing that matters.
Closing the loop between citizens and elected representatives
What WeGov does is that it redirects politicians where the debates are actually taking place. Where? On Social Networking platforms! This innovative tool is designed to let policy-makers take full advantage of a wide range of well established social networking sites and engage citizens in two-way dialogs on specific policy oriented topics, up there.
By detecting, tracking and mining opinions and discussions, elected representatives can make full use of the rich discussions present in existing social networking communities to carry out their representative functions more effectively. WeGov aggregates discussions by location, trends, popularity or topic, and provides the adequate analytical support to act accordingly. In this way, WeGov provides the tools and techniques to encourage public deliberation and foster collective decision-making.
The 1st WeGov Workshop, hosted by the e-Challenges 2011 conference in Florence, aims to showcase the WeGov toolkit prototype to a panel of experts and stakeholders in the field. A panel will present on the implications of this tool-kit for policy makers and citizens alike, within the context of social media. Round table as well as open discussions on use case applications that have been developed within the project, are scheduled in order to gather participants and attendees feedback.
The workshop will take place on the October 27th and is the first within the project that opens up project results in an iterative manner to a wider community of interest. For this reason we are pleased to invite you to participate in this event and to add your voice to the many already shaping WeGov outcomes. Come be a part of an exciting innovative project where we can shape how policy and social media worlds interact!
To find out more about WeGov, follow the link to the official website.