[liberationtech] Save the Date - Aug 1, 2 pm San Francisco - New Voices, Civic Engagement in the Digital Age Report Discussion

[Steven Clift]

I wanted to let folks know that based on the success of the small
group discussion we had on the newer PewInternet.org report on Civic
Engagement in the Digital Age in DC last month -
http://bit.ly/digicivic - at the Sunlight Foundation, working with
folks at Code for America we are staging a repeat event in San
Francisco.

A key focus is asking questions and looking at the data with from an
"inclusion" perspective and digging into the numbers about new voices
and less represented groups. Long story short, the Pew survey
basically says those who show up civically offline are also dominating
online and the participation gap may be a wee bit wider online (the
opposite of what we need if the Net is to be a positive democratizing
force). Equity in participation, by factors like race, are a bit
better with social media but "taking action" (and being asked to take
action) shows a number of huge divides.

So on this Independence Day, I encourage us commit ourselves to
efforts that use civic technology and open government to raise new
voices and build power for less represented groups in society. We can
build on "open to all" access to information, transparency,
accountability, etc. and add "used by (a more representative) all" to
our efforts. By digging into the numbers and looking for engagement
opportunities, I sincerely believe we can use civic tech to build far
great civic participation.

If you would like an invite (space is limited) or know of people who
be interested, drop me a note with "New Voices Aug 1" in the subject:

     clift at e-democracy.org
     clift (at) e-democracy.org

Crucially, we seek a mix of folks from civil rights, digital
inclusion, civic tech, open gov, civic engagement circles. We had that
in our DC meeting and it made for a very useful and dynamic exchange.

The DRAFT invite, attendee list and links to the DC meeting notes:
http://bit.ly/digicivic

Steven Clift - http://stevenclift.com
  Executive Director - http://E-Democracy.org
  Twitter: http://twitter.com/democracy
  Tel/Text: +1.612.234.7072