Information and network technologies are influencing and changing the world, as we know it: from politics to economics to social habits. The biggest turning point for governments, institutions, media companies, journalists, came when they realized that speaking or telling their own story was not enough, now they had to listen. And not only that, but they had to engage in a continuous dialogue... [read more]

Information and network technologies are influencing and changing the world, as we know it: from politics to economics to social habits. The biggest turning point for governments, institutions, media companies, journalists, came when they realized that speaking or telling their own story was not enough, now they had to listen. And not only that, but they had to engage in a continuous dialogue where different voices who had struggled to be heard now started playing an active role that changed, not only the rules, but the game itself.

What could benefit more from this phenomenon than DEMOCRACY?

New forms of information mediation such as social networks, mobile technology or networked journalism have had a particular incidence in and on the process of democratizing information, increasing transparency and reducing the barriers for individuals to tell their stories. Citizens are given the power to voice their thoughts and exchange in dialogue around the world. They have become journalists, all willing to share their own ushahidi.

All of this is having tremendous implications on the way 21st century government is working and being implemented. The line that separates different actors, different worlds, is increasingly blurred by constant communications. This is why the Club de Madrid wants to bring major stakeholders to the table to discuss the way they are reacting to theses changes and how they think this is and will affect political institutions. What kind of Democracy do they envisage for the upcoming years? Will Democracy as we know it survive or do we need a new model?

The Club de Madrid’s 2011 Annual Conference Digital Technologies for 21st Century Democracy provides a unique opportunity to take an in-depth look at the way citizens and governments are interacting through technological platforms, building a sustainable and inclusive environment in which citizens can fully exercise their social and economic rights and contribute to political transformations and democratic development. Not without also taking a critical look at the risks and limits that the scale and new forms of information and network technology present to political institutions.