With the development of the internet and the dissemination of personal computers, many philosophers, sociologists, political scientists, and activists started to think of ways in which technology would promote more democracy. The internet ended time and space constraints for communication, web servers became an increasingly cheap way to store information and without the need of intermediaries, citizens could reach governments and finally tell what they want.

Well, almost 30 years after the beginning of this wave, a lot has been made but, on the other hand, there is still a lot to be done. As we talked about in previous episodes, technology is indeed a powerful tool that enables civil society to have access to their rights, as well as to monitor what governments are or are not doing. Besides, technology enables bottom-up initiatives, which might bring changes based on collective intelligence.

And how can we develop digital democracy initiatives that use public data and have an actual impact in communities, in people’s lives? How can citizen’s initiatives create a space where they promote change by confronting or working together with governments? Today, we have two special guests who will bring their experience and examples to learn with.

________________________________________________________________

Guests

Prof. Dr. Gisele Craveiro

Full Professor at the Graduate Program of Social Change and Political Participation (EACH - USP)

Sonja Fischbauer

Community Strategy at Open Knowledge Foundation Deutschland