Thanks Ed. I'm not sure if we could, but it might be worth a try. Does anyone know who the best contact for that would be?
On 29 May 2014 15:15, Edward Saperia <[email protected]> wrote: > This is brilliant, I'll share it with all my might. Do you think we could > get it up as a UK geolocated Centralnotice? > > *Edward Saperia* > Chief Coordinator Wikimania London <http://www.wikimanialondon.org> > email <[email protected]> • facebook > <http://www.facebook.com/edsaperia> • twitter > <http://www.twitter.com/edsaperia> • 07796955572 > 133-135 Bethnal Green Road, E2 7DG > > > On 29 May 2014 15:06, Stevie Benton <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Hello everyone, >> >> tl:dr -* Wikimedia UK >> <https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/Main_Page> and Demos >> <http://www.demos.co.uk/> are encouraging Wikimedians to participate in an >> attempt to crowdsource a submission to a call for evidence on digital >> democracy from the Speaker of the House of Commons. You can find the >> consultation page here >> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Connecting_knowledge_to_power:_the_future_of_digital_democracy_in_the_UK> >> and >> we look forward to hearing from you.* >> >> The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has established a >> Commission >> on Digital Democracy >> <http://www.parliament.uk/business/commons/the-speaker/speakers-commission-on-digital-democracy/>. >> It will report to Parliament in early 2015 with recommendations on how >> Parliament can use technology to better represent and engage with the >> electorate, make laws and hold the powerful to account. As part of their >> work, the Commission have issued a series of calls for evidence. These are >> open invitations for members of the public, either as individuals or >> groups, to submit responses to a series of questions. They have attracted >> responses from unions, academics, non-governmental institutions and private >> individuals. The first theme was ‘making laws in a digital age’, and the >> second on ‘digital scrutiny’. The Commission plans to shortly publish the >> final three themes. >> >> There is a growing sense that the growth of the Internet has not paid the >> democratic dividends that it could. Turnout in formal political elections >> is steadily decreasing, and trust and support in the institutions and >> offices of mainstream political life are low and falling. Despite many >> innovative attempts from both within and outside of Government, the daily >> reality of democratic engagement for most people in the UK would be >> familiar to generations of British citizens who predate Facebook or email. >> The rise of the Internet has, broadly, done little to challenge >> concentrations of power or structures of unequal representation >> >> Demos <http://www.demos.co.uk/> is one of Britain’s leading cross-party >> think tank and it has an overarching mission to bring politics closer to >> people. They contacted Wikimedia UK to propose an experiment: can an online >> community be used to source a response to this call? Can the ethos, >> community and technology like that of Wikipedia be used to engage >> Wikipedians to come together and collaborate to create a reply? In >> particular, Carl Miller, Research Director of the Demos Centre for the >> Analysis of Social Media, wrote this piece for Wired >> <http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-05/22/digital-democracy> in >> which he describes Wikipedia as a masterclass in digital democracy. >> >> This conversation has led to what is an experimental attempt to do just >> that. In theory there are many lessons that any attempt to increase >> engagement with digital democracy can learn from Wikimedia projects, >> especially Wikipedia. These include the participatory nature of content >> development and the nature of content (and policy) being arrived at by >> consensus. Wikipedians are from a wide array of backgrounds and represent a >> broad spectrum of views. This could lend itself to effective drafting of >> the kind of evidence that the Speaker is looking for. Wikimedia UK and >> Demos would like to establish whether this is indeed the case. In >> particular, we are seeking answers to the following questions: >> >> - >> >> How can technology help Parliament and other agencies to scrutinise >> the work of government? >> - >> >> How can technology help citizens scrutinise the Government and the >> work of Parliament? >> - >> >> What kinds of data should Parliament and Government release to the >> public to make itself more open to outside scrutiny? >> >> Everyone is encouraged to try to answer these questions collaboratively, >> in much the same way Wikipedia articles are approached - using the space >> below for content and talk page for discussion. Stevie Benton from >> Wikimedia UK <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Stevie_Benton_(WMUK)> and >> Carl Miller from Demos will happily answer any questions on the talk page >> but are equally happy to let the process take its course. >> >> At this point there is no fixed deadline for evidence on the theme of >> digital scrutiny. However, the Speaker’s Commission will be publishing >> publishing a single call for evidence covering our last three themes (yet >> to be announced). The conversation and crowdsourced evidence will be >> reviewed at the end of June with a view to either continuing the process or >> submitting as is. If there is appetite among the community, and if the >> first attempt is successful, there may be further attempts to develop >> submissions to the later three themes. >> >> At the end of the process Demos and Wikimedia UK will prepare a report on >> the process and the effectiveness of this kind of approach to crowdsourcing >> policy and evidence. This paper will be released under an open licence. It >> is a real opportunity for Wikimedians to influence the debate about digital >> democracy and both Wikimedia UK and Demos thank you for engaging with this >> idea. >> >> You can find the consultation page here >> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Connecting_knowledge_to_power:_the_future_of_digital_democracy_in_the_UK> >> and >> we look forward to hearing from you. >> Thanks and regards, >> >> Stevie >> >> -- >> >> Stevie Benton >> Head of External Relations >> Wikimedia UK+44 (0) 20 7065 0993 / +44 (0) 7803 505 173 >> @StevieBenton >> >> >> >> Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and >> Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered >> Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. >> United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia >> movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who >> operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects). >> >> >> *Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control >> over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.* >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimedia UK mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l >> WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk >> > > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia UK mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l > WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk > -- Stevie Benton Head of External Relations Wikimedia UK +44 (0) 20 7065 0993 / +44 (0) 7803 505 173 @StevieBenton Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects). *Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.*
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