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Democracy Forum

Democracy Forum 2001

The Democracy Forum 2001 took place 27-29 June in Stockholm on the theme 'Democracy and the Information Revolution: Values, Opportunities and Threats'.

The dramatic changes taking place in the development of information communication technologies (ICTs) will have a deep impact on societies and human behaviour. Challenges include the following:

• A "global divide" (inequalities in the diffusion of technology between nations);
  
• A "social divide" (inequalities in access and diffusion between social groups within nations); and
  
• A disturbing "democratic divide" between those who do and do not use the political resources available on the Internet.

Specific objectives of the Democracy Forum 2001 included:

• Debate the potential of new ICTs to reduce or exacerbate existing disparities in democratic societies;
  
• Examine the potential for enabling a more open flow of information in countries with authoritarian regimes;
  
• Profile innovative means by which governments, civil society and international organizations are taking advantage of ICTs to revitalize democracy;
  
• Develop recommendations and tools to assist our constituency (member states, associate members, democracy practitioners etc.) in maximizing the democratic potential of the new technologies;
  
• Gather and disseminate knowledge about ICTs and democracy with a view to providing some guidance to our constituency about choices and options regarding their democracy work;
  
• Understand the role that communities can play in promoting democracy and identify ways to encourage this role; and
  
• Identify, create and strengthen practical methods whereby ICTs can help encourage democracy.

Enter the Democracy Forum 2001 web site...

Older Democracy Forums

For further information, contact:

Jimm Lerch, Forum Co-ordinator
E-mail: j.lerch@idea.int

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