The financial and economic crisis, of which we have heard so much discussion since 2007-8, is only one aspect of a whole series of underlying political trends which have been apparent for much longer: a crisis of (in)equality and of increased precarity of the workforce, a human rights crisis, a demographic crisis, an ecological crisis, a crisis in civil liberties, and above all a crisis in democracy.
e-Deliberation is an online enabling technology for collaborative decision and strategy making by the persons who have the expertise or are impacted by the focus of the e-Deliberation. It provides the thinking process and platform to tie it all together.
Problems and Purpose
e-Deliberation targets difficult, complex or wicked problems that have multiple stakeholders each with their varied interests, preoccupations and goals. The e-Deliberation thinking process yields a multifaceted resolution which tends toward full participant consent.
The Occupy Movement relies heavily on the use of social media as an organizing method to coordinate protest activities and connect individuals. Protestors have create Facebook sites such as Occupy Together to coordinate mass protests. Occupiers utilize Twitter to keep the public updated with constant tweets of activities at both protests and General Assembly meetings. YouTube uploads of police brutality incite public uproar which furthers builds the movement, while more individuals participate in General Assembly meetings and decision making processes within t
In 2000, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), a Japanese governmental administration, organized a National Consensus Conference on genetically- modified foods in Tokyo.
Occupy Vancouver, during the occupation of the Vancouver Art Gallery last fall, needed to implement a consensus-based decision making process in order for the encampment to function in a fair and inclusive manner. The General Assembly and it's processes were developed by consensus for this pourpose.
In the context of the perpetual crisis of urban transportation in Bucharest, there is a growing population of city dwellers fighting for bicycle rights and advocating for a new, bicycle friendly infrastructure in Bucharest. The bicycle fans coagulated since the mid 2000’s into different groups and NGO’s and developed into a new movement and a powerful presence in the urban landscape, adopting several strategies of public participation.
