Subject: national e-democracy (fwd)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 6 Sep 1995 09:55:54 +0000
From: •••@••.•••
To: Non Receipt Notification Requested <•••@••.•••>
Subject: national e-democracy

In response to the request for information about facts at the national level,
the below text indicates that Sweden would like to start a G7 project on
e-democracy as a subproject within the G7 initiative 'Government Online'.

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Project title:
ONLINE SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY  (This GOL sub-project might be
organized as a part of the proposed sub-project entitled 'Delivery of
Government Information Electronically')

Proposer:
Ministry of Public Administration

Contact person:
Tomas Ohlin via e-mail 'tomaso(a)sics.se'

Description of project:
    Provision of online services to the public in support of the democratic
process. More precisely, this concerns the area of dialogue between
the citizens and government. The "well-informed citizen" needs possibility
to participate in constant public dialogue. This is a two-way process, and
a satisfactory situation will hardly be reached only with ever so efficiently
distributed one-way information from the public authorities to the citizens.
An essential part of the process is to take action on both sides as a result
from problems that are formulated, or questions that are initiated, by the
citizen.
    An obvious project area would be public online databases containing e.g.
parliamentary documents and listings from public debates, public authority
directories and descriptions, information about where to go and who to ask,
complete lists of many types of public documents, political agendas,
government statements of matters of general interest, speeches from
government representatives, minister agendas, etc. These databases
have to be made more responsive to citizen needs. This may concern new
formats for dialogue, better technical online access, etc. Especially important
are efficient searching methods for access to the desired content in the large
amount of data that are available. Another project area would be how to tailor
and provide technology and human resources when citizens meet the public
authorities in one-stop shops (neighbourhood offices, citizens offices, etc.).
    A concern that should be stressed is that IT support for democracy should
be tailored so as to reach and be attractive to all citizens, and not just a 
few.
Naturally, efficient public information services related to citizens dialogues,
are also important for industry, and especially small and medium sized
companies.

Time scale:
-  As in the sub-project 'Delivery of Government Information Electronically'
-  The Parliament of Sweden will host a series of G7 GOL democracy events
as a part of EXPOSITION 1997 commemorating the 1897 Stockholm World
Exhibition
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Greatings from
Olov Ostberg
G7 GOL coordinator, Sweden


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