Developing democracy by using ICT Allar, Janne and Andri Turkey 2013

 e-Democracy provides an opportunity to redisign political and administrative processes aimed towards more transparent, effective and participatory governance  e-Democracy is an essential component of modern democratic governance  The core of e-Democracy is not technology itself but the use of technology to empower citizens

 Citizens participation in government on all levels by expressing their opinion and by voting  Making use of electronic communication in democracy  Citizens being offered information in order to form an opinion on political matters by using communication technologies

 Citizens can be approached easily ◦ Information can be transported in a more pointed way ◦ effortless way of communication ◦ no need to physically move ◦ effective way of communicating  Cheap ◦ Messages can be delivered to a great quantity of recipients without much additional effort  Changing the „silent majority“ to active, citizens, making use of their opinions

 74 % of population are Internet users  63 % of the households have a computer at home, 82 % of home computers connected to Internet.  Over 700 Public Internet Access Points in Estonia, 51 per people.  More than 1,1 million smart-card type ID- cards issued (Estonian population is app. 1,3 million)  90% of tax declarations were e-declarations and 97% of businesses decalarations  1’st place in Internet Banking – next are Norway, Nederlands, New Zealand  18th of 134 place in Network Readiness index, 3th in eGov, 1 in eGov services (Global IT Report for World Economic Forum)

 Handbook on e-Democracy ◦  Democracy Administration ◦ pdf pdf  e-Voting: lessons learnt and future challenges ◦ _evoting_Conference.pdf _evoting_Conference.pdf

 Political campaigning ◦ Candidates or strategies are introduced to the public via internet  Communication with citizens ◦ The public is asked for opion on discussion etc.  Briefing government documents ◦ The public gets informed about new developments  Voting ◦ Citizens can vote on behalf new laws or candidates

 e-Voting in Estonia voters in 2011 *Armchair voters begin to vote...

 Todays information and communication technologies help people with disabilities to: ◦ Talk  Text-to-voice Programs ◦ Hear  Software, hardware ◦ See  Bionic eyes ◦ Move, walk  Proccessor controlled legs

 Disabled people benefit most from e-democracy  Disabled people can now participate more easily in society and democracy by using ICT services

 Tehcnology ◦ Usage of computers and other electronic devices that compensate or help with different impairments  Software ◦ Different programs that help disabled people to recieve information or express themselves  Means of communication ◦ Internet, mobile networks and different online services

 eGovernment is a generic term that refers to any government functions or processes that are carried out in digital form over the Internet

 e-Tax Board/e-Customs ◦ Online filing of income taxes for citizens and businesses  e-Police and Border Guard Board ◦ Information about your documents, applications etc.  e-Health ◦ Patients reciepts, health history etc.  e-Elections ◦ Online voting and information about candidates or laws

 Required for citizens ◦ Personal identification card for every citizen – ID Card

 Recent and most famous example – Arab Spring ◦ Social media was the main instigator of the uprisings ◦ Its role in the uprisings has demonstrated to the world its power ◦ Information allowed the world to stay updated with the protests and facilitated organizing protests  Movie about role of internet in todays world democracy ◦ We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists (2012)

 Role of ICT is tremendous in our world today  Democracy and governing will have to change and adapt new technologies  We live in interesting times!