Democracy, Technology and People - Where Are We Headed

Last week I had the opportunity to participate on the opening panel of Club de Madrid’s 10th annual conference, held in NYC. This is an amazing group of former respected Presidents and Prime Ministers.

Club De Madrid’s Mission - “The Club de Madrid is an independent non-profit organization composed of 80 democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 56 different countries, constituting the world’s largest forum of former Heads of State and Government, who have come together to respond to a growing demand for support among leaders in two key areas: democratic leadership and governance; and response to crisis and post-crisis situations. Both lines of work share the common goal of addressing the challenge of democratic governance and political conflict as well as that of building functional and inclusive societies, where the leadership experience of our Members is most valuable”.

Wim KOK , former Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1994-2002)
 and President, Club de Madrid, describes the organization’s work beautifully,   “To help wherever conflicts arise, where underdevelopment continues, where people suffer from lacking the basic needs, where the environment is being destroyed. It can be summed up in one single idea: to be where there is a need for greater democracy.”

The theme of the conference was, Digital Technologies for 21st Century Democracy.  They brought stakeholders; their members, business leaders, scholars, media and change advocates together to engage in conversation about the impact the new forms of information technology is having, and will have, on governments, institutions, media, journalist, businesses and society.

I loved the experience. The conversations were intense, honest and hopeful. Rather than responding in fear or paralysis to the dramatic changes we are experiencing, these people were listening, learning, and exploring new ways to engage the new digital developments like social media, crowd sourcing, big data… for the benefit of Democratic societies and institutions. I believe this is exactly the kind of conversation people should be having in their governments, institutions, companies, communities, and around the dinner table. It is time to shift the conversation from what’s wrong, to what’s possible.

Recent events around the world, especially enabled by the social media revolution, have opened our eyes to the emergence of an evolved form of Democracy – Inclusive Democracy. In this next stage of Democracy people will fully participate in deciding their destiny. They now have the tools and are gaining the confidence to discern and interpret information, as well as the ability to generate information and knowledge. Social media enables people to organize around common interest and shared passions, unencumbered, unfiltered by the traditional barriers and boundaries that have divided us for centuries. Even language no longer posses a barrier to people coming together - thanks to ever evolving developments like Google Translation.

It is laudable that these government leaders are in serious dialogue about how to embrace these new information technologies for the good of Democracy. I am also amazed at how many people and communities are not waiting for Government.  They are using the principles of inclusive capitalism, which are born out of our transcendent human values, to solve problems in their communities and around the world. Enabled by the new digital technology tools, people are tackling problems, once thought to be unsolvable. They are seeking solutions that help them to become self-reliant and self-sustainable. Although we don’t hear much about these “pockets of hope”, they are quietly multiplying at a phenomenal rate – almost as fast as the technology that enables them.

I have written a great deal about The Center for Digital Inclusion, also called the Democratization of Information Technology. I have shared excerpts from my book DreamMakers: Agentes de Transformação - published by QualityMark, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.  CDI is the centerpiece of this book. (The CDI stories in my Blog start on March 30 and are continued on the April 27th post). CDI and the people they work with, share their compelling the personal stories of transformation.

NPR has produced a videocast of CDI and I want to share it with you: I believe Rodrigo Baggio’s, (founder and Executive Director of CDI) courageous dream to help change the world is held by a growing number of people on our planet. In the mist of all the chaos in life - this makes me hopeful,

It is time to lift ourselves out of the fear and paralysis and get to work solving our own problems. Take a look at how CDI is changing lives in this brief video titled – Tackling Inequality With Technology In Brazil’s Slums -

www.youtube.com/user/PBSNewsHour#p/search/0/uQFqV8Uy7Yw

If you have a story you would like to share, big or small, about people who are making their hopes and dreams come true in the face of the chaos and confusion in our world, write me at michelemariehunt@gmail.com

May all your beautiful hopes and dreams come true!

Michele
Transformation Catalyst
www.dreammakers.org