An overview of Digital Democracy - an NGO whose mission is empowering civic engagement through digital technologies.

1. Digital
Democracy
Empowering people around
the world through new
technologies that encourage
education, communication
and civic participation.
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2. Democracy in the Digital Era
Democracy Digital Democracy
• Being heard • Empowerment of the
• Minority rights individual
• Accountability and • Fall of hierarchies
transparency • Wider participation
• Advocacy for change • Democratization of
• Access information
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whiteafrican/2736565604/
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3. How we work Where we work
1. Identify community Internationally
2. Needs assessment - pilot: Southeast Asia
3. Work with local & & USA
international partners - research: Southern
to develop Africa, Carribean,
programming Eastern Europe
New Words Media
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4. Burma/Myanmar
Population: 60 million
In Exile: 3.5 million
Sophisticated network of
community based
organizations
KEY INDICATORS
worst best
GDP per capita, PPP (constant 2000 international $) ........ 1,446 3.50
Life expectancy at birth (years) ............................................. 61 4.19
Literacy rate (% of people age 15+) ..................................... 90 6.00
Human development index (out of 177)............................... 130 3.52
Rule of law (out of 208) ...................................................... 202 1.87
Voice and accountability (out of 208) .................................. 208 0.69
KHRG
Digital opportunity index (out of 180) .................................. 176 1.36
Internet users (% of population) ........................................... 0.1 3.07
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Source (by indicator): IMF 2006; World Bank 2006a, 2006a; UNDP 2006; World Bank 2006c, 2006c; ITU 2006, 2004
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5. Future of Tech
in Burma /
Myanmar
• Magazines
• Conferences
• Censorship
• Privacy
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6. Digital
Democracy TV
• Exploring where
innovation happens
• Interactive
• Innovative workflow
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7. Project Einstein
“Because Einstein was a refugee but could still do great things”
Digital Pen Pals - Photography-based participatory education
program linking American students with refugee youth overseas.
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8. Project Einstein: Digital Pen Pals
Peace
Culture
Let’s Discuss: Happiness
History
USA Ideas Bangladesh
Pictures
Let’s Exchange: Lessons
Culture
Resettled Refugees Photo Books
with American youth Youth in
in US schools Let’s Create: Slideshows refugee camps
Videos
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9. Handheld Human Rights
Making human rights accessible and actionable
• Disseminate key information and messages to field workers.
• Facilitate communication between groups working on these issues.
• Collect data that can be mapped on the site.
• Rapidly spread news of human rights violations to the international
community and advocacy groups.
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10. Handheld Human Rights
Making human rights accessible and actionable
• Disseminate key information and messages to field workers.
• Facilitate communication between groups working on these issues.
• Collect data that can be mapped on the site.
• Rapidly spread news of human rights violations to the international
community and advocacy groups.
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11. What you can do:
• Donate money
• $35 buys a child a book of their photographs
• Donate skills
• Are you a designer, programmer, or have other skills
that you can provide? tell us and help grassroots
organizations make change
• Invest
• Change the world for the better through technology
• Volunteer
• Our partners in the field can benefit from smart help
DIGITAL-DEMOCRACY.ORG / @DIGIDEM
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12. What you can do:
• Join Us:
• facebook.com/pages/Digital-Democracy
• twitter.com/digidem
• youtube.com/user/digitaldemocracycam
• myspace.com/digidem
• flickr.com/digitaldemocracy
• hub.witness.org/digitaldemocracytv
DIGITAL-DEMOCRACY.ORG / @DIGIDEM
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13. Empowering people around
the world through new
technologies that encourage
education, communication
and civic participation.
Mark Belinsky - @mbelinsky Emily Jacobi - @emjacobi
mbelinsky@digital-democracy.org ejacobi@digital-democracy.org
facebook.com/mark.belinsky facebook.com/emilyjacobi
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