Interview with Tim Bonnemann on Washington DC's eDemocracyCamp

25 February 2008, 3:00 PM EST

Tim answered questions about the first Washington DC EDemocracyCamp -- how it came about, what will happen, how to participate, and dish about what else he is up to. More information about what happened is available at EDemocracyCamp.

Transcript

Dave Witzel, Moderator:

Hi Tim,

Thanks for joining us today!

Tim Bonnemann:

Hello, Dave! Thanks for having me!

Dave Witzel, Moderator:

What inspired you to initiate this, especially from San Jose?

Tim Bonnemann:

I will be in town for Politics Online Conference 2008, March 4-5, 2008 (http://polc.ipdi.org). Initially, that was the main reason for my visit.

However, I have been to a number of barcamps before and like the format a lot (barcamps are participant-driven conferences or workshops). I was thinking early on, back in October, that it might be nice to run an unconference the weekend prior, and focus on e-democracy.

Dave Witzel, Moderator:

What is a "camp"? What can we expect to do, if we attend?

Tim Bonnemann:

Barcamps are participant-driven conferences or workshops where the agenda and the schedule happen the day of the event. Instead of being predetermined from the top down by the conference organizer (as is the case with most traditional conferences), the program at barcamps evolves "on the spot" depending on what participants are most interested in.

The Barcamp movement started out in the summer of 2005 in Palo Alto, CA in response to Tim O'Reilly's Foo Camp (you can read more about the history of barcamps on Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcamp).

Basically, while Foo Camps are invite-only, barcamps are very open and inclusive. Anyone can attend, anyone can run a session. In fact, anyone can organize their own little barcamp if they feel so inclined.

Dave Witzel, Moderator:

What are you expecting to be discussed at the camp? Is this mostly about politics and campaigns or broader than that?

Tim Bonnemann:

The broader topic of eDemocracyCamp is, you guessed it, e-democracy. And while that in itself can mean different things to different people, the way we've tried to frame it is as follows:

"The general goal (of eDemocracyCamp) is to learn/share how the web can help us better govern ourselves, support democratic structures, make online civic participation more accessible, convenient, fun, efficient etc."

So maybe less focus on activism and campaigns specifically, but more on civic participation in the democratic process in general (of course, there's a lot of overlap between these topics).

We've tried to reach out to a diverse audience (political, government, research, technology etc.). We'll have to wait and see what questions people will bring to the table.

Dave Witzel, Moderator:

Do you need any help to prepare?

Tim Bonnemann:

Absolutely. Barcamps are completely community-run. Fortunately, I have meanwhile found a few co-organizers. They are based in DC, and together we will bring it all together. Once enough people chip in it really isn't that much work for each one individually.

Chris Wolz:

Hi Tim - thanks for organizing this great event on March 1-2. It's an important topic and at Forum One Communications we're very interested in opportunities for, and examples of, wide collaboration in governance issues. FYI - we're signing up Forum One as a sponsor of the event as a small way to show our support!

Chris

Tim Bonnemann:

Chris, thanks a lot! Much appreciated.

Sandy:

Have there been other DC unconferences? Can a political town deal with near anarchy without devolving into mob rule?

Tim Bonnemann:

There have been a few barcamps in the greater DC area already. At all the barcamps I have been to, the culture was always very collaborative and civil. I have no worries that won't be the case at this event.

And while the unconference format may sound like a recipe for complete chaos, enough structure emerges -- usually fairly quickly in a very organic way.

Chris Wolz:

Tim - what do you think are some of the best examples of eDemocracy in use to widen participation in policy setting - at whatever level? (As distinct from the generally process focused e-government.) I ask because while most governments (whether city councils or Federal regulatory agencies) do have vehicles for public participation, the cost to participate in an effective manner is high (i.e. need to take time to come to a physical public hearing). And I think that many governments many not be sure (or are outright skeptical) about lowering the barriers to participation, because of the perceived burden of having to manage/respond to a large amounts of input.

Tim Bonnemann:

There are a lot of examples, ranging from the more simple (e.g. politicians who blog and try to include their constituents in the decision-making process) to the more complex (large-group deliberation). I plan to do a session at eDemocracyCamp where we collect some of those examples. Watch the wiki for updates: http://www.barcamp.org/eDemocracyCampSessions.

Dave Witzel, Moderator:

Tim, I know you've got to run to your next appointment. Thanks so much for taking time to answer our questions. I look forward to meeting you F2F this weekend.

Tim Bonnemann:

My pleasure. For anyone interested in attending, just sign up on the wiki (http://www.barcamp.org/eDemocracyCamp). Look forward to seeing you all.