PEP-NET Summit: Driving eParticipation Forward

This is the fascinating field of eParticipation, and the Pan-European eParticipation Network (PEP-NET) would like to invite you to discuss it with a group of high-level public, private and voluntary sector representatives in Hamburg, Germany on 23rd September 2010.

What
When	Sep 23, 2010 from 09:00 am to 06:00 pm
Where	Hamburg, Germany
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Whether in the form of participatory budgeting, participation in urban planning, online discussions or political agenda setting, citizen participation in politics is increasingly taking place via the internet.

Richard Wilson, founder of Involve and Director of izwe, will moderate the event, which is aimed at organisations that are interested in eParticipation or thinking of taking steps towards engaging citizens using the internet.

Dr Robert Heller, Staatsrat of the Finance Department, will officially open the event on behalf of the City of Hamburg. Thanassis Chrissafis will report on results to date of the European Commission’s eParticipation programmes and future strategic objectives. Noella Edelmann, Danube University, Austria, will speak about the goals and practical application of European eParticipation projects. Anke Domscheit-Berg (Microsoft) and Paul Johnston (Cisco) will talk about trends, challenges and opportunities at the interface between internet, administration and politics.

You will also have the chance to view and discuss presentations of innovative projects from across Europe in an informal atmosphere. Discussion, networking and exchange of ideas will be at the centre of the Summit. We really hope that you will help us move the European eParticipation discussion forward.

Please book your place at pep-net.eu/pep-net-summit/ by 10th September, where you can also find a copy of the agenda and additional information as soon as it becomes available. Registration for the event is free, but places are limited to 100.

Along with the 5 keynote speeches from the movers and shakers of European eParticipation, we will be hosting 14 half-hour presentations in our "presentation corners" during the breaks. That’s a total of seven hours’ presentations of groundbreaking eParticipation projects in an informal atmosphere, where you will be able to move from one presentation to another and discuss with other participants.

As many as four presentations will be running in parallel, so it will get loud in there; but that will only add to the lively hustle and bustle. With presenters from all across Europe -- Germany, Scotland, England, Estonia, Slovakia, Greece, the Netherlands, and Denmark -- this will be so much more than just another flashy conference.

During the main sessions, our 5 international experts will share their thoughts on topics such as citizen participation online, open government and open data from their varied and unique perspectives. They are:

- Thanassis Chrissafis (European Commission)
- Noella Edelmann (Danube University, Krems)
- Anke Domscheit-Berg (Microsoft)
- Paul Johnston (Cisco)
- Andrea Di Maio (Gartner)

We are organising a dinner on the evening of the Summit and a tour of Hamburg with an eParticipation focus on the Friday morning, so there are plenty of opportunities to network.

Places are limited, so secure your place by registering for the free PEP-NET Summit at: http://pep-net.eu/pep-net-summit/.

We look forward to welcoming you to our event.

Best regards,

Rolf Luehrs