“As economic and political power moves up to supranational level, there must be a corresponding devolution of power at local level so that the citizen is not excluded from decision-making. “Scotland is already well down the road in becoming an e-country. The aim is to compete globally through e-Business, to inform and involve our citizens through e-Government and e-Administration, and to give them a voice in national decisions through e-Democracy.”
Following Mr Reid's presentation, speakers praised the Scottish Parliament as a “world centre of excellence” in its use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to create an “open society” in which “the citizen is fully engaged”.Later today, Mr Reid will chair a three-hour session on behalf of the legislative regions of Europe, on the practical benefits of ICT projects and programmes.
The objective of the Bilbao meeting, the largest of its kind ever held, is to share best practice worldwide, to examine partnership agreements, and to address the “digital divide” - the exclusion of poorer people and countries from the ICT revolution.
The Presiding Officer, as well as representing the Scottish Parliament, is attending on behalf of the e-democracy group of the Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies (CALRE).Mr Reid spoke at a CALRE plenary session in Barcelona last month, where President Ernest Benach i Pasqual of the Catalan Parliament said “Scotland leads the way in its use of IT to engage with the citizen.”The Scottish Parliament's e-petitions system has been widely praised since its formal launch in 2004.
In August, the German Parliament – the Bundestag – announced it was launching an electronic petitions system based on a version used by the committee.
Quelle: Publictechnology, 14.11.2005
