Confronting the Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century

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Using the Internet and Other Media to Promote Democracy

• Information flow within government, between citizens and government, and also among citizens and civil society is critical to a healthy democracy.
• Democrats have used whatever media has been at their disposal that is effective at communicating their message: music, graffiti, posters, bicycle race campaigns, radio, telephones, fax, video, TV and, most recently, the Internet. They have often used very creative combinations of media, such as in Sudan, where individuals obtain information on the Internet and then photocopy it for distribution, or, as in Serbia, where sound files were transmitted via the Internet to European countries so that reports could be broadcast back into the country by radio. Many found that the Internet can be effective in avoiding government media controls. As one participant put it, "with the Internet, governments cannot lie." At the same time, participants noted that all technologies, including the Internet, are just tools, and cannot on their own change a political system.
• Democrats have used technology for a wide variety of purposes, including:
  
  • to communicate news about events inside and outside a country to people inside;
  • to communicate about events inside a country to people outside;
  • to alert the population to the goals of an opposition movement;
  • to encourage and support a persecuted population;
  • to build support communities among the diasporas; and
    
  • to communicate with the government.
    
    

• Access. The cost of technology, especially the Internet, is prohibitive for most people in the world. Adequate telecommunications infrastructure is lacking in most countries, especially in rural areas.
• Government controls. Many governments attempt to control the Internet by limiting access (Cuba, Syria, Saudi Arabia); blocking access to specific Web sites (Cuba, China); keeping track of users (or appearing to); or promoting self-censorship and non-competitive telecommunications policy. However, some governments wish to encourage the Internet for economic purposes and do not censor it (Malaysia, Ukraine). The Estonian government has embraced technology, making many laws and policies available online.
• Lack of NGO resources and training. Many NGOs do not have adequate technology resources. Even NGOs that have Internet access and a Web site do not have the resources or training to make the best use of them.
• Content and languages. There is a serious lack of content on the Web in languages other than English. Similarly, content geared toward poorer communities is inadequate.

• Begin an e-mail "listserv" so participants can advise each other on how to solve problems, and to share experiences, software, technology, and technology talent.
• Promote technology training for NGOs and work with the private sector to direct technology resources to NGOs.
• Create and maintain a database of technology resources available to NGOs.
• Support democrats working under government restrictions on use of the Internet.
• Develop or locate a record of countries whose governments restrict access to the Internet.
• Work with other international groups to pressure governments to develop better telecommunications infrastructure and Internet policies.
• Develop, through the World Movement for Democracy, software or electronic education materials for NGOs that can be tailored to individual countries.