|
(This brief report is presenting the research report "Towards active Citizenship on the Net: Possibilities of citizen oriented communication: case studies from Finland" edited by Esa Sirkkunen & Sirkku Kotilainen, 2004. Publication of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Tampere, Series C 37. The English version is available on the Net (public): http://tampub.uta.fi/tup/951-44-5827-3.pdf.)
New Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) provide both communities and individuals with a range of novel possibilities from new skills and career opportunities to improved sources of information and tools for communication and public participation. However, the fruits of technological progression are unevenly distributed. What is more, the aspired goal of technology furthering democracy remains yet to be reached.
The Evolution of eCommunities research project (2001-2004) attempted to answer the following questions:
● What are the influences of local net communities on the life of corresponding geographical districts and on the degree of participation of their residents?
● What kinds of new forms, practices and types of narration can net communities create?
The report presents several examples of citizen innovativeness: voluntary correspondents developing reality-based and life-like journalism concerning their own residential district, the gypsies describing their history and answering questions concerning their culture and active citizens brainstorming and creating new tools for discussion and civic participation on the net. The report also shows how a mobile camera phone can prove to be useful for local communities in their web-mediated communication.
The Evolution of eCommunities project was built on the collaboration of citizens and researchers. The project applied the action and design research approaches and based its analyses on the concepts of digital empowerment, sociocultural animation, deliberative democracy theory and media pedagogy.
After that research project, I have continued the research on civic participation and influencing on the Net with young people. If you are interested in these issues, here is my paper presented in the 9th Nordic Youth Research Information Symposium at Södertörns University College: Landscapes of Youth, Stockholm, January 12.-14.2006: “Young people as local agents on the Net”.
Article for download
Published 01-02-2006
|
