From this afternoon, the delegates of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe will be meeting in Madrid for the 2008 Forum on the future of democracy, "to see states a release from the CoE to what extent the new information technology may help strengthen and increase participation". The Forum, called "Electronic democracy: a daring challenge" (until October 17th), is divided into six parallel workshops: electronic participation, electronic participation on a local scale, information and communication technology in the electoral process, "e-inclusion" and electronic democracy in society and in the regulatory framework. In addition, the discussion will focus on the role of activism and online campaigns, which over the last few years have become so widespread that they are by now one of the key elements of political life, and on the recent developments and challenges of electronic polls. Guests will include Lluis Maria de Puig, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE; Terry Davis, secretary general of the CoE; Yavuz Mildon, president of the Congress of local and regional authorities, and Christer Hallerbyr, from the presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the CoE.
