{"id":1008,"date":"2020-02-19T08:41:18","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T08:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/digital-engagement\/?p=1008"},"modified":"2020-02-19T10:33:58","modified_gmt":"2020-02-19T10:33:58","slug":"a-global-public-engagement-talk-while-still-wearing-my-slippers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/participation\/2020\/02\/19\/a-global-public-engagement-talk-while-still-wearing-my-slippers\/","title":{"rendered":"A global public engagement talk \u2013 while still wearing my slippers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Read Niamh Webster\u2019s presentation from Apolitical\u2019 s online workshop on public engagement in policymaking.<\/i><\/p>\n

Imagine giving a presentation to 700 people all over the world while still wearing your slippers. This happened to me recently. No, not a bad dream, just speaking at a global Apolitical online workshop<\/a>. Sitting at my kitchen table on video call, I shared my experience of involving people in government\u2019s work. Read what I said below.<\/p>\n

\u2018<\/b>This went so beyond policymaking in all the right ways\u2019<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Scrolling through the lively chat window at the end of the workshop, one comment really stood out. \u2018This went so beyond policymaking in all the right ways\u2019;<\/i> which just shows the breadth of this kind of work \u2013 and how for me it\u2019s all about new ways of doing democracy. It was a real privilege to speak to people from places as diverse as Saudi Arabia, Canada and Chile and organisations like the UN. Thanks again to Apolitical for hosting and my fellow panellist Noreen Blanluet for a really interesting chat. Thanks also for the opportunity to join from the comfort of my own home. Glad you didn\u2019t spot the slippers.<\/p>\n

Read my presentation and list of resources and references below<\/b><\/p>\n

Watch the recording<\/b><\/a> of my presentation (I start 16 mins in) and discussion<\/b><\/p>\n

Read the discussion<\/b><\/a> between participants<\/b><\/p>\n

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Screenshot of Niamh speaking on Zoom video conferencing<\/p><\/div>\n

My presentation: (2 min read)<\/b><\/h2>\n

\u201cI want to start by not <\/b>talking about digital. Before joining government I worked in democracy organisations, getting governments to involve people in shaping the world around them. I joined the civil service to work specifically on open government \u2013 which was also all about getting government to involve people. Now, in my current role as digital engagement manager, I\u2019m trying to do that online.<\/p>\n

Digital engagement means using technology to involve people in decision-making. I\u2019m not a techy person, so I bring my democracy head to this digital world.<\/p>\n

In Scotland there has been a massive amount of progress in democratic engagement, which I\u2019ll talk more about later. But we\u2019ve not yet cracked the online bit. Even globally, I don\u2019t think anyone really has. At least not in the same way we\u2019ve replicated offline methods. So this is what I\u2019m interested in exploring now.<\/p>\n

I moved into digital because there\u2019s so much potential here. There\u2019s so many benefits and uses for digital. The main benefits I see are reaching more people and ease of engaging. Importantly, you can get different types of contributions than formal consultation responses. This helps break down barriers to getting different voices heard. BUT remember digital is not about replacing face-to-face. Instead, it\u2019s about augmenting what engagement you\u2019re already doing.<\/p>\n

Today I’ll talk about…<\/h4>\n

Today I\u2019ll talk about Scottish context, ambition, what we\u2019re doing now and the role of digital in future.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re already working in a strategic context where it\u2019s important to put people at the heart;<\/p>\n