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| Participants of Sheffield study tour |
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Study tour to Sheffield on November 14-15, 2005, gathered together eCitizen participants from Kaunas, Bologna, Vaasa, Tampere and Turku. They were provided with interesting insights into how e-democracy has evolved in Sheffield over the years. The study tour, open to participants from every component, had also something to offer to every participant. |
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Monday 14 November
The first day of the study tour was filled with interesting presentations covering Sheffield's development from e-government to e-voting to e-democracy to e-governance along with project management, e-accessibility and demonstrations of e-democracy games for the youth.
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Ms Glidden giving a presentation of Sheffield and e-democracy
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Sheffield's history in e-democracy started a few years ago with e-government, i.e. offering information on the Web. Since then, Sheffield has offered its citizens a possibility for e-voting, developed new services for them and gone through e-democracy towards good governance.
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| Sheffield sees it very important to make sure that everybody has an equal opportunity to participate - that is why planning for everybody is a core part of e-participation. e-Democracy has allowed many people to vote for the first time in their life. |
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Mr Morris told that there are about 10 million disabled people in England
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Tuesday 15 November
The second day of the study tour included a tour around Sheffield, where the participants could see everything "for real". The tour covered the Town Hall, First Point and public access kiosks. The day ended with a Component 4 meeting and a farewell dinner for all.
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eVoting was possible at special kiosks all around the city
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Sheffield has been a forerunner in e-Democracy and e-Government in many fields. For example, it offered its citizens a possibility for eVoting with the help of smart cards and public DataWeb kiosks. Nowadays the kiosks offer citizens up-to-date information about the city. Near to them there is also free wireless access to the Internet with e.g. a PDA.
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At First Point, you are welcomed in 10 languages
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First Point, which is a purpose built "One Stop Shop" providing access to and information about all council services to visitors or via email, was one of the most interesting concepts that Sheffield had to offer to the study tour participants. Especially the fact that every visitor was personally met at the entrance attracted the project partners.
Sheffield Study Tour Material
Study Tour Agenda (Word document, 263 kt)
Study Tour Participants (Word document, 208 kt)
Lessons learned - Participants' views of what works and what doesn't in Sheffield (Word document, 261 kt)
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Further information
Sheffield City Council
Sheffield e-Government Agenda
- Information about e-voting and Public DataWeb as well as e-democracy and e-government in Sheffield in general.
First Point
- What exactly is the First Point? Learn it here.
The Pollen Shop
- Information about Web accessibility by the company that has cooperated with Sheffield City Council in its e-democracy activities.
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