Digital Engagement – Empowering Citizens and Government through Digital Innovation

An interesting affair….

Almost everyday my inbox is filled with information or invitations to attend conferences and events on digital engagement, e-government, social media, local government and everything web 2.0. There’s some interesting conferences and events coming up on my calendar and I thought I’d share one with my readers that I have been commissioned to cover.

Why it matters….

This particular conference grabs my attention because of the issues that will be discussed and the speakers that will presenting. This conference is in response to the final Digital Britain Report that was released in June 2009.  You can find a copy of that report here. I followed the launch of this report online and through twitter and saw that there was still a lot of doubt, confusion and debates amongst practitioners on what the report delivers.  So I’m quite intrigued myself to find out exactly how far we’ve moved forward from then till now and what the future will look like.

Take a look. This event will be happening on the 6th of October 2009 at the Church House Conference Centre.

The link to this event is here.

Digital Engagement – Empowering Citizens & Government through Digital Innovation will explore the key issues around the use of digital technologies in the public sector and determine how Government can engage more effectively with citizens to increase social inclusion and efficiency whilst delivering better public services.

This conference will examine the challenges and opportunities ahead in delivering a Digitally competent Britain, with examples of some of the most successful customer facing services and a look at how the public and private sectors can work together to build a strong Digital Infrastructure for the UK’s Public Services.

Another reason to attend this event is Michael Wesch….

News Flash: I have just been notified that Michael Wesch is unable to attend this event but there are still alot of other speakers that are equally interesting like Digital Inclusion Champion, Martha Lane Fox. So you will still be in for a treat! Check Martha’s video below.

When I was in NYC attending the Personal Democracy Forum 09 (PdF09) – thanks to FutureGov Consultancy who sponsored my trip there – I had the absolute honour to be in the presence of and audience of Michael Wesch‘s presentation on YouTube.  I was in complete awe and actually shed a few tears because I was overwhelmed by what I was seeing (Yes, I do cry quite easily! 😉 ) .

I guess it was the way he presented his facts, thoughts, quotes and examples in such a way that made total sense, simple and inspired alot of people without even trying that hard. In fact he received a greater standing ovation for his presentation than Vivek Kundra!!! Now that’s definitely a testament of how great this guy is…  He’s really likable and easy to relate to which is why I think his presentation had as much of an impact that it did.

Cold feet…

I was very very tempted to interview him when I bumped into him near the elevator at the PdF09 conference but I guess I just got cold feet and just didn’t manage to even open my mouth! But just in case you want to see for yourself, here’s a video that I just found of his presentation at the PdF09 event that I attended recently. I was just a few feet away from the stage! 🙂 Pls pls pls check it out!!! You won’t regret it, trust me!

Martha Lane Fox – Digital Inclusion Champion

And here is the programme.

08:15 Registration, refreshments and exhibition
09:00 Opening Remarks from Chair – MICHAEL CROSS
09:10 Keynote Address – ‘Digital Engagement – Empowering Citizens & Government through Digital Innovation’ – MARTHA LANE FOX
09:30 A Digitally Enabled Government for a Digital World – MARTIN FERGUSON
09:50 Universal Connectivity by 2012 – KIP MEEK
10:10 Industry Best Practice Case Study – Sponsored by Technology Strategy Board
10:30 Panel Question & Answer Session
10:45 Morning refreshments and networking with the Digital Engagement Exhibition
11:15 Digital Region – Digitally Transforming South Yorkshire – ROBERT LING
11:30 Industry Best Practice Case Study
11:45 NHS Choices – Care and Treatment the digital way – GARY ASHBY
12:00 Question and Answer Session
12:15 Seminar Session 1
13:00 Lunch, Networking & Exhibition
14:00 Seminar Session 2
14:45 Afternoon Networking – Tea & Coffee
15:15 Overcoming the Digital Divide – HELEN MILNER
15:30 Kent TV – Engaging Communities through Digital Television – ALEX CONNOCK & PETER GILROY
15:50 The impact of a Digital Government on Local Communities – RICHARD WILSON
16:10 Closing Panel Discussion – Digital Skills and Innovation for a Digital Britain – SPONSORED by DC10
Conference Close

So if you’re interested in the content of this presentation, you can book places for this conference here .

To find out more, take a look here. http://www.digitalengagementevent.com/

This event is presented to you by Ten Alps Events.

For the event guide, download here.

Twitter hashtag for this event is #digieng

Follow the events twitter here @digiengagement

Hope to see you guys there! Be sure to say hello to me 😉

Liz