Citizen Media Events

Wanted: Partners to Help Host Citizen Media Outreach Events

Purpose: The goal of these events are to demonstrate some of the interesting citizen media projects already taking place in Minnesota and beyond, while encouraging the launch of similar projects in Greater Minnesota.

E-Democracy.Org will provide: We can provide speakers/presenters for each event. Either experienced E-Democracy.Org presenters or newly identified partners who are engaged in this work in Greater Minnesota.

Partner will be responsible for: Organizing a local venue and providing local publicity for the event.

Here are four possible formats for the events. We are willing to create custom programs for specific communities:

1) Citizen Media Presentation (90 Minutes) - An E-Democracy.Org presenter will conduct a 45 minute online tour of some of the most interesting citizen media projects in Minnesota, across the country, and around the world. We'll explain the following tools and talk about how they might be used for community engagement. The final 45 minutes will be reserved for a public discussion about citizen media in the local community. The online tour will include:

• Issues Forums
• Podcasting
• Online Video (YouTube and Others)
• Social Networking Sites
• Citizen Journalism
• Wikis
• Blogs

2) Organizing a Local or Neighborhood Issues Forum in Your Community (90 Minutes) - This presentation will focus on the details of how to set up and manage an online civic forum in your community using the E-Democracy.Org model. We'll talk about:

• Building and managing a forum
• Recruiting participants
• Engaging Elected Officials and City Staff
• Facilitation - keeping things civil and respectful

3) Citizen Media Panel Discussion - We'll engage our network of contacts around the state to organize a panel discussion with real bloggers, podcasters, and others citizen media types from Greater Minnesota. The purpose of the panel will be to introduce the audience to the power of online tools for community building and introduce them to some of the real people who are making it happen in Minnesota.

4) Citizen Media Workshop - We have help organize a half day or all day workshop with hands on sessions on any or all of the following tools. Workshop sessions will provide basics of how to get started with the tool and examples of how these tools are being used for community organizing and civic engagement:

• Managing a Local Issues Forum
• Community Blogging
• Podcasting
• Online Video
• Wikis