Africa/Global: Top 10 Who are Changing the World of Internet and Politics

And the winners of this year's Top 10 Who are Changing the World of Internet and Politics are...

PoliticsOnline and the 6th Worldwide Forum on Electronic Democracy are proud to announce the results of the annual world-wide survey recognizing the top 10 individuals, organizations and companies that are impacting the world of Internet and politics.

And the Winner Is---
This year’s winners of the Top 10 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics were revealed at the 6th annual Worldwide Forum on Electronic Democracy -- on September 28-29, in Issy-les-Moulineaux, (Paris, France). From among the Top 10, the BBC Action Network, a grassroots campaign website, was selected by a panel of experts as the number one world-changer of Internet and politics.

Selection Process
The selection process began in July, when PoliticsOnline asked its subscribers and visitors from around the world, to nominate people, organizations and companies that are changing the world of Internet and politics. The call generated hundreds of nominations, and from those, 21 were selected to compete in the final round. Selecting the top 21 proved difficult, as the integration of politics and the Internet has spread like wildfire around the globe, reflected in this year’s diverse, international nominees.

Criteria
Nominees were selected based upon the following:
•Highly effective leaders who are making outstanding e-political and e-governmental achievements
•Forward-thinking organizations that have led the way in this revolution
•Innovative ideas or strategies that have forever changed the political process

The Top 10
With the field narrowed to 21 candidates, PoliticsOnline readers and visitors were again asked to vote, with the top ten vote-getters earning the prestigious distinction of Top 10 changer of Internet and politics. There was a worldwide outpouring of votes, totaling 4,556. The following is an alphabetical listing of the Top 10 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics for 2005:

BBC Action Network
The BBC launched its new Action Network in late June. Formerly iCan, the redesign is the result of 18 months of testing the site and redeveloping in response to user needs. iCan helped citizens connect with each other through public forums and a "democracy database" packed with information on tips for grassroots campaigning and the legislative process. The new Action Network makes it even easier for users to find and connect with other like- minded people in their communities. New additions include: alerts, syndication, and a revised user interface. BBC Action Network's aim is to enhance the overwhelming feeling of empowerment users report in using the site to take responsibility for issues they care about.

Etienne Chouard
Mr. Chouard is an example of how an ordinary citizen can voice his opinion on the Internet and ultimately change international politics. A high school law teacher, Chouard set up a blog protesting the proposed EU constitution and urged others to vote against it as well. Just before the vote, his blog had gained attention across France and received over 25,000 hits per day. Despite pro-constitution support from political leaders and a huge media campaign, Mr. Chouard and his supporters triumphed when voters ultimately rejected the constitution. Mr. Chouard of course cannot be given all of the credit for the constitution's defeat, but his blog is one of the most successful examples of Internet grassroots activism.

Ciudad Politica
The Spanish-speaking Portal for Political Analysis and Information, Ciudad Politica, is an independent portal promoting the development of political science in Latin America. The portal aims at supporting the political science community and provides communication forums and creating a network among institutions, civil society and politics. Students, journalists, politicians, scholars and civil servants debate, write articles and papers in the several home page forums.

Estonia
Estonia has the most advanced information infrastructure of any formerly communist eastern European state, and on June 28, 2005, the Estonian Parliament approved Internet voting for local elections in October 2005 and national Parliamentary elections in 2007. Developed by IT services company Cybernetica for the Estonian National Electoral Committee, the Internet voting system uses the Estonian electronic ID card to identify voters. Over 50% of citizens today hold such a card and, according to the government, every Estonian citizen will have an electronic ID card by the end of 2006. Dubbed E-Stonia by some, the country has ranked near the top of the list of countries in putting the Net to practical use - ranking as high as No. 2 in Internet banking and third in e-government in a recent World Economic Forum report.

Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet
During its six-year existence, the Institute has established a national and international reputation as the premier center for the study of the Internet's effect on politics, producing practical studies that address the larger questions about the Internet and politics IPDI's staff have developed materials during that time that have helped academics, advocates, and practitioners understand the potential power of this new and evolving technology. The variety of scholars, real world political operatives and the Politics On Line Conference make them on of the most unique and comprehensive actors in the field of politics and the Internet. The Institute provides a balance of dreamers and data driven realists who tell us what we know and help push us to contemplate a variety of ideas and concepts we should get to know.

JibJab Media Inc.
JibJab's 'This Land' animation was one of the most memorable parts of the 2004 election, combining humor and the Internet to make a political splash. Over 60 million people saw the online animated skit, which poked fun at both campaigns, highlighting both the issues and the mud-slinging. With so many people watching and passing the piece around, 'This Land' engaged potential voters in a way that the news media did not, relying solely on individual Internet and e-mail communication.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
During his tenure as Brazil's President, da Silva has worked hard to take free software to Brazil's poorest citizens. One project includes opening thousands of community computer hubs where Brazilians will surf the Web, access government services, and take computing courses - all on PCs loaded with free software. Another initiative, called PC Conectado, or Connected PC, aims at helping low-income families buy their first computers and get on the Internet- once again, on PCs equipped only with free software. Da Silva is also an ardent advocate of free software based on open source code that users can study and modify. The result is that in recent years Brazil has become one of the world's most prominent battlegrounds of the Microsoft Windows versus Linux war.

Pambazuka
Pambazuka is an online newsletter promoting social change and development in Africa. It reaches over 60,000 people worldwide every week, keeping them updated on African human rights, conflict, health, environment, social welfare, development, and the Internet. The Pambazuka site promotes grassroots activism with links to fundraising organizations and petition sites, and viewers also have the option of texting their opinions to government numbers provided by Pambazuka

RedState.org
RedState.org is another excellent example of grassroots internet activism, providing a place for Republicans to not only receive news updates and read articles, but voice their own opinions as well. RedState.org describes itself as a community, where each registered user can post information on his or her own diary and interact with each other. RedState.org's popularity and innovative approach to blogging has made it a well-deserved political hotsite.

Tsunami Help Blog
The Tsunami Help Blog centralizes information and news about ongoing relief efforts for the countries affected by the December 2004 tsunami. The site provides a search resource for missing persons, a help needed/help offered posting board enabling greater organization and communication, and a database of helplines from all over the world. The site has reunited missing persons with their friends and families through posted photos and information, and proves that the Internet can increasingly be used for global relief efforts.

Full Disclosure: The BBC has been a client of PoliticsOnline for several years. The final selection of the winner was done by an independent panel of judges assembled by the World Forum on eDemocracy.

email: [email protected]
web: http://www.PoliticsOnline.com