I am going to be an "Official Speaker" at the September 16 close of #OGT14: Open Government on the Open Road at City Hall in Ottawa.
Events take place starting at 6:30PM in Jean Pigott Hall at Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa. The doors will be open at 6PM.
I have to fill a maximum of 8 minutes of speaking time saying something poignant about why you can't have Open Government without a Responsible Society.
What I wasn't counting on was this - I've been assigned a 2 x 6 table that I need to populate with something. Here are my directions:
Remaining décor is up to your imagination. Bring your own displays, banners, posters, props, pamphlets, swag ... Etc, but be aware that they will need to be free standing or on the table.
Here's where I need your help.
My firm Wakata Inc. is dedicated to public affairs with a social purpose; I like to frame my partner Jen Li and I as the stone in the soup, bringing people and organizations together and facilitating shared solutions. While I'm going to #OGT14 as me, not as Wakata, I want to hold true to what I believe in.
So - what should I display on my table? Who can I promote, what shared solutions can I hint at in my space?
M first thoughts were that I'd like to promote the following:
Samara - democracy renewal
Why Should I Care - civic engagement
Exhibit Change - improving communication and comprehension
SoJo - a cool web platform that will create community and help individuals turn ideas into action.
I would have included Make Web Not War, but I imagine they have their own table, being the patrons of #OGT14 and all.
Those are my first thoughts, though I would need some resources from them to put on my table around the stone I just asked Richard Pietro to pick up for me somewhere between Vancouver and here.
What do you think? All cool suggestions are welcome - and feel free to share them on Twitter using #OGT14!
UPDATED Sept 2 2014:
And the gold star for first carrot goes to Samara! Samara has offered materials about their Everyday Political Citizen project for my #OGT14 table.
Samara is a perfect compliment for what OpenGov and Responsible Society are all about - our politics can do better, but not without an informed, engaged public. Their Everyday Political Citizen project is designed to recognize and celebrate the democratic catalysts in our midst; the people who ask questions, who encourage you to get informed, who believe that it's through direct engagement that we can make a difference.
My #EPCitizen nominee for this year, as it happens, is Richard Pietro.
Richard has picked up a stone out west for me to use as the centrepiece of my table, the thing that brings groups like Samara (and hopefully, SoJo, WSIC, Exhibit Change, MaRS) together. This is appropriate, because his #OGT14 tour has served the same role this summer - bringing together an incredibly diverse community from across the country around one shared theme:
Open Government.
Richard's brought the stone, Samara the first ingredient - but there's lots of space left! Who's up next?
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