{"id":389,"date":"2017-03-08T10:17:40","date_gmt":"2017-03-08T04:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.itforchange.net\/mavc\/?p=389"},"modified":"2017-03-08T10:17:40","modified_gmt":"2017-03-08T04:47:40","slug":"event-what-is-the-internets-role-in-brazilian-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.itforchange.net\/mavc\/blog\/2017\/03\/08\/event-what-is-the-internets-role-in-brazilian-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"Event: What is the Internet\u2019s role in Brazilian politics?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This piece originally appeared on<\/span>\u00a0InternetLab.<\/a>\u00a0It has been reposted here with permission.<\/span><\/p>\n

On February 21st 2017, we hosted the event \u201c<\/span>What is the Internet\u2019s role in Brazilian politics?<\/a>\u201d, with the aim to foster in the public sphere some of the debates we consider important from internal discussions motivated by two of our research projects:\u00a0<\/span>Voice or Chatter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>#OtherVoices: gender, race, class and sexuality in the 2016 elections<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Internetlab
From left to right: S\u00e2mia Bomfim (Vereadora \u2013 PSOL-SP); Bernardo Sorj (UFRJ\/Centro Edelstein); Rurion Melo (FFLCH-USP); e Francisco Brito Cruz (InternetLab) (Image: Andr\u00e9 Zurawski)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Voice or Chatter<\/a>\u00a0is a project coordinated by the Indian organization\u00a0IT for Change<\/a>\u00a0and aims at building a comparative panorama on whether and how\u00a0participation mediated by information and communication technologies (ICTs) has been empowering citizens and transforming democracy.\u00a0InternetLab is responsible for the research in Brazil, which will result in two products: an article with a \u201cstate of the art\u201d\u00a0revision\u00a0of the literature about participation and ICTs in Brazil (the complete report is available\u00a0here<\/a>); and a\u00a0case study, comparing the public consultations of the Brazilian Civil Rights Framework and the reform of the Copyright Law (still in development).<\/p>\n

In the panel \u201cListening challenges: the future of participation and the State\u2019s role\u201d we presented the main results of our state of the art research. Some of our conclusions were:<\/span><\/p>\n

As it has been noted by the classical Political Science literature, the\u00a0permeability of the decision making processes to civil society\u00a0not only depends on normative provisions (Federal Constitution, laws and decrees), but also on the\u00a0context and political will\u00a0of the rulers;<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Internetlab
From left to right: Larissa Santiago (Blogueiras Negras); Pablo Ortellado (EACH-USP); Tati Dias (Jornalista); e Nat\u00e1lia Neris (InternetLab) (Image: Andr\u00e9 Zurawski)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The use of new technologies such as online platforms has advantages, like a\u00a0greater transparency\u00a0in relation to those who took part and which were the\u00a0interests at stake;<\/span><\/p>\n

The interface of the online tools influences the way through which citizens engage and interact among themselves, which has direct consequences for the quality and the pertinence of the contributions.\u00a0Technological decisions, therefore, are more and more turning into\u00a0political decisions;<\/span><\/p>\n

Especially in Brazil, where only 50% of the population has access to the Internet, one of the main worries in the use of ICTs is with regard to eventual\u00a0distortions in the participation\u00a0due to the lack of representativeness in the online processes. Thus, these tools should not be seen as replacements of traditional forms of participation, but as\u00a0complementary methods;<\/span><\/p>\n

The State still has difficulties to provide\u00a0feedback\u00a0to the population in terms of which contributions were taken into consideration and on which criteria they were based on, something that could contribute to the establishment of a more\u00a0profound and organic relationship\u00a0with civil society.<\/span><\/p>\n

The project\u00a0<\/span>#OtherVoices: gender, race, class and sexuality in the 2016 elections<\/a>, in its turn, monitored and registered the discussions related to\u00a0gender, race, sexuality, regional origin and social class\u00a0that happened during the\u00a02016 electoral period\u00a0and their relationship with the Internet.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the panel\u00a0Acting challenges: activism and (in)visibility on the Internet\u00a0we presented the main results of the research and, at the end of the event, distributed copies of the\u00a0<\/span>report<\/a>\u00a0(in Portuguese), which we comment in detail and made available for download\u00a0<\/span>here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n

Watch videos from the event<\/p>\n

Listening Challenges: The Future of Participation and the State\u2019s Role<\/b><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n