Workshop 2:

Information Overload, Infotainment and

Responsible Citizenship:

Challenges for Democracy

Interventions from:

– Susana Chacon, Mexico

– Roseann Runte, USA/Canada

– Ernst-Ulrich von Weizsäcker, Germany

Questions

• What is necessary to safeguard that citizens can selelct and use information to base their choices on the relevant knowledge?

• What is needed to empower citizens to actively participate in the knowledge society?

Information Overload

• 250 gigabytes of unique information produced per head per year world-wide (= 60 Million A4 pages SimpleText)

• Reuters: 40% of executives surveyed say that their ability to make important decisions is hindered by over-abundance of information - yet 2/3 say: ‘right’ information not available

• Immediacy of News reporting, no time for digesting, lack of synthesis

• Disappearance of past, if only electronically available material counts

Education for the Information Age

• Ability to orientate, to select information and synthethise this into knowledge

• Networks of educational institutions are emerging and technology can a promising tool for education

• Education has to be relevant for the local context; cultural diversity has to be supported

Ownership and Control

• Control of the organisation of knowledge and the ownership of Mass Media are critical

• Democratic control of this power is needed

• Technology and networks provide an opportunity to decentralize the content production