Zusammen mit de re:publica fliegen wir nach Dublin

For the past ten years, re:publica has taken place in Berlin and become an institution for internet activists. Now the event series ventures overseas.

On Thursday October 20th 2016, the first international re:publica will take place in Dublin, the european base of both Facebook and Google. Around 50 events will be on offer to visitors, including a workshop hosted by POLYAS.

Re:publica: discussions with POLYAS

POLYAS is a partner of re:publica and will be an enthusiastic participant in Dublin. We’ll be setting up a booth and welcome visitors to stop by for some interesting conversations.

But we want to do more than simply answer all your questions about POLYAS – we want to bring up new discussions. That’s of our team members are offering a workshop titled “Online-Democracy: A dream for a world in migration“. From 3pm – 3:45pm we would like to debate the issue of online elections in politics with activists and any other interested parties.

Online elections do take place and not just in corporations and other non-political institutions. Political elections have also taken place online and are the norm in several countries. One example is Estonia, where citizens can elect their parliament online and have already done so for more than ten years. This development has lead to more and more people across the world raising their voices to demand online elections in the political sphere.

It’s therefore time to have a serious debate about the topic. Our workshop at re:publica will be a launching pad for discussion of online voting in political elections.

What are the risks and advantages of online voting?

We would like to talk with you about the advantages and risks associated with online elections. We will primarily deal with the influence of globalization and internationalization on the individual. Many people live in foreign countries for at least a period of time. This means they tend to have difficulties exercising their right to vote in their home country. Voting may be possible at embassies and consulates, but they simply don’t exist in every town or city. Furthermore, postal voting is often time-consuming and complicated. How about letting people living abroad cast their vote in an easier way?

Re:publica: invigorating Germany for ten years

Re:publica has united visionaries and activists for ten years now and offers the opportunity to talk about digitalization. POLYAS won’t miss opportunities like this. Therefore, we’re happy to be part of the first international steps made by re:publica.

We are looking forward to fruitful debates and new talking points to take home with us!