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By Bailey Ludlam
SAN FRANCISCO, California: It's official, the third 2010 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy has come to a close.
In a final gathering, speakers drew together the numerous concepts discussed and dissected during the five day conference. All agreed on at least one concept - the need for continuous communication and dialogue. Victor Cuesta of Las Palmas University noted that as the European Citizens' Initiative is implemented and mechanisms for discussion are proposed and utilized, it is important to continue communication not only among citizens but also with parliament and legislators. Direct Democracy word cloud The forms of communication and participation among citizens is a topic that remains to be debated. Grace Cainoy Weitman of Empowerment Congress in Los Angeles shared some of her experiences in attempts to rally the local communities. Weitman noted that most of the time local problems such as road and sewer issues can be addressed through community discussions. In Los Angeles, California Empowerment Congress holds annual summits and works with the community throughout the year to create better connections between office holders and residents. While Weitman notes that most of the time issues can be addressed more easily after talking about the problems with the community, the sheer size of a region can make communication difficult.
On a global perspective, Amjad Atallah of the New America Foundation Middle East Task Force illustrated the sheer importance of communication in countries where direct democracy has yet to be implemented and totalitarian regimes currently exist. In the Middle East, he said, globalization and new media are acting as accelerators for not only concepts of direct democracy but also information in general. However, the use of new media to discuss these concepts and spread the ideas throughout the regions, is not quite as easy as one might think. Unlike, places like the United States where social networking sites can help launch or win a campaign, the use of social media in other parts of the world is far more restricted.
Additionally, Attalah noted that the largest hindrance of the establishment of direct democracy in countries like those in the Middle East is the contradictions by democratic countries. For example, the United States is a symbol of freedom but when Arabs are stopped in airports to be verified and searched the contradictions in United States policies is highlighted and leads to discouragement and doubts in direct democracy.
 2010 Global Forum group photo In the spirit of continued communication a "wildcard box" was used throughout the five day conference to collect questions and suggestions by conference attendees. All submitted questions were added to a voting system that the crowd participated anonymously following forum discussions. Participants voted on a scale of 1 to 10. Additionally, attendees were identified as either U.S. or foreign attendees to analyze differences in opinion. According to sponsors, results of the votes will be made available on the 2010 Global Forum website.
The conference, although rich with information and speakers, was not only for learning but for the sharing of ideas, drawing people around the world together and implementing the suggestions and ideas made at the conference. In closing, Joe Mathews read the draft of the San Francisco Declaration on Direct Democracy.
The draft of the 2010 San Francisco Declaration on Direct Democracy can be found here.
 Eric O'Keefe of the Sam Adams Alliance By Kyle Maichle
SAN FRANCISCO, California: The 2010 Global Forum on Direct Democracy began with an opening reception at San Francisco's Hastings College of Law on July 30, 2010. Convention attendees had the chance to meet one another during the two hour event. Over 360 participants worldwide are expected to attend the multi-day forum.
Three speakers from the United States in the initiative and referendum rights movement spoke during the reception. Dane Walers, the Founder of the Initiative & Referendum Institute, spoke about the last conference held on U.S. initiative rights in 1999. Waters said that the difference between this conference and the one in 1999 is the high level of support from allied organizations. Waters also said that the lack of support during the last conference in 1999 made it difficult to be successful. A total of 23 organizations in the U.S. and across the globe are co-sponsoring the event along with the Citizens in Charge Foundation and the Initiative and Referendum Institute- Europe.
Eric O'Keefe, the Chairman and CEO of the Sam Adams Alliance, talked about the importance of the initiative process as a check and balance on government. O’Keefe advocated during his speech that the U.S. should have binding referendum at the national level towards key issues including taxes, social security, and health care reform. The Chairman argued that the U.S. government’s handling of the current recession is one reason why Americans should adopt direct democracy at the national level. A total of 26 American states and the District of Columbia allow their citizens to engage in the initiative process.
The reception ended with brief remarks and a song from Kim Alexander of the California Voter Foundation. Alexander along with other attendees sung about the May 2009 special election in California. There were six ballot propositions during the election that were aimed towards fixing the state’s budget crisis. Propositions 1A to 1F were mentioned in the song Alexander wrote. The measures were part of a budget and tax increase agreement between Legislators and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger[1][2]. Five out the six of the measures were defeated by the voters.
The conference continues on July 31, 2010 with the first full day of seminars[3].
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