The 2009 conference is hosted by The Science Shop, Queen's University Belfast

 

“World Wide Views on Global Warming”:  A Global Democratic Deliberation

 

On September 26, 2009, World Wide Views on Global Warming (WWViews) will launch the first-ever, globe-encompassing democratic deliberation in world history. WWViews will allow citizens all over the world to define and communicate their positions on issues central to the UN Climate Change negotiations (COP15), which take place in Copenhagen in December 2009.  The main objective of WWViews is to give a broad sample of non-expert citizens from across the Earth the opportunity to influence global climate policy.  An overarching purpose is to set a groundbreaking precedent by demonstrating that political decision-making processes on a global scale benefit when everyday people participate.

 

Coordinated by the Danish Board of Technology (the Danish Parliament’s office of technology assessment), WWViews is structured as a global alliance of individuals and institutions, including government agencies, NGOs and universities.  Provisional plans are in place for up to 59 deliberations in 50 nations, including China, Russia, Brazil, India, Bangladesh, the U.S. (6 sites), and key European nations, as well as a robust sample of other states from every continent (e.g., 14 African nations).

 

During a single day (Sept. 26), two months prior to the COP15 climate summit, WWViews partners will host national deliberations. Each will include roughly 100 ordinary people, chosen to represent their region’s demographic diversity, who will gather to engage in a structured dialogue.  Participants from across the globe will address an identical set of questions.  They will vote on questions, and propose and prioritize action recommendations, within three thematic areas: Climate Policy Goals, Burden Sharing, and Climate Policy Mechanisms.  WWViews will share and publicize the results from the deliberations immediately via the World Wide Web, building excitement, drama and media interest throughout the day.

 

Questions include: Looking beyond WWViews, what are the other opportunities for institutionalizing Living Knowledge activities at the global level?  What are the challenges in terms of adapting methods and procedures to diverse cultural, political and linguistic settings?  How can such projects become influential within policy-making arenas?

 

Theme:  Science shops, sustainable development and climate change

Presenter’s Name:  Dick Sclove, Ph.D.

Presenter’s Institution:   The Loka Institute, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA and The World Wide Views on Global Warming Project

Biography:  Dick Sclove is U.S. Advisor to the World Wide Views on Global Warming project.  He is the founder and former executive director of the Loka Institute, a U.S.- based NGO that has worked to make science and technology more responsive to democratically decided social and environmental priorities.  Sclove is the author of the book Democracy and Technology.