A petition is a request to do
something. Typically a petition sets out
a problem and demands that responsible parties solve it. An #ePetition is a request made accessible and
sharable on the internet, using a variety of electronic polling and networking
tools. This means unlimited numbers of people can
electronically sign the petition, and very large numbers of petitioners can be difficult
for responsible parties to ignore. This
is the essence of true democracy – individuals participating in decision-making
on an equal basis – one person, one vote – with a simple majority being able to
reach the decision. True democracy transformed itself into
representative democracy before we had the tools for everybody to be involved,
so individuals are elected to represent large numbers of people who transfer
their voices to their representative. The
flip side of representative democracy is direct democracy where individuals
have the opportunity and the responsibility to engage in informed
decision-making. The internet makes this
possible, the scale of global problems makes this necessary, digital petitions
are vehicles for direct democracy and positive change, and education systems
must take a responsible role immediately. In this context, democracy, education and
change are essentially synonyms.
