Luiza Teixeira
Figure 3: Extent of authority and power( Fung 2006: 70)
Integrating the three dimensions proposed by Fung( 2006), it is possible to analyze different practices of democratic participation. We present a case study of the I Conference on Transparency and Social Control, specifically concerning the virtual mode. A case study is a research strategy which focuses the dynamics presents within single settings( Yin 1984).
National conferences are organized forums, resulting from other conferences concerning the local, municipal, regional, state and even virtual levels. It is a process in which society is invited to develop guidelines for public policy development in the country in several thematic areas.
The Conference on Transparency and Social Control( known in Brazil as Consocial) has emerged as an initiative from the First National Seminar on Social Control participants, which was promoted by Union General Controllership( CGU), in 2009. As a result of this seminar, participants requested the convening of a national conference on transparency and social control. In December of the following year, the President convened the First National Conference on Transparency and Social Control( CGU 2011). During the year of 2012 CGU sponsored and organized the conference, including all the stages, along the country.
The Virtual Consocial is one of the existing modes in the process of this major conference. The other existing modes of the Consocial are: municipal, territorial, state, thematic and free conferences. All the existing modes precede the national Conference, and those minor conferences work as a preparation field for the national conference, with the election of representative delegates, and the voting of proposals on the theme. In Brazil there have been other conferences processes to discuss public policies to several areas, such as health, education, social action, among others. However this is the first virtual conference performed.
The virtual conference took place from March 19 to April 8, 2012, in the website www. edemocracia. camara. gov. br, and was attended by 2,960 people across the country, including Brazilians living abroad. The participants contributed to the formulation and prioritization of 150 proposals, sectioned in four Sub Topics. From the observation of the functioning of this experience, we intend to analyze the three axes proposed by Fung( 2006) on the Democracy Cube Model.
5. Analyzing virtual Consocial
The Conference was divided into four sub topics, approaching different aspects of the theme, as: 1. Transparency promotion and public access to information and public data; 2. Mechanisms of social control, engagement and empowerment of society, in order to control public management; 3. The role of public policy councils as instances of control; 4. Guidelines for the prevention and combating corruption.
In all stages of the conference, participants used a Base‐Text, containing the presentation of relevant concepts in each Sub Topic. This presentation involved a contextualization on the topic, and the indication of the applicable law. Each sub topic part ended with questionings about possible actions to be implemented in each field. So participants were invited to elaborate proposals to the sub topic they participated in the discussions during the conference. In the end of each conference, there was the prioritization of a specific number of proposals.
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