# IWDK21 - TRUST & TECH
WHAT ’ S ON AT IWDK21
MAY 4TH
Event : ‘ IWDK Official Opening ’
“ WE ’ VE BECOME FRAGMENTED AND IN- CREASINGLY ONLY EN- GAGE WITH OTHERS WHO LOOK LIKE US .”
Democracy in the 21st century is online and wide-reaching but with its own limitations . With the rise of social media and smartphones over the past ten years today ’ s democracies are facing different possibilities and different challenges than before . Through more than two decades in local politics Jacob Bundsgaard has seen the development with his own eyes .
By Emilie Kristensen-McLachlan
Mayor Pop-Up : Jacob Bundsgaard will host the IWDK opening for the seventh time .
Tell your friends : That you saw Margrethe Vestager as keynote speaker .
Join in : The event is free to watch via livestream , but requires registration at www . iwdk . dk
One of the big discussions about the internet in the second decade of the 21st century is whether or not it is a tool useful for democracy or the complete opposite .
To Jacob Bundsgaard , mayor of Aarhus Municipal for The Danish Social Democratic Party and the head of The National Association of Municipalities , it is not an either or question :
“ While there are issues surrounding fake news and false information , new media like social media are not only negative . It is a positive thing that you can extend the political conversation further out to people you might not otherwise have spoken to or with ,” he says .
During the covid-19 crisis , Bundsgaard has noticed a specific example of the democratic possibilities of , for example , social media :
“ When we have had citizen meetings digitally , we have had citizens show up that we wouldn ’ t usually have seen . It is easier for families with young children to take part in democratic spaces like that . You don ’ t have to spend a lot of time on transport getting to the meeting and if your child needs something you can leave the meeting , do what you have to do and then come back ,” he says .
To Bundsgaard , it is interesting to see the diverse group of citizens the municipality has come into contact with because its activities have been moved online . However , he suspects that others will struggle
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