At crossroads in my life, I bike across countries. Nine years ago, I biked across the United States. Today, I find myself at another transition: I am moving on from my role as President of Digital Democracy. In honor of that change, I’ll be crossing the Dominican Republic and Haiti on the island of Hispaniola.

Haiti faced a crossroads when it was devastated by the 2010 earthquake. Digital Democracy had a team on the ground at the time, which meant the event shook me to the core as well. The Dd team sprang into action, contributing to humanitarian aid efforts to map where people were in need to help save lives.

Yet once Haiti disappeared from the headlines, the real work to rebuild the country began. In response to increased levels of rape post-earthquake, we worked to empower women as key actors in Haiti’s reconstruction with a commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative. This year we worked in Haiti to launch the 572 call center, the country’s first rape-response hotline (a sort of 911 for violence against women), connected to a secure database and interactive mapping system. Next we’re working to scale these solutions nationally.

Now I’m at a crossroads too. Over the past three years Digital Democracy has grown from an idea to an accomplished nonprofit. With Dd a sustainable organization, I’m ready to move on and am looking to explore opportunities that allow me to pursue innovative projects with larger enterprises. I’ll still be involved in Digital Democracy, in a guiding role to support the work of my co-founder Emily and our amazing staff.

Since Digital Democracy launched, I’ve been able to draft policy in Iraq, securely document crimes against humanity in Burma/Myanmar, develop an international education initiative, work with government heads and active citizens in the Caucasus, host trainings with Secretary Clinton in the lands that my family fled from, and speak at US Congress and at the White House. It’s meant the world to me to work on these initiatives with such incredible people over the past few years. When I biked across the US I learned that people can achieve anything they put their minds to. I’m excited to see what this new trip will teach.

Tune in to Bike Hispaniola to join my friend Rob Munro & me on the journey. Follow the blog, featuring a live map that updates our location, twitter feed, photos and more. Please ask us questions, share tips and ideas, and let us know of people and sights to see. I’ll be sharing stories and stopping by our partners’ offices in Port-Au-Prince to see the call center staff and further explore how technology can continue to make a difference in Haiti and around the world.

You can sponsor my 500 mile ride by contributing to Digital Democracy’s end of year matching campaign in honor of the trip. All donations will go to Digital Democracy core programming in Haiti and beyond in 2012 – not the ride itself – and be doubled by generous matching donors.

Happy holidays to you and thank you for your support over these years. I look forward to hearing from you and keeping in touch wherever my travels take me and where yours take you.

Sincerely,
Mark Belinsky

Thanks to all our friends, partners, advisors & supporters who joined us last Thursday for Digital Democracy’s 3rd Birthday Party. We are so grateful we were able to celebrate with all of you.

Photos from the event are up on our Flickr … check out the excellent images by Jon Reznick, as well as the fun photos shot by party-goers in the photobooth, with automatic uploads thanks to Mifi. If you’d like a print of one of Jon’s images, please contact him directly. A professional photo makes a great gift for the holidays.

Huge thanks to Elizabeth Hodes Custom Cakes & Sugar Art, who not only contributed the best looking cake we’d ever laid eyes on, it was delicious to boot! Thanks to DJ iBeat & Will for spinning tunes and our excellent gang of volunteers who kept the party running smoothly. Thanks to Trader Joe’s for providing delicious snacks, Lucy’s Whey for the excellent cheese trays, Sustainable Party for eco-friendly supplies, and Bulldog Gin & Brooklyn Brewery for the great libations.

Finally, thanks to the great folks at Google’s Community Affairs Team for contributing a fancy new Google Chromebook to the cause. Thanks to raffle sales, tickets & donations party-goers were able to contribute more than $2,000 to Dd’s core mission to empowering marginalized communities, donations that are being doubled by generous donors.

We can’t wait to see where we are a year from now!

Digital Democracy is turning 3 this month! Come celebrate with us on 11/17 at the RH Gallery in TriBeCa, New York City. Bring your phone, try out new tools & learn more about how Dd is empowering marginalized communities to leverage technology to fight for their human rights. Get your tickets now! Early bird tickets are $10 and available until Sunday, November 6. Full price tickets online (and at the door) will be $15.

See you there to enjoy….

• DJ iBeat spinning for your dancing & listening pleasure
• Bulldog Gin & Brooklyn Brewery for the open bar
• Elizabeth Hodes Custom Cakes & Sugar Art for our custom-designed cake
• Lucy’s Whey for CHEESE

There will be fun to go around…

& you can WIN. Enter our raffle for a chance to take home a brand new Google Chromebook…

...thanks to Google's New York City office of Community Affairs

Play telephone, spread the word, and if you bring 10 friends you get a free raffle ticket. Questions? Email Biz at biz [at] digital-democracy [dot] org.

Thank you to everyone who’s donations will make this a special night! And feel free to check out these photos from our 1st Anniversary at OpenPlans and 2nd Anniversary at New Work City.

The past few weeks I have been spending time in Zucotti Park as part of the people’s microphone. Since tech-based amplification is banned, people have improvised, and together shout the words of whoever is speaking until it is loud enough so that everyone can hear them. That decision making is slow and laborious, while also beautiful and egalitarian.

“What do the protesters want?” is an oft-repeated chorus coming from mainstream media.

OccupyVotes is an open source approach to encourage participatory decision-making: collect & prioritize our ideas in an open, efficient & accountable way.

With around 10,000 votes in the first 36 hours of launching the site, it’s exciting to see the project taking off. It’s clear that this platform helps fill a void – people want to share their vision for demands for the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Occupy Votes was built on the open-source All Our Ideas platform. Not only does it allow visitors to vote with the ideas they like best, it provides them a forum to submit their own ideas and see the votes by other users. As more people contribute their ideas, we look forward to taking a deeper look at the data to understand the differences between opinions from those voting inside Liberty Park, in other US cities, from different platforms and around the world. Stay tuned to find out what the data has to say about the decision making process.

It’ll be interesting to get deeper into the data to understand the differences between opinions from those voting inside Liberty Park, in other US cities, from different platforms and around the world. Stay tuned to find out what the data has to say about the decision making process.

Why did we choose All Our Ideas? Other platforms exist, including Google moderator. With that system, good ideas often get stuck at the bottom of the laundry list and tend not to rise, unless a troll forces an issue up. People don’t tend to scroll. Or trolls will upvote only the issues that they’re interested in, not the rest. This creates lopsided results. Plus, this tool is easy to use and visually clear. The user interface is itself more democratic in that way.

All Our Ideas randomly generates a pairing. As more and more people vote, the information can become statistically representative and truly reflect the interests of the group. Or points of disagreement. All of that information is available in the data, which is open and available. We’ll be publishing it in the interest of transparency.

We’re looking to gather volunteers to set up a voting booth in Liberty Plaza (Zuccotti Park) and engage people in the process of voting and presenting their specific demands. This site is an initial attempt to see if the tool speaks to people. Digital Democracy has had some initial successes with this with our friends in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, and I’m hoping we can take the lessons and open source tools we’ve been working with around the world to continue to support the marginalized, even in this country – the 99%.

We welcome your thoughts, feedback and – of course – your ideas!

Disclosure: All of the ideas on the allourideas site are currently seeded from unscientific polls that I’ve seen covered in a variety of media sources. Fast Company, CNN, WSJ & occupywallstreet forum, plus Michael Haack and Matt Taibbi. Additional ideas related to financial concerns have been added by users. Thanks to the Meetup team for providing their headquarters in New York City for the Occupy Together Hackathon where this project was synthesized.

Update: Check out this Mashable article which talks about the project – Occupy Wall Street Hackathons Produce Digital Tools and New Activists and on the All Our Ideas blog.

Its an honor to be invited to speak at the White House . Its especially exciting to see an administration that understands the power of youth and works to pull in our voices.

The White House was pulling together 20 “awesome” youth leaders to discuss the future of international foreign aid. The conversation was between us, the head of USAID (United States Agency for International Development) Raj Shah, and the internet. It was broadcast live on the White House website, with a realtime conversation happening on Facebook and on Twitter, hashtag #USAIDyouth.

For instance, in the Middle East, almost 65 percent of the regions’ people are youth. In many places, they’re stuck under oppressive regimes and increasingly frustrated by the lack of positive prospects for their future. In Egypt and Tunisia, this came to a head. Politicians around the world took notice. The US government is starting to realize that despite its large foreign aid packages, youth were not involved in the decision-making nor in the reception of this aid, despite being a majority of those affected by it.

A 48 starred flag, painting of George Washington, an eagle, and the golden chandelier lent the air of authenticity to remind me that this building has stood for hundreds of years and that this conversation can, at its best, change the course of history. 20 eager youth, experts in the fields of environment, health, security, and technology all sat with intense looks in their eyes. The groups varied from Truman National Security Project, National Center for Global Engagement, 350.org, Americans for Informed Democracy, Bamyan Media, The Millennium Campus Network, and others. We were ready to take up the challenge.

Many of the ideas bouncing around the room seemed to agree that there was a need to fund the best and most innovative groups, not the ones that were just the best at writing applications and getting funded. The tension is how to do that successfully while doing large-scale support and making sure that they money trail is transparent and trackable.

There’s also an interesting tension in the perception of this aid to the American people from which its coming. Recent debates about cutting the US economy have targeted wings of the government such as this foreign aid. It’s not surprising why, when the average American sees it as consisting of 20% of their taxes. The reality is that it accounts for less than 1%. There’s not much room for innovation when under fire.

It’s important to be able to see how investments in science, technology, education and math (STEM), as well as green technology, are going to have a positive impact on our own economic prosperity in addition to those people working their way out of poverty around the world. But for the innovative and impactful ideas, it’s the youth who are closest to the new solutions and can help usher them in with the right support.

We all went to the White House, and were excited and honored to have been invited, but not for the photo op, but rather to make some changes. I’m encouraged by the dialogue but hope that we’re able to.

Please see the video below and visit the USAID YouthImpact site for more information about the initiative.

We love unconferences. What better way to have a discussion than an open format. The sponsors provide the markers and whiteboard, you sketch out the agenda and we go from there.

Open government? What can democracy look like in the 21st century? Countries like Egypt and Tunisia have used tech in radical ways to help foster revolution. Let’s tackle the day 1 issues as they transition into power, as well as planning how to make a more transparent, participatory and efficient government at home. The conversation is an open-to-all kickoff to the excellent agenda set for the the following days at Personal Democracy Forum 2011. It’s the best conference for politics + tech and you should absolutely come if you haven’t been.

On June 5, we’re looking to leave with a set of solutions – the best new programs, manuals, films, curriculum and other tools to empower civic engagement. Let’s build this resource together.

Register today for OpenGov Camp, or sign up to volunteer and help make the event possible!

Dennis Cahillane

Dennis Cahillane, Software Developer, writes open-source software to accomplish Digital Democracy’s goals. His first project for Dd was creating a secure gender-based violence database for use by our team in Haiti. His duties include information security, using PGP, SSL/TLS, and all available technologies to prevent remote exploits and attacks. Dennis is a lifelong Linux enthusiast and evangelist. He attended Indiana University, where he studied Math and Physics, and founded a Green Party student group. He then attended The University of Chicago Law School, where he studied intellectual property law and marriage law. While in law school, he clerked for a legal clinic aiding residents of low-income housing, and volunteered for the Obama ’08 campaign. After law school, Dennis practiced IP law in California, using his technical skills to analyze network routers and web-based recommendation engines. He enjoys traveling and has visited five continents. Follow him on Twitter LinuxFan2718 & PGP

Meredith Hutchison

Meredith Hutchison, Graphic Design & Photo Curation Intern, designs material for DD’s Project Einstein. She has worked as a photographer in Democratic Republic of Congo, building local media capacity in Kala Refugee Camp in Zambia, and is currently part of a consultant team evaluating land management and governance in Cairo. She is finishing her Masters in economic and political development at Columbia-SIPA and studied comparative literature at the University of Pittsburgh. Meredith is a steel-town girl proudly hailing from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Follow her on Twitter: @Merehutch

Ada-morena daCosta

Ada-morena daCosta, Development & Communications Intern, assists the Director of Development with research, database management, correspondence, and other administrative functions. Ada is a student at the Graduate Program of International Affairs at The New School University (Summer 2011) concentrating in Media and Culture. As a member of the Association of International Development (A.I.D.), she played a leading role in organizing the first Food Security and Human Rights conference at The New School. She is currently creating a collaborative media project about Reel-Lives, a film-education workshop for marginalized, refugee and war-affected youth in hopes of demonstrating the significance of youth media programs and their relevance to human rights.

Ada has a passion and a knack for learning foreign languages– her most recent conquests are in Serbian and Arabic. She is interested in the intersections between communications, technology, human rights, social entrepreneurship, and development in post-conflict settings. She aspires to become a Communications Consultant. Follow her on Twitter: @Mangoleira

Phil Knerr

Phil Knerr, Software Development Volunteer, is contributing to our work in Haiti by assisting with a database project called Haiti Reporter that we’re implimenting and creating the ability offline syncing. Follow him on Twitter: @PhilKnerr

The idea for Digital Democracy was inspired by the courage of Burmese monks, human rights workers and advocates fighting for positive change in their country. Yet it is clear that the idea of Digital Democracy is much greater than any one people, country or struggle.

Over the past two months we have been both humbled and inspired by the people-powered movements for change throughout the Middle East and North Africa. These demonstrate the power of collective action, and also the way that new tools are being used.

From Tunisia to Egypt, these very vivid examples of people using technology for democratic engagement demonstrate the core values of our organization. They also come at a fitting time.

For the past six months we have been asking ourselves questions about the broader goals of our organization, and how Digital Democracy can have the greatest impact. These questions were all part of a strategic planning process led by the brilliant thinkers of Helsinki Group. They have engaged our staff, advisors and leaders in our field to explore what exactly Digital Democracy is, and what our growth and future might be.

Thanks to the guidance of Helsinki, invaluable input from our advisors and other mentors, and the dedication of the Dd staff — who until this point have been volunteers — we have emerged with a honed vision of our values & future.

Our Mission:
Digital Democracy empowers marginalized groups with technology to build their futures.

Our Vision:
A world where all people can meaningfully participate in decision-making to build stronger and more prosperous societies.

We plan to do this in two ways:
1) Dig deep to build long-lasting partnerships – and the capacity of our partners – continuing our work in 3 primary theatres:

·      Countries with repressive regimes (like Burma/Myanmar)
·      Countries suffering the after-effects of natural disaster (like Haiti)
·      Post-conflict transitioning states (like Guatemala).

2) Continue to partner with local groups in new places as tech experts, researchers and trainers. The focus will be building grassroots capacity, promoting civic engagement, & further understanding local definitions of democracy.

Our Theory of Change:
We believe change does not come from technology, but from how people use it. Our programs focus on a cycle we have identified:

Digital literacy, digital organizing, and digital governance are the three components critical to creating a state of “digital democracy,” where all people have the ability to participate in a meaningful way in the decision-making that impacts their lives.

Last September we made a commitment to harnessing technology to address gender-based violence in Haiti, working with legal, medical & psycho-social providers to document, respond to and prevent sexual violence against women. Since that time we have continued our multi-media trainings, worked with women to monitor violence around the elections, and launched a blog – Fanm Pale – Women Speak.
Since January, we have focused on supporting our partners to build a digital database to track and respond to incidents of rape & sexual violence in the displaced person camps of Port-au-Prince. In January, we received support from the Channel Foundation, which promotes women’s human rights throughout the world. Channel’s support enabled us to send Emilie to Haiti where she will be living for the year, providing training and technical support to our partner organizations including women’s organizations, IJDH/BAI and the We-Lead Center.

We have also just received a grant from Development Alternatives IncAI/USAID, over the next three months we are piloting a secure, localized database and call center/hotline to respond to gender-based violence. Dd’s software developer Dennis Cahillane has been working with Mark, Emilie & our local staff to establish the database, which has been localized into kreyol.
In this work, we have learned so much from our incredible partners, who have suffered from rape and violence in the camps first-hand, and put everything they have on the line to provide services to women and girls at risk of violence.
Today I arrived in Haiti with my colleague Abby Goldberg & Digital Democracy Advisor Sean McDonald. We’ll be working with our partners, conducting a strategic planning session and holding workshops on the database and the blog. On Saturday, we’re also participating in BarCamp Port-au-Prince, a gathering of technologists, community groups and international organizations gathering to support Haitians solutions to challenges in Haiti, focusing on unique and innovative ways that technology can be leveraged.
This month of March, when women around the world are reflecting on the challenges they face & celebrating victories that have been made in the fight for our human rights, Digital Democracy is so grateful for the support that has made our work possible, and inspired by the women not only in Haiti but throughout the world who are using the tools at their disposal – whether mobile phones, blogs or marching in the streets – to fight for a better future for us all.

This year our dedicated team harnessed digital maps, mobile phones, blogs, cameras, and open-source software to train over 400 people in the use of these tools to address local challenges including:

• University students using Ushahidi to respond to earthquakes in Haiti & Chile
• Middle & High school students learning digital literacy in Indiana, Kazahkstan & New York City
• Media producers in Thailand working to inform citizens despite censorship
• Government officials in Iraq building tools for better democratic engagement
• Young people mapping local peace efforts in advance of Kenya‘s 2012 elections
• Indigenous youth in Guatemala documenting their lives in the Zona Reyna
• Librarians in Ukraine and Romania learning new tools to connect with users
• Exiled Tibetans in India working for human rights in their homeland
• Women activists fighting gender-based violence in Haiti

We accomplished all of this on volunteer salaries, strategic grants and your generous support. Next, we’re forming a Board of Directors & fortifying our core tools, methods, curriculum & partnerships.

Will you make a financial commitment to our work in the coming year? Any donations you make by midnight tomorrow will be tax-deductible for 2010. You can donate today via our fiscal sponsor IMTD online, set up a monthly payment or send a check made to IMTD to our address below. For all who have already given, thank you for getting #stuckondd!

Thank you for any support you can give as we take on our most exciting year yet.