[Nettime-bold] Conference Information

IAP2s Annual Conference and Workshops - May 4 - 9, 2001
The Coast Plaza Hotel at Stanley Park
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Radical to Rational - and Back Again

If you have any questions, please contact IAP2 Headquarters at 1-800-644-4273.

The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) was established in 1990 as a nonprofit corporation to advance the practice of public participation. IAP2 is an association of members who seek to promote and
improve the practice of public participation in relation to individuals, governments, institutions and other entities that affect the public interest in nations throughout the world.

Rediscovering Participation
In the 1960s, citizens rediscovered the power of protest. Drawing on the example of Thoreau and Gandhi, in the streets and on university campuses, citizens demanded changes in government policy and injected their voices
into the decisions affecting their lives. It is from these radical roots that modern public participation was born as large institutions searched for rational ways to engage the public.

The end of the 20th century again witnessed large-scale protests and public outrage. Has public participation failed? Or have we simply moved to the next stage - from the domestic issues of the 20th century to the global
issues of the 21st century -and the cycle of "radical to rational, and back again" is repeating itself?

This question will be the focus of IAP2 's 2001 conference. With the intensification of public activism, what is the future of public anticipation in the 21st century?

The conference will also consider the contribution of public participation in building and sustaining thriving human communities. Achieving healthy communities means attending to public health, justice, transportation, and
environmental stewardship. The conference is organized by addressing the elements common to these issues:
*activism
*governance
*technology
*environment
*globalism and our role in it
*indigenous peoples