Naar een kennisdemocratie

How is knowledge produced, transformed, and used in policy-making, by scientific research, by the media and by citizens? How affects this our democratic relations, institutions, policy and science? The concept of mediapolitics is central to the relations between politics and media. The connection between knowledge production and political action is constructed using the concept of transdisciplinarity. The scientific discussion about democracy covers many aspects. One aspect for example is the discussion about citizen’s science, another aspect is the discussion about mediapolitics and predictions about the end of democracy.

There are many tensions in the relations between science, policy, the media, and society at large. The role of knowledge has changed in the course of time. Important factors are the higher general education level of citizens in modern society and the use of new forms of technology (internet, web 2.0). The question is whether these developments make knowledge better available, more adequate for actual users and how this knowledge is linked to values and preferences of users?

Democracy is in the mind of many people linked to representation and participation of citizens and societal groups. The concept of “Knowledge Democracy” is not clearly demarcated and defined. It evokes several meanings and connotations, but for the purpose of the conference it is a useful boundary object, as it refers to the relations between policy, science, media and citizens and also focuses on the knowledge component of these relations.

Partners in deze excercitie zijn onder meer: de RMNO, European Commission, DG Research, Universiteit Leiden, VROM, LNV, OCW, V&W, BZK Algemene bestuursdienst, WRR, Rathenau Instituut, Transforum en Programme Knowledge for Climate.
Meer info, programma en aanmelden kan vindt u hier.