Public Sphere

“Democratic governance rests on the capacity of and opportunity for citizens to engage in enlightened debate”[1]

A “Public Sphere” is a space that “…through the vehicle of public opinion it puts the state in touch with the needs of society” [2]. This kind of engagement in public policy is a great way to represent different views and harness a broad range of expertise, particularly on topical issues of the day.

Although there are certainly many formal mechanisms for participation in Australian Government processes, we thought it would be a great idea to create an online public sphere and facilitate regular topics of interest to both the general public and to the government. This way people from all around Australia can participate online. We will be experimenting with different technologies to get the recipe right for this kind of engagement, and any thoughts on this are very welcome.

Each Public Sphere topic will run for several weeks. There will also be a Public Sphere workshop per topic which will give a physical place for people to speak about their ideas in short concise talks coupled with rigourous discussion. All talks are streamed online for general public access. Feedback and questions will happen live over Twitter both from the participants in the room and from remote participants.

How to participate in a Public Sphere:

- Post comments, links to papers, case studies and ideas to the relevant Public Sphere blog post comments – comments will be summarised and presented at the event as part of the proceedings

- Blog with the tag publicsphere or Public Sphere and Twitter with #publicsphere so we can find your ideas and post them to the appropriate Public Sphere

- Run your own events and post your outcomes in the relevant Public Sphere comments

- Join the relevant Public Sphere workshop event, which will be streamed online so you can participate remotely

- Volunteer to give a short talk at the topic workshop of choice by adding your name and topic to the comments at the bottom of the Public Sphere post

[1] Hauser, Gerard (June 1998), p 83. “Vernacular Dialogue and the Rhetoricality of Public Opinion”. Communication Monographs 65 (2): 83–107 Page. 86. ISSN 0363-7751.

[2] Habermas, Jürgen (German(1962 – English Translation 1989), p 31. The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society. Cambridge Massachusetts: The MIT Press. p. 30. ISBN 0-262-58108-6.