On February 28, the Minister for Communities and Local Government in the UK, the Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP, will address the Opening Plenary at the International eParticipation and Local Democracy Symposium - Empowering Citizens through Technology and Participation in London.

Citizen Engagement is a key priority for the UK Government, as demonstrated by the launch of the Communities and Local Government's (CLG) 'Action Plan for Community Empowerment'. The Rt Hon Hazel Blears will set out the Government's position and expand upon the Action Plan at the Symposium in February.

Other additions to the exciting agenda include:

• Hon Ina Gudele, Special Assignments Minister for Electronic Government Affairs, Latvia
• Hon. Dr. P.M. Sekatle, Secretary of State for Local Government, Lesotho
• Hon. Sec. Pedro Cortes, Secretary of State for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, USA
• Iain Dale, Political Blogger, Commentator and Journalist
• Prof. Lawrence Pratchett, Local Democracy, De Montfort University
• Cllr. Luke Akehurst, London Borough of Hackney

Topics to be discussed include:

• Web 2.0
• Community Empowerment
• Managing Success
• Youth Engagement
• Virtual Worlds
• Participatory Budgeting
• Legislative Processes
• Regulations
• ICELE International Awards
• Much, much more..!

Click here to visit the Agenda page and download the latest copy of the agenda.

The International Centre of Excellence for Local eDemocracy, ICELE, has launched its prestigious international 'Making a Difference Online' awards.

The awards will be announced at the International Symposium and will recognise politicians and organisations who have 'made a tangible difference' by engaging online. Nominations will be entered under two categories - Organisation eParticipation and ePolitician. In addition, CLG Minister Parmjit Dhanda MP will look at the final short-listed group and select another project he feels deserves to be highly commended. That project will receive a special Ministerial Award.

Councillor Matthew Ellis, Chairman of ICELE, commented: "Everyday the ICELE team adds a vast array of case studies to www.icele.org that show how powerful online engagement can be, and how, if used well, it can really touch and improve local people's lives. The ICELE Making a Difference Online Awards will celebrate the "best of the best" out there, and we hope, as well as celebrating everyone's efforts, they will help to inspire and encourage others to give online participation a go!"

The awards will be open to organisations and politicians worldwide and will be short-listed and judged by a panel of experts from ICELE's International Advisory Group, which features organisations including the department for Communities and Local Government, United Nations, Council of Europe and the National Association of Secretaries of State.

Entering the awards could not be simpler - a quick online application is available at www.icele.org. Remember the final date for submission is the 25^th January 2008, so get submitting and ensure you good work is recognized!