Ever since I first came across iCan, I’ve been wondering which bright spark at the BBC thought it would be a good idea, and why.
Martyn Perks at Spiked was able to enlighten me.
In November 2002, Sian Kevill, the then Head of BBC New Politics Initiative, unveiled the iCan idea at a government-sponsored e-summit, speaking of the need to re-enact civic participation and engagement with the democratic process. The Reithian vision of high-quality public service broadcasting has given way to an agenda based around connecting each of us with each other.It’s worse than I thought. It’s not just that iCan is a bad idea, there’s a bigger, badder idea behind it.
Kevill and others seem to use technology in blind faith, hoping that iCan and similar projects will kickstart our interest in democracy and civic participation. In fact, by placing our local experience above all else, such projects belittle how we experience the world. Where we live doesn't define who we are.In my campaigning days, in the long ago, we used to have a slogan: “Think globally, act locally”. Initiatives like iCan turn that idea on its head by promoting local identity, parochial issues and the disconnected thinking of single-interest groups.
The rest of the Perks' article is worth reading and, on the subject of political participation, check out Josie Appleton's Wednesday piece for Spiked on the government's forthcoming national consultation exercise.
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This item has been edited and updated since it was first posted.
