Press Release
1st August 2002
McNeil to Battle I.T. Out
MSP for Greenock & Inverclyde,
Duncan McNeil, will take on some of Britain’s best known
political figures in the battle to be declared the elected
representative who makes best use of technology and new media.
Mr McNeil’s website, www.DuncanMcNeil.com, has been shortlisted alongside those of Peter Mandleson, Ken Livingstone and Anne Widdecome in the Elected Representative category of the New Statesman New Media Awards 2002.
The awards look to recognise work which uses new media and technologies to widen access to the political process and forge stronger links between government and citizens.
Mr McNeil told the Telegraph:
"I am of course delighted to have made it to the shortlist.
"It would be great to go further. But after looking at the competition, I’m not exactly holding my breath. Whatever your political views, you can’t deny that Ken Livingstone, Peter Mandleson and Anne Widdecome are very well known political figures and effective communicators."
On the subject of why he felt it was important for politicians to make use of new technologies, Mr McNeil said:
"The older, more traditional, ways in which the political process operates can far too easily exclude many people with modern, 21st Century lifestyles. If you’re a shift-worker, or a busy working mother, a surgery every second Monday afternoon in a community hall isn’t much use to you.
"Technology is not, of course, a substitute for these methods, but it is a useful extra string to your bow and it does make it much easier for all members of the community to have their say."
The New Statesman New Media Awards 2002 aim to find original initiatives which show how technology can create a more inclusive society.
In 1998, New Statesman dedicated the first New Media Awards to promoting projects which embraced new technology, fresh thinking and creative management. This year, they are looking for projects which use technology to revitalise and recreate dynamic working links between citizens, communities and government.
They want, in their own words, "projects that empower, educate and enhance services previously unavailable."
The three finalists will be announced later
this month and will be invited to the New Media Awards 2002 award
ceremony. The ceremony will be held at the Hilton Hotel,
Blackpool on the evening of 1st October 2002.
ENDS
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