The Chamber launched on Wednesday (3), the program e-democracy, which will create a social network on the Internet to encourage popular participation in the formulation and debate on legislative bills. The president of the Chamber, Michel Temer, affirmed that that new tool obeys to one of the basic principles of Constitution – participative democracy.

He reminded that that principle is consolidated in referenda and plebiscites, but especially in the formulation of legislative bills. According to him, the e-democracy tool will allow the citizens to enjoy that right. “We are in the path to social modernity and to the fulfilling of the Constitution”.

Suggestions
By means of the website e-democracy, it will be possible to present suggestions on bills being processed, to elaborate minutes on collaborative bills and to share useful information to the discussion.

That website will integrate a set of interactive tools already available on the Chamber’s website (www.camara.gov.br). Last year, a report of the United Nations (UN) on the use of technological tools for the supply of government services (E-Government Survey 2008) presented the Chamber’s website as a Brazilian highlight in the area of electronic government.

Environment
The first virtual community will handle bills on National Politics on Climate Changes. Eight bills on that subject are currently being processed at the Chamber. They expect that the participation of society enables the consolidation of those bills into a single text which would represent a balance between the various standpoints of several social segments interested in that theme.

Temer praised the choice of the environmental area as the first subject for the debates of the e-democracy. “We are also honoring the Constitution, which was the first one to have established a chapter for environment”. The president of the Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, Roberto Rocha (PSDB-MA), praised that initiative and stressed that that new tool will make legal language understandable to the regular citizen. Rocha reminded that that committee also created a blog to encourage the direct participation of public.

Based on that discussion, the Chamber also intends to collectively construct a report which will be discussed during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15), which will be held in December 2009 in Copenhagen.

Environmental agenda
During that event the Chamber signed an adhesion agreement to the Environmental Agenda of Government’s Administration (A3P). The objective of A3P is to include social-environmental criteria in investments, purchases and contracting of services by government bodies; to establish policies on residue management; to fight all forms of spoiling of natural resources and public assets; and to raise the awareness of civil servants on environmental issues.

In addition to the President of the Chamber, of its ombudsman Mario Heringer (PDT-MG), and Deputy Roberto Rocha (PSDB-MA), the executive-secretary of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Climate Change, Johaness Eck; the executive-secretary of the Environment Ministry, Izabella Mônica Vieira Teixeira; the second vice-president of the Chamber, Deputy Antônio Carlos Magalhães Neto (DEM-BA); the president of the Joint Committee on Climate Changes, Ideli Salvatti (PT-SC); and the general-director of the Chamber, Sérgio Sampaio took part in the launching ceremony.

Report - Geórgia Moraes and Paula Bittar/Radio Chamber
Editing - Paulo Cesar Santos
Translation - Positive Idiomas Ltda