Do you want to put the Demos (people) – back into Democracy?

This Monday, May 16th, at the City University of New York, (CUNY) Graduate Center, the Personal Democracy Forum will hold its annual conference. The broad array of speakers will include key political bloggers like Doc Searls, Joshua Marshall, author of Talking Points Memo, Hugh Hewitt, and Jay Rosen who writes the fabulous, thoughtful, refreshing PressThink blog from his Journalism post at N.Y.U.. It will also include creative technology leaders like Craig Newmark, the founder of CraigsList.org. You can register online. Why should you attend?

For one thing, this conference will be interactive. You won’t just sit there and listen. Most of the participants’ lives revolve around a key concept of political organizing – connecting. Their main goal, through their blogs, political groups, and other writing gigs is bringing more people into the conversation. Central to the entire conference is the now increasingly prominent role of technology in political activism.

You will hear from speakers on the role of blogs in campaigns, citizen journalism ( which is what metrobloggers do all the time), on line fund raising, how Meetup is faring in its efforts to connect issue oriented people on line, to physical locations so they can actually talk. But you will also talk. There will be small groups, plenty of time for hallway chats, and most important, the entire conference space is wired for wifi. So you can blog about this momentous happening to your friends, your teachers, co-workers – and your metblog fans.

Plus, one of the best things about this conference is that it is not party-based. Presenters will offer a refreshing collection of viewpoints rather than the same old, one party themes that so many political conferences offer. Also present will be Andrew Rasiej, who is running for New York City Public Advocate. Rasiej wants you to have access to free, public wifi throughout your city. Come and learn how you can help.

This conference is for anyone who is interested in using technology – the Internet, blogs, on-line fundraising, to change the way politics works in this country, and to open the process to citizens – which was supposed to be the idea originally. You remember: “of the people, by the people and for the people.”

The conference starts Monday at 9 A.M., 34th Street and Fifth Avenue in the CUNY Graduate Center. All the info is here.