technology and democracy

I'm having a 21st century moment. As I type this, I am sitting in my flat in London, listening in on a conference call with Barack Obama (no, I am not a political high-flyer, just a member of Democrats Abroad UK, who organised the call).

The connectivity that allows me to sit in London and listen live to a presidential candidate talk about his platform is part of the same world of technology that can connect communities, create social value, and drive some exciting forms of social enterprise. Just a couple of examples:
1. Vodafone's M-Pesa project (click), which could transform banking in Africa
2. Community building sites like Netmums (click) which allow traditional users of public and private services to reorganise the world in a way that makes sense to them
3. Organisations like Benetech and PATH, who spend their time thinking about how technology can make people's lives richer, and how it can address some of society's fundamental problems

Mr Obama is now talking about the work the US is going to have to do in the world which affects not just people living in other countries, but our own interests as well: building economies and schools, investing in infrastructure, providing people the basic tools to make their lives better, and finding alternatives to fossil fuels. That's partly the job of social entrepreneurs, so if anyone out there knows Senator Obama, tell him we're ready.