Major Conference on Digital Government Will Ask if UK Government is Achieving Its Digital by Default Objectives

LONDON, March 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Citizen 2013 to take place on June 13, London

Can citizens really be customers? Can public bodies really 'engage' with citizens? Can the public sector achieve the same ease of doing business online as achieved by the big online brands? On June 13, 2013 the second CITIZEN conference will take place to try to answer these questions.

With a live public web TV broadcast - open to the general public - CITIZEN 2013 will involve some of the most important people in public service, digital government and social media.

Speakers will include Facebook's Political and Government specialist Elizabeth Linder; the UK Government's Digital Champion, Martha Lane Fox; and Antonio Acuna, Head of Data.gov.uk. Other speakers will include Paul Hodgkin, CEO of Patient Opinion; Chris Lewis, CEO of Lewis PR; David Moody, Head of Worldwide Product Strategy at KANA and Heather Savory, Chair of the Open Data User Group. The event will also feature speakers from Kable, Mydex, IDC Government Insights, FutureGov, Tweetminster and BBC World Service.

The event will feature a special interview with Martha Lane Fox, UK Digital Champion at the Cabinet Office.

According to conference organiser, Jeffrey Peel, this year's event will have a strong focus on a number of interlocking themes.

"Since our Citizen 2012 event last June the coalition government has put 'digital' at the centre of its efficiency and reform agenda. The government has set itself a remit to encourage as many people as possible to go online, and improve the convenience and efficiency of public services by driving online delivery. Our conference will discuss whether digital technologies are being embraced in order to improve service, citizen engagement and social care.

"We'll have sessions that look in detail at how public services are moving online and the technologies driving them. We'll also look at how social media technologies are being embraced, how open data is giving way to open services, and whether digital by default is just a catch-phrase or a reality."

CITIZEN 2013 will take place on June 13 at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel. Attendance is by invitation only but civil servants are invited to pre-register via the website at http://www.citizen2013.com. The event will also be live video broadcast and will be free to view.

About Citizen 2013

Citizen 2013 is the second major conference focused on digital delivery of government services and citizen to government engagement. Organised by Quadriga Consulting, and lead-sponsored by KANA, the conference draws together thought leaders in government IT, civil servants, technologists and market analysts. The conference is free to attend for government employees and is free to view via a live web broadcast on the day of the event. Further information available at http://www.citizen2013.com