The Online Forum

Forum for Democracy is a participatory Web 2.0 website, or forum, where members can hold interactive discussions and debates. Topics introduced by Forum for Democracy will focus on current important issues to the nation. Forum for Democracy contains three areas:

• Chief Justice, where topics are related to the judicial branch of government.

• Sovereign Citizen, where topics are related to the legislative branch of government.

• Head of State, where topics are related to the executive branch of government.

Unlike most online forums, Forum for Democracy ensures that these discussions and debates actually go somewhere and follow a process that leads to a tangible result: a solution that has evolved from the collective intelligence of the crowd and can be implemented. Part community, part contest, the participation process is as follows:

Participating members can engage in discussions and debates by submitting their ideas and arguments via text or multimedia (photographs, video, etc.). Members are encouraged to go out into their communities and engage in projects that give weight to their arguments and to document this evidence using as much multimedia content as possible, especially video.

After a set period of time in which discussions, debates and refinement of ideas occur, all members can vote on the proposed solutions they find most compelling. In the marketplace of ideas, the best and brightest ideas will rise to the surface and will be recognized as being true while the ideas that don’t resonate will be recognized as flawed and be discounted. Because of that, the “winning” solution represents the "wisdom of the crowd."

The final winner in each forum becomes the Chief Justice, Sovereign Citizen or Head of State. The cycle is started again for existing and new participants.

The results of the Forum are delivered on camera to our elected representatives in Washington, D.C. Videos of these visits to our nation's capitol are viewable at www.forumfordemocracy.com. The participant with the most votes in each forum will receive scholarships or free trips and other prizes. The contest-like nature of Forum for Democracy provides members with a compelling incentive not only for participation, but also active, sincere effort.

Because all members know that only a minority will actually win prizes, Forum for Democracy provides two other tangible rewards for participation:

The ability to complete service-learning projects using Forum for Democracy. High schools and universities are increasingly requiring students to participate in community-based service-learning programs where they can apply knowledge to real world solutions. Forum for Democracy provides an opportunity to showcase videos on service-learning projects and bring attention to the students, schools and service organizations which sponsor these projects.

The ability to earn college credits. Forum for Democracy has partnered with the University of Colorado to enable it members to receive college credits for their participation. Forum for Democracy offers undergraduate and graduate level courses to its members who wish to pay a reasonable tuition and gain a tangible, valuable reward for their scholastic efforts. Freedoms Forum provides scholarships to eligible low income and disadvantaged students who successfully complete our courses and need financial assistance in paying for their tuition.