Virtual town halls

Citation

(1999), "Virtual town halls", Work Study, Vol. 48 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.1999.07948aab.004

Virtual town halls

Virtual town halls

Some of the solutions to Tony Blair's cry for 25 per cent of all government services to be delivered electronically by 2002 were to be found at the inaugural virtual town hall conference. This was a conference, held at the end of last year, for chief executives and service directors from local government. Speakers from the Cabinet Office, the Local Government Association and the public and private sectors provided a glimpse into the future, with delegates able to experience new technology and understand its role in improving services and providing better government. David Gilbert, director of marketing, First Software, one of the organising companies of the conference, along with Sun Microsystems and Oracle, said: "The virtual town hall conference was the most significant event of the year for anybody involved in electronic service provision in local government. Over 250 local government chief executives and service directors attended to make the conference a resounding success. Running alongside the virtual town hall conference were demonstrations of the latest technologies that are available today to deliver innovative, modern electronic services to the community. The fact that such a conference could be held and be so well attended shows just how far the Web has infiltrated into the operation of all organisations ­ including the sometimes thought to be staid public sector."