I got notified via WordPress pingback that someone had linked to the ICELE blog. I checked and saw a blog post by Budapest attendee Ben Rogers titled I have Started to blog because… in which he wrote:

I have started blogging because i was sent to budapest by the British Government in order to learn all about e-Participation, Social Inclusion, Democratic Engagement. After a talk about the power of blogging and how to do it… i am now joining the ranks as it were!!!

Ben plans to use his weblog to chronicle his year as a Deputy Member of Youth Parliament (DMYP) in the UK. (See more about Ben on this 2006 MYP Profile page about him.)

I noticed that I didn’t have a good photo of Ben from the conference, other than one of him taking a photo which I cropped from the group shot on the left. (Click photos to enlarge). So I emailed him and asked for another photo and he sent me the one on the right, along with an email reply that included this:

I have set up the weblog and will build on it very shortly — but have been busy and i’m off on Holiday tomorrow (only in the UK) so will really get it going when i get back!

Thanks once again for e-mailing- it is so nice to keep in contact with different people from all over the world- so many times i have come back from places and everyone goes quiet! And this is what the Internet is all about keeping in contact and making a difference.

Ben Rogers DMYP
Lichfield & Chase constituency
UK Youth Parliament

Welcome to the civic blogosphere, Ben.