The e-Society conference 2012 started with the keynote speaker Conor Galvin and the tutorial speaker Paul Nieuwenhuysen. The subsequent full papers and posters showed that e-Society is a vivid theme both amongst academicians, professionals and policy makers. The overall trend was to accept ICT and social media in particular as catalytic to social reform as we can witness at several turbulent places on the northern hemisphere. The discussions after the presentations focused on the question if and how citizens become empowered and can manifest themselves as social stakeholders. The conclusion was that authorities at the level of local-, regional- and national level have a strong medium now to trace and monitor civil opinions and trends in a very efficient way finally.

Piet Kommers