Juan Carlos De Martin is an Italian information engineer. A professor at the Polytechnic University of Turin and afellow of Harvard University's Berkman Institute for Internet & Sociéty, he is the Italian manager of the copywrite management project Creative Commons.
Responding to political crisis, a chorus of voices, such as Italy's Five Star Movement, are calling for a transition to the direct participation that the Internet has made possible. However, the two systems should complement, rather than compete against each other.
Encouraged by Brussels, the online availability of open data provided by public authorities could give rise to a multitude of applications that are useful to citizens and society, with economic gains estimated at no less than 140 billion euros per year.