One of the themes that seemed to permeate several of the formal presentations - as well as the informal interventions by an interested audience - was what I would call "the role of technology in strengthening (awakening?) civic responsibility". It was kicked off by Brian O?Connell in the context of a civic society; picked up again by John Eger on smart communities; questioned by Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid in terms of more local "rapports" (what about the local neighborhood, the family?); and it was turned ?upside down? by Howard Rheingold, who has for long defended the power of technology in engaging (as in ?mobil-izing") a society, through examples such as the 2000 political turmoil in the Philippines that brought down Estrada - after a public concentration in downtown Manila organized through text messaging. How is the use of technology by communities affecting their civic engagement? Their social responsibility? Their political participation? Are smart communities necessarily more civically engaged? What does this engagment mean, at a time when other poles of action - beyond the ?government? - are emerging? During InCommunity, there were many references to the recent elections, as well as to international situations like the current ?shift to the left? in South America. But that will be the topic of a blog entry, solely on the mind-blowing presentation by Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid (United Nations Senior Economic Affairs Officer for Mexico and the Caribbean).