The need for broader democratic control over the development and global regulation of new technologies is an even bigger priority for the 21st century than it was in the 20th.

Nanotechnologies, which enable atomic scale construction, rearrangement and design of materials, have inspired Governments in the industrialised world to channel billions into national research programmes, usually without creating the regulatory institutions to monitor the health, social or environmental impacts.

The Nanojury was meant as a contribution towards presenting a non-specialist perspective on these dilemmas, as well as being an opportunity for citizens to have a voice on an issue that they had chosen.