Seminar 'Civic Driven Change in local politics'

Introduction

CDC in local politics addresses the question of the emergence of citizen agency at community level. It touches on the dynamics of citizen involvement in local political processes and it critically engages with contemporary party politics. CDC is a global phenomenon that takes place mostly outside of aided situations. Lessons can be learned from as well as applied to civic action taking place in the Netherlands and Belgium. This event will be organised around the upcoming municipal elections in March 2010.

This topic has been identified as a remaining gap in the CDC discourse up till now. The Dutch municipal elections in March 2010 create momentum to set up a lively event, in which Dutch local cases can be connected to an international audience.

Central questions at the event

- Which lessons can be learned from CDC processes at the (Dutch) local level?
- Does the CDC lens offer new insights?
- How does civic agency emerge at the local level?
- How does civic agency trigger change at the local level?
- What circumstances or initiatives nurture civic action and organization in   communities? 
- How does civic agency relate to processes and structures of local politics?
- What is the role of aided change at the local (municipal) level?
- What are the challenges of citizenship rights in cities?

Speakers

-  Chris Aalberts
Lecturer on citizenship and politics at several Universities and Institutes for Higher Education and freelance researcher, trainer and publicist.

- Joop de Wit
Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Development Management, New Forms of Urban Governance in India, Institute of Social Studies (ISS).political institution-building processes and democratization in East and Central European countries as well as into local elections and government.

- André Krouwel 
Lecturer on comparative politics and political sociology at the VU University Amsterdam, specialized in political parties, social movements political institution-building processes and democratization in East and Central European countries as well as into local elections and government.

- Fons Zinken
Chair of the Vereniging van Plaatselijke Politieke Groeperingen.

Programme

12.30 – 13.30                    Lunch (ISS Atrium)

13.30 – 13.45                    Opening

13.45 – 14.00                    Short introduction on CDC ("for dummies")

14.00 – 15.00                    First round of presentations and discussions
                                          Andre Krouwel and Joop de Wit

15.00 – 15.15                    Coffee/tea Break

15.15 – 16.00                   Second round of presentations and discussions,
                                         in two groups  
                                         Fons Zinken and Chris Aalberts

16.00 – 17.00                   Plenary discussion

17.00 - 17.30                    Drinks & snacks

Information

Date: March 26, 2010, from 12.30-17.30 (included lunch)

Location: The Institute of Social Studies: Kortenaerkade 12, The Hague, in the Aula. For directions see the website of ISS.

Literature on the topic

- A short introduction of Civic Driven Change (CDC). To read this document, please click here. 
- Youth driven change in the Netherlands? By Chris Aalberts. To read this document, please click here.