The Unie
De Zitting
How do the gentle forces win in the chaos?
The world order as we know it is crumbling - or never existed. Power is increasingly and openly concentrating in the hands of tech billionaires, autocrats, and oligarchs. The now-familiar refrain - democratic institutions being eroded, freedoms under pressure, and war and violence as daily occurrences on the world stage - has collectively paralyzed us. Meanwhile, we lose each other in permanent outrage, distrust, and polarizing algorithms.
But this is not the whole story. Especially now, citizen movements are emerging everywhere that break the status quo: from massive red protests to surprising election victories. They show that change is indeed possible when citizens take action.
What can we learn from these movements? And what can you do yourself? Can we also unlearn learned helplessness? We will discuss these questions during our annual session at Bij de IJsbaan.
Guests in the session:
Mark Lievisse Adriaanse (1994) is a journalist for NRC Handelsblad. He studied political science and philosophy in Leiden, among other subjects. In 2021, he and his colleague Derk Stokmans won the journalism awards 'De Tegel' and 'De Loep' for a reconstruction of the first six months of the corona pandemic.
Berber van der Woude (1982) is a political scientist. She worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 14 years, including as a diplomat in Colombia and occupied Palestine. Van der Woude is the chair of The Rights Forum, a foundation committed to an Israel-Palestine policy based on international law and human rights.
Pippi van Ommen (1996) is a Dutch climate activist and organizer. She is known as a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion Netherlands and as one of the founders of Deep Canvassing Netherlands.
