Our Democracy Under Pressure

Date: 16 March
Time: 19:30 - 21:00
Location: Nieuwspoort

Sander Heijne on How We Can Still Save Democracy

Disinformation and political lies can cause real harm to people’s lives. The childcare benefits scandal and the migration debate make that painfully clear. At the same time, attacks on institutions such as the Council of State, the NOS, and on local administrators are in full swing. These attacks no longer come only from the fringes of society, but increasingly from the political center itself. Can we still turn the tide of a crumbling democracy?

Two days before the municipal elections, Sander Heijne shows how citizens can reclaim their voice. What can we do in the face of polarising politicians and all-powerful multinationals? While politicians argue about manure regulations and royal honours, Big Tech is shaping our future behind the scenes. Through compelling stories and original insights, Heijne explains in a lecture why our democracy must be radically reformed in order to be saved.

Sander will also be joined in conversation by journalist Laila Frank to discuss the municipal election campaign, as well as the fundamental problems facing democracy and the hopeful solutions that remain. What can we, as individual citizens, do right now?

Speakers

Sander Heijne – Editor-in-chief of Vrij Nederland and author of The Majority Does Not Rule: Why Politics Keeps Disappointing Us
Laila Frank – Journalist and presenter of the NPO Radio 1 programme Bureau Buitenland, contributor on the United States for Vrij Nederland, and regular speaker for Haagsch College

Practical information: