Interview Eva Rovers: "Politics is too important to be left to politicians alone"
Eva Rovers writes and talks about ways in which ordinary people can achieve extraordinary social change. Politics is far too important to be left to politicians alone. And who are we to contradict her.
How do you know if you are an activist, Eva?
If you are breathing and have a heartbeat, you are generally capable of being an activist. Just kidding, but actually activism is for everyone. Indeed, it means nothing more than actively wanting to make change in something. The thing is that people today think they can only be an activist if they chain themselves to a tree or use violence or have a certain look. There are some cliché images about activism. But really, it is anything we do to change something. So everyone has it in them to be an activist.
Not all activism is as visible as the people who stand on the barricades. You can also have a nurturing role as an activist, doing administration, raising money, networking. Everyone has a quality or talent they can put to use. And they are all important.
So better together than alone?
You can be an activist on your own, but by speaking to many people, doing research and participating myself, I did learn that individualism is often not the best approach. For several reasons. More people together have more talents and are often more creative than one person. Because activism is a long-term work, there is also the danger of becoming exhausted or losing heart. Then it is nice to work with others and to motivate and support each other. Together, you can also plan better. This does not have to be with 100 people right away, but it is already a huge difference if you feel that you do not have to change the world on your own.
What about NIMBY?
For many people, it does start with Nimby, Not In My BackYard, and that is okay as a starting point. They respond to something they don't want in their backyard. Then, 9 times out of 10, they notice that the problem in their backyard is bigger than just their own backyard. Gradually, through their activism, people see that they too can change things and that they will be listened to if they become more active. Eventually, many nimby's even become more socially engaged just because they can help people in the same situation. Activism often expands your view of the world.
So why aren't more people activists?
Everything is complex and hooks together. There is much to rebel against. And yet it happens very little. What does it take to make people take that step? How can we help them?
We have a distorted view of how to initiate change. And there is the persistent myth that you can change things on your own. There are many inspiring stories of people who have managed to do that, and they are also cited every time. Vb. Rosa Parks who allegedly single-handedly solved apartheid on US Public Transport. It seems it happened almost by accident. But that does so much injustice to who she was and how much she cared about collective resistance. She had long been involved in the civil rights movement, had done a lot of research, and she knew a lawsuit was being prepared against segregation. She realised that her arrest would trigger that lawsuit. She acted very deliberately and worked intensively with other organisations, churches and schools from within the civil rights movement. So it was a team effort, not a one-woman show.
You can't solve everything on your own
The individualisation of society has made us think that we should or can solve everything on our own and that we are solely responsible. And that it's up to ourselves if things don't work out. We have to get rid of that. We have to realise again that we are part of a collective, a group, a community. After all, you are rarely the only one walking around with a particular problem or feeling the need to change something. It is precisely in collectivity that the power to change something lies. Otherwise, everything becomes far too big a task. You can worry about climate or mobility, but on your own you are not going to solve those issues. And then I understand people saying: "I'll turn on Netflix for a while, because at least then I don't have to think about those big issues for a while". The moment you discover that there are also other people who share your ideas, yes, that works almost therapeutically.
Policy-makers tend to see empowered citizens as 'busybodies'. Why is that?
Participating citizens often seem ambivalent because they only get involved at the moment a government has already made a decision. Then people are faced with a decision they can hardly change. A classic mistake. Then you receive a letter in the post: within two years windmills will be installed, there will be another consultation evening, and you can still come and give your opinion, but those windmills will be there... Yes, don't be surprised if people don't come to such a consultation evening very happy. And very often it has nothing to do with those windmills, but with the fact that people are asked for their opinion when it no longer matters at all. That gets everyone annoyed, then it's better not to do it.
To be clear, those angry citizens are committed citizens-to-be. Only you have to take them seriously and engage them. And you have to start listening to people more. This is a change in mentality that has yet to happen in many governments. Today, the reflex when citizens are displeased is: you know what, we are going to inform them even better, communicate even more clearly, be more inclusive too. But communication is often not the problem, it is that people do not feel heard. So if you want to turn those angry people into engaged people - and they are, because people are always engaged with their environment - you have to listen to them.
The 3 stages of a Citizens' Consultation
Listening can be done through all kinds of forms of dialogue or deliberative democracy, where you involve people not when the plan is already there, but at the moment when the plan itself is being considered. When nothing at all has been decided yet. Then you start asking what needs, concerns are there, and how you can come to a solution together. In this way, citizens themselves can think, discuss and help decide what the policy should look like. You see this for example in the citizens' councils.
If you want to talk about mobility, you should not present people with an almost finished mobility plan, but start talking to people about mobility much earlier and on a much less detailed level. Eg. "How are we going to ensure that we still have a liveable city in 2040, knowing that the demand for mobility will continue to increase and that there will be x number of inhabitants." That way, you still leave the solution very much in the middle, but start asking people how they see the situation. You have to do that in a good way, though. So don't just send out a survey and ask people their opinion uninformed.
A citizens' consultation always goes through three phases: information, discussion (deliberation), formulating recommendations. In that first phase, you not only give people all possible information on the subject, you also clearly outline the framework: e.g. financial, legal, spatial. In this way, people increasingly realise that not everything is possible and how complicated some considerations are. These final recommendations are extremely valuable for a government, because then you know what the informed opinion of people is. And then it also very often turns out that people are not against less parking, for instance, but that much more creative solutions to the parking problem emerge. That way, as a government, you know what your citizens support, and it becomes easier to take decisions. That is real support. Not as it is so often used today, in the sense of finding support for existing plans. There is so much knowledge and experience and creativity among residents. It really is a waste not to use it. I see that more and more municipalities are starting to realise this and involve people in their policies based on that idea.
Civil dialogue in German-speaking Belgium
Jullie hebben trouwens een prachtig voorbeeld in Duitstalig België waar er, naast het bestaande parlement, een permanente burgerraad is ingesteld in 2019 met 24 gelote inwoners. Die worden aangesteld voor 1,5 jaar waarin ze 3 onderwerpen oppakken waarvan ze vinden dat de overheid ze heeft laten liggen. En rond die onderwerpen worden dan burgerberaden met 100 gelote mensen georganiseerd. Daardoor wordt het een structureel onderdeel van de besluitvorming, zowel qua agendazetting (keuze van de onderwerpen), als besluitvorming. Ik kan je vertellen dat half de wereld met belangstelling volgt hoe dit experiment in Eupen evolueert. Zelf vind ik het ook van ongelooflijk veel lef getuigen. Het Eupense model zou wel eens de waardevolste proeftuin met structurele burgerberaden tot nu toe kunnen zijn.
Away from polarisation
Society is proving much more capable than politicians of coming to decisions that do not lead to polarisation but are instead very constructive. A good example is Ireland, where they started with citizen assembly in 2016. We had to wait and see whether it would work, but now they do so on a very regular basis and also on very thorny issues such as abortion and gay marriage. Yes, it can be done, even in pre-Catholic Ireland. And then it turns out that society is much more capable than politics of coming to decisions that do not lead to polarisation but are actually very constructive. And because of this positive experience, policy-makers are more often turning to citizens' councils. It is something where several cities are currently taking their tentative, first steps, to test it out. I am convinced that when people see the constructive results it leads to, confidence will grow and more and more cities will change tack. It is a very interesting period now. In 10 years' time, citizens' councils will be as normal as elections.
It must remain fun
I recently saw in Poland that the terms and conditions of a citizens' meeting explicitly stated that it had to be 'fun' in addition to political engagement or deliberation. Yes, it often deals with complex issues, and yes, it takes a long time to change anything, so you get tired easily. And then fun can definitely help to keep it going. That's why it's so important to celebrate those small victories. That you realise: these are small waves, but they all contribute to the big wave we are striving for. Fun gives energy and makes sure you don't just stay angry and don't just run around grumbling, because that eats up energy. So if you can turn that anger and anxiety into something that energises you, you are much more likely to persevere. All those local initiatives also serve as examples to national politicians because they show them the benefits and impact which in turn makes those politicians more confident about civic participation.
Make sure you have a plan!
It is pleasing to see immediate effects of your actions. But I would also stress that it is important to have a plan, especially for those who want to make structural changes. But I also really like guerrilla gardening, for example. Just using wild flowers and tree-planting campaigns to bring more green into the city, lovely. Do it, it's fun and it makes other people happy. And that is contagious. But if you can, please, make sure you have a plan, because then your action will reach much further. Especially for fundamental changes, e.g. a new way of looking at mobility. It is a terrible waste of energy if things go wrong because you haven't thought of a plan beforehand or because you haven't thought of certain things. By the way, coming up with a plan does not have to be a burden, and there are all kinds of strategies to make it fun. Above all, let's keep sharing and exchanging knowledge; that is the best way to become smarter and better together. And ultimately the whole world will become better and smarter as a result.
About Eva Rovers
Eva Rovers is medeoprichter van Bureau Burgerberaad. Ze schreef verschillende boeken over activisme en participatie: Nu het nog kan, De Rebelse held, Ik kom in opstand, dus wij zijn, Practivisme, Nu is het aan ons. Ze geeft regelmatig presentaties over burgerparticipatie en duurzaam verzet.
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