Democracy in Motion: Connecting Citizens and Institutions

How can we truly engage citizens in democracy? And how can institutions, from local to European, collaborate with residents to strengthen trust, resilience, and inclusive decision-making?

This summer, at the Utrecht Summer School, individuals will have the opportunity to partake in an intensive three-day course where we'll explore how democracy can be reimagined and strengthened in a time of social and political tensions. This course will focus on questions like: "What role do institutions play in strengthening trust, participation, and social cohesion?", "How can governments promote clear communication, conflict management, and solidarity?" and, "What does democratic renewal mean in a society where diverse voices want to be heard?"

The course aims to combine interactive workshops with lectures by experts in history, law, public administration, psychology, and communication, offering an interdisciplinary perspective on current democratic issues with lecturers such as Dr. Lars Behrisch, Prof. mr. dr. Hanneke van Eijken, Prof. dr. Denise de Ridder, Prof. dr. Lars Tummers en Dr. Lisanne van Weelden. 

Are you a civil servant or professional working on social change, participation, and public values? Come to Utrecht this summer: internationally known as a city of human rights with a rich cultural, literary, and academic tradition, and register. View the course and register before May 1st with the following link: Democratie in Beweging!

This course will be entirely in Dutch. 

To learn more about our interdisciplinary research and education, or to collaborate on democracy, citizenship, and the rule of law, please visit our Futures of Democracy and Global Futures of Democracy initiatives on IOS research - Institutions for Open Societies - Utrecht University.