Workshop Thinking Democracy across the Global North/South Divide: Activism, Rights, Inequality

This workshop aims to explore and critically analyse the dynamics of democracy across the Global North/South divide, focusing on themes like activism, rights, and inequality. The Platforms of Institutions for Open Societies (IOS) are making a significant contribution on democracy, fair transitions, and equality and diversity, which deserves greater visibility within UU and beyond. With the financial support of IOS, the workshop brings together research from IOS, Pathways to Sustainability, and Dynamics of Youth with an aim at fostering an interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboratively draft an IOS Think Paper on the abovementioned issues.

Introduction and objectives

Societies around the world are facing complex challenges - such as climate change, the rise of political populism, increasing inequality, and global migration and refugee flows - that are putting democratic processes under pressure. Within this weakening of democracy, citizens increasingly mobilise into social movements trying to defend or expand democratic values and participation. This is evident in the growing climate activism around the world, where advocates are pushing for stronger environmental policies and greater accountability from governments that are slow to act on climate change. Another example is the movement for reproductive rights and freedom, which seeks to secure legal protections and access to abortion and contraception in the face of mounting restrictions.

Notably, more and more youth are becoming the driving forces behind these democratic struggles, not just in the realms of environmental or gender and reproductive rights, but also in international peace and justice movements – as seen in recent student encampments at university campuses around the world. In all these settings, democracy is not just a backdrop, but a dynamic force that both shapes and is shaped by these critical issues. These developments underscore the critical need for academic research capable of providing deeper insights into how democracy functions in diverse contexts.

Methodology and approach

The workshop will employ a participatory and interdisciplinary approach, ensuring that all participants contribute their expertise and perspectives. Participants are expected to commit to attend all three sessions and to collaborate in the collective writing process to draft the final document.

The workshop will be organized into three sessions – each held monthly, and structured as follows:

• Session 1: Identifying Key Issues and Framing the Dialogue
• Session 2: Delving Deeper and Building Connections
• Session 3: Writing and Finalizing the IOS Think Paper

The sessions will be designed to foster an environment of open dialogue and collaborative problem-solving.

Expected outcomes

The goal is to draft an IOS Think Paper, which will be published on the IOS website, synthesizing the insights and recommendations generated through the sessions. This 6,000-word document will capture the key discussions, including theoretical approaches, methodology debates, and emerging lines of inquiry.

Open to

Tenured staff, Postdoc and PhD researchers, and enthusiastic research master students.

Dates and location

The first session will take place on Tuesday 8 October from 12:30 to 15:00, with lunch included. The dates for the second and third sessions will be decided together with workshop participants. The workshop session will be held at the Utrecht University Science Park (USP). Room information will be included in the calendar invite sent out to participants.

Registration

The workshop is open to a limited number of participants. If you are interested in participating, fill in the registration form with your contact information via this link.

Organisers and information

The workshop is organised by

• Dr. Victoria Seca, a visiting Postdoc researcher from the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) in Argentina working on youth mobilisation in climate and reproductive rights activism.
• Dr. Elisa Fiore, Assistant Professor of Urban Geography at the department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning working on the embodied geographies of abortion activisms in Europe.
• Dr. Kirsten Visser, Assistant Professor of Urban Geography at the Deaprtment of Human Geography and Spatial Planning working on how to make urban spaces more inclusive for children’s play and everyday activities.
• Dr. Yousra Rahmouni Elidrissi, Assistant Professor of Organisation Studies at the Department of Organisation Science working on collective forms of resistance and dynamics of solidarity within communities.

The workshop is made possible by the IOS funding of international fellows facility, sponsoring Dr. Seca’s stay and activities at UU.