After I was contacted by several other local working groups I have decided to switch to the new working group on democracy and citizenship. Although I have not met the people in this working group yet (the first meeting is next week), I have got a good feeling that we will make something of it. At least I can work with my main principles and beliefs.
The last few days I thought: "OK, I am talking about principles and beliefs, but what are they?"' (good question, isn't it?). I sat down with a piece of paper and wrote what my main goals and principles are in relation to local democracy and living in an international city. Here is what I came up with:
- The citizens of The Hague should be treated as individuals, not as members of a group (family, church, ethnic minority, sexual minority, etc.); everyone should be treated with respect and is responsible for his or her own development; respect for one-another should be the leading principle;
- The city of The Hague should support those individuals who cannot make use of their rights because they are discriminated or lack specific knowledge, f.e. language courses for immigrants, protection for people who suffer from domestic violence, support for gays against discrimination;
- Religion must be regarded as a private matter; religious organizations should receive no support from the city council; discriminatory statements based on religious freedom should not be tolerated; support to churches should be limited to support for the conservation of cultural heritage;
- Integration of ethnic groups must not be regarded as a goal in itself but as a means to create a tolerant, live-able and durable society; integration cannot be forced upon people; the city should no longer support segregation by financing separate societies, organisations, etc. which solely support contacts among members of a specific group; these activities should be financed and organised with other means; supported organisations should at least have clearly defined goals and regularly be controlled thoroughly;
- Living in a city must be made simpler and easier for all; less regulation, less bureaucracy, less prohibitions; new prohibitions, etc. should only be introduced if effective enforcement by police etcetera can be guaranteed; soft drugs should be legalized; better coordination between city institutions, more attention for quality instead of quantity and better use of the modern means of communication (internet);
- The Hague is an international city, where individuals of every country and ethnic group should find a pleasant home; large groups see The Hague as a temporary home and do not invest in the society - more activities should be directed at the growing number of expats and their needs;
- Initiatives in the city can only be taken in cooperation with the communities in the region Haaglanden; initiatives to enhance this cooperation leading to a more (cost-)efficient and effective policy must be taken; better use of best practices in comparable cities in The Netherlands, Europe and around the World;
- I am sceptical about the possibilities to involve all citizens; the turn-out for elections, referenda, etc. are disappointing and it seems "pulling a dead horse" to get all citizens interested in issues; when people are not interested in making use of their basic rights as citizens, f.e. vote, it is not a good thing to introduce referenda; referenda cost a lot of money, only extreme groups are interested in the outcome and the turn-out is usually too low to actually force the city council to follow the result; referenda should only be used if there is a clear choice between two alternatives (not yes or no, but option A and option B); city council should take their responsibility and make a decision;
- All initiatives to increase dynamism and diversity must be welcomed.
I wrote this down in 10 minutes and I am sure that I have not thought things fully through; there is room for improvement in a later stage.
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