Legislating an Inclusive Society
City Central is joining University of Groningen law faculty study associations Nexus, JFV and Elsa to host an online panel discussion about Dutch diversity policy and EU anti-discrimination law.
The panel discussion - Legislating an Inclusive Society - will be held via Zoom at 15:00 on Wednesday, 10 March.
We are honoured to have University of Utrecht professor and Dutch Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) member Mark Bovens, University of Groningen assistant professor of Public International Law Aikaterini Tsampi, social and organizational psychologist Edwina Wong, and Judith Frens, an International and European law student who grew up abroad, joining us on the panel.
The panellists will discuss how to meaningfully embrace and enable diversity within the Netherlands, combat discrimination on the level of the European Union, and place the Dutch cultural approach in global context.
In a December 2020 report, the Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid acknowledged a new reality: The Netherlands is a migratiesamenleving, and today’s immigrant population is extremely diverse. The report called upon the government to adopt integrated policy to help migrants navigate Dutch society, with a strong emphasis on the role of municipal resources and community engagement.
What are the needs of the modern, diverse migrant population in the Netherlands, and how can local and national Dutch governments be held accountable for helping newcomers feel at home and genuinely welcome in the Netherlands?
The discriminatory nature of the toeslagenaffaire and the treatment of immigration and dual citizenship as nationalistic talking points during the 2021 general election lend these questions even greater urgency for thousands of dual citizens, international students, knowledge migrants and Dutch citizens of colour.
City Central sees itself as part of the neighborhood-level, locally-focused infrastructure that can aid internationals and equip them with the tools - language support, cycling lessons, connecting to community through culture and sharing local knowledge - they need to feel at home and taken seriously as contributing members of Dutch society.