Themes / Political and social education

Theme 2: Political and social education

The objective of many of the IPP’s activities is to encourage people to ‘participate’ in both politics and society. This is reflected in the wide range of courses, innumerable educational activities and the production of easily accessible online tools designed to give the visitor insight into the differences between the various political parties.

Young people constitute an important group that receives the IPP’s special attention. Because they are our future representatives and managers, the IPP is involved in diverse educational projects and lends its support to creating and implementing projects to stimulate the participation of young people. The IPP works together with municipal governments and social studies teachers and, together with young people, it does small-scale research on, for example, what young people consider important in their municipality. Examples:

The EU explained for the Dutch

There are a number of ways in which the IPP tries to increase Dutch citizens’ knowledge about the organisation of the EU and its institutions. Examples of these projects are:

  • www.brusselstemt.nl : a website on the voting behaviour of members of the European Parliament
  • Secondary school lessons about Europe
  • Debates

Brusselstemt.nl: keep informed of current affairs in Europe!

The website Brusselstemt.nl follows the work of the 27 Dutch members of the European Parliament. With its extra attention to how these individuals vote at the monthly meetings, the website wants to offer Europe the accessibility, visibility, distinctiveness and responsibility of the 27 Dutch members of the European Parliament.

Secondary school lessons

In 2008 the IPP gave free lessons about Europe at the various levels of secondary school in the Netherlands. During these lessons, students were stimulated to form their own opinions and encouraged to debate with one another. No preparations needed to be done by the secondary school teachers themselves. The standard topics dealt with by the IPP teachers were:

  • What issues is Europe involved in?
  • How has the European Union developed throughout the years?
  • How do the media and political parties view Europe?
  • What do you think about Europe?

Debates

  • The IPP regularly conducts discussion evenings about the elections in other EU countries and in countries that are ‘good EU neighbours’. During these gatherings, the political situation of the country in question is discussed as is the significance of the elections for the EU. Previous evenings were devoted to the elections in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Morocco, Russia, Spain, Italy and Turkey. A debate about the elections in Germany is planned for September 2009.
  • After the Dutch had rejected the European constitution in a referendum held in June 2007, the IPP organised a number of hearings for the Lower House. Under the motto ‘Europe: where to go from here?’ a caravan of members of the Lower House travelled through the country from 4 to 7 May 2007 to listen to people’s opinions.

  • In the project ‘European Citizens’ Consultations’ many hundreds of citizens from all of the 27 EU countries exchanged thoughts about the future of Europe. The IPP organised the Dutch contribution on 10 and 11 March 2007. The result of this pan-European discussion was a list of recommendations for the European decision-makers. Read more at: http://www.european-citizens-consultations.eu .

Courses in political participation

The aim of the course in political participation is to help citizens to become active in local politics. Participants are given a behind-the-scene look at the city or town hall and the chance to experience being politically active and governing a municipality.

The result of the course is that the participants become members of a (local) political party or stand for the municipal council.

More information

For more information contact Roelof Martens, r.martens@publiek-politiek.nl , tel. +31 (0)20 52 17 658.

De Haagse Tribune [The Tribune in The Hague]

In the programme called ‘De Haagse Tribune’ the IPP offers secondary school students the opportunity to spend a day in The Hague and to become familiar with how a parliamentary democracy functions and the related rituals and officials.

Teachers can choose from four all-day programmes:

  • WWII and Democracy
  • History
  • Politics
  • The Law

The four programmes are offered at different levels for each of the various types of secondary school in the Netherlands and are designed to familiarise students with politics and the history of democracy and the constitutional state. All programmes involve a visit to the Lower House; in two of the four programmes students have the opportunity, when possible, to speak with a member of the Lower House.

  • WWII and Democracy
    Central themes in this programme are the absence of a constitutional state and democracy between 1940 and 1945 and current issues relating to democracy and the constitutional state. Students are confronted with historical and topical dilemmas such as how long does the mayor remain in office in wartime? To what extent is there freedom of speech?
  • History
    In this programme students are given a tour of the Upper House and the Historical Museum in The Hague and they are sent to search for and chart historical spots in and around the Parliament buildings.
  • Politics
    The emphasis of this programme is on learning more about politics and its history and on having students form their own opinions. At the higher levels of secondary school education, the balance of power among the diverse political bodies is examined more closely.
  • The Law

Central to this programme is the constitutional state. A connection is made between the parliament as the legislative body and our constitutional state. Not only ‘How is a law drafted?’ but also ‘How is a law enforced? Democracy and the constitutional state are inseparable, and conflicts can thus be settled peacefully.

Polling station

Most of the programmes end with the polling station. In a formal setting with a polling station, ballots, a voting booth and a ballot box, students can vote for the parties that are represented in the Lower House.

More information

For more information contact Jerome Scheltens, j.scheltens@publiek-politiek.nl , tel. +31 6-25192128

Wegwijs op het gemeentehuis [Finding your way in local government]

To make local politics accessible for young people, the IPP organises the project called ‘Wegwijs op het Gemeentehuis’ in which young people fill the role of a member of the municipal council for a day. The principle behind the project is that students learn by experience. Being politically active gives them insight into political and municipal decision-making processes, and more insight leads to more involvement: the final goal of this project.

During an intensive day at the city or town hall, students engage with local politicians, civil servants and lobbies and they deal with terms such as power, democracy, lobby, estimates and budget. Having direct contact and doing one’s own research are what makes this programme unique.

More information

For more information contact Karel Ploeger, info@wegwijsdagen.nl , tel. +31 (0)20 52 17673.

Educational newspapers

The IPP annually produces two educational newspapers for students who are in their last two or three years of secondary school. The newspapers contain clearly written articles on topical subjects. Pupils can work independently with tests and assignments in the newspaper.

Examples of the educational newspapers:

  1. European Elections
    Elections for the European Parliament were held at the beginning of June 2009. What does the European Parliament do, who are the candidates, what do the parties want? And how does Europe affect our daily lives?
  2. Religion & Democracy
    This newspaper explained the relationship between church and state in the Netherlands and commented on examples of current political discussions in the Netherlands in which religion plays a role.
  3. The European Constitution
    This newspaper dealt with the EU and what changes the European constitution would bring. The newspaper also addressed arguments held by those supporting and those opposing the constitution.
  4. Uruzgan (Afghanistan)
    Since 1 August 2006 the Netherlands has had more than a thousand soldiers serving in the province of Uruzgan in Afghanistan. There has been a heated discussion about this military mission. Should Dutch soldiers stay in Uruzgan? Are they working on redevelopment or is it actually a fighting mission? This newspaper also explained how the present situation in Afghanistan arose and what other countries and organisations are involved in that country. There were a number of assignments that enabled students to form their own opinions about the military mission.
  5. Democracy: are we the boss?
    What is democracy? Does democracy mean that politicians always have to listen to the populace or is it just a way to determine who has to govern the country? Is it possible to establish a democratic government in countries lacking a democratic tradition?

Student elections

Since 1994 the IPP has been organising shadow elections for secondary school students. These student elections are always held one or two days before the actual election day.

Organising shadow elections at school is the ideal way to involve students in politics and a useful lead for teachers to devote their lessons to political decision-making in the Netherlands. Moreover, it is interesting to compare the results of the student elections with those of the actual elections. With respect to parliamentary elections, noticeable connections and trends have become evident throughout the years.

The website for the student elections has a manual for teachers with a step-by-step explanation of how they can organise the elections at their schools. After the elections, the results are shown on the website in a database.

Did you know that…

Shadow elections are also held in Finland, Germany and Poland (see www.juniorvoting.eu ) as well as in Great Britain ( www.mockelections.co.uk )?

More information

For more information contact Bas Banning, b.banning@publiek-politiek.nl : +31 (0)20 52 17646.

Stemwijzer and other online tools

The StemWijzer is an online instrument created by the IPP in order to test voters’ political preferences. Visitors to the site are asked to give their opinions on about thirty propositions, and then the computer calculates which party is most in keeping with the visitor’s answers. Since visitors also receive information about the positions held by political parties on a wide range of issues, the StemWijzer has proved to be an excellent educational tool.

In addition to the StemWijzer based on the electoral programmes of parties running for election, the IPP has also created a number of variants:

  • PartijenWijzer: focuses on the principles or basic assumptions of the parties.
  • StemmenTracker: looks at the actual voting behaviour of political parties in Parliament.
  • ReferendumWijzer: examines the advantages and disadvantages of the various options in a referendum.
  • ProgramVergelijking: gives a concise overview of the standpoint of political parties on issues such as health care, the economy, education, etc.
  • Stemexamen: test your knowledge about the body for which and the way in which elections are held.

More information

For more information contact Jochum de Graaf, j.degraaf@publiek-politiek.nl : +31 (0)20 52 17678.