KEYNOTE TRACK

The Provincial Executive Mariëtte van Leeuwen welcomes everybody to the first editions of Digital Democracy The Hague.

The National Citizen Assembly on Climate, initiated by the Dutch government, underscores the importance of citizen engagement in addressing climate change. The assembly brings together 175 diverse individuals from various backgrounds, ages, and regions, who convene in seven meetings to discuss how the Netherlands can adopt more sustainable practices in areas such as food consumption, product use, and travel. The assembly is experimenting with the use of digital tools to enhance the process and engage a broader audience.

Democracy is sick, and four symptoms are digitally driven. First, we are facing Democratic Decay - and the newly developed Democracy Monitor shows what is rotting. Next, the Disinformation Syndrome - fake news has evolved into a cynicism-inducing meme culture war distorting reality. Than comes Disinterest Disease - resulting in citizens become too mentally overloaded and distracted to participate. And ultimately: Domination, unaccountable power in the hands of tech companies ruling over divided, distracted people in dismay. This talk moves from diagnosis to prognosis to treatment. You will leave as "doctors of digital democracy" with the insights needed to prevail in the most fundamental struggle of freedom over tyranny.

The escalating tension between big tech companies and political powers is a growing concern, as tech giants increasingly influence elections and policy-making. This dynamic raises questions about the future of online autonomy and the vast amounts of data collected by digital platforms, with potential consequences for individual privacy and rights. Open-source, eco-friendly software are being developed to protect user data and counter the monopoly of big tech. There is a call for a shift towards human-centered AI and the implementation of the public stack, which prioritizes public values in technology development. Greater involvement of societal actors is needed for the creation of an equitable digital public space.

De provincie stelt een nieuw participatiebeleid op. Dit beleid beschrijft principes, regels en maatregelen om participatie succesvoller en effectiever te organiseren. Dat klinkt mooi, maar er is meer nodig dan alleen de geschreven tekst. Het vraagt een gedragsverandering van professionals die daarmee gaan werken. Daarom hebben het Participatieteam en het Gedragsexpertisecentrum van de Provincie Zuid-Holland de handen ineengeslagen. Samen voerden ze een intern onderzoek uit naar de huidige houding en het gedrag van medewerkers in Zuid-Holland ten aanzien van participatie. Zestien interviews met medewerkers uit verschillende teams en functies leverden inzichten op. Isabel Leemhuis van het Gedragsexpertisecentrum vertelt u meer over de belangrijkste inzichten en aanbevelingen van het gedragsonderzoek en de relevantie van gedragskennis voor de overheid.

Despite the rise of digital tools and platforms, most policy participation in the Netherlands still happens the old-fashioned way: through offline, in-person meetings. And while citizens’ assemblies have become increasingly popular, they also come with challenges — from inclusivity and representativeness, to how well they match participants’ needs, to the costs involved. Combining online and offline methods can help overcome these barriers. Hybrid participation can bring together small-scale citizens’ assemblies with large-scale online consultations using the Participatory Value Evaluation method. Well look at key lessons from seven projects where this approach helped engage more than 65,000 people across the Netherlands.

The World Health Organization identifies environmental noise as a significant public health issue, impacting both human health and well-being. To better assess these effects, the large-scale citizen science project "De Oorzaak" was launched in Flanders, Belgium. Initiated by the University of Antwerp, the Antwerp University Hospital (UZA), and the newspaper De Morgen, the project includes subjective surveys, objective noise measurements using a smart sound sensor network, and medical research on sleep quality and stress levels. Over 10,000 citizens completed a sound survey, and 4,500 participated in neighborhood soundwalks. The sensor network, consisting of 400 smart sound sensors, collected acoustic data from 1,500 measurement points in Antwerp, Ghent, and Leuven. The data captured noise levels and identified nine different noise sources using AI-based classification. Medical research involved 100 participants from Antwerp, who underwent home sleep studies, stress analysis through cortisol levels, and hearing tests. The project concluded with live symposia in each participating city, attracting over 500 attendees.

We invite you to drinks and snacks in the Main Hall during our networking event at the end of day one.