Culture minister ‘elated’ with results of new citizens’ cabinet
The second sitting of the citizens’ cabinet set up by Sven Gatz has led to 16 concrete ideas that will be incorporated into Flanders’ youth and culture policy for 2017
Youth and diversity
Like the first citizen’s cabinet on culture policy, the youth citizen’s cabinet began as an online platform, visited by more than 1,500 people. That led to a series of more structured discussions, with 600 participants, producing 16 concrete ideas.
Of the people taking part, 134 were invited to the sitting at the Flemish parliament, with the aim of taking the ideas raised and transforming them into policy proposals.
The final group was made up of 60% young people; 40% had an immigrant background and 10% were people with a handicap. Their proposals will now be included in Gatz’s policy document for 2017.
Proposals included a broader world view in education, the introduction of local “bridge-builders” to create and maintain active contact between youth organisations, and the creation of an online platform to link initiatives related to diversity.
“The enthusiasm of a citizens’ cabinet is infectious,” Gatz said. “It’s inspiring to see how a diverse group of people who have never met before can come up with valuable policy recommendations in such a short time. As with the previous cabinet, I will keep the participants informed of any developments involving their proposals.”
Photo courtesy Youth Department
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