Video Colloquium “Populism – destructive forces, negative visions and counter-narratives” now online
Our video discussion on “Populism” took place on April 4th 2 pm. We have been joined for the discussion by Erica Meijers, journalist and theologian from Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Bernard Benhamou, General Secretary of the Institute for Digital Sovereignty from Paris, France.
The so-called populists claim to speak in the name of the people, but it seems that populism has a corrosive effect on societies, as our panelists agree: populism “undermines the core process of democracy” (Benhamou), it is “disintegrating” and “excludes” people (Meijers). The conversation showed that populism ignores pluralism and complexety of societies and human beings, instead fosters “anxiety”, “confusion and anger”.
Looking forward to the societies we want to live in and to be part of in future, we asked our guests: What makes a society resistant against populism? How can we imagine a resilient digital society?
Erica Meijers and Bernard Benhamou shared each from their perspectives their views on the sources we can draw from: recreating the tools, shaping our systems, daring to have and express dreams and celebrating who we are and what makes us human – just to mention a few keywords out of this inspiring conversation.
Moderated by Sabria David, Slow Media Institute, this discussion is part of a set of cross-border video conferences that bring together experts from different countries to allow a transnational discourse on European topics. These video conferences are one column of the Colloquium „European Societies in the Digital Age“, which also comprises a yearly convention in Bonn and Expert Round Tables in EU member states. The colloquium is supported by the European Commission and the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung.
