Foto: European Parliament
Think tank PROVIDUS invites you to take part in our public policy forum on political parties in the 21st century. The forum will take place on November 25th at Hotel Monika, Elizabetes Street 21, Riga.
In modern democracy political parties are unpopular entities. Opinion polls show that only 15% of EU citizens and 7% of Latvia’s citizens report trusting political parties. It comes as no surprise then that citizens do not wish to become party members – Latvia’s largest party has a membership of only 4000.
In the recent years Latvia has witnessed numerous discussions and initiatives on alternative ways of participating, for example, referenda or online petitions, however, political parties (and issues relating to their development and professionalism) have been overlooked. Furthermore, the weakness of Latvia’s political parties has been identified as the main obstacle to smart policy making by good governance experts interviewed by PROVIDUS.
Discussion topics:
1. What should a 21st century political party look like? (English with Latvian translation)
2. Preconditions for well functioning political parties in Latvia (Latvian with English translation)
3. Constructive interaction between political parties and media (following screening of clips from TV series Borgen) (Latvian)
4. How to encourage public demand for better, evidence-based policy making? (World Cafe format) (Latvian)
Panel participants include representatives from think tank Praxis in Estonia, VoteWatchEU, Pirate Party from Iceland, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, and Riga Graduate School of Law.
(Full agendapdf)
Time: November 25, 10.00 – 18.30
Place: Hotel Monika, Elizabetes Street 21, Riga
To register please fill out the form.
If you have any questions regarding the forum, please turn to Laura Leitlante – laura.leitlante@providus.lv
Organised by PROVIDUS in partnership with and supported by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Europe for Citizens programme, Foundation for an Open Society DOTS, Norcic Council of Ministers (Norden), Estonian Embassy in Riga.
