The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) and its Strategic Council for Innovation and Research came to Geneva on 28-29 May for a study visit. The Council’s mandate includes identifying emerging challenges, promoting cross-sector collaboration, and ensuring that research and innovation efforts are aligned with the needs of local communities.
To learn more about the research developed at the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy, the delegation visited the Centre on 29 May for a workshop session hosted by the Centre’s team.
The delegation of fourteen included members from KS, including Managing Director Geir Føyner and Area Director Kristin Weidemann, as well as Municipal Directors/Chief Executives from Bergen, Birkenes, Bodø, Nordre Follo, Kongsvinger and County Director from Buskerud.
The discussion was focused on the methods and findings of the project Youth climate activism and local institutions: Reframing democratic spaces at a time of polarisation. Its overarching goal is to unravel and understand the twofold dynamics of tensions and engagement between climate activists and democratic institutions. Ethnographic case studies, interviews, discourse analysis, and policy analysis are used to explore the interplay between grassroots mobilisations and formal political processes. Christine Lutringer provided an overview of the methods used and the four case studies developed in France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Through this project, the Centre’s research team has contributed in-depth analysis of the mechanisms tying local practices with national and global claims and concerns.
Another project of interest to the delegation was DE.CO.DE “Decode, co-create-debate”. This pilot project aims to foster the active participation of young people in the Lake Geneva region in democratic life and to raise awareness of their role as future citizens. It was presented by Laura Bello, student at MINT and Research Assistant for the project.
To situate the context of youth participation in Switzerland, Alexander Bastianen, a researcher specialized in local government studies who recently joined the Centre, presented the Swiss political system.
This prompted an inspiring comparison between Norwegian and Swiss democracies, highlighting differences and similarities in young people’s interest according to the issues voted on. For instance, young people in Switzerland tend to be less engaged on themes like taxation while in Norway these are precisely the issues that attract their attention. Moreover, while Switzerland is preparing to vote on a referendum to cap population growth, discussions in Norway are focused on population ageing and the need to attract and retain younger generations. The discussion also highlighted the strong attachment to local constituencies in Switzerland and the crucial role of service delivery in Norway’s smallest municipalities.
A clear point of connection that emerged between the activities of the KS and the Centre was the shared focus on local and regional governance.
In his concluding remarks, KS Managing Director Geir Føyner emphasized the centrality of participation, trust, belonging, disagreement and voice, stressing that democracy comes from below and must also be renewed from below.