The inaugural Network Effect event on Media and Legitimacy in European Democracy was held in Stockholm, Sweden, with SNS Vision as the local partner organisation.
Prior to the Stockholm event Demos (a UK think tank on everyday democracy) prepared a briefing paper exploring the current state of media and legitimacy in Europe. The paper provoked three days of thoughtful and thorough debate and investigation, as experiences and perspectives from across Europe were exchanged.
Throughout Europe, political parties appear to be in inexorable decline. Trust in politicians is low and falling and in many countries fewer people are voting in elections than ever before. The resulting deficit of legitimacy is felt even more acutely in the European Union, which suffers from a wide lack of understanding and record-low turnouts at parliamentary elections.
There is a commonly held view that the media and the way they interact with politics is in some sense part of the problem, and is a necessary part of the solution. The Stockholm event focused on some of these issues. One of the lessons seemed to be that alongside the high standards we expect from our formal leaders and media, to effectively address the problems of political legitimacy and leadership within European democracy we also need to look to our own everyday behaviour.
Over 30 participants took part aged 25-35 specializing in a wide range of fields, including television, journalism, and theatre. Using conversations, we began to develop a distinctive understanding of the challenge, and how they as a group could play a role in developing a new practice of leadership.
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