ÀÖÓãºǫ́

Civil servants are increasingly publicly voicing their discontent with policies they find difficult to support. Examples include protests by employees across various Dutch ministries against the government’s stance on international affairs, as well as an open letter from municipal workers in Amsterdam criticizing the city’s insufficient action on climate issues.

While civil servants are expected to implement policies with loyalty to ensure governmental effectiveness, they are also autonomous individuals with the right to free expression and personal moral convictions. This tension gives rise to important questions: What does it truly mean to be a civil servant? To what extent can they publicly express their views within legal boundaries? And how does the principle of rule-of-law ethos come into play? Furthermore, what impact does activism have on workplace dynamics?

These and other questions will be explored from multiple angles in the first session of the Young B&I seminar series. This session will begin with a keynote presentation by Anna Koolstra, who will share her personal experiences as a civil servant. She resigned from the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning due to her disagreement with the way in which the government was handling urgent societal challenges. Until then she had been active in the weekly sit ins as part of "Ambtenaren en de Grondwet" (civil servants and the constitution) calling for the Dutch government to increase its efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.

Subsequently, ÀÖÓãºǫ́ researchers Amarins Jansma, , and  will reflect on the theme from, respectively, a psychological, constitutional, and governance perspective. Following their reflections, we will open the floor for a conversation with the audience.

The final program for this session will be announced here soon!

About the Young B&I Seminar Series

This seminar marks the launch of a series of meetings organized by a group of (relatively) young members of the Utrecht University platform Behavior & Institutions. The series will alternate between substantive discussions on pressing societal issues in the B&I field and practical sessions focusing on topics such as grant applications and network building.

Our goal is to showcase the value of diverse perspectives on societal challenges. By doing so, we aim not only to enrich discussions but also to foster interdisciplinary connections within our university. Sharing networks and experiences will be fundamental in facilitating truly multidimensional research projects, but can also be valuable in securing research grants.

If there’s a topic you would like to see addressed in a future session, we’d love to hear your ideas! Reach out to us via s.vandeursen@uu.nl, g.h.vandorp@uu.nl or r.j.weijers@uu.nl.