“I first signed up as a member of my party eight years ago. At the time I looked at the way politics were heading in the country, with rising populism, and I thought I want to be a part of whatever is standing against that. I was 14 years old then. What always struck me is that from the moment I signed up I have been taken seriously by the people in the party. If I wanted to say something, people listened.
As you progress you start seeing that politics is not just the big screens, the big names, but it’s about everyday things that make people’s lives better and more convenient, having the trash collected on time, making sure that there are safe bike paths to the university, that sort of stuff. I’m very impressed that as a young person it’s quite easy to get involved in all of that.
University could be more involved with the city and some of the challenges we are facing
One thing we talk about is how we should have a multi-cultural society and that can certainly be applied to Delft, with students and non-students. Right now we have an archipelago of mono-cultures. Students live across the city, but there’s not really that connection that I think would be valuable. Also, the university could be more involved with the city and some of the challenges we are facing. The local government is sitting on this huge pool of talent and knowledge and it’s not being used as much as it could be.
A career in politics is not my goal. But this idea of doing it part-time, the connection of having policy makers actually involved in the societies that they represent is very valuable.”
This Humans is part of an election series on TU Delft students and employees who are active in local politics. Local elections are held on March 21st. Also read about students Timo Tӧns, Michelle Corten and Stijn de Vreede, who are also running for city council.
Do you want to be featured in Humans of TU Delft? Or do you know someone with a good story to tell? Send us an e-mail at humansoftudelft@gmail.com!
Heather Montague / Freelance writer
Comments are closed.