This spring, the key word for our Lunch talks is democracy. With the Swedish general elections coming up this September, we want you to feel involved. Who are the political actors, what are the stakes of the elections, how does your voice matter? All these and more are questions we will address bi-weekly.
On the 22nd of February we had the pleasure of inviting Inge Eriksson to our Lunch talk, who spoke about the topic “Meeting tables, democracy, and the European Union”. As a University Lecturer in European studies at Malmö University, he had some very interesting insights into what democracy means and why you should vote. The idea for the talk he got when thinking about the recent meeting between Macron and Putin, as they were sitting at the same table far apart. He encouraged us to think about those meeting tables. Who is invited to the conversation, how are States run? Although political cultures are not easy to change, he emphasised how important the culture of talking around a table is. The more we have sound debates and can come to agreements, the more our community will be healthy and stable. He explained that democracy is not just the rules for how we divide power, it’s also a social activity.
One of the reasons why you should vote according to him is because diversity is expressed in that we vote for different reasons, if only certain people vote, only certain people will be represented. Inge Eriksson then also added that:
“Voting is just the start, don’t be passive but also engage yourself in politics and what is happening in your community”.
Photo by: Benjame Abi
After concluding his presentation by presenting parts of a poem, the audience engaged in thought-provoking discussions. Some of the topics addressed were the Russia-Ukraine crisis, and how that might affect the EU. Thank you to our guest speaker and our participants! Our next lunch talk will be held on the 22nd of March, Professor Peter Dahlgren will present the topic “Civic Culture, Media and Political Engagement”. See you there! Join the Facebook group “LUND INTERNATIONAL VOTERS” to learn about the election and the political parties & receive invitations to events.
Written by: Céline Rault