STUDY GROUP BUDGET MONITORING EMMERHOUT International visit Deepening Democracy / Oxfam Novib / Emotive Saturday, October 3d, 2015, Community Enterprise Op Eigen Houtje. Speech by Ms. Joke Bakker, Chairwomen residents platform Wijkbelangen Emmerhout. Dear guests, Be welcome here in the district of Emmen, Emmerhout, you may literally translate this into English call as woods of Emmen! We are your proud host today. Let me express some introductory words. We are members of the local residents pla?orm called Wijkbelangen that exists of both local ciBzens and professionals. Most of us are as well members of the study group budget monitoring. We have sent you all a schedule and we hope, that you will be saBsfied at the end of the day. We will tell you how we operate in this area and we hope that you will ask quesBons, so that we can exchange informaBon. My name is Joke Bakker and I am board member of this local pla?orm, furthermore I am chairwoman of the naBonal organizaBon for acBve inhabitants in the Netherlands. Well, what can I tell you about our acBviBes? Emmerhout has about 7.100 inhabitants. The area is constructed at the end of the sixBes of the previous century following a Finnish model, where living among green was in those Bmes common. When the district Emmerhout was build, it aQracted a lot of aQenBon from naBonal and internaBonal urban designers on account of the way the area was erected. The houses are grouped around residenBal areas or as we call them woonerven. You will see this when we are strolling through the neighborhood this aSernoon. 29% of the inhabitants have the age between 45 Bll 65. 20% is older than 65 and 26% are the youngsters between 0 Bll 25. So all the ages are well represented. Our pla?orm acBviBes are usually aimed at the merit of our inhabitants. These are affairs concerning on public area, care, playgrounds, safety, tenants affairs etc. We own an informaBon shop; we do a lot of experimentaBon. So is this building, where we are staying now a formal school, a community enterprise. We as a pla?orm have iniBated this. The school is now in possession of the residents. Bruin, the business manager will tell you all about this when we are strolling through the building aSer lunch. Emmen has a specific model of how to deal with their districts and villages and corresponding inhabitant organizaBons. They call them EOP that means Recognized ConsultaBon Partner. With this structure the municipally will express, that organizaBons of inhabitants are equal in relaBon with the municipal officers. You understand that this is a purpose, but this is at the same Bme for both parBes a never stopping challenge.
We receive a budget from € 25.000 a year and we are able to spend this on our own way. Obviously aSer consulBng our inhabitants. Our relaBonship with the local poliBcs is open and we have usually a short line with them. The main governing parBes are religious ( CDA), labour (PvdA) and a local party Wakker (Wake up) Emmen. The laQer party has a majority in the college, the central governing insBtuBon of the Emmen municipality. Wijkbelangen Emmerhout is a member of the naBonal organizaBon for acBve inhabitants the LSA, since 2005. So we are through them also connected with naBonal poliBcians and the naBonal departments. The LSA is an inhabitant pla?orm at the naBonal level with a professional secretary staff. It is a merit network organizaBon and inhabitants from various ciBes are meeBng each other and exchange experiences. The LSA aims at innovaBon of methods and is linked at o.a. Locality (BriBsh), Deepening Democracy E-moBve, ABCD method America. Well, I’ll stop now . I can speak about this stuff a whole day, but I think it is enough for now. If you have any quesBons now about what I have told you, please state them. I’ll shortly introduce the next speakers, namely mister Wytse Bouma, the secretary of the pla?orm and member of the study group, and another member of the study group mister Theo Postma, who will provide some more background an insights into our iniBaBves. ASer their respecBve presentaBons, we may have a plenary discussion on the issues raised . Thank you!