Religion in Political Polarization

Currents in the Netherlands and Indonesia

OPEN DIALOGUE
offline and online

The years 2023 and 2024 are marked by political turbulence around elections in which two populists played the leading role: Geert Wilders in the general elections in the Netherlands in November 2023 and Prabowo Subianto in the presidential elections in Indonesia in February 2024. In both countries, these elections have led to increasing polarisation. This growing polarisation is largely due to the major influence of social media. In the Netherlands, the ever harsher tone, less willingness to cooperate among the political elite in political debate, and sharp and extreme expressions get a lot of media attention. In Indonesia, where millennials and Gen Z hardly read books anymore, but mostly orientate themselves to postings via digital platforms, the influence of these platforms is all the greater. These postings often make eager use of disinformation and hate rhetoric. In the (probably not so) long run, this kind of political polarisation can be disastrous for the nation. It drives a wedge between elites, but certainly also between the grassroots, neighbours, colleagues and close friends. Under the guise of freedom of expression, democracy is being put to the test.

NICMCR, in collaboration with Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Yogyakarta,  would like to invite you to attend an Open Dialogue. For this Dialogue, which will be moderated by Prof. Frans Wijsen, we have invited Dr. Martijn de Koning (Radboud University Nijmegen), Rev. Em. Aart Verburg (Protestant Church in the Netherlands) and Dr. Suhadi Cholil (UNU Yogyakarta), to express their thoughts and knowledge on the topic. The event, which will be held at UNU Yogyakarta, will also be available online.

Venue: Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama (UNU) Yogyakarta

Date/Time: 2 November 2024, 14:00 – 16:00 WIB / 08.00 – 10.00 CET

Registration: https://bit.ly/NICMCR-UNUJOGJA

Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89472998266?pwd=ltQgfvXxhGG4j3EkLk6OGRdjVpgNw8.1

ID Rapat: 894 7299 8266
Kode Sandi: 532244