Ugh, Politics. Do I have to? Seriously, though, I have been inspired to  research the issues before the upcoming mid-term elections.

In Sweden, there is an event held for a week every July called Almedalen Week (Almedalsveckan) that celebrated it’s 50th anniversary this year. The purpose of this event is to bring together political parties in a spirit of openness and civil political discussion. Citizens are encouraged to attend and participate in various informative events. There is no power distance, and people are encouraged to speak directly to their representatives about the issues of the day.

Denmark has created their own event based on Almedalen Week. The event began in 2011 and is held in June each year. The Danish version is called Folkemødet, or The People’s Meeting. It’s only 4 days long, but still packs in over 3,000 individual events such as lectures, workshops and Q&A sessions.  All political parties are represented and even the Prime Minister makes himself available to the public during this event.

In both countries, this bringing together of politicians and citizens of all ages and views has helped to keep the government more focused on what the people really want. And in turn, has incentivized citizens to be more involved in politics. 

It seems that, where I live, people voice their political ideas and rants to everyone on the internet but never take the time to speak with the politicians themselves. Having a way to speak directly to power, and to know they’re actually hearing you, sounds like a very intelligent and efficient way to run a government in tune with its people. 

With such a close relationship between government and the people, it’s no wonder there is more trust in the government in the Nordics.

What did I learn from this?

Open communication with government representatives cultivates trust and keeps the power distance low.