A lively debate
On February 16, seventy participants came together in Nieuwspoort to discuss the vaccination system. With this broad representations of ao representatives of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, the RIVM, patient associations, advisory bodies, the GGDs, traveler’s vaccines, pharmacists, and scientists, we debated about bottlenecks and opportunities in vaccination policy.
Striking outcomes
During the debate, the arguments flew back and forth to convince the people on the other side. And while the Netherlands is becoming increasingly polarized, the number of participants who travelled to the other side showed that this was a group of people open to each other's arguments. For example, the room started with an almost unanimous disagree on the statement "Every general practitioner should spend 40% of their time on preventive measures," - over time this ended in a tie for the agree and disagree side. Curious about all the outcomes of the statements? Click here for a more detailed report of the results (in Dutch).
This meeting emphasized the common need for a unified vaccination system in the Netherlands, where the interests of the citizen come first. Let's continue to work on this together in the near future!
The added value of a Societal Café
The unique concept of a Societal Café allows participants to interact with each other in an approachable way. We started the evening with a number of introductory presentations with the aim of stimulating the audience and getting them on the same level of knowledge. These presentations highlighted different perspectives on the vaccination system. Using sharp statements, and under the expert guidance of Roderik van den Bos of the Debate Academy, it was time for the participants to put their arguments on the table. These sessions were intermixed with dinner and drinks to continue discussions and strengthen connections.
