Plenary session: the final of the Third Chamber year 2009/10

A busy day with an extensive programme is what the members are facing in the morning of the 28th. Almost all Dutch members and VoiceOver members gather today for the last time, to present their final recommendations and hear the judgements of the jury. The session takes place in an atmospheric building, where in 1851 the notables of the Hague came together to establish the fraternity ‘De Vereeniging’.

Late start
At exactly 10 o´clock the programme should start. But a train disorder disturbs the tight schedule. Many of the members and some politicians are belated. The kick off is postponed for an hour. Around eleven o´clock the jury, existing of Eddy Habben Jansen of the Institute of Public Participation (IPP), Jerome Scheltens (IPP), Debby Houtgraaf (BBO) and Jan Vos (candidate MP for the Labour Party and director investing company XSML) is ready. Politician IJmert Muilwijk, candidate MP of the ChristianUnion, is the First of the four politicians who will introduce the recommendations.

Muilwijk, who is up to his ears in the campaign battle, is happy to see that there are still people who are not just focussing on internal politics, but on important matters such as energy and water in developing countries. He is excited about the recommendations of the two Climate groups. He has witnessed that there is a need to keep climate high on the political agenda in developing countries. Muilwijk therefore promises to take both recommendations back to his party.   

Hair stand on end
Greenleft member Toine van de Ven introduces the second round. In this round the Agriculture II group pleads for eating less meat and Agriculture I for empowerment iof farmers through ICT. Both matters are taken right out of the heart of the GreenLeft part, says Van de Ven. Jury member Jan Vos is critical about the 'less meat' recommendation. “Being told what not to do makes my hair stand on end!”. He does agree though that we should abandon the current water and energy consuming meat industry. VoiceOver member Nana Acquah puts it even bolder: “Why focus on meat? Just eat less!”. Vos is very positive about the ICT for farmerr recommendation: “ICT has contributed more to development than sixty years of development aid.”

In the third round, the Education groups and the Business group, that promotes investment instead of aid, take the stage. Education group I focusses on quality education, group II on education for girls in fragile states. A good recommendation, according to Christa Meinders of Democrats 66, since education is key in normalising the situation in post conflict states. And from an economic point of view, investing in girl education is a smart choice.  Education I already won fellow Democrats 66 member Bert Bakker for their case. After the session, Meindersma wrote a tweet to her colleague, saying that the Third Chamber had some good recommendations concerning education, of which he already knew. 

Compliments on Twitter
Another Twitter message about the session follows later, when Kathleen Ferrier of the Christian Democrats writes that the Third Chamber has some good ideas about development cooperation. She is very positive about the recommendation of the Health group concerning a health information system. Ferrier also sees opportunities for the Web 2.0 recommendation. Although she is not confident yet that a Web 2.0 approach of international cooperation will lead to reliable information.

The presentations  of the working groups end with member Niek Jaspers´call to join him in writing a letter to the Second Chamber. He wants to raise attention for the need to keep development cooperation on the political agenda and to continue to allocate budget for aid. Many members are prepared to join him.

Three winners
After a short break, the jury is ready to name the winning groups. The prize of the public goes to the group with the most votes : Education I and their recommendation for quality education. Their campaign resulted in 552 online votes. The prize of the jury goes to a recommendation that, according to the jury, “can gain a lot through lobbying”, and is “up to date and has opportunities”: development investment. The prize of the members goes to the Health group. Their recommendation is highly valued by both the Dutch members as well as the VoiceOver members.
 
Jos van Gennip, NCDO chair, and Marjon van der Veen express many compliments in their closing speeches. “The future of NCDO might be insecure, but I am confident that the future is bright for your recommendations”, Marjon says. Indeed there will be some movement the coming months due to the lobby assistance won by the Business group and a social media roadtrip won by Education I.

The last to take the stage are the VoiceOver members. They say goodbye with a rap: VoiceOver, come over, let´s hover! In restaurant Het Heden (meaning: the present time)glasses are raised to the Third Chamber year that has passed and the ideals and friendships that will live on.

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Click here for the photos of the Plenary Session