The association: silent force of collective progress

The year 2024 is in full swing. The water is raining down on us from all sides. From above thanks to the wettest autumn in ages, from the front via Gerrit and Henk, from behind via Rhine and Meuse and their branches in our Delta, from below through the rising groundwater and flooded cellars. It creates breathtaking cloud skies and waterscapes that the Dutch masters would lick their lips at, but also raises the question of when our water managers will have the drool up to their lips. According to a Dutch newspaper, any future coincidence of '1953' (the Flood Disaster in Zeeland) and '1995' (the evacuation of the River Land) is unlikely, but the risk of it has increased. A 'Perfect Storm' would put our climate awareness on edge, though.

It makes one wonder that storms these days get the names of resigned weathermen, and I wonder how our 'Gerrit' was pronounced in the UK where the storm was at its peak in late December. But as natural phenomena become more and more part of our daily lives, will we soon name seasonal floods, heat waves, droughts and forest fires after persons?

International context

Curiously, in our country of which is 60% below sea level (and counting...), the changing climate and the international context did not play a significant role in the recent parliamentary elections. With the main themes of 'immigration' and 'livelihood security', there is a connection with this to some extent, but the question is whether the further raised dykes have obscured our view beyond the horizon. And this at a time when political and economic turbulence is on the rise and the number of conflicts worldwide is at record levels, according to the UN.

A new history?

The Dutch elections were a taste of the election tsunami that will engulf the democratic world this year. In 2024, almost half of the world's voting population will make the trip to the polls, with the eye-catchers being Russia (for what those elections are worth), India, the United States and, of course, our own European Union.

According to a recent interview in the Dutch business newspaper FD with philosopher Francis Fukuyama (the one from 'The End of History', after the fall of the Wall in 1989), now ‘the prestige of democracies is in decline’. By the end of this year, we will know whether this electoral water wave has stuck in the democratic floodplains behind the dykes, or whether its destructive power is driving us towards an autocratic New History.

Stormy times

In his recent manifesto, 'The perfect storm - in search of a new balance', Rotterdam-based transition professor Jan Rotmans talks about the accumulation of crises leading to the chaos needed to set necessary changes in motion. For too long we have held these back by 'poldering', and industry organisations, he says, have played a delaying role in this as guardians of the status quo.

Watershed or water connection?

In the Netherlands, one of the world's most densely populated delta regions in terms of population, agriculture, industry, logistics and data traffic, we love 'poldering'. Dutch historian Geert Mak has described in detail how this resulted from our centuries-long struggle against water and climate, and consensus and support has become our national culture. Our other great Dutch cultural power, on the other hand, exploited the risky waters of seas and oceans to embark on groundbreaking adventures on a global scale. It is just how you look at water: does the river separate us from the other side or does it connect the two shores?

The beckoning perspective of the undercurrent

The polder model has long brought much to our country during a period of relatively unified globalisation. However, recent decades have also revealed the downsides of close international affiliation, and this has led to increasing polarisation of societies.

'The Association' as a social phenomenon therefore faces a new challenge. Jan Rotmans, mentioned earlier, talks about the beckoning perspective of ‘the undercurrent'. As he quotes Confucius freely translated: 'construction happens in silence, while destruction is accompanied by much noise'. In other words, do we allow ourselves to get carried away in the current upper current of cynicism and pessimism, or do we let ourselves be inspired by the silent power of collective progress?

The association as an agent of change

Individually, we are capable of little when it comes to meeting the great challenges of our time. But together we can achieve a lot. Where governments and individuals fall short, associations can keep the undercurrent moving. They act as agents of change. They are the silent force of collective progress.

As we begin our 60^th anniversary year, on behalf of the entire staff of Lejeune Association Management, I wish you a successful 2024! I look forward to seeing you at one of our anniversary sessions.

Jules Lejeune
Managing director