AboutDWARS visiting our department

On a Monday evening, I ring the doorbell of a cosy corner house in Rotterdam. DWARS Rotterdam-Rijnmond has invited me to join them for dinner at one of their homes, offering me a glimpse of the department's ins and outs. That's basically how they always do it here around the Maas estuary: meetings and activities are simply at members' homes, and everyone is welcome everywhere.

What can you tell me about the history of the Rotterdam-Rijnmond department?
Department chair Jasmijn Verbeek: I think the department has been around for quite a long time , but the level of activity varied a lot over the years. Now we have been a very consistently active and close-knit department for quite a long time.

Hannah: There have been a number of relaunches in history of DWARS Rotterdam-Rijnmond, the most recent of which we know took place four or five years ago. How crazy, really, that we know nothing about the origins of our department; is that not written down anywhere?

Jasmine: Unfortunately. There is very little documentation from before my board time anyway, we are trying to do that better now too, so that later DWARSers do know these things.

How do you differ from other departments?
Jasmine: I think we have a funny organisational structure, in the sense that we always organise all plans and actions with all active members. Everyone is involved, the board at DWARS Rotterdam-Rijnmond doesn't mean that much in terms of decision-making. Therefore, as chairman, you do have to pay close attention so that the consultations stay on track.

Hannah: That's going nicely, we collectively look at what we want to do at the beginning of the year, to have some overview.

Jasmijn: You join DWARS to change the world, and then you really want to be able to do something: not just come to an activity, but actually help think about what's important.

Hannah: Our structure allows you to bring in all your ideas, and all you have to do to implement them is find a few supporters. I myself have been active for a year now, and have attended almost every meeting and activity.

“You join DWARS to change the world, then you actually want to be able to do something”

Jasmine: We currently have about 30 active members, but it rotates a bit; there is a core of 15 people who attend frequently. I myself have been active for three years now, and am currently board chair. As board member, I mainly deal with organisational things; making follow-up calls, addressing external parties, contacting many new members. In Zeeland - where I come from - I would also have liked to do something with DWARS, but yes, there is no department there.

Hannah: Yes, I do recognise that. I would have liked to do something in Limburg too, but there was a department missing.

Lex van Woerkom: I have been an active member here for two years now. Every meeting I attend.

Jasmijn: DWARS Rotterdam-Rijnmond has been underrepresented on the national board for years. Maybe Rotterdam is just too nice to leave! We (ed. the members present) are not thinking about making the switch to national ourselves.

Lex: I don't see myself doing anything organisational right now.

Jasmijn: There is certainly no lack of talent; we would fully support a Rotterdam candidate, but there isn't one right now. It's been quite a long time since anyone has stood for election from our section. We as a board really do have some people in mind, but we don't think it's up to us to put them forward, they have to do that themselves.

What kind of activities does Rotterdam-Rijnmond organise?
Jasmijn: We like informative and innovative tours, for example about rubbish and circular economy. We then often link actions to these, to put our acquired knowledge into practice. We also organise film evenings with discussions, which fortunately can be held at the home of one of our members who has a spacious room. In addition, we are currently trying to organise a debate; in November, Rotterdam will hold a referendum on a new housing vision that will result in less social rent. We as DWARS want to make a social noise against that and campaign.

Lex: We also sometimes make videos about our actions, so that more people hear about us and our message. The other day we made a video in which we called on Rotterdam residents to better separate their waste.

Hannah: We also sometimes have workshops on sustainable cooking, which I think might be the most fun. And a recent discussion on special education including a documentary was also very interesting.

Lex: Yes! We then eventually reached consensus on special education, and then went on to discuss the following topics nicely.

Jasmine: I loved our pub crawl! Then we saw some really cool things about Rotterdam, like shisha pubs, special beer pubs and gay bars - really cool.

What problems does the Rotterdam-Rijnmond department face?
Hannah and Jasmijn agree: The group is sometimes so diverse that it is difficult to serve everyone well - combining all interests is difficult. And because everyone is involved, in addition to being a club, you are also a sort of group of friends. Of course, you don't want to be closed off to outsiders, we have to be careful about that.

Lex: All associations always have that, I think.

Hannah: People do feel immediately welcome with us, the other day someone who was there for the first time said that there is no threshold at all: a nice compliment.

Jasmijn: Besides, it was difficult to be decisive in the beginning, but now that we have a real board, it works. I am therefore very proud of what is being achieved. You can really see a growth in energy - for instance concerning the Night of Refugees, and at the clip of Lex - that's kick-ass!

How are you involved in local politics?
Jasmijn: Right now there is a very right-wing policy in Rotterdam, with parties like D66, Leefbaar Rotterdam (which caters to local PVV voters), and CDA. This is very unfortunate in many places, because the city has a lot to offer that you destroy that way. Recently, among other things, there were cuts to culture again.

Lex: And then releasing money for something as stupid as a staircase at the station. Funny really that right-wing groups often choose opposite names to their ideas, such as Liveable, Party for Freedom, People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, People's Democratic Republic of Korea...

Jasmine: Cutting back on poverty should not be possible. One of our board members sits at GroenLinks Rotterdam's weekly meeting to think with us. They struggle in the current political landscape, but always try to make progress where they can.

Hannah: Because of that struggle, the victories we achieve are also extra nice. For instance, GroenLinks contributed to the AZC - even if it was disappointing. In a collaboration with other parties, we often succeed in (partly) realising our ideals.

How do you rate DWARS Rotterdam-Rijnmond?
Jasmine: I give our department a 9 because we can still grow.

Lex: Yes, a 9. There is always room for improvement.

Hannah: Actually a 6+... No, indeed a 9! Otherwise it's like we're already done, or there's nothing left to do, and there's always room for improvement.