Volt Tervuren – Volt Belgium Goes Local
Volt Tervuren – Volt Belgium Goes Local
"Volt Belgium is setting up a new branch in Tervuren, Vlaams-Brabant, in addition to branches in Brussels municipalities and other large cities. The main purpose is to participate in the local council elections on October 13, but this local commitment goes far beyond local politics! We also commit to supporting progressive forces living outside the city centers, and we aim to address the malaise in progressive Belgium and Flanders. 'Think European, Act Local' has been our slogan for a long time. Volt Tervuren will be a key part of this.
Other parties seem to follow a 'Think National, Act National' approach, where both European and local levels are secondary to national strategy. The result is diluted European deals on one side and constrained local representatives on the other. There is hardly any room for local input; the national line dominates.
However, responding to the local context has always been key to politics coming closer to the people. Tervuren is not our first branch in a smaller municipality, but it's particularly unique—a municipality in the green belt around Brussels with a very international population. Nevertheless, we want to bring the same approach as elsewhere: to engage in politics in an open and connecting way, bringing people together instead of dividing them, and looking for pragmatic solutions that meet the needs of all residents, not just our own supporters.
This approach contrasts with the top-heavy partisanship and particularly the ideological tensions we observe in other parties. Volt, on the other hand, offers progressive voters in Tervuren local flexibility to tailor policies to the needs of more Tervuren residents. Volt is a positive alternative right in the political center, allowing cooperation along many lines —left or right, local, regional and national
Lastly, we want to not only support local progressive forces but also listen to them. They are our sensors. They can translate Volt’s convictions and our policy visions to the local context. Our members, more than 23 thousand in Europe, everywhere bridge the local and 'Brussels'. They are central to Volt’s 'Think European, Act Local' strategy.
The driving forces behind Volt Tervuren are Volt members Dafydd ab lago, Magdalena Garczynska, and Tracy D’ Afters. All are 'new' residents of Tervuren but have called the Vlaams-Brabant municipality their home for years.
Volt Tervuren:
🌐 https://voltbelgium.org/tervuren (available in 6 languages)