Froombosch – Last week the Groningen Village Day took place in the De Ruyten village hall in Froombosch. A program with good practical examples from villages and community centers proved to be excellent input for the panel discussion in the second part of the afternoon. The 125-strong audience, consisting of members of Groninger Dorpen (directors of village associations, community and village halls), representatives of the government and other organizations, returned home informed and inspired.
Nij Begun, the government’s response to the parliamentary inquiry into gas extraction, was central during the Groningen Village Day. After the welcome by chairman Jaap Jepma, director Hielke Westra gave a short introduction about how the program came about. It is built around the ideas that Groninger Dorpen has collected from its members over the past six months regarding the destination of Nij Begun’s resources.
After this, five enthusiastic village stories were told by involved and active people from Garmerwolde, Middelstum, Thesinge, Eenrum and Garnwerd and surrounding areas, using videos and photos. A lot of energy, commitment and motivation was shown. The audience then discussed with a panel consisting of Tjeerd van Dekken, deputy of the province of Groningen, Henk Nijboer, social agenda planner Nij Begun, and Adriaan Hoogendoorn, mayor of Midden-Groningen.
The panel members clearly shared the need from the villages not to ‘start again’ and also the importance of offering future prospects to existing and successful residents’ initiatives and facilities in villages, through structural financing. Perhaps it can be made possible from the resources of Nij Begun. That suggestion was received with applause. Striving for our own target image for this region instead of a national average, offering customized solutions, area-oriented work, using existing organizations instead of setting up new organizations, accessible and earmarked subsidies per village, were some additional suggestions from the audience.
In short, much support for the wish of villages to get the basics in order, also based on attention and appreciation for the existing initiatives and efforts of volunteers in villages.
Manifesto
Groninger Dorpen has summarized this message in the manifesto ‘SOAMEN VEUROET with Nij Begun’, and supplemented with 5 bundled wishes. It was presented to the panel members at the end of the afternoon by the chairman of Groninger Dorpen, Gerda Steenhuis.
The wishes are:
- room for detailed future plans.
- future-proof and sustainable community and village centers.
- constructive agreements with partners (including municipalities)
- supporting crucial functions in the villages.
- accessibility of budgets.
Find the full text of this manifesto on our website www.groningerdorpen.nl.
