Niek Kosten

De Eendagspartij

De Eendagspartij (“The One-day Party”) is an intervention that explored alternative forms of citizen involvement in the political debate surrounding urban development through vernacular graphic design. The project took place during the run-up to the Belgian local and provincial elections of October 2018 and focused on the neighborhood of Runkst in the city of Hasselt. 

A fictitious political party was founded for one day and residents were invited to a temporary headquarters to draw up a party program together. This participatory party program could become a collection of concrete issues, suggestions, and possible solutions for concrete social challenges at district, city, and provincial levels, as an alternative to the often-abstract rhetoric of existing political parties. De Eendagspartij aimed to motivate the residents to be more vocal in expressing their suggestions and concerns and to possibly take responsibility for realizing changes in their environment.

— Developed within the framework of the Participatory Design Conference. 
— Exhibited at the “Politics of Design: Act 1” exhibition in Z33 – House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt (BE).

🔗 www.pdc2018.org
🔗 www.z33.be
📷 www.kristof-vrancken.com (1, 2)

"Are you running as a candidate?" "Let your voice be heard!"

1. During the One-Day Party, visitors were invited to express their own views on a poster.

2. The participants presented various points for the collective party programme of the One-Day Party.

"What needs to change?"

"Are you running as a candidate?"