The Romanian government should regard activists as partners, not adversaries

The coronavirus pandemic has brought us all into a situation, where we discuss, almost obsessively, the problems created by this virus. Our lives have been thrown into disarray overnight. What had earlier seemed to us something natural – going out in public – became very dangerous. The pandemic’s effects are hard to anticipate and has forced us to wait for worse to come.
That is why it is important for us to look for people who are capable of articulating ideas and solutions in this state of general panic and frustration. What are the best measures that the Romanian state can take in order to fight this crisis?
A few weeks ago, more than 200 specialists contributed to the publication of a detailed document titled “The anti-coronavirus plan”, which contains a number of policy proposals – measures that must be taken. This open letter was signed online by more than 2,000 supporters.
What I wanted to do was find out some more details about the way this letter materialized. That is why I discussed with Hans Hedrich – a political scientist and environmental activist, and  one of the initiators of the open letter.

Photo: Hans Hedrich (source: YouTube)
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