Young and ambitious? Young and without a future? - lecture by Professor Sarah de Lange

On April 17, 2026, visitors could join Night Owls: Night of Philosophy, an annual event held at Vleeshal and the former Town Hall of Middelburg. This year’s theme was “Know Thyself”, and you could attend lectures by, among others, Sarah de Lange, Marc De Kesel, and Joke Struyf.

This year’s Vleeshal program featured a lecture by Professor of Dutch Politics Sarah de Lange. In the lecture Young and ambitious? Young and without a future?, De Lange engaged in conversation with young people about the opportunities and ideas they have for shaping their (political) future.

About the lecture

Generation Z is coming of age in a complex and turbulent time—a time in which national and international tensions dominate the agenda. In this challenging world, young people are trying to find their own identity and define their relationship to politics. In doing so, they face much criticism from earlier generations, who see them as either too activist or too apathetic. In this lecture, Professor Sarah de Lange, herself raised in Middelburg, offered a new perspective on the opportunities and ideas young people have for shaping their (political) future.

Sarah de Lange is Professor of Dutch Politics at the Institute of Political Science at Leiden University. She is an expert on the rise of new political cleavages, the related growth of the extreme and radical right, and the influence of these parties on party systems, policymaking, and the functioning of democracy. She regularly comments in international and national media on developments in Dutch politics and the state of liberal democracy in Western Europe.

Night Owls: Night of Philosophy is a collaboration between ZB Library of Zeeland, Vleeshal, HZ University of Applied Sciences, and University College Roosevelt.