How can you increase trust in government? Proposals from a working group created by Iceland's Prime Minister in 2018

The 2008 financial crises had long-term effects on the relationship between the Icelandic public and government. After having been considered one of countries least affected by corruption, trust in government fell sharply after the crises.

The level of trust has recovered since, but still shows worrying signs. Trust in financial institutions and parliament remains consistently low, and surveys suggest that up to 70 % of Icelanders perceive corruption in public institutions to be a serious problem. In January 2018, Iceland´s prime minister initiated the creation of a working group that was tasked to look at what measures the government could take to change rules, regulations and practices in ways that were likely to increase trust in government and public service. Ethical codes were given special priority, and the group was also asked to propose how government could work systematically to increase trust. The report, consisting of 25 proposals, was presented in September 2018.
 
Professor Jón Ólafsson has a PhD from Columbia University and his research fields are mainly cultural studies and political philosophy. He has been engaged in several projects that aim at exploring possibilities of democratic renewal under widely different conditions.

His presentation will be commented from a Latvian perspective by Ass. Professor Inta Mieriņa from the University of Latvia´s Department of Sociology, who is also head of the Centre for Diaspora and Migration research.
 
The presentation will be followed by a discussion and a Q&A session.
 
The event will be conducted in English.