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Carla Kabamba
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In council

Council committees

Committees are where the real work happens: councillors question the mayor, aldermen and members of the public on plans before the council decides.

158 · Page 4 of 32 · Watch the playlist on YouTube ↗

Council Committee on Finance, Arts and Diversity5:45 speaking time

2026 budget: families, youth and income security

At the 2026 budget, Carla spoke about families. Building is happening and waiting times are shorter, but social and mid-rent housing is not growing fast enough and families are leaving for other municipalities. She asked to stop selling social housing and for a temporarily more radical split of new construction, with no expensive homes for a while. She wanted the youth equalisation reserve to be felt in mental health, parenting support and trauma care, especially for girls and mothers in vulnerable neighbourhoods, and asked whether the 8 million euros left in the welfare reserve could go to income security, care, education and sexual health care (in Dutch).

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Questions + answers · 8:53

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Chapters

Council Committee on General Affairs2:14 speaking time

Elections 2025: turnout and accessible polling stations

On the plan to raise election turnout, Carla welcomed the focus on young people and the shorter walking distances to polling stations. She did ask about accessibility, which is not yet what it should be, and about working with community organisations that know what works. And she asked the mayor why it is harder to find polling locations in Zuidoost; the mayor pointed to the district’s building layout (in Dutch).

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Questions + answers · 7:59

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Chapters

Council Committee on Finance, Arts and Diversity5:37 speaking time

Events policy 2026 and inclusion at the city

On the new events policy, Carla said the districts’ advice had not been fully taken on board, and that affects trust. Festivals bring entrepreneurs, residents, young people and women together and give stages to emerging artists. She asked for a transition period for organisers at risk of going under because the maximum was lowered to 10,000 visitors. On the Inclusion and Diversity programme she said the studies show a structural problem: one in seven employees experiences discrimination, often by managers. She saw a step forward, with an external reporting point and a dashboard, but felt Amsterdam should set higher standards (in Dutch).

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Questions + answers · 11:58

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Chapters

Council Committee on Education, Care and Poverty3:12 speaking time

Young people after 18 and discrimination at school

On the human rights scan, Carla asked about the infrastructure of women’s organisations and about gender-sensitive data, which the scan says are sometimes missing. On the final report on the transition from youth care to adulthood she said young people are included too late, only half a year before they turn 18, while there are long waiting lists for housing, income, school and care. She argued for structural policy that involves young people and parents earlier. On discrimination and racism in schools she said: we are the children who went through this. She asked how compliance with protocols is checked, whether the reporting points are truly accessible, and what happens to schools that keep failing (in Dutch).

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Questions + answers · 5:58

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Chapters

Council Committee on Social Affairs, Economy and Democratisation4:09 speaking time

Homeless families and refugees

Carla asked a speaker how neighbourhood teams can spot problems earlier. On the Children’s Ombudsman report on homeless families she cited the figures: 59 percent of evictions happen without a judge, half of the families get no legal help and 22 percent even end up in a car or tent; families fleeing domestic violence often fall outside the shelter criteria. The children’s rights test must not exist only on paper. She asked how families will get legal support in time. On policy for refugees and undocumented people she named low labour participation, language barriers for former unaccompanied minors, little attention to mental health, and rooted children still threatened with deportation (in Dutch).

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Questions + answers · 5:39

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Chapters