Academic citizenship should have ‘a firm place’ in every UvA study program

After a brief word of welcome, during which she also welcomed the soon-to-be new Rector Magnificus Peter Paul Verbeek, Geert ten Dam continued with her annual opening address to mark the beginning of the new academic year. She had chosen a topical subject: the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing war, the waves of refugees in the world and the democratic legal order that is partly under pressure because of this. It has already been said in many ways in recent months, but Ten Dam repeated it once more: ‘Democracy cannot be taken for granted. The international legal order and our democratic values are under pressure.’

Refugees

There is work to be done, said Ten Dam, who had the UvA’s response to Ukraine ready: she wants to offer ‘an academic home’ to refugee students and scientists, following the example of what the UvA did for Ukrainians in the past six months. ‘We are going to broaden the support we have organized for Ukrainian students and make it more sustainable. This way other refugees can also benefit from our experiences over the past year.’

Resilience

Helping refugees was just one of the four pillars on which Geert ten Dam’s concept of a resilient democracy rests, because in the Netherlands itself there are also all kinds of things going on that she considers unacceptable for democracy: citizens no longer trust the government, social and political citizenship is under pressure and the relationship between citizens seems to falter more and more. None of this is good for democracy, which is in ‘real danger’ if freedom, equality, mutual trust, participation and reliability are ‘eroded’. Can the UvA do something about this?

Citizenship

‘The UvA must do something about it,’ said Ten Dam, who has three other pillars in mind to boost resilient democracy. It should come as no surprise that "research into democracy" is one of them. This could involve research into citizens' trust in democracy, into the relationship between artificial intelligence and the democratic function of the media and research into the livability of neighborhoods and social cohesion within these neighborhoods.

Another pillar is academic citizenship, which Ten Dam wants to give ‘a firm place’ in every UvA study program. This objective already forms a standard part of the honors program, ‘but is not a part of other programs in the same way, something that has to be improved,’ Ten Dam said. She sees it as ‘a core mission’ of the UvA to educate students who can and want to contribute to the community, students who are able to support and propagate democratic values. This also includes having an eye for context, complexity and social justice. Community service learning is a concept that, in her view, ties in with this: students who do projects that benefit the community. Students who, for example, provide free homework help to (underprivileged) schoolchildren. That would have to be embedded in the training programs.

Ill treatment

According to Ten Dam, "speaking out" also forms an important pillar of a resilient democracy. It means giving scientists the time and appreciation to speak out openly about scientific knowledge and opinions, even and especially if this is accompanied by hateful reactions, insults or threats. Scientists deserve all the support they can get when they get that kind of ill treatment. Ten Dam ushered in the 2022/23 academic year with the appeal ‘to take our responsibility for a well-functioning and resilient democratic system’.