Room for Discussion with Kajsa Ollongren cancelled again

Source: https://www.uva.nl/en/content/Current/2024/06/room-for-discussion-with-kajsa-ollongren-cancelled-again.html Parent: https://www.uva.nl/en/current/protests/protests-at-the-uva.html

6 June 2024

The planned Room for Discussion (RfD) interview with outgoing minister of defence Kajsa Ollongren was cancelled at the last minute yesterday. The 'driehoek' (mayor, public prosecutor and police) advised that the event should be cancelled because the risk of disruptions was considered too great. In consultation with RfD, it was decided that the driehoek’s advice should be followed.

It was the second time that an RFD interview with Ollongren did not take place, with a previous attempt being cancelled due to a walk-out on the Roeterseiland campus. A conversation with Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema had to be moved to city hall last week for the same reason. Recently, an interview with NATO CEO Rob Bauer was disrupted to such an extent that it had to be continued behind closed doors.

We think it is a great pity that conversations organised by this student platform are no longer possible. Discussion and dialogue are so important within an academic community. We should be a university where debates are possible in a safe, peaceful setting. We ask everyone in our community to make a constructive contribution to a literal 'room for discussion', so that such interviews can take place within the walls of our university.

Keep an eye on the Room for Discussion website for a possible new date for the Ollongren interview.