A statement on the language of the Student Council
In this statement, we would like to elaborate on our considerations in terms of the language of OVs, since internationalization and inclusivity are among the cornerstones of our party.
Our institute has become increasingly international over recent years: practically all masters programmes are in English, four out of 16 bachelors are in English and even Executive Board decisions are frequently presented in English. Because of this, over a fifth of our students are international and do not speak Dutch. So, naturally, we believe that in order for this university to be inclusive, these meetings should be held in a language that everyone understands: English.
However, as a policy-making council, we must constantly weigh interests. Internationalisation is one of those interests, inclusivity is another one. The entire student council should be included in the deliberations we hold in these OVs: not only from a perspective of inclusivity, but also from the perspective of the effectiveness of advocating these student interests. Therefore, together as a student council, we came to the conclusion that it would be most comfortable and efficient for everyone directly involved with this OV to speak a language everyone here controls completely: Dutch.
The OV is only one small aspect of the whole picture however. In our efforts to promote English as the main language we have ensured that the minutes of important meeting such as OVs as well as initiatives written by both parties will be in English. In addition to this, we will continue to write all our internal party documents in English, as we have for years now. Let us conclude by promising that we will keep fighting for internationalization in the years to come, and by expressing our hope that the OV will be back to English next year in a way that is comfortable for everybody, in the same way we tried to achieve that this year by having it in Dutch.
Our institute has become increasingly international over recent years: practically all masters programmes are in English, four out of 16 bachelors are in English and even Executive Board decisions are frequently presented in English. Because of this, over a fifth of our students are international and do not speak Dutch. So, naturally, we believe that in order for this university to be inclusive, these meetings should be held in a language that everyone understands: English.
However, as a policy-making council, we must constantly weigh interests. Internationalisation is one of those interests, inclusivity is another one. The entire student council should be included in the deliberations we hold in these OVs: not only from a perspective of inclusivity, but also from the perspective of the effectiveness of advocating these student interests. Therefore, together as a student council, we came to the conclusion that it would be most comfortable and efficient for everyone directly involved with this OV to speak a language everyone here controls completely: Dutch.
The OV is only one small aspect of the whole picture however. In our efforts to promote English as the main language we have ensured that the minutes of important meeting such as OVs as well as initiatives written by both parties will be in English. In addition to this, we will continue to write all our internal party documents in English, as we have for years now. Let us conclude by promising that we will keep fighting for internationalization in the years to come, and by expressing our hope that the OV will be back to English next year in a way that is comfortable for everybody, in the same way we tried to achieve that this year by having it in Dutch.
Faction 10
Lijst Bèta
