Kuyper week

Our celebrations to mark 140 years of VU Amsterdam reached a festive climax during Kuyper Week! We can look back on four days of fascinating lectures, stimulating conversation and great music. With old favourites like the Abraham Kuyper Lecture, given this year by Writer in Residence Maxim Februari, and Déjà VU on the Roof with DJ Tom Trago and much more. And featuring brand-new events such as the Brave New Talk Shows, discussing the hot topics climate change, inequality and public trust with special guests including politician Kauthar Bouchallikht and Professor Azza Karam. And it didn't end there!

Video's Kuyper week
The Kuyper Week has come to a close, but we still have the video's:

7 Juni - Talkshow Brave New Climate

8 Juni - Talkshow Brave New Trust

9 Juni - Talkshow Brave New Equality

10 Juni - Abraham Kuyper Lezing - Maxim Februari

Watch the compilation video of the the Kuyper Year here.

Post-Kuyper week activities

VU Amsterdam's roots in the heart of Amsterdam
In celebration of Kuyper Year, a podcast and walking guide will be presented in Kuyper Week, including two new walks in the heart of Amsterdam. The Kuyper Walk takes you past buildings which were home to Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in its earliest days, including what is now the Kleine Komedie theatre, formerly the Scottish Missionary Church, and some beautiful buildings on Keizersgracht. The WWII walk takes you to buildings and houses in the centre of Amsterdam that have strong associations with VU Amsterdam and the Second World War: places where acts of resistance took place, where lives were lost and where people from the university hid those at risk from the Nazi regime. The walk also calls attention to a few who were loyal to the German occupier at the time. The podcast grips the interested listener with a story told in all its vivid detail. The accompanying walking guide with two maps provides extra information about the places and people on both walks.

Title of the Kuyper walk: Where VU Amsterdam once began – 1870-1900 A walk with Abraham Kuyper
Title of the WWII walk: In resistance and in trust VU Amsterdam in the Second World War

You can find the walking guide here (in Dutch).

Listen to the podcasts (in Dutch).

Room for Fear and Longing by Circus Andersom | 7 June - end of October | NU Building
Join us on a journey through your senses to the place where fear and longing converge in the installation Room for Fear and Longing. The artists of Circus Andersom bring to life the fears and desires of the VU students and professors they interviewed. A safe environment where you can feel at ease, dare to be yourself and find the strength to face what unsettles you. If your curiosity is aroused, why not drop by next time you’re at VU Amsterdam.

The installation will be open until the end of October.

Novel by Vrije schrijver Maxim Februari

Read the digital version of Maxim Februari's campus novel here (in Dutch).

Would you like to read more from our Vrije Schrijvers? Here is an overview of available titles in Dutch and English that you can order at the VU bookstore. Send an email to: info@vuboekhandel.nl.

Kuyper year

The Kuyper Week is part of VU Amsterdam’s Kuyper Year, in which we are marking our 140th anniversary with various activities, and by highlighting themes that are as important to us today as they were to our founder, Abraham Kuyper: democracy, diversity and social entrepreneurship. See this page for more information.

Kuyper Week was made possible by VUvereniging and Abraham Kuyper Fonds.

Monday 7 June

Brave New Climate
From Monday 7 to Wednesday 9 June, we tackled the major issues of our time in a series of Brave New Talk Shows on climate change, inequality and public trust. Marcia Luyten talked to high-profile guests about these hot topics. Together they answered questions put by VU students, staff and alumni.
The series kicked off on 7 June with Brave New Climate, in the company of GroenLinks MP Kauthar Bouchallikht, climate lawyer Dennis van Berkel and Professor of Religion and Sustainable Development Azza Karam.
Tuesday 8 June

Brave New Trust
From Monday 7 to Wednesday 9 June, we tackled the major issues of our time in a series of Brave New Talk Shows on climate change, inequality and public trust. Marcia Luyten talked to high-profile guests about these hot topics. Together answered questions put by VU students, staff and alumni.
On 8 June we talked about trust during Brand New Trust, in the company of SP MP Renske Leijten, Executive Director of Bits for Freedom Evelyn Austin, and Professor of Legal Philopsophy Wouter Veraart.

Wednesday 9 June

Opening of the VU@ease location Uilenstede by Vinod Subramaniam - De Kas, Uilenstede 346B
Students who have something on their mind can drop in at VU@ease every Thursday afternoon from 10 June. VU@ease offers a comfortable, informal space with fellow students who can offer a listening ear. They have been trained to fulfil this role by the @ease team. And if you decide you need more guidance, @ease can open the door to professional help. Watch a video about @ease.

Brave New Equality
From Monday 7 to Wednesday 9 June, tackled the major issues of our time in a series of Brave New Talk Shows on climate change, inequality and public trust. Marcia Luyten talked to high-profile guests about these hot topics. Together they answered questions put by VU students, staff and alumni.

On 9 June we talked about equality during Brave New Equality, in the company of Professor of Development Economics Peter Lanjouw, chairperson of the executive board of Amsterdam Zuidoost district council Tanja Jadnanansing and historian Pepijn Brandon.

Thursday 10 June

Abraham Kuyper Lecture by Maxim Februari: Doctorates at our expense | Who can we trust with science?
Maxim Februari concluded his writer’s residency by delivering the Abraham Kuyper Lecture based on the campus novel and the essay he has written for VU Amsterdam. Nicole Terborg joined Maxim, University Student Council member Sümeyye Dalkiran and philosopher Annemie Halsema to discuss the themes raised in the lecture. The winners of the student essay contest on the importance of being wrong were also announced (watch the video).

Déjà VU on the Roof
This year once again, VU Amsterdam has been hitting new heights at Déjà VU on the Roof! We danced the night away to the music of DJ Tom Trago and the beats of Convoi Exceptional. A closing set by DJ collective Uilenkatten blew out the last candles on VU Amsterdam’s birthday cake. And presenter Nicole Terborg talked to Tom Trago about the track he made specially for VU Amsterdam, incorporating samples from the music of five world religions. The bells of VU Amsterdam’s celebrated carillon ringed out during his live performance, by carillonneur Henk Verhoef. Jos de Haas, percussionist at New Cool Collective also joined.
In the course of the evening, Rector Vinod Subramaniam announced the winners of the Kuyper Challenge. Video MindReality (winner) and video Team Huskki.

Kuyper week

Post-Kuyper week activities

Novel by Vrije schrijver Maxim Februari

Kuyper year

Programme

Monday 7 June

Tuesday 8 June

Wednesday 9 June

Thursday 10 June

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