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Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ aims to be a diverse and inclusive community and is keen to develop this. We are convinced of the power of inclusion and work actively against exclusion.

An inclusive university should have an inclusive St Nicholas celebration. As an international community, Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ banned St Nicholas festivities featuring on its campuses several years ago. Our suppliers are aware of this. We ask all the study societies to be aware of this and only use ‘soot-faced Peters’ in their activities.

Some people may not yet be aware of this policy. If you as a student or employee come across any traditional expressions of Black Peter, please remind the person in question of this policy, and refer them to this web page.

The university supports initiatives that promote inclusion. The worldwide Black Lives Matter movement has emphatically brought the importance of this to the fore. We are very happy that we have students and staff who examine the processes of exclusion, discrimination and inequality and act to combat them. If you want to organise a meeting or event on these themes, or set up a project on diversity and inclusion, see if the Diversity and Inclusion Incentive Fund can be of help.

It is important to acknowledge that not everyone is aware of their own subconscious prejudices and privileges. We can only achieve an inclusive community if we all work together. If you would like to contribute to this, there is a range of training opportunities and activities offered by the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion programme.

Personal training

• Training for staff members:
• Recommended reading:
  • the book by (emeritus professor from Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ): ‘White Innocence: Paradoxes of Colonialism and Race’ (2016, ISBN 978-0-8223-6059-9) - Dutch translation: ‘Witte onschuld - Paradoxen van kolonialisme en ras’ (2017, ISBN 9789462984776)
  • the book by : ‘ - Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor’ (2020, ISBN 1529405084) - Dutch translation: ‘Witte suprematie & ik - Hoe je privilege (h)erkent, racisme bestrijdt en de wereld verandert’ (2020, ISBN 9789045043258)
  • See also the Correspondent's

• Recommended watching:
  • the documentary ‘’ from 1994
  • the documentary ‘13th’ from 2016 (on Netflix)
  • The broadcast (Dutch)

See also: /en/news/uu-talking-about-racism-and-discrimination.