Pro-Palestinian activists disrupt traditional new year parade at KU Leuven
Pro-Palestinian activists organised a “die-in” on Wednesday morning during the traditional parade marking the start of the new academic year at KU Leuven.
Around 170 activists gathered on either side of Naamsestraat in the city, the starting point of the procession. As the group of professors left the university hall, the protestors lay down on the ground to block them.
Police intervention allowed the professors, dressed in togas and led by new rector Severine Vermeire and her UCLouvain counterpart, Françoise Smets, to leave after about 10 minutes. They walked around the protestors in single file.
“Israel is going further and further in its genocide and murderous campaign. Protest is more necessary than ever,” said Karel Arnaut, professor of anthropology at KU Leuven. He called for the university to withdraw from European Horizon programmes involving Israel.
Bilateral collaborations
Vermeire has indicated that she intends to maintain the university’s current policy for the time being.
“Several European projects are still ongoing. It is very difficult to withdraw from them as long as the association agreement with Israel is not suspended,” she said. “I'm not aware of any European university that has managed to do so.”
"The projects under way concern healthcare, autism, cancer treatment and trauma: these are projects that I believe it is important not to interrupt"
Last week, the rectors of Belgium’s 10 universities published a letter calling for the suspension of the association agreement between Israel and Europe. Vermeire reiterated this call on Wednesday.
“This will allow us to withdraw. Bilateral collaborations should remain possible for me, provided that the project is approved by the ethics committee,” she said. “The projects currently under way concern, for example, healthcare, autism, cancer treatment and trauma: these are projects that I believe it is important not to interrupt.”
Focus on AI
Meanwhile, Vermeire, who is starting her first year as rector, wants to focus on reducing work pressure through the use of AI. She intends to set up AI boot camps to teach students and teachers about the possibilities of AI to organise their work differently.
“It won’t necessarily mean less work, but working differently,” she said. “This will allow employees to get back to the core of their task, giving them more job satisfaction.”
#FlandersNewsService | KU Leuven rector Severine Vermeire leads the traditional procession of professors © BELGA PHOTO / VIDEO INE GILLIS
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