Purpose of the in-depth conversations

In order to gather information for plans and recommendations, in 2019 the Social Safety Taskforce held preliminary conversations with, among others, deans, unit directors, directors of operational management, the chief diversity officer, the ombudsperson, the Central Student Council, Amsterdam United and the PhD Council. As a follow-up to this, group conversations were held with staff and students. These conversations provided the opportunity to exchange views on social safety at the University, and participants were able to share their views on what they believe should or could be done differently at the UvA. 

For anyone who did not feel comfortable or safe to participate in a group conversation or was not able to participate in the online group conversations an online questionnaire was available for staff and students to share their views in writing. The Taskforce found it important that everybody who wanted to contribute and share their perspective on social safety, had the opportunity to do so. 

The Taskforce thanks everyone who participated in one of the interviews or completed the questionnaire. Much use has been made of it and valuable information has been gathered for the Taskforce's recommendations.

More information about the in-depth conversations

The Social Safety Taskforce had planned to hold these conversations back in the spring 2020 but they could not go ahead due to COVID-19 restrictions. Consequently, a pilot for  online group conversations (specifically for PhD students) took place in July 2020. Further conversations with other groups of staff and students were planned in September and October 2020.

The online sessions were led by Liza Mügge (Chair of Social Safety Taskforce and Associate Professor of Political Science) and one of the other members of the Social Safety Taskforce. They were supported by project officer Iris Kingma. Participation in the conversations was entirely voluntary. We asked for permission to collect and process information and data – see information on informed consent via the link below.

Important note: If you would prefer to discuss a specific problem in person, please visit uva.nl/socialsafety to find a confidential adviser or other individual or body that can help you with issues relating to undesirable behaviour or unsafe situations at the UvA.