UU and UCU withdraw support for the EUDC
Statement
Following careful consideration, Utrecht University (UU) and University College Utrecht (UCU) have decided to withdraw their support for the European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC) with immediate effect.
This decision follows additional information received by UU and UCU from individuals and organisations both within and outside our academic community. This new information raises reasonable doubts as to whether UU and UCU were sufficiently informed in advance about any institutional involvement by Israeli universities. The facilitation of the annual EUDC debating competition will therefore be terminated as quickly and responsibly as possible. Utrecht University and University College Utrecht will evaluate the information on which the decision to provide support in 2024 was based, and how the process proceeded in the intervening period.
Utrecht University, University College Utrecht and other (Utrecht-based) parties expressed their support for the initiative to host the annual EUDC debate competition in Utrecht in 2026. As part of this, debates took place in UU buildings, and some of the accommodation on the International Campus Utrecht was rented out to the EUDC to house participants.