Once again, concerned students from EndFossil Wageningen occupied a wing of the Forum building yesterday. Several dozen activists briefly danced on tables, the music could be heard far into the halls. The activists' demand was unchanged from that during the previous action on 22 May: WUR must immediately end any cooperation with the fossil industry. They also have demands for decolonisation and democratisation.
During the day, a delegation from WUR asked several times for the action to end and for the activists to leave. Eventually, the activists voluntarily left the building at 7 PM. Prior to that, they spoke with Arthur Mol and Arnold Bregt. The two parties did not meet on substance, but Mol did share signals from students and lecturers about annoyance at the nature, timing and location of the action. Due to the nuisance, the board of governors proceeded to close the premises early. Upon leaving, the activists announced that they would continue to monitor the board critically and that follow-up actions might not be out of the question.
Cooperation with fossil industry: if and how to continue
The Executive Board feels the need, desire and urgency to make transparent and sharp choices regarding cooperation with partners who have a negative impact on climate change. In recent months, several dialogue sessions have taken place within Wageningen University & Research to examine whether and how cooperation with these parties should be continued.
From this, the balance is now being drawn, which will be shared next week with the participants of the sessions, and on intranet and wur.nl.
Media attention
Among images and posts on social media from both EndFossil Wageningen, Resource and local and Dutch media, reactions included sometimes harsh words. In the process, statements were made that were at odds with the right to freedom of expression. The Executive Board distances itself from this. WUR itself did not cover the action on social media.
