The VUB, safe space for everyone!
WeDecolonizeVUB is a student project of the University Center for Development Cooperation (UCOS) that takes place at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). The project consists of several branches, namely the creation of a safe(r) space, a library, social events, and an online platform. Everything is supported by a diverse group of students and representatives of student organizations, who are the beating heart of this project.
The university, as a space and institution is built on white, male, heteronormative foundations and is a continuation of coloniality, it is therefore essential to deconstruct the so-called universality of Eurocentric knowledge and re-centralize different knowledge, knowledge productions, and pedagogies to address the imbalance of knowledge that sustains the university. The idea of a library - not to be confused with the university library - then, flows from this - the deconstruction of a Western-dominated worldview. The library offers both fiction and non-fiction books by racialized authors from all continents. We also organize events and have an online platform with interesting recommendations to provide students with knowledge and theories marginalized by the university.
The universal and supposedly neutral nature of the university is not only an epistemological problem, it also generates oppressive structures that create on campus spaces of oppression and violence experienced by racialized students. WeDecolonizeVUB therefore also strives to create safe(er) spaces for racialized students where they can express their aspirations, frustrations, struggles, joys, etc.
Interested?
- Apply to become a member of the WeDecolonizeVUB board by September 30.
- Visit the WeDecolonizeVUB library (not the university library) on the VUB campus (building F).
- Attend one of the events organized throughout the academic year. Safe space talks are also organized for racialized students.
Follow the schedule at https://linktr.ee/wedecolonizevub
- Instagram: WeDecolonizeVUB https://www.instagram.com/wedecolonizevub/
- Facebook: WeDecolonizeVUB https://www.facebook.com/wedecolonizevub
- Or contact our project officer Latifah Abdou at latifah.abdou@ucos.be
Contact details
E-mail: Wedecolonizevub@ucos.be
*As an Urban Engaged University, we call upon our VUB community to help build a better world through social engagement. On the "The World Needs You" platform, the VUB collects socially meaningful projects on which students, staff, alumni and sympathisers can collaborate. These projects do not represent the university. The initiatives and communication are the responsibility of the project organisers and do not represent the university's position.