Amsterdam school boycotts Africa

The Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA) forbids all internships and other study-related travels to Africa. The reason for the Executive Board’s decision is the recent outbreak of the Ebola virus and the political instability of the continent.  The boycott lasts at least two years.

“This is a very radical decision,”  HvA’s Press Officer Suzanne Okkes says. “Students and employees that are in Africa now, will be brought back to the Netherlands, if necessary.” When this happens, the HvA will pay for the costs.

The boycott is not completely absolute. The safety adviser of the school, Peter Wurtz, will look through all the requests and monitor the situation from day to day. “The answer is: no, unless…”, says Wurtz. A trip to Africa can only proceed if the Executive Board allows it. Wurtz says that for students and employees of the University of Amsterdam (UvA), the same rules apply. However, there are exceptions: if a political scientist is doing research on political instability in Liberia, the importance of the journey outweighs the risk.

Tilburg University does not have plans to forbid its students and employees to go to Africa. “We have not thought about it yet,” says Tineke Bennema, our Press Officer.

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