The Politics Committee (PoliticsCo) is one of the oldest committees at University College Utrecht. PoliticsCo aims to promote as well as encourage political awareness, thought and discussions on campus by hosting three main events; chill politics sessions, guest lectures, and excursions.
Firstly, the Chill Politics Sessions are hosted with the goal of providing students with a platform and safe space to comfortably express their opinion regarding contemporary political issues. Everyone on campus is welcome to join in these discussions that take place 2-3 times a semester, over some pizza provided by the committee.
Additionally, the guest lectures we organize welcome a range of high key speakers that are experts in their respective fields. Whether it be about security, history, or the environment, PoliticsCo accommodates all politically related topics. Some of our notable guest speakers include ambassadors in the Netherlands, ministers of the Dutch cabinet, PAX which is a local peace-organization, General Van Uhm, former Commander in Chief of the Royal Dutch Armed Forces, Mr. Ali Aljasem, former-researcher at the Center for Conflict Studies at UU, Mr. de Hoop Scheffer, former Secretary-General of the NATO, Mr. Mohammad Kanfash, an elected member of the Syrian committee and Syrian affairs in the NL and recently, Mr. Frans Osinga, a member of the Royal Dutch Defence Academy in Breda.
Furthermore, the excursions we arrange occur once a semester and take place either domestically or abroad to politically significant places such as Brussels, the Hague, or Amsterdam. Examples of our past excursions to civil-political and judicial institutions include the European Parliament, NATO Headquarters, the Red Cross Offices, the Taiwanese Representative Office, the Dutch Union for Sex Workers PROUD and the shelter for victims of human trafficking (ACM).
We encourage everyone on campus to take part in the discussion on politics by attending one of our many events, whether it be on-campus or off-campus. We further welcome students to contact the committee members if they want to know more about getting involved in politics beyond the events hosted.