University Council not allowed to hold bilingual meetings

The Executive Board has rejected a proposal from the University Council to conduct meetings in both Dutch and English. The council proposed that members should be allowed to choose whether to speak in Dutch or English. Currently, only English is permitted.

In recent years, the U-council has conducted its meetings entirely in English, even though most members are native Dutch speakers. This has sometimes led to members struggling to find the right words, occasionally switching to Dutch mid-conversation. “This has affected the effectiveness of our discussions and decision-making”, the council stated in an (English) letter to the Executive Board.

In the current composition of the council, all members can at least understand Dutch, though not everyone is a native speaker, the members wrote. Furthermore, Erasmus University is officially bilingual, with Dutch as the primary language. Therefore, the council believes it should be bilingual as well.

Instant translation

The council proposed that all documents and minutes be made available in both languages and that members should be able to choose whether to speak in Dutch or English. Simultaneous translation of the minutes – provided by interpreters or artificial intelligence – would ensure that everyone can follow the meeting, even if they are not proficient in Dutch or English.

The Executive Board rejected the proposal. “All our students and staff, including non-Dutch-speaking members, must be able to attend and follow the U-council meetings, as well as read the accompanying documentation”, the board wrote in a response to the council. Many international students and staff do not speak Dutch, and they would be excluded. Moreover, the financial resources for simultaneous translation are limited, the Executive Board added.

Comfort course

The university board suggested adding a course to the onboarding training for council members to help them feel more comfortable speaking in a foreign language. On Tuesday, the council appeared willing to consider this proposal.