5,214 signatures
Petition is addressed to: The Leiden University Executive Board; the Faculty Board of the Faculty of Humanities
The Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University plans to shut down the Italian Language and Culture program. The Faculty Board justifies its decision based on the following arguments: (1) a limited global perspective, a narrow geographical focus, and limited relevance of geopolitical developments within the field; (2) the uniqueness of the program; (3) societal significance, or the extent to which the program fulfills a social mission (e.g., as Italian is not a mandatory school languages in the Netherlands, the training of teachers in this language has no relevance). Additionally, (4) enrollment perspectives and future-oriented considerations are taken into account.
The program strongly questions the validity of this reasoning, particularly with regard to the first three points. As faculty members, we see that the relevance of the Italian Language and Culture program in our society and in the geopolitical context has by no means diminished—on the contrary. We are working to convince the Faculty Board and Leiden University of this relevance in an effort to save the program.
We kindly ask for your support in this endeavor.
Reason
The plan to close the Italian language and culture program stands in stark contrast to Leiden University’s international reputation in Language Studies. However, this decision aligns with a broader trend in Dutch national and academic politics to undervalue international languages and cultures. In our view, this policy has negative consequences for the critical and intellectual development of younger generations.
For this reason, we are fighting to prevent the closure of the Italian Language and Culture program in Leiden.
Details about the proposed decision can be found here.
Share petition
Petition details
Petition started:
01/29/2025
Petition ends:
03/28/2025
Region:
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Topic:
Education
Translate this petition now
new language versionNews
-
Changes to the petition
on 04 Feb 2025 -
Changes to the petition
on 04 Feb 2025 -
Changes to the petition
on 31 Jan 2025
Debate
Italiaans is een cultuurtaal, het is de taal van Dante, van de lyrische poëzie. Het is de taal van grote kunstenaars, schilders, dichters, schrijvers, filosofen. Het is ook de taal van de paus, omdat het de taal is ambtenaar, samen met Latijn, van Vaticaanstad. De Italiaanse taal is een muzikale, open, gevarieerde en overvloedige taal, waardoor het makkelijker is om Italiaans te begrijpen gemakkelijker dan in andere talen en ook leuker. Maar Italiaans is ook de taal die Made-in-Italy.
No CONTRA argument yet.
Why people sign
Ik ben zelf naar Italia verhuisd vanuit Nederland en de aanleidong daartoe was een uitwisselingsprogramma dat mijn MBO aanbiede. Het is voor mij een verrijking geweest en dat is het nogsteeds als huidig studente aan een Italiaanse Universiteit.
Die mogelijk wens ik iedereen en daarom moeten, naar mijn mening, deze programma's blijven bestaan.
Insegno italiano e sono ricercatrice in didattica delle lingue romanze. Sono autrice di libri, articoli e contributi sulla cultura italiana. La cultura e la lingua italiane sono fondamentali per l'identità europea, il loro studio imprescindibile per chi si formi nelle lingue e letterature romanze. La chiusura degli istituti di italianistica porta alla perdita di dialogo e memoria su un'identità culturale così importante, una perdita tanto più grave in un mondo in cui le contrapposizioni ideologiche, politiche e di parti in conflitto vorrebbero sostituirsi al dialogo democratico.
Italiaans is de moderne versie van een van de moedertalen van vele andere talen (latijnse taal). En bovendien is Italiaanse taal en cultuur de bakermat van veel Europese taal en cultuur...
Tools for the spreading of the petition.
You have your own website, a blog or an entire web portal? Become an advocate and multiplier for this petition. We have the banners, widgets and API (interface) to integrate on your pages. To the tools
-