“This week is intended to be a week of conversations, discussions and debates where everyone is invited into a safe and inclusive space to discuss issues that are relevant globally, within the Netherlands, the Nijmegen community and within the Radboud community of students and staff.” - ARA Radboud
Radboud Anti-Racism Awareness Week by Paula Werdnik
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photography: Anna Shvets (from Pixels)
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he Radboud Anti-Racism Awareness (ARA) Week was from the 22nd of March until the 26th of March 2021. The week was organised by the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team and spearheaded by students Karla Kiefer and Nikita Krouwel, among others. The week included an Opening Ceremony, speakers, lectures, discussions, workshops, a movie screening and a Closing Ceremony, including a performance of ‘Radiant Shadow’ by Farida Nabibaks and her theatre crew. Unfortunately, due to deadlines, I only joined the ARA Week for the final day of the week - Friday’s programme. Yet, the events of that day were touching, informative and enriching. Friday’s programme included a morning lecture titled, “Heritage and Healing”, led by Josias Tembo and Kiki Kolman, as well as the Closing Ceremony in the evening. To summarize and build on the words of Josias and Kiki (and the discussion afterwards), the event was centered on the brokenness of our system. Healing and inclusion can’t begin if we are stuck in a system that is broken and excludes certain parts of history and stories. White people, in general, have not sat with the uncomfortable feelings of colonialism and slavery and accepted it. In order to move forward, we must deal with these histories to avoid ‘white fragility’ (the centering of a white person’s or white people’s discomfort on such topics rather than the actual issue people of colour are going through). White fragility usually ends in defensiveness or avoidance of the subject, which, of course, is not productive.
