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On 4 May, like every year, Utrecht University commemorates the members of the academic community who lost their lives during WWII and the German occupation of the Netherlands between 1940 and 1945, and those who perished in war situations anywhere in the world. We would like to invite you to the 4 May commemoration 2024 in Utrecht University’s University Hall.

At the 4 May commemoration, Professor of Political Philosophy and Economic Ethics Rutger Claassen will deliver a short lecture entitled “Democracy under pressure”.

When World War II ended, the Netherlands became a democracy again. Democracy also gained ground elsewhere, to the point that the whole world seems to have been under the spell of liberal democracy since 1989. Little of this optimism remains today. Democracy is under pressure in many places, and news reports from the US, the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe are often discouraging. Why is this? And where do we go from here? In this lecture, Rutger Claassen will discuss the past, present and future of democracy. Drawing on several key insights from academic studies on democracy, he will argue that we need three qualities above all else to secure a democratic future: courage, humility and creativity.

The Vice President of the Executive Board and a representative of the University Council will lay a wreath at the University Hall memorial.

Programme for Sunday 4 May 2025

• 16:30: Word of welcome by Margot van der Starre, Vice President of the Executive Board
• 16:35: Lecture by Rutger Claassen, followed by wreath laying
• 17:00: Opportunity to mingle in the Senate Hall

Kind regards,

The Executive Board of Utrecht University,

Anton Pijpers, President
Margot van der Starre, Vice President
Wilco Hazeleger, Rector Magnificus
Niels Vreeswijk, Student Assessor