{"id":2212,"date":"2021-01-21T11:27:03","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T10:27:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.uantwerpen.be\/pintra-en\/?p=2212"},"modified":"2021-07-14T08:18:36","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T07:18:36","slug":"1000-x-1000-raises-700000-euros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uantwerpen.be\/pintra-en\/1000-x-1000-raises-700000-euros\/","title":{"rendered":"1000 x 1000 raises 700,000 euros"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What if we professors were to do something for the most vulnerable victims of the corona crisis? Professor Lieven Bervoets from the Department of Biology and historian Professor Marnix Beyen had the same idea. The solidarity initiative 1000 x 1000 has raised 700,000 eurosand collected more than 1200 signatures in a call for more social justice.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not only the coronavirus that has affected our country unequally \u2013 its economic consequences have also been felt more keenly by some groups than by others. That was the realisation that gripped Marnix Beyen last spring. \u2018With incomes that were never in jeopardy, we senior academic staff were in a position of luxury. I started thinking about a solidarity initiative that would benefit those who were suffering. In my view, such an initiative could even have a structural nature. For example, why not give up a small portion of our pay each month for the duration of the pandemic? I sent an email to our rector to that effect.\u2019 A while later, he received an email back. Perhaps he could contact Lieven Bervoets, who had sent the rector a very similar message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two did not know each other, but immediately joined forces. \u2018We talked to colleagues from inside and outside our university and got a group of sixteen academics together from all Flemish universities. Among them were historian Professor Bruno De Wever of UGent and Professor Bea Cantillon, a sociologist at our university and expert in social inequality. Professor Bruno Blond\u00e9, also a historian, took charge of coordinating the action\u2019, explains Lieven Bervoets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The initiative will conclude with an online conference on 3 February, during which Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health Frank Vandenbroucke \u2013 one of the initiative\u2019s first signatories \u2013 the list of signatures will be presented to.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Not the usual suspects<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The group soon agreed that they wanted to launch both a solidarity initiative and a call for change. In doing so, they wanted to send a clear signal but also encourage structural reforms that would lead to social redistribution: a new social contract. \u2018I was a fan of the initiative, if only because for once it didn’t come from the usual suspects\u2019, says Bea Cantillon looking back. \u2018It wasn\u2019t social scientists, but colleagues from other faculties who were taking the lead. But at the same time, I was worried we were sending the wrong message. The current problems of poverty and social inequality are the responsibility of society as a whole and cannot be solved by a charity fundraiser. But I think we managed to get the message across in a nuanced way. The donation is a symbol of our broader demand for collective action.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their appeal, the academics call for a new social contract based on a fairer distribution of resources and burdens, more balanced taxes on wages and assets, and the creation of opportunities for people who have difficulty keeping up in the knowledge economy. In addition to that, they say a far-reaching but socially just climate policy is needed, as well as a fairer distribution of the costs of our ageing society, one that doesn\u2019t place the burden solely on the shoulders of younger generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Professor Veerle Fraeters is one of the colleagues who enthusiastically supports the action: ‘It\u2019s also very important that this is a public initiative: if we ever want to create a new social order, we need more transparency. Then we have to dare to speak up and say, we have enough and we can share it with others who are less fortunate in difficult times.\u2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u2018Our current social contract dates back to 1944 and has been in need of an overhaul for decades\u2019, says Bea Cantillon. \u2018Because of the disappearance of the old industrial production methods, there are fewer and fewer jobs for low-skilled people, for example. And the poverty problem has never been solved. Now that the corona crisis is magnifying all these inequalities, society is faced with a gigantic task. We’re going to have to work for years to rectify the situation. That calls for a new common compass.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who’s in?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The biggest gamble was the call for fellow academics to donate 1000 euros each. The idea was to find a thousand people willing to do this and thus raise one millioneuros to help give children and young people better opportunities. Hence the name 1000 x 1000. The proceeds of the fundraiser are going to three projects run by the King Baudouin Foundation: the Child Poverty Fund supports projects that aim to combat the exclusion of very young children and their families, Boost helps talented young people build better futures for themselves, and \u2018Small Children, Big Chances’ trains future teachers to deal with poverty and exclusion better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Professor Bea Cantillon, a sociologist at our university and expert in social inequality: \u2018Our current social contract dates back to 1944 and has been in need of an overhaul for decades. We’re going to have to work for years to rectify the situation. That calls for a new common compass.\u2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The magic number of one million euros has not yet been reached. But with 550 academics donating 1000 euros each and hundreds of people making smaller donations, it certainly counts as a big success. Marnix Beyen: \u2018We raised 700,000 euros in less than four months, which the King Baudouin Foundation says is exceptional. That amount includes many donations from people who are not professors, including other academics, staff and students at our university as well as people from outside the university. We are also very pleased with the more than 1200 signatures.\u2019 The initiative resounded with people all over Flanders and beyond, and was signed by all of the Flemish rectors. Our university took the lead in the initiative. \u2018The rector forwarded the call to his network under his own name and we also received a lot of support from the Communications Department. That put the wind in our sails\u2019, says Lieven Bervoets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Feeling that something wasn’t right\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One colleague who supported the action enthusiastically was Professor Veerle Fraeters of the Ruusbroec Society. \u2018I too had the feeling in the spring that something wasn\u2019t right. Like many of my colleagues, I saw how my savings were growing because my salary kept coming in and I wasn\u2019t spending much. While others were having such a hard time. That weighed on my conscience, so I donated the extra money to charity. I found it strange that the media wasn\u2019t paying more attention to that aspect of the crisis. And then came the call to support 1000 x 1000 \u2013 a fantastic initiative that gave me a feeling of real joy.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veerle Fraeters responded to the call and brought the initiative to the attention of her colleagues. She doesn\u2019t like the word charity, but attaches a lot of importance to solidarity. \u2018Times of crisis like this call for extraordinary actions. I also think that in the future we\u2019ll have to evolve towards this kind of solidarity again, where the most privileged groups help not only their own families, but also people around them and in their own fields of work. That\u2019s another reason why I think this is such a great initiative. As an educational institution, we are supporting the development and education of vulnerable children and young people. It\u2019s also very important that this is a public initiative: if we ever want to create a new social order, we need more transparency. Then we have to dare to speak up and say, we have enough and we can share it with others who are less fortunate in difficult times.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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