During his inaugural speech, Verbeek discussed the role of the university in the 21st century. This was followed by Professor of Migration and Health Charles Agyemang’s Dies speech on the increase in social inequality and diversity, mistrust in politics and steps that can be taken to build trust. The university was also proud to award honorary doctorates to Professor of Computer Science and Linguistics Christopher Manning and Professor of Global Health Vikram Patel. The Dies celebration was closed by UvA alumna Anouk Harmans, who shared her spoken word piece 'Tussen wal en schip vliegen de vrije vogels' (Between shore and ship the free birds fly).