Greta Thunberg statue at Winchester university sparks anger - BBC News

A £24,000 statue of Greta Thunberg installed at a university has sparked anger among students who have branded it a "vanity project".

The University of Winchester believes it is the world's first life-sized sculpture of the "inspirational" Swedish environmental activist.

But the students' union said the funds could have been better spent.

The university said "no money was diverted" from student support or staffing for the project.

Winchester UCU president Megan Ball described Thunberg as a "fantastic role model to everyone, as someone who speaks loudly and proudly about important global issues" but said the union could not support the sculpture.

Greta Thunberg sits next to her school strike for climate sign

She said: "We're in a Covid year, lots of students haven't really had access to campus, lots of them are trying to study online and are in dire need of support.

"We are calling on the university to match the statue cost by committing £23,760 in additional funding to student support services across campus.

"We urge them to publicly face the critical issues which students are highlighting and provide a transparent breakdown of additional and existing financial support."

The union also passed a motion describing the statue as a "vanity project".

We have just passed the following motion regarding @_UoW’s decision to spend £24k on a statue of Greta Thunberg after years of austerity @winchestersu @dailyecho @hantschronicle: pic.twitter.com/CeDOCCqJe4
— Winchester UCU (@WinchesterUCU) March 24, 2021

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

It was commissioned in 2019 and unveiled earlier outside the university's West Down Centre.

The university said "no money was diverted from student support or from staffing" for the piece which was funded through money allocated to the construction of the new centre.

Bosses hope it will be a symbol of their "commitment to combat the climate and ecological emergency", they wrote in the email.

"Greta is a young woman who, in spite of difficulties in her life, has become a world-leading environmental activist. As the university for sustainability and social justice, we are proud to honour this inspirational woman in this way," the university added.

"We know that many find her a controversial figure. As a university we welcome debate and critical conversations.

"We hope that her statue will help to inspire our community, reminding us that no matter what life throws at us we can still change the world for the better."

It said it wanted to have the statue installed ahead of the UK hosting the UN's climate change conference, COP26.