Events

The Ruusbroec Society will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2025! The kick-off of this festive year will be given during a special edition of the annual Ruusbroec Day. Instead of a traditional lecture series around a theme in mysticism, we are taking this opportunity to look to the future. We therefore invited representatives of partner institutions that preserve important religious heritage collections to briefly introduce their operations. They will then discuss the opportunities and challenges related to collecting, managing and valorising religious heritage anno 2025.

Can the way African indigenous peoples interact with nature contribute to a solution to climate change? African environmental ethics can inspire enriching research and public debate on environmental sustainability, restoration and management.

What does European solidarity stand for in a world of international migration? Find out during the UCSIA winter school for master's and doctoral students. The programme is a collaboration with Antwerp Summer & Winter University.

Religion experts Karen Armstrong (author) and Manuela Kalsky (University for Humanistics, Utrecht) will talk about the spiritual sources of compassion.

What do the religions of the book have to say about it and how did it contribute to a global network of 'compassionate cities'?

This talk is a part of the series 'Compassion in Context', a project in collaboration with Museum MAS.

Political philosophers Nicolas de Warren (Pennsylvania State University) and Allegra Reinalda (KU Leuven) will discuss the political implications of compassion.

Is compassion a preferable political motive?

This talk is a part of the series 'Compassion in Context', a project in collaboration with Museum MAS.

Neurophysiologist Christian Keysers (University of Amsterdam) and psychologist Stephan Claes (KU Leuven) will talk about the human capacity for a compassionate community.

Are we born with the capacity of compassion and empathy, or not? How does this affect our worldview?

This talk is a part of the series 'Compassion in Context', a project in collaboration with Museum MAS.

Sociologist and theologian Anne Birgitta Pessi (University of Helsinki) and Emmanuel Van Lierde (Curando) will discuss compassion in building communities.

How does compassion transform groups and organizations? What role does it play in fostering psychological safety? How is it connected to wider solidarity? What contributions can it make toward building safe societies?

This talk is a part of the series 'Compassion in Context', a project in collaboration with Museum MAS.

The 6th edition of the FUCE Summer School will have a special focus on the rise of populism and how it affects European society.

This summer school is an opportunity for bachelor students to engage with leading thinkers, critically analyze the roots and consequences of populism, and explore innovative approaches to strengthen democracy in the 21st century.

Together, we will strive to envision a future where pluralism, inclusivity, and active citizenship thrive.