Scholarship Louis Bruyns 2026-27
UCSIA is offering the Louis Bruyns Scholarship for the 2026-2027 academic year, a grant for a PhD student from the Global South to spend a research period at the University of Antwerp. During the stay, the student will also contribute to a public event on a relevant theme, such as equitable transition or migration.
Submit your proposal before 31 May 2026!
Two summer school alumni on religion, nationalism and populism
How does the Russian state use the Russian Orthodox Church to reinforce a nationalist worldview? And what do memes on Truth Social reveal about Donald Trump’s religious appeal? Two questions, two alumni, one webinar. UCSIA organized an online teaser of the upcoming UCSIA Summer School on religion, culture and society.
Maarten Degreef (Sciensano) and Anthony Longo (Tilburg University) on substance use and social media
How did the COVID-19 crisis affect our use of substances and social media, and what lasting traces has it left? During the second evening of U-turn: 5 years later, Maarten Degreef (Sciensano) and Anthony Longo (Tilburg University) explored this issue in depth. Watch the full recording here.
Keep Your Distance: Erika Vlieghe and Lindsy Desmet look back on the coronavirus crisis
What remains of the lessons learned during the COVID period? With that question, UCSIA opened the lecture series U-turn: 5 years later. During the first evening, infectious disease specialist Erika Vlieghe and researcher Lindsy Desmet reflected on a tension many people felt during the pandemic: how do we protect human lives without losing sight of humanity and human connection?
You can watch the full recording of the evening below.
Solidarity in the Making: Negotiating Migration in Co-Creation
In February, 21 participants from Europe and beyond – mainly master’s and doctoral students from various disciplines, as well as professionals from the sector – gathered in Antwerp for the second edition of the UCSIA Winter School. The weeklong programme focused on migration within the context of European solidarity.
SLIDE Recognized as Epos Success Story
The Erasmus+ project SLIDE – Service-Learning as a Pedagogy to Promote Inclusion, Diversity and Digital Empowerment has officially been recognized as an Epos Success Story. With this distinction, Epos highlights outstanding Erasmus+ projects that demonstrate excellence in quality, impact and innovation. Projects scoring above 90% receive this highest quality label.
Looking back at our New Year’s Event
What happens when research, commitment, and encounter come together?
Our New Year’s event focused on sustainable partnerships. In conversation with partners from the SOLIGION project and through the photo exhibition Connected in Care, we illustrated what solidarity looks like in practice.
The evening highlighted our shared ambition: to cherish and strengthen partnerships in order to continue building a warm, supportive society together.
This photo report shows moments from the speeches, the panel discussion with Antwerp partners, images from the photo exhibition Connected in Care, and the many encounters that brought the evening to life.
Solidarity in practice: working with newcomers and learning about international migration
International migration is one of the major social issues of our time. In Europe, the debate on asylum, integration and solidarity often provokes strong opinions, but behind the figures and policy choices there are always human stories.
With the UCSIA Winter School on Solidarity and International Migration in Europe, UCSIA aims to give Master’s and PhD students the opportunity to approach this complex topic from both an academic and practical perspective.
How the COVID Crisis Changed the Way We Think About the Future
In the third – and for now final – episode of Solidarity Speaks, journalist Linda De Win, historian Bert De Munck (University of Antwerp), and physician-crisis coordinator Jorgen Stassijns (Sciensano) review the handling of the COVID-19 crisis and draw lessons for the future.
The discussion exposes the tensions between security, freedom, scientific expertise, and social trust. A critical reflection and an urgent question: how do we prepare for the future without losing sight of democracy?
Find out in episode 3 of Solidarity Speaks!
Our Fellows: Makram Elabed and Rachid Adam
Two young researchers have recently joined UCSIA through the Fund Bruyns Scholarship and the Global South Fellowship: Makram Elabed, from Tunisia, and Rachid Adam, from Morocco. Both are spending this academic year in Antwerp, where they contribute to UCSIA’s projects and research networks connecting Europe and the Global South.
Our peace flag is flying at the Temple of Peace in Mechelen
Have you spotted the UCSIA peace flag at the Temple of Peace in Mechelen’s Botanical Garden?
The peace festival is an initiative of our fellow resident and partner Pax Christi Flanders and runs until Sunday, November 2, with a rich programme of lectures, theatre, music, film, and workshops.
In times of war and rearmament, we often forget that peace is something we build together – by engaging in open dialogue about what peace means today and how we can work towards it together.
Since June, Pax Christi has organized over fifty Peace Labs throughout Flanders and Brussels: creative meetings where people from all walks of life came together to reflect on peace. In schools, social organizations, prisons and associations, people drew, sewed and talked. Because to imagine peace, you first have to learn to name it – and that begins in dialogue, even with people who think differently.
Sustainability and Social Justice Five Years after the COVID Crisis
The second episode of the podcast series Solidarity Speaks is finally online! Join Linda De Win, Cathy Macharis (VUB), and Eva Smets (Oxfam Belgium) as they explore what the COVID crisis has meant for sustainability, social inequality, and the just transition.
Five years ago, the outbreak of the pandemic offered a unique opportunity to steer our society towards greater justice and sustainability. Did we manage to change course? What have we learned—and what steps still lie ahead?