A turning point or a point of return?
The coronavirus crisis brought our society to a standstill and made us think: are we on the right course, or is it time for a radical change of direction?
The future of our society
The U-turn project emerged from these questions. In exceptional times, UCSIA wanted to be a laboratory for creative thinking and engage in dialogue with innovative thinkers about the future of our society.
Key themes:
- Solidarity and care
- Mobility and ecology
- Consumption and sustainability
- Economics and ethics
- Religion and culture in the digital age
- A new 'social contract'
Always with an eye for a united and just society, inspired by the Jesuit tradition of critical and humanistic reflection.
Overview of activities (2020–2022)
The programme consisted of a wide range of online lectures, webinars and study days, each focusing on topical issues.
Most of the webinars can be viewed for free on our YouTube channel.
A selection from the agenda:
Economics & climate
Drawdown na lockdown (with Geert Noels and Roy Straver, June 2020)
Religion & society
Digital liturgy & pastoral care (with Philip Debruyne sj, June 2020)
Solidarity in Europe
The unexpected warmth of cold solidarity (with Frank Vandenbroucke and Paul Scheffer, June 2020)
Culture & society
A New Deal for the cultural sector (with Geert Buelens, September 2020)
Social economy
The market-correcting impact of the social economy (September 2020)
Economy & values
People at the heart – European values in business (October 2020)
International perspective
The Purpose of Finance (with David Pitt-Watson, November 2020)
Education and Inequality
(November 2020)
Solidarity versus poverty
(December 2020)
Generation of solidarity
(February 2021)
U-Turn series 2021
child support, debt, the city after the coronavirus, Europe and social rights
The social contract revisited
lectures on how philosophers Hobbes, Rousseau, Locke, Rawls, Nozick, and Piketty think about the “social contract” (autumn 2021)
Book launch “U-Turn 2021: directions to a new social contract”
(May 2022)
Watch on YouTube
Most of the webinars can be viewed for free on our YouTube channel.
U-turn as lasting inspiration
The pandemic was a moment of shock that created space for reflection. U-turn gave shape to that moment and brought together thinkers, scientists, cultural creators and citizens around one central question: how do we return to what really matters, and how do we break new ground at the same time?
Today, U-turn continues to resonate in books, podcasts and lecture series. The project reminds us that every crisis can also be an opportunity to set a course towards sustainability, connectedness and solidarity.
Related projects
The books U-turn 2020 and U-turn 2021
The essays and reflections from the debates were compiled in two publications.
The podcast Solidariteit Spreekt (Solidarity Speaks) in Dutch
The first season looks back on the U-turn series with its central themes: solidarity, sustainability and thinking about the future.
Lecture series “U-turn: 5 years later”
In the spring of 2026, UCSIA will organise a new series of lectures on the U-turn. In these lectures, we will take a critical look back. What has been achieved of the good intentions made during the pandemic?
