BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//The Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies - ECPv6.17.0//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:The Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://brias.be X-WR-CALDESC:Events for The Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/Brussels BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 TZNAME:CEST DTSTART:20240331T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:CET DTSTART:20241027T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 TZNAME:CEST DTSTART:20250330T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:CET DTSTART:20251026T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 TZNAME:CEST DTSTART:20260329T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:CET DTSTART:20261025T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 TZNAME:CEST DTSTART:20270328T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:CET DTSTART:20271031T010000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260422 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260424 DTSTAMP:20260323T160521Z CREATED:20260323T160521Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260323T160521Z UID:3510-1776816000-1776988799@brias.be SUMMARY:Festival of Public Policy Transformation DESCRIPTION:Registration\nhttps://register.event.ulb.be/events/TAP/ \nDetails TBC URL:https://brias.be/event/festival-of-public-policy-transformation/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260409T124500 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260409T150000 DTSTAMP:20260323T155742Z CREATED:20251209T082629Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260323T155742Z UID:2542-1775738700-1775746800@brias.be SUMMARY:Thursday Seminars by Sabri Derinöz DESCRIPTION:Unpacking the Framing of Democracy in EU Institutional Discourses on Disinformation Mitigation \nAbstract\nHow do European institutions frame democracy in their discourses and policies about disinformation mitigation? Disinformation is often presented by EU institutions as a threat to democracy that must be resolved (Navarro et al.\, 2025)\, which has led to the development of multiple intervention strategies. Some scholars consider that\, in the context of democratic backsliding\, European institutional discourses defend “a technocratic legalistic perspective [of democracy] over a democratic pluralist one” (Oleart & Theuns\, 2023). This presentation examines how key European institutional documents addressing disinformation (and its mitigation) participate in constructing specific understandings of democracy\, particularly through the central place they attribute to information and to the ecosystem that produces and circulates it (the media\, the public sphere). Drawing on a pragmatist understanding of the sociology of public problems\, where problems are constructed through discourse\, and their framing lead to design specific solutions (Cefaï\, 1996; Widmer\, 2010; Arquembourg\, 2016)\, the analysis focuses on how these documents mobilise notions such as informed citizenship\, public debate and quality information and how these discourses outline a specific democratic imaginary that might influence the range of responses considered appropriate to address contemporary democratic challenges.  \nBio\n Sabri Derinöz is a researcher in media and communication studies who focuses on the construction of public problems through discourse. He is currently part of the EDMO BELUX consortium\, which aims to mitigate disinformation through a multidisciplinary approach.  URL:https://brias.be/event/thursday-seminars-by-sabri-derinoz/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260408T160000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260408T180000 DTSTAMP:20260316T074035Z CREATED:20251209T084230Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260316T074035Z UID:2554-1775664000-1775671200@brias.be SUMMARY:Public Lecture – Big Ideas for Democracy: Isaac Owusu-Mensah DESCRIPTION:Register here\nEnhancing Quality Electoral Governance for Democratic Consolidation in Ghana’s Fourth Republic\nAbstract\nGhana has made significant progress with democratic governance since returning to multiparty politics in 1992. Since then\, competitive election has been the driving force behind its journey to democratic institutionalization. Yet what has obscured scholarly analysis is the grandiose web of activities that underpins and sustains the overall institutional framework of which voting and electoral competition occurs. It notes how Ghana’s electoral process and administration have been largely shaped by the embedded rules formulated\, executed and adjudicated disputes arising within the electoral game. The rule-bound system\, which defines and directs the electoral process and its management has fostered transparency\, inclusive participation\, trust and confidence of stakeholders in the electoral process and served as the vehicle for institutionalizing Ghana’s electoral democracy. Despite the rule-embedded institutional framework of the electoral process architecture\, certain dimensions of it have failed to secure legitimacy/credibility of the elections. Reforms that innovate appropriate technological and other normative measures to build electoral governance’s capacity to produce credible election process and outcome will deepen the institutionalization of Ghana’s electoral democracy. \nBio\nProfessor Isaac Owusu-Mensah is the Head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Ghana\, Legon. He previously served as Director of Research at the Office of the President of the Republic of Ghana and as Senior Programme Manager at the Konrad Adenauer-Stiftung. His research focuses on democratic governance and electoral politics in Ghana\, with numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals and academic books. Professor Owusu-Mensah has also served as a Guest Lecturer at international institutions including Humboldt University in Berlin\, the University of Auckland\, and the University of Waikato in New Zealand. \n  \n  \n  URL:https://brias.be/event/public-lecture-big-ideas-for-democracy-isaac-owusu-mensah/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260402T150000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260402T170000 DTSTAMP:20260316T081216Z CREATED:20251209T082502Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260316T081216Z UID:2540-1775142000-1775149200@brias.be SUMMARY:Thursday Seminars by Mark Bray DESCRIPTION:This Seminar is part of our regular Thursday seminar series\, which normally take place at Lunchtime on Thursdays. This seminar will\, however\, exceptionally take place on Thursday afternoon at 15:00 and instead of Lunch we will offer an aperitif afterwards. By registering via the link you will register for the entire Thursday seminar series and receive weekly outlook invitations to our seminars. In case you want your name removed from the list after this event please send an email to Anja.Garone@vub.be \nFascism and Anti-Fascism in Trump’s United States \nAbstract\nMark Bray will speak about mounting authoritarianism in the United States through the lens of his experience fleeing the country after being targeted by the far right as a “domestic terrorist professor” for the publication of his 2017 book Antifa. He will analyze how the American far right has evolved over the past decade\, how antifascist movements have responded\, and what resistance to Trump and ICE looks like in the US today. Bray will situate such developments in a larger historical context and discuss what they mean for the future of far right politics in the US and Europe.  \nBio\nMark Bray is a historian of Modern Europe at Rutgers University focusing on themes of radicalism\, political violence\, and\, more recently\, scams. He is the author of the New York Times Bestseller Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook and The Anarchist Inquisition: Assassins\, Activists and Martyrs in Spain and France among other works.  URL:https://brias.be/event/thursday-seminars-by-mark-bray/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260326T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260326T150000 DTSTAMP:20260323T155016Z CREATED:20251209T082422Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260323T155016Z UID:2538-1774526400-1774537200@brias.be SUMMARY:Thursday Seminars by Alvaro Oleart and Philippe Braquenier DESCRIPTION:Why AI Technosolutionism Harms Democracy and Deliberation \nAbstract\nTechnology has recently entered the scene of deliberative democracy\, both as a subject of deliberation and as a way to improve deliberative processes. The hegemonic position in this debate within the deliberative democracy community appears to be that\, while it is not a bulletproof solution\, technology—and more specifically AI—holds the potential to make deliberation and democracy better. The article takes stock of the latest developments in relation to technology and deliberation\, focusing specifically on the European Citizens’ Panels and Google’s Habermas Machine. We argue that the current trend is characterised by technosolutionism\, and that introducing technology as a ‘solution’ to ‘fix’ some of the ‘problems’ within the deliberative democracy community reinforces its depoliticisation and disintermediation. Deliberative technosolutionism moves the discussion away from the systemic desirability of minipublics\, sidelines a mass politics conception of democracy\, and leaves unquestioned the political economy of AI. By contrast\, democracy needs to be oriented towards mass politics and collective actors rather than reproducing the narrow conception of democracy and deliberation upon which minipublics are built.  \nBio:  \nAlvaro Oleart is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Political Science and the Institute for European Studies of the Université Libre de Bruxelles. His research focuses on the relationship between political conflict and democracy through a decolonial lens in the context of the European Union by analysing the discourse in the European public spheres\, citizen participation processes\, political parties\, the media\, civil society and transnational social movements from both an empirical and normative perspective. He is the author of the books “Framing TTIP in the European Public Spheres: Towards an Empowering Dissensus for EU Integration” (Palgrave\, 2021) and “Democracy Without Politics in EU Citizen Participation: From European Demoi to Decolonial Multitude” (Palgrave\, 2023).  \nDemocracy Under the Dark Enlightenment: Art\, Photography and the Erosion of Democratic Institutions\nAbstract\nThis session brings together artistic practice and political inquiry in the framework of the Democracy Lab residency co-organised by Ohme and BrIAS.   \nPhilippe Braquenier will open with a presentation of his artistic practice and methodology\, and will then present NRx\, his new project currently in development. Taking Curtis Yarvin’s neo-reactionary “Dark Enlightenment” philosophy as a critical framework\, NRx examines the state of democratic institutions in Brussels\, the capital of Europe and a symbolic heart of the progressive West. Through black-and-white photography and video\, Braquenier documents sites of democratic fragility as a means of making visible the slow erosion of the structures and values that underpin democratic life.   \nThis talk is an open invitation to dialogue. In the framework of his residency\, Braquenier is seeking to connect with BrIAS fellows whose research intersects with questions of democratic backsliding\, institutional trust\, political theory\, and civic culture.   \nBio\nPhilippe Braquenier is a Belgian visual artist based in Brussels. Fascinated by knowledge – how it is collected\, used\, shared and stored\, his work explores our obsession with information at a time when data is becoming ever more omnipresent yet increasingly invisible. With a restrained and impassive perspective\, he connects these ideas to broader questions of evolution\, heritage\, and the precarious nature of the digital revolution.  \nHe holds a Bachelor in photography from the HELB and worked in the advertising industry until 2016. Since his shift to artistic practice\, he has exhibited at the Aperture Foundation in New York\, the Belgian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2018)\, and the JIMEI x Arles International Photo Festival\, among other institutions and galleries. He was a finalist for the Louis Roederer Discovery Award at Les Rencontres d’Arles in 2020.  \nwww.philippebraquenier.com  \n  \n  \n  URL:https://brias.be/event/thursday-seminars-by-alvaro-oleart/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260319T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260319T150000 DTSTAMP:20260216T085633Z CREATED:20251209T082302Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260216T085633Z UID:2536-1773921600-1773932400@brias.be SUMMARY:Thursday Seminars by Rebekka Kesberg DESCRIPTION:Foes or Fellow Citizens? Perception of Democratic Legitimacy and Political Polarization\nBio\nRebekka Kesberg is a senior researcher at the University of Sussex (United Kingdom) and the University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands). She completed her PhD in social psychology at Ulm University (Germany)\, where she studied how human values shape perception\, attitudes\, and behavior.  \nFollowing her PhD\, she worked on the international and interdisciplinary UNDPOLAR project\, which investigated political polarization in European democracies. She is currently the principal investigator of Valuing Democracy: The Role of Democracy as a Superordinate Identity in the Justification of Political Violence\, funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council. This project examines how citizens in the UK perceive democracy and the extent to which identifying as a democrat influences their attitudes and behaviors\, particularly in relation to the justification of political violence. The project also tests interventions aimed at strengthening democratic support across political divides.  \nRebekka is also a researcher in the Horizon Europe-funded project PushBackLash\, which explores anti-gender backlash and democratic pushback. Her research within the project focuses on anti-gender movements and the narratives they disseminate on social media to create perceptions of threat\, mobilize support and undermine democratic governance.  \nHer work combines insights from psychology and political science to better understand how social dynamics shape democratic life and political conflict. She aims to inform both academic debates and public understanding on how to build and maintain resilient democracies.  \n  \n  \n  URL:https://brias.be/event/thursday-seminars-by-rebekka-kesberg/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260318T160000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260318T180000 DTSTAMP:20260223T094530Z CREATED:20251204T091012Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260223T094530Z UID:2485-1773849600-1773856800@brias.be SUMMARY:Public Lecture – Big Ideas for Democracy: Edson Tandoc DESCRIPTION:Register here\nFake news and Asian perspectives: Lessons learned\, problems persisting\, and emerging threats\nThis presentation reexamines the evolving landscape of misinformation and disinformation\, focusing on the Asian region\, drawing on insights from the COVID-19 pandemic\, and extending into the current period shaped by rapid technological advancements\, such as the rise of GenAI. Building on almost a decade of research on media and disinformation in Singapore and collaborations across Asia\, this presentation revisits how different Asian countries responded to the infodemic during COVID-19\, highlighting the interplay between media systems\, government regulations\, and cultural contexts in shaping the spread and reception of online falsehoods. While some lessons have been learned\, persistent challenges remain\, and new threats are emerging. As GenAI tools become more accessible and sophisticated\, they introduce new challenges to information integrity and democratic processes. \nBio\nEdson C. Tandoc Jr. is Professor at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore\, where he is also the founding Director of the Centre for Information Integrity and the Internet (IN-cube) and the Associate Chair for Research. He serves as the Chair of the Journalism Studies Division of the International Communication Association.\n\nA former newspaper journalist\, his research focuses on the impact of journalistic roles\, emerging technologies\, and audience feedback on the news gatekeeping process. He also studies how people make sense of critical incidents in journalism and participate in reconsidering journalistic norms\, as well as how changing news consumption patterns facilitate the spread of fake news—especially in the age of communicative AI. His recent books include Analyzing Analytics: Disrupting Journalism One Click at a Time (2019) and co-editor of Critical Incidents in Journalism: Pivotal Moments Reshaping Journalism around the World (2020).\n  URL:https://brias.be/event/public-lecture-big-ideas-for-democracy-edson-tandoc/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260313T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260313T170000 DTSTAMP:20260226T140346Z CREATED:20260226T140244Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260226T140346Z UID:3130-1773403200-1773421200@brias.be SUMMARY:BrIAS x ABSP Workshop – Focus on the “Unusual Suspects” DESCRIPTION:Focus on the “Unusual Suspects”: Exploring Understudied Underrepresented Groups in Representative Democracies \nThe Election\, Public Opinion and Parties Working Group of the ABSP and the Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies (BrIAS) organise a workshop on Exploring Understudied Underrepresented Groups in Representative Democracies. \n\nAbout the Workshop\nThis workshop focuses on the “unusual suspects” of representative democracies — understudied and underrepresented groups whose political participation\, representation\, and visibility remain limited. \nBringing together scholars working on youth representation\, political ambition\, antifeminism\, and far-right agenda-setting\, the workshop explores the structural and discursive limits of political representation\, with particular attention to intersectionality\, online visibility\, and generational disconnection. \nDate: 13 March 2026\nLocation: Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels \n\nProgramme\nAgenda\n\n\n12:00 – 13:00 Lunch and greetings\n\n13:00 – 13:45\n\nKevin Meyvaert (VUB)\, Eline Severs (VUB)\, Dimokritos Kavadias (VUB)\nThe Representational Limits of Representatives – Youth Disconnection and Young MPs’ Visions of Representation in Brussels\nDiscussants: Giovanni Maggi\, Simon Geshef\n\n13:45 – 14:30\n\nZoé Lardinois (ULB)\nPathways to Political Candidacy: An Intersectional Study of Political Ambition in Belgium\nDiscussants: Hannah Oorts\, Laura Uyttendale\n\n\n14:30 – 14:45 Coffee break\n\n14:45 – 15:30\n\nHannah Oorts (VUB)\, Eline Severs (VUB)\, Elly Mansoury (VUB)\, Kevin Meyvaert (VUB)\nExpectation vs. Reality: Being a Young Representative in the Spotlight / Online\nDiscussants: Zoé Lardinois\, Aloïsa Pilloy\n\n15:30 – 16:15\n\nGiovanni Maggi (ULB)\nMainstreaming Antifeminism in Italy and the United States: Far-Right Agenda Setting in Networked Public Debates (2010–present)\nDiscussants: Kevin Meyvaert\, Thomas Legein\n\n\n16:15  Farewell coffee\n\n\n\nOrganising Team\nAloïsa Pilloy (UCLouvain) – aloisa.pilloy@uclouvain.be\nSimon Geshef (ULB) – simon.geshef@ulb.be\nLaura Uyttendaele (ULB) – laura.uyttendaele@ulb.be\nThomas Legein (VUB) – thomas.legein@vub.be URL:https://brias.be/event/brias-x-absp-workshop-focus-on-the-unusual-suspects/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Other Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260312T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260312T150000 DTSTAMP:20260310T125910Z CREATED:20251209T082221Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260310T125910Z UID:2534-1773316800-1773327600@brias.be SUMMARY:Thursday Seminars by Colette Brin DESCRIPTION:Challenges of human-centric journalistic innovation in the era of artificial intelligence\nAbstract\nWhile generative AI promises efficiency gains in newsgathering\, production\, verification\, and audience engagement\, it also raises significant concerns regarding accuracy\, bias\,transparency\, and professional autonomy. Drawing on a review of public service media AI initiatives and expert insights from Europe and Canada\, as well as a series of media stakeholder interviews conducted in Quebec in 2025\, this talk will address the challenges of human-centric journalistic innovation. Journalists’ responses remain ambivalent: AI tools are increasingly used\, yet widely distrusted\, reinforcing the necessity of a robust “human-in-the-loop” approach and substantial re-skilling that combines technical literacy with core journalistic values such as critical judgment\, contextual knowledge\, and integrity. \nBio\nColette Brin is a Professor at Université Laval’s Département d’information et de communication and Director of Centre d’études sur les médias\, a nonprofit research unit founded in 1992. Her research and teaching focus on recent and ongoing changes in journalism\, through policy and organizational initiatives\, as well as citizens’ news practices. She coordinates the Canadian study for the Digital News Report with the Reuters Institute. \nColette is co-lead of the Arts\, Media and Cultural Diversity Axis at OBVIA\, an international responsible AI research network based in Quebec\, and a member of several research teams in Quebec and Canada. URL:https://brias.be/event/thursday-seminars-by-colette-brin/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260310T160000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260310T180000 DTSTAMP:20260310T141524Z CREATED:20251204T142619Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260310T141524Z UID:2499-1773158400-1773165600@brias.be SUMMARY:Public Lecture – Big Ideas for Democracy: Omar Gueye DESCRIPTION: \nRegister here\nDemocracy and resilience in Africa : Case study of Senegal\nAbstract\nFollowing the political and societal debates that have been taking place around the world since the 1960s\, the project explores issues specific to Africa in the context of nation building\, decolonisation and/or neocolonisation: underdevelopment and precariousness; socio-political changes; the Cold War and Pan-Africanism; the paradigm of the ‘Fathers of Nations’ and the project of the ‘Sons-Presidents’; the desire for societal change and the paradigm of a rebellious youth; social conflicts and the legacy of the May 1968 movement; political instability; the frequency of civil and military coups; constitutional reforms and controversial elections. \nThrough the case of Senegal\, the study explores Africa’s political resilience in the face of democratic challenges\, chronic political instability and recurring crises. It questions the so-called ‘Senegalese exception’\, marked by early political and democratic practice\, a tradition of elections and the mobilisation of avant-garde actors embodied by: reliable institutions; a republican army; dynamic political parties; committed citizens; an active civil society; and a mobilised youth. The reflection focuses on both the resilience and the future of a continent where people aspire to better democracy and well-being despite a context of uncertainty and continuous change. \nBio\nProf. Omar Gueye is a Professor of History at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar and a cultural consultant. He holds a Ph.D. in Modern and Contemporary History from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar\, a Ph.D. in Social History from the University of Amsterdam\, and an MBA in Cultural Heritage Management from Senghor University in Alexandria. Omar GUEYE has gained diverse experience and participated in scientific exchange programs as a Fellow at Harvard University\, Fulbright Fellow at the University of Michigan\, Fernand Braudel Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence (EUI)\, Fellow at the Institut des Études Avancées in Paris (IEA)\, fellow at WIKO – Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin\, Director of Studies-Associate at the Fondation-Maison-des-Sciences-de-l’Homme (FMSH) in Paris\, and Visiting Professor at Sorbonne and the Sciences Po Paris. His research primarily focuses on questions of labor and social conflicts in post-war Senegal and French West Africa\, and their sociopolitical implications in colonial and postcolonial States. He has authored several books and peer-reviewed book chapters. He is currently working on the legacy of the May 1968 global event in Senegal and Africa\, the relationship between trade unionism and politics\, and the odyssey of the African youth and women in the sixties and beyond. URL:https://brias.be/event/public-lecture-big-ideas-for-democracy-omar-gueye/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260305T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260305T150000 DTSTAMP:20260226T084020Z CREATED:20251209T082128Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260226T084020Z UID:2532-1772712000-1772722800@brias.be SUMMARY:Thursday Seminars by Kata Dozsa DESCRIPTION:Children as Climate Citizens – Presentism with Long-Term Interests \nAbstract: \nBased on her book\, Kata Dozsa presents the concept of “children as climate citizens” across three key avenues of participation: climate governance\, grassroots youth social movements\, and climate litigation. Presentism is a defining feature of children’s climate citizenship: children living today are directly and disproportionately affected by climate change\, with immediate and future consequences for their rights\, well-being\, and everyday lives. At the same time\, these experiences are framed within a broader set of long-term considerations: rather than identifying children solely through vulnerability\, they are recognised as political and legal actors whose meaningful participation in decision-making and knowledge sharing contributes to sustainability and the protection of democratic values in society. (Dozsa\, K (2023) Children as Climate Citizens. Routledge.)  \nBio:  \nKata Dozsa is a postdoctoral researcher at the Brussels School of Governance where she conducts empirical research in the Curiae Virides project on transnational ecological litigation. She has also worked as adjunct professor at Vesalius College BA Programme in International Law and held a Summer School on Climate Change Litigation in 2024. She holds a PhD in law from University of Antwerp. Her research focuses on children’s rights\, intergenerational justice and climate change. Kata Dozsa is the author of the book “Children as Climate Citizens” (Routledge\, 2023)\, and she has numerous publications\, including in the 2020 and 2023 editions of the European Yearbook on Human Rights. She was awarded the 2022 Sustainability Research Award for her contribution to climate change policy-development in Belgium. \nPolitical socialisation and the climate crisis\nAbstract:\nThis presentationi instroduces the theoretical basis of the KIDSONCLIMATE project\, as well as an update on the fieldwork currently underway. The project aims to explore how the emotions that learning about the climate crisis can elicit in children and pre-adolescents can influence their attitudes towards democracy and their own sense of political efficacy. \nTo this end\, it draws on literature in political science\, political sociology\, and social psychology to examine the links between emotional responses – particularly feelings of betrayal and distress\, hope or commitment – to the climate crisis\, and perceptions of the responses of different political actors to this situation. The project focuses specifically on a population of young people described as “average”\, neither activist nor apathetic\, in order to bring visibility to a group that has been little studied in research on these issues. In particular\, it proposes to explore how adults’ views on children’s competence\, voices\, and legitimacy on these issues can impact the development of forms of political interest\, political competence\, and feelings of political efficacy among children and young people. \nBio:\nKatharine Throssell is currently a Marie Curie Fellow at UCLouvain. Her research focuses on political learning among children and young adolescents\, with a particular emphasis on active socialisation\, identities\, and political narratives aimed at children. She is the author of Child and Nation (Peter Lang\, 2015)\, which examines the impact of everyday nationalism on the construction of worldviews among primary school children. URL:https://brias.be/event/thursday-seminars-by-kata-dozsa/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260303T160000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260303T180000 DTSTAMP:20260226T100950Z CREATED:20251204T090909Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260226T100950Z UID:2483-1772553600-1772560800@brias.be SUMMARY:Public Lecture – Big Ideas for Democracy: Liza Mügge DESCRIPTION:  \nRegister here\nBeyond Strongmen: Masculinities\, Backlash\, and the Future of Democracy\nAbstract\nAcross Europe and beyond\, new “strongman” politics mobilize resentment\, revive sexist stereotypes\, and turn certain masculinities into weapons against gender equality and democracy. What happens to democracy when dominance\, aggression\, and exclusion are sold as the only “real” masculinity? This lecture asks how we can understand—and undo—the backlash. Drawing on insights from two EU‑funded projects\, Push*Back*Lash and MEN4DEM\, I explore how violence and inequality is normalized\, and why this matters for democratic life. \nBut the lecture is equally about alternatives: how inclusion\, diversity\, and empathy can ground more realistic and appealing models of masculinity. I argue that defending democracy requires transdisciplinary alliances among researchers\, policy makers\, activists\, and artists who co‑create knowledge and practice. Through concrete examples—legislative theatre\, participatory workshops\, and political cartoons—I show how playful\, collaborative methods can challenge backlash\, open spaces for care and solidarity\, and help re‑imagine masculinities for democratic futures. \nBio\nProf. Liza Mügge is Professor in Politics of Diversity at the political science department of the University of Amsterdam. She leads several international research projects funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and the European Commission (Horizon Europe) (see politicsofdiversity.eu). She is founding editor of the European Journal of Politics & Gender. \n  \n  URL:https://brias.be/event/public-lecture-big-ideas-for-democracy-liza-mugge/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260226T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260226T150000 DTSTAMP:20260205T093208Z CREATED:20251209T082047Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260205T093208Z UID:2530-1772107200-1772118000@brias.be SUMMARY:Thursday Seminar by Gaston Meskens DESCRIPTION:The Possibility of Global Governance\nAn ethics of care for our contemporary coexistence. \nAbstract\nThe Possibility of Global Governance is a reflective exercise in the applied philosophy of ethics\, and to some extent also in the poetics of ethics. My aim is to present a normative ethics idea open for reflection and discussion\, namely that the possibility of fair and effective global governance should be perceived from out of an ethics of care perspective – caring for human relationships in making sense of the complexity of complex problems – and that this possibility becomes ‘unlocked’ and enabled with the realisation of methods of politics\, science and education that would allow a fair dealing with the complexity that binds us\, inspired and motivated by that ethics of care perspective. These methods can be characterised as deliberative democracy as a collective reflection and learning process\, transdisciplinary and participatory scientific research and policy advice and education for a reflexive cosmopolitanism. \nThe idea is that these advanced methods of democracy\, scientific research and education together do hold that ‘possibility’: they make our global connectedness in complexity ‘visible’ and are at the same time inspired by it; they stimulate our sense of social and political engagement and at the same time make that engagement practically possible; they take into account the vulnerability of the specific roles we take on and assign to each other in society but at the same time provide the possibility to take our responsibility in those roles … Some proposed aspects of this ‘advanced’ method of global governance are realistic or do even exist already today in some fragmented or ‘light’ form or policy ambition\, as it is the case with transdisciplinarity in scientific policy advice or local public participation in decision making. Others are plainly utopian in terms of their possible realisation in the current situation\, like global deliberative democracy or the relativisation of the sovereignty of the nation state in global (international) politics. \nObviously it would be naive to think that a positive narrative of care ethics for global governance could lead directly to concrete changes for the better. One can understand that most protagonists of political power in the politics of today have little desire to enter into dialogue about the justification of their power\, as they see it as legitimised by the traditional political systems in which they operate. The initiative for advanced thinking about global governance will have to come from people who\, in solidarity and inspired and motivated by an ethics of care vision such as the one proposed here\, want to draw closer to engage in dialogue about the workings of politics\, science\, the market and education. The avant-garde of their solidarity lies in their willingness to see our coexistence not as a cynical society of conflict and competition\, but as a society that\, today more than ever\, is characterised by our connectedness in complexity\, by our sense of engagement in reflection and deliberation to give meaning to it\, and by the recognition of the vulnerability of our roles that we assign to each other in the process. The idea of ‘cosmopolitanism as capability’ will be foundational in this vision. Only when we are prepared to reflect on our own position and behaviour ‘in that whole world of concern’ will we be able to see all other people as being of equal moral standing\, simply because then we will not only see them as having equal moral standing in their own right\, but because we can then consider them as also having an equal right to act upon a moral responsibility. \nBio\nGaston Meskens is a ‘philosophical activist’ and artist with a background in science.\nHe holds master’s degrees in theoretical physics and nuclear engineering and a doctoral degree in moral philosophy from the University of Ghent (Belgium). In his philosophical research\, he works part-time with the Science\, Technology and Society research group of the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK CEN and with the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy of Ghent University. At Ghent University\, his research focuses on a human rights perspective related to intellectual capacity building in the interest of global sustainable development governance. At SCK CEN\, his research and outreach is concerned with the ethics of science and technology in general and with the ethical aspects of dealing with nuclear technology in particular.  His Seminars on Ethics of Science and Technology are part of multiple international training programmes and university curricula.\nGaston Meskens has built up more than twenty years of experience in transdisciplinary research related to the ethics of governance of issues such as sustainable development\, energy\, climate change and radioactive waste management and with working in and around the policy processes of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)\, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD)\, the United Nations Non-Proliferation Treaty process (UN-NPT) and of the research-related activities of the European Commission. Since 2006\, he is member of the steering committee of the Constituency of Research-oriented Independent Non-Governmental Organisations towards the UNFCCC (the constituency that represents the global scientific world in the United Nations Climate Change negotiation process).\nMore info: https://www.normsanddialectics.net/why/ URL:https://brias.be/event/thursday-seminar-by-gaston-meskens/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260224T160000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260224T180000 DTSTAMP:20260216T120555Z CREATED:20251204T090734Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260216T120555Z UID:2481-1771948800-1771956000@brias.be SUMMARY:Public Lecture – Big Ideas for Democracy: Marija Radoman DESCRIPTION:  \nRegister here\nBuilding Democracy: Emotions and the Student Movement in Serbia 2024/25\nMy presentation focuses on the experiences and emotions of students involved in the student protests in Serbia 2024/25. The research looks at how emotions shaped both the mobilization of the movement and the students’ collective identity. What began as a student response to the collapse of a canopy in the city of Novi Sad quickly grew into a large-scale social and political movement. The timeframe of the research is limited: the results cover the period from the start of the protests in November 2024 to April 2025\, even though the protests are still ongoing. \nIn the first part of my talk\, I will explain the broader context\, the challenges faced by student and citizens in their struggle for a democratic society\, and the authoritarian tendencies of the goverment. I will also give a short overview of the dynamics of the protests and key events that kept them going\, explaining different protest stages. In the second part\, I will present some findings from research conducted by the team at the Institute for Sociological Research\, Faculty of Philosophy\, University of Belgrade. My research focus was on the role of emotions in the students’ participation in the protests\, and more broadly\, on how emotions contribute to shaping a new political generation in a post-socialist context. The study is based on 32 semi-structured interviews with students participating in the protests. I hypothesize that the student movement\, with its direct democratic practices\, independence from political parties\, and collective life on occupied faculties across the country\, represents alternative forms of democratic organization\, shaped through emotional experiences\, and represents the emergence of a new political generation. \nBio\nMarija Radoman is a PhD sociologist with over a decade of experience in gender and queer studies\, political values\, LGBTQ+ rights\, and research methodologies. Her academic work focuses on the intersections of social structures and individual experiences. She currently serves as a Research Associate at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade\, affiliated with the Institute for Sociological Research. URL:https://brias.be/event/public-lecture-big-ideas-for-democracy-marija-radoman/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260219T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260219T150000 DTSTAMP:20260205T093309Z CREATED:20251209T081950Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260205T093309Z UID:2528-1771502400-1771513200@brias.be SUMMARY:Thursday Seminars by Franziska Höhne DESCRIPTION:Stating the obvious? Far-right frames of climate change acceptance in the European Parliament\nAbstract\nIn a rapidly warming world\, climate obstruction has become a central challenge of global governance – exacerbated by the rising influence of far-right actors. Far-right ideology is understood as inherently incompatible with climate policy\, particularly when interpreted through a populist lens. When considered a thin-centred ideology\, the complexity of climate governance clashes with Manichean\, anti- cosmopolitan worldview of the populist far-right.  \nYet\, recent scholarship paints a more nuanced picture. Not only has the European far-right shifted from primary to secondary obstruction\, i.e. from denial to response scepticism\, some parties have also been found to selectively embrace international climate cooperation. This variation remains underexplored.  \nBuilding on research that highlights the role of contextual factors over ideology for far-right stances on climate policy\, this paper compares the impact of domestic factors such as issue salience\, green party strength\, and office opportunities. In a comparative case study design\, the paper analyses justifications provided in MEPs’ speeches and voting records\, supplemented by interviews with far-right MEPs and their staff. Understanding the nuances of far-right climate obstructionism is essential for a comprehensive grasp of the phenomenon and for designing effective responses. \nBio\nFranziska Höhne is a PhD researcher in the field of International Relations\, based at Goethe University Frankfurt\, and is currently affiliated as a visiting researcher at CEVIPOL\, ULB. Her research is situated at the far-right climate nexus\, with a focus on the international institutions intended to govern the climate crisis. For her PhD thesis\, she analyses how far-right parties in Europe approach international climate policy\, what influences their positions and how we can explain variance between the parties. Franziska Höhne obtained a M.Sc. degree in Global Studies from Gothenburg University in 2021 and a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Erfurt in 2019. URL:https://brias.be/event/thursday-seminars-by-franziska-hohne/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260212T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260212T150000 DTSTAMP:20260205T093127Z CREATED:20251209T081803Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260205T093127Z UID:2526-1770897600-1770908400@brias.be SUMMARY:Thursday Seminars by Bruno Castanho Silva and Giulia Fuochi DESCRIPTION:Second Class: Public Opinion Perceptions of Naturalized Citizens’ Rights and Duties \nBio\nBruno Castanho Silva is an Assistant Professor for Methods in Empirical Social Research at the Institute of Sociology and Otto-Suhr Institute of Political Science at the Free University of Berlin\, Germany. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the Central European University (Budapest\, Hungary) and is also an Executive Board member of the Methods Excellence Initiative (MethodsNET). Bruno’s research uses a variety of quantitative and computational methods to study issues connected to populism and radicalism\, social media and politics\, and the representation of underrepresented groups. His work has been published in journals such as the American Political Science Review\, American Journal of Political Science\, and Political Analysis\, among others.  \nAbstract\nCitizenship has once again become a politicized issue across developed countries\, at the same time as demographic changes lead to higher numbers of dual and naturalized citizens. However\, empirical political research has dedicated little attention to natural-born citizens views’ on those topics. This paper argues that naturalized citizens\, while in theory having (almost) all the legal rights of natural-born ones\, are still seen as second-class citizens in European countries when it comes to their rights\, but are expected to fulfil their whole share of citizenship obligations. It tests these expectations with a survey experiment fielded in four EU countries (n ca. 2\,000 per country)\, in which respondents indicate how much they approve of certain rights and obligations for natural-born or naturalized citizens\, and of long-term non-citizen residents. Findings indicate that the public has less tolerance for naturalized citizens who are critical of the country to vote and participate in politics\, but holds them to the same level of duty as the natural-born when it comes to serving the military in case of foreign threats. These findings shed the first empirical light on the  re-emerging politicized issue of citizenship rights in Europe and beyond.  \n\nDeprovincialization and other pathways to intergroup and societal harmony\nBio\nGiulia Fuochi is assistant professor and researcher in social psychology at the University of Padova. Her work explores how people relate to others across group boundaries\, with a focus on prejudice\, intergroup contact\, mindfulness\, and openness toward diversity. She has published extensively on these topics in international journals.  \nAbstract \nRecent decades have seen a rise in identity-based polarization in several democratic societies\, exacerbating conflict among social groups. One process that may counteract this trend could be that of deprovincialization\, a shift in perspective through which individuals come to view their own group’s norms and values as less absolute or superior\, while becoming more open to and accepting of cultural differences. Deprovincialization typically emerges from positive intergroup contact – i.e.\, interactions between members of different social groups – but also entails a strong component of cognitive change\, transforming how people interpret social diversity and group or national identity. This presentation will first shed light on the concept of deprovincialization\, also illustrating its links with intergroup variables (intergroup contact\, prejudice\, and anxiety)\, socio-political dispositions (right-wing authoritarianism\, social dominance orientation) and other individual tendencies (curiosity\, values) through network analysis. Second\, results from latent profile analysis\, a person-centered approach that identifies latent subgroups of individuals based on similar patterns of responses across variables\, will show how deprovincialization tends to cluster within profiles characterized by cognitive flexibility\, curiosity\, pro-diversity and anti-hierarchy beliefs. Third\, the potential behavioral outcomes of deprovincialization in an experimental setting will be explored: participants exposed to an audio clip designed to elicit deprovincialization – compared to those assigned to an active control condition – reported lower levels of national ingroup identification (i.e.\, Italians)\, and\, more importantly\, stronger intentions to engage in collective action to improve the conditions of the outgroup (i.e.\, Arab people living in Italy). Overall\, these findings highlight deprovincialization as a core mechanism for social change\, fostering openness toward diversity and pluralism\, reducing ethnocentrism\, and mobilizing advantaged groups to support disadvantaged ones.  URL:https://brias.be/event/thursday-seminars-by-bruno-castanho-silva-and-giulia-fuochi/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260211T100000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260211T140000 DTSTAMP:20260126T102123Z CREATED:20260120T095854Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260126T102123Z UID:2921-1770804000-1770818400@brias.be SUMMARY:Political Masculinities in Europe – Public Panel DESCRIPTION:Register here \nAbout the Event\nHow do ideas about “proper” masculine behavior in politics shape who speaks\, who leads\, and whose interests count in European democracies? This public roundtable in gathers members of the International Advisory Board of the project Political Masculinities in Europe—with panelists from Poland\, Italy\, Sweden\, and the US/UK and expertise in socialization\, interventions\, social movements\, violence\, backlash\, gender and sexuality —to discuss how political masculinities are constructed\, reinforced\, and contested across countries and political institutions. Aimed at academics\, students\, and policymakers\, the panel will unpack how these often implicit norms sustain gendered political inequalities and consider what it would take to change them. \n\nProgramme\n\n10:00 – 10:30 Welcome coffee\n10:30 – 12:00 Panel session\n\nWelcome speech Prof. Karen Celis (VUB / BrIAS)\, WP4 Leader\nChair Dr. Liza Mügge (University of Amsterdam / Senior Fellow BrIAS)\n\nPanelists \n\nProf. Philip Ayoub (University College London)\nDr. Tomasz Besta (University of Gdańsk)\nProf. Elin Bjarnegård (University of Uppsala)\nDr. Vera Lomazzi (University of Bergamo)\n\n12:00 – 14:00 Lunch\n\n\nThis panel is part of a VICI-project funded by the Dutch Research Council (VI.C.231.0390) URL:https://brias.be/event/political-masculinities-in-europe-public-panel/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260204 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260207 DTSTAMP:20260129T123802Z CREATED:20260129T123802Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260129T123802Z UID:2969-1770163200-1770422399@brias.be SUMMARY:3rd BrIAS Conference on Smart Agriculture DESCRIPTION:We wish to invite you to the 3rd Brussels Institute of Advanced Studies conference on Smart Agriculture BrIAS Agri2026 which will be held on the 4-6th of February 2026 in Brussels. The BrIAS Agri2026 is a recurrent annual event for a multidisciplinary scientific community to present and discuss the most recent studies on smart agriculture. This year\, our collaborators at Research Station for Vegetable Production (Proefstation voor de Gronteteelt) will welcome us for a visit of their facilities on the afternoon of the 6th February. Limited places are available\, click here for more information! \n\n\n\nTopics\n\nModelling and control for the smart agriculture of tomorrow.\nAutomated remote sensing and estimation for agriculture\nSustainable approaches for bio-aggressors control: plant protection molecules and biotechnologies\nPlant-omics and bioinformatics for sustainable agriculture\nPolicy makers corner: cross-talk among regulatory bodies in agriculture\nMetrology for agriculture\nCrop Protection\nInsect Farming Technologies\nRobotics and technologies for precision farming\nBreeding and automatic phenotyping\nModelling of agroecological systems\nAutomatic support to decisions for agriculture\nData-driven approaches for smart agriculture URL:https://brias.be/event/3rd-brias-conference-on-smart-agriculture/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Other Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260203T130000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260203T150000 DTSTAMP:20260204T095836Z CREATED:20251209T081635Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260204T095836Z UID:2524-1770123600-1770130800@brias.be SUMMARY:Thursday Seminars by Gefjon Off DESCRIPTION:Young men’s and women’s gender equality attitudes – a Gen Z gender divide?\nBio\nGefjon Off is a postdoctoral researcher at Hamburg University. Previously\, she was a postdoctoral researcher at Leuphana University of Lüneburg and a PhD student at Gothenburg University. Her research takes a comparative approach to the study of gender and political behavior. It is published in form of a Cambridge Element\, and as journal articles in the European Journal of Political Research and West European Politics\, amongst others.  URL:https://brias.be/event/thursday-seminars-by-gefjon-off/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260202T170000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260202T190000 DTSTAMP:20260216T120513Z CREATED:20251204T091101Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260216T120513Z UID:2487-1770051600-1770058800@brias.be SUMMARY:Public Lecture – Big Ideas for Democracy: Amanda Machin DESCRIPTION:  \nRegister here\nDemocracy and the More-Than-Human Carnivalesque\nAbstract\nFrom corporate zombies to mermaids to dead bees\, political protests have frequently featured comic\, ironic\, grotesque\, absurd and profane moments of the carnivalesque. Carnivalesque activities are said to open heterotopic spaces in which dominant values are subverted\, conventions are transgressed\, and civil disobedience is catalysed. The carnivalesque is interesting for scholars of democracy not only because it entails the production of the common and the enactment of critical citizenship\, but also because it involves the active cultivation of difference. To participate in the carnivalesque is not only to witness otherness but to become other. By dressing up as fantasy figures\, absurd halflings or extinct species\, activists ostensibly perform the more-than-human. In this lecture I consider the appearance of the carnivalesque in protests and its democratic capacity and implications. Do carnivalesque protests challenge political boundaries and promote hybrid identities? Or\, since carnivals are restricted to certain times and places\, do they on the contrary remind us of the rules\, and reinforce the existing order? I point to the dangers of both dismissing and romanticizing the carnivalesque. \nBio\nAmanda Machin is Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Agder in Kristiansand\, Norway. She is interested in the dynamics\, theories\, discourses\, imaginaries\, protests\, identifications\, performances and bodies of ecological and radical democratic transformation and has researched these topics in various positions at universities in UK and Germany before she moved to Norway in 2022. She has published five books including Bodies of Democracy: Modes of Embodied Politics (Transcript 2022) and Negotiating Climate Change: Radical Democracy and the Illusion of Consensus (Zed Books\, 2013). With Marcel Wissenburg she has recently completed editing the collection Environmental Political Theory in the Anthropocene for Edward Elgar. Amanda is also an editor for the journal Environmental Politics and the co-ordinator of a project on the governance of twin transition (RECODE MLG\, funded by Horizon Europe). She also participates in projects on populism in the Nordics (POL-AID\, funded by the Norwegian Research Council) and the project Democracy and Controversy in the green transition (funded by the MWW Foundation). URL:https://brias.be/event/public-lecture-big-ideas-for-democracy-amanda-machin/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260129T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260129T150000 DTSTAMP:20260204T095643Z CREATED:20251209T081457Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260204T095643Z UID:2522-1769688000-1769698800@brias.be SUMMARY:Thursday Seminars by Leonardo Puleo DESCRIPTION:Party-Based Illiberalism in Europe: Why Is Illiberalism Gaining Ground in European Party Systems?\nAbstract\nIlliberalism has entered its hype phase\, increasingly invoked to describe diverse challenges to democracy. Yet the debate remains fragmented between those who treat it as an ideology—often as elusive as liberalism itself—and those who restrict it to the practices of governing actors. Moreover\, existing research focuses on a recurring set of “usual suspects\,” primarily far-right parties\, thereby overlooking potential diffusion among mainstream actors.  \nThe project Party-Based Illiberalism (IllibEU) advances a parsimonious definition of party-based illiberalism as a combination of negative stances toward (i) minorities\, (ii) civic and freedom rights\, and (iii) the horizontal accountability of power—three core pillars of liberal democracy. Contemporary illiberalism may have distinct foci: the most visible manifestations clearly stem from the far right\, yet others may be linked to different ideological orientations—for example\, neoliberal legacies that compress civic and freedom rights. Consequently\, IllibEU treats the ideological correlates of illiberalism as an eminently empirical question to be traced across time and space.  \nThe project combines two analytical levels. First\, a large-N design (12 countries) will map political parties’ illiberal supply by integrating manifesto data and expert-survey indicators (V-Party\, CHES). This broad comparative exploration will test expectations regarding structural socio-economic factors as well as political triggers of contemporary illiberalism (e.g.\, competition with the far right\, polarization\, homogenization of political supply). It will also provide a cartography of contemporary illiberalism\, enabling tests of spatial diffusion dynamics across Europe. In addition\, the large-N analysis will disentangle country-specific peaks in the salience of illiberalism\, offering crucial guidance for structuring a more fine-grained analysis.  \nThe second component of the project consists of an in-depth exploration in four countries. It will examine the implementation of illiberal practices—and instances of resistance and opposition—in IT\, DK\, FR\, and PL through the analysis of governmental decrees and parliamentary debates. The country-level focus will also enable an investigation of the diffusion of illiberal ideas not only within party systems but also across civil society\, assessing the pervasiveness of illiberal think tanks\, CSOs\, and NGOs and their connections with institutional actors.  \nBio\nLeonardo Puleo is a postdoctoral researcher at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). His research examines party competition and voting behavior\, with a particular focus on contemporary challenges to liberal democracy. His new project\, IllibEU: Party-Based Illiberalism in Europe\, funded by the FNRS\, explores the emergence and diffusion of illiberal ideas and practices across European party systems. His work has appeared in several peer-reviewed journals\, including West European Politics\, Political Studies\, Party Politics\, and Democratization.  \n  URL:https://brias.be/event/thursday-seminars-by-leonardo-puleo/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260122T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260122T203000 DTSTAMP:20260115T083624Z CREATED:20251204T163153Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260115T083624Z UID:2503-1769083200-1769113800@brias.be SUMMARY:2026 Season Opening Ceremony DESCRIPTION:The Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies is thrilled to invite you to the opening ceremony of the 2026 BrIAS season on Democratic Governance. The evening will feature a pre-ceremony book launch\, welcome speeches and a keynote talk\, a concert\, and finally\, a reception.\nClick here to register now\n\nProgramme\nAgenda\n\n\n12:00 – 14:00 Pre-Ceremony Book Launch\nDemocratic Commitment: Why Citizens Tolerate Democratic Backsliding\, Prof. Natasha Wunsch (University of Fribourg)\, Oxford University Press\nDiscussant: Prof. Luca Tomini (ULB)\n\nCeremony\n\n16:00 – 16:30 Welcome speeches by BrIAS directors and university authorities\nProf. Em. Frank Deconinck\, BrIAS Co-Director\nProf. Serge Jaumain\, BrIAS Co-Director\nProf. Marius Gilbert\, Vice-Rector for Research and Valorisation and Vice-Rector for Culture and Scientific Mediation\, ULB\nProf. Pieter Ballon\, Vice-Rector for Research\, VUB\n16:30 – 16:45 Introduction to the 2026 BrIAS Theme\nProf. Silvia Erzeel\, BrIAS Programme Co-Director\nProf. Jasper Van Assche\, BrIAS Programme WP Leader\nCamilla Colombo\, OHME Co-Director\n16:45 – 17:00 Singing interlude\nSabine Kabongo\n17:00 – 17:45 Opening speech\nSam van der Staak\, Director of the Regional Europe Programme\, IDEA International\n18:00 Concert\nPerformance by Simon Vaskou (piano) BEETHOVEN Sonate n°23\, op 57 « Appassionata »\n18:30 Reception URL:https://brias.be/event/2026-season-opening-ceremony/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260115T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260115T150000 DTSTAMP:20260204T095816Z CREATED:20251209T081239Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260204T095816Z UID:2520-1768478400-1768489200@brias.be SUMMARY:Thursday Seminars by Anton Jager DESCRIPTION:Hyperpolitics\nHyperpolitics\, or Political Engagement in the New Century \n Abstract\nWhat do the January 6th invasion of the Capitol and the anti-racist demonstrations of mid-2020 have in common? Both birthed some of the largest protest movements in American history\, but also diminished rapidly after their initial\, pre-revolutionary peak. This lecture reads the recent political sequence through the concept of ‘hyperpolitics’. In contrast to previous types of post-politics or mass politics\, ‘hyperpolitics’ stands for a distinctly novel mode of political commitment characteristic of the 2010s\, in which a formerly apolitical public sphere finds itself intensely repoliticized\, imposing itself on other domains such as the private\, cultural\, or economic. The return in question yet also runs across parameters that are more low-cost\, low-entry\, and low-duration than previous twentieth-century types\, in stark contrast Max Weber’s typology of politics as the ‘slow boring of hard boards.’  \n Bio\nAnton Jäger is a lecturer at University College\, Oxford and a columnist for The New York Times.   URL:https://brias.be/event/thursday-seminars-hyperpolitics-by-anton-jager/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260108T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260108T150000 DTSTAMP:20260204T095807Z CREATED:20251209T080835Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260204T095807Z UID:2517-1767873600-1767884400@brias.be SUMMARY:Thursday Seminars by Ruben Van Severen DESCRIPTION:How Citizens View Alternatives to Representative Democracy\nAbstract\nThis talk gives a broad overview of the research conducted within my PhD on how citizens view alternatives to representative democracy at a time of pervasive dissatisfaction with representative institutions. Such alternatives include models that increase the role of experts\, models that strengthen citizen involvement through participatory practices\, and\, in some cases\, models that imply a move away from democracy through support for autocratic leaders. The talk progresses from general to more specific contexts. It begins by examining how stable support for (representative) democracy is in times of crisis and whether such crises increase openness to alternative\, non-democratic systems. It then turns to how citizens evaluate additions to representative democracy\, such as participation tools like referendums and panels\, and whether preferences shift when these tools are applied to ideologically polarized issues. The final part considers how these attitudes play out in practice in a concrete local setting in Belgium\, with particular attention to the perspective of cynical citizens. Throughout the talk\, special attention is given to both psychological explanations and contextual influences. I conclude by distilling three overarching lessons of the PhD and discussing what they reveal about citizens’ preferred ways of complementing representative democracy in the future.   \n  \nBio\nDr. Ruben Van Severen is a political psychologist and postdoctoral researcher affiliated with both the Department of Social Psychology and the Department of Public Governance and Management at Ghent University. His research focuses on citizens’ preferences for alternative decision-making models beyond representative democracy. He investigates what these preferences entail\, how they shift in response to societal times of crisis\, and which psychological factors shape them\, including political cynicism and ideological beliefs.  \nDue to the interdisciplinary nature of his work\, Ruben’s research has been published in journals such as the Policy Studies\, Political Research Exchange\, and Social Psychology\, European Journal of Political Research\, Government Information Quarterly. He is also part of a large-scale project in Flanders on local democratic innovations (https://participatievedemocratie.be/en/).  \n  \n  URL:https://brias.be/event/thursday-seminars-by-ruben-van-severen/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20251218T160000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20251218T180000 DTSTAMP:20251211T083736Z CREATED:20251211T083736Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251211T083736Z UID:2572-1766073600-1766080800@brias.be SUMMARY:Paradoxes of the schooled society\, by Leandros Kavadias DESCRIPTION:Abstract\nOver the past decades\, a silent educational revolution has transformed an increasing amount of countries worldwide into ’schooled societies’. In such societies\, schooling has become a central and authoritative institution that profoundly shapes our thinking\, behavior\, and interrelationships. This lecture examines this trend from a global and comparative perspective and studies its association to education-based inequalities and political conflict. \nAbout the Lecturer\nLeandros Kavadias is a researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Department of Sociology) and the University of Groningen (Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences). His research focusses on the comparative study of institutions and their societal consequences\, specifically regarding social inequalities. His main fields of interest include comparative cultural sociology\, intergroup relations\, globalization and the sociology of education. URL:https://brias.be/event/paradoxes-of-the-schooled-society-by-leandros-kavadias/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20251201T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20251203T180000 DTSTAMP:20251125T104543Z CREATED:20251125T101716Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251125T104543Z UID:2448-1764590400-1764784800@brias.be SUMMARY:Resilient Democracy Online: Reimagining Civic Debate on Social Media. DESCRIPTION:BRIAS and the SoMe4Dem – Social Media for Democracy project invite you to a three-day stakeholder event dedicated to strengthening democratic debate in the digital age.\n\nA stakeholder workshop organized in partnership with BRIAS\nPart of the Horizon Europe project SoMe4Dem \n\nAbout the Event\nHow can democratic debate thrive in an era of online polarisation\, shifting political norms\, and increasingly complex information ecosystems? \nResilient Democracy Online is a three-day event hosted in collaboration with BRIAS as part of the Horizon Europe project SoMe4Dem – Social Media for Democracy. The programme brings together eight partner institutions\, including the Brussels School of Governance\, to examine the causal mechanisms underpinning digital citizenship and democratic engagement. \nThis workshop will explore: \n\nHow European digital ecosystems can build long-term resilience to external disruptions\nTechnical and institutional conditions for open\, healthy civic debate\nWays to foster constructive disagreement and deliberation online\nSocio-technical principles for strengthening democratic use of social media\nInsights from research on polarisation\, cultural memory\, and public trust\n\n\nRegister here URL:https://brias.be/event/resilient-democracy-online/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20251201T083000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20251201T140000 DTSTAMP:20251118T081952Z CREATED:20251118T081952Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251118T081952Z UID:2438-1764577800-1764597600@brias.be SUMMARY:La démocratie en danger : agir contre les violences envers les femmes politiques DESCRIPTION:Brulocalis and its partners organize a study morning dedicated to women in politics\, parity challenges\, and concrete strategies to combat the violence and obstacles that hinder their participation.\n\nWomen in Politics:\nParity\, Violence\, and Democratic Participation\n\nAbout the Event\nThis study morning will address the place of women in politics\, the challenges of gender parity\, and concrete means to combat the violence and barriers that limit their political participation. \nSexism in politics remains a major issue for women’s participation and representation in democratic life. Far beyond individual attitudes\, it is a structural phenomenon that hinders women’s entry into the political sphere\, complicates their trajectory once they hold responsibilities\, and jeopardizes the representation of women’s interests in public policy. \nToo often\, elected women confronted with sexist behaviour\, harassment\, or symbolic and verbal violence are forced to disengage\, give up their mandate\, or choose not to stand for re-election. In this way\, sexism acts as a tool of marginalisation and reinforces the male domination of the political field. \nRecent data in Belgium and across Europe show an increase in violence\, harassment\, and intimidation targeting women engaged in politics — particularly young candidates. Since the 2024 federal\, regional\, and municipal elections\, Belgium has recorded a decline in the number of female candidates\, a worrying trend also observed in other Council of Europe member states. \nIn response to this alarming situation\, Brulocalis and its partners are organising an awareness-raising and dialogue event\, bringing together researchers\, elected officials\, experts\, and political representatives with a shared ambition: to understand\, to testify\, and to act. \n\nProgramme (Provisional)\nAgenda\n\n\n8:30 Welcome coffee\n\nPart 1 – Overview of Political Parity in Belgium and Europe\, Forms of Violence and Cyberharassment (9:00 – 10:45)\n\nIntroduction by Federal Minister for Equal Opportunities Rob Beenders and Christian Lamouline\, President of Brulocalis\nAnalysis of the post-2024 elections situation by Audrey Vandeleene\, postdoctoral researcher and professor\, Department of Political Science\, ULB (CEVIPOL)\, author of the study “Candidat/Candidates” for the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men\nAnalysis of stagnant parity in Brussels municipal bodies after the 2024 elections\, by Alessia Messina\, Gender Officer at Brulocalis\nEuropean perspectives and 2025 data by Annelies Coessens\, Project Officer at CEMR (Council of European Municipalities and Regions)\, author of the study “Women in Politics – Local and European Trends”\nDo we need women in politics? Presentation of a study on gendered ambition and its consequences for the political sphere by Robin Devroe\, VUB & UGent\nForms of violence and cyberharassment by Anne Van Bavel\, postdoctoral researcher at VUB\nSocial media as a ‘new’ public space marked by violence against women\, and female politicians specifically\, by journalist and documentary filmmaker Florence Hainaut\n\nPart 2 – Women in Politics: Between Hopes and Realities (11:00 – 11:45)\nModerated by: Sarra El Massaoudi\, journalist\, trainer\, and speaker \n\nTestimonies from women politicians: resilience and lived experiences in the field\n\nPart 3 – Tools and Resources for Action (11:45 – 13:00)\nDiscover mechanisms and best practices for supporting women in politics: \n\nPreparing and protecting women candidates with ELECTA\nReporting and handling aggressive behaviour\, by Myriam Fayad (Research & Training Service\, Institute for the Equality of Women and Men – IEFH) and Marie Denis (President of the Women’s Rights Advisory Council\, author of guides on coercive control\, co-founder of the Observatory on Violence Against Women)\nMeasures to strengthen women’s political participation at the Brussels regional level\, by Kelly Timperman\, President of the Brussels Council for Equality between Women and Men (CEFH)\nCouncil of Europe standards for fostering equal participation\, by Cécile Gréboval\, Programme Manager\, Gender Mainstreaming – Senior Gender Equality Advisor\, Council of Europe\nClosing remarks by Corinne François\, Director of Brulocalis\n\n13:00 Networking lunch to continue discussions in a friendly atmosphere. URL:https://brias.be/event/la-democratie-en-danger-agir-contre-les-violences-envers-les-femmes-politiques/ LOCATION:ULB\, Salle Dupreel\, Salle Dupréel\, Avenue Jeanne 44\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20251125T083000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20251125T193000 DTSTAMP:20251022T131425Z CREATED:20251022T131230Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251022T131425Z UID:2414-1764059400-1764099000@brias.be SUMMARY:7th Waseda Brussels Conference – Next-Generation Quantum Technology through the Fusion of Nanophotonics and Atomic Physics DESCRIPTION:The Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies and the Waseda University Brussels Office organize the 7th Waseda Brussels Conference on Next-Generation Quantum Technology through the Fusion of Nanophotonics and Atomic Physics. \nWith the support of The Mission of Japan to the European Union. \n\nRegister here\n\nAbout the Conference\nQuantum Sciences and Technologies — new technologies and systems using the properties of quantum mechanics — are among the most dynamic areas of fundamental research and innovation today. They underpin breakthroughs in advanced computing\, artificial intelligence\, sensing and metrology\, biomedical research\, weather and climate modelling\, cybersecurity\, and sustainable energy. \nGiven the major scientific and technological challenges\, the European Union and Japan are intensifying collaboration in quantum research through increased investment\, public-private partnerships\, and coordinated strategies such as the Quantum Europe Strategy\, Japan’s National Quantum Strategy\, and the EU-Japan Letter of Intent on Strengthening Cooperation in Quantum Sciences & Technologies. \nThis conference explores how recent advances in quantum technology — particularly in nanophotonics and atomic physics — are driving the development of large-scale distributed quantum computing and global quantum networks. It also aims to strengthen EU–Japan collaboration through dialogue\, project development\, and funding synergies. \n\n25/11/2025 – Conference Schedule\nAgenda\n\n\n08:30 – 09:00 Registration & Welcome Coffee\n\nWelcome Words & Policy Session\nChair: Jean-Louis Moortgat (Waseda University Brussels Office) \n\nMasahiko Gemma – Vice-President for International Affairs & International Fundraising\, Waseda University\nAnne Weyembergh – Vice-Rector for External Relations & Cooperation\, Université libre de Bruxelles\nFranz Deconinck – Co-Director\, Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies\nH.E. Kazutoshi Aikawa – Ambassador\, Mission of Japan to the European Union\nH.E. Jean-Eric Paquet (video message) – Ambassador of the European Union to Japan\nEuropean representative (TBC)\n\nIntroduction of Quantum Technology in Waseda\n\n10:00 – 10:15 Takao Aoki (Waseda University)\n10:15 – 10:30 Coffee break\n\nSession I – Experiments with Laser-Cooled Atoms\nChair: Takao Aoki (Waseda University) \n\nArno Rauschenbeutel (Humboldt University of Berlin) – Hybrid Trapping of Cold Atoms with Surface Forces and Blue-Detuned Evanescent Light on a Nanophotonic Waveguide\nJulien Laurat (Sorbonne University) – Quantum optics with cold atoms trapped along nanowaveguides\nSebastian Hofferberth (University of Bonn) – Waveguide QED with Rydberg Superatoms\nLucia Hackermueller (University of Nottingham) – Bayesian sensing and photon storage in micromachined waveguides\n\n12:30 – 14:30 Networking Lunch & Poster Session \nSession II – Experiments with Atom-like Systems in Solids\nChair: Darrick Chang (The Institute of Photonic Sciences) \n\nHugues de Riedmatten (ICFO) – Quantum network nodes with nano(micro) scale rare-earth based devices\nHanna Le Jeannic (Sorbonne University) – Quantum Light Generation and Collection via Solid-State Emitters on Optical Nanofibers\n\n15:30 – 15:45 Coffee break \nSession III – Theory\nChair: Arno Rauschenbeutel (Humboldt University of Berlin) \n\nDarrick Chang (ICFO) – Realizing many-body complexity in quantum optics\nSaverio Pascazio (University of Bari) – Dynamics and dissipation in waveguide QED\n\nSession IV – Related Quantum Technologies\nChair: Hugues de Riedmatten (The Institute of Photonic Sciences) \n\nStéphane Trebaol (Institut Foton / University of Rennes) – Visible light sources for quantum technologies\nNicolas Cerf (Université libre de Bruxelles) – From matrix permanents to many-photon multimode interferometry: Violating conjectures on permanents leads to anomalous bunching phenomena\n\nConcluding Words\n\n17:45 – 18:00 Takao Aoki (Waseda University)\n18:00 – 19:30 Farewell Reception\n\n\n\nContact\nJean-Louis Moortgat\nWaseda University Brussels Office\nAvenue Antoine Depage 1\, 1050 Brussels\, Belgium\nhttps://www.waseda.jp/inst/brussels-office/news-en/\nEmail: jean-louis.moortgat@ulb.be\nTel: +32 476 538 320 URL:https://brias.be/event/7th-waseda-brussels-conference-next-generation-quantum-technology-through-the-fusion-of-nanophotonics-and-atomic-physics/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20251001T110000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20251002T160000 DTSTAMP:20250929T064259Z CREATED:20250915T103645Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250929T064259Z UID:1751-1759316400-1759420800@brias.be SUMMARY:Citizens\, Political Organisations and Digital Technologies: Disconnection or/and Reconnection? DESCRIPTION:The Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies and the RELINK2 COST Action organize a collaborative two-day workshop on Citizens\, Political Organisations and Digital Technologies: Disconnection or/and Reconnection?\n\n\nCitizens\, Political Organisations and Digital Technologies:\nDisconnection or/and Reconnection?\n\n\n1-2 October 2025\nCOST Action Relink2 & Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies\nUsquare – 210 Boulevard Général Jacques\, 1050 Ixelles\nAccess via here\n\n\n01/10/2025 – Networking & Stakeholder Roundtables\nAgenda\n\n\n11:00 – 11:30 Arrival and registration\n11:30 – 11:45 Welcome and project presentations\n Caroline Close (BrIAS)\n Michal Jacunski (Action Chair Relink2 CA23114)\n11:45 – 12:30 Networking activity (co-designed with Policy Lab)\n All roundtable participants and panel presenters are kindly invited to attend\n12:30 – 13:30 Lunch\n13:30 – 15:00 Roundtable 1 – Facilitating digital internal participation and deliberation within political actors\n Chair: Ramón Villaplana (University of Murcia)\n Participants:\n Ciarán Cuffe (Co-chair\, European Green Party)\n Pierre-Yves Leveaux (Communication Adviser\, Party of European Socialists Group)\n Alessia Gonfroid (Network Officer\, European Network of Political Foundations)\n \n15:00 – 15:30 Coffee break\n15:30 – 17:00 Roundtable 2 – Sharing best practices on the use of digital tools to engage hard-to-reach groups\n Chair: Caroline Close\n Participants:\n Paulo Rosa (Policy analyst\, European Commission’s Joint Research Centre)\n Hendrik Nahr (Head of European Affairs\, Make.org)\n Nadia Tjahja (Coordinator\, Youth Dialogue on Internet Governance)\n Giulia Sandri (R&D Manager\, European Citizen Action Service)\n \n17:00 – 18:00 Drink\n\n\n\n02/10/2025 – Academic Workshop\nAgenda\n\n\n8:30 – 9:00 Arrival and registration\n9:00 – 9:10 Welcome\n Caroline Close (BrIAS)\n Jasmin Fitzpatrick (Action Vice-Chair Relink2 CA23114)\n9:15 – 10:45 Parallel sessions\n\nPanel session 1: E-government and digital inclusion\nChair: Giulia Sandri (Université libre de Bruxelles)\n Discussant: Dmytro Khutkyy (University of Tartu) \n\nMansi\, Egla; Bonomi\, Andrea – (Re)Connecting Citizens through Digital Public Services: Examining the Role of E-Government in Political Trust and Democratic Engagement\nKapsa\, Izabella – Reconnecting or Excluding? Online Voting in Participatory Budgeting in Polish Cities\nGueorguieva\, Pétia – Digital local policies and digital needs to improving citizens participation\n\nPanel session 2: Digital technologies and democratic risks\nChair: Gabriela Borz (University of Strathclyde)\n Discussants: Felix Von Nostitz (ESPOL)\, Dmytro Khutkyy (University of Tartu) \n\nAquida\, Salma – Reactive Democracy and the Illusion of Digital Reconnection in Southeast Asia\nJanušauskienė\, Diana – Digital Exclusion: A Critical Analysis of Underlying Causes\nPandey\, Shipi – Disconnecting Democracy: AI\, Digital Infrastructures\, and the Simulated Inclusion of Marginalised Citizens in India\nCeballos\, Pablo – AI Regulation and Democratic Risks: A Critical Analysis of Human Rights in El Salvador\n\n10:45 – 11:15 Break \nPanel session 3: Political actors and digital tactics\nChair: Emilien Paulis (University of Luxemburg)\n Discussant: Lucas Kins (Université libre de Bruxelles) \n\nPereira\, André – Digital Youth Engagement and Party Strategies in Portugal’s 2024-2025 Elections\nBarrat\, Jordi – How public institutions supervise political parties when online voting is used for internal decision-making\nDechung\, Zhang – From Tweets to Tactics: Unravelling State-backed Propaganda on Twitter\nSchoeman\, Smilla – How personal data is used by political parties and private companies for election campaigning in South Africa\n\nPanel session 4: Digital Citizenry and Democratic Governance\nChair: Oscar Barberà (University of Valencia)\n Discussant: Thomas Legein (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) \n\nMompó\, Adrià; Lupato\, Fabio G. – Political parties and their membership: a new role for a declining group in a new environment?\nBoja\, Morena – Digital Technologies and Democratic Governance in the Western Balkans: Threats\, Opportunities\, and Outcomes\nKouiyache\, Omar – Theorizing Reconnection: New Frameworks for Understanding Digital Citizenship\nMartins\, Pedro – Refugee Collective Intelligence in the Digital Age: Interactive Methods and the Role of Policymaker Engagement\n\n12:45 – 14:00 Lunch \n14:00 – 15:00 Plenary discussion\n Synthesis of insights and identification of research priorities and synergies\n Chair: Jasmin Fitzpatrick (Action Vice-Chair Relink2 CA23114) \n15:15 – 15:30 Closing remarks and next steps\n Caroline Close (BrIAS)\n Jasmin Fitzpatrick (Action Vice-Chair Relink2 CA23114) URL:https://brias.be/event/citizens-political-organisations-and-digital-technologies-disconnection-or-and-reconnection/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20250915T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20250915T150000 DTSTAMP:20250915T105334Z CREATED:20250915T093457Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250915T105334Z UID:1745-1757937600-1757948400@brias.be SUMMARY:Investigating the Dynamics of Destructive Polarisation in Public Communication DESCRIPTION:BrIAS invites you to the first lunchtime seminar of the new Programme theme “Democratic Challenges” with Prof. Axel Bruns: \nInvestigating the Dynamics of Destructive Polarisation in Public Communication\nAbstract:\nThe focus of concerns about societal fragmentation in public communication is shifting. Instead of the retreat into echo chambers and filter bubbles that had been assumed in previous research\, and which has not been confirmed by empirical evidence\, greater emphasis is now being placed on polarisation along issue\, ideological\, and identity lines. \nMild forms of polarisation can be productive\, but at elevated levels it variously leads individuals to dismiss alternative viewpoints\, to attack political opponents verbally and even physically\, and to embrace and disseminate (dis)information because of its ideological stance rather than its truthfulness. \nSocial media play a particular role as a public space where such dynamics manifest\, and activities there are themselves fed by material from mainstream as well as fringe media. \nThis presentation introduces destructive polarisation as a particularly pernicious form of polarisation that is distinguished by a number of distinct symptomatic features\, and outlines practice mapping as a novel approach to analysing such polarised debates. \nPresenter bio:\nAxel Bruns is an Australian Laureate Fellow and Professor in the Digital Media Research Centre at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane\, Australia\, and a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society. \nHis books include Are Filter Bubbles Real? (2019) and Gatewatching and News Curation: Journalism\, Social Media\, and the Public Sphere (2018)\, and the edited collections Digitizing Democracy (2019)\, the Routledge Companion to Social Media and Politics (2016)\, and Twitter and Society (2014). \nHis current research focusses on public communication in digital and social media environments\, with particular attention to the dynamics of polarisation\, partisanship\, and problematic information\, and their implications for our understanding of the contemporary public sphere. His work draws especially on innovative methods for analysing big social data. \nHe served as President of the Association of Internet Researchers in 2017–19. His research blog is at http://snurb.info/\, and he posts on Mastodon at @snurb@aoir.social and on Bluesky at @snurb.info. URL:https://brias.be/event/investigating-the-dynamics-of-destructive-polarisation-in-public-communication/ LOCATION:BrIAS\, Boulevard Général Jacques 210\, Ixelles\, Brussels\, 1050\, Belgium CATEGORIES:Programme Events END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR