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Brendan Reid has just joined the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (URBE) team in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science. This unit functions as a collaborative ecosystem, bringing together skills and expertise to advance research on organisms and their dynamic interactions with the environment. Dive into aquatic and semi-aquatic research!

Nathalie Burnay, professor at the EMCP Faculty and researcher at the Transitions Institute, has just been awarded prestigious WELChange funding from the F.R.S-FNRS for her interdisciplinary research project dedicated to extending careers. This is a highly topical social issue, which she is tackling in collaboration with a team of demographers from UCLouvain.

It's official: the University of Namur joins the Réseau d'Échanges et de Liaisons entre Institutions d'Enseignement Supérieur Francophones (RELIEF). It thus becomes the fourth partner in this network, alongside the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), the Université Savoie Mont Blanc and the Haute École Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale (HES-SO).

Program 12:45 | Welcome13:00 - 13:10 | Introduction by the Center's Co-Directors: Stéphanie Wattier and Géraldine Mathieu:Combating sexual violence - Legal approaches13:10 - 14:00 | FIRST ROUND TABLE: SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDRENModerator : Nathalie Colette-Basecqz (professor at UNamur)The sexual self-determination of online minors in the light of their vulnerability | Géraldine Mathieu (professor at UNamur), Emma Bourcelet (assistant at UNamur)Child sexual assault allegations and civil accommodation litigation | Michaël Mallien (lecturer at UNamur), Céline Derclaye (assistant at UNamur) and Pauline Mailleux (assistant at UNamur)Sexual violence committed by members of the Church | Stéphanie Wattier (professor at UNamur) and Romain Mertens (lecturer at UNamur)14:05- 14h55 | SECOND ROUND TABLE: SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST OTHER VULNERABLE PERSONSModerator: Stéphanie Wattier (professor at UNamur)La libération de la parole des personnes en situation de handicap victimes de violences sexuelles | Justine Dehon (coordinatrice et chargée de projets pour le service Handicap & Santé)Les violences sexuelles à l'égard des personnes âgées | Albert Evrard (lecturer at the Institut catholique de Toulouse)The administrative approach to sexual violence on higher education campuses from a disciplinary angle | Marc Nihoul (professor at UNamur)Sexual violence committed during the Rwandan genocide: 30 years later, new convictions by the Brussels Assize Court | Elise Delhaise (lecturer at UNamur)Obstetric violence and the question of consent | Charlotte Lambert (assistant at UNamur) and Margaux Thiry (assistant at UNamur)The assessment of physical injury to victims of sexual violence | Pauline Colson (lecturer at UNamur)3:00 pm | Coffee breakcafé15h20 | THIRD ROUND TABLE: COMBATTING SEXUAL VIOLENCE ON THE GROUND TESTIMONIALSModerator: Géraldine Mathieu (professor at UNamur)Introduction to psycho-traumatic mechanisms linked to sexual violence | Gwendoline Faravel (project manager and peer-aidante) et Céline Campanella (psychologue)Présentation de la Lawyers Victim assistance | Pascale Poncin (avocate) 17h10 | Conclusions17h25 | Verre de l'amitiéInfos pratiquesLa demande d'intervention pour les frais des magistrats a été introduite auprès de l'IFJ (en cours).- €95.00 incl. VAT: conference registration with book - Free registration for UNamur students and members I want to register

JuryProf. Eli THORÉ (UNamur), PresidentProf. Patrick KESTEMONT (UNamur), SecretaryProf. Ranjàna RANDRIANARIVO (Université d'Antananarivo)Dr. Valérie CORNET (UNamur)Dr. Omayma MISSAWI (UNamur)Prof. Catherine MOUNEYRAC (Université Catholique de l'Ouest)Prof. Gauthier EPPE (ULiège)SummaryThe widespread production and use of plastics have led to their continuous release into the environment. Microplastics (MPs) are now ubiquitous in aquatic ecosystems, where their bioavailability to organisms and potential entry into the food web raise serious environmental and public health concerns. Substantial progress has been made in understanding MP toxicity, and their hazardous potential is now widely acknowledged. However, MP toxicity studies remain complex, as multiple particle characteristics, such as size, shape, polymer type, and sorbed contaminants might influence both bioavailabilityTo bridge this gap, the present thesis adopted a dual, complementary approach: (i) characterizing the environmental occurrence and bioavailability of MPs, and (ii) assessing the ecological relevance of using environmentally derived MPs in in vivo toxicity experiments.Overall, this thesis provides insights into the reproductive and transgenerational effects of environmentally relevant MPs while underscoring the importance of considering particle-pollutant interactions. By combining in situ field data with in vivo laboratory experiments, it demonstrates that the use of environmentally derived MPs represents a more realistic and ecologically meaningful approach to hazard characterization. Further studies should be carried out in this same perspective to generate robust, exploitable data and contribute to establishing a comprehensive MP risk characterization.

South America is a subcontinent rich in natural and cultural resources. Between biodiversity preservation and development cooperation, UNamur maintains valuable partnerships to address the challenges of biodiversity loss and understand current socio-economic transformations. Immersion in Ecuador and Peru. 

The lack of primary care is a major public health issue. In 2022, it was estimated that 52 municipalities in French-speaking Belgium were facing a severe shortage of general practitioners. This is a worrying situation that the University Observatory for Rural Medicine (OUMRu) has been addressing since 2023, with the aim of identifying concrete solutions. Working alongside a doctor and a health geographer, Amélie Pierre, a sociologist and lecturer at the Faculty of Economics, Management and Communication SciencesPo (EMCP), is studying the factors that influence access to healthcare, particularly from the patients' point of view. She emphasizes the need to take into account the realities experienced by vulnerable groups.

JuryProf. Nicolas DENDONCKER (UNamur), PresidentProf. Sabine HENRY (UNamur), SecretaryDr. Sébastien DUJARDIN (UNamur)Prof. Pierre OZER (ULiège)Prof. Emmanuel TWARABAMENYE (University of Rwanda)Prof. Caroline MICHELLIER (MRAC and UCLouvain)AbstractThis research investigates community vulnerability to landslides and floods in Northwestern Rwanda, hazards that frequently interact to produce compound disasters. The research focused on understanding the institutional, social, and structural factors that shape vulnerability and adaptive capacity in this disaster-prone region. Using a mixed-methods approach at local-scale, including institutional analysis, household surveys (n = 904), and field observations, the research highlights how vulnerability is shaped by socio-economic conditions, weak institutional coordination, and limited adaptive capacity. A Contextualized Vulnerability Index (CoVI) was developed to map vulnerability patterns, revealing particularly high vulnerability in landslide-prone and dual-hazard zones. The analysis of adaptive capacity showed that while awareness of hazards is high due to lived experiences, financial constraints, and limited technical knowledge hinder communities' ability to adapt effectively. The study contributes to the literature on social vulnerability and disaster risk reduction by emphasizing the importance of locally grounded, evidence-based strategies to strengthen community resilience in hazard-prone regions.

Our keynote speakers for 2026 are Professor Roosmarijn Vandenbroucke (Ghent University) and Professor Nelly Litvak (Eindhoven University of Technology). More information on the "Women in Science" website

The IBAF Meetings have been organized since 2003, every two years since 2008, by the Ion Beams Division of the French Vacuum Society (SFV), the oldest national vacuum society in the world, which celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2025.As in previous editions, IBAF 2026 will offer a rich and varied program with guest lectures, oral and poster presentations, and technical sessions. All this will be complemented by an industrial presence to promote exchanges between research and innovation. The conference will cover a wide range of topics, from ion beam instruments and techniques to the physics of ion-matter interactions, including the analysis and modification of materials, applications in the life sciences, earth and environmental sciences, and heritage sciences. More information on the IBAF2026 website

The F.R.S.-FNRS has just published the results of its various 2025 calls for proposals. These include the "Credits & Projects" and "WelCHANGE" calls, as well as the "FRIA" (Fund for Research Training in Industry and Agriculture) and "FRESH" (Fund for Research in the Humanities) calls, which aim to support doctoral theses. What are the results for UNamur? Twenty-eight projects have been selected, demonstrating the quality and richness of research at UNamur. 

This seminar is aimed at researchers as well as (future) childcare professionals - educators, carers, childcare workers - who wish to question this issue and equip themselves to better listen to and include young children. Thanks to an interdisciplinary, cross-border approach, experts from the fields of psychology, pedagogy, law and the human sciences will share their knowledge and experience. This time of exchange will provide a better understanding of how to foster children's information and participation by adapting to their abilities and needs. Registrations Read more