Conference - The elimination of unemployment benefits: What are the impacts and what recourse is available?
Program and speakers
Explanation of the reform - Mr. La TorreMain changes relating to the abolition of unemployment benefits and their implementation. The standstill obligation - S. RemouchampsLegal and constitutional analysis of the reform in light of the principle of non-regression.Judicial perspective on the reform - Mr. SimonOverview of certain contentious issues and possible avenues of appeal for citizens deprived of their rights.Right to RIS and/or social assistance - A. MichelThe process of submitting an application to the CPAS.
Registrations
Registration is required via https://www.ajn.be (payment confirms registration).Advance registration fee (payment by January 23, 2026): €40 (€20 for trainee lawyers)Standard price for payments received after January 23, 2026: €50 (€25 for trainee lawyers)Free for students (enter a student email address or send a copy of your student card)Payment to bank account BE16 6301 8124 6074 - AJN AsblReference: "29-01-2026 + participant's name."Accreditation request pending for IFJ, OBFG, and IJE. Further information: ajn@unamur.be.
Registration form
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Conference - The Ombudsman: Administrative Mediation
Program
1001 questions about the Ombudsman - How can administrative mediation be used as an effective tool for dispute resolution?The scope and added value of administrative mediationThe matters in which the Ombudsman can interveneThe types of disputes concerned and the concrete solutions you can obtain.Taking a resolutely practical approach, our two experts explain when and why to call on the Ombudsman, how to initiate administrative mediation, and how to make it an effective tool for quickly resolving your disputes!SpeakersNicolas Lagasse | Joint Mediator for Wallonia and the Wallonia-Brussels Federation; President of the Association of Ombudsmen and Mediators of La Francophonie (AOMF); member of the Belgian network of mediatorsBenoit Havet | Lawyer at the Walloon Brabant Bar, specializing in urban planning, environmental, and real estate law; lecturer at the ULB and UMons
Registrations
Registration is required via https://www.ajn.be (payment confirms registration).Advance registration fee (payment before February 20, 2026): €40 (€30 for trainees)Price after February 20, 2026: €50 (€40 for interns)Free for students upon presentation of student IDAccreditation request in progress for IFJ, OBFG, FRNB, and IJE. Further information: ajn@unamur.be.
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International Conference - Beyond the State: New Perspectives on the Conceptual Relationships Between Constitution and Society
Constitutionalism, understood as a means of establishing a political autonomous from society, is seen as having constructed the opposition between the State and society. At the same time, the concept of constitutionalism is increasingly being used to describe other forms of social power and normativity – such as the economy, finance, digital, technologies, media, environment – even though the concrete and theoretical implications of these shifts have not always been fully clarified. More recent trends have emerged within the framework of socio-constitutionalism or societal constitutionalism to challenge the reduction of constitutional issues to state-individual relations, acknowledging the complexity of power. Despite their heterogeneity in assumptions, as well as in their descriptive, normative, and theoretical dimensions, these approaches have contributed to renewing the inquiry into the relationship between constitution and society. The purpose of the conference is to assess the current boundaries of constitutionalism and to explore theoretical proposals seeking to overcome them. These approaches raise several fundamental questions: What role should be granted to social actors and sectors within constitutionalism? How can their normative autonomy be acknowledged while also regulating their private power and expansionist tendencies? To what extent do these transformations challenge traditional forms of politics? At what cost might the relationship between constitution and society be reconsidered today?
Program
January 299:00 a.m. Welcome9:30-10:00 Introduction: Manon Altwegg-Boussac (Paris-Est Creteil University/IUF) and Sabina Tortorella (MSCA/University of Namur)From State to Society: New Challenges for ConstitutionalismChair: Isabelle Aubert (Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne University)10:00-10:30 Thomas Boccon-Gibod (Grenoble Alpes University): Relationships between Constitution and Society10:30-11:00 Simone Mao Zhenting (Harvard University): Constitutionalizing Society in an Age of Fragmented Authority: From State-Centrism to Social Constitutional Norms11:00-11:30 Discussion11:30-12:00 Coffee Break12:00-12:30 Angelo Jr Golia (Luiss Guido Carli): Societal Constitutionalism and General Theory of Law (beyond the State): Norm, Order, Interpretation12:30-12:45 Discussion12:45-14:30 LunchMoving Beyond the Nation-State: Theoretical PerspectivesChair: Eleonora Bottini (Sciences Po)2:30-3:00 p.m. Jean-François Kervégan (Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne University): Politics below and beyond the State: Schmitt and Kojève in Comparative Perspective3:00-3:30 p.m. Paul Linden-Retek (University at Buffalo School of Law): Postnational Society and its Law3:30-4:00 Discussion4:00-4:30 p.m. Coffee BreakNew Conceptual Tools: Alterity and DerogationChair: Eleonora Bottini (Sciences Po)4:30-5:00 p.m. Horatia Muir Watt (Sciences Po): On the Borderline (and beyond the State): Ontologizing Alterity on the Terms of the Law5:00-5:30 p.m. Raffaele Bifulco (Luiss Guido Carli): Derogation as Legal Response to Social Differentiation5:30-6:00 p.m. Discussion6:00 p.m. DinnerJanuary 309:00 a.m. WelcomeMapping Sectoral Constitutions: Case StudiesChair: Sabina Tortorella (MSCA/University of Namur)9:30-10:00 Francesco Martucci (Panthéon-Assas University): Trust and Distrust. State, Society, and Money in the Digital Era10:00-10:30 Nefeli Lefkopoulou (Sciences Po): Exploring Constitutional Narratives in Meta’s Oversight Board: Replicating or Renewing Traditional Constitutionalism?10:30-11:00 Discussion11:00-11:30 Coffee Break11:30-12:00 Manuela Niehaus (University of Administrative Sciences Speyer): Global Climate Constitutionalism beyond the State?12:00-12:30 Mathilde Laporte (Pau University): The Debated Protection of Constitutional Rights within Social Orders beyond the State. The Example of Gated Communities12:30-1:00 p.m. Discussion1:00-2:30 p.m. LunchCritical Insights: Take the Leap?Chair: Manon Altwegg-Boussac (Paris-Est Creteil University/IUF)2:30-3:00 p.m. Chris Thornhill (University of Birmingham): The Military in Sociological Constitutionalism3:00-3:15 Discussion3:15-3:45 p.m. Coffee Break3:45-4:15 p.m. Jörn Reinhardt (Fulda University of Applied Sciences): Regression and Progress in Constitutionalism beyond the State4:15-4:45 p.m. Martin Loughlin (LSE): The Concept of Constitution4:45-5:15 Discussion5:15 p.m. Cocktail
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Study Day - Tourism in the face of climate change: between risks and opportunities
The morning will be devoted to presenting the detailed results of the study and putting them into perspective in the broader context of current economic, social, and environmental issues.The afternoon will give the floor to stakeholders in the field through testimonials and round tables, illustrating how the tourism sector is adapting to the challenges posed by climate change. Registration and detailed program here: Walloon tourism in the face of climate change: between risks and opportunities (January 26, 2026): Home · UNamur Event (Indico)
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New KàPs Series - Episode 3 | Inclusio
The KàPs, or UNamur project houses, are themed houses that organize a whole range of activities and events. This year, we are introducing the new KàPs, as a follow-up to last year's "Cap sur les KàPs" series. This week, we're talking about inclusivity with Inclusio.
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The warlike desires of modernity
After a presentation of the book, Déborah V. Brosteaux will be interviewed by Thibault De Meyer and Vivien Giet.Free admission. Everyone is welcome.Book presentationFaced with the wars in which European countries are involved, we constantly oscillate between numbness and frenzy. Some war situations give rise to emotional heatedness, a "renewed" psychic and social energy, while others are barely mentioned, relegated to the background. This philosophical investigation delves into the ambivalence of our relationship to war, which is at the heart of the sensitive history of modernity.Inspired by the writings of Walter Benjamin, W. G. Sebald, and Klaus Theweleit, the book explores these warlike emotions throughout the 20th century and questions their legacy: the coldness of distancing, the denial of the ruins after 1945, the desire to intensify the experience of self, which mobilized the imagination in 1914-1918 and was swallowed up in the trenches... even mutating into fascist passions that actively fed on the devastation.Déborah V. Brosteaux takes these desires seriously, including their appeal. And she asks: what emotional transformations can be activated to resist the mobilization of war?
More information about the ARCADIE Center
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Charlotte Beaudart: A researcher committed to healthy aging
For about a decade, a disease has been attracting the attention of the medical community. Its name: sarcopenia. This condition affects more than 10% of people over the age of 65 and is characterized by a significant loss of muscle mass and strength. Charlotte Beaudart, a member of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and the NARILIS Research Institute, has made a name for herself on the international stage in recent years by contributing to a better understanding of this disease and raising awareness about it.
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A new Board of Directors for UNamur, chaired by Pierre Crevits
At its meeting on January 23, 2026, the Board of Directors (BoD) of UNamur appointed its chair and vice-chair from among its members. Pierre Crevits, CEO of Dexia and chair of the BoD of Namur Invest, succeeds Cédric Visart de Bocarmé. Jacques Gérard (member of the ATG body) will now serve as Vice-Chair of the Board. Their term of office will be four years.
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The CRef expresses its support for the students and staff of the universities affected by the recent attack on the campus of Birzeit University and by the armed repression in Iran
Press release from the Rectors’ Council of French-speaking universities in Belgium, 26 January 2026.
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More inclusive, more athletic: UNamur launches a sports hall and housing project
The University of Namur has announced the development of a major project aimed at increasing the availability of student housing and creating modern sports facilities just a stone's throw from the city center, on Avenue des Croix du Feu. The project is part of the institution's policy to improve the quality of life on campus. The site will also be accessible to external partners, including Henallux. The consortium comprising Thomas & Piron Bâtiment and DDS+ has been selected to carry out the project. A permit has just been submitted and a public inquiry will be held from February 2 to 16, 2026.
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Birth control pills: anticipating the risk of thrombosis for safer prescribing
How can women be better protected against the risks of thrombosis associated with the contraceptive pill? Researchers from the Department of Pharmacy at UNamur have just developed an innovative prediction model that can estimate the risk of thrombosis associated with taking combined oral contraceptives at an earlier stage. The ultimate goal is to support healthcare professionals in prescribing the right pill for each patient.
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Film discussion based on Sammy Baloji's film "The Tree of Authenticity"
Event description
We are pleased to invite you to a screening of the film "The Tree of Authenticity" directed by Sammy Baloji, followed by a discussion with:Danielle Leenaerts: Doctor of Contemporary Art HistoryStéphanie Ngalula: Decolonial activist and intersectional feminist.Synopsis: "In the heart of the Congolese forest, the remains of the Yangambi INERA research station, dedicated to tropical agriculture, reveal the weight of the colonial past and its links to current climate change. Through the voices of Paul Panda Farnana and Abiron Beirnaert, two scientists who worked at Yangambi between 1910 and 1950, The Tree of Authenticity traces the ecological destruction that began during Belgian colonization. The film combines personal testimonies and scientific discoveries to explore the legacy of Belgian colonization and its impact on human lives and the natural world. It is a poignant portrait of lives across different cultures and a warning about what awaits us if we do not change our relationship with the environment."
Practical information
Date: Monday, February 9Time: Screening at 6:30 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.) followed by a discussionLocation: Quai 22FreeReservations are preferred via this form: https://forms.office.com/e/qU1x3Gzex9?origin=lprLink or by email: info@fucid-unamur.be
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