Current affairs with Act’UNamur

Gathered in teams of three to five players, students from the Faculty of Economics, Management, and Communication Sciences (EMCP) competed in a general knowledge quiz for nearly two hours on February 26 in a friendly yet competitive atmosphere. Questions organized by theme—politics, sports, culture, international affairs—focusing on the year 2025 were prepared by Maxime Verbesselt and Louis Liégeois, assistants in the Department of Social, Political, and Communication Sciences, as well as by students in the information & communication and political science programs. At each change of theme, one student from each team took to the keyboard to try to score points for their teammates on questions as varied as "Where did COP30 take place?", "Which artist performed at the 2025 Super Bowl?" and "In what year did Jean-Marie Le Pen qualify for the second round of the French presidential elections?" The prize: $35 gift certificates to be spent in Namur shops. 

Behind this fun initiative lies a strong educational ambition. " Act'UNamur is a PUNCh (Pédagogie Universitaire Namuroise en Changement) project led by professors Anne-Sophie Collard and Fanny Barnabé . It aims both to encourage students to keep up with current events and to build bridges between students from different study programs," summarizes Maxime Verbesselt.

The quiz is an extension of the practical work in the course "Fundamentals of Communication and News Processing," taught this year to information and communication and political science students by Esther Haineaux and to be taken over next year by Anne-Sophie Collard and Fanny Barnabé. " Throughout the first semester, these students prepared for and participated in weekly tests on current events, the results of which count toward their overall grade," continues Maxime Verbesselt. "The quiz on February 26 follows this logic, but opens it up to all students in the Faculty, regardless of their field of study, in a relaxed atmosphere with no assessment at stake. " To encourage this collaboration between departments, the mixed teams were allowed to answer a bonus question at the end of each round. The match ended in a perfect tie, and despite an extra round to try to break the deadlock between the two teams, the score remained level. The winners therefore finally decided to split the winnings.

Whether it was to test their knowledge, take on a challenge, or simply share a good time with friends, everyone had their own motivation for trying to win the faculty quiz: "In terms of preparation, I dug out my notes for the year 2025 and looked for the key facts. I had also suggested some of the questions, so I was happy to see them included. I'm also lucky to have a good memory," says Léa, a member of one of the two winning teams in this latest edition and a communications student. "I quite like quizzes and was attracted by the challenge. I didn't really prepare, but I follow the news a lot and have a good general knowledge," adds Antoine, an economics and management student.

Building on the success of this first edition, the Act'UNamur team is already looking forward to next year, with perhaps even more participants taking up the challenge!