The biodiversity crisis isn't just destroying nature: it's also threatening our societies, our well-being and our survival. Based on the scientific assessments and findings of the IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services), this Francqui Chair will explore our toxic relationship with nature, the global failure to protect it, and the multiple values of living things.

Speaker: Sander Jacobs, Senior Researcher at INBO (Institute for Nature and Forestry), Nature & Society research group, Coordinator of the Urban Nature research program and Visiting Professor at Ghent University.

19/11/2025 - Inaugural lecture | Biodiversity crisis: causes, consequences, and how (not) to get out of it.

This Francqui Chair offers a fresh look at the advances but also the tensions that today characterize the way the law organizes society's relationship with the environment. If the ambition to protect the environment has indeed become a legal issue, how are its essential mainsprings evolving, whether in climate matters, in the relationship to human health, or in the status accorded to nature?

The organization of this Chair is fully integrated into the Law School's Fil Rouge 2025-2026 dedicated to this substratum essential to life that is the environment, nature, our earth: "Réenchanter la terre".

Orator: Delphine Misonne, Senior Research Fellow FNRS, Professor at UCLouvain, Director of CEDRE and member of the Royal Academy of Belgium.

27/11/2025 - Inaugural Lesson I Protecting the environment beyond politics

In early October, it was with their hands in the sand that Bac 2 and Bac 3 students from UNamur's Geography Department were able to gain a very concrete understanding of the flooding mechanism. "This activity was organized in partnership with the asbl Contrat de Rivière Ourthe," explains Sébastien Dujardin, teacher-researcher in the Geography Department. "Our students had the opportunity to use a 3D augmented reality sandbox, developed as part of the EXACT LAB project (Exploration 3D et Adaptation aux Conséquences des Changements Climatiques sur un Territoire)", he details.

During this activity, students modeled the relief by hand and simulated virtual rainfall to observe runoff on the ground, thanks to 3D Kinect technology. Various layers of geographic information, such as topographic maps, aerial photos and runoff maps, were then projected onto the relief to further the reflection.

Students were able to explore how rivers work, concepts related to flooding (return period, amount of precipitation, hydrometry, etc.), and analyze the territorial issues most at risk (schools, homes, roads). They also discussed and tested various planning measures, such as hedge planting, the creation of stormwater basins and ditches, taking into account natural and human constraints.

"This activity was an excellent opportunity for our students to develop their risk culture, essential in the face of the growing challenges of drought and flooding," Sébastien Dujardin points out again. "The topic of flooding is more topical than ever and represents a major societal challenge. It perfectly illustrates our educational approach: observe, understand and act to better harmonize human activities with an ever-changing environment," he concludes.

Alison Castremanne student in Bac 3 Geography

"This activity highlighted the importance of participatory planning and management involving the various stakeholders in the territory to deal with issues such as flooding. For example, we found that anti-flooding practices implemented upstream can have a significant impact on flows downstream. Modeling through this activity has enabled us to visualize in concrete terms the flows and preventive practices adapted to the geographical context (topography, location of villages in relation to slopes, budgetary constraints, etc.). What I particularly appreciate about UNamur is the dynamism of the training, which combines enriching practical activities (field days, workshops, group work) with high-quality theoretical teaching. What's more, the proximity and commitment of the professors and assistants offer attentive and enriching support for students."

Léo Raymond student in BAC3 geography

"The "sandbox" tool helped me understand that a territory is never uniform: development that is conceivable across a commune is not at all so 5 km away. From this point of view, it's very important to analyze what's around us and react accordingly to avoid too much damage."

What fascinates me about my studies in geography is the diversity of the subject we tackle. Whether it's environmental, anthropocentric or even economic, everything is tackled and this enables us to build up a very important knowledge base for the future."

Are you interested in studying geography? Find out more about our training courses!

The Confluent des Savoirs, local organizers of the event, wanted to focus on one of the societal missions of research: popularized communication to a wide audience.

Annick Castiaux, Rector of UNamur, introduced the competition with the rediscovery of a sequence from the 1998 program Matière Grise, in which she presented, in two minutes, the objective of her research in optical physics. Encouraging young researchers to learn how to communicate in lay terms, Annick Castiaux stressed the need to adapt codified scientific discourse to reduce the distance between university research and other players in society. Presented by Aline Wilmet of Confluent des Savoirs, the event was an opportunity to explore the history of the competition at UNamur and to exchange experiences with former candidates.

This year, 12 candidates took part in this local final: Manel Barkallah (computer science), Louis Rassinfosse (physics), Charline Focant (biology), Guillaume Nguyen (computer science), Yves Blanco Alvarez (biology), Alexandra Decloux (veterinary medicine), Adélie Lannoy (biology), Loris Chavée (physics), Yasmine Akaichi (computer science), Valentin Job (physics), Antoine Hubermont (computer science) and Camille Morlinghem (geography).

Their performances were enthusiastically received by the audience: 280 people gathered in the Rosalind Franklin auditorium to discover the latest in interdisciplinary research and its societal challenges. In order to prepare them optimally for the demands of the competition and those of their thesis or lecture defense, candidates benefited from training in popularized communication, the construction of a structured pitch, as well as appropriate speaking and body language.

The candidates' pitches were evaluated by a jury of professionals in the field of scientific communication and popularization: Géraldine Tran, editor-in-chief of Athena, SPW's science mag; Nathan Uyttendaele, statistician and web popularizer via his YouTube channel "Chat Sceptique"; Charlotte Benedetti, director of Pavillon (KIKK asbl) in Namur and François-Xavier Fiévez, pedagogue, didactician and improviser, Vice-Rector for Student and Social Affairs at UNamur.

The regional competition is the first step in the MT180 adventure. The three winners from Namur will represent UNamur at the national final to be held on May 16 at the Solbosch campus in Brussels. The winner will represent Belgium this autumn at the international final in Abidjan (Ivory Coast).

On May 16, 2024, we'll be celebrating 10 years of the MT180 competition at the national finals to be held on ULB's Solbosch campus in Brussels. At this event, 15 PhD students, including the 3 UNamur prizewinners, will take up the challenge of popularizing their thesis topic with clarity to captivate an uninformed audience, in 3 minutes flat!

The jury will be made up of 6 personalities from French-speaking universities, the press and the world of popular science. The winner will represent Belgium at the international competition to be held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, the week of November 18, 2024.

Ce 17 février 2023, elle reçoit le deuxième Prix de la recherche 2022 décerné par le comité Femmes et Science de l’ARES, portant sur la thématique « Genre et environnement ». Depuis 2020, Jelena Luyts réalise son doctorat sur l’adaptation aux changements environnementaux au Sénégal, avec un focus particulier sur le comportement différencié des hommes et des femmes.

Ces questions sont au centre de la recherche de Jelena Luyts, Doctorante au Département de géographie de l’UNamur, sous la supervision de Sabine Henry et Florence de Longueville. Dans sa thèse, elle explore les différences de genre dans les choix et le moment de ces choix adaptatifs en milieu rural sénégalais, en utilisant une approche qualitative originale.  « L’accent est mis d’une part sur la place de la migration dans la chronologie de l’adaptation, car la complexité du phénomène soulève le besoin de l’examiner plus en profondeur. D’autre part, une attention particulière est portée sur les relations de pouvoir et la place de la femme au sein des ménages, afin de mieux comprendre comment les décisions d’adaptation sont prises et comment les responsabilités sont réparties au sein d’un ménage », détaille la doctorante.

Après s’être rendue à diverses reprises dans la région de Saint-Louis au nord-ouest du Sénégal pour réaliser des entretiens au sein de plusieurs ménages, la doctorante est désormais dans une phase d’analyse des données récoltées. « Mes premières observations doivent encore être plus étudiées en détails mais parmi les premiers constats, on observe des différences de genre : par exemple, les rôles différents des hommes et des femmes au sein du ménage résultent en des adaptations différentes. Les hommes, chef de ménage, vont notamment migrer sur de plus longues périodes que les femmes pour subvenir aux besoins de la famille. Les femmes, responsables des aspects domestiques, vont plutôt adopter des pratiques plus locales et quotidiennes », cite notamment Jelena Luyts.

C’est pour cette approche innovante et particulière, tant sur le plan méthodologique que scientifique, de la thématique de la migration face aux changements climatiques, que Jelena Luyts s’est vue décerner le 2ème prix de la recherche du Comité femmes et sciences de l’ARES. Celui-ci a pour objectif de valoriser et de stimuler les travaux de recherche menés dans les universités de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles et qui intègrent les questions de genre. Pour l’édition 2022, la thématique retenue était « Genre et environnement » et récompensait trois lauréates.