Belgium
On UCLouvain’s campus in Louvain-la-Neuve, Mons, Tournai and Woluwé
Global citizenship and solidarity education
Making the academic community feel concerned about North-South inequalities, understand the complexity and, above all, act individually and collectively for greater equity: this is the role that our Department of global citizenship and solidarity education is taking on.
To achieve these objectives, we develop activities in the three sectors of the university (science and technology, humanities and health sciences), both within and outside the curriculum.
Results from 2019:
- 5,674 members of the academic community sensitised.
- 45 awareness-raising activities organised in collaboration with UCLouvain students and Kot à projets (KAP – student housing initiatives that have a common project, eg. The Red Cross KAP organises blood donations campaigns on campus)
- 60,000 people reached by the chronicles of the South on Radio Antipode.
- 90 IngénieuxSud students at UCLouvain.
Activities
Campus Plein Sud
What is it?
Campus Plein Sud is a two-week campaign organised during the month of March. It tackles a different theme every two years: water, migration, the financial crisis... many different and creative activities are organised, such as inter-university quizzes, banquets, exhibitions, conferences.
The campaign is co-organised with students, the Dévlop'Kot in Louvain-la-Neuve, the Humanikot in Woluwé and the Partenariat Sud in Mons.
IngénieuxSud
An interdisciplinary project-programme conducted jointly by Louvain Coopération and the UCLouvain.
IngénieuxSud is a human and technical adventure that allows students from the UCLouvain and from universities in Southern countries to collaborate on a concrete project. In 2019, a total of 180 students from the North and the South took part in the programme.
During one academic year, these students work on technical problems identified by associations, SMEs or rural communities in the South.
This project aims to train students to approach future academic or professional projects in a systemic way, considering societal and environmental parameters. It therefore enables them to have a first experience of life-size engineering but also to prepare themselves for their role as responsible citizens, aware of ethics and solidarity.
Meta-Metis courses
The university as we understand it should provide an education that is both critical and civic-oriented, in which the student is an actor in his or her own training. Meta-Metis courses are a teaching practice that follows this vein. An external speaker is invited to approach a subject with an original or different perspective from that of the teacher. We make a distinction between meta and metis courses.
- Meta course: a speaker from another discipline brings a different perspective to the subject, bringing an interdisciplinary and plural dimension to the course.
- Metis course: the lecturer is from the South and testifies to his or her practical experience in his or her country of origin. Focused on interculturality and North-South interdependencies, it brings science and culture into interaction in the academic environment.
With the Meta-Metis courses:
- Students take a different look at North-South relations.
- Students learn to look at the countries of the South with more perspective and interest.
- The presence of researchers from the South in Belgian universities is highlighted.
- The debate is reintroduced among the audiences
- The students are actively involved in the course.
Your projects…
The Solidarity Fund of Louvain Coopération finances your solidarity projects in Belgium and in countries of the South. You and your team will be accompagnied by Louvain Coopération in the implementation of your project.
Louvain Coopération supports initiatives to raise awareness about globalisation and North-South relations. We would be delighted to work with you to set up any kind of project: conference, exhibition, quizz, training, activity within the framework of a course... and others if you feel like it!
Over the last few years we have supported:
- A conference on the age of lowtech with Philippe Bihouix
- A play and improv with the TUL during the Universatil festival
- Forum theatre courses in the masters 60 and 120 in Development
- An exhibition on the theme of migration
- And many more!
Do not hesitate to contact us to find out more!
MARYSE, INTERN
"My internship at Louvain Coopération has taught me a lot about working in a company. First of all, I quickly sensed the positive atmosphere within the organisation and the warm welcome that came with it. From then on, it was easy for me to get to know the whole team and to perceive the human functioning of the NGO. Then, through awareness activities on decolonisation, I became aware of the many stereotypes that still bias the interactions between North and South. This theme deeply challenge me and I acquired knowledge on the subject"