Universitair Centrum voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking - UCOS

Day 3 - Summer School Workshop: Sustainable Activism & Community Care 🌱

Activism isn’t just about showing up—it’s about staying in. In this hands-on workshop, facilitated by Philsan Osman and Foxie, we’ll explore how to build and sustain activist communities rooted in care, trust, and long-term resilience. 💪🏾💞

How do we nurture movements that don’t burn out but grow stronger over time? Join us during Summer School – Fresh Voices & Decolonial Insights Take Centre Stage for practical tools, reflections, and collective strategies on sustainable activism.

🎤 Facilitated by: Philsan Osman & Foxie
⚡️Spots are limited—secure yours now via the link in bio! Almost sold out!

Sunday 11 May, 15h-18h

Day 2 - Summer School - Moving Beyond the Binary: Exploring Gender Fluidity Through Drag, Ballroom Culture and Amazigh Dance

Join us for an evening that blends movement, identity, and resistance - centered on dance as a tool for gender expression and political storytelling.

PERFORMANCE & PANEL TALK | 19h-21h30
No registration needed – just show up!

Featuring:
💃 Amazigh Dance by &
🌟 Ballroom Performance by (Destiny Gabbana) &
👑 Drag Performance by .harana

The night continues with a Panel Talk featuring the performers, diving into how art and activism intersect in their practices, and how dance challenges the gender binary in both subtle and spectacular ways.

These artists are not just performers—they are community builders, educators, and activists reclaiming space and shifting norms.

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EXTRA: WORKSHOP | Bodies in Motion 16h–18h | With Jhaya & Amin

This hands-on movement session invites you to explore your body outside of rigid gender frames

⚠️ Almost sold out!
Spots are limited → Sign up via link in bio

This Summer School is co-created by .akaliyat &
In collaboration with &



Are you joining the performances?

Summer School program Details - Art based Methods & Emotions in Research🌱

Join us on May 9 & 11 in Brussels for a dynamic lineup of workshops and conversations exploring creative research, language, emotion & decolonial knowledge.

🎨 Art-Based Methods in Gender & Sexuality Research - May 9
Facilitators: Danielle Fernandes (Board Game), Dr. Hannelore Van Bavel (Painting), Erinn De Waele (Drawing)

Hands-on breakout sessions using creative tools to explore safety, self-image & q***r homemaking.

📚 Book Club: Language, Resistance & Identity Politics - May 9
Facilitator: Lula Maris

Deep-reading session on how language affirms, erases, and shapes power & identity.

🛋️ Sofa Talk: Emotions in Research - May 11 Library
Facilitated by Danielle Fernandes & Hannelore Van Bavel | Hosted by Lula Maris

A talk-show-style session on navigating the emotional dimensions of intimate, politicised research - featuring open dialogue & collective reflection.

🧠 Limited spots - workshop spots fill fast
🔗 Register via link in bio 💌

📍 Brussels | All sessions held in English

Summer School - Fresh Voices & Decolonial Insights Take Centre Stage

Join us for three immersive days of collective learning, critical dialogue, and creative exchange!

What to expect:
→ Inspiring panels led by fresh voices
→ Hands-on workshops rooted in decolonial perspectives
→ Community-based knowledge sharing
→ Art, performances & space to reflect and connect

Check out the full timetable above! More info about the speakers coming soon!

This is more than a program—it's a growing space for questioning, imagining, and building together. Whether you're a student, artist, activist, educator, or just interested — there is room for you!🧠❤️🔥

Workshops have (very) limited spots, make sure to secure yours!

🔗 Sign up via https://linktr.ee/roots_ucos

This Summer School program is co-created by .akaliyat and

In collaboration with RHEA VUB, research centre for gender, diversity & intersectionality () and

📅 Save the Date: May 9–11!

Join us for a transformative three-day Summer School at VUB (U Square), where students, academics & activists will present fresh insights and grassroots knowledge on gender equality and reproductive rights.

🧠 Through a decolonial lens, we’ll rethink how knowledge on gender and SRHR* is produced and shared — broadening academic horizons and amplifying voices from the ground up.

🎓 Free and open to students, academic staff, development cooperation actors, civil society, acitvists — and anyone with an interest in these topics.

Let’s come together to challenge dominant narratives and build inclusive futures.

This Summer School is program co-created by .akaliyat and

In collaboration with RHEA VUB, research centre for gender, diversity & intersectionality () and

📍USQUARE, Etterbeek | May 9, 10 & 11

FULL PROGRAM coming 🔜

*Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)

The powerful voices - .gatoni
dorcas .egeolu - will guide you through the expo and explore compassion through a decolonial lens ✨️

Meet:

Sonia Dorcas – Poet, singer, and podcaster, Sonia was born in Rwanda, raised in the Netherlands and Belgium, and is passionate about real conversations. In 2021, she co-founded The Aftertea podcast, diving into the realities of adulting. Currently an assistant curator at FOMU Antwerp, she also leads projects centered on community building as a host, writer, and event organizer. In her poetry, she explores love in all its forms, loss, self-acceptance, and belonging.

Maïté Onyeka Egeolu – A poet, dancer, and visual artist, Maïté’s practice blends movement with poetry, film, collage, love letters, and intimate conversations. Their work, showcased on platforms like Dans!Dichter!Dans!, Slam Aleikum, and Ampersand, is deeply rooted in sensory knowledge, treating the body as an archive. As a Master’s student in Fine Arts at KASK, Maïté’s artistic research explores movement as a form of archival knowledge, centering the experiences of underrepresented communities.

Halisi Mutabazi – Brussels-based spoken word artist Halisi fuses her deep voice, complex characters, and riveting background music to offer sociological reflections. Growing up between Belgium and Burundi, her exposure to different cultures shaped her unique storytelling approach—both deeply personal and universally resonant. Inspired by everything from her grandmother’s nighttime stories to Kendrick Lamar, she crafts intricate characters that explore the nuances of life, not to take sides but to deepen self-understanding.

Lauria Gatoni – Born in Bujumbura, raised in Ghent, and now based in Brussels, Lauria is a storyteller at heart. Her work intertwines themes of regret, identity, young adulthood, love, and language. With a deep sense of empathy, she crafts narratives that feel both personal and universal. Her spoken word and rap blend honest, accessible language with a strong sense of rhythm and rhyme, always seeking the purest words to capture the complexity of human experience.
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Tickets in bio (Financial difficulties? DM us)

Medeleven is meer dan wat het lijkt! 💫 Op 22 maart nodigen we je uit in het voor onze Takeover van de tentoonstelling Compassion.

Compassie bestaat niet in één enkele gedaante, maar uit zich in verschillende vormen van (zelf)zorg, connectie en solidariteit. Samen gaan we op zoek naar ‘verborgen compassie’. 🌍🫂

Hoe wordt empathie gevormd? Hoe beïnvloeden privileges en ongelijkheid ons begrip van solidariteit? Bestaat ‘gedekoloniseerde compassie’? 🤔

Sluit je aan bij de interactieve workshop om de macht van media en beeldvorming te doorgronden.
Kom ook naar de performances van , .gatoni , .egeolu & .dorcas om compassie door een dekoloniale lens te beleven. 💭✨

📅 Wanneer? Zaterdag 22 maart
⏰ Tijd?
Workshop - De macht van media en beeldvorming: 14:30 - 16:30
Performances - Decolonised compassion + Q&A: 20:00 - 22:00

🎟️ Prijs?
Workshop: Gratis, maar registratie is verplicht (zie link in bio)
Performances+Q&A: Ticket nodig, link in bio (Financieel moeilijk haalbaar? stuur ons een DM!)

💬 Talen?
Nederlands (workshop) & Engels (performances + Q&A)

Limited spots, so be fast! See you soon💜

‐-------------------
ENG ⬇️

Compassion is more than it seems! 💫 On March 22, we invite you to join us at for our Takeover of the Compassion exhibition.

Compassion doesn’t exist in one single form, but manifests in different ways of (self)care, connection, and solidarity. Together, we will search for ‘hidden compassion’. 🌍🫂

How is empathy shaped? How do privilege and inequality influence our understanding of solidarity? Does ‘decolonized compassion’ exist? 🤔

Join the interactive workshop to explore the power of media and representation. Also, don’t miss the performances by , .gatoni , .egeole & .dorcas to experience compassion through a decolonial lens. 💭✨

📅 When? Saturday, March 22
⏰ Time?
Workshop - The Power of Media and Representation: 14:30 - 16:30
Performances - Decolonised Compassion + Q&A: 20:00 - 22:00
🎟️ Price?
Workshop: Free, but registration is required (link in bio)
Performances: Ticket needed, link in bio (Financial difficulties? Send us a DM)

Heb jij het al gezien? Op 14 en 15 februari komt SoliDare Fest, het jongerenfestival rond
internationale solidariteit georganiseerd door en .be, terug naar CAPITAL! Twee dagen boordevol interessante workshops, artistieke performances, lekker eten, en nog veel meer, … en dit allemaal gratis!

Geïnteresseerd? Hier vind je de registratielink!
https://registration.invitedesk.com/p/fr/6yXRQdPe-ky4Mrti1wm2qQ/kzQeVWI53EmpXQjdE39tKg

Wil je meer informatie over het evenement en het programma? Neem dan een kijkje op de website pagina: https://beglobal.enabel.be/2024/04/24/solidare-festival/

✨ Throwback naar ons eerste event: Allyship in de Zorg! ✨

Met het lege stoel concept hebben we een interactief en inspirerend panelgesprek gevoerd voor een full house! 🙌

Een speciale dank aan onze geweldige moderator Tania ( ), en onze sprekers Michiko ( ) en Narjes ( ), die ons waardevolle inzichten gaven over hoe we betere bondgenoten kunnen zijn voor BIPOC- en q***r personen. 💓🫂🤝

Heb je dit event gemist of was je erbij en wil je meer? Volg ons en houd onze volgende takeovers in de gaten!
Stay tuned voor nog meer inspiratie en verbinding. 💥

(die/hun) is een non-binaire performancekunstenaar, q***r activist en recent afgestudeerd in kunst- en cultuurbemiddeling. Als artiest en artistiek medewerker, zowel on- als backstage, zet Michiko zich in voor bewustzijn en educatie rondom inclusiviteit en q***r thema’s, met aandacht voor de intersecties van identiteit.
Als jongerenwoordvoerder bij Wel Jong gebruikt Michiko hun ervaring in de kunstsector en q***r gemeenschap om dialoog over gelijkheid en erkenning te stimuleren. Met een visie op maatschappelijke verandering en een verbindende aanpak inspireert die anderen om samen te werken aan een inclusieve samenleving waarin iedereen zich erkend en gewaardeerd voelt.

is Klinische Psycholoog van opleiding. Ze zet zich boven op haar beroep actief in om taboe-onderwerpen en relevante kwesties in onze samenleving bespreekbaar te maken, en ze doet dit via haar podcast ‘Vulnera’. Tania gelooft sterk in de kracht van kwetsbaarheid en baseert haar benadering op intersectionaliteit, waarbij ze tevens grote waarde hecht aan representatie.