Beyond the presentations and workshops, the programme features a variety of complementary activities, including:
Commitment Tree
Add a leaf to our “tree” with one concrete thing you’ll start doing or stop doing in relation to social and ecological (in)justice, something personal, professional, or institutional. Think small-but-real: a habit, a teaching practice, a research choice, a way of collaborating, etc. We’ll display the leaves throughout the conference as a collective snapshot of intentions and accountability.
Photo Wall: “Home, Elsewhere”
We’re also creating a photo wall to make our international audience visible. If you like, bring a printed picture of you in a place you think of as home (a street, a kitchen table, a river, a favourite bench…). Feel free to add a short post-it note with your name, where it is (and why it matters).
If you can’t bring a print, you can also email a digital photo to clades@ugent.be with a short “post-it style” text (name, place, why it matters), and we’ll print the picture and write out the note for you.
Together, the photos will form a patchwork of “home spots” that shows where the Cladians are coming from geographically, socially, emotionally.
Your voice. Audio Booth: Testimonials (advance submissions)
We’re creating a compilation of short testimonials, stories of hope or harm, brief anecdotes, moments of solidarity, lessons learned, or uplifting human experiences connected to (in)justice.
To participate, please send us an audio or video recording in advance to clades@ugent.be (max. 5 minutes). A simple phone recording is perfect. If you’re looking for inspiration, here are a few examples:
- A small story of human connection that stayed with you (an unexpected act of care, a conversation that shifted your perspective).
- A moment of enchantment in nature, something you saw, heard, or felt that made you pause, reorient, or feel responsible in a new way.
- A time you witnessed harm or exclusion (and what you learned, or what you wish had happened instead).
- A moment of collective hope, however modest (a community initiative, a classroom moment, a turning point).
With your permission, we’ll make a selection available during the conference for joint but cosy listening sessions or private listening via headsets.
Pass-the-Plot: the CLADES Children’s Story (one sentence at a time)
Help us co-write an alternative children’s story: we’ll start with one sentence, and anyone can add the next line. It’s playful, quick, and surprisingly revealing, especially with themes like care, repair, resistance, and imagining different futures. You can contribute just one sentence, or come back later to add another.
Screening of the documentary “Duty of care: The climate trials”
Duty of Care: The Climate Trials is a compelling documentary from Belgium that follows the groundbreaking legal battles led by Dutch lawyer Roger Cox to hold governments and major oil companies legally accountable for climate inaction. Through court footage and expert interviews, the film shows how Cox’s cases – including those against the Dutch government and Shell – helped establish the principle that states and corporations owe a “duty of care” to protect citizens and future generations from the devastating effects of climate change. The 56-minute documentary, directed by Nic Balthazar, blends courtroom drama with global climate advocacy, highlighting how legal strategies are becoming a powerful tool in the fight for climate justice. Duty of Care inspires reflection on law, responsibility and climate action.
Screening of the documentary "Woord x Macht x Strijd" with Jan Blommaert
Woord x Macht x Strijd is a 50-minute web documentary that reflects on the life, work and ideas of the Belgian sociolinguist and public intellectual Jan Blommaert. The film was created by Docwerkers together with a network of collaborators as a tribute after Blommaert announced he had terminal cancer, capturing extended conversations about language, power, and inequality. Against the backdrop of his own academic and activist career, Blommaert discusses how language shapes society and education, the role of public scholarship in social change, and the struggles against right-wing movements, while also highlighting hope, resistance and collective action. The result is both a masterclass in critical thinking and a personal testament to the social relevance of scholarship.