Crosstalks is a transdisciplinary and intersectoral platform for knowledge exchange between academia and society through lectures, debates, residencies, exhibitions and networking activities. Open knowledge exchange is only valuable when space is created for different frames of reference. This plurality of voices is not only visible in the programs of the Crosstalks events, the projects are also co-designed by researchers and artists, with attention to gender balance and cultural diversity.
With our activities we aim to inspire:
- academic researchers with unexpected encounters beyond their research domain and often in a non-academic context. Crosstalks is a forum to meet stakeholders such as companies, citizens, policy, academia and the environment.
- students by linking the research that is happening at the VUB to broad societal challenges such as ecology, social (in)equality and the super-diverse society.
- the general public with new knowledge by connecting sciences and arts.
“Today we no longer have the right to pretend that we command a unique position from which we can view the truth about the world. We must learn not to judge different areas of knowledge, culture, or art, but to combine them and to establish new ways of coexistence with those who enable us to meet the unique demands of our time.”
Ilya Prigogine & Isabelle Stengers, Order Out of Chaos: Man’s New Dialogue With Nature, 1984
Meet Goedele, the dynamic coordinator of Crosstalks. With her background in Language & Literature and extensive publishing expertise, she combines creativity with organizational skills to foster interdisciplinary collaborations. A natural matchmaker, she thrives on facilitating unexpected encounters between artists and researchers. Those who know Goedele recognize her commitment to community engagement in her volunteer work and role as a board member for Hiros, RoSa and Moussem Nomadic Arts Centre. Additionally, Goedele is your go-to person for recommendations on must-read books, podcasts, and films.
As Crosstalks’ enthusiastic communication officer, Ine is on a mission to translate the essence of the Crosstalks activities into a language that resonates with our audiences. With a background in production and event management, she enjoys all things practical regarding the organization of the Crosstalks activities. In her free time, Ine is always on the lookout for new culinary hot spots and enjoys experimenting with baked creations to get her 2-year-old to eat vegetables (tips always welcome).
Jorrit Smit combines his background in physical chemistry and science and technology studies to explore how socio-technic futures shape scientific research – and vice versa. He is currently focused on the politics of technofixes like ‘clean’ hydrogen, carbon capture and green fertilizer. Using an interdisciplinary approach, he critically analyzes the relationships between public research and (fossil) industries as well as the political limits embedded in feasibility and sustainability assessments of emerging technologies. As part of his research, Jorrit collaborates with Naïmé Perrette on a film essay about an unexpected energy source: ‘natural’ hydrogen. Stay tuned!
Benoît Henriet is Associate Professor of History at VUB, and the Principal Investigator of the ERC FORAGENCY. Foraging, Colonialism and More-than-Human Agency in Central Africa. He works on the (post)colonial history of Central Africa from a bottom-up perspective, recently with a strong focus on human/environment entanglements. We’re excited to collaborate with him over the coming years on an interdisciplinary series about foraging—think picking, collecting, finding, and sharing food. This series will explore the rich traditions, ecological impact, and modern relevance of foraging, inspiring new ways to engage with our environments and highlight the importance of sustainable practices. Stay tuned!