We welcome Youri Vertongen and Sophie Klimis for a discussion on their respective publications.
Moderated by Faïza Hirach.

Youri Vertongen's publication PAPIERS POUR TOUS examines collective movements for the regularisation of undocumented migrants in Belgium. Its aim is to shed light on the actions taken by undocumented migrants to obtain a residence permit and thus demand their integration into the rule of law. It offers a reflection on the micro-political issues at the heart of these social movements and, in so doing, helps to preserve the memory of the struggles of immigrants seeking status in Belgium.

Read more about the book here

Sophie Klimis' book, MAWDA V. MEDUSA. DONNER UN VISAGE À LA CRIMINALISATION DES MIGRANTS EN EUROPE asks how we can face up to the criminalisation of non-Western migrants orchestrated by EU Member States, in the light of solidarity with Ukrainian refugees? How can we overcome our stupefaction in the face of the unspeakable: the murders of children perpetrated by supposed representatives of law and order, police officers or soldiers?

Read more about the book here

Biographies
Youri Lou Vertongen is a researcher at the Centre de Recherche en Sciences Politiques (CRESPO) and the Centre d'Études et d'Intervention Sociologique (CESIR), and is currently visiting professor at UC-Louvain Saint-Louis Brussels. His research focuses on collective mobilisation around migration issues in Belgium and Europe, examining the strategic links between collectives of 'undocumented' migrants and collectives of 'documented' nationals. He has coordinated various issues of journals on this theme. In 2019, he will be co-editing, with Annalisa Lendaro and Claire Rodier, La Crise de l'accueil, frontières, droits, résistances (ed. La Découverte). He recently published a two-volume monograph entitled Papiers pour tous (2023-2024; Éd. Académia).

Born in 1973, Sophie Klimis is a professor of philosophy at UCLouvain, Saint-Louis-Bruxelles. Her research lies at the crossroads of political philosophy, ancient Greek philosophy, aesthetics and research-creation. She is especially interested in the Athenian institutions of direct democracy and their reworking by contemporary thinkers of radical democracy such as Cornelius Castoriadis. In parallel with her academic work, she has also worked as a dramatist and a poet with artists such as Claudia Bosse, Maya Bösch and Leili Yahr, in performances about chorality. Last publications : Le penser en travail. Castoriadis et le labyrinthe de la création humaine.
Polis. De la société capitaliste à la cité des Athéniens, Paris, 2020 ; Éveiller à la pensée. Au détour des Grecs. Entretiens avec Frank Pierobon, Louvain-la-Neuve, 2021. Her last book is dedicated to the Mawda’s case. It is due for publication on March 15 th

Faïza Hirach, trade union activist, internationalist anti-racist and anti-sexist, member of the IWW trade union.

Practical information
Language: French
Free access