An international conference at KU Leuven, Sep 15, 2026 (Europe/Brussels / UTC200)
Kardinaal Mercierzaal, Hoger Instituut voor Wijsbegeerte (HIW)
Organization: Emanuele Caminada, Julia Jansen
This conference marks the conclusion of the FWO-funded research project Functionaries of Humanity: Husserlian Phenomenology, UNESCO, and the Problem of Universalism in Science and Culture (Flemish Research Council Project G044421N), which investigated the relationship between phenomenology, international organizations, and debates on universalism and cultural pluralism in the twentieth century. The conference is organized with the patronage of the Flemish UNESCO Commission and brings together philosophers, historians of ideas, and UNESCO scholars to reflect on the historical significance and contemporary relevance of this research.
Conference Program
15 September
09:30–11:00
Van Breda’s UNESCO Dossier: Repositioning Phenomenology after World War II
Presentation of the main research results
Emanuele Caminada and Julia Jansen (KU Leuven)
11:00–11:30
Coffee Break
11:30–12:30
Giuseppe Bianco (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia)
Internationalism in the Organization of Philosophy as a Discipline before 1948
12:30–14:00
Lunch
14:00–15:00
Patrick Baert (University of Cambridge)
Public Intellectuals and Taboo-Breaking Interventions in the 21st Century
15:00–15:30
Coffee Break
15:30–16:30
Round Table: The Role of Philosophy at UNESCO and in Global Public Discourse
With Patrice Vermeren (Université Paris 8), Sara Heinämaa (University of Jyväskylä), and a representative of UNESCO (TBA)
16:30–17:00
Coffee Break
17:00–19:00
Hans Joas (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
Moral Universalism, World Domination, and Humanist Ethics: A Global History of Universalism
Discussion with Ernst Wolff (KU Leuven), Philippe Van Parijs (UCLouvain / KU Leuven), and Roberta De Monticelli (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan)
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