Night of the Freethinker

The annual ideas festival Nacht van de Vrijdenker returns in its familiar festival format on Saturday, November 21, 2026. Expect an all-day parallel program spread across four rooms, featuring debates, lectures, and panel discussions on philosophy, social issues, science, and critical thinking by speakers from home and abroad. To offer nuance, where black-and-white thinking keeps us on the surface. To critically examine complex social developments, distinguish fact from fiction, and transform fear into dialogue. Expect a whirlwind of debates, lectures, and panel discussions on philosophy, social issues, science, and critical thinking by speakers from home and abroad. The Nacht van de Vrijdenker brings a whirlwind of insights and ideas that opens up new perspectives and offers depth on the cutting edge. FESTIVAL PROGRAM Theater Hall, De Vooruit Dirk De Wachter - 'Waiting Without Expectation' | 17:15-18:00 Everything has to be faster and faster. Whoever waits seems to be left behind. Psychiater Dirk De Wachter sees it differently: waiting can be an active attitude, attentive, hopeful, and connected to the other. A plea to take time in an impatient culture. Christophe Busch - 'Disagree, But Agree!' | 18:45-19:30 What if we can no longer understand each other? Inspired by Hannah Arendt, Christophe Busch explores how polarization, disinformation, and ‘depluralization’ put our shared reality under pressure. How do we protect space for difference, doubt, and dialogue – and continue to see each other as human? Rodante van der Waal in conversation with Anton Van Dyck - 'Reproductive Justice' | 20:15-21:15 Who decides on a pregnancy or childbirth and who is heard in the process? Midwife and philosopher Rodante van der Waal and Anton Van Dyck van Compagnon discuss abortion, obstetric violence, and reproductive rights that are not a given for everyone. Ludo De Brabander & Roberta Haar, Stavros Kelepouris - 'Europe Rediscovers Geopolitics' | 22:00-23:00 (English spoken) Those who want peace must prepare for war: is that the new reality for Europe? While the continent invests more in weapons, Europe's ideals clash with a world full of autocrats. Ludo De Brabander and Roberta Haar investigate how much of Europe's DNA can survive. Ballroom, De Vooruit Ype de Boer - 'How Do We Find Happiness?' | 17:00-17:45 Happiness is everywhere. But what if our hunt for happiness actually makes us unhappy? Filosoof Ype de Boer investigates why we have become suspicious of happiness and asks an uncomfortable question: what does ‘true happiness’ mean in a world that constantly tries to sell it? Sikivu Hutchinson - 'Humanists in the Hood: unapologetically Black, Feminist and Heretical' | 18:30-19:15 (English spoken) What does secularism have to do with resistance? Quite a lot, argues Sikivu Hutchinson. From a black feminist humanist perspective, she exposes how racism, sexism, and religious nationalism intertwine. And why freethought is only truly free when it makes space for everyone. Roel Meijvis – 'A Philosophy of Activism' | 20:00-20:45 The world is on fire. What are you doing? Roel Meijvis returns to Camus, Sartre, and De Beauvoir for a philosophy of resistance. Their ideas on freedom, responsibility, and engagement prove surprisingly relevant in a time when looking away no longer seems an option. Clarice Gargard interviewed by Annelies Moons – 'After Resistance Comes (R)evolution: What Can I Do?' | 21:30-22:30 Annelies Moons is in conversation with Clarice Gargard about her book 'After Resistance Comes (R)evolution'. About how resistance alone changes nothing and power repeats itself if you merely fight it. About how peace, joy, and imagination can make space for real change. Hannelore Van Bavel - 'Whose Autonomy Counts?' | 23:00-23:45 When is cutting into a body mutilation, and when is it beauty? Hannelore Van Bavel investigates why we accept some procedures and forbid others. About autonomy, gender, and medical power — and about the often surprisingly thin line between choice and control. Dome Hall, De Vooruit Stine Jensen - 'Toward a New Kind of Atheism' | 17:15 – 18:00 Atheism can afford to be a bit more mischievous. Stine Jensen advocates for a freethinking voice that re-engages in social debate. About belief, freedom, and the public space, but above all about the question of how we can live together without a single dominant voice. Emile Badarin - 'Sumud: Decolonizing with Perseverance' | 18:30 – 19:15 (English spoken) Recognition sounds like an emancipatory ideal, but Emile Badarin shows how it can also justify dispossession and violence. Taking Met Palestina as a case study, he explores an alternative: sumud, the Palestinian concept of perseverance, as a lens for a just future for everyone. Jur Deitmers interviewed by Bart Van Kerkhove - 'The Boy Without Yesterday' | 20:00 – 21:00 Jur Deitmers had to learn everything all over again after a double encephalitis. How did he view a world he no longer knew? Who are you without memory? Together with professor Bart Van Kerkhove, he investigates how flexible our identity is. Suzanne Roes - 'The Ethical Criminal' | 21:30 – 22:15 Sometimes you have to break the law to do right. From suffragettes to climate activists: ‘ethical criminals’ consciously break rules they consider unjust. When does civil disobedience become a moral duty — and who decides where the line is? Flor Didden - 'Call Me When You Get There' | 23:00 – 23:45 What really happens at the external borders of Europe? Flor Didden combines gripping stories with a sharp analysis of ten years of European migration policy, and outlines what a humane and realistic alternative can look like. Dance Studio, De Vooruit Dorian Accoe, Pieter Beck & Anaïs Van Ertvelde – Desirable Genes | 16:45 – 17:45 Knowing even before pregnancy whether your child will have a hereditary condition: we can do more and more, and more and more parents are doing it. But who decides which traits are desirable and which are not? Dorian Accoe, Pieter Beck, and Anaïs Van Ertvelde seek the answer between ethics and eugenics. Kurt Beckers - 'Who Created Who?' | 18:15 – 19:00 God did not create man. Man created God. In 1841, Ludwig Feuerbach inverted an age-old taken-for-granted truth: perhaps God is nothing more than our own desire for perfection. Kurt Beckers highlights why Feuerbach's provocation still rubs raw. Nick Bull – 'Freethinkers in Danger' | 19:45 – 20:30 (English spoken) Freethought can cost you your freedom. In some countries, even your life. Nick Bull van Humanists International reveals how laws, discrimination, and religious pressure affect unbelievers and secular voices worldwide. Who protects the right *not* to believe? Tim ’S Jongers, Wouter Arrazola de Oñate & Jana Kerremans - 'Unequally Healthy' | 21:30 – 22:15 Your health is not just a matter of choices. Whoever is poor, lower-educated, or marginalized faces more health risks. Yet the government places increasing responsibility on the individual. How healthy is a society that translates structural inequality into personal responsibility? Simon Truwant - 'Why You Can't Win a Debate with Facts' | 23:00 – 00:00 Why can't you win a debate with facts, and why is hypocrisy less bad than it seems? Cultuurfilosoof Simon Truwant provides a clear conceptual framework in this workshop to help an interested citizen navigate complex social discussions. All information can be found at www.nachtvandevrijdenker.be. Don't want to miss a single update? Subscribe to our newsletter via www.nachtvandevrijdenker.be and receive all updates ready-made in your mailbox. ABOUT NIGHT OF THE FREETHINKER For more than a decade, the ideas festival has brought together critical thinkers from home and abroad around questions