A Europe‑wide programme commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the 1976 International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women has been unfolding since January, bringing together universities, feminist organisations and cultural partners to revisit the Tribunal’s legacy and its global reverberations. Supported by CIVIS – A European Civic University Alliance (Student-Led Projects Call 2025), the project revisits the legacy of the 1976 Tribunal. After opening at Sapienza University in Rome and continuing with a full day of study in Lausanne on 27 February, the project has gathered momentum through a series of academic and cultural encounters designed to reconnect with the political force of the original Tribunal.
Brussels will host the next key moment on 5 March 2026, when ULB’s Coin Culture welcomes audiences for an evening dedicated to the Tribunal’s history. From 18h30, visitors will be received for the presentation of a new historical study written by Milène Le Goff, followed at 19h by the inauguration of a photographic exhibition tracing the archives, actors and international reach of the 1976 gathering. This double event will anchor the Belgian chapter of the programme and is expected to draw wide interest. Attendance is free but requires registration. You can reserve a book copy via the same form.
The academic activities will follow on 25 March at the ULB/VUB Learning Theatre, where an international colloquium will bring together researchers, archivists and activists for a day of multilingual panels. Discussions will explore feminist strategies for naming and recognising violence, the role of civil society in driving change, and the political significance of symbolic justice, with a participatory workshop closing the day. Attendance is also free and open for a mixed public, but requires registration.
The commemorations will culminate in Antwerp on 27 and 28 March, when the Arenberg Theatre hosts two days dedicated to ARTivism and performance as well as to discussions and search for alternatives to address gender injustice. Far from a simple celebration of 1976, the Antwerp programme aims to confront today’s gendered inequalities, strengthen bonds of sisterhood and collective care, and foreground grassroots strategies for resistance and transformation.
Through artistic performance, film screenings, musical programming and academic panels on storytelling, living archives and ecofeminist perspectives, the event will create a space where memory becomes a tool for action and where the struggles of the past meet the urgencies of the present. As the anniversary month reaches its peak, the Brussels colloquium and the Antwerp gathering promise to honour the voices of 1976 while amplifying the feminist movements shaping the decades ahead.
Be part of this historic moment! Check the full program and register for all days of the 2026WOMEN Tribunal HERE!
Text: Maria Teresa Bizarria
Photo: Anna Kestens