The Chair in European Values (UCLouvain) promotes debate and reflection on "European values" in their diversity and complexity. The chair at UCLouvain was established in 2015 – conjointly with a similar chair at UAntwerp – at the initiative of Maurice Velge and it is funded mainly by the Baillet-Latour Fund. The chair holder at UCLouvain is Wim Weymans.
Wim Weymans, chair holder at UCLouvain (part-time) (2018-present)
Since September 2018 Wim Weymans succeeded Luuk van Middelaar (who was the chair-holder from 2015 till 2018) as the new chair-holder. Like his predecessor, Weymans studied philosophy and history, focusing on political philosophy. He already published in several languages on important European values such as human rights, liberty, equality and democracy. Before becoming the new chair-holder he taught history and theory of human rights (in New York), philosophy (in Leuven and Kortrijk) and philosophy of law and human rights theories (in Antwerp). He studied in Belgium (Leuven and Antwerp) and the UK (Cambridge) and did research in the US (in Centers for European studies of Berkeley and Harvard) and in France (Sciences Po) and Germany (Köln and Mainz).
Nicolas Arens, postdoctoral researcher affiliated to the chair (2020-present)
In September 2020 Nicolas Arens obtained a 3-year post-doctoral grant from the FNRS research fund to do research at UCLouvain, where he is affiliated in part to the chair in European values. He will do research on the relationship between democracy, populism and the European Union. On 20 and 21 January 2022 he will organize an international conference on the contribution of political philosophy to understanding the EU.
Academic coordinators (UCLouvain)
Former assistant to the Chair in European Values (UCLouvain) (2015-2021)
Ms. Sophie Kaisin, assistant to the Chair in European Values (UCLouvain) (part-time) (2015-2021)