Social Activities

Embark on a unique journey through art and history and join us for an LGBTQ+ guided tour at Ghent’s Museum of Fine Arts (MSK).

The MSK is the first in Belgium to launch an LGBTQ+ tour through its permanent galleries. Curated by members of the LGBTQ+ community, this tour invites visitors to explore the queer history that literally hangs on the museum’s walls but has never been told before. This tour offers an opportunity to discover these hidden stories through 11 selected artworks, each engaging in a conversation about how gender identity and sexual orientation were approached in the past, and offering a reflection on how we look at them today.

Sessions (maximum 30 participants per session):

• Sunday 7 July, 13:30 - 15:00 CET SOLD OUT
• Tuesday 9 July, 11:00 - 12:30 CET SOLD OUT
• Wednesday 10 July, 11:00 - 12:30 CET SOLD OUT

How to book: To book your place, please complete the registration form below:

Register here

An enthralling tour along the waterways of the medieval centre of Ghent with its array of monuments:

• St Bavo’s Cathedral, the Belfry and St Nicholas’ Church
• Old guildhalls of boatmen, masons, grain measurers fishmongers, hagbutters, etc.
• The Castle of the Counts and the Princes’ Court
• The old Fish market facing the even older Meat Hall
• The more than solid 13th-century Monasteries previously occupied by Augustinians and Dominicans
• The Ancient Port of Ghent with its quay walls and mercantile houses, never too far away of shady inns packed with girls of easy virtue, etc.

Sessions (maximum 20 participants per session):

• Monday 8 July, 13:00 - 14:00 CET SOLD OUT
• Tuesday 9 July, 11:00 - 12:00 CET SOLD OUT
• Wednesday 10 July, 11:00 - 12:00 CET SOLD OUT

How to book: To book your place, please complete the registration form below:

Register here

This guided walking tour takes you to places that were the working place or residence of women who stood their ground in those harsh medieval times. Who were they? Aristocratic ladies had the money to do their own thing. But not only them! Women from various walks of life managed their own business….Would you like to get to know them? They come alive and tell their own story during this guided tour in the historical city centre.

Sessions (maximum 20 participants per session):

• Monday 8 July, 14:30 - 16:00 CET SOLD OUT
• Tuesday 9 July, 14:00 - 15:30 CET SOLD OUT
• Wednesday 10 July, 14:00 - 15:30 CET SOLD OUT

How to book: To book your place, please complete the registration form below:

Register here

Get ready to groove the night away at our iconic dancing party hosted at the (even more) iconic Café Charlatan! Café Charlatan is centrally located on the Vlasmarkt and is also famous for its artwork as all walls are beautifully decorated with graffiti artworks.

We are excited to welcome you to the dancing party on Tuesday, July 9th. Join us from 8 PM onwards at Café Charlatan, one of the most iconic bars in Ghent (address: Vlasmarkt 6, 9000 Ghent). We will offer a number of free drinks and free food (in the form of appetizers equivalent to a full meal; vegetarian and vegan alternatives available) for everyone to enjoy.

Don't forget to bring your conference badge as this will be your entrance ticket for the party. The dancing party ends at 2.30 AM.

Join us on Monday 8 July for our Welcome Reception, kindly supported by Bristol University Press and the Politics of the Low Countries journal.

Meet old and new colleagues for drinks and appetisers in the UFO Foyer from 7pm.