The World and the Earth: In Conversation with David Van ReybrouckThe World and the Earth: In Conversation with David Van Reybrouck

In his essay The World and the Earth, Van Reybrouck argues that the defining challenge of our time is not only the conflict between nations, but also the growing instability of the planet itself. As climate change, environmental degradation and ecological disruption increasingly determine the shape of our societies, established political systems are struggling to cope with crises that transcend borders.

David Van Reybrouck and moderator Meta Knol explore how our understanding of politics, democracy and responsibility might evolve to encompass not just the world, understood as the human-made political order, but the Earth itself. They discuss the central ideas of The World and the Earth, drawing on examples from the cultural field that offer alternative ways of imagining politics, diplomacy and representation, including practices that give nature and the living world a voice.

• 19:00 Doors open
• 19:30 Welcome and introduction
• 19:40 Conversation between David Van Reybrouck and Meta Knol. Featuring interludes with artists,Julien Thomas and Christiane Bosman, Director of the European programme at Embassy of the North Sea.
• 20:30 Publieke Q&A
• 21:00 Afsluiting
• 21:15 Einde
• 20:30 Audience Q&A
• 21:00 Closing remarks
• 21:15 End

Belgian writer and thinker David Van Reybrouck studied archaeology and philosophy. His work focuses on the concept of verdenken – viewing the present from the perspective of the distant past or future. His books include Congo and Revolusi, about colonial history, and Rain Requiem, about the victims of the climate crisis. He is the current holder of the honorary title Denker der Nederlanden (Thinker of the Netherlands and Flanders).

This event is organised in collaboration with DutchCulture as part of Encounters, a programme running from 16–22 November that brings together existing international cultural initiatives to reflect on a shared question: at a time when both societies and individuals seem to be retreating, behind borders and into isolation, what kinds of encounters do we need instead?