WORKSHOPS

Poetry workshop ‘Your language, your power’, by Rebelle

Rebelle brings gender and well-being closer together by strengthening the voice of women* in society. In this way, we give words to people who are not heard enough. Because language is a powerful medium for connecting and expressing your world.  During this poetry workshop, we will search together for language to express what is going on inside. No difficult rules or big words – just you, your pen, and space to feel and write. We offer accessible methods for playing with words and converting emotions into visual language. Develop your own voice in poems and texts about themes that are close to your heart.

Language : Dutch

DIY stand “Slogans with impact”, by Rebelle

Visit the Rebelle participatory stand to get involved and dive into the fight for gender equality. Share experiences with other participants, discuss inequality and turn your feelings and thoughts into slogans that resonate. Afterwards, bring them to life on canvas – ready to show your message to the world! Cards with provocative questions and statements serve as conversation starters for sharing experiences, then design your own slogan and put it on canvas. The slogan canvases - in multiple languages - will then be used during the 2026WOMEN TRIBUNAL public ceremony on the Saturday 28th at 19h (see info below). 

Language : Multi-lingual

Unmasking Patriarchal Mythology, by the Kurdish Women’s Movement in Europe (TJK-E) and the Jineology Centre

The origins of patriarchy are reflected in ancient mythological stories. At the same time -even if hidden- they represent an important source of women’s resistance history. Of significant importance thereby is how we read and interpret these stories, which are not just fairy tales but reflect realities in a covert and indirect way. The aim of this workshop is to rethink and analyze mythological stories with a critical eye from a women’s perspective, uncovering

patriarchal and misogynist rhetoric. Ancient mythological stories from Mesopotamia and Greek civilizations will be read and analyzed in relation to their patriarchal and misogynist content. Participants will re-narrate the stories from a feminist perspective, re-tell it in their way and be given the opportunity to make short theatrical performances if they wish.

Language : English

2026WOMEN singing & Flash mob workshop, by Madam Fortuna

Celine di Maccio & Katja Pire will lead a singing and choreographic workshop open to all to share the 2026WOMEN TRIBUNAL anthem ! Uniting our voices to sing in solidarity and sisterhood, we will learn this powerful song that will be sung together in the public space, Theatreplein, outside Arenberg on Saturday 27th at 19h (see details below). 

Language : Multi-lingual

Collective Art Work, Madam Fortuna 

A large banner will be created as a participatory and artistic guestbook, where each guest/participant/crew member can write, draw or sew to contribute their reflections, ideas, feelings on the theme of gender (in)equality and violence against women. This collective banner will be displayed during the public closing ceremony on Saturday evening. 

Language : Multi-lingual

Living Library

In the Living Library you don't read books, but people. Interesting persons, whom you perhaps would not meet in your daily life. The Living Library is a tested concept from Danish origin. It brings people together, in order to investigate and challenge prejudices. Just like a real library, where books provide an insight to unknown worlds, the Living Library offers its visitors the chance to step into the world of another person. In a very simple way: by providing a space for a frank conversation. During the 2026WOMEN TRIBUNAL, women from a variety of social and cultural backgrounds, will tell you their story in an open conversation, where everything can be asked. 

Language : Multi-lingual

Workshop ‘Music & Connection’, by GAMS

Discover the power of music in an interactive and playful workshop designed especially for women Tribunal! Together, we will explore rhythms, sounds, and playful musical exercises, no prior experience or knowledge is needed. The goal is to have fun, relax, and most importantly, connect with each other. Let yourself be carried by the rhythms, share your energy, and experience how music can bring people together. Come and join us! 

Language : Multi-lingual

Yoga Workshop, by Carina Van Raemdonck, 2060FLOW

Welcome to this yoga workshop designed as a moment of grounding, restoration, and collective presence. A practice rooted in breath, movement, and mindful awareness. Tools that support resilience, self-connection, and emotional balance. In the spirit of Tribunal26’s mission to honor women’s voices and lives, this session creates a safe and empowering space to embody strength, ease tension, and foster a calmer nervous system, building both inner peace and outer presence.

Language : Dutch & English 

Self-defence workshop, by Kras

Language : Multi-lingual

ACADEMIC PANELS : Commemorating and Reimagining the Tribunal (1976-2026)

The full list of speakers will be announced soon

Morning inaugural session: “Breaking Silence: Rediscovering the 1976 Women’s Tribunal and its Impact”

This panel revisits the 1976 Tribunal through a historical lens, highlighting its global resonance, its political aims, and its radical use of testimony as a form of action. Combining academic contextualisation and live accounts from original participants, it explores how storytelling and collective witnessing became tools for resistance. The goal is to create a space for meaningful dialogue between past and present, offering a rare opportunity to hear from those who lived through this pivotal moment in feminist history. The extended Q&A with the audience further strengthens this connection, ensuring the event remains intimate and engaging, whilst ensuring a commemorative focus on memory, justice, and collective storytelling.

Panel 1: “From Personal Testimony to Political Action: the Legacy of Feminist Storytelling”

This panel explores how personal testimony and storytelling have been central to feminist political strategies, both historically and today. Beginning with the 1976 Tribunal, where hundreds of women broke the silence by sharing their experiences of violence, the panel will trace how personal narratives became tools for collective mobilization and societal change. Speakers will examine the therapeutic, symbolic, and political dimensions of testimony, and discuss how contemporary feminist movements continue to collect, valorize, and politicize women’s voices in the fight for justice.

Panel 2: “Living Archives: Memory, Media, and the Legacy of the Tribunal”

This discussion focuses on the role of archives, media storytelling, and documentary practices in preserving and transmitting the memory of feminist struggles. By revisiting the history of the 1976 Tribunal, the panel will analyze how feminist archival strategies and creative media have kept its political message alive across generations. It will also highlight the challenges of archiving feminist activism, the power dynamics inherent in memory production, and the innovative ways in which contemporary movements engage with feminist historical legacies to fuel current and future struggles.

Panel 3: “Feminist Futures: Social Justice, Technology, and Ecofeminism” 

This panel focuses on the Tribunal as a pioneering moment of feminist civil society engagement, led by non-professional activists who gathered to expose systemic violence and reclaim justice on their own terms. The panel will explore how feminist thought and activism must evolve to address the emerging challenges of the 21st century. It will examine the intersections of gender, technology, and climate justice, focusing on how feminist ethics can guide responses to AI bias, digital surveillance, ecofeminist struggles, and the exploitation of bodies and resources. By connecting historical lessons from past feminist movements to contemporary urgencies, the discussion seeks to imagine new paradigms of care, accountability, and planetary justice.

Language : English

ARTISTIC PERFORMANCES 

2026WOMEN performance (morning)

Language : Multi-lingual

Forum Theatre, Persephone (afternoon)

Persephone vzw is the only association in Flanders for and by women with disabilities or chronic disabling illnesses. Their mission is to empower each other, raise awareness and advocate for their interests in order to achieve full citizenship.

Through their forum theater, Persephone vzw solicits input from the audience to ensure that recently reenacted situations end better. Situations taken from real life, for which a new perspective is sought. You are welcome to join!

Scene 1: about finding and keeping interesting work

Scene 2: about overcoming resistance to motherhood

Scene 3: about breaking through the wall of disbelief in the face of sexual violence

Language : Dutch

FILM SCREENINGS & DEBATES 

Ex Utero: Film screening (1hr15) & discussion with Lili Forestier

A documentary by Lili Forestier. Produced by Nébuleuses ASBL, 2024 (French, English subtitles) 

Ex Utero navigates between a certain history of gynaecology and contemporary testimonies. Facing us, responding to centuries of practice, women testify to one thing in common: having been confronted one day with gynaecological abuse. Both an intimate and historical account, the film uses visuals borrowed from drawings, engravings, paintings and photographs spanning 10 centuries. The result of rigorous documentary research, Ex Utero crosses three time periods and three places. The Middle Ages in Belgium, the 18th century in Alabama in the United States and the 20th century in Auschwitz, Poland. Making films is also about reporting on the world around us and hoping for change. Ex Utero takes a feminist, adelphic and inclusive look at a pain that is still too often silenced in gynaecological surgeries today.

Language : French & English

Hysterical Girls (Bandes d’Hysteriques): Film screening (1hr27) & discussion with Kita Bauchet

A documentary by Kita Bauchet. Produced by Altitude100 Production, 2025. (French, Dutch subtitles) 

Mirroring our post-#MeToo era, the film tells the little-known story of the women's liberation movements in Belgium in the 1970s. Our feminine heritage emerges with humor and insolence, through the irreverent actions of Dolle Mina in Flanders, the support for female miners from Marie Mineur in Wallonia, and the films of Chantal Akerman, a 25-year-old Brussels native who revolutionized cinema. The images of these struggles and encounters, with the women who led them, sheds light on the path we still have to travel to achieve full gender equality in law and in practice.

Language : French & Dutch

EXHIBITIONS

International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women: A Retrospective, by Milene Le Goff, University Libre de Bruxelles

The International Tribunal on Crimes against Women, held in Brussels in 1976, brought together nearly 2000 women from all over the world, representing every continent. A major international feminist meeting, it has nevertheless fallen into oblivion in the collective memory.

A year and a half of research has led to the discovery of many previously unknown archives of the Tribunal. From Berlin to New York, from London to Australia, in the Netherlands or in France... Many sources have been found. Following a work of compilation, analysis and choice of the data to be presented, it was thus possible to mount an exhibition. 

The objective? To allow as many people as possible, without any prior knowledge, to discover the extraordinary adventure of the "International Tribunal on Crimes against Women".

The exhibition is designed to provide an understanding of the background to the Tribunal. It goes back to the reasons that pushed a small group of women to engage in this incredible project. It presents the background of the organization and the challenges faced to make the event happen. Finally, the exhibition helps to highlight the media impact of the Tribunal.

Each section features photographs and archive extracts. Until now, none of them had been made available to the public. The exhibition allows us to gather them and to divulge them.

Language : English, French, Dutch

Weaving A Tapestry of Strength, Solidarity, and Change for the Future, by W100 Women Bridging Bruxelles

A photo exhibition celebrating the women collectives shaping the heartbeat of Brussels. Join us to honour the powerful portraits and stories of women collectives forming a vibrant and powerful movement, rooted in collective resilience, hope, and joy. Join us in celebrating this extraordinary tapestry, because together, we all rise.

2026 WOMEN Exhibition, by Madam Fortuna

For four years, the women of 2026WOMEN have met twice a month to confront and understand the many forms of violence inflicted on women. Together they shared experiences, analysed these injustices, and searched for ways to resist and transform them. At the same time, they gathered to practice a wide range of artistic forms—because creation strengthens the bonds between them and supports each woman’s journey toward emancipation.

Over these four years, they have designed and built the sets and costumes for their performances; they have written and composed songs collectively, which they now sing on stage; they have taken part in theatre workshops, dance sessions and feminist photography labs. They created the symbolic “Cape of Good Hope,” crafted banners and drew and painted dozens of silhouettes carrying their messages. They contributed to the making of props and they wrote poems, manifestos and texts that give voice to their collective vision.

Many of these creations are now displayed at the Arenberg Theatre, four years of feminist creativity and sorority, a constellation of works signed individually or collectively by the participants of 2026WOMEN. 

This performance is part of the 2026WOMEN Tribunal, Calling all voices to unite for gender justice and equality.