The Belgian Advisory Committee on Bioethics is pleased to invite you to save the date of Thursday 8 October 2026 for its biennial conference, which will also mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Committee. This conference, organised at the Hôtel Cardo Brussels in Brussels, will focus on the theme of accessibility to healthcare, drawing on the Levesque model and addressing the major ethical issues related to effective access to care for all.
Emplacement
⚠️ Change of venue
the Hôtel Cardo Brussels,
Avenue du Boulevard 14,
1210 Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
Belgique
Programme
"Care for all?
Ethical principles and realities on the ground"
8 OCTOBER 2026 - KVS BRUXELLES
Morning session
Participant Registration and Welcome 9h00
Opening Remarks 9h
Virginie Pirard, President of the Belgian Bioethics Advisory Committee
Making Access to Healthcare a Continuing Commitment 9H15
Koen Hermans, Associate professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences at KU Leuven
Patient Testimonial - Long COVID 09h45
Jacinthe Dancot
Healthcare for All? The Current Situation in Belgium 10h30
Nicolas Bouckaert, expert at the Federal Centre for Health Care Expertise (KCE)
Break
Undesirability in Healthcare: Between Normative Expectations, Relational Failure and Social Marginalization 11h
Hajar Laghmiche, Mental Health Mediator at the Brussels Platform for Mental Health
Breach or Bulwark? Sociological Perspectives on Health Professions and Equity 11h30
Céline Mahieu, Professor and Sociologist at the ULB School of Public Health
Testimony as a parent-expert
12:00Delphine Heenen, Founder of the KickCancer Foundation
Morning Wrap-Up 11h30
Patrick Cras and Jan De Lepeleire, Vice-presidents of the Committee
Drink and lunch
Afternoon session
The Committee at 30: Perspectives on the Role of Bioethics 13h45
Dialogue Between Two Former Chairs of the Committee: Marie-Geneviève Pinsart and Paul Schotsmans
Moderated by Geneviève Schamps (current Vice-Chair of the Committee)Introduction to the Workshops 14h30
Workshops
14h50
- Seamless journey - Interdisciplinarity and continuity of care
Peter Pype, Associate professor at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at Ghent University (UGent)
Moderator: Paul Van Royen, Member of the Committee - Receiving Care Without Falling Into Poverty: Economic Barriers and Possible Solutions
Michel Roland, professeur émérite de médecine générale à l'Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
Moderator: Madame Jacqueline Herremans, Member of the Committee - The Treatment Gap in Mental Health Care: From Unmet Demand to Insufficient Service Availability
Frieda Matthys, Professor Emerita of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Moderator: Jan De Lepeleire, Vice-Chair of the Committee
Summary of the Workshop Discussions and Closing Remarks 15h50
Virginie Pirard, Chair of the Belgian Advisory Committee on Bioethics
Programme
"Care for all?
Ethical principles and realities on the ground"
8 OCTOBER 2026 - KVS BRUXELLES
Morning session
Participant Registration and Welcome 9h00
Opening Remarks 9h
Virginie Pirard, President of the Belgian Bioethics Advisory Committee
Making Access to Healthcare a Continuing Commitment 9H15
Koen Hermans, Associate professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences at KU Leuven
Patient Testimonial - Long COVID 09h45
Jacinthe Dancot
Healthcare for All? The Current Situation in Belgium 10h30
Nicolas Bouckaert, expert at the Federal Centre for Health Care Expertise (KCE)
Break
Undesirability in Healthcare: Between Normative Expectations, Relational Failure and Social Marginalization 11h
Hajar Laghmiche, Mental Health Mediator at the Brussels Platform for Mental Health
Breach or Bulwark? Sociological Perspectives on Health Professions and Equity 11h30
Céline Mahieu, Professor and Sociologist at the ULB School of Public Health
Testimony as a parent-expert
12:00Delphine Heenen, Founder of the KickCancer Foundation
Morning Wrap-Up 11h30
Patrick Cras and Jan De Lepeleire, Vice-presidents of the Committee
Drink and lunch
Afternoon session
The Committee at 30: Perspectives on the Role of Bioethics 13h45
Dialogue Between Two Former Chairs of the Committee: Marie-Geneviève Pinsart and Paul Schotsmans
Moderated by Geneviève Schamps (current Vice-Chair of the Committee)Introduction to the Workshops 14h30
Workshops
14h50
- Seamless journey - Interdisciplinarity and continuity of care
Peter Pype, Associate professor at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at Ghent University (UGent)
Moderator: Paul Van Royen, Member of the Committee - Receiving Care Without Falling Into Poverty: Economic Barriers and Possible Solutions
Michel Roland, professeur émérite de médecine générale à l'Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
Moderator: Madame Jacqueline Herremans, Member of the Committee - The Treatment Gap in Mental Health Care: From Unmet Demand to Insufficient Service Availability
Frieda Matthys, Professor Emerita of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Moderator: Jan De Lepeleire, Vice-Chair of the Committee
Summary of the Workshop Discussions and Closing Remarks 15h50
Virginie Pirard, Chair of the Belgian Advisory Committee on Bioethics