The First International Mukwege Chair + New Nobles

13 November 2019

Queen Mathilde opened the conference "Building a future for women and children who have been victim of sexual violence in conflicts: an international responsability" at the University of Liège.

The Mukwege Chair does interdisciplinary research in the field of sexual violence against women and unites knowledge on this issue from different partners and universities in Belgium and around the world.

One of the speakers was Françoise Tulkens, magistrate at the European Court of Human Rights, and former President of the Princess Mathilde Foundation.

The chair is the result an initiative launched by Professor Véronique De Keyser, following first contacts in November 2013 between Dr Denis Mukwege and the psychologists of the Faculty of Psychology, Speech and Language Therapy and Educational Sciences (FPLSE) and the doctors of the University Hospital of Liège (CHU).

It was stated various times that Queen Mathilde played a large part in the establishment of this new international chair. It's very likely she brought the various parties together.

In the afternoon Queen Mathilde was present at the royal palace for a ceremony in honour of the persons who received a distinction or a noble title in the past year.

Among those who received the title of baron were Pieter Timmermans (President of the FEB-VBO, Federation of Belgian Enterprises), Jean Claude Vanden Eynde (pianist), Yvonne L'Hoest (Founder of Les Restos du Coeur) and Ingrid De Jonghe (Director of the free youth Counselling network TEJO).