Salon de la pensée - De stad is de wereld

Salon de la Pensée brings leading thinkers to an interested public in an informal setting and makes room - literally and figuratively - for reflection on topical subjects concerning artistic and social life. In Salon de la Pensée #4 we are reflecting on tomorrow's cities. The majority of the world's population now lives in cities. This migration towards the city and the expectation of finding a better economic life there have continued to increase. At the same time, the ecological boundaries will have also been reached. The future will be for the city, or there will be no future. The question is, how is the city to be supported in its project of providing a caring and sustainable future for the whole world, which even now is already living in its streets. Can the city save the world? Eric Corijn (VUB) responds to this question with an optimistic 'yes'. The city is not a country, says Corijn, and that is precisely why it can save the world. It is because the city houses the world that it holds the key to solving the problems of the world, which are the problems in its streets. As a place where very different communities gather, the city is not founded in one single community, and can therefore only prove itself as a project for a future society. The city looks ahead and seeks ways in which these communities - each of which is confronted in a different way with the problems of globalisation, migration, inequality and ecological depletion - can map out a shared future. Stijn Oosterlynck (UA) also sees the city as a gathering place for different communities, but raises questions about the social mix. According to him it only benefits the privileged. So it is better to protect some neighbourhoods in the city as arrival or transit zones where people can arrive safely, discover the right services and networks to commence their climb up the social ladder, and find an affordable place to live. The consequences of globalisation, ecological depletion and severe inequality are a real challenge for the city. It will not be able to provide a sustainable and caring future for all communities if it does not get resources and the leaders that are thoroughly dedicated to this end. It must therefore be underpinned by a strong welfare state. As an artist whose interventions take place mainly in an urban setting, Jeanne van Heeswijk works on the effects of globalisation, inequality and ecological depletion. By means of artistic interventions she tries to increase people's insight into their own situation and help them reformulate this situation as a shared injustice. She translates the frustration of individuals powerless in the face of a complex reality into a shared struggle and concern. The end result is increased insight, assertiveness, strength and militancy, but also a reserve of imagination and strategies intended to help give enduring form to this struggle and concern for the city.