Human Chapters: Exploring Cultures, Traditions, and Travel tips
Room
Classroom 4
Start time
End time
08:00
08:50
Max. capacity*
30
What we'll talk about
Celebrate cultural diversity and get inspiration for your next trip with us! This session brings together locals and internationals to share unique customs, traditions, and stories from their cultures as well as sharing travel tips. Learn about holidays, history, and social norms through 10-minute conversations that build understanding and community spirit.
This session follows a human library-inspired format: no presentations, just genuine, face-to-face conversations with volunteers who are excited to share their experiences and knowledge. Expect short, engaging chats that encourage curiosity and connection with some wonderful humans
Your host(s)
Julie Hermans
Moderator: Julie Heremans, Co-founder Cumbaya
In 2023 left her job to spend a year travelling the World. During her journey, she met incredible people and gathered invaluable perspectives. When she returned, fresh with her travel experience, she co-founded travel app: cumbaya. Their aim is to make travel accessible to all, promoting understanding, inclusivity, and environmental sustainability. Crucially, they take the hassle out of the planning part: Cumbaya is redefining travel with an all-in-one platform designed to seamlessly plan, book, and manage trips! Julie will moderate this session and be on hand to chat about all things travel!
Human Chapters: Ruturaj and Sneha - Indian Foodies
Topic: Navigating across Belgian food culture to satisfy Asian taste buds. We can also answer any questions about Indian Cuisine, our favorite flavors and travel stories!
Home country: India (State:- Goa)
Language- English
About Ruturaj and Sneha: They have been together since 14 years and married for 3 years. They Run their Instagram blog together named @Foodies_in_Mog which revolves around exploring food across the world. They are in Belgium for last 2 years and welcoming life as it comes. They both work in engineering, Sneha works as cloud engineer at Dataroots Leuven and Ruturaj works at Atlas Copco Antwerp.
Human Chapter: Tony - A brief history of Northern Ireland
About Tony: I am a 33 year old Research and Development Scientist at imec. I moved to Leuven 3 years ago with my wee dog Theia (now 4 years old). I love talking to people and have many passions and I am grateful for the opportunity to share some of them with you.
Home country: Northern Ireland
Languages: English
About Tony’s Passion: Derry Girls, Say Nothing and Kneecap. Northern Ireland seems to be having something of a pop culture moment right now. All these pieces of media have something in common, they are set in Northern Ireland, and The Troubles is ever present in the background. Learn more about The Troubles, Northern Ireland and its communities and their idiosyncrasies from the point of view of someone who was born and raised in the beautiful Mourne Mountains, studied in Belfast and lived and worked in Derry.
Human Chapter: Flavio - World Heritage Sites
About Flavio: I am a researcher at KU Leuven, hosted by the massive but welcoming Erasmushuis, where I look for ways to deal computationally with Latin texts of the Renaissance,. I have been living in Leuven for little more than a year now, and though I have started settling down you will often find me in some remote corner of Belgium in my free time!
Home country: Italy
Languages: Italian, German, French, English, Greek, a bit Norwegian and let's add Dutch!
About Flavio's passion: The World in Belgium, Belgium in the World - What’s exactly this “world heritage” that’s becoming increasingly popular? Is it just a buzzword for tourist-baiting or is there something more? And where can it be found in Belgium? In my chapter I will demystify everything about UNESCO world heritage sites for you, and try to make you understand why you should probably be equally excited standing in front of a non-descript cave in a random corner of Belgium, or the Taj-Mahal (which is not in Belgium).
Are you passionate about sharing the history, culture, traditions, stories or social norms of your home country or region? Take part to foster understanding and share the essence of your culture!
Sign up as a human book by emailing us: expatival@leuven.be
There are no reservations, it's a first come first served event, so be there on time to avoid disappointment!