On 9 December 1425, KU Leuven, the oldest university in the Low Countries, was founded. It is also the oldest surviving Catholic university in the world. On 3 February, together with sister institution UC Louvain, the 600th anniversary year was initiated by awarding five honorary doctorates to deserving individuals and organisations.
Who received the honour?
- The Belgian branch of the internationally renowned humanitarian NGO Médecins du Monde, recognised for the medical care and assistance it provides to vulnerable groups worldwide.
- British-Palestinian multimedia and installation artist Mona Hatoum, whose work has been exhibited in numerous major museums worldwide.
- The recently deceased American-Dutch biologist Frans de Waal, regarded as one of the world’s leading primatologists, gained recognition for studying and demonstrating, among other things, the complex behaviour, intelligence, self-awareness, and social interactions of great apes.
- German economist and philosopher Max Roser, best known for creating the database Our World in Data.
- The researcher from Burkina Faso, Halidou Tinto, who dedicates himself daily to the fight against malaria and is the driving force behind the Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro (CRUN) in his country.
Dedicated to confronting the major social challenges of our time, these individuals and institutions do so with both resolve and professionalism.
