ICCFR Annual Conference

Keynote Speakers

The Keynote Speakers for the Conference will offer a cross-cultural, international point of view on the subject of the family’s role as a critical environment in which resilience is cultivated.

Thursday, 28 May, 2026

The  Welcome Session will feature our first keynote speaker, Prof Marie-Claire Foblets. Professor Foblets is a Belgian legal scholar and anthropologist renowned for her work on migration, legal pluralism and the interaction between law and culture.

Trained in law at the University of Antwerp and KU Leuven, she also studied philosophy and completed further studies in anthropology at the University of Münster. After practising at the Brussels Bar in migration and minority law, she pursued an academic career spanning over two decades.

 Since 2012, she has directed the Department of Law & Anthropology at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology. A member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts, she received the prestigious Francqui Prize in 2004.

Prof Foblets topic is “How globalisation and socio-cultural change reshape family systems”.

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Friday morning, 29 May, 2026

The featured Keynote Speakers are Dirk Geldof, Kathleen Emmery, Silke Peeters, Kim Lecoyer and Birsen Taspinar

Silke Peeters researches bi-cultural relationships and Cohousilience, completing her second Master’s in Sociology with a focus on social data science.

Kim Lecoyer, a lawyer and specialist in intercultural psychology and religion, investigates conflict and mediation in Belgian Muslim families and trains professionals on diversity and dialogue.

Dirk Geldof is a sociologist and senior researcher, expert on superdiversity, migration, and refugees, and author of Superdiverse Flanders and Superdiversity: How Migration Transforms Society.

Kathleen Emmery leads the Kenniscentrum Gezinswetenschappen and teaches family sciences at Campus Schaarbeek, bringing deep experience in research and education.

Together, they provide insight into how today’s families navigate diversity and challenge policies and support systems.

Their topic is “When the family becomes superdiverse. How bi-cultural couples challenge family support and policies”.

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Friday afternoon, 29 May, 2026

The featured Keynote Speaker is Philippe Lortie who is First Secretary at the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) in the Netherlands, a position he has held since 2001.

He is co-responsible for the International Family & Child Protection Law Division, overseeing key instruments including the 1980 Child Abduction, 1996 Child Protection, 2000 Protection of Adults and 2007 Child Support Conventions.

Previously, he served as Legal Counsel at Canada’s Department of Justice (1991–2001), leading Canadian delegations to the HCCH, UNIDROIT and UNCITRAL. A member of the Québec Bar, he holds degrees in Civil Law and Common Law, as well as an LL.M. in international law.

Mr Lortie’s topic is “The Application of the Hague Children Conventions to Families on the Move Including Bicultural Families”.

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Day 3, 30 May 2026

Optional Site Visit 10:30 – 12:00

We invite you to join us for an exclusive guided tour of MMM Migratie Museum Migration, founded by the Foyer de Molenbeek

The MMM opened its doors in Molenbeek on 12 October 2019, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Foyer asbl. MMM tells the story of immigrant workers, the first arrivals at the Little Castle, expatriates, refugees, Europeans who moved freely within the EU and all the others. It also pays tribute to the many migrants who have helped shape the city.

Address: Rue des Ateliers 17, 1080 Molenbeek

Travel to and from the museum will be at delegates’ own arrangement – Metro line 1 or 5 (direction Erasme, Weststation) to Comte de Flandre (10-15 min from central station) than 5 min walk to Rue des Ateliers 17 

Entrance fee of 5€