11 November Lecture 2026

Date
10/11/2026
20:45 - 22:45

Attendance at this event is free of charge but registration is required, via the form at the bottom of this page.

Meinie Nicolai, former Director at Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), has more than thirty years of experience in humanitarian aid. In recent years, she has witnessed first-hand how respect for healthcare in times of war has rapidly declined.

For her, providing medical care to people in need is not an act of heroism:

“It stems from a deep motivation to support others. But there is nothing straightforward about voluntarily travelling to a war zone as a humanitarian worker. Humanitarian workers go because they can make a fundamental difference to someone else’s life, and they rely on the protection afforded by medical neutrality, which is enshrined in International Humanitarian Law.”

In this Eleventh of November Lecture, she will explore, among other questions, whether and when the destruction of healthcare capacity becomes a deliberate strategy of war. In doing so, she will draw parallels with the First World War.

“The wars of today are no more brutal than those of the past. During the First World War, nurse Ellen La Motte wrote: the science of healing stood speechless before the science of destruction.”

During the lecture, Meinie Nicolai will connect lessons from the First World War with her experiences and observations in conflict zones such as Syria, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Gaza, as well as offering a sharp insider’s perspective on the current state and future of International Humanitarian Law.

Programme

8.15 pm: Doors open and reception at CC Het Perron
(It is possible to attend the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate at 8 pm and walk to CC Het Perron immediately afterwards (approximately 15 minutes) for the lecture.)

8.45 pm: Welcome and introduction by Stephen Lodewyck, Director of the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres, and Katrien Desomer, Mayor of Ypres

8.55 pm: 11 November Lecture by Meinie Nicolai
Music by the Ypres Chamber Choir (cond.: Dirk Coutigny), Cato Michiel (violin) and Michaël Pinket (piano)

9.55 pm: Closing remarks by Nils Duquet, Director of the Flemish Peace Institute

10.00 pm: Reception