Many studies and data have been gathered about transgressive behaviour in clubs and bars or during concerts and festivals. The reality is often even worse than the figures would suggest. How big is this problem, and which subcultures or genres suffer most? Is transgressive behaviour reported more in certain contexts than in others?
In the last few years, we’ve seen many promising initiatives, and organisers frequently refer to their events as ‘safe spaces’. This shows that they’re putting more effort into the prevention of inappropriate behaviour. But is enough being done, or is it just a lot of talk? What do we really need to do to make concerts, festivals, clubs and bars fun and safe for everyone?
On November 26 at AB Club, together with a panel of experts who strive to make the music industry and nightlife safer and more inclusive, we hope to find answers to all those questions.

Panel
Maïté Meeûs (Balance Ton Bar) 
Eric Cyuzuzo (Vaartkapoen, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, BHM)
Anja De Geyter (Pukkelpop) 
Caroline Bastiaensen (PhD researcher at KU Leuven, specializing in the role of bystanders in recognizing inappropriate behavior)
Moderator Michèle Cuvelier

The registration fee is €3, but you’ll receive an equivalent amount in drink tokens upon arrival. Don’t miss this talk; register now. The talk will happen in English.

Eric Cyuzuzo is a sociocultural worker who programs, curates and produces multidisciplinary events (mainly concerts and parties but also talks, presentations, screenings, exhibitions and participative workshops) within Belgian and foreign cultural organisations, both in permanent positions – currently at VK Concerts (@VKvaartkapoen, 2023-present) and Kunstenfestivaldesarts (@kunstenfestivaldesarts, 2019-present) – or as an invited freelancer.  
 
Alongside his staunchly socio-politically engaged work within the cultural organisations that employ or invite him, Eric also creates sociocultural community spaces and is engaged with various Brussels-based grassroots initiatives and platforms that aim to shed light on the story of black people in their intersectional identities. He is currently the general coordinator of Black History Month Belgium (@BHMbelgium, 2020-present) and is the co-founder and coordinator of the collective Som•m•e Of Us (@somme.of.us, 2023-present).  
 
Maïté Meeûs launched the ‘Balance Ton Bar’ movement at the young age of 23, with the aim of exposing the disturbing phenomenon of sexual violence under the influence of drugs. She dedicated all her efforts to this movement and has seen it spread to over 50 cities worldwide. Her activism drew significant attention from both political and media channels, leading to significant changes, such as the reform of the Belgian penal code on sexual violence.  
 
In recognition of her efforts for victims of sexual violence, Maïté received the Amnesty International Youth Human Rights Prize in 2022. In addition, Maïté is the founder of Artémise, a non-profit organisation that supports the most vulnerable of sexual violence survivors, both children and adults.  
  
Anja De Geyter has been a full-time employee of Pukkelpop since 2010, where she is responsible for Customer Care and Customer Experience, which includes the coordination of neighbourhood initiatives via Buren PKP as well as senior copywriting. She is also a member of the We Care A Lot working group and an all-round troubleshooter who offers support and creates solutions in diverse areas. 
  
Caroline Bastiaensen has worked for KU Leuven since 2018. Her PhD research looks into transgressive behaviour in the workplace in the broadest sense of the term: aggression, bullying, discrimination, sexual harassment, social exclusion, toxic leadership etc. She focuses on when, why and how colleagues react when they notice such behaviour in the workplace. She also teaches various courses and organises guest sessions both within and outside KU Leuven. Outside the university, Caroline also works as a freelancer in the festival and event sector. As a prevention adviser and safety coordinator, she works around all things relating to safety, regularly performing roles within dispatching and crisis centres at large events.  
 
Moderator Michèle Cuvelier is a wizard with words. Whether she’s in front of a TV camera or in a radio studio or making a podcast, you can expect a deluge of wit and attitude. After graduating with a master’s in Diction from the Herman Tierlinck Studio, in 2015 she started to combine language with her other passion: music. On Studio Brussel, she presented, among others, De Ochtendshow, De Warmste Week and, from this year, the music experience programme Radar. She also created the lauded podcast Hey Paul. She also appears on TV screens as the permanent presenter of the annual musical talk show De Tijdloze on Canvas and as the face of Rock Werchter and Pukkelpop in their live broadcasts, also on Canvas. Her impressive skill set is rounded off by voice acting and stage hosting.