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Social Challenges and Sustainable Development


Jobs, migration, integration, work-related burn-out, same-sex marriages, patchwork families, surrogate mothers, the moralisation of capitalism, the protection of minorities, urban mobility, social networks, access to education and healthcare, etc. - the challenges facing our societies are countless and the subject of a lot of work done by our research teams. Over the years, the ULB has built up considerable expertise in the fields of integration and discrimination, with our researchers trying, for example, to better understand - in view of combating them - the causes and mechanisms of discrimination, whether at school or at work, whether ethnic, social, religious or sexual. There are special focuses on schools, work, finding a job, ergonomics, stress management, as well as the evolution of certain occupations and skills in the face of technological developments. These efforts also go hand-in-hand with research in the teaching field. This research includes more specific studies into issues facing cities, and Brussels in particular, and covers such questions as demographics, urban redevelopment, mobility, police and security, public health, urban architecture, etc. A number of multidisciplinary studies similarly address issues involving gender and minorities - studies which also involve questioning universities themselves and the practices exercised there. Sustainable development and, more generally, environmental issues, are the subject of specific research at the ULB, often conducted in a multidisciplinary spirit linking up humanities with other more ''technical'' disciplines. Finally, our research teams are working on a series of ethical and bioethical issues: how to accompany the dying? Should research on embryos be allowed? Do values have a place in a company? How should we go about managing risks (health and nuclear risks, terrorism, etc.) and applying the ''principle of precaution''?