Closing words

16:45 to 17:00 PM
Studio 4

In this closing session, we reflected on the day's insightful discussions and presentations. We synthesized the key takeaways from our diverse speakers and audience, exploring the potential and challenges of AI in shaping a better future. This moment also served as a chance to spotlight and celebrate our first cohort, sharing the experiences and achievements of the FARI Postgraduate Program's 2024 alumni.

Meet the speakers

  • Karen Boers

    SPEAKER

    FARI Managing Director

    Karen is an impact entrepreneur known for challenging the status quo in technology, entrepreneurship, and digital skills. She founded and led initiatives such as Startups.be, the European Startup Network, BeCentral, and BeCode, focusing on developing and recruiting diverse talent. Recognized as one of the top 50 most influential women in the European startup and venture capital space from 2016 to 2020, she was nominated as ‘ICT Woman of the Year’ in 2019 and named among ‘Inspiring Fifty’ in 2021 and ‘Radical Innovator’ in 2022. Currently, Karen runs the Brussels-based AI Centre for the Common Good and is a sought-after speaker on corporate social responsibility, leadership, diversity and inclusion, talent acquisition, psychosocial well-being, and impact finance.

  • Silvia Erzeel

    SPEAKER

    Silvia Erzeel is Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and the VUB Centre for Democratic Futures

    Silvia Erzeel is Associate Professor of Political Science at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). She is member of the VUB Centre for Democratic Futures (DFUTURE), co-chair of the ULB-VUB Joint Research Group ‘The Politics of Democratic Governance’ (DEGO) and co-director of the ‘Democratic Governance’ programme for the Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies (BrIAS, 2025-2027). In her research, she examines the causes and consequences of gender and social inequalities in representative democracy.

    Her PhD thesis (2012, VUB) dealt with the political representation of women in national and regional parliaments in Europe. Her recent work explores how representative actors and institutions (such as political parties and parliaments) navigate the so-called crisis of representative democracy, and how they respond to it by means of democratic reform and innovations.

    She is particularly interested in developments aimed at the inclusion of traditionally underrepresented groups. Her recent publications appear in academic journals such as European Journal of Politics and Gender, Political Studies Review, Parliamentary Affairs, and Acta Politica.

    Alongside articles, she is co-author (with Petra Ahrens) of the 2024 handbook Beyond numbers: Stories of Gender Equality in and through Parliaments, commissioned by International IDEA and INTER PARES.