The Academia Sensuum (‘Academy of the Senses’) is a space where people are invited to stop, meet and listen to each other. It is housed in the former square farm ‘La Rivelaine’, in the heart of Lillois-Witterzee (Walloon Brabant). For decades, the farm has stood out as a place for meeting and dialogue. Here, awareness of our interconnectedness with the world, with nature and with all living things is awakened, in a quest for harmony and peace.

The Academy was founded at La Rivelaine in the spring of 2024. It is an initiative of the ASBL “Monastic Association for Encounter and Dialogue” formed by a small group of monks and their friends. The members of the Association share the conviction that the planet will prosper in a sustainable way by giving priority to ecological harmony and a culture of intra-connectivity with all that lives. Like its host La Rivelaine, the Academia Sensuum aims to serve the world and society by building inspiration for tomorrow's generations today. “Digging wells for the water of future generations”: this is the mission to which the founders of Academia Sensuum wish to commit themselves by offering a programme of education through a wide range of activities (conferences, workshops, concerts, exhibitions, etc.).

The name chosen for this offer, Academia Sensuum, indicates both the systematic training method and the integral exploration of the ‘senses’ in the different but complementary meanings of this term.

A first cycle of 10 lectures (one Friday evening per month) is announced for the end of summer 2024. During autumn 2024 other initial activities will be announced.