One Health Day, organized as part of the Rêve Général festival in April 2024, made its mark by weaving together academic and artistic interventions. Through theatrical and poetic performances, the event took a sensitive approach to the challenges of human, animal and environmental health, allowing emotion to enlighten and stimulate reflection. Indeed, research and art share a need for creativity, which makes them mutually nourishing.
The Compagnie Adoc, which specializes in documentary theater, kicked off the day with its play Urgence. This collective creation, based on in-depth surveys of players in the sector, plunged spectators into the harrowing daily lives of hospital professionals. Through heartbreaking testimonials, the play highlighted the exhaustion of nursing staff faced with worsening working conditions. Based on this damning observation, the play highlighted the need for solidarity to rethink healthcare in a preventive paradigm that takes into account quality of life and social and natural environments, as exemplified by the "blue zones".
Building on this opening, other shows extended the debate on the determinants of health, in its ramifications within the food system (see [link to food news]). The play Nourrir l'Humanité - Acte 2 (Feeding Humanity - Act 2) portrayed the difficult choices made by those who return to the land to produce differently, on the bangs of the intensive model, while the play Actrices de la résilience (Actresses of Resilience), presented by the Arsenic2 company, highlighted the environmental challenges of agriculture. These two complementary performances shed light on the interconnections between food, health and the environment, within social and economic models that need to be rethought. Theater thus proved to be a powerful vehicle for raising awareness of complex issues.
To end the afternoon on a poetic note, L'Ami Terrien (François Laurent) offered a slam performance that captivated the audience. Playing on the music of words to move us, the artist delivered a rhythmic text inspired by the themes of One Health Day. Blending political reflections and poetry, L'Ami Terrien tackled subjects such as sustainability, social justice and the interconnection between humans and nature.
In the evening, a wide-ranging debate was organized around the concrete implementation of One Health actions at European level. Moderated by Virginie Xhauflair from HEC Liège, this exchange brought together players from the fields of sustainable finance, social entrepreneurship and public policy. It was within this expert framework that the Dis Pourquoi company stepped in, offering improvisations inspired by the central questions of the debate, ahead of each discussion by the invited experts. The comedians brought these questions to life in a playful way, with improvisations full of whimsy and wit, bringing a touch of humor and originality to the exchanges that followed.
By teaming up with committed artists and companies such as Adoc, Dis Pourquoi and L'Ami Terrien, the University of Liège illustrated its determination to break down the barriers between disciplines and promote an integrative approach to health. These performances enriched the academic debates, reaching a wide audience and bringing fresh perspectives on the global challenges of shared health. These moments of creativity reinforced the event's message and inspired concrete courses of action for a healthier, more sustainable future.
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