Academic year 2018-19

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hristine Mahy is one of Wallonia's leading figures in the fight against poverty, an activist committed to a more collective society and aware of the need to enrich society by integrating differences and taking minorities into account. Trained as a social worker, she drew her convictions and commitment from socio-cultural action, initially in rural areas in the province of Luxembourg.

Born in Marloie in 1960, her studies convinced her that social assistance needed to integrate and involve people to a greater extent, an approach she initiated in the early 80s when she set up the non-profit organization "La Chenille", a community center located in a social housing estate in Marche-en-Famenne. Her encounters with the Turkish community of Marche and with the fragile populations of these neighborhoods enlightened her on the evidence that people have the desire for a cultural, economic and social existence that can be real in the local and regional community. Christine Mahy became convinced very early on that culture and society were inseparable, and that lifelong learning was the keystone of this. Within the association, she multiplies training and emancipation actions for adults through literacy, putting literature for children and young people on the streets.. 

Christine Mahy's commitment to both social and cultural issues is reflected in her work at the Centre Culturel Local de Marche-en-Famenne, which she managed throughout the 90s. She oriented the institution's actions and operations towards cultural democracy and lifelong learning. Rather than a "show" culture, she favored processes of creation and cultural production by local people, notably in the form of action-theater. It will also give pride of place to the expression of young people.

In the early 2000s, Christine Mahy joined the non-profit organization "Miroir Vagabond", where she formalized a socio-cultural development project entitled "Contrat de Pays Ourthe-Salm", involving six communes in the north of the province of Luxembourg. Questions of identity, territory, circulation and participation in the life of the city remain more than ever at the heart of the approaches she promotes.

Convinced that it is essential to move society towards greater equity in order to eradicate poverty, Christine Mahy is involved in the non-profit organization Centre de Médiation des Gens du Voyage en Wallonie and in the Réseau Wallon de Lutte contre la Pauvreté (Walloon Anti-Poverty Network), of which she has been President and is currently Secretary General. She has also chaired the Belgian Anti-Poverty Network.

In 2005, she was awarded the Bologna-Lemaire Walloon Woman of the Year prize in recognition of " an exemplary player in socio-cultural action in Wallonia, promoting comprehensive local and regional development actionin rural areas affecting the entire population ". In 2012, she was made a Knight of the Walloon Order of Merit.

For Christine Mahy, the fight against poverty is a question of social justice and equity, a question of access to and exercise of rights, a question of democracy. " Living in conditions of poverty or impoverishment over the long term leads to the development of survival behaviors that create habits of living linked to deprivation, ignorance, isolation and living 'outside the system'. This leads to progressive and often increasingly intense disaffiliation. And finally, what some call "generational poverty" develops. Because generational poverty is neither inevitable nor genetic... unfortunately, it is insidiously and deeply entrenched." (extract from the website of Réseau Wallon de Lutte contre la Pauvreté)

By awarding an honorary doctorate to Christine Mahy, the University of Liège would be reaffirming through her example the emancipatory role of education and culture, a role that guides and inspires ULiège, a public university that aims to be open to as many people as possible, regardless of social conditions, differences or origins.