On June 29th, 2026, the America Europe Fund at KU Leuven, in partnership with the College of Europe and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tuft University, is pleased to host a transatlantic online conversation entitled “The US Declaration of Independence at 250”.
This webinar will mark the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence and will provide an opportunity to reflect on its historical significance, its intellectual foundations, and its enduring political resonance in the United States, in Europe, and beyond.
While the American Revolution is often associated with issues such as taxation, representation, and political liberties, the discussion will also address broader dimensions of the Declaration’s legacy. These include the political thought that shaped the decision to declare independence, the multiple meanings the Declaration has held for different audiences over time, and its influence on anti-colonial movements, debates on empire, secession, statehood, and democratic development, including in Europe.
The webinar will open with welcome remarks by H.E. Ambassador Dirk WOUTERS.
If you wish to attend this webinar, you are kindly invited to REGISTER HERE.
About the Speakers
Prof. Dr. Koen LENAERTS
Koen Lenaerts is the President of the Court of Justice of the European Union. He holds a Ph.D. in Law (University of Leuven), a Master’s in Law and a Master’s in Public Administration (Harvard University). He has been a Professor of European Law at the University of Leuven since 1983. Previously, he was a Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges (1984-89) and a lawyer in private practice at the Brussels Bar (1986-89), as well as a Visiting Professor at the Harvard Law School (1989). He was a Judge at the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (now the General Court), from 25 September 1989 to 6 October 2003. He has been a Judge at the Court of Justice since 7 October 2003, serving as Vice-President from 9 October 2012 to 7 October 2015 and as President since 8 October 2015.
Prof. Alan HENRIKSON
Alan Henrikson is Lee E. Dirks Professor of Diplomatic History Emeritus and the founding Director of Diplomatic Studies at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, where he has taught Ameriean diplomatic history, contemporary U.S.-European relations, and the history, theory, and practice of diplomacy. He has served as Fulbright Schuman Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges and earlier as Fulbright Professor at the Diplomatische Akademie in Vienna. He also has taught at the Foreign Affairs University in Bejing and more recently (in 2018) at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). A graduate of Harvard University and the University of Oxford, where he read P.P.E. at Balliol College, he has a longstanding interest in the history, strength, and vitality of the Atlantic community in its global context.
Prof. David ARMITAGE
David Armitage is the Lloyd C. Blankfein Professor of History and Chair of the Committee on Degrees in Social Studies at Harvard University. He is also an Affiliated Faculty Member at Harvard Law School, an Honorary Fellow of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, and an Honorary Professor of History at Queen’s University Belfast. Among his nineteen books to date are The Ideological Origins of the British Empire (2000), The Declaration of Independence: A Global History (2007), The Age of Revolutions in Global Context, c. 1760-1840 (co-editor, 2010), Foundations of Modern International Thought (2014), Civil Wars: A History in Ideas (2017) and The Political Thought of John Locke: New Perspectives (co-editor, 2026). He is currently working on a study of opera and international law c. 1600 to the present.
Moderator: Dr Kathryn NASH
Kathryn Nash is a senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh Law School. Her work sits at the intersection of law and politics, and she has written widely on the role of regional organisations in global governance. She earned her PhD in Politics and International Studies from SOAS University of London and her MA in conflict resolution from Georgetown University. Prior to entering academia, she worked for the U.S. State Department in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilisation Operations.