As part of the course Civilizations of Central Europe, prepared this year by dr Cécile Bocianowski, a series of workshops and meetings dedicated to Polish history and literature was organized at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB).

Entitled Childhood Narratives under Communism, the series invites reflection on historical and family memory through direct exchanges with women writers from Central Europe. Designed as participatory workshops, the meetings actively involve students, who are invited to prepare questions, read excerpts and lead discussions.

The programme consisted of two main events:

• On 25 March 2026, comic book writer and film director Marzena Sowa spoke about her work, including the Marzi series (2005–2017) and the film The Godmother (2024), which had been screened in advance of the class. The event was divided into two parts: a discussion with the students, followed by a 45-minute writing workshop devoted to childhood memories and family memory from a European perspective, including a reflection on the participants’ cultural and identity roots.

• On 1 April 2026, a joint meeting brought together writers Grażyna Plebanek and Lenka Horňaková-Civade, around their texts published in the anthology Girls from the East, Women from the West (ed. Élisabeth Lesne, Intervalles, 2022). The discussion focused on their literary careers, their works and representations of the female experience in Eastern Europe.

These meetings formed part of an interdisciplinary approach combining literature, history and creative practice, with an emphasis on personal narratives as tools for understanding the social and political realities of the past.

Marzena Sowa is the co-creator, together with Sylvain Savoia, of the internationally acclaimed autobiographical series Marzi, inspired by her childhood in communist Poland. A prolific script-writer, in her comics she explores themes related to childhood, history and political systems. She also works on a range of other projects, including children’s books, translations and adaptations, such as Gaël Faye’s Petit Pays in 2021.

Grażyna Plebanek is a Polish writer and a keen observer of social life in her adopted country, Belgium. Far from denying her origins, she insists that what makes Europe diverse is the contribution of its cultures. “I feel European with my Polish roots and my experience of Belgium.”