CAVA preserves the heritage related to the secular humanism in Flanders and Brussels (1945-present) and the academic heritage of the VUB (1856-present).

The heritage of the Flemish university community at the ULB and of the VUB consists of: archives of student and alumni associations (e.g. the ‘Brussels Studentengenootschap Geen Taal Geen Vrijheid’, the ‘Studiekring Vrij Onderzoek’, faculty and regional student associations and the ‘Oudstudentenbond’), faculties and research units and personal archives of academics, alumni and students. All these archives contribute to a better knowledge of the history and the university commitments. This collection also includes various magazines, a collection of many thousands of photos and collections of textiles, posters, objects and medals.

The archives and collections from the institutions of organised secularism bear witness to the secular humanist outlook on life. A few examples from the CAVA collection:

• archives of the ‘Humanistisch Verbond’, the ‘Humanistisch-Vrijzinnig Vormingswerk’ and the ‘Humanistisch-Vrijzinnige Vereniging’, from its founding in 1951 until today, from both the national management as well as the local departments;
• archives of the ‘Unie Vrijzinnige Verenigingen / deMens.nu’;
• paper and video archives of non-profit organisation ‘Het Vrije Woord’;
• archives of the ‘Oudervereniging voor de Moraal’.

CAVA also keep magazines and newsletters from secular humanist associations and organisations, with an emphasis on Dutch language publications. The files made accessible online can be searched via the online catalogue. For more info, you can always contact us.

The reading room has a reference library with reference books and publications on the history of the university and on secular humanism.

For a more complete overview of our collections, please consult our Dutch pages.