Facing the Darkness: Hope and Courage Against Overwhelming Odds
Signum University invites you to join us on Saturday, 23 May for Willow Moot 2026. This English-language hybrid event will occur at the Collegium Veteranorum at Maria Theresa College in Leuven, Belgium. For our return to Belgium, we invite you to contemplate Facing the Darkness: Hope and Courage Against Overwhelming Odds.
Register Here for Willow Moot!
From Beowulf to Tolkien, C.S. Lewis to Terry Pratchett, Star Wars to Marvel, the stories that stay with us, that matter, have our heroes facing overwhelming odds and continuing on, finding hope and courage to face the darkness. What is it about these heroes that makes them continue on even when they have a chance of turning back? And what can we learn from these stories, these heroes, to help us navigate the world today?
During Willow Moot 2026 we want to inspire hope and help people find the courage to bring light into the world and face the darkness. We are looking for papers that:
- Analyse hope and courage when it comes to facing overwhelming odds in fiction.
- Make a connection between principles for facing the darkness that an author presents in fiction, and how these may be applied in the real world.
- Use fiction to inspire hope/courage in the listener.
- Any other non-Tolkien interpretation of the theme you may come up with.
We look forward to hearing your paper!
The Willow Moot Team is accepting proposals for creative presentations, academic papers, workshops, or discussion panels on our 2026 theme. We invite presentations in person at the event and from remote attendees. Our Call for Proposals closes on 23 April.
Submit Your Presentation Proposal Here!
Please note that a conference theme helps tie the day together and optimize fun, and we welcome anyone to respond to the Call for Proposals. Our moots are supportive environments for practicing or developing your presentation skills regardless of your experience.
Following the Moot, there will be an informal, unofficial dinner at a local restaurant with Corey Olsen and the Willow Moot team. This is not included in the registration fee and will be at your own additional cost.
Please read our Regional Moot Recording and Privacy Notice. You will be required to agree to its contents in our registration system before completing your ticket purchase.
Additionally, during the event photographs and/or audio-visual recordings may be taken by the Land of Willow’s Smial for the purposes of sharing event highlights on social media, or for promotional use for future events. As these materials may be made available online, they may be subject to international data transfers. In order to be able to do this, we will need your consent on the registration form.
