News and Events -----------

This year the three million British citizens living overseas got a massive – and long overdue - Christmas present: the right to vote (again) in UK national elections. From 16 January 2024 UK citizens will be able to re-register to vote in UK election.

Since 2002 the so-called 15-year rule has disenfranchised any British citizen who has lived outside the UK for more than 15 years. The Elections Act 2022 repealed this rule, but required the passing of secondary legislation to implement the change. This legislation was finally approved on 18 December 2023 – just in time for Christmas.

Our friends at the British in Europe (BiE) coalition have been instrumental in promoting and lobbying for this change and you can find more information including a FAQs blog on their website (see links below).

Don’t delay

With a UK general election due within the next 14 months, if you want to vote you should not delay in reclaiming your rights.

If you have been living outside the UK for less than 15 years then it may be wise to renew your voting registration as soon as possible as here may be a rush to register when the millions of currently disenfranchised UK citizens get their voting rights back on 16 January.

More information on the BiE blog.

FAQs on registration on the BiE blog.

Hidden Gems - a community singing event – is coming to Brussels from 9-12 May 2024. UK-based international composers Jeremy Avis and Rebecca Askew have been running ‘Hidden Gems’ events since 2019 which involve amateur singers joining together in different European cities over several days. A ‘tasty’ collection of songs are taught to participants inspired by the places being visited, enhancing each participant’s experience and revealing to them whole new ways of seeing places they may already know well.

At least one new piece of music dedicated to the city is composed for each event, influenced by the acoustics and history of the wonderful places chosen to sing in. The new piece always involves local professional instrumentalists who add further spice to the choral sounds produced. Both the singers, and the audiences who enjoy these free performances, are always energised by the music.

A unique guided tour of Brussels for our singers as part of our May 2024 event will be provided by Derek Blyth, the well-known British author of ‘500 Hidden Secrets of Brussels’. The event will end with a 'singing walk' through the city on the final day, Sunday 12 May.

More details can be found here and there is an early bird discount if people sign up to sing before 31 January 2024.

The first International Study Group (ISG) talk of 2024 will take place on Monday 15 January and will feature the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Clean Space Initiative. This programme stands at the forefront of preserving both terrestrial and orbital environments while enhancing Europe's space sector's competitiveness. Committed to cleaning up space and minimizing the environmental impact of space activities, the initiative focuses on eco-designing space missions, managing end-of-life missions, and pioneering in-orbit servicing, including active debris removal. Through these efforts, ESA is taking global leadership in ensuring the safe and sustainable use of valuable orbits around Earth.

To achieve this, ESA has set an ambitious Zero Debris goal to eliminate debris generation entirely by 2030 and securing a cleaner and safer space environment for future generations.

The speaker will be Mathilde Reumaux, EU Relations Coordinator at ESA. She works in the ESA Brussels Office, which liaises with the EU institutions and Brussels-based (space) stakeholders to support cooperation between the EU, ESA and others. Before joining ESA, Mathilde gained more than 10 years’ experience in EU research and innovation policies and programmes, and in EU and international collaboration for science.

What, where, when

The venue for ISG talks is the Chateau Malou, Allée Pierre Levie 2, 1200 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and the doors will be open for the talk on Monday 15 January at 10h00 with the programme commencing from 10h30.

There is free parking close to the Château Malou and the closest public transport is Tram 8 (Stop Voot); Bus 28 (Stop Deportés or Parc Malou). The talk is free for ISG members and guests are welcome and may attend for a fee of €10 payable at the entrance.

For more information visit the ISG website or Facebook page.

Many thanks to all who helped to make the BBCA Christmas Reception 2023 on the evening of Monday 11 December such a glittering and roaring success. The sparkling event took place at the British Residence in central Brussels and was hosted by Matthew Bunny, Head of Political and Public Diplomacy at the Embassy (pictured below).

As ever on this annual Christmas event it was really great to see so many of our community celebrating together. And, also as usual, the event was sold out helping to achieve our twin goals of bringing the British Community together and raising money for a very good cause!

During the evening a raffle was held with some great prizes, including Pommery Champagne, Belgian beer, theatre tickets and a hamper from Stonemanor, amongst many others, with all proceeds to be donated to the excellent and vital work of the Community Kitchen based at the Holy Trinity church in Brussels. Through the raffle €1 600 was raised to support the valuable work of this charity that supplies some 5 000 meals a week to homeless and vulnerable people. Project director Gayl Russell, pictured above, described the work of the charity at the event.

In addition, the evening saw our annual donations to BBCA associated charities. This year the Community Help Service (CHS) and the British Charitable Fund both received €1 400 and the Brussels branch of the Royal British Legion received € 200. These donations are in addition to the €1 500 raised for the World Wide Fund for Nature Belgium during our Coronation event with Stonemanor in May. In total during 2023 the BBCA will have donated over €6 000 to charitable causes.

More pictures from the Christmas event can be viewed here. If you would like to share your pictures of the event, please send them in and we will upload them to this album

On behalf of the BBCA team of volunteers I wish you all a very fine festive season and hope to see you all again in the New Year. Keep an eye on our website as we aim to be organising more community events during 2024. In particular we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the formal (re)founding of the BBCA as an absl in 1974. 

On Thursday 14 December from 8pm the Association Femmes d’Europe invite you to a Musical journey through Spain at the Woluwe Saint-Pierre Cultural Centre in Brussels.

The concert has been organised on the occasion of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union and features internationally renowned Spanish pianist, Rosa Torres Pardo, winner of the 2017 Spanish National Music Prize. Rosa will take the audience on a musical journey in the company of the great Spanish composers of the 20th century. The concert will be followed by a drinks reception.

For those looking to get into the spirit of Christmas early, St Andrew's Church of Scotland in Ixelles will be holding a Service of Nine Lessons and Carols on Sunday 17 December from 18h00. The service will be followed by mince pies and mulled wine in the church hall.

St Andrew's is situated at Chaussée de Vleurgat 181, just off Avenue Louise. The service will include well known Carols and Christmas Hymns, but will not include a sermon.

At the 2023 BBCA Christmas Reception, being held on 11 December, our prize raffle will be raising funds to support the Community Kitchen. Sarah Crew, Editor of The Bulletin and BBCA Council member, visited the Kitchen to find out more about this volunteer organisation that is helping to feed thousands of people in Brussels.

The Community Kitchen operates every day from the cellar of Holy Trinity Church in Ixelles. Part of a network of social and charitable organisations, the kitchen supplies almost 80% of the hot food distributed to people in need at the Red Cross’s Humanitarian Hub in Avenue du Port with the help of some 100 volunteers.

Read more via The Bulletin here: https://www.thebulletin.be/perfect-mix-brussels-community-kitchen-feeds-refugees-and-stepping-stone-integration

The two-year project around the Brexit Helpdesk funded by the citizens’ rights pillar of the EU’s Brexit Adjustment Reserve will soon come to an end. A report ‘Brexit Impact Scan for UK Citizens in Brussels’ is being prepared that will summarise the key lessons learnt and how information and guidance offered by the Expat Welcome Desk has been updated.

To launch the report, and mark the end of the project, an in-person event will take place on 29 November from 18h00 at the Commissioner. Brussels/ Commissioner for Europe and International Organizations offices in Avenue d'Auderghem.

All are welcome to join a panel discussion and reception to launch the report, with the participation of the UK Ambassador to Belgium and also BBCA Chair Glenn Vaughan will be on the panel. The event promises to be a celebratory evening full of interesting data and practical advice for anyone interested in the British community in Belgium.

You can find more details of the event here but you can already register for the event today by email!

On the evening of Wednesday 15 November, The Arts Society Brussels will be Wilde about Oscar: Famous for being famous (& infamous). This talk with Simon Whitehouse will examine the life and times of Oscar Wilde.

The talk will cover Oscar Wilde’s journey from his Irish roots to his days as a student at Oxford and his meteoric rise to the heights of celebrity. Participants will travel with him to the United States, examine his starring role within the artistic and theatrical worlds of late 19th century London and visit his home in bohemian Chelsea and some of his favourite West End haunts. Finally, you will learn how ‘tired of being in the heights, he plunged into the depths’ and became famous for being INfamous...

Members and guests are welcome to meet up from 19h30 for complimentary drinks before the lecture starts at 20h00. The venue, as ever, will be the Woluwe Saint Lambert Maison Communale at 2 Avenue Paul Hymans, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, 1200 Brussels (Metro: Tomberg).

More information here.

The Association Femmes d’Europe is a philanthropic, apolitical, independent organisation based in Belgium and Luxembourg. Over the years, it has grown to some 800 members, all of who are volunteers and most of the members come from the countries of the EU. The Association has a UK group too.

The Association raises around Eur 350,000 every year by organising events and uses the funds to support some 80 projects in Europe and around the world. The majority of these projects helping women and children in terms of improving educational outcomes.

One highlight of the Association’s schedule is their annual Christmas Bazaar that is held in a European Commission building in Brussels. This year the event will take place on Saturday 2 December between 10h00 and 17h00 at Rue Joseph II, 79, B-1000 Bruxelles (nearest Metro: Maelbeek).

The Christmas Bazaar will present a wide assortment of gift ideas from international gastronomic specialties to scarves and hats, throws, leather goods, handmade soaps, vintage objects, jewellery, and children's gifts. Christmas decorations will also be available for purchase.

Saint Nicholas will be arriving at 11h00 and a raffle will be drawn at 15h00.

New for this year will be Henna painting, Beauty and makeup consultation, and children’s face painting.

Light bites and refreshments will also be available and payment by cash or card will be accepted.

This event is open to all. Find out more here. Enjoy!