On 4 October, the first edition of ‘Flanders in Dialogue’, a new series of network events aimed at expats in Flanders, took place in De Warande in Brussels.
‘Flanders in Dialogue’ will take place twice a year, with the intention of exchanging views with the expat community in Flanders, on Flemish policies that matter in your daily life.
In his speech, Minister-president Geert Bourgeois introduced the topic of the evening: “Integration and participation in the Flemish society”. There was a panel discussion with experts Leen Verraest, General Director of the Agency for Integration and Civic Integration and Darya Safai, entrepreneur and women rights activist. VRT journalist Rob Heirbaut steered the debate in the right direction.
Minister-president Bourgeois: “We want to strengthen the public diplomacy of Flanders. We are in dialogue with the expat community in Flanders to make them better acquainted. Flanders’ public diplomacy intends to interact and communicate with the international community in order to make the world more familiar with our culture, ideals, institutions and our policy preferences. Brussels, capital of Europe, capital of Flanders, plays an important role in this dialogue.”
'Flanders in Dialogue' is a joint initiative of Vleva, De Warande, 'The Rand' and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
