Flanders in the UK - Flanders Government Representation in London

🚸🏫 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐃𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡-𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧.

Every Saturday, children from across London who have at least one Dutch-speaking parent come together at the Regenboogschool to learn Dutch. This helps them continue their education in Dutch-speaking schools or universities in Belgium or the Netherlands later on.

Each year, the school organises a 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐃𝐚𝐲 to celebrate Dutch speakers in Belgium. This year our Deputy General Representative Jeroen was invited to explain what diplomacy is all about.
He started with a simple question:
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥?”
And then: “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦?”

Then the children started to ask questions and they were fantastic:
✔️ “𝐃𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬?”
✔️“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞?”
✔️“𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐊 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭?”
✔️"𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲?"
✔️“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐔𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰? 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧?"
✔️“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐔 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐊? 𝐌𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬!”

Always good to have a child's perspective on the job!

🙏 Special thanks to our colleague Kaat Van den Eynden at Flanders in the UK - Flanders Government Representation in London, who on her Saturdays teaches the youngest children at the school, and who is one of the driving forces behind the Flemish Day.

A few snapshots of last Wednesday's panel discussion "𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐌 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞", co-organised by our team and the European Union in the UK, in collaboration with Embassy of Belgium in the UK.

It was a rich discussion, with many valuable insights. Here are just a few key takeaways:
✅ Gender equality in STEM leads to stronger innovation, competitiveness and economic resilience.
✅ "You can't be what you can't see": role models are important for girls and young women to dream about a career in STEM, without stereotyping and idealising.
✅ More women in STEM is not only the "right thing to do", but in the first place it's a way to increase productivity and prosperity.
✅ In order to attract the best talent for specific positions, companies and organisations should actively profile themselves as inclusive environments.

Thanks, Francoise Chombar, Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Louise Archer, Niamh Mallaghan, and Caitlin Mellor, for sharing your insights with us during this highly inspiring evening!

Departement Kanselarij en Buitenlandse Zaken

🎉 Flanders Day in Edinburgh, a celebration of friendship!

What a night! In the stunning setting of the National Galleries of Scotland, we marked Flanders Day and celebrated 25 years of Flanders Investment & Trade - FIT -UK office in Edinburgh.

From scientists and students to business leaders and policymakers, a full house of 150 guests came together to honour the strong and growing ties between Flanders and Scotland. 🌍✨

We were proud to welcome First Minister John Swinney and Minister-President Matthias Diependaele. Prior to the reception, they had a meeting and reflected on our long-standing partnership, including flourishing university collaborations, student exchanges through Erasmus+, and renewed EU-UK relations. 🎓📚

🔗 Two years after signing the Flanders-Scotland MoU for close collaboration on a number of topics, we’ve now signed a concrete action plan, another important step forward in building bridges between our two nations.

📢 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞!) 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧 — 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬

We’re thrilled to invite you to a unique evening at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in Mayfair, London, celebrating 100 years of quantum theory — no technical background required!

📅 Date: 5 June 2025
📍Location: The Royal Institution, London
🎫 Admission: Free — and friends are welcome!

We’re proud to partner with Prof. Frank Verstraete (University of Cambridge) and Celine Broeckaert (theatre maker and author) for an engaging talk that blends cutting-edge science with creative storytelling.

Register now: ⁠[email protected] ⁠

What to expect?
✅ A thought-provoking presentation on the legacy and future of quantum theory
✅ A lively, accessible discussion (bring your questions!)
✅ The launch of the English translation of the authors' book on quantum physics
✅🎻 Live music by acclaimed violinist Lisa Rollin
✅ 🥂Drinks reception

If you're in London and up for a fascinating evening, we'd love to see you there. Feel free to share or invite others who might enjoy it!

📖 Author Angelo Tijssens and translator Michele Hutchison in conversation at Flanders House!

Last Monday, we had the pleasure of welcoming screenwriter and author Angelo Tijssens ('Close', 'Girl') and his talented translator Michele Hutchison to Flanders House. The event, moderated by Suzi Faey, featured an engaging discussion about Angelo's debut novella, 'The Edges'.

🙏 A big thank you to Martin Colthorpe from Modern Culture and Jimena Gorraez from Daunt Books fro their help in organising this wonderful evening.

Flanders Literature

✨ Flemish Minister of Education visits London: learning from educational excellence!

It was an honour and a pleasure to co-organise and participate in the UK visit of Flemish Minister of Education, Ms. Zuhal Demir. The colleagues at Flanders House welcomed the Minister in London, together with a group of education experts, delegates of umbrella organisations, and journalists from Flanders. The aim was to discover some of the country's most outstanding schools and to gather insights to inspire education reform in Flanders.📚

They visited the , and , known to have a clear focus on an ambitious and rigorous education system for their pupils, emphasising academic excellence and good behaviour. We talked with a great number of pupils, teachers and school staff. 🙏 Many thanks for the warm welcome!

👩‍🎓 If these schools demonstrate anything, it is that the pursuit of knowledge need not be dull or tedious!

Want to know more about the visit? Check Flemish media today!



📷 Bart Lenoir - [email protected]

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

🍫 🎁 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭!

On his way to the Low Countries last week, Saint Nicolas paid a courtesy call to Flanders House London.

General Representative David Maenaut received the Holy Man in his office and encouraged him to pursue his journey across the Channel, praising the comfort and convenience of the Eurostar 🚄 !

We were very pleased to learn that also in the UK, there were no naughty children, and all of them received a little gift. 🎁

As always, many thanks to Vlaamse Club London for your wonderful support!

Departement Kanselarij en Buitenlandse Zaken

📣Flanders in the UK - Flanders Government Representation in London is delighted to mark Remembrance with a Flanders Remembers Concert in partnership with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The concert will feature the Band of the Grenadier Guards and the early music ensemble Utopia from Flanders.

👉20 November, 6pm-8pm
🏚The Guards' Chapel, Birdcage Walk London SW1E 6HQ
🎫Free, please register via: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/flanders-remembers-tickets-1054973266439?aff=oddtdtcreator

Flanders in the UK - Flanders Government Representation in London The Diplomatic Representation of Flanders to the UK is responsible for all official contacts and issues concerning the Government of Flanders.

📣 Don't miss this unique opportunity to meet Flemish author David Van Reybrouck! He will be in London to present the new English translation of Revolusi, the bestselling history of Indonesia. He will be in conversation with his translator David Colmer and the meeting will be chaired by Elizabeth Pisani.

David Van Reybrouck has been described as "one of the leading intellectuals in Europe" (Der Tagesspiegel) and "one of the most brilliant European intellectuals of the moment" (Le Soir).

📅 The British Library, 7 October, 7 p.m.
🎟 Book your tickets now: https://www.seetickets.com/event/revolusi-indonesia-and-the-modern-world/british-library/3130504

👑Last Wednesday, we were delighted to welcome Harry De Paepe, the Flemish expert on all things British, to Flanders House! Harry shared his extensive knowledge on the historical links between the low countries and British coronations with us.

Only by understanding our strong historical ties can we keep nurturing the friendship between our countries, and strengthen our collaborations!