Our team

Founding Member.

I first came to Brussels as a child and went to school here, learning French and Dutch. In 1996 I returned to start my own consulting business. I love Brussels for its unique international and multicultural nature. I am an active citizen involved in several civic organizations: Comité de Quartier XL-Nord, Ixelles Pour Tous, Uccle en Transition, Objectif asbl (as a volunteer for an awareness campaign encouraging non-Belgians to vote and run in local elections). I am a board member of two Brussels-based international NGOs: Dyslexia International asbl and JEUNE aisbl. I am co-founder of the International Citizens Alliance Brussels.

Founding Member.

I came to Brussels 8 years ago for 6 months and I am still here 🙂 Brussels is a city that grows into you if you make an effort to discover it. There is no other city now, which is as much mine, as Brussels is. I feel I am from here: Polish, European, Brusseloise. I always felt that there is not enough connection between local level and EU institutions level when it comes to everyday life in Brussels, I hope we will manage to bridge this gap by informing people how much they voice matters and how much impact they can have if they only want on what surrounds them.

Founding Member.

It goes without saying that Brussels is home to a very diverse population. Brussels also hosts a plethora of legislatures and elected representatives. In this context, any democratic rendezvous here is a test bed for what is ideally inclusive and representative democracy. In my view, being a resident of Brussels calls for active citizenship precisely because of the challenges we face as a wider and diverse community.

Having been based in Brussels since 2010, I have lived in two communes, worked in two others and the previous local elections in 2012 where my first as an EU citizen. However, the regional level remains off limits for one third of Brussels residents. It’s high time to address this gap in representation, given we are all concerned by the region’s policies and politics.

Founding Member.

Je suis arrivé à Bruxelles il y a 6 ans pour finir mes études et aujourd’hui je travaille dans les affaires européennes, convaincu que c’est dans une Europe fédérale que chaque Etat, régions et villes européennes pourront le mieux se développer. Bruxelles n’est pas une ville d’expats comme Genève ou Londres, c’est la capitale de l’Europe, donc c’est aussi ma capitale et celle des autres 200.000 résidents européens. Et à ce titre elle devrait être à l’image de l’Union européenne que nous souhaitons : démocratique et inclusive. Et contrairement à Washington DC ou aucun résident n’a le droit de vote, Bruxelles-capitale devrait montrer l’exemple et donner ce droit à l’ensemble de ses résidents.

Founding Member.

Arrivé il y a bientôt 20 pour débuter ma carrière professionnelle dédiée à l’Europe et pour finir un doctorat à l’ULB, au final je ne suis jamais reparti. J’ai été séduit par le cosmopolitisme bruxellois, l’ouverture d’esprit et la richesse culturelle de ses habitants. Mes enfants sont nés à Bruxelles, et je me suis aussi engagé en politique locale car j’avais envie d’être acteur du changement. Sans voix, citoyen de seconde zone et pourtant bruxellois à part entière, je voudrais aussi pouvoir m’investir pour ma ville-Région notamment sur les enjeux de qualité de l’air, de mobilité, d’enseignement, de protection du patrimoine, de stimulation de l’économie !

Founding Member.

I came to Brussels for 6 months and never left. I’ve lived in 4 different communes and loved the diversity of each. My 2 children were born here and attend a Belgian school. Brussels has a lot to offer, but there is much we can improve. We need to work together across communes, at city-region level, to tackle issues such as mobility and air quality, to build a coherent vision for our shared urban space with more kid-friendly spaces and better accessibility for people with disabilities. By getting involved at local level, I’ve seen how small actions can lead to big change. But I can only become truly engaged when I have the right to vote.

Founding Member.

I love Brussels’ many facets, its many bottom-up festivals and initiatives. Yet I dream of a more human city, not least for my daughter to grow up in. Less cars, more space for its people. Green space, safe space, clean streets, and above all: clean air! All I know share this vision – but many feel helpless facing the administrative lasagne. Too many are not eligible to vote – at least where it matters.

#1Bru1Vote

Founding Member.

New York-born, I moved here as a student then got a job with a U.S. newspaper. Once a provincial town, this city has become a fabulous melting pot. But the government institutions and their governance remain stuck in a Belgo-Belgian time wrap. It’s time to move on.

Founding Member.

In 2005 kwam ik naar Brussel en ik heb de stad zien veranderen: ik heb de trams groter zien worden; het aantal fietsers zien groeien; gebouwen eindelijk schoongemaakt zien worden.
Maar het is pijnlijk om te zien hoe sommige dingen de gemeentegrens niet overkomen. Het wiel wordt hier 19 keer uitgevonden. Ons dagelijks leven stopt niet bij de gemeentegrens: we wonen in één gemeente, ontmoeten vrienden in een andere en geven geld uit in weer een andere. We ademen allemaal dezelfde lucht in; we delen de infrastructuur. Dit zijn Dingen Die Er Toe Doen, en het frustreert me dat ik hierin geen rol kan spelen. Ik wil dat wel, maar ik heb geen hiervoor geen stemrecht.

Founding Member.

I left the USA for Belgium in 2006 because I believed more in Europe’s future as a place of solidarity, cultural richness, diversity and resilience. I celebrated my naturalisation in 2012 because Brussels had become my home – the place in Belgium and in Europe where I felt free and welcome. Over the years, I’ve grown to see the challenges lying underneath a city like Brussels. I fear that its institutions will not be able to respond and prevail without the engagement of all of its residents. And I fear that our European project will not survive if we are not working with our neighbours to improve our local communities. We must open up our ways of working to give life to our democracies.