It was in 2007 that I came first in contact with the UN Global Compact, as a member of Junior Chamber International (JCI) during a workshop that the Global Compact held at the JCI World Congress in Antalya.

During that workshop, the relevance and value of the local networks for the Global Compact participants was highlighted. A map was shown, with more than 130 countries filled as "active networks". In the middle of the map, there was a tiny blank spot. It appeared that Belgium was one of the last European countries without an active Global Compact local network.

I felt compelled to do something about that.

As an active member of JCI and (at that time) Director for internationalism at the board of JCI Vlaanderen, I took the lead in the initiative to make sure that a Belgian network for the Global Compact would be realized. After all, the Junior Chamber International does have a global partnership with the UN Global Compact to help and support the Global Compact where support is needed.

This started with a first gathering of Global Compact participants who have operations in Belgium at a round table meeting mid 2008, kindly hosted by KBC. We had about 35 participants at that occassion. Efforts continued with the formation of the GCNB Task Force and came to a culmination late 2009. On 15 october 2009, we organized our first Outreach Event and official launch of the Global Compact Network Belgium (GCNB), hosted by the Belgian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, under the auspicious of Minister Yves Leterme.

In the meantime, my company, ubeon | business experts had already become a participant back in 2008. The Global Compact provided our business with a framework and a reference point to integrate sustainable principles in our own organization. This is still an ongoing effort and we are now preparing our first Communication on Progress (CoP).

On the 25th of February, eighteen Belgian Participants of the Global Compact chartered the Global Compact Network Belgium as a non-for-profit organization and elected a Steering Committee, to build further upon the work of the GCNB Task Force.

The work continues...

As the newly elected Vice Chairman of the GCNB, I continue my mission to connect people and organizations with a vision towards collaboration, exchange and learning in order for businesses and business leaders to build a better business. 

The Global Compact Network Belgium actively seeks collaboration with other organizations that work in the field in order to help businesses evolve towards better integration of the principles of Corporate Responsibility. We invite all Belgian companies, civil societies and governmental bodies to engage with the Global Compact and our local network.

Through the Belgian network we intend to bring value to the Belgian Global Compact participants through workshops, thematic workgroups, peer reviews, knowledge sharing and business networking.

I would like to thank everyone who contributed to help form the Global Compact Network Belgium, especially the members of the GCNB Task Force: Chantal, Christophe, Flavia, Didier, Iris, Karla and Michael!

Read the official press release.