For years, there had been no Ladies’ Circle in the koekenstad or ‘city of biscuits’. This all changed after launching a call for a new Circle at the end of 2020. Over 20 ladies from Antwerp responded with great enthusiasm, and together we are working on the development of this brand new service club. Officially, we are still i.o., ‘in formation’ and our Charter meeting is planned for September 2021. From then onwards, we will be a fully-functioning Ladies’ Circle. And we are here to stay!

Who are the Antwerp Ladies?

Aged between 27 and 44 years old, we are active in various sectors – often as entrepreneurs or in management positions. Some of us are mothers, others are not. We have the most diverse hobbies and lifestyles. What binds us, is the awareness that we are all lucky in life.

Each of us wants to turn that awareness into action. In the words of Kamala Harris, the first female Vice-President of the United States: ‘What is important for my daughter to know is that… if you are fortunate enough to have opportunity, it is your duty to make sure other people have those opportunities as well.’

Ladies’ Circle may not be new. So why does Ladies’ Circle 55 Antwerp i.o. deserve a place in a book about innovation?

In the midst of a worldwide pandemic, we dared to start a new service club with a group of women, most of whom had never met each other before this initiative. We used Zoom meetings to get acquainted – there were over 90 women at the online kick-off meeting!

For our confirmation meeting and very first fundraiser, we teamed up with BelRoy’s, Antwerp’s best cocktail bar – and Gault & Millau cocktail bar of the year 2021 – to distribute 812 of their most delicious cocktails (by post!). We provided an aperobox for all our members and invited actor Manou Kersting to announce the winners of our tombola. Together, we do everything we can to kick-start our circle, even though the coronavirus provides constant practical challenges.

The aims of Ladies’ Circle are:

• to promote friendship and understanding between its members through better knowledge of each other;
• to encourage a sense of responsibility, by stimulating social, humanitarian and cultural activities;
• to promote the association’s image in Belgium and throughout the world; and
• to achieve these objectives by organising meetings, lectures, exchanges and discussions

All Ladies’ Circles organise a monthly statutory meeting where local, national and international agenda items are discussed. In addition, different circles organise fundraising activities for our charities. Each club has its own social project, but Ladies’ Circle also supports fantastic projects nationally and internationally.

Anyone who has seen our Antwerp Ladies in action over the past few weeks, will see that we are thriving! We look forward to taking on any challenge that may come our way.