Belgium's 40 under 40

His Majesty the King meets Belgium’s 40 under 40! 🇧🇪 Today, we had the pleasure of introducing the 40u40 initiative and its Community to His Majesty the King. In an intimate setting, Alumni Peru Dharani, Katrien Herdewyn, Maxime Heutz, Nadine Khouzam, Smahane Lamassab, Lynn Tytgat and our Co-founder and CEO Laurent Coulie were invited to share their societal leadership journeys and discuss their actions and visions for Belgium. 💬 The young leaders had three key messages to share: 💪 Talents The diversity of talents is a key assets of Belgium. The six Alumni who participated in the meeting embody this rich diversity, coming from different sides of the country, speaking different languages, and having various job profiles and personal backgrounds. They discussed the importance of embracing diversity and bridging talents to stimulate collective engagement around shared goals and visions. 💡 Brilliance With 40u40, we hope to encourage young leaders to find their personal brilliance and their way to express it, and it goes the same way at societal level. Where does our country shine? What is the brilliance of our society? The participants shared personal reflections on their brilliance and commitment as leaders, where they see Belgium shining and how to unlock its potential, as well as how they lead and contribute to making the world a better place. 🌟 Purpose Building a thriving environment to reflect and create long term impact on key societal topics and contributing to a better Belgium in 2030 and beyond is the mission of 40u40. With hope and confidence, the young leaders presented ideas and visions for the future of Belgium and discussed what can move our country forward to create an inclusive and innovative society. They also shared their ideas on how to highlight the collective landmark of Belgium's 200th anniversary in 2030! 🎂 We want to thank His Majesty the King for welcoming us for this enriching discussion. It was truly an inspiring encounter! The participants shared great optimism and enthusiasm, and felt encouraged to continue their societal journey. 🙏 🚨 Do you want to become part of our initiative, develop your leadership skills, enhance your societal impact, and share ideas with peers about your visions for Belgium 2030? Only 4 days are left to join Cohort 2024! Don’t miss your chance and apply before the deadline hits the clock on Sunday, June 2 at 23:59.⏳ 🔎 We are looking for passionate individuals who are committed to having a positive impact, leading with integrity, and shaping a brighter tomorrow. Do you know someone who would be a perfect fit for this program? Tag them in the comments or share this post to ensure they grasp this opportunity. Visit www.40under40.be for more information on admission criteria and the application process. 🕰️ The deadline is rapidly approaching on June 2! 📸 Louis David #40u40 #Belgium40u40 #Leadership #Impact #Belgium2030

🗞️ Read the new 40u40 Article: Field Work Story: Exploring Youth Mental Health with the Pink Elephant Mental health is an omnipresent topic, always there but too often swept under the rug. The more we try to ignore it, the more undeniable its presence becomes—like a glaring pink elephant in the room. This inspired the name of the Pink Elephant Field Work Group, formed by Cohort 2023 Fellows Khalid El Hatri, Johan Heymans, Valérie Lucq, Laurent Pantusa, Kristel Van den Bergh, and Sofie Vandenhende. 🐘 They recognized the growing mental health challenges youth face in Belgium and wanted to explore how they could help. Read our new article to discover more about their Field Work story: 🎯 Their mission: The Who and the Why behind Pink Elephant.  🌾 Going in the Field: From conducting desk research to sparking conversations, participating in seminars and organizing workshops: what did the Fellows do?  🧠 What did they learn? While exploring youth mental health, the group gained insights into themselves, the topic, and on leadership and social change. These lessons are shaping them into more impactful leaders! ➡️ Swipe through for a sneak peek of the article and read the full feature here: https://lnkd.in/eGsgvTNc #Belgium40u40 #40u40 #FieldWork #Impact #mentalhealth

Introducing: NextWave Finance 🌊 40u40 and the Belgian Finance Center are joining forces on NextWave Finance, an impact initiative focused on the financial sector, with the goal to understand the next generation’s values, needs and aspirations with regards to the sector. 🎯 Why? In a rapidly evolving job market shaped by emerging technologies and shifting generational expectations, attracting and retaining young talent is a key concern for the financial sector. How do the next generation's priorities align with the industry's future direction? Given the central role of finance in society, this question sparks a fertile cross-sector dialogue with an impact on society as whole. 💪 How Will This Be Done? NextWave Finance fosters conversations among young professionals to explore themes such as work culture, innovation, talent retention and finance as a force for good. This initiative builds upon three key assets of 40u40: 1️⃣ A diverse Community of young, socially driven leaders from the sector, who contribute and guide the project. 2️⃣ A recognized ability to facilitate in-depth conversations on societal questions through collective intelligence. 3️⃣ A strong capacity to bring together talents from within and outside the 40u40 Community with partners like BFC, providing access to industry leaders. 🤔 Who? This collaboration, initiated by the BFC and supported by Lazard, is led and facilitated by 40u40, with key contributions from Alumnae Jason-Louise Graham, Isabeau Hufkens and Diane Delava who steer the project with our Team. The collaborative process includes young leaders from the 40u40 Community, the BFC network and other Gen Z and Millennial actors from the financial sector – from traditional banking to impact investing. 👣 First steps? A first collaborative session took place in October, bringing together a group of 20 professionals. The workshop collected insights from young leaders, exploring why they joined the sector, how they aligned with it and what opportunities and aspirations they see for the future. As Maxime Bataille, Vice President at Lazard, said, “Even though we came here today with different backgrounds and experiences, we all think alike about the challenges and opportunities in the financial sector.” After crystallizing the initial findings, a second workshop took place this week to reflect deeper on the sector and enrich the insights. Our roadmap will continue into 2025, exploring potential solutions and engaging in discussions with industry leaders! 🚨 Do you want to be part of NextWave Finance? Are you a professional in finance and interested to reflect on the sector's future? Join forces with other young leaders! Register your interest to join the next collective intelligence sessions: https://lnkd.in/e9uWDeTp Thank you to MOJO Agency and Camille CHATELIER (Cohort 2024) for their incredible work in designing the brand for NextWave Finance! 🙏 #Belgium40u40 #40u40 #BFC #Finance #Impact

3-Day Positive Influence Seminar with Tsun-yan Hsieh and Huijin Kong 🌱 This week, the 40u40 Community had the pleasure of attending a three-day seminar with two exceptional leadership gurus, Tsun-yan Hsieh and Huijin Kong. It was a journey of personal growth, building relationships, and a deep exploration of each attendees' own leadership journey! 🔭 The facilitators, Tsun-yan and Huijin, have earned a remarkable reputation as senior counselors focused on developing the inner being of leaders. After forming a deep connection to the 40u40 mission and people during an evening roundtable in May, they came back to Belgium all the way from Singapore to meet the Community again and dive deep into the personal development of a small group of Fellows, Alumni, Supporters, and 40u40 Team members: ☀️ Day #1: Sense of purpose and leadership path Tsun-yan and Huijin opened the day with reflective questions about the participants' inner being and leadership journey. Where do you find purpose, what impact do you want to have? The participants were invited to take a look at themselves from a wide angle, considering all aspects of their lives. These perspectives were discussed with peers and followed by a deep dive into the potential and opportunities that await each one of the participants. 🗣️ Day #2: The seven “P” and high-stake conversations While the first day allowed the participants to zoom out on their own being, the second day was a zoom in, exploring ways to scale their impact. By defining the 7 “P”: Purpose, Platform, Partner, People, Proposition, Purchase, and Perseverance, the participants were asked to think about their current leadership configuration, and the barriers they encounter. 💬 Breakout discussions helped find answers to questions such as how do I increase my impact, and what are the important conversations I need to initiate to overcome these obstacles? 🌅 Day #3: Horizons, moments, and outcomes The last day was about the horizons in the participants' lives and the pivotal moments coming in the next days, months, or years. What are they, and how can we influence the outcomes? The group reflected on the conversations where they can exercise positive influence that shape the desired outcome. Thank you to all participants and, most of all, Tsun-yan and Huijin! It was an honor to welcome you again! The seminar allowed each participant to go on a life-changing journey of deep exploration of their own being and leadership. The exchanges on a personal level connected the participants, leaving them with new, meaningful bonds and profound learnings and reflections. 🙏 #Belgium40u40 #40u40 #Transformative #PositiveInfluence #Leadership #Horizon #Moments #Conversations

💡Cohort 2024 meets for Forum #2 Last Saturday, the Fellows of Cohort 2024 spent a cold November day together in TheMerode for their second Forum. It was a day devoted to in-depth leadership exercises, co-creation activities, deepening the bonds among the Fellows, and inspiring encounters. 🧠 Leadership Masterclass Forum #2 began with Pierre Gurdjian sharing the 40u40 leadership model. The "Leadership Fitness Club", as we call it, explores the role of self-mastery, and purpose-driven leadership and offers different practices for personal development, such as how to train to have courageous conversations. 👂 Putting the Learnings to Action: Deep Listening Now it was time for the Fellows to exercise their new learnings. First, they developed the framework for practicing active listening, then, the Cohort divided into small groups to exercise their deep listening skills: a form of active, focused and empathic listening. This exercise enables the Fellows to accelerate their connections as well as practicing an important skill for leaders. 🌾 Progress on Field Work In the afternoon, the Coaches Diane Thibaut de Maisières and Sophie Limpens introduced collective intelligence tools to help the Fellows with their next steps regarding the Field Work projects. As the Field Work journey started with a Field Exploration phase, the groups came together to share the insights they gathered, and leveraged these tools to discuss their next steps and crystallize their intentions for impact. 💬 Inspiring Encounters: Meeting Tsun-yan Hsieh To end the Forum, leadership master Tsun-Yan Hsieh joined the Cohort to share his life journey with the Fellows, and distill captivating insights and stories. As a senior counsellor. who focuses on the inner being of leaders, he had inspiring thoughts to share around his notion of positive influence. The day ended with drinks to continue the conversations and to get to know one another better. With this Forum being only the second one, it is great to witness the feeling of belonging the group already shares after such a short time together. We are happy to see the new connections formed and having spent such an inspiring and energizing day with the Cohort 2024! 🚀 The journey continues in 2025: See you soon for the Field Work Day in January, and Forum #3 in March! #Leadership #DeepListening #Community #Belgium40u40 #Impact

🗞️ Read the new 40u40 Article: Beyond Graduation: How the 40u40 Alumni Continue to Lead, Learn, and Impact Society Four Cohorts have completed the one-year program in the last four years, becoming part of the 40u40 Alumni Community. But what does it mean to be an Alumni? 🎓 Read our new article to discover more about: 💪 How the Alumni continue their leadership journey with 40u40 activities, such as Alumni Conversation Circles, workshops, seminars and more. 🌱 The impact created by 40u40 and the role of the Alumni! Whether through supporting projects like BE.Entrepreneur, or by helping Fellows with their Field Work projects. 🗣️ What makes the Alumni a true community: hear from Alumni on what it means to be part of 40u40 after the one-year program. ➡️ Swipe through for a sneak peek of the article and read the full feature here: https://lnkd.in/e7wmA5j3 #Belgium40u40 #40u40 #Alumni #Community #Impact #Leadership

📣 Cohort 2024 Updates: What has happened since the program kick-off? The first Forum of Cohort 2024 took place two months ago, and the Fellows have been busy ever since! 💬 Conversation Circles In September and October, all five Conversation Circles met at least once. The first Conversation Circle meeting is special, breaking the ice within the group and forming initial bonds with the guidance of the Coaches. This year, we are excited to welcome a new 40u40 Coach, Pauline Janta-Polczynski! Thank you, and all the other Coaches, for your time and effort to facilitate the Circles! 🌾 Field Work It is time to explore the Field! During the first Forum, six groups have formed around topics such as agriculture, sustainability, digitalization, health, finance, and education. The Fellows' first steps are to connect, build their teams, establish ways of working together, and dive deep into their chosen topics. This phase is called Field Exploration, as its main focus is a deep investigation of the topic through active listening, asking questions, and approaching it with a curious mind to truly understand the "Who" and the "Why". The first Field Work touchpoints with the 40u40 team in October provided the groups with an opportunity to exchange ideas and receive support if needed. 🤝 Mentorship After Forum #1, the Fellows were introduced to the 40u40 Mentors through self-introduction videos, and Mentorship pairs were formed via a thoughtful matching process. The Fellows and Mentors are now ready to begin their Mentorship journey, and will start meeting together soon! In addition, the Fellows received a leadership self-assessment as homework after Forum #1. This tool, provided by our Supporter Marie-Helene De Coster, allowed them to understand their leadership style and discover how to improve it. This will certainly fuel some interesting Mentorship conversations in the coming months! This is just the beginning of the transformative one-year journey the Fellows have embarked on! The next Forum is already scheduled for two weeks from now. We are excited to see the Fellows again and to dive deep into leadership & impact discussions and activities! 🚀 #Belgium40u40 #40u40 #Update #Cohort2024

Learn about the Field Work Project #favourread & the power of books! 📚 🗣️ “Books can change the way we see the world, and even who we are, they are a window to new perspectives and worldviews.” Alixe Tsang-Leclercq shares. The Alumna of Cohort 2023 explored together with Dorien Vandormael and Mayada Srouji the power of books as part of their Field Work project. On June 18, they launched the social media campaign #favourread to encourage the LinkedIn Community to post a book that transformed them. The goal was to inspire new connections and spark meaningful conversations. 💬 ➡️ The campaign was a success with many readers sharing their favourite books. Swipe through to find out more about the idea of #favourread, the campaign and learnings of the group by exploring this topic! #Belgium40u40 #favourread #FieldWork #Impact #Stories #Transformation

Lunch with Arvind Ganesan: Insights on Human Rights in Global Supply Chains 🗣️ In October, we welcomed Arvind Ganesan, Founding Director of Human Rights Watch’s Economic Justice and Rights Division, for a lunch discussion with a small group of 40u40 Fellows, Alumni, and Supporters. 🤝 For years, Arvind and his team have closely monitored human rights abuses linked to business and economic activity, striving to create economies that disrupt inequalities and place people and communities in the center. Through their work, they have held institutions accountable and helped develop human rights standards to prevent future abuses. 💪 After sharing his personal journey and the mission of Human Rights Watch, Arvind talked about the human rights aspects in global supply chains in various industries, like automobile, mining, apparels, and also luxury. This eye-opening exchange of insights and questions touched key themes such as: 🌍 The work of HRW in tracking human rights abuses and the process to integrate human rights in economic policies 📜 The need for accountability and regulations to ensure respect for human rights in business and government operations 🌟 The role of leadership in driving meaningful change across sectors and industries It was an inspiring and reflective discussion, leaving us all with a deeper understanding of how human rights intersect with economic activity and what we can do to foster change. Thank you Arvind Ganesan for sharing your valuable insights with the 40u40 Community, and a special thanks to our Supporter Caroline Ceska for creating the connection! 🙌 #Belgium40u40 #40u40 #HumanRights #Leadership #GlobalImpact

Cohort 2023 in conversation with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo 🇧🇪 On Monday evening, the Cohort 2023 gathered for a 40u40 tradition that began in 2021 with the first Cohort graduating from the program: The Annual Meeting with the Prime Minister! 🤝 For the fourth time in a row, Alexander De Croo sat down with the Fellows to exchange on leadership, discuss societal questions, and allow a sneak peek behind the office. 🗣️ The Fellows had prepared a discussion agenda covering two aspects: 🏛️ Democracy and Politics What is the state of democracy in Belgium and what are the dynamics at play in the Belgian society? Guided by the questions of the Fellows, Alexander De Croo dived deep into the topic of democracy, talking about the recent elections, the political culture of our country, and how we can strengthen our democracy and engage as citizens and societal leaders. This led to a rich discussion and an invitation to the young leaders for more civic engagement. 🛤️ Leadership and Personal Journey During this open conversation, Alexander De Croo also shared his learnings from the past four years in office. By looking back on his trajectory, he reflected on what it means to be a leader, how the function has shaped who he is today, and advice he would give to the younger generation. One important takeaway he shared, which aligns strongly with the values of 40u40, is the power of community and the value of surrounding yourself with a strong circle of people who challenge you, but most of all believe in you. The Prime Minister closed the insightful exchange with an encouragement to the Fellows to “be players on the field”. In society, one can choose to be either a spectator, watching the game, or a player, out in the open and driving the narrative. Being on the field is a vulnerable position, but as a societal leader, it is where you can have an impact and create change, another message that resonates strongly within the 40u40 Community. Let's go on the field! 🏃♂️ Thank you, Alexander De Croo, for your time and quality of the meeting. The conversations have provided the Fellows with a great opportunity to learn from an established leader and exchange on our vibrant society! 🙏 📸 Louis David #Belgium40u40 #40u40 #PrimeMinister #Leadership #Democracy #Impact