Wanted: people with interesting stories to tell about the early years of the EU in Brussels

This spring, the Brussels-Europe Liaison Office (www.blbe.be) would like to record a series of conversations with the ‘pioneers’ of the European Union, the first European civil servants who came to work in Brussels in the late 1950s and early 1960s. What was their arrival in Brussels like? What were things like on the work floor? Why did they want to work for ‘Europe’? We are not looking for well-known people, but those who worked behind the scenes, from usher to director.

These interviews will be combined with stories from the residents of the Leopold District at the time. So we are looking for Bruxellois who experienced the birth and growth of Brussels’ EU institutions from close-up and saw their neighbourhood evolving from residential to office-oriented.

The interviews will be recorded by Bruxelles nous appartient – Brussel behoort ons toe (www.bna-bbot.be) and will be made public during Belgium’s presidency of the EU (from 1 July 2010). The aim of these oral testimonies is to give a broad public a better understanding of an extremely exciting period in the history of Brussels and Europe. This is a unique source of information and we must not allow it to be lost.

Are you, or do you know, one of these ‘European pioneers’? Or are you a past or present resident of the Leopold District and have interesting stories to tell about the neighbourhood’s past? If so, be sure to get in touch! Contact Ans Persoons: at apersoons@blbe.be or on 02 234 57 51.