A new ALDA ambassador for Belgian municipalities and CSOs: welcome, Pascal Goergen!

We are happy to announce a recent addition among the ranks of our ALDA ambassadors! As of beginning of August 2020, we were delighted to have Pascal Goergen join this wonderful group of committed individuals with the mandate to represent the Association and consolidate it at the local level as a pan-European organisation… and beyond.

Vice-Mayor of the Municipality of Grez-Doiceau in Belgium, where Mr Goergen leads citizen participation, civic affairs, population, digitalisation, international relations and partnerships, we couldn’t think of a better fit for this role and its aim to improve visibility and establish relationships with new counterparts and to support the action of the ALDA members in Belgium.

With around 20 years of experience in local and regional European affairs, indeed, this 57-year-old Belgian is a doctor in Political Science and a trained Germanist who is very familiar with the realities of his country and is a fervent defender of democratic values, particularly at the regional, national and European levels.

Included in his noteworthy curriculum are 10 years as diplomatic representative of the Brussels-Capital region to the European Union as well as almost 4 years as Secretary General of the Assembly of European Regions (AER); and it was out of Mr Goergen’s initiative that his Municipality became the first ALDA member of the Walloon Region in 2019 and will soon participate in a European project in partnership with other ALDA members, too.

“From the beginning of my mandate in Grez-Doiceau in December 2018, I have put ethics, good governance and citizen participation at the centre of my concerns. A charter of good governance and a code of citizen participation were adopted by the Communal Council. My municipality’s membership of ALDA is a real added value: on the one hand, it is a way of putting Grez-Doiceau on the European map and, on the other hand, it provides a whole range of tools to improve citizens’ participation in local life: through European programmes, exchanges of good practice and via the ALDA network. As an ambassador, I would like all Belgian municipalities to benefit from this added value that Alda represents“. Thank you Pascal, and welcome!

–> Read the related article on the Brussels Express.