Within Board of Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Registered office <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Since its foundation in 1982 (as a public utility foundation), the Hubi & Vinciane Foundation has been operating thanks to volunteers. The various governing bodies and working groups monitor all<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":26079,"parent":15300,"menu_order":20,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"t-team.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-15566","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"news_items":[{"ID":23883,"post_author":"8","post_date":"2022-05-26 12:09:27","post_date_gmt":"2022-05-26 10:09:27","post_content":"\n On Thursday, 4 March, Piet Van Assche died at 88 after a long illness. Piet Van Assche, our father, this wise, passionate, and committed man. The founder and inspiration behind the Hubi & Vinciane Foundation. During his last visit in 2010, the then President of Benin awarded him the title of 'Chevalier de l'Ordre national du B\u00e9nin', recognizing his \"unfailing\" commitment.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This commitment began on 16 November 1981, following a tragic plane crash. Our sister Vinciane and her companion Hubert (Hubi) did not survive the crash. At that time, Hubi was the medical director of the bush hospital in Papan\u00e9. Our sister Vinciane visited him regularly and taught mathematics and science at the college in Tchaourou.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sadness in our family was immense. As teenagers, we participated in creating the Hubi & Vinciane Foundation: it was mainly dad who ran it, together with mum and Hubi's parents, of course. It gave them the strength and courage to continue their commitment and dream for Benin in memory of their children. Dad passed away the day I was about to go to Benin with a Belgian delegation. I hesitated for a while, but I went anyway. It was the only good thing I could do for Dad, Hubi & Vinciane, and the Beninese people. On 04 March 2022, like wildfire, the news of the death of Mr. Piet VAN ASSCHE was received and shared by all: local staff, members, friends, and supporters of the Hubi and Vinciane Foundation. Despite his age, one could hear and read the regret of having lost a Great Man in words. Who is this great man that everyone speaks so highly of?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The late Piet VAN ASSCHE is a great visionary, the man with a big heart who had the initiative to transform an unfortunate event into an opportunity to immortalise the names of DR Hubert ADRIAENS and his daughter Vinciane VAN ASSCHE on the one hand and to give hope to the deprived populations of the Borgou region on the other hand. Thanks to the foundation that he created together with the members of Hubi's and Vinciane's families in 1982, thousands of people in the communes of Tchaourou, Parakou, and N'dali have had the right to quality health care in the hospitals of Papan\u00e9 and Boko to reduce the number of deaths, thousands of peasant populations have seen their economic power strengthened to better feed themselves, educate their children, pay for health care \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n This great visionary is the one who first believed that it was possible to start from nothing (a hundred or so members and 25,000 euros collected in the first few years) to go very far (more than 1,000 supporters and more than 300,000 euros mobilised every year for nearly ten years). He believed in his project and put all his physical, material, and financial energies into it. Today, the Hubi and Vinciane Foundation is operating on a solid basis, thanks to the men and women he was able to pass on his convictions in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, the Beninese state recognised this merit by elevating him to the rank of Chevalier de L'Ordre National <\/strong><\/em>in 2011, during his last trip to Benin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All Beninese who met him at least once will keep the image of the great generous person they knew. His example inspires many. All those who listen and will listen to the story of the Foundation\u2019s creation will regret not having known him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From his eternal resting place, we remain convinced that he will continue to watch over his small Van Assche family and allies and the large Hubi and Vinciane Foundation family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peace to the soul of the Great Departed On 31 December 2021, Marc Vervenne<\/strong> handed over the presidency of the Hubi & Vinciane Foundation to Gilles de Kerchove<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marc Vervenne, who has been the president of our organization since 2014, has carried out this task magnificently<\/strong>. We will miss his dynamism, enthusiasm, and belief in our work. It is, therefore, with great appreciation and gratitude that the Board of Directors has appointed him Honorary President<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marc Vervenne would not be Marc Vervenne if he did not first want to ensure his succession before concluding his presidency. And he has succeeded in doing so. With Gilles de Kerchove<\/strong>, we have a more than worthy successor who took over the presidency of the Foundation<\/strong> on 1 January 2022. Allow us to introduce our new president. His passion for the res publica<\/strong> - the general interest - has always been the common thread running through his professional career. Gilles de Kerckhove started as an assistant in constitutional and administrative law at UCL. In 1986, he became secretary to the Walloon government. He then moved to the federal level as head of cabinet of Melchior Wathelet (senior), who was successively deputy prime minister and minister for Justice, the Independents, the Economy, and Defence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1995, Gilles de Kerckhove started as an official at the European Commission<\/strong> (DG Competition). He then became a director in the Council of Ministers of the European Union, responsible for Justice and Home Affairs. For the past 14 years, he has been the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gilles de Kerchove is passionate about international relations<\/strong>. This was already evident during his studies. He studied law in the United States. Later, as European coordinator, he traveled a lot<\/strong>, especially in Africa.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n He has numerous publications to his credi<\/strong>t and still regularly lectures<\/strong> at UCL, ULB, USL, and the College of Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even with such a busy schedule, he still finds time to work on his fitness by playing tennis, jogging, or skiing. Parachuting and hang-gliding are also on his sports list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gilles de Kerckhove had long considered investing in a development organization after his retirement. Melchior Wathelet junior, son of ... and administrator of our Foundation, told Gilles about our Foundation. After several meetings with Marc Vervenne and Pascale Van Assche, he finally agreed to take over the presidency of the Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His experience and enthusiasm will undoubtedly contribute to the growth of our Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the turn of the year, we said a grateful goodbye to Marc Vervenne, our former president, and welcomed Gilles de Kerchove, our new president. On Thursday, 24 March, we celebrated the change of president at an academic session in the promotion hall of the KU Leuven. We paid tribute to our former and new president.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Farewell to Marc Vervenne - Welcome to the new president Gilles de Kerchove","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"farewell-to-marc-vervenne-welcome-to-the-new-president-gilles-de-kerchove","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-03 15:56:25","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-03 14:56:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/?p=22214","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":23889,"post_author":"8","post_date":"2022-04-28 16:32:41","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-28 14:32:41","post_content":"\n On Thursday, 24 March, the Hubi & Vinciane Foundation honoured its outgoing president Marc Vervenne - honorary rector of the KU Leuven - with an academic session in the promotion room of the KU Leuven. After eight years as president, Marc Vervenne passed the torch to Gilles de Kerchove. We could not let this event go unnoticed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kathleen Cools<\/strong>, a well-known VRT journalist and ambassador of our Foundation agreed to coordinate the evening. The guests of honour were Meryame Kitir, Minister for Development Cooperation and Urban Policy, Herman van Rompuy, former President of the European Council and Chairman of the Advisory Board of our Foundation, Gilles de Kerchove, former senior European official and new President of our Foundation, and Professor Ibrahim Toko of the University of Parakou, one of our main partners in Benin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris Van Geet<\/strong>, the vice-rector of the KU Leuven, welcomed the guests and explained the KU Leuven's vision for North-South cooperation. She, too, is very attached to our Foundation. A few years ago, she and Marc Vervenne took part in a working visit in the cooperation framework with LUMOS, and Benin has been her constant companion ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marc Vervenne<\/strong> was honoured and pleasantly surprised. Although he thought we would organise something, he did not expect so many people to be present. Marc told Kathleen Cools that the African continent has always been dear to him. Indeed, since he became president of the Foundation, Benin has had special significance for him. He has been a good advisor in the field of cooperation with our local partners and has visited our projects on several occasions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister Meryame Kitir<\/strong> particularly emphasised the importance of fourth pillar organisations - like our Foundation - in development cooperation as a whole. These organisations may be less well known than the big NGOs, but they achieve essential, sustainable, and concrete results locally and have become indispensable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gilles de Kerchove<\/strong> and Herman Van Rompuy<\/strong> returned from a working visit to Benin. Both were impressed by the achievements of our Foundation. While much has already been achieved, the work is certainly not finished. We achieve sustainable and locally rooted accomplishments by involving the local authorities and allowing the inhabitants to take ownership of the projects,. Both men were also charmed by the dynamism, openness, positive attitude, and friendliness of the Beninese. They both praised our Benin director, Marcienne Houenou, and the other team members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Professor Ibrahim Toko<\/strong> from the University of Parakou was in Belgium at the end of March. He is in charge of the aquaponics project in Benin, financed by our Foundation. He was honoured to be able to tell during this academic session how he came into contact with our Foundation. His colleagues had warned him that many organisations make nice promises but do not consistently deliver. Our Foundation proved them wrong. After first contact, the first aquaponics installations were delivered a few months later, and the project could start in earnest. Today, a team of assistants and students is working on-site to optimise the technology further. Professor Toko was accompanied by a dozen students from Benin who are studying at the universities of Namur and Li\u00e8ge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unable to attend the academic session, Mohamed Ridouani<\/strong>, Mayor of Leuven, recorded a video message to thank Marc for his years of commitment. He later joined the reception to raise a glass in Marc's honour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, Ismael Bako<\/strong>, professional basketball player of the Belgian national team, high-level player of the Spanish team Manresa and ambassador of our Foundation, could not come. He also addressed Marc to thank him in a short video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the official part, Pascale Van Assche, delegate of our Foundation, paid a beautiful tribute to Marc. Not only had she prepared an original and personal text, but she had also brought back from Benin a magnificent and symbolic gift: a wooden sculpture representing a water jar with holes in it, carried by a group of people whose fingers close the holes in the jar. To the guests of honour she did not offer a bouquet of flowers but a \"bouquet of bananas from Benin\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n The celebration ended with a reception served by the enthusiastic scouts of Diependaal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was an excellent end to eight years of the presidency for Marc Vervenne, who can pass the torch to Gilles de Kerchove with legitimate pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Gilles de Kerchove
<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Pascale Vandewiele-Van Assche – pascale@hubi-vinciane.be<\/a>
<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Muriel Verbiest-Billiau – muriel@hubi-vinciane.be<\/a>
<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Benoit Akando
Annita Beysen
Marc Croonen
Eunice Couthon
Ingrid Hofkens-Van den Brandt – ingrid@hubi-vinciane.be<\/a>
Dr. Tom Mulier
Mark Neefs
Jo Raveligien
Chris Van der Vorst
Pol Vanmellaert – pol@hubi-vinciane.be<\/a>
Melchior Wathelet
<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Prof. dr. Dr. Marc Vervenne, honorary rector KU Leuven
The late Prof. Dr. Piet Van Assche
The late Prof. dr. Marcel Norr\u00e9
The late E.H. Basiel Maes, chairman of Broederlijk Delen
The late Prof. dr. Luc Eyckmans, director Tropical Institute<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"Gilles](\"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Foto_GillesDeKerchove_300-217x300.jpg\")
Chairman<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/foto_Pascale_300-217x300.jpg\")
Managing Director<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Geraertsstraat 52, 3600 Genk, Belgium
Secretariat<\/strong>
Schoolbergenstraat 59, 3010 Kessel-Lo, Belgium (Tel 016 89 00 80 or 03 354 15 51)<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Piet](\"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2022_Q2_PietVanAssche_03_1200.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
It became his life's work. For his busy job as a nuclear physics researcher, he worked long hours and travelled worldwide. At weekends he was there for us, the apple of his eye, and for his wife, the great love of his life. After his eldest daughter's accident, he devoted all his free time to fundraising and setting up the Foundation's many projects.
In 2008, when Dad's health no longer allowed him to do so, I (Pascale) took over the presidency. With Dad's passion and enthusiasm, I continue to work with a great team to realise Hubi and Vinciane's dream of improving the quality of life of the people of the Borgou region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thank you, dear Dad.
From your daughters Pascale and Mary-Ann Van Assche - Vinciane's sisters.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Piet](\"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2022_Q2_PietVanAssche_06_500.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Piet](\"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2022_Q2_PietVanAssche_04_500.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2022_Q2_PietVanAssche_02_1200.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Marcienne Houenou - Director of the Foundation in Benin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n","post_title":"In memoriam Piet Van Assche","post_excerpt":"On 04 March 2022, like wildfire, the news of the death of Mr. Piet VAN ASSCHE was received and shared by all: local staff, members, friends, and supporters of the Foundation.","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"in-memoriam-piet-van-assche","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-12-17 14:31:45","post_modified_gmt":"2024-12-17 13:31:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/in-memoriam-piet-van-assche\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":22214,"post_author":"10","post_date":"2022-01-04 11:57:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-01-04 10:57:00","post_content":"\n![\"Gillis](\"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2000\/01\/Foto_GillisDeKerchove_LinkedIn_250h.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Academische](\"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/2022_Q2_AcademischeZitting_05_1200.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Academische](\"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/2022_Q2_AcademischeZitting_10_500.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Academische](\"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/2022_Q2_AcademischeZitting_27_500.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Academische](\"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/2022_Q2_AcademischeZitting_28_500.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Academische](\"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/2022_Q2_AcademischeZitting_32_500.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Academische](\"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/2022_Q2_AcademischeZitting_38_1200.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Academische](\"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/2022_Q2_AcademischeZitting_43_500.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Academische](\"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/2022_Q2_AcademischeZitting_69_1200.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Academische](\"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/2022_Q2_AcademischeZitting_67_1200.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n","post_title":"Academic session on the occasion of the departure of president Marc Vervenne","post_excerpt":"On Thursday, 24 March, the Foundation honoured its outgoing president Marc Vervenne with an academic session in the promotion room of the KU Leuven. ","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"academic-session-on-the-occasion-of-the-departure-of-president-marc-vervenne","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-06-05 12:48:57","post_modified_gmt":"2022-06-05 10:48:57","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/hubi-vinciane.be\/academische-zitting-ter-ere-van-het-afscheid-van-voorzitter-marc-vervenne\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}]},"yoast_head":"\n