Something of a shared history and purpose

One of the most interesting pieces of memorabilia I have found in our school offices is a framed photo from 1951, depicting the AWCB as the first home of the International School of Brussels (ISB). Of course, this is hardly surprising, given that both the Club and School (back then known as the American School of Brussels) were established to serve an expatriate community, predominantly from the US, settling in Brussels.

A lot has changed since these early days. Both the Club and School have literally ‘grown up and moved home’. The School has become one of the largest and most reputable international schools in Europe, with 1500 students from 70 countries. Likewise, the Club today offers a wide range of essential community services to literally hundreds of members from both the US community, as well as those of us who come from ‘the rest of the world’. Yes, things have changed from their modest beginnings. The spirit of these two organizations, however, seems to remain.

Starbucks as the 'third place'But how do we capture this spirit? Well, perhaps we should turn to another great US institution – Starbucks. Although I am yet to experience it for myself, I understand that this coffee experience has finally reached as far as our airport in Zaventem. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but you have to admire their business vision for its absolutely simplicity: ‘Starbucks as the third place: home, work, Starbucks’.

And for many people, Starbucks really is their third place: somewhere to experience a cup of coffee, conversation and a moment ‘away’ from the hustle and bustle of work and home. For a couple of years now, some of us at ISB have taken this idea and begun to think about our school in a similar way: work, home, ISB. After all, we know that for many members of our community, where they work, where they live and where their kids go to school are the three key determining factors for a happy expatriate assignment. It goes without saying that AWCB is clearly also a ‘third place’ for many of its members.

So, given our shared history and shared sense of purpose, it felt only natural that these two grown up institutions should begin to move forward with a new, better defined, partnership. After all, the whole point of a partnership is that together we can go further than we could go alone.

After months of planning, the first visible signs of this new partnership came together in the early days of September 2008. A new school year brought a new range of online and other services to families arriving at ISB. We also wanted to offer them a course that addressed the transition into life in Belgium – and clearly, with its renowned ‘Hints Course’, the Club was the place to seek some advice.

To cut a long story short, we ended up offering a ‘mini-hints’ seminar, hosted at ISB with input from regular Hints trainers, for over 50 members of the ISB community. Afterwards, many of the participants expressed great interest in finding out more about the Club and joining the regular Hints course. The response was overwhelmingly positive.

Working together, I do believe that created a win-win situation for both Club and School. We should be proud of ourselves for that. So my hope is that, over the next few years, we will find many more ways to work more closely together as together we continue proudly to serve the Belgian expatriate community.

This article was first published in Rendezvous Magazine (AWCB) in December 2008.

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