"Why does the United Nations need Associations? Why do Associations need the United Nations ?

Under a variety of designations (NGOs, CSOs, Stakeholders, Third Sector, Partners and more) the UN System and the multi-facetted Association world have a long history of interaction, and in some case of interdependence.
The Workshop will explore the ups and downs of this relationship, looking at how words and deeds coincide or conflict, and considering where new realities are leading us."

• Union of International Associations: President since 2017 - Bruxelles

• Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO): President 2011-2018; First Vice President 2018-2025 - Geneva, New York, Vienna

• Council of Europe Expert Council on NGO Law: President 2008- 2018; Honorary President from 2018 - Strasbourg

• World Future Council: Senior Policy Advisor since 2012 - Hamburg

• International Baby Food Action Network/GIFA: Vice President since 2020 - Geneva

• Titular of the World Order of the Smile (since 1979) – Government of Poland

• International Civil Society Forum for Democracy (ICSFD, 2006): President - Doha

• World Civil Society Conference (WOCSOC, 1999): President - Montreal

• International Council of Voluntary Agencies: Executive Director 1964-1978 and 1990-1991 - Geneva

Are you a volunteer, board member, or staff member of an international association? Since 1 January 2025, Belgium’s liability rules have undergone drastic changes that impact all international associations active in the country. This one-hour workshop provides a concise overview of what these new rules entail and how they may affect your organisation and you personally. Led by Marijke, who is an experienced lawyer and recognized thought leader in corporate and association law, this session will offer clear explanations, real-life examples, and interactive discussions to help you understand the best ways to protect your role and your organisation. Whether you are new to your role or a seasoned professional, you will leave with greater clarity about the always evolving legal landscape.

Marijke is the Managing Partner at BoldLAW, a Brussels-based law firm specialized in guiding companies and associations through every legal aspect of their operations—from drafting effective collaboration contracts to advising on governance challenges. With over 15 years of experience working with both international and Belgian organisations, Marijke is praised for her clear communication style and keen analytical skills that allow clients to move forward quickly and constructively.

Fluent in English, Dutch, and French, and as President of the International Association of Lawyers’ Belgian committee, Marijke brings a truly international perspective to her work.

Marijke is also academically active, serving for more than a decade on the editorial board of Belgium’s leading corporate and association law review, TRV-RPS, and regularly contributing articles on corporate, contract and association law. The Belgian Institute of Tax Advisors and Accountants invites her regularly as an expert for educational sessions on corporate governance and director liability, recognising her valuable insights and practical approach.

UIA provides tools and data to help associations with their outreach, event planning and more. Ryan will present a number of UIA's tools, including a live demo of 'Open Yearbook' and 'Open Calendar', explain the history and future plans of the Global Civil Society Database, and will answer questions about how associations can best take advantage of these free resources.

Ryan has worked as a web and database developer at UIA since 2011. He is responsible for the user interface of UIA's databases, the ongoing development of its website and the visual identity of the organization. He also provides regular training sessions on the use of UIA's Yearbook of International Organizations and International Congress Calendar digital publications.

Before joining UIA, Ryan ran a communications design studio crafting online identities for associations and small businesses.

Daniel Laqua is Associate Professor at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

He is the author of Activism across Borders since 1870: Causes, Campaigns and Conflicts in and beyond Europe (London, 2023) and The Age of Internationalism and Belgium, 1880–1930: Peace, Progress and Prestige (Manchester, 2013) as well as the (co-)editor of three books and six special issues of academic journals.

He has published widely on the history of international movements and organisations, including a volume on the history of UIA, International Organizations and Global Civil Society: Histories of the Union of International Associations (London, 2019).

He is currently leading a large international project on ‘Global Governance, Trust and Democratic Engagement in Past and Present’ (funded via the Trans-Atlantic Platform for the Social Sciences and Humanities) and is serving as co-lead of a research network entitled ‘Rethinking Internationalism: Histories and Pluralities’.

The attempt to combine international ambitions with local action can generate tensions and misunderstandings. This workshop explores several examples, drawn from the cases of various activist groups that had a global vision. It will consider how such conflicts do not necessarily need to be seen as ‘problems’, highlighting how they could also generate innovative practice. The workshop is delivered in collaboration with an international project on ‘Global Governance, Trust and Democratic Engagement in Past and Present’.

This session is delivered by specialists in the histories of international organisations and will present some examples from their work on organisations such as the UN. These examples will nurture reflection on the divergent, contradictory voices within the field of internationalism. The workshop is delivered in collaboration with an international project on ‘Rethinking Internationalism: Histories and Pluralities’.

Jessica's main research interests lie in the social and political history of competing conceptions of internationalism; international organisations and networks; the history of international conferences; humanitarianism; migration and displacement; science and expertise; the world wars and post-war reconstruction.

She first joined Birkbeck in 2005 as a postdoctoral researcher, after completing her PhD at Imperial College London in the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine.

Her Perils of Peace: the Public Health Crisis in Occupied Germany (Oxford University Press, 2013) is an open access monograph.

Dr Margot Tudor is a Lecturer in Foreign Policy and Security in the Department of International Politics at City St George's, University of London. Her first book, Blue Helmet Bureaucrats: United Peacekeeping Missions and the Reinvention of Colonialism, 1945-1971, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2023. She is currently working on a new book project on the entanglement of peacekeeping identities and patriarchal values during the first UN mission.

VAT is a constant source of concern for international associations in their daily activities and especially when they are organizing conferences in their own country or another. Philippe Noirhomme will discuss the information needed to clarify the situation regarding this tax and its application.

A special focus will be given to webinars and virtual educational activities due to the new EU regulation, which has been applicable since January 1, 2025.

Philippe Noirhomme is a certified tax adviser working with European VAT Desk. He previously spent 11 years with Ernst & Young Tax Consultants in the Indirect Tax department, and is currently a Lecturer at the Tax Institute of the University of Liège and Teacher at Solvay Brussels School (Executive Master in International Association Management). He is co-author of “VAT Package : the new rules applicable to services”, published by Editions Larcier in January 2010.

Philippe Noirhomme, conseil fiscal agréé, Cabinet EUROPEAN VAT DESK, a travaillé pendant 11 ans au sein du département Indirect Tax d'Ernst & Young Tax Consultants et est Maître de conférence au Tax Institute de l'ULiège et Instructeur à la Solvay Brussels School (Executive Master in International Association Management). Il est notamment co-auteur du livre VAT PACKAGE - Les nouvelles règles applicables aux prestations de services - paru aux Editions Larcier en janvier 2010.

As traditional sources of government support diminish, associations across the globe are facing a new era of financial uncertainty—and the need for innovative, collective action has never been greater.

In this interactive workshop, facilitators Joost Visser and Jan Lichota will lead participants through a series of four short focused conversations, designed using the Pathway Conversations framework. .

Working in small breakout groups, attendees will reflect deeply, share insights, and co-create solutions around four pivotal questions.

By the end of the session, each group will have:

• Identified shared priorities that matter most to them.
• Discovered powerful actions they can take together—actions that are impossible to achieve alone.

Joost Visser is the CEO and co-founder of TIAO, a Brussels based service provider working with people that want to bring about positive change in their communities, networks and organisations (https://tiao.world/).

In the last 10 years Joost and his colleagues have been revolutionising the way businesses, communities, and civic society, connect, collaborate, and create value in the digital age, combining the best of digital technology with the irreplaceable human element of interpersonal relationships.

Based on the believe that trust is not a prerequisite for collaboration, but a powerful outcome of working together. TIAO stands for ‘Trust Is An Outcome’.

Before TIAO, Joost worked more than 20 years as a marketing, sales and strategy expert in senior executive roles in multinational fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) businesses in Europe and the Americas and as management consultant and entrepreneur in other sectors and industries.

Jan is currently the Coordinator of The Association Place in Brussels. Established and managed by visit.brussels, it offers a space for information, networking, and meetings for international associations in Brussels.

A lawyer by training, before joining visit.brussels, he was for various years Legal Advisor at The Brewers of Europe and has also worked as a reporter for professional magazines and events organiser.

Jan has also maintained his academic activities within scientific associations and networks related to tourism, economy, and netnography. He is also active in professional and voluntary associations at the local or international level in the areas of beer, heritage, law, meetings, and tourism.