Inspiring Women February 2023
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feature<br />
A Club Inspires:<br />
AWC Antwerp<br />
Tharien van Eck – Chair of<br />
the Target Program (Health,<br />
2019-2022), Chair of the<br />
Selection Committee for the<br />
Target Program (Environment,<br />
<strong>2023</strong>-2025), member of the<br />
Global Issues Health and<br />
Human Rights teams and<br />
AWC Antwerp's FAWCO Rep –<br />
introduces us to her city and<br />
AWC Antwerp, one of four<br />
clubs in FAWCO’s Region 4.<br />
Celebrating 85 years at the Antwerp City Hall<br />
Founded in 1928, at a time when there<br />
were few American organizations in<br />
the city, the American <strong>Women</strong>’s Club<br />
of Antwerp was typical of its sister<br />
organizations in other European capitals.<br />
Membership was open to United States citizens<br />
or non-American women married to Americans<br />
and it offered opportunities for women to share<br />
common interests, broaden outlooks, extend<br />
knowledge, and provide community service.<br />
The motto of the club is “May we never be hasty<br />
in judgement and always generous.” In 1931,<br />
the American <strong>Women</strong>’s Club of Antwerp was a<br />
founding member of the Federation of American<br />
<strong>Women</strong>’s Clubs in Europe (later called FAWCO)<br />
formed by seven clubs: London, Antwerp, Paris,<br />
Berlin, The Hague, Vienna, and Zurich.<br />
Membership in the American<br />
<strong>Women</strong>’s Club of Antwerp<br />
fluctuated with global trends.<br />
By 1935, the membership had<br />
dropped from around 40 women<br />
to just 23, most probably due to the departure<br />
of Americans from Europe during the Great<br />
Depression. Then, in 1939, World War II began,<br />
and the club fell idle. Most American families<br />
were evacuated from Antwerp in the fall of 1939,<br />
but about ten years later the population began<br />
to grow again.<br />
What does your current membership look like?<br />
We currently have almost 100 members from<br />
numerous countries, a truly global organization.<br />
Many of our members hold dual passports, due<br />
to marriage or long-term residence in the EU/<br />
Belgium. We have an active group of Belgian and<br />
Dutch members who keep us well connected<br />
with the local community. Many of these ladies<br />
are former expats themselves, having returned<br />
to Belgium or the Netherlands after postings<br />
abroad. Also, in contrast to the wife/mother<br />
expat of previous decades, many international<br />
women who relocated to Antwerp are now<br />
working full time. With social media, online<br />
communities, and the ease of finding<br />
The Brabo<br />
Fountain is<br />
located in the<br />
Grote Markt of<br />
52<br />
Antwerp.<br />
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