They are brewers and chocolatiers, artists and researchers, engineers and finance leaders. And on Thursday evening in Canberra, they were finally given the recognition they deserve.
The inaugural Belgian-Australian Excellence Awards brought together over a hundred guests at the Belgian Embassy in the Australian capital for a landmark celebration of Belgian talent Down Under. Six winners were revealed across six categories — and the room left in no doubt: Belgium punches well above its weight.
Category by category, sponsors and jury members took to the stage alongside Ambassador Karl Stouthuysen to reveal the winners.
Tineke Van der Eecken, an interdisciplinary artist and writer based in Fremantle, took out Arts, Culture & Community. Florence Gabriel, a research fellow at the University of Adelaide, was recognised in STEM, Research & Academia. Antonin Demazy de Fortet, Melbourne-based engineer and founder of GG Advisory, claimed the Environmental & Sustainability award. Jimmy Van Eetvelde, brewer and co-founder of Madocke Bier Brewing Company on the Gold Coast, won Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Filip Tibos, master chocolatier in Melbourne, was honoured in Culinary & Gastronomy. And Krista Baetens, Executive Global Markets at NAB in Sydney, received the High Impact Corporate award.
From Brussels, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot joined the celebration via video message. “This initiative is a wonderful recognition of the strength and vitality of the Belgian community in Australia,” he said. “Tonight, we celebrate what makes Belgium proud: talent, creativity, entrepreneurship, and a strong sense of community — flourishing here, at the other end of the world.”
The numbers speak for themselves. Around 8,000 Belgians call Australia home. 53 talents were nominated. More than 3,000 people voted online. Three finalists were selected per category — and a distinguished jury made the final call. For an inaugural edition, the response was extraordinary.
“All of these people make Belgium shine in Australia,” said Ambassador Stouthuysen. “Their contributions drive excellence and success, and present Belgium as an innovative country.” For the Ambassador, who arrived in his post less than a year ago, the evening was a clear statement of intent: the Belgian community here is vibrant, dynamic — and worth celebrating.
The awards were born from a conversation between the Embassy and François Vantomme, Belgian editor-in-chief of Le Courrier Australien / LCANews, Australia’s oldest foreign-language newspaper. The idea had been brewing for years. When the new Ambassador arrived with a matching vision, the decision was simple. “We were on the same wavelength and decided to go for it,” says Vantomme. “It was important to me to show that the Belgian community here is not as small as people might think. Belgium has talent. And if we don’t say it ourselves, how can we expect others to believe it?”
The Belgian-Australian Excellence Awards will return. Next year, the spotlight shines again.
Discussion about this post