G.S.E. is a Rotary Foundation activity assembling business and professional people selected from within a District on the basis of their exceptional qualifications to go abroad, experience the way of life in another country and serve as representatives of their respective areas. Due to the fact that our District comprises seven countries, the participants happened to be selected from Mauritius, Reunion, Madagascar and Seychelles, whilst our own District received a five-member delegation from the sending District 2170, one of the three Rotary Districts found in the Kingdom of Belgium

Delegation received by Mayor of Lier, Belgium- Sat 31 May 2003
PP Prem Hurynag second from left

Our visiting team got the tone and flair of the meticulous planning for receiving our delegation as soon as we set foot at Brussels airport late in the night of 30 April 2003. District Governor George with his spouse and the members of the District Coordination Committee were present to receive us. How great was the sense of relief and relaxation when, for the very first hospitality, in the airport lounge, we were made to taste the best of the 185 brands of beers brewed in the Belgian territory. Our members were then and there offered the detailed programme of the week and were happy to learn that in each of the four regions of the District, one delegate will stay at the residence of only one Rotarian host. Of course, this we consider is the most practical way to become familiar with your host, interchange ideas and cement the bond of friendship which I am confident will last for the very many years to come. We started the first week in the Namur-Dinant zone, and then moved to Le Brabant-Wallon whilst the third leg was the heart of Belgium englobing the Brussels area until we concluded with the fourth one in North Antwerp.

Another practical aspect of the hospitality was the putting at our disposal of a minibus that could drive us all together with our Rotarian hosts and the key organisers of each region, which I believe helps to bring in the togetherness, and make you learn constantly about places and people. The ten days spent in the first zone were enough to confirm the lasting impression that we were in a country teeming with cultural, historical and social richness. Each of us observed that they integrated with our host family who had generously opened unto their visiting guests, their home, their kitchen, the communication facilities and had very successfully created the feeling that we really belong to the family.

Belgium is known for its hospitality with an abundance of good food, regular occasions for group receptions and inter-family conviviality. However an underlying current you would like to know concerns the eternal struggle for linguistic and cultural supremacy: in the South, the net impression is that Belgium is a completely francophone country. When you move in the capital city of Brussels, you will be surprised to note the rivalry between the areas of French and Flemish influences, whilst when you move in the North, it is emphatically Flemish and English predominance.

Culture-wise, people from all over Europe and the Western world make it their duty to come to Brussels to visit the sanguinary War Scenes which saw the defeat of Napoleon by the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo and during the Second World War the beginning of the defeat of the Germans by the combined Anglo-American troops at Bastogne in the Ardennes. All visitors feel amazed at the remarkable preservation by the Belgian authorities of the natural war scenes, the fields, the forests, the fortresses, and nowadays at the establishment of so many museums and artefacts while the country is becoming the capital of Europe through the co-operation and drive of France and Germany. Economically, Belgium is booming and becoming endowed with most of the edifices and structures earmarking it to become the capital of Europe and the West, as it already houses the seat of the European Union, the Headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and several other international offices.

Our Rotarian host used every single day of our stay there to make us see the past, the present and the future. Whilst professionally each delegate had two days reserved to learn about his profession and exchange views, the other days were enriched with meetings with usually one particular club during the day but with four or five clubs clustered together for the night meetings. This sort of practical arrangement made us meet almost 60 of the 85 clubs in the District. Places of interest and importance visited comprised historical cathedrals, monasteries, castles and palatial houses belonging even to some Rotarian friends, Universities, Research institutions, art and historical museums, farms with state- of- the- art technology and animal breeding centers, the Residence of the future, and the memorable diamond industries of Antwerp. The visit would not be complete without the well-known boat trips, which culminated with the cruise along the Scheldt River where are located the industrial ports of Antwerp which still receives products from the far away regions of Central Europe to be transshipped to the rest of the world. Furthermore, each Rotary zone had also made provision for one full day of recreation, relaxation and the opportunity to practise some sports.