As we embark on the second year of living with Covid-19, even the most resilient among us have felt sorrow, frustration, and sometimes anger at the times we are now living in. How will we cope going forward? How can we cope better? How can we help ourselves and our families in these complex and challenging times?

In this session, multi-award-winning mental health campaigner Natasha Devon will give practical tips for how to encourage someone you're concerned about to open up about their mental health, how to have the conversation in the most productive way possible and what to do if you can't provide them with a solution.

Following her keynote, Natasha will be joined by Simon Dwyer, organizational psychologist and counselor, Lucian Ionescu, VP, Head of Immunology Europe at UCB Pharma, Jeremy Jennings, President of Community Help Service, and Stephanie Freidberg, Primary School Counselor at St. John's International School to discuss:

• The evolution of the pandemic and what to expect in the months to come
• How to cope with mental health and family life difficulties in times of COVID
• Children's mental health during the pandemic and how parents, teachers and professionals can support them

Schedule

 To take part in the BBCA Quiz, an entry fee of €8 per person will be charged with all proceeds being donated to the BBCA Community charities (British Charitable Fund, CHS, Royal British legion, and the Wednesday Club).

Team event

The BBCA Quiz will be run as a team event with general sessions (where everyone will be online together) and break-out sessions (where teams will be able to discuss their answers in private 'virtual rooms'). The topics covered will include Geography, History, General Knowledge, Music and one or two Picture Rounds.

Team members may be, but do not need to be, under the same roof; however, the maximum number of members in any team is four. You can organise your own team or enter individually and ask to be allocated to a team.

Prizes

Prizes will be awarded to the members of the winning team in the form of coupons for Stonemanor. We are all incredibly sad that Stonemanor has been experiencing so many problems with the new post Brexit export/import rules and would like to encourage as many people as possible to shop with them when they return to business as usual – hopefully in the not-too-distant future (see the BBCA article published on 26 February).

The BBCA Quiz Night is an opportunity for you to spend a fun evening with a team of friends and/or family.

How to enter

If you wish to take part in this Quiz, and we sincerely hope that you do, please inform Nikki Hayes (by email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) mentioning, where applicable:

(1) Your team name, team captain and the names and email addresses of the members of your team (if you have already a ready-formed team), or

(2) Your name and email address (if you are joining as an individual or a group of less than four people) so that you can be allocated to a team.

To participate and receive the Zoom invite for this event, please send the above information and transfer your participation fee of €8 per person to the BBCA account BE38 3631 6982 1172, with the reference 'BBCA Quiz 2021', no later than 19 March 2021.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Webinar Conference with Bright Expats and KBC Brussels

Welcome to the supermarket of schools!

It's difficult enough being a parent at the best of times. Then Covid-19 happened and suddenly we are thrown into a whole new dimension of modern family life. How do I choose the right school for my child? Am I a terrible parent if I can't help them with homework any more? My children are learning on Zoom... but is this really learning?

In this interactive and conversational session hosted by Bright Expats and KBC Brussels, David Willows will help us navigate some of these parenting dilemmas by drawing upon insights from the ancient philosophers, educational futurists, and his own experience of life with six children.

Dr David Willows is currently Director of Advancement at the International School of Brussels. His blog, fragments2.com, provides stories and reflections on the future of the learning business.

Schedule