Press Release

Brussels agencies and College of Europe launch InclusivEU initiative

  • Private sector public affairs agencies and College of Europe join forces to tackle lack of existing diversity in the Brussels talent pipeline
  • Dedicated scholarship to support broader diversity in the wider EU ecosystem

Brussels, 10 October 2023: The EU offices of BCW, Dentons Global Advisors and FTI Consulting (the ‘Founding Sponsors’), in partnership with the College of Europe (the ‘College’) in Brugge, Belgium, have today launched InclusivEU, a new diversity and inclusion initiative. Its objectives are twofold:

  •  Improve social and cultural mobility in higher education; and
  • Contribute to the diversification of the future talent pipeline in public affairs in Brussels.

As part of its foundational year, InclusivEU has awarded an inaugural scholarship to a selected student studying at the College, with a future opportunity to take two subsequent renumerated internships with the Founding Sponsors. The successful student was selected from an initial shortlist of 45 applications.

The InclusivEU initiative seeks to contribute to diversifying the College of Europe, the EU institutions and the broader European ecosystem, in terms of ability, class, culture, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, race, religion, sexual orientation or socio-economic background.

Speaking at the launch, Federica Mogherini, the Rector of the College said: “The EU is increasingly diverse but the European institutions, where the future of our continent is shaped, are not yet. The College of Europe, as a great stepping stone for a successful career in EU affairs, has an important role to play in filling that gap. We are committed to helping transform the field of EU affairs into a truly diverse and inclusive environment. We are glad that we are embarking on this process with committed partners with whom we share this core objective to make the EU institutional environment more diverse.”

While InclusivEU was started by BCW, Dentons Global Advisors and FTI Consulting, the ambition is to encourage other agencies and organisations to participate. By growing the number of sponsoring partners and the size of the associated scholarship, the initiative will be able to support more students in the future.

Hans Hack, Head of FTI Consulting’s Brussels office, said: “It’s the start of a journey. We appreciate that the challenge is much bigger than one programme, but it is important that EU public affairs agencies are part of the conversation and work together to address it.”

Kieran O’Keeffe, Partner at Dentons Global Advisors, added: “The focus in the EU Bubble is too often on ensuring we represent the 27 member states and not on reflecting the diversity of the societies within them.”

Andrew Cecil, CEO of BCW Brussels, added: “As part of the estimated 35,000 consultants working in Brussels, we have a responsibility to take tangible steps and turn talk into action. Our ambition is to grow this initiative, but we can only do this with more partners. The more organisations that join us, the more impactful this initiative will become, allowing us to award more scholarships in the future.”

Future applications will come from those applying to study at the College. The next opportunity will be for the academic year 2024/2025 and will be open from 12 October 2023 and close on 16 January 2024.

For more information on InclusivEU and the scholarship programme, please contact Valentin Dupouey-Sterdyniak, Director of Communications, External Relations & Events at the College of Europe (valentin.dupouey@coleurope.eu) or go to the dedicated page on the College of Europe’s website at https://www.coleurope.eu/diversity-scholarship.

 

For all media enquiries, please contact:

 About College of Europe

The College of Europe is the oldest and leading postgraduate institute of European studies. Since 1949, it has trained over 17,000 high-level European affairs professionals through its different academic programmes. It currently offers 6 master’s programmes across its two campuses in Bruges, Belgium and Natolin, Poland. Nearly 500 students from over 60 nationalities are trained every year at the College of Europe. To learn more, visit www.coleurope.eu

About BCW

BCW is the global communications agency built to move people. BCW partners with clients in the B2B, consumer, corporate, crisis management, healthcare, public affairs, purpose and technology sectors to set strategic direction for all communications and create powerful and unexpected ideas that earn attention. BCW uses earned media, paid media, creative technology, data, AI and an expanding suite of innovative capabilities to move people with power and precision to move its clients forward. BCW is a part of WPP (NYSE: WPP), a creative transformation company. For more information, visit www.bcw-global.com.

About Dentons Global Advisors

Dentons Global Advisors is an expert-led advisory firm that provides integrated solutions for clients in an increasingly complex, regulated and interconnected business environment. Comprising Albright Stonebridge Group and a deep bench of communications, public affairs, government relations and strategy consultants, we help clients engage with governments and regulatory bodies, navigate public disclosures and transactions within the private and capital markets, and manage their reputations through critical moments of change, challenge or opportunity. Our relationship with Dentons, the world’s largest law firm, means clients can draw upon integrated legal expertise and strategic advisory services when and where they need them. To learn more, visit dentonsglobaladvisors.com.

About FTI Consulting

FTI Consulting, Inc. is a global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organisations manage change, mitigate risk and resolve disputes: financial, legal, operational, political & regulatory, reputational and transactional. With more than 7,800 employees located in 31 countries, FTI Consulting professionals work closely with clients to anticipate, illuminate and overcome complex business challenges and make the most of opportunities. The Company generated $3.03 billion in revenues during fiscal year 2022. In certain jurisdictions, FTI Consulting’s services are provided through distinct legal entities that are separately capitalised and independently managed. For more information, visit www.fticonsulting.com and connect with us on Twitter (@FTIConsulting), Facebook and LinkedIn.