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Joris De Roy Memorial Grant winners 2023

07/05/2023 - 16:24

On BELTA Day 2023, we were happy we could again award the Joris De Roy Memorial Grant to two lucky BELTA Day delegates. Meet the two winners of 2023 and read about their connection with Joris De Roy, our BELTA Board colleague who passed away on 22 May 2017 and in whose loving memory BELTA awards this grant.

On 22 April, at the end of BELTA Day 2023, two lucky winners were picked by our two plenary speakers Tyson and James from all those who applied for the Joris De Roy Memorial Grant. BELTA grants support teachers financially to become IATEFL members and to attend the IATEFL conference in the UK. In this way BELTA gives the winners of the grant the opportunity to join a worldwide network of English teachers and attend the annual IATEFL conference with thousands of other teachers from all over the world. Find all information about BELTA Grants and the Professional Development Aid fund that was set up to this end on our website.

The Joris De Roy Memorial Grant winners 2023 are Maggy Brusselmans and Vanessa Kint. We were really happy with these winners as they are both very loyal BELTA Day attendees and come from different parts of Belgium.
Meet the two winners and read their reactions to winning the grant.

Maggy attended BELTA Days in 2018, 2019, 2021(online) and was in for a presentation in 2022, but she had to cancel due to Covid. This year she presented with her colleague Matthias Verdoodt.
She wrote to us:

"My boss, prof. dr. Jill Surmont, collaborated with Joris De Roy. She told me she holds wonderful memories of that close collaboration. She was deeply touched by his sudden death.
Thank you, BELTA, for this amazing opportunity. I believe everyone could see how happy I was when James announced my name. I am sure that attending the IATEFL 2024 conference will help me grow professionally as an English language teacher educator. And BELTA members, rest assured, I will gladly report back in a blog post and workshop. Thanks again BELTA! Warmly, Maggy"

Vanessa was a delegate at BELTA Days in 2017, 2021 (online), 2022 and 2023. We are really happy she has memories of Joris De Roy, who she met on her first BELTA Day, which happend to be his last, just days before he passed away on 22 May 2017.
This is her reaction:

"I am absolutely thrilled to have won the Joris De Roy Memorial Grant, thanks a million!
I was lucky to meet Joris when I attended the Belta Day in 2017 and remember his deeply infectious enthusiasm. At that time, Joris and his atypical hair that reminded me of a famous singer in my youth (Simply Red ) became the identifiable face of the BELTA band to me.
As a language expert for Le Forem, being a part of IATEFL is a huge honour. Being able to attend the conference in Brighton is simply incredible. I know it IATEFL is a great opportunity to connect with other professionals, learn about the latest developments in language teaching, and share my own experiences and ideas. This exciting experience will with no doubt bring an added value in my practice and development.
I'm so grateful to the committee for recognizing my work and supporting my professional development in this way. This grant will also allow me to network with other professionals, share my knowledge, and ultimately benefit my trainers as I also train trainers. Thank you so much!"

CONGRATULATIONS, Maggy and Vanessa!