Full Circle was created by us, Bridie and Louise. We both grew up in Britain. Between us, we have run businesses, worked in the EU institutions, campaigned for social justice, worked on improving democracy and governance, raised six children and much more besides. In 2012, we began meeting once a week at the Maison du Peuple Café in St Gilles to plan a practical way to speed up societal progress, making the most of the countless access points to power in Brussels.
A year later, Full Circle was born, a hub where ideas can see the light of day and reach those who make decisions about our collective future. At first it was an itinerant ideas club popping up in unexpected places, an empty bank building on Rue de la Loi or a shop to let on Avenue Louise.
In 2018, we made a derelict Hôtel de Maître between Avenue Louise and Place Flagey, our club's permanent home. The process to find it had taken us five years. It was freezing cold in winter, and had not been re-wired since the 1950s. 40 skips of rubbish had to be removed, but it was open to members from the start. Nowadays it's a state-of-the-art hub for thousands of people interested in meetings, ideas, literature and music - and the heart of our own special community, who want to contribute to a good future for humanity.
We both share a belief in the possibility of societal transformation. Our civic-mindedness and optimism, instilled in us both from childhood, has provided the much needed energy for the leaps of faith and sacrifices that the Full Circle journey requires. We take pride in bringing people together to grow the ideas and have the conversations needed for deep systems reform, economic transformation and societies that are sustainable and just. As the Full Circle community grows, we look forward to continuing to seed hope and commitment to actions - that actually create a future we can bear thinking about.