About us

Our history

‘Helping those in need’- a story of almost half a century of dedication and care !

From the initial idea of our founder, Carola Ehlermann together with Marie-Hélène von Mack and some of their friends, to the association it is today, Femmes d’Europe has certainly come a long way!

In 1976, a few women with compassion and initiative responded to the request of a pastor of the Lutheran Church seeking help for poor children in Africa. With the support of the European Commissioner for relations with developing countries, Claude Cheysson, who also gave the initiative a small office in the Berlaymont building, Carola Ehlermann officially started working as a volunteer on this project on 13 May 1976. Together with her team, she produced an information brochure with her sponsoring organisations: the Belgian "Fondation du Père Pire ," the German Kindernothilfe and Mother Teresa’s World Children’s Fund, which was subsequently distributed to all European Union (EU officials at the time, the permanent representations in Brussels, as well as embassies and many local companies.

As the first results began to show, the group felt encouraged to go further and so the idea of organizing a ’St Nicholas Bazaar’ was born.
The first "Christmas Bazaar", which later became one of the flagship events of Femmes d’Europe, opened its doors on 5 December 1976 at the Auderghem Cultural Centre, rented with the private resources of the few women involved. Patricia van der Esch brought her expertise to shape the programme of this first European event. Several European nationalities contributed to it, offering Christmas decorations, children’s games, craft and antique stalls, a dance performance by students from the European School and a tea room.

Lady Mary Soames, daughter of Winston Churchill and wife of Sir Christopher Soames, Vice-President of the European Commission at the time, presided over the opening of the event, which brought together some 5,000 people and was covered in the local press. Proceeds from the bazaar, managed by an Executive Committee, were then used to fund an orphanage in Burundi and a jeep for a village in India.
Femmes d’Europe was formally established as a Belgian Aisbl in 1979, organized, for linguistic reasons, into national groups. The first newsletter was printed in 1981.

Since then, the Bazaar (which also includes a Tombola) has become the most renowned of our annual events. Originally held in the basement of the Berlaymont building, it was then moved to Beaulieu and now on Rue Joseph II, but always housed by one of the European Union Commission buildings, as a symbol of their support for our cause.

Additional funds have been raised over the years through countless concerts, conferences, dinners and donations. The rotating Presidency of the European Council has become a great opportunity to organize major events highlighting our work and need for financial support to a wider audience.

As the European Union has expanded (to 27 members today), so has our association. We now have around 700 subscribing members, organized into 23 national groups and funding over 80 projects each year.