We’re still ironing out the details, but the 58th edition of the Brussels Girl Geek Dinners will coincide with one of the sessions of Book Labs 2013.

About Book Labs 2013:

Discover the digital world of the book at BOOK LABS 2013 and win 10.000 euro to develop your project. How can digital agencies, developers and graphic designers grow with the major developments in the digital book industry? More and more people are reading books on an e-reader or tablet. Reading a book can therefore go further than just reading letters and turning pages. The concept of ‘reading a book’ can get a completely different and extended meaning in the future. It’s up to you to determine that new meaning. How can digital developers and designers make a powerful contribution to the changing reading experience of the audience? What are the future perspectives and what opportunities are there for digital peeps?

iDROPS (BE), Boek.be (BE) and Uitgeverij van de Toekomst (BE) organize three innovative books labs in Flanders and the Netherlands. In BOOK LABS 2013 we throw a light on the future of e-books and find *new ways to publish interactive books.

1. First session – Creative LAB in Designcenter De Winkelhaak, Antwerp, May 26th , 27th & 28th 2013
2. Second session: Creative LAB in Amsterdam, June 30th, July 1st & 2st 2013
3. Third session: Development LAB in Belgium, Octobre 7th, 8th & 9th 2013

It’s crucial for organizations to connect with their customers and build products that really solve problems or delight users. But the common brainstorming techniques just simply don’t seem to measure up to the challenges of today, really visualising in a way that is clear for everyone what the actual goal is. Since we live in a 3D world, the human brain is better equipped to deal with visualisation in a 3D manner, not just by talking about it and making some slides, but by effectively living and creating the visualisation of an idea.

During this co-creation workshop, organised by Co-Learning, using Lego® Serious Play® techniques and materials, you will visualise and improve on the HardRock Café experience. The Lego® Serious Play® technique is an innovative, experimental process designed to enhance innovation and business performance. It deepens the reflection process and supports an effective dialogue – for everyone in the organization. Step into the world of agile product management with this exclusive tasting for the Brussels Girl Geeks.

About facilitator Erik Talboom

Erik used to tutor people while still in school, helping out fellow students whenever he had the chance. It wasn’t that weird that after a few years of professional experience, he ended up teaching class. He trained and coached several teams on different subjects, ranging from process oriented topics like scrum, kanban and effective collaboration over gamestorming to more technically focused topics like test automation, test driven development and software craftsmanship principles.

The past few years he started on an adventure in the areas of lean startups and customer development around these agile methodologies. These kinds of volatile ventures also benefit a lot from the agile mindset and craftsmanship knowledge he’s built up the last decade.

Yay! Another girl geek dinner in Brussels, and at the Brussels Hard Rock Café no less!

In a nutshell:

Date: Wednesday 17 April 2013

Topic: Creating a Legendary Burger & experience Co-Creation with Hard Rock Café and Lego® Serious Play®

Attendees: 40 (female only this time, sorry guys)

Programme:

• 18:30 Welcome by Hard Rock Café’s Guillermo Castells
• 19:00-19:50 Workshop Lego Serious Play
• 19:50-21:00 Workshop Legendary Burger Hard Rock by master chef Arnel Del Rosario
• 21:15 Announcement of winners in the categories ‘Best Burger’ and ‘Best Tweet’
• 21u45: Grab the goodie bag and go home

Where?

Hard Rock Café Brussels
Grand-Place 12a
1000 Brussels

>> Add your name to the twikilist to get in for free <<

Best tweet okay, but what’s best burger all about? The fact is, a truly good hamburger is hard to cook. As Isaac Tigrett once said:

I couldn’t find a decent burger in London, so I opened the Hard Rock Cafe on Old Park Lane.

Today, Hard Rock Cafes around the globe still strive to serve the best burgers in town. Come to the #BGGD on April 17th
in Hard Rock Cafe Brussels to taste and learn how to cook a delicious authentic American hamburger yourself.

The Hard Rock Cafe’s Legendary Burgers offer a persuasive taste of the restaurant’s know-how and expertise in traditional American gastronomy.
During the Brussels Girl Geek Dinner event on April 17th, Sales & Marketing Manager Guillermo Castells will welcome you and briefly introduce the Girl Geeks on the history of the Hard Rock Cafe brand. Master Chef Arnel Del Rosario will then introduce the chain’s famous range of Legendary Burgers and will even shed some light on the secret behind their burgers’ success.

Del Rosario will also go into detail about the 4 most popular Legendary Burgers at Hard Rock Cafe Brussels: ingredients, preparation and the chef’s secrets will all be discussed. Next, guests will have the unique opportunity to create their own Legendary Burger. The ingredients will be provided, after which participants will decide which Legendary Burger to create and – of course – eat. Certain ingredients (such ingredients that require cooking) will be prepared beforehand by the Hard Rock Cafe kitchen team.

Both the Girl Geek with the best burger and the one with the most original tweet will win a Legendary Meal for two at the Hard Rock Cafe in Brussels and a classic white Hard Rock Cafe T-shirt.

#BGGD56 in Tweets and pictures

Girl Geek Dinners are events for females who class themselves as girly and geeky. The events have a technical focus and are light hearted and fun.

Storified by Clo Willaerts· Sun, Mar 17 2013 12:43:05

Very important question indeed!

• a yoga mat (thank you, http://www.yogashop.be/)
• a voucher for a free yoga lesson at Sampoorna Yoga Studio (thank you, http://sampoornayogastudio.be/)
• a NAKD healthy candy bar (thank you, http://www.eatnakd.be/)
• travel sized Dove Douche or Signal toothpaste

18:00 Welcome, by Microsoft
18:30 Short intro: Microsoft Insiders
18:35 Katrien Barrat: New consumer
18:50 Teresa Fernandez-Gil: Healthy eating/ living
19:00 Julie Van den Kerchove: Raw living, cooking & coaching
19:10 Marcia O’Regan: Colour therapy
19:20 BREAK
19:35 Michel Schwarz: Gratitude/ happiness inside
19:45 Hanna Summanen: Hatha Yoga
19:55 Open Mic
20:05 Katrien Barrat: Outro
20:15 Dinner, drinks & dessert
20:30 Hanna Summanen: Discovery session I: Yoga discovery
21:00 Vincent Blondiau: Discovery session II: Qi Gong discovery
21:45 Dinner, drinks & dessert buffet

Key note speaker Katrien Barrat – Futureproofed

Katrien has worked both in Belgium as in France and in the UK on B2B and B2C markets, combining her background and expertise in market development for new growth markets with change management. In 2009 she launched her own company, C-Change, in sustainability & in May 2012, Futureproofed and C-Change joined operations to offer a unique combination of environmental expertise with market insights. At Futureproofed, Katrien focuses on fundamentally understanding the consumer and market needs. From the why, to the what for who and how with an implementation-driven and hands-on approach, supported by a full portfolio of market research. She’s passionate about leadership and coaching, she loves to teach and tell the story and make people grow. Katrien has been guest lecturer at Vlerick, UCL, UGhent, Karel De Grote Hogeschool and Howest.

Follow Katrien on Twitter: https://twitter.com/katrienbarrat

Teresa Fernandez-Gil

Teresa has a background in Pharmacy, a master’s degree in Public Health and a PhD in Nutrition. She’s completed her training to practice Health Counseling from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She practices a holistic approach to health and wellness, which means that she looks at how all areas of your life are connected. Does stress at your job or in your relationship cause you to overeat? Does lack of sleep or low energy prevent you from exercising? She looks at how all parts of your life affect your health as a whole.

Julie Van den Kerchove

Meet Julie Van den Kerchove, a certified raw food chef, coach and writer. Her three greatest passions are healthy food, exercise and traveling. She’s absolutely passionate about the raw food lifestyle and loves to experiment with new recipes! After several years of severe health issues she has completely changed her eating habits and overall lifestyle in order to heal herself. It was during this search for optimal health that she discovered her love for the raw vegan cuisine: pure, natural dishes that taste delicious and heal the body. Do you want to find out how I can help you take your health, nutrition & fitness to the next level? Then have a look at how you can work with me.

Marcia O’Regan – Colour Therapy

Marcia O’ Regan is an International Colour Therapist and Trainer and founder of Colour Harmonie. She uses the power and knowledge of colour as a tool for healing, guidance and self discovery, helping her clients be their BIGGER SELVES and reach their true potential. Marcia offers colour workshops, courses and one on one consultations. To find out more visit www.colourharmonie.com

Michel Schwarz – Owner Happiness Inside Me

After 20 years of happy and successful entrepreneurship, Michel decided to share his experience in inspiring teams to be happier and more successful in their jobs and lives.
With complementary studies in neurosciences and positive psychology – to scientifically validate how to become happier -, he started ‘Happiness Inside Me’. There’s only one rule: be deeply happier and deliver happiness to make a success of one’s life and enterprise:
Especially in a context of global change, generation Y, information society and stress, when future rewards are very uncertain. The happiest people are the most curious, adaptive, innovative, cooperative, motivated, fun, emotionally intelligent,…, person.
Nowadays, Michel’s workshops make people achieve their goals with more coherence, abilities, serenity and sense.
More info on his website: http://www.happinessinsideme.org/

Hanna Summanen

Hanna Summanen (@syogasbrussels) is a yoga teacher, consultant and facilitator. She first discovered yoga in 2001 during a burn-out after many years of corporate career, and has since become a certified yoga teacher and co-founder of the Sampoorna Yoga Studio in the center of Brussels. She divides her time between freelance consulting and sharing the amazing benefits of yoga – and in both professions she is passionate about well-being and personal transformation.
Hanna will teach a 30 minute Hatha Yoga discovery class after the speaker part of the event is over.

Vincent Blondiau

Meet Vincent, he’s a life coach & Qi Gong teacher. He studied in Belgium, France, the UK and with Chinese teacher in Europe. Qi Gong literally means “Life Energy Cultivation” & is a practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation. With roots in Chinese medicine, martial arts, and philosophy, Qi Gong is traditionally viewed as a practice to cultivate and balance qi (chi) or what has been translated as “intrinsic life energy”. Qi Gong is now practiced throughout China and worldwide, and is considered by some to be exercise, and by others to be a type of alternative medicine or meditative practice. From a philosophical perspective Qi Gong is believed to help develop human potential, allow access to higher realms of awareness, and awaken one’s “true nature”.
Join a Qi Gong session in French, led by Vincent and one of his students. You’ll discover short theoretical information and a practical session (45 minutes) after the yoga discovery class. Registration required as places are limited to 15 students (wiki).
More about Vincent (in French): http://www.mingmen.be/

Good news! The 56th edition of Brussels Girl Geeks has opened up for 10 more people, so we’ll be 90 in total on Thursday. Can’t make it? Unsubscribe yourself through http://twikilist.com/BGGD56 so the reserves get a chance.

The yoga session will now be able to hold 40 girl geeks, so the 40 first that have registered will be able to participate.

What’s more, there’ll be a French session on Qi Gong at 21:00 for 15 interested Girl Geeks. Add a comment (e.g. “Qi Gong”) on the wiki to get first in line (priority given to those who didn’t register for yoga). Qigong (literally “Life Energy Cultivation” in Chinese) is a practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation.

In this growingly hectic world, we tend to forget about our well-being. Come to #BGGD56 & listen to passionate people sharing tips & tricks about topics such as yoga, healthy food habits, color therapy and more. You can even sign up for a free 30 minute yoga discovery class !

All the participants will also get a chance to share their ideas about how technology could support them in balancing their life.

At the end, Microsoft will gather all these ideas and submit them to passionate developers. They will then use this input to develop great platforms that will help people improve the quality of their life.

Obviously a delicious & healthy well-being buffet & goodie bag will be provided. We’re still looking for more stuff to put in the goodie bags. If you have any ideas, add a comment below.

For the yoga discovery class, please sign up on the twikilist for that one too, since there’s a maximum of 25 students for that class. If you’re with the first 25 who also marked “yes” for yoga on the twikilist, bring comfortable clothes that you can change into for the yoga class. Yoga mats will be provided.

>> Please registrer on the Twikilist to get in for free <<

About the 56th edition of Brussels Girl Geek Dinners:

Date & time : Thursday 14 March 2013 18:00-22:00 CET
Location:

Centre les Sources
Rue Kelle 48A
1200 Woluwe Saint-Lambert

We’ve got space for 80 girl and boy geeks this time. If you want to bring your sacoche (male guest), please have him register on the Twikilist too.

Pictures (and a blog post) by photodj.

First speaker was Microsoft’s Katrien De Graeve (@katriendg), and I’d like to repeat her call to action:

Now is the time to build apps that will launch your business worldwide. Visit http://msdn.be/apps to download free tools and samples, find design and code resources, and get help from experts.

Second speaker was Pureplexity’s Leslie Cottenje (@GirlGeek_be).

And thirdly, AppStory’s Elise Daans (@Ellliiissseee)

I know I say that every time, but last night’s Girl Geek Dinner was amazing! A warm welcome from the city of Bruges, three great speakers, and absolutely delicious food.

Have a look at some of the tweets and pictures over at Storify.

What’s a BGGD without goodies?? Find out here what you’re going to get, not from santa claus but from our wonderful sponsors!

• Bruges City Card & visitor guide (offered by Toerisme Brugge)
• Visit of the Historium (offered by Historium Brugge)
• UX Sketchbook and other goodies (offered by Microsoft)
• 15% discount for a weekend stay at one of the charming Belfort Hotels (offered by vzw Belfort Hotels)
• Goodies offered by Business Brugge

With thanks to cosponsors RESOC Brugge and Provincie West-Vlaanderen.

Important! Don’t forget to bring business cards. We will draw a BGGD55 winner for the weekend in Bruges prize offered by the Belfort Hotels!

See you there!

Our phones and tablets, even laptops and televisions: they’re finally becoming really interactive, with touch surfaces everywhere. And now Windows 8 has arrived, a revolutionized update of windows, with primary focus: touch.
The 55th BGGD is all about that. We are introducting Windows 8, what a day with windows 8 would look like, how sleek and cool the interface looks and how the store needs apps for you, the ladies.

Plus: we got a really cool location: the brand new Historium museum, right on the market square in Bruges!

We got room for 50 girl geeks this time. If you want to bring your sacoche (male guest), please have him register on the Twikilist too.

>> Register through the Twikilist to get in for free!! <<

Programme:

• 10:30-16:00 Pick up Bruges City Card at JCI Kersthuisje (Simon Stevinplein -
  Christmas Market) (FREE admission to 26 museums, places of interest and attractions
  in Bruges).
• 16:30-16:50 Girl geeks gather at the Historium museum (Grote Markt 1, 8000 Bruges)
• 16:50-18:00 Historium guided tour (in 3 groups)
• 18:00: Welcome at the Duvelorium Grand Beer café with a drink
• 18:15-18u30: Windows 8 sessions:
  18:30-19:00: A day with Windows 8 (Katrien De Graeve, Microsoft)
  19:00-19:15: UX for Windows 8 (Leslie Cottenje, Pureplexity)
  19:15-19:30: Apps for Windows 8 (Elise Daans, 2IT/App Story)
• 19u30-21u: networking with walking dinnerWhere? Grote Markt 1, 8000 Bruges
  Sponsors – big thank you to:
  • Toerisme Brugge
  • Microsoft
  • Historium Brugge
  • Pureplexity
  • Aventix (audiovisuele support)
  • JCI Brugge (Next@Bruges)

Afterwards we can all stay and chat at the christmas market, where gluwein, jenever, irish coffee and more sweet drinks is all around!

I’ve storified some of the Tweets and pictures from the Girl Geek Dinner earlier this week.

#BGGD54 in Tweets and Pictures

Girl Geek Dinners are events for females who class themselves as girly and geeky. The events have a technical focus and are light hearted and fun.

Storified by Clo Willaerts · Sat, Sep 29 2012 02:18:21

Tonight, at #BGGD54, we will enjoy food from Exki DeliVery: ‘natural and fresh’ sandwiches and salads that you can order for breakfasts, meetings and events.

So. What’s in the goodie bag?

• A nice bottle of wine, offered by LifeLabs. What’s special about this bottle is the Likify tag attached to it. Likify is a service that gives real life objects a share button. Just scan the NFC sticker and ‘like’ or ‘share’ the bottle on Twitter or Facebook!
• Haacht Mystic fruit beer. Mystic brings out the essence of white beer: thirst-quenching, with a full, pleasant taste. Enjoy!
• A Shedeals voucher to buy some nice promotions at an even lower price
• A ‘wallet 2.0’ from SecrID
• A game offered by EA Games

We all know Rumble, or rather Ruzzle, Wordfeud, Draw Something,.. Popular social games that entertain thousands of people.
Boondoggle LifeLabs are Belgian online entrepreneurs that developed an exciting and fun new social game that in many aspects is renewing the concept of social gaming.
And 25 girl geeks + sacoche will be the first to discover and play this new social game. So ladies, don’t forget to charge the battery of your smartphone!

To make the gaming night complete, a representative of famous game developer EA Games and the people from SecrID (think wallet 2.0) will also join this BGGD as speakers.

Excited? Then register on our Twikilist: 25 girl geeks and their sacochen can join.

>> register through Twikilist to get in for free <<

 The 54th edition in a nutshell:

Date: Tuesday 25 September 2012

 Programme:

• 19h00-19h30:  Welcome drink + food
• 19h30-19h45 : EA Games weerockets - an iPad and iPhone game that lets kids build their
  own rockets, launch them into space and race through the asteroid field to
  rescue the aliens.
• 19h45-20h00: Wallet 2.0, door SecrID
• 19h45-20h00 : A new social game: YouKnowMe
• 20h00-22h00 : Drinks & Goodie Bag

Where? At Boondoggle LifeLabs, Vaartkom 31/09, 3000 Leuven

Breakfast is mercifully only at 10.30 am. After that, courtesy of VisitOostende, we’re going to walk in the footsteps of Marvin Gaye.
A bit background:

14 February 1981. Marvin Gaye arrives by ferry in Ostend, together with his little boy, Bubby. It marks the start of a fascinating story about Ostend, Marvin Gaye and the relationship between the two.
This documentary walk through the city tells you everything about his comeback and how the monster hit song “Sexual Healing” came to life.
Apart from the voice of Marvin Gaye, there are also interviews with Freddie Cousaert, Mike Butcher and many others. The introduction to the walk is given by none other than Jamie Lidell. He is the ideal representative of a whole new generation of soul musicians, for whom Marvin Gaye was strongly influential.

This year’s is the sixth edition of Filmfestival Ostend, and we’ll be looking up at the stars during the Opening Night on 7 September. The only thing we have to worry about is what to wear.

The opening film is Little Black Spiders, by director Patrice Troye. The setting of Little Black Spiders is Belgium, 1978. Katja, Roxy and a number of other lively girls are too young for love and… pregnant. They are brought to a secret place where they have to sit out the pregnancy until the birth. Here’s the trailer:

Little Black Spiders (Patrice Toye) from Flanders Image on Vimeo.

There are ten rooms booked just for us at the Mondo Hotel in Ostend. Make sure to check in before 7 PM and don’t underestimate the distance to Ostend if you arrive straight from work.
The address:
Léon Spilliaertstraat 1
8400 Oostende

This is very close to the beach boulevard, and about 1,2 km to Kinepolis Ostend, where we’re expected later that night for FilmFestival Ostend opening night. Since we’ll be in high heels, I suggest sharing a cab or assign a bob.

The hotel itself looks absolutely lovely. From their website:

This totally refurbished, 3-star plus hotel has recently reopened as a hip and trendy art deco hotel. Located at a stone’s throw away from Ostend’s sea front, casino, centre and beach, this lovely hotel is “the place to be” in Ostend.
The magnificent Art Deco building dates from 1928 and provides a dose of nostalgia with a dash of modern comfort and a brilliant radiance. The Mondo team look forward to meeting you for both short and long stays. You could stay in one of our cosy rooms, superior rooms or a family suite up to maximum 5 persons. Inspiring meetings can be held in one of our pleasant meeting suites.

Hello ladies,

The stay over editions of Brussels Girl Geek dinner (remember London? Remember Paris?) are always my favourite. I hope you’re still available on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 September, because we’re going to have a fabulous 53rd edition!

Friday 7 September:

• between 14:00-19:00: check in at Hotel Mondo, “the place where today and yesterday fell madly in love”
• 20:00: Film Festival Oostende opening night
  • celebrity spotting at the red carpet
  • opening film “Little Black Spiders” (Patrice Toye)
  • exclusive after party with dj Kevin Major

Saturday 8 September:

• 10.30 am : Coffee & Breakfast
• 11.00 a.m : Marvin Gaye Digital Walkumentary.  This documentary walk through the city will tell you all there is to know about Marvin Gaye’s comeback and how the monster hit song “Sexual Healing” came to life

For whom?
20 girl geeks who register through the Twikilist. Sorry, girls only this time!

Cheers!