Brussels (Brussels Morning) – Bruno Vanobbergen, former children’s rights commissioner, becomes CEO of Catholic Education in Flanders, succeeding Lieven Boeve. With a 65% market share, Vanobbergen aims to strengthen bridges between education and welfare.
The new CEO of Catholic Education, Bruno Vanobbergen, was introduced in Guimardstraat. He previously served as the children’s rights commissioner and is currently the administrator-general of the Growing Up Agency. Vanobbergen succeeds Lieven Boeve, a theologian from KU Leuven, who led the largest educational umbrella organization in Flanders for ten years.
What is Bruno Vanobbergen’s background and experience?
Vanobbergen now becomes the most powerful man in Flemish education. With a market share of around 65 per cent – and 750,000 students – Catholic education carries by far the greatest weight in negotiations with the government and other social partners.
Vanobbergen followed a course in pedagogy. “During that course, I taught and did an internship at almost all educational levels,” he explains. “I have taught pedagogy at Ghent University for the past 25 years. And as children’s rights commissioner, I have been to many schools.”
What are Bruno Vanobbergen’s goals for Catholic education?
The new director general says he wants to focus on strengthening the bridges between education and welfare. “Wonderful, wonderful and important things are happening in education and at the same time education has not escaped the turbulent waters. The fact that there are so many challenges played an important role in saying yes to this challenge,” says Vanobbergen.
It was already known that Boeve would stop as head of the education umbrella organization on August 1. His second five-year mandate is ending. Catholic Education Flanders, therefore, set up two committees in the search for a successor: a profile committee, which had to draw up the profile of a director general, and a search committee, which started working on the profile in the search for candidates. Ultimately, the bishops still had to give their approval, which happened last Tuesday.
Bob Van de Putte of the search committee emphasizes that Vanobbergen’s profile is widely supported within the committee. He points out that the man is authentic and connecting, inspires but can also lead as a bridge builder, and has experience with politics and administration, but also in education itself.
Education and Catholic Education Flanders itself “have an extremely important task to fulfil,” Vanobbergen added. He not only refers to the quality of education but also to inclusion and dropout. That is why he wants to make it a spearhead to strengthen the bridges between education and welfare.
How does outgoing CEO Lieven Boeve assess Vanobbergen’s appointment?
Outgoing director-general Lieven Boeve says he is “proud and grateful” that Bruno Vanobbergen has accepted to lead Catholic Education Flanders in the coming years. “It is with peace of mind that I can now leave the network of Catholic educational institutions in Flanders and Brussels, with which I have shared joys and sorrows for ten years, in his capable hands. Bruno is the right man in the right place to take over this role.”
