Christos Floros

Tag: Christos Floros Luxembourg

  • Celebrating the British Luxembourg Society

    Celebrating the British Luxembourg Society

    Strengthening and Building European Connections

    Last week I had the pleasure of attending the British Luxembourg Society Summer Reception at the British Ambassador’s Residence.

    A wonderful event that also serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining cultural and social connections between our nations. 🇱🇺🇬🇧

    Christos Floros with Amela Skenderovic (DP) at the British Luxembourg Society Summer Reception at the British Ambassador's Residence in 2023.
    Christos Floros with Amela Skenderovic and David Pierre Rausch.

    The British Luxembourg Society plays a crucial role in fostering connections between Britain and Luxembourg. It provides a space for individuals from all cultures and countries to come together and celebrate shared values, traditions, and history.

    The Summer Reception was a vibrant gathering of people united by a common interest in maintaining strong ties between our nations. The event served as a reminder that, despite political changes, there are people dedicated to building bridges and keeping our connections alive.

    Christos Floros with Luxembourg City Councillor Robert Philippart (Democratic Party, Renew Europe) at the British Luxembourg Society Summer Reception at the British Ambassador's Residence in 2023.
    Luxembourg City Councillor Robert Philippart with Christos Floros.

    A few words about the British Luxembourg Society

    The British Luxembourg Society has a rich history dating back to its establishment in 1947.

    Through the years, it has organised various events, including the prestigious Sir Winston Churchill Memorial Lecture, which has featured renowned speakers including last year former President of the European Commission and former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.

    This commitment to cultural exchange and promoting bridges is a testament to the dedication of the Society and its members. I have been so lucky to be serving as a Council Member for the last 2 years.

    I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Darren Robinson, the President of the British Luxembourg Society, and Louise Benjamin, the President of the Society until this term, for their remarkable leadership and vision. Their efforts have been instrumental in driving the Society’s growth and impact.

    I believe we would all like to extend our gratitude to all the attendees of the Summer Reception, whose presence and enthusiasm made the event truly special. Furthermore, we would of course want to acknowledge and thank our sponsors whose support enables the Society to continue its valuable community-building work.

    As we move forward, it is essential to remember the importance of organisations like the British Luxembourg Society in fostering understanding and connection. By expanding our range of activities and embracing individuals from all cultures and countries, the Society is opening doors for a more diverse and inclusive community.

    Together, we continue to celebrate our shared values and build a future that embraces unity and collaboration between Britain and Luxembourg, and contribute to Luxembourg’s rich cultural tapestry.

  • A conversation with Colette Flesch

    A conversation with Colette Flesch

    Watch on RTL PLAY

    Colette Flesch, was the first woman to become mayor of Luxembourg City in 1970. The politician discusses her life and work, and immigration in Luxembourg.

    Colette Flesch is a former member of the Chamber of Deputies, former MEP, and former Olympic athlete.

    In this pilot episode of Conversations with Christos, they discuss her life, marked by World War II, and escaping the Nazi invasion of Luxembourg, and working to build a better ‘brave new world’.

    Next Episode coming January 10 2023.

    Conversations with Christos is a TV series (streaming) that I created with RTL. I have meaningful conversations with public figures from Luxembourg and Europe to make their work and lives more accessible to you.

    Christos Floros, in conversation with Colette Flesch at RTL City (December 2022)

  • Everything and Anything, all at once

    Everything and Anything, all at once

    Do you have the time to listen to me whine about everything and anything all at once?

    If you feel like singing this sentence out loud, it is because I’m paraphrasing it from Green Day’s ‘Basket Case’, a song released in 1994, a year after I was born but before the internet became what it is today, before our lives became endlessly connected to digital devices we carry around in our pockets.

    This opinion article appears on RTL Today, Luxembourg’s English-speaking version of RTL, you can also read it there.

    Before you get out of bed, you have the possibility of reading about the Federal Reserve making its biggest interest rate increase in 22 years, the latest on the War in Ukraine, on the Covid-19 pandemic, the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqla in the West Bank; before you brush your teeth, you check your favourite cryptocurrency, only to see your investment is down 25%.

    You check your Instagram and reply to 6 or 7 stories with a cry emoji, or a heart, or a big smile.

    If you’re younger, you may also check Snapchat and TikTok: a video of a Donald Trump fanboy asking for Hunter Biden’s laptop, making a connection between the Bidens, the war in Ukraine and Putin’s left eyebrow, will grace your eyes, just before you swipe up to see a dance of 3 ridiculously good-looking people swapping clothes in mid-air.

    And that’s all before you get ready for the day, and in a matter of minutes. This compounding, of just about anything, stimulates our brains, all the time.

    Even if you’re more meticulous in the way in which you consume your content and try to distinguish between your time wasters and important news, the sheer amount of endless important news means you’re probably reading about everything, all of the time.

    How much of it can we truly process? Some of us become activists who never stop, and some of us choose to ignore almost everything of importance, to protect ourselves from the overload of information.

    I don’t blame either, at a time where everything feels like it’s happening next door, because it’s happening on every second person’s ‘story’ it’s hard to not engage in digital activism, and at the same time, because of all this constant demand for our attention, I also completely understand those who shut everything out.

    But the biggest loser in all of this is us and our society.

    Because of this ‘everything’ that’s constantly ‘happening’ and ‘breaking’, it seems we have become unable to connect the things that matter most. We have an endless list of priorities, without actually having any priorities.

    We listen to, subscribe and read ‘everything’ but how much of it do we understand? I think the answer is reflected in our polarised politics (around the world). Clearly there’s a lack of understanding on many urgent issues (including, if not primarily, the issue of Climate Change). Knowledge is based on facts, and yet our voting patterns still suggest tribalism and fanaticism.

    On that note, what responsibility do large media and news organisations have in aiding, not just the fight against misinformation, but also in relating the news in efficient and clear ways, not just in traditional forms, but also by taking social media seriously, and releasing their content in new forms and new ways, to make it truly accessible and relevant to their audiences?

    If this is unclear, I’m sorry: “Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me” (that’s Basket Case again).

    Originally submitted and published on RTL Today.

    You may also like to read other articles written by me, published on RTL Today.

    Restoring the promise of a future (on tackling climate change)

    Your children will feel at home in Luxembourg (on social cohesion and building bonds with and within Luxembourg)

    Making Luxembourg your Home (on voting and participating in Luxembourg’s democratic process)

  • Together for Luxembourg

    Together for Luxembourg

    Moien, I’m Christos, I think its time I spoke to you directly.

    I love Luxembourg, our beautiful City, and our European Union, and I want to make sure it works for all of us.

    We are diverse and international.

    Whether you are Luxembourgish with many generations before you, or you grew up here, you have become a citizen, or you are a resident, old or new, Our society is shaped by all of us.

    Our contribution to society matters, our presence is felt throughout this city and country, and is shaping it and our future.

    It’s about time this diversity is represented, so that we can decide our future together.

    You and I can be instigators of change. I believe that, and I need you to believe that too.

    Thank you for following and helping share our message of community.

  • Luxembourg, the city of 30 year olds

    Luxembourg, the city of 30 year olds

    🇬🇧 + 🇫🇷 Did you know? Luxembourg is a very young city!

    More people are 30 year olds than any other age, and more people are between the ages of 23 to 43 than any other age.

    What does that mean? Well, if you’re complaining about the dating pool in Luxembourg as a young profesional, maybe try a better bar, but in terms of representation, it means, we have dropped the ball. It means so far, we are not representing what we are, in our political and social dialogue.

    As a society, we need to look ourselves in the mirror, and accept, that what makes us wonderful, is this diversity, is this young talent coming from accross Europe and the world, it is their energy and their work, and therefore we also need to trust that these voices also belong in our social dialogue.

    He who writes this, know what he’s talking about, having grown up an immigrant in Luxembourg, having acquired, patriotically, my Luxembourgish nationality, during the early days of this health crisis, as I was one of the first volunteers, along with many, many foreign-residents in the first lines, and knowing, that this is my home, this is my country I want to contribute to, and I too, deserve to have a voice, in how we shape its future. And so do you.

    A huge thank you to Jana DeGrott for amplifying this article / post on Instagram, by inviting me to collaborate on its sharing.

    En Francais

    ●Le saviez-vous? Luxembourg est une ville très jeune !

    Plus de personnes ont 30 ans que n’importe quel autre âge, et plus de personnes ont entre 23 et 43 ans que n’importe quel autre âge.

    Qu’est-ce que ça veut dire? Eh bien, si vous vous plaignez du ‘dating pool’s au Luxembourg en tant que jeune professionnel, essayez peut-être un meilleur bar, mais en termes de représentation, cela signifie que nous avons laissé tomber la balle. Cela signifie que jusqu’à présent, nous ne sommes pas représentés tels que nous sommes, dans notre dialogue politique et social.

    En tant que société, nous devons nous regarder dans le miroir et accepter que ce qui nous rend merveilleux, c’est cette diversité, c’est ce jeune talent venant de toute l’Europe et du monde, c’est leur énergie et leur travail, et donc nous aussi avons besoin de croire que ces voix ont aussi leur place dans notre dialogue social.

    Celui qui écrit ceci, sait de quoi il parle, ayant grandi immigré au Luxembourg, ayant acquis, patriotiquement, ma nationalité luxembourgeoise, durant les premiers jours de cette crise sanitaire, car j’étais l’un des premiers volontaires, avec beaucoup, de nombreux résidents étrangers en première ligne, et sachant que c’est chez moi, c’est mon pays, et moi aussi, je mérite d’avoir une voix sur la façon dont nous façonnons son avenir. Et toi aussi.

  • Integration Matters

    Integration Matters

    Foreign Residents and their role in Luxembourgish society, and my plea to get you to participate.

    Everybody knows that Luxembourg is a wealthy, multicultural and multilingual country. Luxembourg is a success story thanks to this international outlook, adopted and developed after World War II. However, where Luxembourg has not gotten it right, is integrating its massive foreign population.

    The biggest issue I need to highlight is that only about 1 in 10 of our foreign residents participate in our local elections. Elections that are far more important than the turnout suggests.

    Read the rest on RTL Today in English —

    En Francais ici 🇫🇷

    Les résidents étrangers et leur rôle dans la société luxembourgeoise, et mon plaidoyer pour vous faire participer.

    Tout le monde sait que le Luxembourg est un pays riche, multiculturel et multilingue. Le Luxembourg est une success story grâce à cette ouverture internationale, adoptée et développée après la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Cependant, là où le Luxembourg n’a pas réussi, il intègre sa population étrangère massive.

    Le plus gros problème que je dois souligner est que seulement environ 1 sur 10 de nos résidents étrangers participe à nos élections locales. Des élections bien plus importantes que ne le suggère le taux de participation.

    Nous sommes un pays d’immigrants. La moitié de la population luxembourgeoise est composée de personnes qui ne sont pas citoyens du pays. De plus, pendant la journée, le Luxembourg a besoin de plus de 200 000 travailleurs supplémentaires pour fonctionner, les soi-disant «frontaliers». Nous sommes très reconnaissants des services que tous ces hommes et ces femmes rendent à notre pays et à notre société.

    Qui décide pour vous ?

    Et vous, immigrés et expatriés au Luxembourg ? Des femmes et des hommes qui vivent ici et élèvent vos enfants ici, dans ce beau pays qui est le nôtre. Les jeunes femmes et hommes qui s’installent ici dans l’espoir d’une vie meilleure — vous avez le droit de voter, de prendre des décisions qui affectent et affecteront votre vie quotidienne. Je vous exhorte à vous inscrire pour voter et participer à notre prise de décision commune, dans notre démocratie.

    Seuls 4% des jeunes adultes étrangers votent.

    Selon le CEFIS (Centre d’Etude et de Formation Interculturelles et Sociales asbl), seulement 1% des jeunes adultes âgés de 18 à 24 ans étaient inscrits sur les listes électorales avant les élections locales de 2017 et un pourcentage tout aussi gênant de 4% des adultes âgés de 25 à 35 ans ont été enregistrés.

    Si vous ne participez pas, vous n’avez pas de voix.

    Les élections locales au Luxembourg sont extrêmement importantes, au niveau local, les communes, telles que la ville de Luxembourg, ont compétence sur toutes les questions d’intérêt communal telles que la propriété communale (logement), les revenus, les dépenses, les travaux, les institutions publiques locales comme les écoles, la nomination du secrétaire communal et du personnel communal — si vous ne participez pas, vous n’avez pas voix au chapitre sur ces questions.

    Si vous envisagez de faire du Luxembourg votre chez-vous, ou si vous vivez déjà ici depuis 10 ou 30 ans mais que vous n’avez jamais voté, je vous exhorte à vous inscrire et de faire entendre votre voix dans notre démocratie.