OKay Direct awarded for courage and innovation

OKay Direct celebrated its first anniversary this autumn. The fact that our innovative 24/7 self-service store in Ghent won the prestigious Mercurius prize was the icing on the cake. This is how Comeos - the federation representing Belgian trade and services - awards courage and innovation in the sector. Gert Somers, responsible for OKay Direct: “For the entire OKay team, this is an incredibly pleasing reward for the work we've accomplished together with our Smart Technics colleagues. We'll continue optimising our operations to meet our customers' needs even better.”

Inspiring speakers at Colruyt Group Academy

From top chef Seppe Nobels and author Ish Ait Hamou to sleep expert Dr. Steven Laureys. For its exclusive webinars - 'LifeTalks' - Colruyt Group Academy is inviting Dutch- and French-speaking experts and experts by experience to talk about recognisable topics for the first time. “The speakers take you through their expertise or tell you how they've dealt with challenges", project manager Joris Impens says. “And they answer frequently asked questions on the chat live. Their stories provide practical tips that you can work with. The themes are diverse: mental well-being, exercise, balanced diet, but also parenting or sustainability. Writer Leen Dendievel, for instance, will talk about dealing with fear. All LifeTalks are online and affordable: seven euros per session. The aim is to give as many people as possible the opportunity and incentive to participate.” The first webinars will be held from April to September via YouTube Live. A new series of speakers will follow in October. “Each webinar is unique and once-only. In other words, it really is now or never”, Joris concludes.

Discover the entire offer on colruytgroupacademy.be/lifetalks.

• The Spar folder has been restyled. Together with Marcom Services, the format and paper grade were revised, and promotions and discounts now get even more attention.

• Jims and Special Olympics Belgium enter into a partnership. Aim: to help people with disabilities go to the gym.

• In the return centre of Ghislenghien the empties area has been completely redesigned. The collection points for empties, cardboard, refrigerator and other carts have been moved to shorten the distances and avoid having to do things twice.

• The construction of our sea farm off the Belgian coast has been given the go-ahead. The Council of State rejected the appeals from sports and environmental associations and the town of Nieuwpoort, putting an end to all legal proceedings filed against the project.

• Rose Mary, the initiative that prepared and delivered bitesized quality meals to homes in Brussels, is relaunching under the wings of Solucious You can now find the meals in most of our canteens.

• At the third edition of CaraRock , 'The Bad Slaves'now featuring ex-colleague Joris Veulemans - took top prize. The audience award went to 'Those were the days' by Tom Ghesquire. The proceeds of the rock rally will go to the Solidarity Fund.