EXHIBITIONS
Flag of the Brussels Studentengenootschap (BSG gtgv), submitted by the board of BSG
The Brussels Studentengenootschap Geen Taal Geen Vrijheid (BSG – “Brussels Student Association No Language No Freedom”) was founded in 1856 at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) by Alfons Willems and Alfons van Camp, among others, to defend the rights of Flemish students. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the association advocated for the use of Dutch in education, the armed forces and the judicial system. The association changed its name regularly (“Nederduitsch Taalminnend Genootschap Schild en Vriend”, “Vrijzinnige Studentenkring”, “Vlaamschen Vooruitstrevende Studentenkring Brussel”, etc.). After WWII, it took on the name BSG and in the 1950s and 1960s it evolved into an umbrella group of Flemish student circles at the ULB and later at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). As such, it represents the student organisations vis-à-vis the academic authorities and helps to ensure smooth mutual communication. BSG manages the various facilities (including the BSG banquet hall) to support the student associations and (co-)organises a number of major annual events such as the Vrijzinnig Zangfeest (a secular humanist song contest for student societies at the VUB), the Saint Verhaegen procession through Brussels, and the Week van de Verlichting (“Week of Enlightenment”).