Usability

Want to feel more confident when speaking in public – in any language? Do you live in Brussels and speak Spanish, but often find yourself switching to English or French at work? **Armada Toastmasters** is the perfect place to practise expressing yourself clearly and confidently – whatever the language. We are a bilingual Toastmasters club where communication and leadership skills grow together – in a fun, supportive setting. Next meeting: 📅 Whit Monday, 25 May 🕗 18:30 – 21:30 📍 Jubelpark / Cinquantenaire Why join Armada Toastmasters? ✔️ Practise public speaking with prepared speeches and impromptu exercises ✔️ Improve your communication and leadership skills ✔️ Receive constructive feedback in a positive environment ✔️ Meet a vibrant, multicultural community – many of us speak Spanish too! Meetings are in English – but we celebrate linguistic diversity. Whether you’re new to Toastmasters or a seasoned speaker, you’ll find space to grow at your own pace. Guests are always welcome – no pressure, just participation. 📩 Interested? RSVP on Meetup and come experience Toastmasters for yourself! Header photo: Brussels, Arcades du Cinquantenaire, by Marc Ryckaert (MJJR), via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.

Looks like you survived the Monday, join us for to wind down, discuss the struggles and prepare for the rest of the week. Using the Meetup RSPV system is optional, the meetup is never cancelled and you can leave early or drop in late. For detailed location updates, check the Meetup comments.

Drinking & Networking in Brussels. For newcomers, temporary in town - couch surfers and regulars to meet & socialize. What a better day to start the week than drinking & socializing starting on Monday evening?

Do you want to become a confident public speaker? To communicate better and connect? And have fun? Come and join Atomic Toastmasters. You'll find a supportive learn-by-doing environment. It doesn't matter if you are an experienced speaker or if you are a guest. We are there to support you, to make you feel good about yourself and to help you learn in a way that's fun. We have lovely Table Topic sessions (impromptu speeches) and 3 to 4 prepared speeches. Through practice, peer evaluation and educational tools, we learn how to present our messages effectively, concisely and professionally. We are excited to welcome you every Monday. Header photo: Brussels, Arcades du Cinquantenaire, by Marc Ryckaert (MJJR), via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0. Atomic Team

Rejoins-nous pour découvrir le Touch Rugby sous le signe du sport, du fun et de la convivialité ! 🏉 Que tu sois débutant·e curieux·se, joueur·se occasionnel·le ou habitué·e des terrains, ce rendez-vous est ouvert à toutes et tous. Le touch rugby est un sport en plein essor sans plaquage, accessible, dynamique mais aussi inclusif et fun sur et en dehors des terrains. 💙 ✨ Au programme : * Échauffement collectif * Exercices et jeux * Développement de la condition physique * Bonne humeur, esprit d’équipe et fair-play 🎯 Venez bouger, vous amuser et partager un bon moment ensemble ! 👉 Ramène ta tenue de sport, de l’eau, et surtout ta motivation. On s’occupe du reste 💪 À très vite sur le terrain !

WHAT we play. As you know, we have two events, one more for social games on Thursday and another for **strategic games** on **Monday**. Depending on what people bring, we may play brainy games, not limited to chess and classic games. So, feel free to bring other ones. And this is only indicative. Some games like Decrypto fit both events, **and if people feel like playing a social game on Monday or a more strategic one on Thursday, they are free to do so.** WHERE. Because we have many strategic players on Monday and these games take longer, we moved to a café closing much later than the previous one. CHATBOX USE. In the event chatbox, you are invited to discuss the games you bring and want to play for this session. The idea is to gather people around game tables beforehand. Of course, it's also possible to show up and arrange this after the introduction round, which starts at 7h15. HOST. If you want to become a host and have your board game event for a specific game with a small group of people or in another place, Great! Let me know, and I'll help you set up your event with this group. Hosts don't pay fees. TIMING: Because strategy games are often longer, we gather at 7 pm and start at 7:15. So, those who play long games can have 3 hours and 30 minutes for their game. You can come later, but you may have to wait before joining a game. WHERE. We play upstairs. Ask which room at the bar downstairs. DRINK. You have to order a drink at the bar, pay for it, and come up with it. **PLEASE TAKE NOTE THAT, UNFORTUNATELY, THE AUTOBUS ACCEPTS CASH ONLY.** EVENT REGISTRATION. Please register to allow us adequate venue planning. IN CASE OF A WAITLIST. Please, out of respect for people on the waiting list, don't cancel later than 7 PM the day before so they can plan their evening correctly. If you are on the waiting list, please cancel your attendance if you change your mind and can no longer come. Don't hesitate to send me a message to comment or make suggestions! Take care and see you soon! Baudouin

EN (FR en bas): We're still accepting people in our classes. Join us!​ -step 1: Book here! -> [https://www.danceproject.be/reservations.html](https://www.danceproject.be/reservations.html) -step 2: Show up! [Schedule](https://www.danceproject.be/classes.html#schedule) Fees : [All info on trials, packs, subscriptions here](https://www.danceproject.be/classes.html#fees) Locations: -Rue Brialmont 7, Brussels Metro/Tram: Botanique Salsa, Bachata, Lindy Hop, Forró Intro - 1: From base to the dancefloor! When you come for the first time we go over the base & rhythm with you. Then you are included in the group and everybody learns the same new steps for which you just need the base. Practice makes perfect: just relax and enjoy Salsa, Bachata, Lindy Hop and/or Forró! Our group is very welcoming and looking forward to meet new dancers! Salsa, Bachata, Lindy Hop, Forró Roots I - 2: Ready to go deeper on Salsa, Bachata, Lindy Hop &/or Forró? Let's go! [https://www.danceproject.be/classes.html#improvers](https://www.danceproject.be/classes.html#improvers) Salsa, Forró Roots II - 3: Looking for #SalsaChallenge? Already familiar with Forró Root? We've got your back! [https://www.danceproject.be/classes.html#intermediates](https://www.danceproject.be/classes.html#intermediates) More info: -Web: [https://www.danceproject.be](https://www.danceproject.be) -Whatsapp: +32 493 16 41 10 -Mail: brussels.salsa.project@gmail.com -[Facebook](https://facebook.com/brussels.salsa.project) -[Instagram](https://instagram.com/brussels.salsa.project) \-\-\-\-\- FR: Nous acceptons encore de nouvelles personnes dans nos cours. Rejoins-nous ! -1ère pas : Fait ta réservation ! -> [https://www.danceproject.be/reservation.html](https://www.danceproject.be/reservation.html) -2ème pas : Vient danser ! [Horaire](https://www.danceproject.be/cours.html#horaire) Les prix : [Toutes les infos sur les essais, packs, abonnements ici](https://www.danceproject.be/cours.html#prix) Endroits : -Rue Brialmont 7, Bruxelles Metro/Tram: Botanique Salsa, Bachata, Lindy Hop, Forró Intro - 1 : De la base à la piste de danse ! Lorsque tu nous rejoins on voit la base et le rythme avec toi. Ensuite, tu es inclus dans le groupe et tout le monde apprend les mêmes pas pour lesquelles tu as juste besoin de la base. C'est en forgeant qu'on devient forgeron : détend-toi et profite la Salsa, de la Bachata, du Lindy Hop et/ou du Forró ! Notre groupe est très accueillant et a hâte de rencontrer de nouveaux danseurs ! Salsa, Bachata, Lindy Hop, Forró Roots I - 2 : Prêt à approfondir la Salsa, la Bachata, le Lindy Hop &/ou le Forró ? Allons-y! [https://www.danceproject.be/cours.html#inities](https://www.danceproject.be/cours.html#inities) Salsa, Forró Roots II - 3 : Tu cherches #DefiSalsa ? Tu connais déjà Forró Roots ? Nous sommes là pour toi ! [https://www.danceproject.be/cours.html#intermediaires](https://www.danceproject.be/cours.html#intermediaires) Plus d’info: -Web: [https://www.danceproject.be/fr.html](https://www.danceproject.be/fr.html) -Whatsapp: +32 493 16 41 10 -Mail: brussels.salsa.project@gmail.com -[Facebook](https://facebook.com/brussels.salsa.project) -[Instagram](https://instagram.com/brussels.salsa.project)

**Welcome to our May UX Beers in Mechelen!** This time, we will host our event on Tuesday the 26th of May at [Buffl](https://buffl.be) in Mechelen. [Ariad](https://www.ariadgroup.com/) and [Creative Skills](https://www.creativeskills.be/) sponsor our events. Follow the event online? We stream live via [Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBqyTDAyQBw) \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- \#\#\# UX TALKS **Talk 1: Research Reinvented** [Michiel Willekens](https://www.linkedin.com/in/michiel-willekens/), Productmanager @ BUFFL and [Seppe Stroo](https://www.linkedin.com/in/seppe-stroo-843b82128/), Founding partner @ BUFFL In this presentation, BUFFL will demonstrate how rethinking research can drive real business results through a pragmatic case study. You’ll discover how to translate business objectives into the right customer questions and how to act on those insights immediately to accelerate growth and sales. By bringing the live voice of thousands of (potential) customers into the decision-making process, organizations can ask the right questions at the right time and turn insights into measurable business impact: from increased sales and customer loyalty/experience to stronger brand awareness and more effective activation strategies. **Talk 2: Synthetic Personas – real insights or digital illusions?** [Kate Foszcz](https://www.linkedin.com/in/katarzyna-foszcz/?locale=en), AI Product designer @ Ebay Can synthetic personas help us make better business decisions, or are we just interviewing very convincing imaginary friends? In this talk, Kate will explore where synthetic personas can actually bring value, from testing assumptions to speeding up research, and where they can quietly mislead us with biased, overconfident, or poorly grounded answers. Expect a practical look at how to design these systems responsibly, when to trust them, and when to go back to real humans. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- \#\#\# SCHEDULE 18:00 - Doors open. Drinks & snacks 19.00 - 19.15 - Introduction to UX Belgium Meetup, announcements 19.15 - 19:45 - Talk #1 19:45 -20:15 - BREAK 20:15 - 20:45 - Talk #2 20:45 - 21:30 - Socialize \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- \#\#\# SLACK CHANNEL We have our own UX Belgium slack channel. [Come join us and say hi!](https://join.slack.com/t/ux-belgium/shared_invite/zt-1bjpnuiog-T4Di4flXYPWgbT9KrZ53CA) \*\*\* \#\#\# YOUTUBE CHANNEL All our livestreams and talks are recorded and available on our [UX Belgium youtube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCno7V18T-EglYXprgrUZQ7A). \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- \#\#\# ABOUT UX BELGIUM UX Belgium is a growing community of User Experience (UX) professionals in and around Belgium. Look for these types of events: UX Beers Periodically, we gather at a different agency or venue to drink beers, network and listen to speakers on various themes in the world of UX and digital design. UX Antwerp: Each last Tuesday of the month UX Brussels: Each second Tuesday of the month, 4x per year UX Workshops Now and then we organize events to dive deeper into specific skills and techniques in UX. These are smaller, hands-on workshops designed to boost your UX toolbox. \*\*\* The UX Belgium Meetup Team

Join us bowling and drinks at Crosly Bowling. We'll kick off the night with a few rounds of bowling on one of their 25 lanes, offering both classic and disco-themed experiences. Whether you're a seasoned bowler or a first-timer, it's all about fun and making friends. It's the perfect opportunity to unwind, socialize, and take an evening drink with other people. The cost of the event is **15 euro**, which includes one game + shoes rental + organisational fees. Ticket is shared in the comments of this event and in the WhatsApp group. Any additional game, drink or snack will be at personal expenses. To come to the event you need to be a member (starting from 5€/year). Be aware that if you are voyager or ambassador members, organisational fees are waived. Please note that for respect of the participants, we are asking to be **on time** to the event. People that arrive late might not be able to play. **Additional Information:** *Crosly Bowling is located just 500 meters from Brussels Central Station, making it easily accessible by public transport. - Feel free to invite friends or colleagues; the more, the merrier! We look forward to seeing you there for an evening of fun, relaxation, and spectacular views!

Hey Everyone! 👋 **Location:** \- On\-site: INDUSTRIEMUSEUM Minnemeers 10 9000 Gent \- Online: TBA **Practicalities for the evening on Tuesday, May 26th:** \- 18:00: Doors Open\, snacks & drinks \- 19:00: Speaker Talks \- 20:30: Networking & Drinks **Transport:** * **Parking:** Paid parking at Dok Noord * **Arriving by Train:** Minnemeers 10 in Gent is an easy **10 minute walk** from Dampoort Gent Station. **Note:** As this is an invite‑only event, you may be asked to show your calendar invite upon arrival. **Welcome to edition 15 of the Generative AI Belgium Meetup! 🚀** This time, we look at how AI is changing the Way We Work. For a long time, work was built around a simple exchange: time for money. You showed up, spent hours on tasks, and value was measured by effort, output, and expertise. Generative AI is starting to question that model. AI agents are no longer just tools for writing better emails. They are entering workflows, taking over tasks, writing code, coordinating information, and becoming part of how teams operate. Tools like Claude Cowork & Microsoft Copilot are already omnipresent in our daily work and expectations to use them are rising quickly. At the same time, robotics is making the story physical again. Machines are not only thinking with us behind a screen. They are starting to move through factories, labs, hospitals, warehouses, and most importantly homes. This raises a new question: what happens when AI becomes both a colleague in your browser and a body in the room? In this edition, we are inviting: * Startups building the tools, agents, and workflows that make this future happen * Researchers exploring human-machine interfaces and robotics * A broader discussion on what a “union of the future” could look like when work is shared between people, software agents, and machines Let's see what meaningful work, when intelligence becomes abundant. Join us on May 26th! **Line-up:** \- TBA \- TBA \- TBA Big thanks to Stad Gent for hosting us and to our sponsors: In The Pocket, BruCON, Red Hat, Collibra, Plainsight & Volta Ventures for supporting the community.

Making the new Friends after work or in your vacation.

The unique exhibition *Bellezza e Bruttezza* at Bozar will soon come to an end. The works are amazing and can be appreciated on their own, but the thought-provoking thread running through the exhibition is less obvious and might benefit from the guidance of an art historian. If you wish to learn more about the prescriptive power of images as it emerged during the 16th century, join this guided tour. I'm one of Bozar's guides, and the rates are the official ones. Let's meet at 11:15 in the main Horta Hall. Be on time, we have to set up the audio system. Edit : Since we are not reaching 10 participants for Bellezza e Brutezza, I propose to use my Joker at Bozar: I can offer one personal tour. Entrance is €18 full price, €2 with Museum Pass. After the visit, you can simply give me whatever tip you like. Please confirm you still want to attend. So we keep the visit! Looking forward to seeing you all :-) Jennifer

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** Like it or not, AI agents are now capable of turning a quickly written paragraph of requirements into a pull request that is ready to be integrated into real-world production applications and it's now our responsibility to make sure AI doesn't go rogue and take down prod - or corrupt our data by misunderstanding the requirements or our existing schemas. In this session we'll explore strategies to protect our codebases through unit and integration testing, documentation, and code review along with additional ways of providing context and guard rails to our AI agents as they carry out the work we've assigned them to do. By the time we're done, you'll have a firm grasp of the problem and understand some helpful options for protecting your codebase from vibe coding mishaps getting YOLOed into prod. **YouTube Link** TBD

By popular demand, the group wanted to read and discuss the semi-autobiographical novel by Henri-Pierre Roche, that inspired the Truffaut movie we watched last year. The book is available through the Columbus Library's interlibrary loan system. They reported there are twenty-eight copies available in the state of Ohio. If you have a library card, you can file an interlibrary loan request here: https://www.columbuslibrary.org/library-services/ . There are also used copies available on Amazon and eBay for under twenty dollars. You may want to rewatch the movie after reading the book, so we can compare and contrast in our discussion. The Columbus Library has four copies on DVD, and it's streaming on HBOMax.

Most people use AI like a search box: they type one sentence, hope for the best, and get frustrated when the answer is generic, wrong, or useless. But getting better results from tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other AI systems is not about memorizing magic prompts. It is about learning how to give the AI better context. In this beginner-friendly session, we’ll break down how to make AI dramatically more useful by improving the way you communicate with it. You’ll learn how to give clearer instructions, provide examples, set constraints, ask for better output formats, and use follow-up questions to turn a mediocre answer into a genuinely useful one. We’ll cover practical techniques you can use immediately for work, learning, writing, coding, planning, research, and everyday problem solving. We’ll also touch on why these same ideas show up in more advanced AI systems, including RAG, agents, evaluations, and AI workflows. No technical background required. Bring your curiosity, your questions, and maybe one real task you wish AI was better at helping you with. **What you’ll learn:** * Why “better prompting” is really about better context * How to structure requests so AI gives more useful answers * How to use examples, constraints, and output formats * How to iterate when the first answer is not good enough * How these skills connect to more advanced AI workflows This meetup is for anyone who wants to move beyond basic ChatGPT usage and start getting more practical value out of AI. LOGISTICS AND PARKING: The talk starts at 7:00 PM. The first half hour is reserved for everyone to get set up and mingle. Free pizza and drinks! The cheapest parking option is to find street parking, which will only cost you a few bucks. Otherwise, park in the nearby veteran's museum lot for $8. It's highly recommended you avoid the nearby $15 garage parking.

Come out to Improving for our monthly iOS and Mac meetings. This Month's Presentation: Nothing yet. (You should volunteer). What is Cocoaheads (http://cocoaheads.org/)? CocoaHeads is a group devoted to discussion of Apple Computer's Cocoa Framework for programming on MacOS X and iOS (including the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch). During monthly meetings, members present on their projects and offer tutorials on various programming topics. What is BuckeyeCocoa (http://buckeyecocoa.org/)? BuckeyeCocoa is a group of Objective-C/Swift developers/enthusiasts. We host monthly Cocoaheads and near-weekly NSCoder meetings in Columbus, Ohio. The meetings are free to attend. Presentations! Presenters welcome! We are always in need of people willing to present material. Any Swift and/or Objective-C related topic is welcome. Times can be 5 minutes (i.e. lightning talks) to a maximum of 2 hours. Interested? Contact info is on the BuckeyeCocoa website. To volunteer for a presentation contact us at @BuckeyeCocoa on Twitter. Follow us on Twitter! @BuckeyeCocoa (https://twitter.com/#!/Buckeyecocoa/) For more information: http://buckeyecocoa.org/

In the year 2044, in the age of AI, a woman named Gabrielle (Seydoux) tries to purify her DNA by purging the inherited memories of her past lives. She (re)lives her life in 1910 Paris and 2014 Los Angeles, and as the procedure goes on, the lines between her worlds become blurred. These three timelines have a lot of connective tissue holding them together; certain symbols and motifs appear repeatedly, not to mention Mackay’s Louis, a figure whom Gabrielle seems drawn to in each lifetime.

Join us as we get together to see Paul Rudd in the latest comedy-drama-musical from John Carney, POWER BALLAD! The film follows a washed-up wedding singer, a fading boy band singer and a stolen hit song. Here’s a description, trailer and plan for this event: DESCRIPTION: Rick, a washed-up wedding singer, and Danny, a fading boy band star, bond over music and a late-night jam session. When Danny turns Rick's song into a hit, Rick sets out to reclaim the recognition he believes he deserves. Power Ballad is written/directed by John Carney, the master of the modern musical and creative mind behind Once, Begin Again and Sing Street! It stars Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas, Peter McDonald, Marcella Plunkett, Havana Rose Liu and Jack Reynor. BUZZ & ACCLAIM: The film premiered to rave reviews at this year’s Dublin International Film Festival where critics call it “a sure-fired crowd-pleaser” that “just might be the feel-good hit of the year!” Others say, “Paul Rudd delivers a career-best performance in this charmer” that’s both “hilarious and deeply moving!” SUMMER OF ICE CREAM, VOL 2: SHAKE NO. 8! Ranked the #1 Ice Cream Shop in Columbus in 2024, this is the perfect place to kick off our Summer of Ice Cream and grab a sweet treat after the show! Their menu features an array of traditional, specialty and vegan shakes, hot cocoa, and more! You can check out their full menu here: [https://www.shakeno8.com/menu.php](https://www.shakeno8.com/menu.php) PLAN: We’ll plan for a 7pm-ish showing and will meet in the lobby area about 20 minutes before the show. Once showtime is announced, advance ticket purchase is advised! Once you have yours, please list your seat number in the Comments section of this event. We'll head to nearby Shake No. 8 immediately following the show! Should be a fun one, Dan