Thursday 23 November 2023 was a double celebration for Passwerk: we presented the seventh Passwerk Lifetime Achievement Award to Dominique Dumortier and also celebrated Passwerk's 15th anniversary. For this festive evening, we were honoured to host around 200 guests. The party was celebrated at J&M Catering's home base, the Napoleon site. This location was known until five years ago as the factory where the famous Napoleon bonbons were made. J&M renovated the building into three beautiful event rooms that have an open view of the kitchen, creating a culinary experience.
The evening opened with a glass of bubbly, unique appetisers and some time for guests to network. Then began the official presentation of the Passwerk Lifetime Achievement Award to Dominique. Kristiene Reyniers, chairwoman of Passwerk's Board of Directors, gave a speech on why Dominique was chosen as the laureate and what she does for the autism community. She then also presented the official certificate linked to the Passwerk Lifetime Achievement Award.
Another way we thank the laureate is by writing a biography. This allows us to immortalise the laureate's commitment to the autism community. Cas Raaijmakers, the writer who annually provides a biography on the laureate, did the same for Dominique this year. Finally, Dominique also addressed the audience to give her reaction to the award presentation.
The official part of the evening was followed by a walking dinner with a choice of different culinary dishes. Then the party night was opened with a dance act by two professional dancers. The rest of the evening people could dance, first to the music of the cover band Lunasix, and then to the beats of DJ Maaike De Waele.
Want a chance to win a book about Dominique? The first five people to email manon.provost@passwerk.be will be sent a copy of the book about Dominique.
You can find the photos and after movie of this wonderful evening below.
