BCA Europe Convention 2027 · Hosted by BCDA-UK
2027 is BCA Europe's opportunity to do three things at once
One weekend, one roof, one Bali. For the Bali Nyonga family across Europe and beyond, a convention built on a tried and tested formula, and designed for the next generation.
Three objectives
What 2027 sets out to do
Bali culture at the centre of everything
The Njang on Thursday night. Uniforms and the Official Opening on Friday, with culture through to midnight. Cultural dancing and the dance competition on Saturday. Mungaka in the programme, not in the margins.
See the programmeA weekend that is not only about money
Fundraising moves out of the party and into the year. The Gala is a celebration again, not a collection exercise. Giving still happens, with dignity and in daylight.
How the cause is fundedAn initiative BCA Europe can lead
Enabling our Bali Talent: a lasting programme, tied back to Bali, that helps skills, language and craft from home reach the market through us. 2027 is its launch.
About Enabling our Bali Talent
Five pillars
What carries the weekend
Everything our people love stays. The pillars change what funds and houses it, not what it is.
One estate
Beds, halls, the Gala and the barbecue on one estate near Reading. No hotel lottery, no taxis between events.
The venue: One estateThe Bali Pass
One payment for the weekend: every event, every meal and the Gala seat included. Paid in instalments through the app.
Passes and prices: The Bali PassFront-loaded funding
Language classes, the digital magazine, patrons, sponsors and vendors pay for the weekend before the weekend.
Partners: Front-loaded fundingLelaHub
The digital home of Bali: registration, payments by country, the programme, the magazine and the cause, all year round.
About LelaHub: LelaHubEnabling our Bali Talent
From one-way donations to livelihoods: Bali skills, language and craft reaching the market through us.
Find out more: Enabling our Bali Talent
What stays
Everything you love is still here
This formula works, built by our chapters and loved by our people. 2027 keeps every part of it.
The Lela
The spirit of the festival that brings our people back to each other, at the heart of the weekend.
The Gala
Banquet, awards and dancing till late on Saturday night. A celebration again.
The General Assembly
Two disciplined hours on Saturday, 11:00 to 13:00, then lunch together.
The barbecue
Sunday on the lawns, and the farewell circle before we go home.
What changes, and why
Six things we must be honest about
None of this is anyone's failure. These are the limits of a volunteer formula that has reached the top of its design. Here is what we heard, and what 2027 does about it.
What we heard
We are seen as traditional
The UK chapter is seen as steady but not the most forward thinking.
What 2027 does
Fair. This plan is the answer: one estate, one pass, one app, and LelaHub, a digital home that outlives the weekend.
What we heard
Accommodation let people down
Guests were spread across several hotels. Rooms ran short, quality varied, and families ended up far from the action.
What 2027 does
376 rooms on one estate, a negotiated room block, and overflow hotels 10 to 15 minutes away.
What we heard
Too much travel between events
Different venues meant taxis, car shares, late starts and people missing the moments they came for.
What 2027 does
Every event on one site. People walk between them, and shuttles run from Reading and Heathrow at peak times.
What we heard
Paying was hard work
Collecting money across countries, currencies and bank accounts was slow, and people did not always know what they had paid for.
What 2027 does
One pass, one app, instalments, paid by country into local accounts. Everyone can see what they have paid for.
What we heard
It looks expensive
A country estate with a mansion house looks grand, and people will assume it is.
What 2027 does
Same outlay as recent years, allowing only for inflation, with worked examples published for every pass.
What we heard
Can the UK pull this off?
Other chapters doubt we can deliver at this scale. We take that seriously.
What 2027 does
Not alone: Europe owns it. Co-chairs work with the BCA Europe leadership, every chapter leads a workstream, and progress is reported monthly.
Our affordability promise
A grand venue does not mean a grand bill
The money a member spends on the 2027 convention should be in line with any recent BCA Europe convention, allowing only for inflation.
That is a design rule for every decision, not a hope. If a choice breaks it, the choice changes.