Emilie Boland speaks openly about her period of depression as a model. Markus Payer and Anna Bordus from the Asteroid Foundation tell us about upcoming Asteroid Day.

The pressures of Modelling

Emilie Boland, of Dutch and Belgian roots raised in Luxembourg, started modelling aged 16. On entering Top Model Belgium in 2016 she reached the finals. And in 2020 she won Miss Luxembourg for the first time. Following this, Emilie focussed on actively engaging with charities including Kriibskrank Kanner, Stemm vun der Strooss and Cent Buttek.

Emilie, unusually, won the title of Miss Luxembourg for a second time in 2021 and went on to represent Luxembourg in the Miss World competition in Puerto Rico for one month. After a short gap, she has gone on to found her own fashion label, Bogère: fashionable clothes at affordable prices.

Looking in from the outside, as so many of us do with social media displaying the ‘perfect’ image of models, one might assume that Emilie’s life is marvellous - there could be nothing to feel sad about. But the pressures of needing to feel ‘perfect’ at all times, always on display, having one’s social media feed monitored by a team, travelling, negative feedback through tough castings… has an impact on the maturing mind. And so it was for Emilie.

In this conversation, Emilie opens up about her path through depression, overdosing and how she overcame self-doubt with the support of a loving family and a purpose in her own fashion label. Through the openness that Emilie shares with the world, she hopes to help others who feel depressed and are finding it hard to get through that dark and lonely time.

Asteroid Day

Markus Payer, Chairman of the Board, and Anna Bordus, Programme Director for the Asteroid Foundation talk about everything that's lined up for Asteroid Day on 30 June, plus 1 July.

Asteroid Day, 30 June, is a UN-recognised day when the world celebrates research done around Asteroids and why they are important.

Markus is a passionate advocate for the importance of space and the importance of space for Luxembourg.

Most of us know that an asteroid is the most likely cause for the extinction of dinosaurs, and therefore appreciate the science and engineering that is going into trying to deflect asteroids from near-Earth orbit. What is a little trickier to comprehend however is that asteroids can be mined for their precious resources. This is a minefield Luxembourg is particularly interested in, from both a space resource but also the legal aspects of this new frontier for mankind and our want to reach further than an atmosphere with oxygen allows.

Anna Bordus has put together a strong set of two days of fun events for all the family in Luxembourg around Space and education in the space sector.

You can find out about all the events here, held at Tramsschapp in Limpertsberg.