Union Congolaise (Société de Secours et de Développement Moral et Intellectuel de La Race Congolaise) was founded in August 1919 by Congolese veterans of the First World War, including Paul Panda Farnana, considered to be the first Congolese intellectual in Belgium, The organisation was based in the centre of Brussels but many of its members at the time were ex-marines based in Antwerp. As the first Congolese organisation in Belgium, the Union Congolaise played a crucial role in uniting and supporting the Congolese community in the country. The association aimed to improve the living conditions of Congolese in Belgium, providing aid to poor or sick Congolese, offering education, often evening classes, and actively opposing racism and colonial abuses. The Union Congolaise did not only focus on social and cultural activities, but was also a protest organisation with a political agenda. The association advocated greater participation by the Congolese in the colonial administration, the abolition of forced labour, and greater recognition for Congolese war veterans. Farnana himself criticised the Belgian colonial system and called for political rights for the Congolese population. He represented the association at international forums, such as the first Pan-African Congress in Paris in 1919 and the National Colonial Congress in Brussels in 1920. The organisation's activities, including their protests against the erection of a monument to the unknown soldier which excluded recognition of Congolese soldiers, demonstrated their commitment to equality and recognition. By the end of the 1920s, the association had around seventy members and was continuing its efforts for social justice and political change, leaving a lasting mark on the Congolese community in Belgium.