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“I’m still as headstrong as ever” can sidi larbi cherkaoui restore the royal ballet flanders to its erstwhile glory? charlotte de somviele More articles by Charlotte \ flanderstoday.eu

The announcement rippled through Flanders’ cultural communities last week: Antwerp contemporary choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui will become Royal Ballet Flanders’ new artistic director in September. Charlotte De Somviele of Antwerp University’s theatre and film studies department talks to the choreographer and runs us through the state of dance in Flanders.

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© Patrick De roo/ImageDesk

ne of Europe’s most celebrated contemporary dancers and choreographers will soon take over leadership of Royal Ballet Flanders. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui will succeed Assis Carreiro as artistic director of the company.

Carreiro was dismissed last August, leaving the company in an artistic upheaval, without a clear identity of its own.

Cherkaoui (pictured) represents the ballet’s last chance. He combines his new function with the leadership of Eastman, the contemporary dance company he launched in 2010. His right-hand man at the Royal Ballet Flanders will be Tamas Moricz, who is schooled in the ballet tradition.

The ballet’s repertory for the next 18 months had been already decided by Cherkaoui’s predecessor; after that period, he will take on the role of creator, as well as inviting fellow choreographers from outside the company to contribute. “We will have to create a whole new way of working,” he says. “But my enthusiasm at the prospect outweighs my anxiety.”

Cherkaoui’s appointment sends an important signal. He is the first Belgian with foreign roots – his father is Moroccan, his mother Flemish – to lead one of Flanders’ major cultural institutions. As one of the most beloved figures of contemporary dance, he seems like the ideal person to break down the barriers between contemporary and classical and to put the Royal Ballet Flanders back on the map.

That, at least, is the hope of Kunsthuis Opera Vlaanderen Ballet Vlaanderen vzw, the umbrella organisation created when the opera and ballet fused early last year. Austerity measures led to the fusion; with additional income from continued on page 5

\ CurrenT affaIrs

Fouad Belkacem gets 12 years

members of terrorist group sharia4belgium were sentenced in antwerp last week alan Hope follow alan on Twitter \ @alanHopefT

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n the largest terrorism trial ever held in Belgium, Fouad Belkacem (pictured), leader of the radical Islamist group Sharia4Belgium, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Belkacem was one of 45 defendants involved in the four-month trial in Antwerp, accused of membership of a terrorist organisation.

The main charge against Sharia4Belgium concerned the recruitment of young men to the cause of armed jihad, after which they would be sent to Syria to fight. One of their recruits, Jejoen Bontinck, made headlines last year when his father, Dimitri, travelled to Syria to bring him back – unsuccessfully. The youth, who eventually

returned on his own, later gave evidence for the prosecution and ultimately received a sentence of 40 months suspended.

“He got off lightly,” his father said outside the court. “He’s happy, and so am I.” Belkacem’s lawyer, Abderrahim Lahlali, had called for his acquittal and stated after the trial that he would study the ruling thoroughly before deciding whether to appeal.

The ruling, he said, contained “certain contradictions”.

In total, the court handed out sentences of 296 years. The majority of the accused were not present, among them Brian De Mulder, sentenced to five years. He remains, like many of his co-accused, in

Syria.

Another Belgian, Michael Delefortrie, was sentenced to three years suspended and walked out of court a free man, ready to “grasp with both hands” the second chance the court had given him, his lawyer, Ergun Top, said.

According to federal justice minister Koen Geens, those sentenced to prison could be housed in cells separate from the rest of the prison population if there is a perceived risk of radicalising other prisoners.

“If there is no risk, we would prefer them to be integrated with other prisoners,” he said. “But there are sure to be cases where there is a chance of incitement to radicalisation.”

© belga

Questions over payoff for football union CEO

Network head calls for end to headscarf ban in schools

Steven Martens, CEO of the Royal Belgian Football Union (KBVB) announced his resignation last week, after months of controversy concerning expenditures and budgeting. The announcement of a severance package worth €336,000 has now raised questions about the circumstances of his departure.

On 6 February, Martens lost a vote of confidence held by the KVBV’s board. The organisation ended 2014 with a loss of €206,000, despite increased income. Martens has been criticised for extravagant spending on the World Cup in Brazil last summer and for financial arrange-

The ban on headscarves in education should disappear, in all schools of all networks, according to Lieven Boeve, director-general of the Catholic education network (VSKO), speaking to De Standaard.

Boeve said that both teachers and students should be allowed to wear headscarves. “I call in general for allowing religious symbols, like headscarves, in public space,” he clarified to Radio 1.

Currently in Catholic education, each school can decide whether or not it wants to allow its students to wear headscarves. But Boeve feels the issue is too important to be decided by individual schools. “The decision should be the result of a broad social debate,” he told De Standaard.

Raymonda Verdyck, managing director of the community education network of schools (GO!), says she is open to a debate on the topic. Since 2013, GO! has had a general ban on headscarves, which Verdyck says has had positive effects. “Taking away the symbol has enabled the start of an open debate, in which one has respect for the other and tries to find out the opinion of the other party,” she said.

Flemish secondary school student

ments with a media production house owned

by Red Devils captain Vincent Kompany.

“After a great deal of thought and discussions with family and friends, I have decided to resign my mandate as CEO of the Belgian Football Union,” said Martens, who had been in charge of the organisation since 2011.

The payment of a sizeable premium, however, suggests that Martens’ departure was not voluntary. According to Frank Hendrickx, professor of labour law at the University of Leuven, there is normally no question of a premium in cases of voluntary resignation. \ AH

Flanders approves road tolls for lorries Flanders is to introduce a road toll for lorries, the government has decided. The decision to implement a road toll brings the region into line with Brussels and Wallonia, which have already voted to do the same.

The toll will affect all goods vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes and will be calculated according to the distance travelled in Belgium. The system is due to come into force next year. In Flanders, the toll will apply on main roads and on parallel roads, in an effort to prevent overflow traffic from drivers trying to avoid the toll.

The three regions agreed in 2011 to introduce such a system and signed a co-operation agreement last year, which replaced the old vignette system with a smart road-pricing system. Lorries will be equipped with onboard units able to calculate the toll based on the distance travelled. The price per kilometre has yet to be decided.

“Nothing will be decided without prior discussion,” Flemish mobility minister Ben Weyts said.

The tariff will be based on the tonnage and emissions class of the vehicle, as well as the type of road. “Just like in other countries, those who travel the least will pay the least,” Weyts said. \ AH

€ inhabitants per square kilometre in Sint-Joost, making it the most densely populated district in the Brussels-Capital Region. The entire municipality measures only 1.1 square kilometres

\ Andy Furniere

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organisation VSK issued a press release to support the call for a debate. “Youngsters should be able to experiment and to have the freedom to go to their school of choice,” said president Lora Hasenbroekx. “With a ban on religious symbols at school, you take away certain learning and development opportunities from young people.”

She also emphasised that a ban is not a positive way to deal with tensions in a multicultural society. “Dialogue and collaboration are,” she said.

millio 1 .

8

€634,885

cost of the first two weeks deploying paratroopers on the streets of Brussels and Antwerp, mostly for personnel costs. The deployment will continue until at least 23 February

© Courtesy n-Va

865 growth in value of the total catch of the Flemish fishing industry in 2014, bringing income to €81.2 million. Volume of catch went up 6% to 24,268 tonnes

accidents involving De Lijn trams in 2014, fewer than the 1,029 registered in 2013, mobility minister Ben Weyts said. 308 people were injured, 25 of them seriously, and five people died

compensation for a surgeon in Sint-Truiden who was fired after failing to attend an urgent call. The court found he had committed a serious error, but that it did not warrant his dismissal

february 18, 2015

weeK in brief Unions and management at supermarket chain Delhaize have reached a provisional agreement on a revised restructuring plan. The number of store closures is down from 14 to 10, with seven in Flanders: Kortrijk Ring will close definitively, while new owners are sought for stores in Dendermonde, Turnhout, Berlaar, Aarschot, Genk and Lommel. One store in Brussels will close, Schaarbeek Verhaeren. The number of job losses decreases from 2,500 to 1,800, with compulsory redundancies to be avoided where possible. The plan has to be agreed by the unions’ members before it is ratified at the end of this month.

TheSpecialTaxInvestigationssquad of the economy ministry is investigating Belgium’s richest family, the de Spoelberch family of Herkenrode, Limburg, De Tijd reports.

The family is a major shareholder in brewers AB InBev, the largest in the world, with a holding, together with the Van Damme and Mévius families, worth €35 billion and property all over the world. The investigation is believed to have been sparked by information contained in the LuxLeaks and SwissLeaks dossiers.

Flemish novelist Gerard Reve’s celebrated novel De avonden (The Evenings) is to be published in English next year by Pushkin Press.

The novel, a satire on listless and bored youth in the period following the Second World War, was originally published in 1947, when it was considered a masterpiece of 20th-century Dutch literature. Next year marks the 10th anniversary of Reve’s death in Machelen-aan-deLeie, East Flanders.

The main trade unions have announced a demonstration on 11 March between 11.00 and 13.00, at a location in Brussels to be announced. Unions said there would be no march, but rather a “static gathering”. Several thousand members took part in a similar action on Muntplein last September.

face of flanders Flemish labour minister Philippe Muyters has approved funding of almost €11 million over the next three years to expand the programme that helps young people find work. The funding will provide training and internships for about 6,000 young people who left school without a diploma.

Thousands of motorists who were flashed by speed cameras in the Kennedy tunnel in Antwerp last Monday will not be fined. Because of a technical problem, the signs at the entrance to the tunnel indicated a speed limit of 100 km/h, but cameras flashed everyone going over 70.

The Zoniën Forest, which borders all three regions of Belgium, has been placed on a shortlist of world heritage sites by Unesco, the United Nations cultural organisation. The three regions had submitted a joint application to have 400 hectares of the beech forest – about one-tenth of the total – recognised as world heritage. The forest is included on the short list with 33 other areas of beech forest in 12 countries. A final decision will be taken in early 2017.

Last year saw the loss of more than 8,600 jobs in small- and mediumsized businesses, a reduction of 1.4%, according to Unizo, the organisation that represents the selfemployed. Sectors worst affected were health care and construction, although a late fourth-quarter rally saw increases in employment in transport, services and the professions.

Telecoms company Telenet has lost a case before the Constitutional Court against a ruling that the company must ask broadcasters’ permission before introducing new functions to its digicorders.

Distributors like Telenet and Belgacom have to seek permission for functions like recording, rewinding or pausing TV signals, yet the

makers of TV sets with built-in hard drives do not. The company claimed discrimination, but the court pointed out that broadcasters cannot refuse without a reason and that there is an appeals procedure.

The Flemish Parliament has voted to renew the mandate of children’s rights commissioner Bruno Vanobbergen for another six years.

Vanobbergen was first appointed in 2009, when he took over from Ankie Vandekerckhove, the first ever such commissioner, appointed when the post was created in 1997.

Customs officers at Brussels Airport last week seized about 40 protected animals, including butterflies from Thailand and geckos from Tanzania. They also seized a quantity of incense sticks made partly of the scales of the pangolin, a type of anteater, which are considered to have medicinal properties. The animals had fake certificates or none at all. The geckos were delivered to Antwerp Zoo. Security staff of Brussels public transport authority MIVB have reported incidents of metrosurfing – where young people ride on top of metros at great risk to life and limb. The surfers prefer older trains with couplings between carriages, where they stand to ride the train through tunnels. Surfers face a fine of €500 if caught.

At €600, Gravensteen Castle in Ghent is the most expensive place to get married in Flanders, according to a survey carried out by VRT Radio 2. The marriage book varies in cost from €9 in Willebroek, Antwerp province, to €50 in Diksmuide, West Flanders. At some town halls, such as in Hoeilaart, Zandhoven and Ardooie, getting married costs nothing at all, and in Asse, Merelbeke and Haacht, the municipality will even throw in a glass of cava for the happy couple and their guests.

offside Keeping score

bart verhaeghe Business executives are often controversial figures, but few ever attract the flood of criticism aimed last week at Bart Verhaeghe.

Verhaeghe is the main entrepreneur behind the controversial Uplace complex planned to open in 2018 beside the Brussels Ring in Machelen. Uplace has had criticism flung at it from every imaginable angle since the plans were first revealed, but last week the Flemish government approved a provisional planning certificate, albeit with modifications in response to some of the project’s critics.

“The Flemish government has shown it is resolute and determined to stick to its decision, that a promise is a promise,” Verhaeghe told VRT News.

“That’s important for anyone who does business in Flanders.”

Verhaeghe, 49, was born in Vilvoorde and studied law in Leuven. He earned an MBA at what is now Vlerick Business School. He started as a management consultant with KPMG but soon crossed the floor into indus-

© Courtesy uplace

try, helping build developers Eurinpro and eventually becoming CEO. He became the chair of Club Brugge in 2011.

Eurinpro was sold to the Australian holding Macquarie Goodman in 2006 for €400 million. It was around the same time that the idea for Uplace was first discussed. Uplace will be the biggest shopping and lifestyle centre in the Benelux when it is completed – if it is completed.

Aside from the concerns about leading shoppers away from city centres (see p6), the Uplace project last week suffered another blow as daily newspaper De Morgen reported a leaked internal report that warned that the shopping centre would cause an increase in the incidence of cancer for people living in the area. The increased traffic, said the report, will create higher concentrations of fine particulates in the air.

Verhaeghe’s company denied the claim and threatened to take De Morgen to court. The newspaper responded by publishing the document in full.

flanders today, a weekly english-language newspaper, is an initiative of the flemish region and is financially supported by the flemish authorities.

Last week, the Schaarbeek-based rugby club Royal Kituro played a spectacular match against Zinnik, a team from the town of Soignies in Wallonia, beating them by a record score of 356 to 3. Now it's not often that this section of Flanders Today turns to sporting matters, but that sounds like the kind of match even the notoriously short attention span of Offside could find entertainment in.

But, like so many things, it turned out nottobequitesosimple.

The referee called in sick. Zinnik,

© Ingimage

the visiting team, assumed the match was off. Kituro, by contrast, went out and found a substitute ref. At kick-off, an hour behind schedule, most of the Zinnik team, including the manager, were still at home. The substitute ref, nevertheless, declared the fixture in order and started the match.

The result was, as you might imagine, a bloodbath. Kituro scored time after time, to the accompaniment of loud booing from the crowd. The few Zinnik players on hand chose to remain

on the pitch rather than forfeit the match, which, according to expert opinion at the BBC, would have earned them no points at all instead of one for being the losing side.

The amazing thing is that Zinnik managed to score even those three points, thanks to a drop goal, which, in the circumstances, has to be regarded as a titanic achievement.

The team now plan, understandably, to appeal the result to the Belgian Rugby Union. You can see a short video of the game on YouTube at www.tinyurl.com/rugbykituro.

There is a happy ending to the story: Zinnik now occupy third place in the league table, one point ahead of Kituro.

The logo and the name Flanders Today belong to the Flemish Region (Benelux Beeldmerk nr 815.088). The editorial team of Flanders Today has full editorial autonomy regarding the content of the newspaper and is responsible for all content, as stipulated in the agreement between Corelio Publishing and the Flemish authorities.

editor Lisa Bradshaw dePuty editor Sally Tipper contributing editor Alan Hope sub editor Linda A Thompson agenda Robyn Boyle, Georgio Valentino art director Paul Van Dooren PrePress Corelio AdPro contributors Daan Bauwens, Rebecca Benoot, Derek Blyth, Leo Cendrowicz, Katy Desmond, Andy Furniere, Diana Goodwin, Julie Kavanagh, Catherine Kosters, Toon Lambrechts, Katrien Lindemans, Ian Mundell, Anja Otte, Tom Peeters, Daniel Shamaun, Senne Starckx, Christophe Verbiest, Débora Votquenne, Denzil Walton general manager Hans De Loore PublisHer Corelio Publishing NV

editorial address Gossetlaan 30 - 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden tel 02 373 99 09 editorial@flanderstoday.eu subscriPtions tel 03 560 17 49 subscriptions@flanderstoday.eu or order online at www.flanderstoday.eu advertising 02 373 83 57 advertising@flanderstoday.eu verantwoordelijKe uitgever Hans De Loore

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\ POlITICs

5tH column The retail experience

The government of Flanders has given the final go-ahead on the gigantic retail project Uplace in Machelen, albeit in a slightly smaller version.

Uplace has been controversial almost from the start.

In 2009, the government, then composed of CD&V, Open VLD and SP.A, made a “brownfield agreement” with Uplace, allowing the developer to transform the abandoned Renault factory site under the Vilvoorde viaduct into a “retail experience centre”, including shops, offices and cinemas.

The parties that made the decision soon felt uncomfortable about it, as they faced more and more criticism.

CD&V and Open VLD were sensitive to arguments that Uplace would deliver a death blow to small business as far away as Leuven and Mechelen.

SP.A, too, changed its mind, most because of the mobility aspect: Uplace is expected to attract another 25,000 vehicles a day to the already overburdened Brussels Ring Road.

The only party to stand by the original decision, ironically, was the one that was not involved in it: N-VA. And as N-VA is now in the government’s driving seat, it has become Uplace’s strongest defender.

Uplace has become something of a symbol to N-VA. The party abhors the idea that “nothing is possible in this country”.

Major projects, such as Uplace and Antwerp’s Oosterweel Ring Road, are dragged down by procedure after procedure, on environmental or planning grounds. This is not the signal we should give to investors, N-VA believes.

The green light for Uplace, however, has only sparked more criticism. Economy professor Paul De Grauwe even speaks of “crony capitalism”, East-Asian style. “We are not short on shops, rather there is a shortage of schools.

Governments should make a priority of society’s needs that the market will not solve,” De Grauwe stated.

He believes politicians and developers have become too close, “seeing each other all too often, at receptions and on the business seats in football stadiums” – a reference to Uplace developer Bart Verhaeghe, who is also president of pro league football team Club Brugge (see p3).

His remarks have infuriated Flemish mobility and public works minister Ben Weyts (N-VA). “Critics should call a spade a spade, or keep quiet.

You will never see me in Club Brugge seats. I am an Anderlecht supporter – as if that even matters.” \ Anja Otte

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Government to implement agreement reached with unions

federal government to go ahead with plan despite socialist opposition derek blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

T

he federal government will take the necessary steps to implement an agreement reached between employers and unions, despite the withdrawal of two unions from the talks. Labour minister Kris Peeters is continuing talks with unions this week aimed at preventing further strikes such as those seen late last year, which found businesses across the country closed and public transport brought to a standstill.

An agreement was presented last month to the so-called Group of Ten – representatives from the various social partners. But two of the partners – from socialist unions – rejected the deal and in fact walked out, leaving the agreement to be signed by a “group of eight”.

© francois lenoir/reuters/Corbis

Prime minister Charles Michel and employment minister Kris Peeters (pictured) carried on discussions with remaining representatives to hammer out a social agreement that

would raise benefits by 2% while limiting wage increases to 0.8%.

The government insists that it will go ahead with the plan despite continued opposition from socialist unions. “The government will now take the necessary legal steps to implement the deal,” said Michel.

Both Michel and Peeters insisted that they want to maintain a good relationship with the unions and avoid confrontation. But some key issues still have to be tackled, such as the reform of the pension system.

Several unions said this week that they may decide to hold further strikes in protest at government policy, including another national strike.

Government approves permit for smaller Uplace The government of Flanders has approved a slimmed-down version of Uplace, the shopping and leisure complex planned for Machelen in Flemish Brabant, just north of Brussels. The decision has provoked criticism, notably from economist Paul De Grauwe, formerly of the University of Leuven, who now teaches at the London School of Economics.

“This is an example of crony capitalism,” he told VRT News. “This is the sort of thing you see in China, where politicians and businessmen work out policy between them.”

The government should be investing in schools, not shops, he said.

“It’s not as if we have a shortage of shops, but we do have a serious shortage of schools.”

The planning permission approved by the government at the weekend cuts the number of shops by onethird, though the total size of the complex remains the same. Critics say the plan for the 190,000-squaremetre complex, the biggest in the Benelux, threatens the existence of nearby town centres, from Vilvoorde to Leuven. Those two

cities, as well as Unizo, the organisation that represents the selfemployed, are bringing an action before the Council of State to have the project cancelled.

Flanders’ public works minister, Ben Weyts, called the criticism from the opposition gratuitous and unfair. He also denied a claim by the mayor of Vilvoorde that the government was investing €480 million in the project of a single entrepreneur. “We are investing in total more than €480 million in mobility improvements for the

whole region,” he said. “But those investments, such as the plans for the Brussels Ring, will come with or without Uplace.” Uplace itself, he argued, would receive no public money at all.

The planning permission now opens up to public discussion.

Meanwhile, a decision is expected this week on an appeal to the Cassation court brought by the last Flemish government to contest a Council of State decision to nullify an environmental permit for Uplace. \ Alan Hope

Vilvoorde mayor demands extra funds to fight radicalism

Belgian leaders meet with Greek counterparts

Vilvoorde mayor Hans Bonte has called on the Flemish and federal governments to provide him with extra funding to combat radical ideology spreading in his municipality. The former car-manufacturing town outside Brussels has produced a disproportionate number of militant young men who have gone to fight in Syria.

Bonte puts it down to a large immigrant population coupled with high levels of youth unemployment and says he needs €2.3 million to recruit more police officers, run de-radicalisation programmes and create new jobs. \ DB

Belgian prime minister Charles Michel met the newly elected Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, on the sidelines of the European Union summit last week.

Michel was one of three EU leaders who held informal talks with Tsipras, who is seeking a reduction of Greece’s massive debt burden.

After the meeting at the prime minister’s official residence, Michel told reporters that he was optimistic that the eurozone’s 19 members could find a solution to the Greek crisis, even if it required a special effort.

“The solution is delicate and difficult. We need determination and will,” Michel said. “The magic of Europe has always been to find solutions, even when it seemed impossible. I am convinced that this magic will end up working.”

Speaking after the meeting at Wetstraat 16, Tsipras said: “We have to prove that Europe can find a solution, respect the positions that the parties take and combine respect for democracy with European rules.”

Belgian finance minister Johan Van Overtveldt also met his Greek

More budget cuts may be needed, says Turtelboom The government of Flanders may be forced to introduce a new round of budget cuts this year, according to finance minister Annemie Turtelboom. The warning was a response to figures that show that Belgium will only achieve 1% growth, rather than the 1.5% previously predicted.

Turtelboom said it would not be easy to maintain a balanced budget and that further cuts might be needed.

She refused to give a figure, but Koen Van den Heuvel of the Christiandemocrats suggested there might be a €500 million budget deficit.

Flanders’ environment minister Joke Schauvliege said in an interview last weekend that the Flemish government should not rule out the idea of a budget deficit, even though it came to power with a commitment to maintaining a balanced budget. “Maybe we have to abandon our obsession with a balanced budget for a while,” she said. “It is unacceptable to ask people to make any more sacrifices.”

She argued that the government had to “maintain oxygen to allow for investment” and that “you can kill yourself with too much saving”. \ DB

© francois lenoir/reuTers

federal finance minister Johan Van Overtveldt (left) meets with Greek finance minister yanis Varoufakis

counterpart, Yanis Varoufakis, to talk about the Greek debt crisis.

He told the press that the eurozone members had not yet reached any agreement.

The finance ministers met again on Monday in an attempt to solve the problem, which threatens the stability of the European Union. \ DB

\ COVer sTOry

february 18, 2015

“I’m still as headstrong as ever”

one of our most beloved contemporary choreographers takes on ballet flanders

www.oPeraballet.be

continued from page 1

sponsorships, co-productions and touring, management hopes to be able to increase artistic budgets.

Cherkaoui was quietly reserved at the press conference announcing his appointment. He arrives at the company with no desire to overturn the furniture, he said. For him, contemporary dance and classical ballet are merely extensions of each other.

If that’s true, then he’s the perfect man for the job: Since 2004, he has served as a guest choreographer of a foreign ballet company every season. From now on, he will be able to do that without leaving Antwerp.

I caught up with Cherkaoui soon after the announcement in Antwerp.

Charlotte De Somviele: Is this a new start for you?

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui: Two paths have come together. From Les Ballets C de la B to Toneelhuis, I’ve felt at home in a lot of places. My own company became my laboratory, the child I raised by myself.

That will always be my centre. But what I was missing was an anchor point within a ballet company.

My first production for Les Ballets de Monte Carlo in 2004 was a revelation. It seemed to choreograph itself. The virtuosity, the sensitivity, the energy of the dancers opened my eyes and gave me a broader view on movement. A door opened that years before I had slammed shut.

Of course I’m coming in with my eyes open. The Royal Ballet Flanders has landed in a rut that it needs to get out of fast. Not everyone will survive, but other dancers will in turn be attracted to the new prospects. The first discussions brought clarity; there was a feeling of a real exchange of views.

CDS: How does it feel to be at the head of an institution for the first time?

SLC: I’m no good at institutional thinking; everything I do is outside the box. I hope to find the same kind of open-mindedness here. I’m still as headstrong as ever. But an institution is also a form of protection; it offers stability. I’ve put other things aside to take this on, and I have four months to focus on the transition.

For the future, I mostly see possibilities. And while everyone is asking how I’m going to manage to combine everything, when I’m passionate about something, I keep on looking until I find a solution.

Look, it’s not rocket science: There are more than enough examples out there of choreographers who manage to combine jobs.

CDS: What do you see as the biggest opportunity afforded by

links with the much-praised local contemporary dance scene.

Of course, ballet is a discipline that demands a great deal of time and resources. It’s impossible to perform a Romantic classic like, say, Giselle, if your corps de ballet is not perfectly in tune with each other.

The question of the existence of the ballet is actually a broader question of the cultural landscape. Cherkaoui will take on an ambassadorial function to give Royal Ballet Flanders more credibility as a major institution and, therefore, as the principal representative of dance in Flanders. Ultimately, renewal in the Flemish dance world, now as before, mostly comes from the contemporary side – the perfect example being Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s troupe Rosas.

© wendy Marijnissen/ImageDesk

sidi larbi Cherkaoui (centre) works with eastman dancers

this appointment?

SLC: The reconciliation of ballet and opera, which can give the Kunsthuis a singular appeal. That will take time, but it can create some wonderful associations. Up until last year I never dared even think about opera. Then Shell Shock came to the Munt. For me, the solid presence of opera singers on a stage goes perfectly with the flowing movements of my dance vocabulary. Opera brings refinement to my work.

contemporary dance vs ballet: three questions Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s appointment as the new artistic director of Royal Ballet Flanders has brought rise to questions about the ballet’s past and future and whether or not he will be able to straddle two very different dance worlds.

What can a contemporary dance choreographer do with a ballet company?

It comes as no accident that Royal Ballet Flanders has appointed a choreographer like Cherkaoui.

Now that contemporary dance has become an art form in its own right, there are more and more international voices calling for classical ballet, as a historic art form, to undergo a revolution.

We’ve seen that from companies in Gothenburg, Lyons and Marseilles, as well as the Cullberg Ballet of Switzerland. The work of American choreographer William Forsythe, who built upon classical technique in the creation of a whole new language of movement, led the way

in that development.

It’s one thing to create a contemporary choreography tailored to the requirements of classical dancers.

It’s another entirely to ask a choreographer without ballet training to watch over the needs and technical excellence of a ballet company.

Following the example of the Royal Ballet Flanders, Cherkaoui will share the director’s function with the classically trained dance teacher Tamas Moricz. Another plus point: Moricz is a long-time student and associate of Forsythe, and so will be in a position to bring his works, which helped the ballet make its name internationally, back to Flanders.

The question remains how Cherkaoui will manage to run both his own company and the 46-strong ballet corps. Eastman was launched only four years ago, but its production and touring schedule is already tough and its repertory extensive. On the other hand, Cherkaoui does live for his work, and it’s not at all unusual these days for

Classically trained ballet dancer Tamas Moricz will assist Cherkaoui at the royal ballet flanders

directors to collect multiple posts: French choreographer Benjamin Millepied, for example, runs his own dance company in Los Angeles while co-ordinating the Paris Ballet.

This latest change of regimes allows Cherkaoui the opportunity to give the ballet back a face of its own. That’s important, following the fusion with Opera Vlaanderen, from whom the ballet has always sought to be separated, and following the image problems of recent years – sudden changes of management, financial mismanagement and a reduction in the scope of international tours.

Does Flanders actually need its own ballet company?

Since the Ballet Royal de Wallonie went down the contemporary route in 1991, Royal Ballet Flanders has been alone in representing classical ballet in Belgium. As a major cultural institution of the Flemish Community, it can count on a subsidy of €5.7 million a year without the need to argue its case every two or four years – not much in comparison to the budgets of foreign companies, but almost the whole of the subsidy available for the local dance sector.

No other company has dancers in full-time employment, whereas all the dancers of Royal Ballet Flanders have one-year contracts.

However, the resources they receive don’t translate directly into visibility. The kind of venues the ballet requires are thin on the ground in Flanders. In addition, the ballet had the reputation in the past for financial mismanagement and for doing little to make and maintain

What are the challenges facing the ballet in the 21st century?

The beauty of ballet is timeless.

The question is: how do you reconcile the huge production apparatus and the specific requirements of ballet with the rapidly changing social and economic reality in the world outside? Royal Ballet Flanders has a very clear mission regarding repertory. There’s nothing wrong with that. But why not use that as an occasion to attract foreign companies and to create a new image for yourself with quirky, challenging interpretations of older works, as well as contemporary creations that Cherkaoui himself is perfectly capable of choreographing?

The limited budget requires difficult choices; it’s no longer possible to justify repertory for repertory’s sake. Cherkaoui’s international success and reputation make it possible for the ballet to become better known in Flanders and in Europe, as well as presenting the opportunity for a unique co-operation between classical and contemporary dancers.

Diversity will be another challenge for a company with an overwhelmingly Western repertory, a strict internal hierarchy and a predominantly white audience. Cherkaoui has already demonstrated, with his Mea Culpa created in 2006 for Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, that classical ballet can accommodate social themes such as slavery and colonialism.

“Political thinking is inherent in my personality,” the choreographer said recently. “I cannot be other than the way I am.” The hope is that he is able to communicate that selfassurance to the ballet to allow it to develop a strong new identity of its own.

This article originally appeared in De Standaard in Dutch. It was translated into English by Alan Hope

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\ busIness

weeK in business air transport VlM

The Antwerp-based carrier, recently taken over by its management, has launched a two-flights-a-day service between Antwerp and Geneva.

Hotels steigenberger

The up-market Brussels hotel, previously known as the Conrad, is to be rebranded over the summer following a €10 million renovation.

Materials umicore

The Brussels-based materials technology group is seeking a buyer for its zinc chemicals and building products subsidiary, which employs 1,500 people in 19 sites worldwide.

The company expects the sale to be completed by 2016.

Metals Metallo Chimique

The metals refining and recycling company, based in Beerse, Antwerp province, is investing €36 million in installations to mine remaining metals from slag. The new production line, to come on stream in 2017, will meet the latest stringent environmental legislation on sustainable development.

Pharma Pfizer

The US-based pharmaceutical company has inaugurated a €75 million vaccines production unit in Puurs, Antwerp province. The investment caps the company’s €411 million spending programme in its local operations over four years. Pfizer employs 1,600 in its Puurs facility.

Property Versluys

Marc Coucke, who sold his pharmaceutical empire Omega Pharma late last year for some €3.6 billion, netting €1.24 billion for himself, is investing €75 million in Ostend’s Versluys property development group, specialised in luxury apartments and second residences at the coast.

supermarkets albert Heijn

The Dutch supermarket group is opening two more outlets in Flanders, in Leuven and Deinze. The company already operates some 30 stores in the region and plans to have 50 by the end of 2016.

watches Joris Ide

The entrepreneur, based in Wingene, West Flanders, who recently sold his eponymous building products group valued at €350 million to the Irish Kingspan company, has acquired the Swiss company IMH, manufacturer of Julien Coudray 1518 luxury watches.

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Danone wins annual Fit award investment of the year trophy recognises commitment to flanders alan Hope More articles by alan \ flanderstoday.eu

F

landers Investment and Trade (Fit) has awarded its Investment of the Year trophy to the French food company Danone, one of the world’s most recognisable yoghurt brands.

Danone, active in Flanders since 1930, last year announced an investment of €13.3 million spread over two years in its facility in Rotselaar, Flemish Brabant, to be spent on new processing technology and packaging lines,

as well as training.

The Rotselaar site, where Danone has invested about €100 million in the last 12 years, exports 95% of its production to neighbouring countries.

“This trophy emphasises the importance of foreign investment for Flanders,” said minister-president Geert Bourgeois. “I would like to congratulate Danone on its commitment. This award is a sign of our recognition and gratitude for that valuable commitment.”

Fit further awarded Exxon Mobil with a Lifetime Achievement award. The oil company has been present in Flanders since 1891, and has a refinery, chemicals plant and fuel depot in Antwerp; and its head office for Europe, Africa and the Middle East is located in Machelen, just outside of Brussels.

Exxon employs 2,200 people in Flanders and has invested almost €1.8 billion in Antwerp over the last decade. \ AH

© Courtesy flanders Investment & Trade

from left: fit director Claire Tillekaerts, ministerpresident Geert bourgeois and Danone benelux managing director kris Geeraert

Industry lukewarm on shops opening late LBC, the union representing shop staff, has described a proposal by Flemish liberal party Open VLD to allow shops to stay open until 22.00 as “a poisoned chalice”. The union also denied that the move would lead to the creation of more retail jobs.

Existing legislation allows shops to remain open until 20.00 on week nights and 21.00 at weekends, although usually only large stores, such as supermarkets, remain open so late. Most small retailers are not interested in later hours.

LBC’s position is that longer opening does not translate to more income but simply spreads income over a longer period, while staff costs and

overhead become more expensive.

Staff in the large retailers are also not lining up to open for longer, general secretary Chris Van Droogenbroeck said. “They already work later than the opening hours,” he said. “And 43% of all shop workers are younger than 35, in many cases with young children, for whom later opening hours are a real problem.”

The retail industry Comeos, which represents the large chains, is in favour of more flexibility in working hours, to allow staff to handle deliveries and stock management, which could be done by staff after closing time – something Belgium doesn’t at present allow. Some compa-

nies, according to managing director Dominique Michel, are looking into the possibility of moving logistics operations over the border to the Netherlands as a result.

In related news, Brussels-City council has approved a request to have the entire inner centre recognised as a tourist zone, which would allow shops to open on Sundays. “People go off on Sundays to Amsterdam, Antwerp or Paris for a day of shopping, so why should they not be able to do the same in Brussels?” asked Marion Lemesre, alderwoman for trade. “Even Maasmechelen is recognised as a tourist zone.” The measure has to be approved by the federal government.

Belgians had €5.5 billion in Swiss bank accounts

DHL invests in new hub at Brussels Airport

More than 3,000 accounts with the Swiss branch of the British bank HSBC are held by Belgians in order to avoid paying taxes, according to the massive leak of data obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The leak is the largest of its kind to date. Although the data was obtained illegally by a computer hack, Belgian law could still allow it to be used as evidence for prosecutions.

ICIJ is an international group of journalists who come together to share the massive amounts of information obtained by leaks from whistle-blowers. Three Belgian journalists are members of the Consortium: Lars Bové of De Tijd, Kristof Clerix of MO* and Alain Lallemand of Le Soir. In all, 140 journalists worldwide pored over the documents, obtained by France’s Le Monde.

More than 3,000 accounts are linked to Belgium, in particular Antwerp and the diamond industry, responsible for a total of €5.5 billion in funds. The tax authorities obtained the data on 3,137 accounts held by 2,450 individuals in 2010. While it is not illegal to have a Swiss bank account, using it to avoid tax is against the law.

According to the economy ministry’s Special Investigations Branch, 494 cases have been opened, with HSBC clients accused of failing to declare a total of €632 million. The tax authority is claiming back taxes of €435.5 million, to which may be added penalties and fines. \ AH

The parcel delivery company DHL has announced plans to invest €114 million in a new sorting centre and office complex at Brussels Airport. The investment will increase the company’s capacity threefold, from 12,000 to 39,500 shipments an hour.

According to the company, the expansion will provide 200 new jobs by 2020, added to its existing workforce of 1,000.

DHL’s current hub dates from 1985.

BrusselsAirportwasthecentreofDHL’s

network in Europe until 2008, when it moved to Leipzig in Germany following controversy over the banning of night flights to prevent noise nuisance.

The decision cost 1,300 jobs, but Brussels remained an important link in DHL’s chain, with 10% growth over the last five years; the new investment will strengthen that position. The new hub will serve 18 destinations in Europe as well as destinations in the US, China and Africa. DHL will also connect a further 64 destinations by road. \ AH

© Courtesy wim bladt/wikimedia

Foreign investment up in Flanders in 2014 Foreign investment figures improved in Flanders in 2014, according to Flanders Investment and Trade (Fit). The region attracted 184 new investment projects, a slight downturn on the previous year, but these generated €2.77 billion, which was 45% more than 2013. Job creation was at 4,164 new jobs, up 88 on the year before.

According to Fit, the region has attracted 1,737 projects over the past decade, providing €20 billion in inward investment and boosting the employment market with 38,000 new jobs. By

far the biggest employment boost was in logistics (up 42%), followed by sales and marketing (26%) and research and development (12.5%).

“Attracting new investment has become much more competitive over the last few years, not only worldwide but also within Europe,” said Fit director Claire Tillekaerts. “Neighbouring countries often target the same flagship investments to strengthen their economies and stimulate their main industries.”

The US is still the largest foreign investor in Flan-

ders, with 54 new projects last year, followed

by France with 21, the Netherlands on 18 and Germany on 14. The number of Chinese, Japanese and Indian projects dropped off slightly, while the UK moved up the ranking.

“Flanders is more sensitive than other countries to the international situation because of its open economy,” minister-president Geert Bourgeois explained. “In light of the global economic downturn, we should be pleased with the most recent results.” \ Derek Blyth

\ InnOVaTIOn

february 18, 2015

An ice change

weeK in innovation

atmospheric rivers adding mass to antarctic ice sheet, says Ku leuven andy furniere More articles by andy \ flanderstoday.eu

A

n international team of researchers, led by a scientist from the University of Leuven (KU Leuven), have discovered the importance to the Antarctic ice sheet of the extreme weather phenomenon known as atmospheric rivers. The researchers used data gathered at Belgium’s Princess Elisabeth Polar Science Station in East Antarctica.

Numerous reports and articles have highlighted the diminishing mass of Antarctica’s ice sheet because of global warming, and the consequences for the further changing of our climate. One study, for example, demonstrated that, over the last two decades, the Antarctic ice sheet lost mass at an average rate of 68 billion tons a year.

However, the team from KU Leuven’s Regional Climate Studies department has found that the loss of mass is partly being compensated for by the increasing frequency of snowstorms caused by atmospheric rivers. The long-term results of this evolution are unclear.

“Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow plumes of water vapour that can stretch out up to 2,000 kilometres over vast oceans,” explains researcher Irina Gorodetskaya. “The amount of moisture they hold is about equivalent to a big river, like the Mississippi.”

These plumes of vapour are formed from ocean water that evaporates into the atmosphere as it becomes warmer. They carry risks when they hit coastal areas because they can lead to heavy rain and flooding.

It’s unclear whether the mass that was added to Antarctica’s ice sheet has positive effects Gorodetskaya’s team was made up of colleagues from her research group and from universities in the US, including the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the University of California in San Diego. In California, on the west coast of the US, atmospheric rivers are a known danger to coastal populations. Last December, for example, an atmospheric river caused flooding up and down the coast of California.

Thanks to technology that KU Leuven installed at the Princess Elisabeth station in 2009, researchers have now established the influence atmos-

© Courtesy Irina Gorodetskaya

The scene after a storm in 2011 near belgium’s Princess elisabeth station

pheric rivers have in Antarctica. The most important measures taken were of snowfall and snow accumulation on the surface at East Antarctica’s Queen Maud Land region, where the station is based.

An analysis of data from 2009 to 2012 by Gorodetskaya’s team demonstrates that nine atmospheric rivers arrived in the region of the station during that period. Atmospheric rivers cause storms that last on average three days, with heavy snow and extreme winds.

The extreme snowfall took place during four snowstorms in 2009 and five in 2011. 2010 was unusually dry, and 2012 was a year with normal snow accumulation.

“The snowstorms lead to whiteouts, when snow completely fills the whole environment, so that you can’t see your hand in front of your face,” explains. She relates the story of how a scientist got lost when he was only 100 metres from the polar station. Another got severe frostbite after becoming trapped in a snowstorm. “The best you can do when you’re lost in such a storm is to dig a cave in the snow, try to keep as warm as possible and wait until the weather calms down or help arrives,” says Gorodetskaya.

The team’s findings prove the atmospheric rivers’ huge snow-producing power. The nine that hit East Antarctica in 2009 and 2011 accounted for 80% of the exceptional snow accumulation at the Princess Elisabeth station. Each storm resulted in snow accumulation equivalent to up to 5cm of water, which is 22% of the total annual snow accu-

mulation in those years.

The unusually high snow accumulation in Queen Maud Land in 2009 – attributed to atmospheric rivers – added around 200 gigatons of mass to Antarctica, which alone offset 15% of the recent 20-year ice sheet mass loss.

The amount of snow that accumulated at Queen Maud Land due to atmospheric rivers in 2009 was the largest in 50 years. Another abnormally large snow accumulation related to atmospheric rivers occurring just two years later may indicate an increasing frequency of the phenomena. And, because their creation is related to warmer ocean waters, global warming may be the cause.

Since atmospheric rivers add mass to the ice sheet, this may sound like good news for the planet.

Unfortunately, the reality is not that simple. “We need more data to determine whether this occurrence of atmospheric rivers was not just an exception,” explains Gorodetskaya. “Furthermore, it’s unclear whether the ice mass that was added to Antarctica’s ice sheet by atmospheric rivers has positive effects. The added mass may actually increase the pressure on the ice sheet in such a way that it endangers its stability and speeds up the melting.”

Gorodetskaya now plans to explore the impact of atmospheric rivers on precipitation in all Antarctic coastal areas, using records of data covering the longest possible time period. This will help determine how this phenomenon fits into climate models.

Crevits launches ICT eSafety label in Flemish schools www.esafetylabel.eu

Flemish education minister Hilde Crevits has launched the eSafety label for schools in Flanders, on the occasion of Safer Internet Day, organised by the European Commission. The label is based on a European project that supports schools in their development of ICT safety.

Cyberbullying and difficulties with the privacy aspects related to the use of social media are common problems in both primary and secondary schools across Europe.

The eSafety programme allows schools to map their own ICT security. The programme analyses ICT infrastructure and a school’s policy on

© Ingimage

social media. On the basis of the results, each school will receive a customised action plan to

deal with any perceived weak areas in school policy or ICT security.

When a school reaches certain standards, it receives one of three possible eSafety labels: gold, silver or bronze. Participating schools also get access to an array of learning instruments and information. Teachers, ICT co-ordinators and principals are encouraged to exchange experiences and tips.

The eSafety label is an initiative of European Schoolnet and was created in collaboration with a number of high-level companies and eight European ministries of education. \ AF

new strain of HIV discovered An international team of scientists, including professor Anne-Mieke Vandamme of the University of Leuven, have discovered an aggressive form of HIV in Cuba.

To enter the body, the virus has to anchor itself to cells via proteins on the cell membrane. Normally, HIV first connects to anchoring place CCR5. Most patients then remain healthy for years until the virus makes the transition to the anchoring place CXCR4, after which the evolution to Aids happens rapidly. While the transition from CCR5 to CXCR4 is normally complicated, research into blood samples of patients who developed Aids within three years of being infected shows that this variant immediately focuses on CXCR4. The researchers suspect this may be because the virus combines multiple subtypes of HIV, a consequence of unsafe sex with multiple partners.

QinetiQ tech aids test space flight

The European Space Agency’s unmanned spacecraft IXV has completed a successful test flight, partially thanks to technology developed by aerospace company QinetiQ Space from Kruibeke, East Flanders. It’s the first time a spacecraft has returned to Earth completely autonomously. After launching from French Guiana, the IXV went up to a height of 430 kilometres and orbited the Earth. After a one-and-ahalf-hour flight, it re-entered the atmosphere and landed in the Pacific Ocean, where it was picked up by a special ship. The purpose of the flight was to test the fully automatic navigation system, heat shield and landing equipment.

Digital Minds for belgium launched

Alexander De Croo, federal minister for the digital agenda, has assembled the country’s experts in an advisory board called Digital Minds for Belgium. The group is tasked with developing a concrete action plan, the digital agenda, to strengthen the digital economy and create more jobs in the sector. The plan should be ready by spring, according to Datanews. Issues on the agenda include the provision of wireless internet, development of the e-commerce sector, fiscal legislation for startup companies and a judicial statute for peer-to-peer initiatives. \ AF

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WASHINGTON With smooth connections to more than 50 US destinations.

brusselsairlines.com

or at your travel agency.

WE GO THE EXTRA SMILE.

\ eDuCaTIOn

february 18, 2015

weeK in education nine in 10 schools too old or too small Nine out of 10 schools in Flanders are too old or too small for the number of students they serve, according to the School Buildings Monitor 2013, a survey of school directors in all education networks, set up by the Flemish Agency for Infrastructure in Education. Almost one-third of the respondents said their classrooms were overcrowded, with 60% saying they were “completely occupied”. Because of this lack of space, temporary container classrooms have been installed.

These classrooms now make up almost 10% of all school buildings, with nearly one in three installed before 1970.

The school infrastructure is also outdated, according to the report: Nearly one-third of the buildings were built before 1950.

© Courtesy stad antwerpen

students as young as 16 begin training as diamond cutters at antwerp’s City lyceum Meir

The diamond capital

15% of brussels students don’t live in the region

antwerp school is the only one in europe grooming diamond experts alan Hope More articles by alan \ flanderstoday.eu

A

n atmosphere of intense concentration reigns in a classroom on the third floor of the City Lyceum Meir in central Antwerp. Eight 17- and 18-yearold students are busy cutting diamonds – real diamonds – in the only diamond-cutting course offered in the whole of Europe.

Amid the high-pitched whine of their grinding machines and despite the presence of a throng of press photographers and dignitaries, the students go on with their work, aware that the fate of a stone worth possibly thousands of euros lies – literally – in their hands.

For the students, it was a day at school. For the rest, the recent event was the signing of a new updated covenant ensuring the continuation of this course between the City of Antwerp’s education department, the Antwerp Diamond World Council (ADWC) and the Diamond Industry Fund.

Because of the importance of the diamond industry to Antwerp, the city has created this training course for students following the BSO, or professional training, stream of secondary education.

Diamond cutters, a spokesperson for education alderman Claude Marinower explains during the presentation, also come from other sources such as apprenticeships with master cutters. Yet Antwerp is the only place in the world to take young people from the age of 16 and begin them in what is the industry’s equivalent of a hothouse conservatory training for young musicians.

Ari Epstein, CEO of ADWC, points out Antwerp’s excellent reputation as a world centre for diamonds.

About 50% of the world’s cut diamonds and 84% of all rough diamonds pass through Antwerp.

But is that enough to guarantee job security for future diamond cutters?

“Of course we can’t compete with centres where wages are 10 times cheaper than they are here,” Epstein said. “But we don’t need to compete on the level of assemblyline work when we can provide the sort of top quality work Antwerp is renowned for.”

The aim of the City Lyceum Meir training, said Yves Bollekens, consultant to the Diamond Industry Fund, is to ensure that the education system is producing the sort of workers the industry requires. Today, the average age of a diamond cutter in Antwerp is about 50. A recent study shows that there will be 50 vacancies in the diamond sector by 2017, half of them for qualified cutters.

There are 22 currently enrolled at the Lyceum, but only five or six students graduate every year.

“That might seem limited, but the whole idea is to keep things small but perfectly organised,” says Marinower. “We should be proud of this training, where quality takes precedent over quantity.”

The course begins in the fourth year of secondary education, when students are given a “diamond immersion” intended to leave them with no illusions about what the job entails. In addition to opportunities to leave the class-

www.tinyurl.com/lyceummeir

room and work in the industry during internships, school administrators are looking to reduce the numbers of students dropping out along the way.

We should be proud of this training, where quality takes precedent over quantity “This is a training process that takes years,” industry consultant Bollekens says. “We need to have students who are motivated.”

Yet while the training is unique in Europe, the problem of work placements remains a stumbling block.

“Every year, the school moves heaven and earth to find worthwhile placements for its students,” Marinower says. “Still, it isn’t easy.”

The main reason, he says, is economic. “The training is intense, so an employer needs to provide an instructor up to the task, and that costs money.”

Businesses that can provide internships also have trouble estimating how much work there will be for a student over the long term. “I have to keep impressing on employers the importance of placements to both student and employer, and to the future prospects of both

parties,” Marinower explains.

“Trust these students; they are an investment in the future.”

At the Lyceum, students get practical lessons in cutting diamonds but follow courses in gemmology (the science of gemstones) and diamond grading, which determines how a stone may be cut and ultimately its final value.

Few other students in secondary education will have items of such value passing under their hands. The Lyceum has a budget of around €7,000 a year to provide stones for students with which to practise while in the third, fourth and fifth year of secondary education. Students who demonstrate progress after that stage can then be entrusted with more valuable stones, provided by the Diamond Industry Fund.

Levan Gamkrelidze, a former student of the Lyceum now working as a cutter for AMC Diamonds, says that the training provides students with a realistic view of the industry. “The theory part of the course was useful, but the practical aspects, and the quality of the stones, were not always as good as they might be,” he says.

He thinks that the new covenant is a step in the right direction. “The new agreements reached between the school and the other partners will ensure that students are better trained and shown exactly how the diamond industry works,” he says.

“I’m a living example of the importance of internships and learning in the workplace. Thanks to an internship in my last year, I found a job as a diamond cutter.”

More than 36,000 students – about 15% – from pre-school to secondary school enrolled in the Brussels-Capital Region do not live there, according to the Brussels Institute of Statistics and Analysis. The figures also show that far fewer – 8,700 – youngsters who live in the region register at a school outside the city. This is one of the factors causing problems for the education sector in Brussels, which is struggling with demographic growth. In the academic year 2012-13, the most recent for which statistics are available, 240,342 students were registered in nursery, primary and secondary education in the region; 31,351, or 13%, lived in Flanders. Most come from the ring of municipalities in Flemish Brabant that surrounds Brussels.

new system for children with autism

From the next school year, children with autism but no intellectual disability can register in one of 166 special education schools. The government of Flanders has allowed 96 primary and 70 secondary schools the right to start the new type 9 education; about 8,000 children with autism could get a place. Type 9 education is part of the Flemish government’s M decree for students with specific education needs. It concerns children with autism who don’t have an intellectual disability but are unable to function well in regular education. Children with autism and an intellectual disability will remain in the existing type 2 programme of special education. \ Andy Furniere

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\ lIVInG

weeK in activities krakelingen Toss Before throwing 10,000 krakalingen (a sort of bagel) out into the crowd, the mayor and city officials must drink wine from a 400-year-old cup with live fish swimming in it. The toss is preceded by a procession and followed by the ritual burning of a straw man representing winter.

22 February, parade at 15.00; Oudenberg Hill, Geraardsbergen; free \ www.geraardsbergen.be

national Trail walking Day Organised walks in three locations: Torhout (West Flanders), Merksem (Antwerp) and Zottegem (East Flanders). Different routes ranging from 5 to 35km, some wheelchairand pushchair-friendly, some more challenging. 22 February; various locations; free \ www.nationalewandeldag.be

board Games fair Calling all fans of board games, ages six to 106! Try out new games, play old favourites, or buy a game to take home. Volunteers on hand to explain the rules.

Second-hand games for sale too. 22 February 14.00-20.00; Gemeentelijke Basisschool Haasrode, A Verheydenstraat 19, Haasrode; free \ www.derodehazen.be

Tour of De Munt Take a peek behind the scenes of the historic opera house, including the Royal Loge and Salon as well as the costume and scene shops.

Guided tours for individual visitors every Saturday from September until May. 21 February 12.00-13.30; Prinsenstraat 14, Brussels; €12

Saying no to FGM

ngo Plan belgium works to protect girls from genital mutilation senne starckx More articles by senne \ flanderstoday.eu

www.Planbelgie.be

E

very seven minutes, a girl somewhere in the world undergoes an operation that is medically unnecessary: a clitoridectomy, or genital mutilation. The practice also exists here in Flanders, where it’s thought that 4,000 girls are waiting to undergo the procedure.

From a Western point of view, it’s difficult to believe that a practice like female genital mutilation (FGM) still exists today. It’s not restricted to religious extremists but is a common practice in many countries and societies.

The procedure differs according to the ethnic group. Some girls have their clitoral hood, glans or inner labia removed, with or without anaesthetic. In the most extreme form of FGM, both the inner and outer labia are removed and the vulva surgically closed, with the vagina then reopened after marriage for intercourse and childbirth.

Aside from a loss of sexual pleasure, genital mutilation comes with several health risks, including recurrent infections, chronic pain, cysts, an inability to conceive, complications during childbirth and bleeding, which can be fatal.

According to the UN, 3.6 million girls undergo the procedure every year; 140 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to it.

If a woman says yes to FGM, only she suffers. If she says no, the shame affects her entire family Most operations take place in Africa, but the practice is also thriving in parts of Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. In 2003, the UN named 6 February as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM. According to statistics from Fedasil and Kind&Gezin, there are 13,000 women in Belgium

© seydou Dolo/Plan belgium

kady used to carry out fGM on girls in her village in Mali but is now against it. she says her granddaughter (pictured in her lap) will never undergo it

who have undergone FGM, with no fewer than 4,000 girls expecting to have it done in the coming years.

“It’s a gross violation,” says Anthony Vanoverschelde of Plan Belgium, an NGO that fights for children’s rights in developing countries and at home. “And most of these 4,000 girls who are ‘on the waiting list’ realise this. If they were allowed to choose, these girls would say no to FGM. They wouldn’t defend it as a cultural tradition that has to be preserved and from which their society and family benefit.”

But in many immigrant families in Belgium, the girls don’t have a choice. The fact that women, often the grandmothers of the girls, arrange the intervention highlights this. Vanoverschelde: “For these elderly women, the pain, the years of suffering and the lifelong discomfort make no difference in consideration of the social standard to which they have to comply.”

If a girl says no, continues Vanoverschelde, “she will be socially excluded, and she won’t be allowed to marry. Bluntly put: If she says yes,

only the woman suffers. If she says no, the shame affects her entire family.”

According to Vanoverschelde, the government coulddomoretopreventFGMfrombeingcarried out among migrant populations here, primarily those from Guinea, Somalia, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Mali and Burkina Faso. “Yes, there are campaigns that inform them that FGM is punishable by Belgian law – as is every medical intervention that has no legitimate medical reason. And yes, social workers are trained to recognise risky situations. But campaigning and training social workers is not enough.”

In Belgium, FGM is often performed with the assistance of a doula, a kind of midwife who often lacks medical training. Online, migrants can easily find a doula, who assists not only in childbirth but also in FGM. The procedure often happens in secret, hidden from the view of the government.

Plan Belgium also works in countries where FGM is endemic. In Mali, the NGO’s collaborators try to convince local people to make their communities FGM-free. “We discuss the issue with religious leaders, with the head of the villages and with health-care workers,” explains Vanoverschelde.

Little by little, he continues, “we chip away at the beliefs and prejudices that lie at the basis of FGM. But there are pitfalls. We cannot assume that these people just understand that there’s no link between FGM and reproductive health, or giving birth to healthy children. That’s because FGM is often the standard in these communities, so people there cannot compare themselves to women who aren’t mutilated.”

In many places in Africa, incredible stories are passed around, making Plan Belgium’s work even harder. Vanoverschelde: “The clitoris is often regarded as a devilish organ, a source of evil for men and newborn babies who come into contact with it.”

But the organisation is beginning to see some success. “After months of discussions, debates and information sessions, people are starting to ban FGM in their villages. This engagement is given extra meaning via ceremonies held on the International Day of Zero Tolerance against FGM.”

\ www.demunt.be

Ghent Militaria International hobby fair for collectors of military memorabilia and antiques, including weapons, uniforms, medals and books, with 150+ exhibitors from Belgium and abroad. 22 February 9.0015.30; Flanders Expo, Hall 1, Maaltekouter, Gent; €5 \ www.gentmilitaria.be

Disco swim Paradise Disco lighting and a DJ create a party in the indoor swimming pool, plus there’s an obstacle course made up of bouncy castles. Separate area for little ones. 21 February 19.00 and 22 February 8.00-12.00; Sportcomplex Ternat, Van Cauwerlaertstraat 40, Ternat; €8 \ www.cuberdonfuif.be

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bite veggie chefs rise up “It’s unfortunate that there are no veggie restaurants with stars,” writes Tobias Leenaert this week in an opinion piece in De Standaard.

“Vegetarian gastronomy could give veggie cuisine just the image boost it needs.”

Leenaert, the director of the Ghentbased non-profit Ethical Vegetarian Alternative (Eva), laments the fact that there are far too few culinary schools that even touch upon the rich and diverse world of vegetarian food.

“Vegucation” is what we need, says the organisation. The multinational project is out to improve the existing educational opportunities of prospective chefs by incorporating courses dedicated specifically to vegetarian and vegan cuisine.

The project’s primary aim is to develop a vocational training course to educate up-and-coming chefs about how to cook delicious dishes that are also plant-based and sustainable.

And as regular vegetarian food becomes more and more mainstream (think of Thursday Veggie Day and similar actions across the region), it’s only a matter of time before more Michelin-starred chefs jump on the bandwagon. Perhaps a few of Flanders’ finest restaurants will eventually start offering more extensive vegetarian menus.

Before getting carried away dreaming of that day, however, Eva is focusing on the root of the matter – education. In 2013, Eva teamed up with organisations from Germany,

www.vegucation.eu

Austria and the Netherlands to convince the culinary schools of KTA Wemmel and Syntra West to design a vegetarian course for professionals. Flanders’ first fully vegetarian chef training course is now set to launch at the end of this month.

The initiative was met with overwhelming support, with wellknown hotel schools such as Ter Duinen in Koksijde and Ter Groene Poort in Bruges expressing a strong

desire to get involved, as well as some of Flanders’ top chefs like Kobe Desramaults (In de Wulf), Gert de Mangeleer (Hertog Jan) and Seppe Nobels (Graanmarkt 13).

“Chefs today have to set an example,” Desramaults, long interested in sustainable cooking and using local products, told De Standaard.

“I think it’s only normal to encourage the new generation of chefs to take their first steps into the fascinating world of veggies and herbs.”

The schools will officially launch their new vegetarian course during an opening event at KTA Wemmel on 24 February, in the presence of Desramaults and Nobels, who will prepare a 100% veggie lunch with a group of aspiring young cooks. \

Robyn Boyle

february 18, 2015

A monumental party

get free cake as antwerp’s city Hall celebrates its 450th birthday with events aplenty diana goodwin More articles by Diana \ flanderstoday.eu

A

ntwerp’s stadhuis, or city hall, turns 450 this month, and the city is kicking off a year-long celebration to mark the occasion. The monumental building on Grote Markt opened its doors on 27 February, 1565, and has been in continuous use ever since. It’s the only town hall on the Unesco World Heritage List that’s still serving its original function.

The festivities start on the evening of 27 February, with a party on Grote Markt, complete with food trucks, concerts and free birthday cake. At 18.30, the popular local city guide and man-about-town Tanguy Ottomer will welcome guests, and the square’s new outdoor lighting will be revealed. At the same time, 300 lucky residents will get a sneak peek inside the town hall during a preview of the new guided tours for the public.

From 1 March, visitors will be able to see the entire building from top to bottom for the first time. Previously, tour groups were only shown the schoon verdiep, home to the main assembly rooms and ceremonial spaces.

The new tour includes the old bomb shelter in the basement and the upper-level service rooms, never before opened to the public.

Finally, visitors will be able to walk along the fourth-floor balcony and enjoy the spectacular view over Grote Markt.

While new tours will give curious visitors a peek inside the building, an exhibition on the ground floor will give them a glimpse into its past. According to city official Isabel Michielsen, 450 Years of City Hall: The Most Famous House in the City “tells the story not just of the building but also of the people who work there”.

Through archive materials, historical artefacts and interactive touchscreens, the exhibition explains why a new city hall was needed, who designed it and how it was built. Visitors can learn about the political situation in 16th-century Antwerp, the role of the two mayors and how the building functioned as the seat of local government.

The history of the building up to the present day is also covered.

The final section of the exhibition deals with the planned restoration of the building, scheduled to begin in 2017. An open competition was held last year to select a design team for the restoration, and the winning design is on display.

© Dries sluyten

Parts of antwerp’s City Hall heretofore unseen by the public are accessible this year

The guided tours and exhibition are intended to give the public every opportunity to see the historic building before the work begins, as it’s expected that the building will have to be shut for several years.

The city of Antwerp had planned to build a new stadhuis in the first half of the 16th century. A 1540 design by Domien De Waghemakere was approved but never realised when funds and building materials were diverted to the reinforcement of the city’s defences. The city hall might have looked very different, judging from De Waghemakere’s design for Ghent’s city hall, built between 1519 and 1539 in an ornate late-Gothic style.

A second design was commissioned in 1560 from a team of architects led by Cornelis Floris De Vriendt. The new design combined elements of traditional Flemish architecture with Italian Renaissance influences, resulting in a completely new style. The

horizontal lines and simple rectangular windows recall the medieval warehouses that were commonly seen in the port city, but the addition of an ornate central tower as well as the use of pink marble, sandstone and limestone give the facade a richness and grandeur.

The tower facade is decorated with the coats of arms of Phillip II of Spain, Hapsburg ruler of the Southern Netherlands at the time, and of the Duchy of Brabant and the Margrave of Antwerp. A statue of Brabo, the legendary founder of the city, in the central niche was replaced in 1586 by a statue of the Virgin Mary.

Two other statues depict allegorical figures of Justice and Prudence. The rounded arches on the ground floor once gave access to shops; the rent helped pay for the construction.

The new city hall had only been in use for a few years when it was set ablaze by riot-

ing Spanish troops in 1576. Only the outer walls survived – the roof and interior were completely destroyed. Two hundred years later, French troops again looted and burned the building. In the 19th century, the interior underwent an extensive renovation, which resulted in its current appearance.

Having survived the Spanish Fury, the wars of the Hapsburgs, the French Revolution and more, the venerable stadhuis is now succumbing to the ravages of time, weather and wear. The planned renovation will address climate control issues, repair damage to the historic decor and adapt the interior to modern use. The cost is estimated at about €30 million.

Besides the tours and exhibition, the city is planning other events throughout the anniversary year. A pop-up café, for instance, will open in the schoon verdiep on 28 February. Future events will be announced via the website.

UGent needs translators of voices from the past It’s no secret for those learning the language: Not only are Flemings proud of their dialects, there are few regions in the world with a comparable variety. A team of professors in Ghent is now seeking volunteers to help decipher some of them.

After the 1585 Fall of Antwerp, the north of the Low Countries remained Dutch, which led to the rapid development of a standard language. Consecutive occupations caused public life in Flanders

to become Frenchified, allowing local Dutch dialects to develop for centuries.

In the 1960s, a team of Ghent professors started a preservation and study project called Woordenboek van de Vlaamse dialecten (Dictionary of Flemish Dialects).

Over the course of the last year, the project Stemmen uit het verleden (Voices from the Past) has digitised their recordings, making them available to the public via a website.

But the researchers are still looking for volunteers to translate the final indecipherable tapes. “They’re recordings done by students in the 1960s and ’70s,” explains project co-ordinator Pauline Van Daele, “consisting of 45-minute talks with people in their local dialect.

The interviewers asked questions about important events in the interviewee’s life, their jobs or their families.”

Most people on the tapes were born at the beginning of the 20th

century; the oldest was born in 1871.

The tapes cover the whole of Flanders, as well as French Flanders and Zeelandic Flanders. “The majority of the tapes are from West and East Flanders,” says Van Daele.

“For the moment, we’re looking for extra translators from Flemish Brabant and the Westhoek.”

While Stemmen uit het verleden is still a work in progress, you can listen to dialects from more than 550 regions on the website. As

www.dialectloKet.be

well as dialects, the site also features sections on the role of Dutch in the world, young people’s slang and other sociolects. \ Daan Bauwens

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Sign up now for our daily and weekly newsletters with local headlines, events and features, tailor-made for expats in Belgium Subscribe for free at www.thebulletin.be

\ arTs

february 18, 2015

Healing storytelling

new show separates the individual from the universal, one war story at a time débora votquenne More articles by Débora \ flanderstoday.eu

www.jessa.be

Jessa Wildemeersch was a student in New York when two planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers on 11 September, 2001 in a terrorist attack that would alter the course of politics in the decade that followed. Now the Flemish actor reflects on how 9/11 changed her outlook on life, how war traumas divide us and the redemptive power of storytelling

W

e tend to associate “war” with universal images of conflict and devastation, lifted from the news, that often tell seemingly exchangeable stories about bombings, casualties and losses.

But in reality, every war story is unique, coloured by witnesses’ individual experiences and memories, and their points of view and states of mind.

Or, as famous American war correspondent Martha Gellhorn once said: “War happens to people, one by one. That is really all I have to say, and it seems like I have been saying it forever.”

It’s a sentiment that Jessa Wildemeersch agrees with. In Days Without Dates, her new mixedmedia performance, she attempts to explain the uniqueness of everyone’s war stories and the impact of these conflicts on communities.

Wildemeersch is a Flemish actress with a strong affection for the United States. After taking classes at the acclaimed Herman Teirlinck theatre school in Antwerp, she completed a Master’s degree in acting at the Actor’s Studio in New York, currently headed by two figures with Godlike status in the theatre world – Al Pacino and Harvey Keitel. She was also awarded a lifetime membership at the institution in 2005.

Wildemeersch’s world – along with many others – was turned upside down when, while, she was in New York, the two planes flew into the World Trade Center, and the US suddenly found itself under

© Julie De Clercq

Jessa wildemeersch spent a year travelling and interviewing people about their war experiences for Days without Dates

attack and later at war.

Ground troops were sent to Afghanistan and Iraq and, for Wildemeersch and countless other New Yorkers, war was suddenly no longer something you read about in history books or saw on the news. War suddenly felt close.

Ten years after the attack, when it began to feel like the wounds of Americans were healing, it occurred to Wildemeersch that so many stories remained untold – not just about 9/11 but about conflicts from different locations and times.

“I then realised how much the 9/11 attacks had changed me,” she says, looking back. “How it changed my views on the world around me and, not least of all, my place in it.”

At the time of the attacks, Wildemeersch was just 20, and, like many young students with the better part of their lives still ahead of them, she was a rather individualistic person. “But by experiencing the attacks and what

came after, I became more aware of my environment. It influenced my decisions in life and genuinely changed me,” she says.

She began to wonder: “If it changed me so much, how big of an impact must war have on people actually living it, at home or on the battlefield?”

The idea for Days Without Dates was born. Over the next year, Wildemeersch travelled to war zones to persuade nurses, refugees, veterans and mothers of war veterans to tell her their stories.

She even talked to people with what is known as “secondary trauma”, a trauma they inherited from their relatives who lived the war up close.

ThestoriessherelatesinDaysWithout Dates come from Syria, Vietnam, Iraq, Rwanda and Guinea, and some even focus on memories from the First and Second World Wars. “For some people, it was the first time they were telling their stories,” she says. “Some

were relieved that they were finally able to vent. Others were reluctant and found it difficult. The Vietnam veterans found it particularly hard to talk about it.”

This has to do with public opinion, she explains. “People were very much against the Vietnam war – and the soldiers fighting it were even more guilty than those who made the political decisions in Washington. These people learned to keep their stories to themselves.”

In her new show, Wildemeersch tells the story of a New York postman and Vietnam War veteran.

He initially refused to sit down with her and talk. “So the only way I could get his story was by going on rounds with him, delivering the mail,” she explains. “He started talking and went on and on for hours. He actually told me

21 february 20.30

the whole, breathtaking story.”

Wildemeersch gives the example of a traditional Native American custom where warriors returning from the battlefield had to go through a sort of cleansing ritual.

In this rite, the men were isolated from the group and forced to talk to each other about the traumatic events they’d seen and experienced.

Given that so many war veterans fail to adapt to their normal lives when they return home, Wildemeersch thinks it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have people experiencing modern warfare go through a similar type of process.

“Some people I spoke to were simply discouraged from ever talking about their experience abroad,” she says. “They carry the burden of the war by themselves. If they were able to tell their stories, people would better understand the impact war has on all those who lived it. War would become something we have to process as a community; it would no longer be an individual load.”

True to her attempt to give voice to the parties involved in conflicts, Wildemeersch was careful not to judge who was right and who wrong, who was the victim and who the attacker. “The story of the victim who had to flee his home is no more valuable than the story of the soldier or the aggressor,” she says. “Because in essence, the spirit of every story is the human aspect of it. It shows how destructive and devastating war is for all those involved, regardless of whether the story comes from the one who had to fight, the one who had to take care of the wounded, or the one who had to leave everything behind.”

Days Without Dates is performed in Dutch; an English-language performance takes place in Leuven on 1 March. See website for more details

bij’ de Vieze Gasten

Haspelstraat 31, Ghent See website for more dates

more Performance tHis montH aH / Ha

impressive soundscapes is how you like your dance, you might want to buy a ticket. (In Dutch) Until 7 March, across Flanders

voetvolk Dancer and choreographer Lisbeth Gruwez and composer and musician Maarten Van Cauwenberghe top the must-see lists of many an arts maven.

With both currently artists-in-residence at Jan Fabre’s Troubleyn, expectations for this contemporary dance production (pictured) are high. If narrative stories resulting in ecstatic laughter and set to

\ www.voetvolK.be

jawoord

lazarus and t,arsenaal

© Courtesy Voetvolk

seen. That’s the message of Jawoord (I do)

by Lotte Heijtenis and Pieter Genard, a rewrite of Ingmar Bergman’s classic Scenes from a Marriage. Co-produced by Mechelen’s Lazarus and t,arsenaal, the result is a critical, funny and philosophical show. (In Dutch) Until 3 April, across Flanders \ www.tarsenaal.be

Saying “no” is easy. Saying “yes”, now that’s tough, because it’s a commitment with varying consequences, many unfore-

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\ arTs

weeK in arts & culture Marec wins Press Cartoon competition

Cartoonist Marc De Cloedt, who works for Het Nieuwsblad under the pen name Marec, has won first prize in the Press Cartoon Belgium competition. His winning cartoon appeared in September last year and shows a lawyer in traditional robes as the mirror-image of a radical Islamist in robes and beard, referring to the trial of Sharia4Belgium leader, Fouad Belkacem. The award carries a cash prize of €6,000. The cartoon can be viewed at www.tinyurl.com/ ksh29ph.

artist found guilty of threatening inspectors

Flemish artist Wim Delvoye has been sentenced to six months suspended and fined €2,750 on charges of threatening a police officer and two buildings inspectors. He was also found guilty of stealing their identity credentials and of criminal libel. The charges go back to 2011 and the culmination of a longrunning dispute between Delvoye, an internationally renowned artist famous for his tattooed pigs, among other unique projects, and the planning authorities, after he requested permission to install a sculpture garden at his home in Melle, East Flanders. Delvoye admitted the facts but argued he was being persecuted because of his fame. Following the ruling, he said that the evidence of threatening behaviour was “70% fabricated, embellished and lies” and promised to appeal the judgement.

baby giraffe born at Planckendael

Animal park Planckendael in Mechelen has announced the birth of a baby giraffe, born to mother Diamant on 7 February. The baby – keepers are yet unable to determine if it is a boy or a girl – is the largest ever born in Planckendael, measuring two metres in height. Members of the public are invited to vote for a name for the new baby from a short list at the park’s website. All animals born at Planckendael or Antwerp Zoo this year will be given names beginning with Q. The result of the vote will be released on 20 February. \ www.PlancKendael.be

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Faces forever

Portrait expo at bozar is more than the usual suspects christophe verbiest More articles by Christophe \ flanderstoday.eu

www.boZar.be

Bozar’s new exhibition, Faces Then, uses Renaissance portraits from the Low Countries to illustrate how we began to understand identity and the human face.

ing branch of the Christian faith that adhered to the biblical idea that images are forbidden. “They tried to find theological solutions that artists had to follow. For instance, let’s agree we can make portraits of bourgeoisie, noblemen or monarchs, but those people have to be depicted as closely as possible to how God has created them.

“I

like to make useful exhibitions instead of showing the usual suspects,” says Till-Holger Borchert. “There exists an exhibition circuit that reiterates itself: Every couple of years you can visit the most important Rembrandt exhibition, or the most important Manet exhibition, and so on. Therefore some other art remains underexposed. That’s certainly true for Renaissance portraits from the Low Countries.

The last exhibition on this subject took place in 1953 in Bruges.”

That’s about to change. Faces Then: Renaissance Portraits from the Low Countries at Bozar in Brussels brings together almost 50 of those portraits by Quenten Matsys, Joos van Cleve, Frans Floris de Vriendt and others.

Faces Then is co-curated by Borchert, a German art historian who specialises in 14thand 15th-century art and is the director of the Bruges museums. “With this exhibition,” he says, “we tried to take a good look at the construction of identity in the 16th century, the age of humanism. At that time the view of the construction of the self fundamentally changed.”

Fellow curator Koenraad Jonckheere, professor at Ghent University, explains: “Portraiture might seem boring at first, but we see faces everywhere: in clouds, in landscapes, even in a piece of toast. The human brain is biased to see faces, and late 15th, early 16th-century people started to

These three evolutions explain why portraiture in the 16th century is so crucial in art history © Musée des beaux-arts de Caen

frans floris de Vriendt’s Portrait d’une vieille dame", 1558

realise the importance of a face.

They considered it the mirror of the soul, which means that the way you depict a face is crucial.

With Faces Then we show that this idea from the 16th century is crucial, right up to today, to how we understand the human face.”

Jonckheere points to different evolutions we see in the art of portraiture. Firstly, in the 16th century, we see the confrontation between Italian and Northern art.

The latter had a tradition – think of Van Eyck or Memling – of painting faces in the greatest detail. “In Italy, on the other hand, painters like Michelangelo and Raphael were more interested in idealising

the human face. They were looking for the personality behind the individual face.”

Secondly, at the end of the 15th century, the bourgeoisie began commissioning portraits. Jonckheere: “Until then they had been the privilege of saints, kings or noblemen. At first those civilians had very small paintings made, but by the end of the 16th century the works became impressively huge.

This parallels the growth of civic consciousness at that time.”

A third evolution is linked to the rise of Protestantism, the upcom-

until 17 may

“These three evolutions combined explain why portraiture in the 16th century is so crucial in art history.

Certainly in the Low Countries, where the experiments were the most fascinating.”

Though Faces Then has some paintings from Belgian collections, both private and public, most of the works come from abroad. Among them are some exceptional loans from all over the world, like the extraordinary “Self-Portrait” by Anthonis Mor van Dashorst, from the Uffizi in Florence, or the equally amazing “Portrait of an Old Man” by Quentin Matsys, which belongs to the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris.

bozar

Ravensteinstraat 23, Brussels

now and tHen Faces Then is complemented by Faces Now: European Portrait Photography since 1990, curated

by Frits Gierstberg, head of exhibitions at the Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam. “We chose 1990 as a starting point, because that was the beginning of the new Europe,” he says, referring to the implications of the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November, 1989. “Furthermore, it was the start of the digital age.

Queries about identity surfaced and a portrait poses those questions to the viewer. 1990 is also the moment when postmodern art came to an end, in photography, too.”

The most striking work in Faces Now is Stephan Vanfleteren’s post-mortem portrait of Jan

Hoet, the former Flemish curator and museum director who died last year. “I had asked his permission during our last meeting and he immediately agreed,” says Vanfleteren. “Post-mortem photography is an old custom.

When I thumb through my family’s old photograph albums from the 1950s, I see pictures of deceased family members. But we seem to have lost that tradition.”

Though Faces Now seems less coherent than Faces Then, it presents some striking works, by well-known names like Anton Corbijn, Thomas Ruff or Vanfleteren, and by names that only ring a bell for photography aficionados, like the Swede Anders Petersen, Dutchman

© Courtesy the artist

Jitka Hanzlová, “untitled (Julia)”, from the series There is something I Don’t know, 2000,

Koos Breukel or Finn Jorma Puranen. If you’re up for a selfie,

Bozar has placed a photo booth at the entrance to the building; all will be published on Bozar’s Facebook page.

The two exhibitions can be seen separately, but of course there’s extra value in seeing one after the other. And there’s more.

According to Bozar CEO Paul Dujardin, the pair of exhibitions can be linked to an expo that’s opening in the same building on 27 February, Sultan’s World: The Ottoman Orient in Renaissance Art, which gathers paintings in which Renaissance painters like Dürer, Titian and Tintoretto look at the Ottoman world. But that’s another story. Faces Then and Faces Now in themselves are fascinating enough to justify a visit to the Brussels art temple.

\ aGenDa

february 18, 2015

One thing leads to another

Diptychs 6 february to 22 march

“T

he minute you take a picture of someone, that person changes,” says Michael James O’Brien as we tour his new show at Antwerp’s eyeLoco gallery. Called Diptychs, O’Brien’s series was inspired by a 2007 exhibition of diptychs at Antwerp’s Museum of Fine Arts.

The American photographer – and part-time Antwerp resident – has used his photography to create his own diptychs where, he says, “one thing leads to another, time is collapsed”.

The exhibition explores themes relating to the passing of time and memory. While some works stand alone, others use contrast-

classical brussels

Bobby Mitchell: Romantic Remix by the American pianist, featuring Schumann, Chopin, Rzewski and Scherzinger. 19 February 20.00, Art Base, Zavelstraat 29

eyeloco, antwerp www.eyeloco.eu

ing images to tell a story. Like the diptychs that originally inspired O’Brien, many are based on classical themes and myths.

Of all the works in the show, only one – “Gilbert & George” – was originally conceived as a diptych. Taken in 1987, the haunting work captures the theme of the exhibition. It shows the British couple, who have made their lives into art, from the arms down. While it picks up the similarities that have made Gilbert and George instantly recognisable, the diptych subtly highlights the differences between the two men. From the lines on their hands to the wear on their (surprisingly) different shoes, we see how the passage of

\ www.art-base.be

Performance brussels

time has affected them as individuals.

Theremainingworkswereallcreated last year, including “St Sebastien”, pictured. O’Brien worked with a local printer to finalise the images before they were inkjet-printed.

“We could have achieved the same

concert

festival

roddy frame

besteburen

27 february, 20.00 Before embarking on a low-key solo career, Scottish guitarist and singer Roddy Frame was the freshfaced frontman of Aztec Camera.

Frame was only 16 when the band recorded their first single for legendary independent label Postcard Records in 1981. He was still a teen when they scored their first

biekorf, bruges www.cactusmusic.be

indie hit, “Oblivious”, and not much older when a slick new major-label iteration of Aztec Camera broke the UK Top 10 with “Somewhere in My Heart”. Having seen and done it all, Frame drifted into an early semiretirement, only to re-emerge at the turn of the century with a string of intimate albums. \ Georgio Valentino

fair baby and mama Happening 21-22 february The internet has revolutionised parenting. An endless parade of products, information and opinions are marched before bewildered soon-to-be parents. It can be too much for a mother or father to process, especially given the pressure of knowing that their child’s entire future hinges on every single decision they make in these

limburghal, Genk www.babyenmama.be

early years. The Baby and Mama Happening is a chance for parents to turn the machine off and benefit from the flesh-and-blood network of their local community. The weekend is packed with product demonstrations, fashion shows, info sessions, workshops and other activities, not to mention loads of prizes. \ GV

until february 2016

effect with a traditional enlarger,” he says, “but the technology has moved on, and we now have the ability to fine-tune the image in a way that wasn’t possible before.”

The result is a series of images that stay with you long after the viewing.

\ Dan Smith

across flanders www.besteburen.eu

The year-long arts festival BesteBuren (“Best Neighbours”) celebrates the special relationship between Flemish and Dutch culture. Inspired by the 1995 Cultural Treaty Flanders-Netherlands, the event is designed to take the healthy artistic exchange that already exists and kick it into high gear. The first half of the festival alone features nearly 50 projects covering every artistic medium under the sun: dance, theatre, music, literature, visual arts.

What’s more, BesteBuren unfolds in cities across Flanders and the Netherlands. Events this month include the multimedia exhibition Mixed Emotions at CC Mechelen and the all-day colloquium Art in Transition at Vooruit in Ghent. \ GV

Ghent You et Vous: Dance by Platform-K about the beauty and vulnerability of the human body, plus two additional short performances: Traces by StopGap Dance Company and Romance by Indepen-dance.

19-20 February 20.00, NT Gent Schouwburg, Sint-Baafsplein 17

visual arts antwerp Ruth van de Pol & Dominique Prins: Two Dutch artists present their latest work in Beheerst Overdrijven, sculptures by Prins, and Hoe dingen samen worden, paintings by van de Pol. 21 February to 14 March, Galerie Ludwig Trossaert, Museumstraat 29 \ www.galerieludwigtrossaert.com

family brussels

rem Koolhaas Over a decade after his last appearance at Bozar, veteran Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas returns to report on the latest Venice Architecture Biennale. He not only curated the event but made sure it would be noticed by architects and art historians the world over. And it was. His back-to-basics exhibition Fundamentals was simple enough in its intention to survey the history of European architecture through its functional elements. What made it so successful was the Koolhaas team’s dedication to the subject.

They spent four years preparing the six-month exhibition and produced a catalogue spanning 15 volumes. \ GV

\ www.bozar.be

\ www.ntgent.be

talK

23 february, 20.00

EINTOPF: One of four Taburopa shows, an international theatre project about taboos, which investigates the concepts of coexistence, identity and belonging through the movements and words of four dancers from different nationalities (in English). 18 February 20.00, Bozar, Ravensteinstraat 23

bozar, brussels www.boZar.be

Water: Flemish musicians Esmé Bos and Bart Voet present stories and songs all about water in this musical performance for the whole family (in Dutch; ages three and up). 22 February 11.00 & 15.00, Pantalone, Martelaarsplein 10 \ www.pantalone.be

event brussels Creators Conference: Composing the Future #2025: The European Composer and Songwriter Alliance hosts a platform where composers, music business representatives and EU policymakers can exchange views on freedom of expression, author’s rights, new economic models, international co-operation, remuneration and the future of music creation (in English).

23-24 February, Bozar, Ravensteinstraat 23 \ www.creatorsconference.org

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\ baCkPaGe

february 18, 2015

Talking Dutch turn right at the fritkot

In response to: Flanders Today’s anti-Valentine guide Lorraine Furlong Murphy Exactly!

derek blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

Many Flemish civil servants are unhappy about the government’s plan to move their office in Brussels in 2017. Nogal wat ambtenaren kunnen zich niet vinden in de keuze voor het Meanderproject op de terreinen van Tour & Taxis – A number of civil servants are not too pleased about the decision taken regarding the Meander Project on the Tour &Taxis site, a government report reads.

They are particularly worried about the neighbourhood they will have to walk through on the way to work. De buurt, en dan vooral het parkje waar de ambtenaren doorheen zouden moeten, zou te gevaarlijk zijn – The neighbourhood – particularly the park the civil servants would have to walk through – is seen as dangerous.

Some employers would tell their staff that they just have to put up with it. But not the Flemish government. It came up with the idea of handing out een doe-het-zelf wandeling – a do-it-yourself walking guide to reassure everyone. The 15-page brochure describes a one-hour stroll around the neighbourhood. I decided to try it out one morning, just for fun.

Admittedly, places of interest are a bit thin on the ground.

But there are some curious things to note. Stop even bij het standbeeld van Liliane Vertessen – Stop by the sculpture by Liliane Vertessen, the guide tells you. It’s called Hemel en aarde – Heaven and Earth.

Het beeldt een schoen op een hak uit met vleugels erboven – It represents a high-heeled shoe with wings attached.

Het standbeeld zou een verwijzing zijn naar de prostitutie in de wijk – The sculpture refers to the prostitution in the neighbourhood.

Hurrying along, you soon arrive at the next sight, close to the World Trade Centre towers. Hou even halt bij het (gesloten) Frietkraam WTC – Pause at the (closed) WTC Fries Shack (pictured). Merk op dat dit frietkraam op

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In response to: Talking Dutch: Has anyone seen my teeth?

Ella Borromeo Very funny story.

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een lager niveau ligt dan de straat – Note that the spot where the shack stands is lower than the street. Dat komt omdat hier vroeger een kerk en een kerkplein waren – That’s because there used to be a church and a square here.

Now comes the apparently dangerous park. Deep breath.

Wandel naar de rode houten brug en steek ze over – Walk in the direction of the red wooden bridge and cross over.

Je bent nu in de Lakense haard – You are now in the Laken housing estate.

Here you learn something quite interesting. Een van de bekendste inwoners van de wijk is Vincent Kompany die hier zijn jeugd doorbracht en er leerde voetballen – One of the most famous people from the neighbourhood is Vincent Kompany, who grew up and learned to play football here.

The walk ends at the future site of the Flemish government building. Proficiat – Congratulations, the guide says cheerfully. Hopelijke kon deze rondleiding je smaken – Hopefully you have enjoyed this tour.

I have to say I did. And it wasn’t at all scary – except for the giant, winged high-heel shoe, that is.

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Poll

a. Six months. That would encourage people to spend more time and effort landing a job

7% b. One year, or two for the over-50s. That’s long enough for anyone to find a job

20% c. Never, as long as people can prove they have looked for work. Cutting people off is just sending them on the road to poverty

73% that should be.

So we put it to you to decide. But you weren’t having any of it. Nearly three out of four of you voted in favour of keeping the benefits going, provided people can prove they are genuinely seeking work.

There’s enough wiggle-room in there for taking care of the prob-

\ next week's question:

lem of the shiftless and work-shy (who are rarely as numerous as some would have you believe). As long as someone is actively looking for work, beyond the occasional glance at Jobat, there’s no reason to penalise them, according to our readers.

Open VLD has proposed allowing supermarkets and other retailers to stay open until 22.00. What do you think?

Log in to the Flanders Today website at www.flanderstoday.eu and click on VOTE!

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In response to: Carnival city puts its party hat on for event of the year Kerrylee Nolan Ahhh does it start today???

In response to: Federal parliament debates unemployment benefit reforms Ian Whitehead I have not had a permanent job for two years. I am now over 50 years old and it is getting increasingly difficult to convince a potential employer to take me on.

Paul McNally @PaulMcNally Half-term traffic in Brussels is my new favourite thing. It’s another world.

Matthew Rees @reesmf @operavlaanderen Looks exciting. Well worth travelling to Ghent from London just to see it :-)

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tHe last word

n-va has proposed cutting off unemployment benefits after a certain period of time. How long do you think that should be?

Like last week’s priority-to-theright poll, we’ve got a landslide result, this time in favour of letting unemployed people keep their benefits indefinitely. Nationalist party N-VA has proposed cutting off unemployment benefits after a certain period of time but didn’t specify how much time they think

voices of flanders today

good omen

“In the end, it was arranged for Friday the 13th, but that didn’t scare me off. I was born on a Friday the 13th.”

Politician Jean-Marie Dedecker was unable to wed Christine Dehaemers on Valentine’s Day because Middelkerke municipal offices aren’t open on Saturday afternoons

narcis-stick

“There’s too big a risk of accidents. Not only to other visitors, but also to the mechanics of our rides.”

Plopsaland has banned the selfie stick from all of its amusement parks, spokesperson Liesbeth Van Wachbeke explains

lost in space

“We need to treat astronauts like human beings, not like instruments. They have very little ability to take part in decisionmaking, and that’s bad for their psychological well-being.”

Ghent university researcher Sophie Gomaere reckons astronauts are happier when they have more autonomy on missions

stage fright

“In actual fact I’m a sober and peaceful person. But put me on a stage, and I become a crazy man.

Even I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

Comedian Jacques Vermeire premiered his new one-man show in Keerbergen, his home town

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