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#378 Erkenningsnummer P708816

april 29, 2015 \ newsweekly - € 0,75 \ read more at www.flanderstoday.eu current affairs \ p2

politics \ p4

Record high for exports

Income from Flemish exports broke records last year and accounted for 82% of Belgium’s export revenue \6

BUSiNESS \ p6

innovation \ p7

Education for all

Ghent’s scheme to introduce Roma children to classrooms is working, and teachers hope other cities will follow

education \ p9

art & living \ p10

Pride in the city

Break out the rainbow flags, it’s the 20th anniversary of Belgian Pride, and even Manneken Pis is getting in on the action

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© Patrick De Roo/Imagedesk

An integration ceremony in Antwerp last month

Who wants to be a Belgian citizen?

How applicants view the process of applying for nationality in their adopted country Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

In 2013, the federal government adopted a new law that dramatically tightened the requirements for Belgian citizenship. Flanders Today talked to a handful of non-EU citizens to find out what the application process is like and whether it’s worth the administrative headaches

I

f you’re a citizen of the European Union, the advantages of having Belgian nationality are few and far between – unless you have a particular love for the country, of course. Those select Belgian-only perks are the right – indeed the obligation – to vote and access to some

government jobs.

If you’re from any other country in the world, though, the gains can be substantial. Flanders Today contacted a number of people who completed the procedure or whose applications are pending to find out what they are. Most of them preferred to be identified by their initials.

DC came to Belgium from Argentina with Italian citizenship that he inherited from his parents. As a European, he admits, there was no practical need to become a Belgian citizen. “But after 12 years living here, working here and feeling comfortable here,” he says, “I believed that I had to

be more integrated in this country and take the responsibility of becoming a Belgian citizen.”

KM, meanwhile, is from a country outside of Europe and says he wanted “to be able to work anywhere in the EU and not worry about visas” – by far the most common reason foreigners gave for applying for Belgian nationality.

For MT from the United States, it came down to freedom of movement. “As I am married to a Belgian citizen, I have always been allowed to work in Belgium – but only in Belgium. At the time I applied, my wife was looking into opportunities in other EU countries.” continued on page 5

\ CURRENT AFFAIRS

B-Fast team assists in Nepal Belgium’s disaster relief team is helping find earthquake survivors in South Asia Alan Hope Follow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

A

43-member team from B-Fast, Belgium’s rapid reaction first aid and support unit, left Melsbroek military airport last Sunday for Nepal, in response to the earthquake that happened there last Saturday. The death toll as Flanders Today went to press had reached more than 4,000.

B-Fast is one of the world’s most experienced rapid response teams, having taken part in disaster relief operations in Haiti in 2010, the Philippines in 2013 and Nigeria last year. “There are a lot of old hands among them, but the rest have plenty of experience, and they work with the material day in and day out,” said Chris De Pauw, assistant team leader. The team specialises in urban search and rescue and will concentrate its efforts in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

The earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, centred almost exactly on the capital. The shock is the most powerful since the Nepal-Bihar quake of 1934 and had been predicted by seismologists for some time. It triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, killing 19 people in what is the worst incident ever on the world’s highest mountain. The shock also caused

© Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters

casualties in border areas in China, India and Bangladesh.

B-Fast travels with 10 tonnes of its own material – everything from bottled water to tents– meaning it remains inde-

Marleen Temmerman steps down from WHO for post at Nairobi university Marleen Temmerman, a former SP.A senator and former chief of obstetrics at Ghent University, is stepping down from her post as director of the department of reproductive health and research at the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva. The Flemish doctor plans to move to Kenya this autumn to take up a post with the Aga Khan Development Network.

Temmerman quit politics in 2012 to take the position at WHO, following a distinguished career in which she was not only active in issues related to women’s rights, and in particular reproductive rights, but also worked on the ground, creating and heading the International Centre for Reproductive Health, with branches in Belgium, Kenya and Mozambique.

“I’ve already reached the WHO’s retirement age of 62,” she told VRT. “They asked me to stay a year longer, and after that we would see how it goes. But then the Aga Khan Development Network came knocking, a development network

© Michiel Hendryckx/Wikimedia

that works for education as well as health. I’ll be head of the department of gynaecology and obstetrics on the campus of the Aga Khan University in Nairobi.”

The contract is for five years, with a possibility of renewal. “Sixtytwo is no age for me to retire,” she said. “If AKDN hadn’t asked me, then I’d have spent another year at WHO before going back to Ghent University, where I’m still a lecturer.” \ AH

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pendent from local authorities. “We are there for first aid and to help find survivors,” said the team’s head of urban search and rescue, adding that it was impossible to say how long the mission would last.

Federal interior minister Jan Jambon was at Melsbroek on Sunday to see the team off. “It is extremely important to have all hands on deck when such a disaster hits, wherever in the world it may be,” he said. “Every hour is crucial, so it’s a good thing we have a group that can react so quickly.”

The initial response will cost the foreign affairs ministry €300,000, based on a 10-day mission. Whether Belgium will provide further assistance will depend on the need. “In theory, that can be supplied, but we will see on an international level what is needed.”

Meanwhile, the government of Flanders has agreed to provide emergency help of €100,000 for the Nepalese people. “We want to offer support to the victims of this tragedy,” minister-president Geert Bourgeois said. The aid will be administered by the Red Cross.

Australians and Kiwis mark Anzac Day in Flanders Australia’s minister for foreign affairs, Julie Bishop, was in West Flanders at the weekend to mark Anzac Day. The date is marked every year to commemorate the start of the Gallipoli campaign, which began on 25 April, 1915 and lasted until 9 January, 1916, with the loss of more than 56,000 Allied lives and the same number of Ottoman troops.

More than 10,000 of the dead were from the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps, or ANZAC. New Zealand’s defence minister, Gerry Brownlee, and Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois also attended the service at the Buttes New British Cemetery near Zonnebeke, where 750 Anzac soldiers are buried.

The commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the day began on Saturday at 6.00, by which time there were already more than 1,000 people present. The remembrance continued at Tyne Cot Cemetery, also in Zonnebeke, as well as Berks Cemetery in Komen and later in the evening at the Menin Gate in Ypres. New Zealand held a separate service at Mesen, where many Kiwis lost their lives in 1917 at what is known in English as the Battle of Messines.

At Tyne Cot, Bourgeois presented Bishop with a bag of local soil, like those that travelled to London in 2013 to become part of a memorial garden. The soil will be added to a similar garden in Canberra.

Tyne Cot is the largest of Flanders’ war cemeteries and the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world; it is the last resting place for 12,000 soldiers, many of them unidentified. The memorial Cross of Sacrifice in the centre of the identical Portland Stone grave markers carries a memorial plaque to the third Australian regiment.

The surrounding walls are inscribed with the names of

© Courtesy Twitter/@JulieBishopMP

Australia’s minister for foreign affairs, Julie Bishop, pays tribute to fallen First World War soldiers on Anzac Day

33,783 British troops and 1,176 New Zealanders whose remains were never recovered. The names of another 54,896 Commonwealth dead are inscribed on the Menin Gate in Ypres.

The land on which the cemetery stands was given as a gift in perpetuity by the Belgian king Albert I in gratitude to the sacrifice of those who are honoured there. \ AH

300 19 t h

species of fish in the Zeeschelde, the exit of the port of Antwerp close to the Dutch border. The greatest diversity is around Doel, where 20 species can be found

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cost to each motorist per hour standing in a traffic jam, according to Transport & Mobility Leuven.

“That is time you’re not spending at work or other activities,” said researcher Sven Maerivoet

tonnes of unexploded munitions found every year in West Flanders around the First World War frontlines. The bomb disposal unit still has 4,000 chemical weapons stocked waiting to be disposed of safely

of job vacancies in Flanders demand applicants with a higher education qualification, up from 35.4% 20 years ago, mainly as a result of the growth of the services sector at the cost of manufacturing

place for Belgium in the list of the happiest countries in the world, up from 21st place in 2013. The study looked at life expectancy, corruption, freedom of life choices, wealth and generosity

april 29, 2015

WEEK in brief Brussels South is the busiest railway station in the country, with an average of 61,941 passengers passing through every day in 2014, an increase of 5.4% on 2013, rail authority NMBS has reported. In second and third place come Brussels Central and Brussels North. In Flanders, the busiest station is Gent-Sint-Pieters with 54,000 passengers a day. Aalst-Kerrebroek is the least busy, with an average of only 23 passengers a day.

Integration minister Liesbeth Homans has announced that she will introduce an amendment to Flanders’ integration requirements for newcomers. Until now, immigrants who are not EU citizens who first settled in Brussels or Wallonia before moving to Flanders did not have to fulfil Flanders’ integration requirements, including language and social orientation courses. There are no integration requirements in the two other regions. Homans’ amendment would mean they would have to fulfil Flanders’ requirements if they have been in Belgium for fewer than five years.

Two people have been injured in another acid attack in Antwerp, police have announced. The victims, both men in their 20s, were attacked by a man in the district of Hoboken on 19 April. Police quickly identified and arrested the suspect. The victims were taken to hospital. The prosecutor’s office said that the incident had no connection with the acid attack at an Antwerp Delhaize store in February in which a Dutch national threw acid in the face of a cleaning woman working at the store.

The college of aldermen in Denderleeuw, East Flanders, can no longer authorise spending of any kind with-

face of flanders out the approval of the whole municipal council, a majority of councillors decided.

Last September, amid political upheavals, the aldermen were set a limit of €2,500 instead of the more usual €25,000 for spending decisions. That limit has now been set at zero. The municipality is currently being governed by a minority coalition that cannot get any measures passed but refuses to step down.

The city of Ghent has imposed a new speed limit of 30 km/h in all parts of the city located within the R4 ring road, with the exception of the N430 thoroughfare and three major approaches. Police are due to start issuing speeding tickets to offenders from the end of May. The lowest fine for being caught doing 40 is €50.

A group brought together on social media have threatened to dismantle new panels fitted by a Delhaize store in Brussels to deter homeless people from sitting on the windowsills while begging. The store in De Henninstraat fitted the panels, which lie at an angle of 45 degrees, to stop the homeless crowding the entrance to the store. Some locals have called the measure “dehumanising” and have threatened to dismantle the panels by force. The district’s mayor warned they would risk arrest if they did so.

The Constitutional Court has rejected an appeal by a group of organisations against the 2013 law that introduced the municipal administrative sanction (GAS) – a fine imposed by a municipal functionary for a wide range of “nuisance” offences.

The appellants, who include the Children’s Rights Coalition of Flanders, the Human Rights League and trade unions ACV and ABVV, claim municipalities use the GAS fines to fill their

coffers and have extended the system to cover minors.

Willem Elias, the VUB professor who resigned as dean of the faculty of psychology after controversial Facebook posts in the wake of the death of former politician Steve Stevaert, has now also stepped down as chair of the Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences (KVAB).

Flemish public transport authority De Lijn will have a self-driving bus on the roads by 2018, mobility minister Ben Weyts announced last week.

The bus will run on a test course around Brussels Airport, as part of a pilot project. It will carry passengers on a shuttle service at speeds of 15-20 km/h.

Sabam, the organisation that collects royalties for composers and performers, has backed away from a plan to charge websites that embed YouTube videos after talks with federal consumer affairs minister Kris Peeters. A ruling of the European Court of Justice had previously said that embedding videos was not in breach of intellectual property rights.

Anyone uploading a video to YouTube has the option of disallowing embedding, but most do not use it.

A number of the retailers on Brussels’ Dansaertstraat are up in arms at the planned arrival of Cos, an up-market subsidiary of the clothing chain H&M. According to Sonia Noel of Stijl, the store that pioneered the development of the street into the most fashion-forward of the capital, the character of the area is threatened by the arrival of the chain. “I have worked for 30 years to raise the reputation of Brussels as a fashion city,” said Noel. “The customers are there now, and Dansaertstraat is known worldwide.”

denouncing his faraway competitor and accusing the West Fleming of misleading the public.

One thing led to another. Muylle took Thijs to court; Thijs, outraged, counter-sued.

A judge in Tongeren last week ruled that Princess did not besmirch the good name of Dovy, and that Dovy had not misled the public with its black stripe routine. “No-one is in the right, and the fighting has to stop,” the judge ordered.

Both sides lost, but, of course, in this sort of dispute, that’s the next best thing to winning. Princess rejoiced not in its own victory but in its opponent's defeat: “Dovy did

It’s not often in history that you come across a leading artist who’s also a patron, but that’s what Jan De Cock is starting to look like. Last year he opened his workspace to 300 young people; last week he opened a new gallery, the Brussels Art Institute (BAI), for young artists. And there’s even something for jazz fans.

De Cock, 38, was born in the Brussels district of Etterbeek and studied 3D multimedia at the fine arts academy in Ghent.

His work consists primarily of installations drawing on various art movements, often with an aspect of performance. He’s only the second Belgian artist, after Luc Tuymans, to have been the subject of an exhibition at Tate Modern in London, and the first living Belgian to be exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

For more than 20 years, De Cock has worked in a former paperworks in the Anderlecht distict of Brussels, a sprawling edifice of 3,000 square metres. Its single most striking feature is a glass ceiling like a railway station’s, which would be the delight of

any painter, if the artist were only a painter.

Last September, 300 students from the Dutch-speaking SintLukas secondary school moved out of their premises in Schaarbeek to take up temporary residence with De Cock until 2017.

Two adjacent buildings house classrooms, but the students are also free to move around in the main building, soaking up whatever they can find, coming across the artist as he goes about his business.

Now his patronage has gone one step further, with the opening of the BAI, and a first exhibition that features 11 promising young artists of various origin, all of whom have some link with Brussels. The exhibition is open daily from 10.00 to 18.00 and is free.

To add to that, and to give something to the community as well as the aspiring artists of the city, De Cock also opened BAI _ Note Jazz Lounge, a garage converted into a reasonable facsimile of a groovy hepcat lounge. The opening concert last week featured Kris Defoort and Dré Pallemaerts; more concerts are planned. \ Alan Hope

Flanders Today, a weekly English-language newspaper, is an initiative of the Flemish Region and is financially supported by the Flemish authorities.

OFFSIDE Kitchen sink drama Dovy Keukens is a kitchen manufacturer from West Flanders. You can confirm the high quality of his product by the black edge visible on all of their cupboards, according to owner Donald Muylle.

Princess Keukens is a kitchen manufacturer from Limburg.

Muylle is talking out of his hat, according to its owner, Denis Thijs.

A black stripe is not a sign of quality; the use of melamine is.

Muylle (pictured) is the sort of entrepreneur who makes his own TV commercials, and in 2013 he came to the attention of Thijs, who seethed with rage for a year before taking out an ad in the paper

Jan De Cock

© Courtesy De Standaard

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.

not get what they hoped for,” came the reaction.

Over in Roeselare, the reaction was more magnanimous: “We have been striving for 35 years to please clients by delivering quality kitchens,” the company said. “Donald hopes from the bottom of his heart that this will bring an end to all the fuss.” \ AH

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 Helfie

In the months to come, you may see images of a yellow hand – held wide open – everywhere: on flyers, on social media and during events such as Mother’s Day and Gay Pride. The hand – dubbed #helfie – is part of campaign by N-VA, Flanders’ largest party.

With #helfie, the nationalists want to introduce a kinder, gentler N-VA, as their previous symbol – the V-sign, which stood for Vlaanderen, verandering (change) and victory – was often perceived as aggressive. The open hand stands for a number of metaphors and idioms in Dutch, all of which have to do with helping.

“Progress is not a matter of selfies, but of helfies,” the party says in a promotional clip that shows people from all walks of life helping to push a stalled car and get it back on track.

The new image makes N-VA a direct competitor of the Christian-democrats CD&V, who have been a community and people’s party since the Second World War. At the press conference last week where the campaign was introduced, N-VA carefully avoided referring to CD&V. The nationalists feel that the series of incidents between the two parties have taken attention away from their own achievements in government.

With elections four years away, it’s not an electoral campaign. That makes it even more unusual in Flanders, where continual campaigning, US-style, is not customary.

And, at a cost of €1 million, it has prompted another question: How can N-VA afford this?

The answer is the system of state financing for parties, based on the number of votes and elected representatives.

N-VA’s electoral victory has made it one of the country’s richest parties.

Parties being endowed by the state was a good idea when it was introduced some 20 years ago, after a number of corruption scandals shocked the country. State financing allows parties to concentrate on their real tasks, rather than go begging for money from companies and granting favours in return. Over the years, though, the system has become rather generous.

Too generous, Jan Peumans (N-VA), speaker of the Flemish Parliament, said last week. He is not alone in criticising the system, especially as austerity is setting the tone of late.

Still, a change should not be expected soon, as politicians themselves have to vote on it.

Politics may be all about helping, but politicians do help themselves, too. \ Anja Otte

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First gas attack commemorated Flanders marks centenary of wartime’s first use of chemical weapons Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

F

lemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois was in Ypres last week for the commemoration of an event that turned the course of the First World War exactly 100 years ago: the first large-scale poison gas attack.

The attack took place on 22 April 1915, with about 170 tonnes of chlorine gas sent drifting over the trenches between Langemark and Steenstrate in West Flanders, then occupied by French and Algerian troops. The attack claimed 6,000 lives, most of them within the first 10 minutes, and marked the start of what is now known as the Second Battle of Ypres, which would go on until late May, and include another five chemical attacks.

Belgian troops wearing makeshift gas masks at the Ypres Salient in 1915

The gas cylinders had been brought to the front line by hand, the German troops opening them by hand and relying on the prevailing wind to carry the gas to its destination. Many Germans

were also injured or killed during the attack.

“The 22nd of April 1915 saw the first use of weapons of mass destruction in the history of mankind,” Bourgeois said in a statement. “One hundred years after these gruesome events, similar weapons are still being deployed on the battlefield. Just recently, chemical weapons were used in the Syrian civil war, killing large numbers of citizens.”

The ceremony commemorated not only the victims of those first attacks, but all those who have died since as a result of the use of weapons of mass destruction. Bourgeois also called on the international community to comply with the Chemical Weapons Convention from 1993, which imposes a worldwide ban.

Unions discuss new strike on 12 May The socialist trade union ABVV will decide this week whether to hold another 24-hour strike on 12 May, following the success of last week’s action by civil sector unions, which saw train and other transport services at a standstill and many other sectors affected.

The proposal for 12 May does not however have the backing of the union’s national leadership and so requires the votes of two-thirds of the members.

Last week’s strike was called by the socialist public services union ACOD, with the voluntary backing of

the Christian union ACV. The unions are protesting at the cost-cutting measures of Belgium’s federal centre-right coalition, including the plan to skip indexation of wages in the public sector this year.

The most immediate effect was the impact on rail services, which were virtually non-existent from 22.00 on Tuesday to 22.00 on Wednesday.

Public transport in Brussels also experienced serious delays, and only about 30% of De Lijn public transport services were operating in Flanders. The strike was also felt here and there in federal and Flem-

ish government offices, municipalities, prisons and schools.

ACOD chair Chris Reniers said the action had “certainly been a success.

I have never encountered so much support for a strike”. She expressed sympathy with people who had been affected by the strike. “They have to think in the longer term.

We are striking in their interest. If the services they currently enjoy are allowed to crumble further, they will experience more than a little inconvenience.”

Voka, the Flemish chamber of commerce, said the action was

Unions go to court over loss of wage indexation The socialist and Christian trade unions have brought a case against the federal government in the Constitutional Court in an attempt to block a measure to scrap automatic wage indexation.

Salaries and benefits in Belgium are normally raised according to the rate of inflation, as are private rents. The unions argue that the government’s decision to suspend wage and benefits indexation discriminates against workers and those on benefits.

In a TV interview, employment minister Kris Peeters said that court action was “regrettable” and that “taking legal action was unwise”. He stressed

that non-indexation was necessary to make Belgian companies more competitive and to create new jobs, though he admitted he could not provide an absolute guarantee that more jobs would be created.

The unions are also upset by the government’s decision to retain indexation of rents in the private sector, which they say is unfair if wage increases are skipped. Peeters said that issues such as indexation of rents could be dealt with later when the government turns its attention to the tax shift plan – a measure intended to shift the tax burden from wages to capital. \ Derek Blyth

rather a “strike against the people” in which ACOD was sending out the wrong signal. “In times of economic difficulties there is only one option: reforming together for the future.”

In related news, police at Brussels Airport stopped a work-to-rule action at passport control after an agreement by the interior ministry to create 35 additional full-time posts. The agreement will bring the number of police employed at the airport to 420. The action had caused long delays for passengers flying to and from destinations outside of the Schengen area. \ AH

Federal parliament joins call to ban nuclear weapons The federal parliament has accepted a resolution on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, which includes a call to remove all nuclear weapons from Belgian soil. The decision comes one day after a motion in the Flemish parliament, which resulted in an allparty agreement, to remove nuclear weapons from Flanders.

Tactical nuclear warheads under joint Belgian-US control have been sited at the Kleine-Brogel military airfield in Limburg province since the 1960s.

The Flemish parliament motion called on the government of Flanders to put pressure on the federal government “to work in co-operation with EU and Nato partners to realise a nuclear-free world and a removal of all nuclear weapons from Flanders”. The federal resolution, too, states that “Belgium remains active to make its entire territory nuclear arms free”.

“With the Cold War behind us, this country should continue its efforts for a world without nuclear arms,” said Peter Luykx, federal MP for N-VA. \ Anja Otte

Belgium pledges €36 million for education in developing countries Belgium’s minister of development co-operation, Alexander De Croo, has pledged €36 million to the international organisation Global Partnership for Education. De Croo, who was in Washington last week, confirmed the funding during a speech at the National Mall to mark Global Citizen Earth Day. “There are countries in the world where more than half of the population is under 18 years old,” De Croo said. “That is a real asset. Children are the future.”

But he warned of problems in the world’s poorest countries. “Children need access to water,

health care and education,” he said. He called on countries to invest one half of their development aid in the poorest countries. “Children

who attend school are stronger and can build their own futures.”

The Global Partnership for Education is headed

by Julia Gillard, former prime minister of Australia. Its aim is to fund and help develop education infrastructure and improve access to education in developing countries, including Afghanistan, Cambodia, Ethiopia and Liberia.

Earlier this year, De Croo met Gillard and assured her that Belgium was prepared to take over supervision of education projects in Burundi on behalf of the Global Partnership for Education. \ DB

\ COVER STORY

april 29, 2015

Who wants to be a Belgian citizen?

New law depends on success of language and integration courses

WWW.ALLRIGHTS.BE

continued from page 1

So once you decide to take the step, how do you go about it?

The following information relates to an adult who is not stateless.

Minors and stateless people have different procedures to follow, which are detailed on the website of equal rights non-profit Objectief. The following info was also provided by Objectief.

The information includes reforms to immigration laws introduced in 2013, although about 40,000 applications are currently being processed under the old law.

Adults can request Belgian citizenship in five circumstances: If you were born in Belgium; have lived in Belgium legally for a continuous period of at least five years (or 10 years, depending on the individual’s situation); are married to a Belgian citizen; are the parent of a minor who has Belgian nationality; have a disability or have reached pensionable age.

Each of the categories has its own particular set of conditions and requirements. Under the 2013 law, the need to prove knowledge of one of the national languages (not necessarily the language of the region where you live) and proof of social integration were added to the requirements.

The change in the law came after a dozen or so years of liberalisation, following the introduction of a fast-track procedure in 2000 that allowed some people to become citizens after as little as three years’ residency. The principle behind the fast-track procedure was that the road to integration could originate through naturalisation.

The changes that came into force in 2013 turned the tables: Only those who were already integrated could apply for nationality.

As well as the additional conditions, the new law also extended the time frame for becoming eligible, from three to five years in one set of circumstances, and from seven to 10 years in another.

As we reported in February, the changes have led to an enormous decrease in the number of applications: from 18,732 in 2013 to 113 in 2014, to just 11 cases in the first two months of this year. This drop in the figures could be seen as a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your position on changes to the law.

For practical purposes, the best starting point for anyone considering applying for citizenship is the interactive flowchart provided on the Objectief website, which is offered in French and Dutch. It uses a series of “yes” or “no” questions to guide you to the section of the law that best suits your case.

That will then lead you to the section detailing the documents

© Maurizio Ciranni/StampMedia

The guiding concept behind the 2013 immigration reform is that integration should preceed citizenship

you will be required to produce as well as the cost of the procedure.

Objectief offers info sessions in Brussels by appointment and it also publishes a printed guide.

How did our panel experience the procedure? “Once we got the relevant papers in, it went OK and the process is now long completed,” said GE from South Africa, whose application, submitted in Tremelo, Flemish Brabant, took 18 months.

efficient,” says KM. “I may be wrong, but I feel it’s easier to get nationality in Leuven compared to Brussels.”

But that might depend on where you are in Brussels. DC, who filed his application in the Sint-Pieters-Woluwe district, also found that “people at the commune were helpful and nice”.

“Belgian administration is tedious, but it’s like that in most countries,” notes EL, from South-

I feel it’s easier to get nationality in Leuven compared to Brussels Her biggest obstacle? “The Belgian culture and general attitude towards foreigners, and the total lack of care.”

She’s referring to the civil servants, an issue mentioned by other interviewees. “Uninformed and unhelpful,” states MT, who turned in his application in Tervuren.

“We were told on multiple occasions that something was missing and were sent away. We finally had to just insist that they submit the paperwork as it was.”

Some, though, had the opposite experience. “People in the Leuven city hall were super helpful and

east Asia, whose application, filed in the Etterbeek district of Brussels, is still pending. “However, they are very, very consistent. I’ve never had two different administrators tell me two different things.”

And what will be the reward at the end of it all?

“Unrestricted travel. I can move about the EU unhindered” – MT “Fewer visas when travelling, freedom to search for a job anywhere in the EU, and fewer visits to city hall” – KM “Apart from having a ‘home country’ again, we can take advantage

of the ‘perks’ given to all Belgians” – GE Carina Van Cauter is an Open VLD member of the federal parliament and one of the main movers behind the change to the nationality law in 2013. How does she regard the fall in the figures since the law changed?

“I think that’s a positive thing because now there are conditions applied to becoming a Belgian,” she says. “Language, integration through training in work or in school, economic participation – in fact all the things you might expect from someone who is a citizen of a country and a functioning part of a democratically organised society.”

For Van Cauter, the steep drop in applications means that people simply were not able to fulfil the conditions. “When you see the spectacular reduction in numbers, you have no choice but to conclude that there was a problem previously.”

Thomas Huddleston, programme director for migration and integration with the Migration Policy Group in Brussels, notes that the new laws “really depend on the success of the language and integration courses to be effective”.

The law set a certain standard of language knowledge and integration before the support was actually there, he adds. “On the Flemish side, language courses were

being guaranteed under the new integration act, but, in practice, these are just now being rolled out. So the support wasn’t necessarily there for people to meet the new standards.”

Huddleston also sees another difficulty with the new law.

“The purpose was to reduce the number of criteria for applications so that it was more clear.

However, the way that these requirements are designed, you have to get a lot more information about the person to figure out if they meet the requirements.”

This additional work, in many cases, has to be shouldered by local municipalities. “They decide whether the application is complete, and they can stall – or refuse – applications. So if they don’t have the right information on what someone needs to compile for their application, then they’re setting the person up to be rejected.”

Huddleston adds that, under the previous rules, which he thinks were more straightforward, the role of local municipalities was much smaller. “If the people working in municipalities don’t give people the right advice, or misinterpret the requirements, then they are the ones who are responsible for people being rejected,” he explains. “The concern then is that you’re going to get more unequal treatment.”

\5

\ BUSINESS

week in business Bakery Puratos The producer of ingredients for pastry and bakery products, based in GrootBijgaarden, has acquired the Italian Bakery Future Lines company, specialised in natural yeast and powdered leavening, for an unspecified amount.

Biotech Galapagos The Mechelen-based biotech company is to seek a US stock market quotation. The firm has high hopes for its most recent rheumatoid arthritis treatment, which has been tested successfully on 500 patients and expects to raise up to $100 million (€92 million) on the Nasdaq.

Fast food Quick The Belgian-born burger chain, with some 500 outlets in Belgium, France and Luxembourg, opened its first restaurants in Istanbul and Tunis last week. The company has plans to open an additional 100 outlets internationally over the next seven years.

Pharma UCB The Brussels-based pharmaceuticals group has sold its established brands portfolio in India to the local Dr Reddy company for €118 million.

The deal, which includes franchises in the areas of allergies and respiratory disorders, will allow UCB to concentrate its resources on the development in India of the sales of its neurology products.

Security Ticto The Brussels-based developer of a digital smartbadge for location authorisation of individuals and crowds, has won the silver medal for Most Innovative Product at the RSA Conference in San Francisco.

Telecoms Proximus The Brussels-based mobile phone and digital TV provider has invested several million euro in Tessares, a spin-off of the University of Leuven, specialised in increasing the speed capacity of internet connections.

Theme parks Plopsaland The De Panne-based theme park, a division of the Studio 100 production company, has inaugurated its Plopsaqua park as part of its €25 million investment programme for new attractions, renovations and expansion. The Bellewaerde park in Ypres, meanwhile, has invested €4 million in new equipment.

\6

Telenet takes over Base

Telcoms deal gives Telenet its own mobile network for the first time Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

T

elenet, the Mechelen-based internet and cable TV provider, has taken over mobile phone operator Base from Dutch owner KPN for €1.33 billion. The acquisition gives Telenet its own mobile network for the first time.

The deal commits Telenet to invest €240 million on top of the sale price in the coming years.

The sale has been the subject of rumours for several weeks. “With the takeover of Base, we are taking an important step towards assuring our mobile access over the long term, so that we will be better placed to take advantage of the growth opportunities offered by the sector of mobile communications,” said CEO John Porter (pictured) in a statement.

Telenet already offers mobile services through the Mobistar network. That arrangement runs until 2017, which gives Telenet time to switch customers from one network to the other. In order to finance the acquisition, Telenet will borrow €1 billion on the money markets and make up the rest from its own reserves. The deal will lead to savings of €150 million a year, the company said.

When Telenet’s transition is complete, Mobi-

© Dirk Waem/BELGA

star will have lost one-fifth of its clients, and its future, trying to compete with Telenet and Proximus – both of which also provide digital TV – is uncertain.

The deal still has to be approved by the competition authorities. Consumer organisation TestAankoop said there could be a sizeable increase in mobile tariffs.

“Base is disappearing, so we now have a duopoly on the Belgian telecoms market, and duopolies do nothing to hurt each other,” said Els Bruggeman of Test-Aankoop. “In theory the networks

are open to outsiders, but the conditions are so onerous that no-one ever tries to get in. If those were dealt with, then we might see a third or even fourth player come on the scene. That’s the only way for competition to be restored and prices to be forced down.”

The takeover is “bad news for Belgian consumers,” according to Mobistar CEO Jean Marc Harion, posting on Twitter. However, it is, he said, “an opportunity for regulators to open up the cable market”.

Federal telecommunications minister Alexander De Croo said it was up to the competition authorities to determine what conditions should apply to the acquisition. As a priority, he said, the small, virtual operators on the Base network that offer innovative subscriptions to specific market groups – companies such as Mobile Vikings – should be allowed to continue playing a competition-stimulating role.

De Croo said he had already asked telecoms regulator BIPT to evaluate the various scenarios surrounding a sale of Base. BIPT is best placed, he said, to evaluate the impact of the sale on market competitivity and to propose measures to guarantee fair competition.

Legal basis for Uber by 2016, say Brussels authorities

Flanders exports hit record high in 2014

The Brussels-Capital Region hopes to have a legal framework ready by the beginning of 2016 for taxi services, including alternatives such as Uber. If Uber will agree to abide by the new regulations, the current ban will be lifted, and the service will be able to operate legally. There are approximately 700 drivers registered with Uber in Brussels.

Last week, four members of CD&V in the Flemish parliament called on Flanders’ public transport authority De Lijn to replace its expensive on-demand belbus service in rural areas with the Uber service. Among the conditions, they said, would be payment of social security, medical certification and a certificate of good behaviour from the police.

The conditions seem basic, and the possible gains for Uber attractive, but there is no guarantee the company will agree. Last week, De Morgen quoted Uber drivers as saying they were reluctant to carry on if they are forced to pay tax on earnings. One man, a licensed taxi driver during the week, told the daily he worked 10 hours at the weekend and took home €150, out of which he had to pay for petrol and maintenance of his car.

If Uber refuses to abide by the rules, Brussels warns, it will remain illegal, and measures will continue to be taken. Recently, five Uber cars operating at Brussels Airport were impounded. The drivers now face charges and possible confiscation of their vehicles. \ AH

Revenue from Flemish exports hit a record high of €293.5 billion in 2014, minister-president Geert Bourgeois announced. The figures – compiled by the National Audit Office – show that Flanders provided more than 82% of Belgium’s export revenue last year, while Brussels contributed 2.3%.

The report also revealed that the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors are the driving forces in Flanders’ export economy, representing more than 22% of income. While export revenue was up 0.49% compared to 2013, import spending fell by 0.38% in 2014. Exports to neighbouring countries such as the Netherlands and France weakened slightly, while exports to Germany rose slightly.

Trade with the UK, Poland and Spain showed more robust gains, with exports to the UK up by more than 10%. Export trade with the US was also strong, with pharmaceuticals, machines and cars contributing to an 8.9% rise.

But exports to South America dropped by nearly 15%, while trade with Russia fell by a massive 20.6%, representing an income loss of €971 million. This was mainly due to tough economic sanctions imposed by Russia following the break-up of Ukraine.

“Flanders lives from exports: It is one of the fundamental pillars of our economy,” Bourgeois said. “We are one of the most globalised regions in the world.

These figures show that we have to build on our industrial strengths as well as our logistics role.” \ Derek Blyth

Atlanta destination of next Flanders-Dutch trade mission The next full-scale joint trade mission by the Flemish and Dutch governments will take place in Atlanta, the capital of Georgia in the US. The three-day mission in October will represent the interests of Flemish and Dutch companies with one of their most important trading partners, particularly in the fields of logistics and ICT. Earlier this month the government announced a joint economic mission to Ghana and Senegal in June, which will be led by Flanders’ international trade agency Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT).

The economic mission to Atlanta (pictured) will be headed by Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois and Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte. The two governments carried out a joint mission to the US once before, to Houston, Texas in 2013.

“I am glad that the Netherlands and Flanders

will once again be able to embark on a trade mission together,” said Bourgeois. “Atlanta is a centre of growth in the southern United States, which is not only important as a logistical hub, with the biggest airport in the world, but also a centre for ICT.” The US is Flanders’ largest trading partner outside of the EU, with a share of 6.1%, up 8.9% over the course of the past year, thanks to Flanders’ export growth in pharmaceuticals, organic

chemicals, machines and cars.

The US is also the region’s largest inward investor, with 54 new projects – 29.3% of the total – in 2014. The main sectors for investment are manufacturing, research and development, and sales and marketing. “The choice to take our second joint trade mission to the US was an easy one to make,” said Bourgeois.

A joint mission “improves the chances of both Dutch and Flemish businesses,” he continued.

“For our logistics sector, our ports and our innovative enterprises, working together has an added value. I hope, together with Mark Rutte, that we will be able to open many doors for our Flemish and Dutch companies.”

Flanders and the Netherlands “are strong in the areas of ICT and logistics,” noted FIT director Claire Tillekaerts, “two important sectors where innovation is a major driver.” \ AH

\ INNOVATION

april 29, 2015

Roses are red

week in innovation

Flemish company sees business opportunities in colour consulting Senne Starckx More articles by Senne \ flanderstoday.eu

WWW.COLORPASSPORT.COM

A

number of ubiquitous megabrands have over the years become linked with certain colours. Most people know “real” Coca-Coca is sold in red cans and that those of its competitor, Pepsi, are blue. And when we try to find that IKEA store off the highway, we intuitively look for its iconic blue-and-yellow signage.

But red isn’t always the same … red. Americans, for instance, perceive Coca-Cola’s red differently than Europeans do, mainly because the sun has a different position on the other side of the Atlantic.

Our cultural backgrounds also determine our attitudes to particular colours. For example, in China, white rather than black is the colour of death and mourning. Meanwhile, in Italy and Brazil the colour associated with end-of-life rituals is purple, as a German concert organiser realised when late Italian opera star Luciano

When we see red surface in a demonstration, we directly associate it with socialism

© Courtesy Color Passport

Colour expert Luc Van Renterghem says he can distinguish between 10,000 shades

Pavarotti once refused to perform in front of a purple curtain.

This means that companies wanting to sell their products around the world need to keep in mind that colours aren’t perceived the same way everywhere.

And a new, Antwerp-based start-up can help with that. The founders of Color Passport aren’t shy about their ambitions and say they have found – and are filling – a gap in the market.

“By relying on our system and our expertise, companies can make the right choice between all the different shades of one colour,” explains

Bart Van Tichelt, Color Passport co-founder and an ex-marketer for Coca-Cola.

Color Passport launched with a starting budget of €600,000 earlier this year and has already patented its colour system in 30 countries.

The Color Passport team have developed a system that incorporates no less than 7,200 colours and shades – each of them defined by a unique four-digit code – and its colour consultancy services are built around this system.

The Color Passport divides the world into 18 colour zones and offers information on what colours work better in certain regions of the world. The system can also predict which colours match better with certain age groups or consumer types – for example, dynamic versus traditional individuals.

Van Tichelt points out that colours are often strongly related to our cultural, educational,

political and even religious backgrounds. “We perceive orange as the colour of the Dutch monarchy and the Dutch national football team,” says Van Tichelt. “While in Italy, it is perceived more as the colour of terracotta pottery. And when we see a red flower surface in a demonstration march, we directly associate that with socialism.

By relying on our system and expertise, companies can make the right choice between all the different shades of one colour.”

But why should we take their word for it? How do we know that Color Passport isn’t just selling thin air? Well, for one, the company enlisted the help of Luc Van Renterghem, a former textile engineer from Ghent University who transformed himself into one of the world’s leading colour consultants decades ago.

Van Renterghem has been studying the way our brains process colours for more than 50 years and says the foundation for his career was laid early in life. “When I was young, my mother taught me to associate the colours of the flowers on our windowsill to their particular varieties and odours.”

Thanks to that “colour memory”, Van Renterghem claims that, while most people can discern between 200 and 300 colour gradations, he can distinguish between 10,000 different shades.

Fundamental to the work of this colour visionary is the notion that we see not just with our eyes, but also with our brains. “And it’s not just one-way traffic,” Van Renterghem explains.

“Our state of mind also has an effect on how we perceive a certain colour. And, of course, different colours can arouse different emotions.”

While Van Renterghem has brought the world of colours into the realm of science, Color Passport now aims to bring it into business. “Thanks to our system’s classification, each of the 7,200 colours we deal with has a unique ‘passport’,” Van Renterghem says. “This passport tells a company what its scientific values are, in which style or tradition it fits, what type of consumers it will attract and in which geographical region it’s applicable. We have thus made colour not only measurable, but also communicable.”

Q&A

WWW.FLANDERSBIKEVALLEY.BE

Flanders’ Bike Valley has broken ground on its new research and test centre for the cycling sector in Beringen, Limburg. CEO Marc Hufkens explains how the bottom-up cycling business cluster will create new jobs.

What is Flanders’ Bike Valley?

Flanders’ Bike Valley was co-founded by companies like Ridley Bikes, BioRacer and Lazer, and 40 stakeholders already believe in our mission to unite existing companies and startups in one space and help them develop their innovative products.

The construction of a wind tunnel with a high-tech Particle Image Velocimetry measuring system based on laser technology is our first big project. The centre will also house a lab, multiple workspaces and a reception hall.

You have said that Limburg could become the Silicon Valley of cycling.

The region is ready. There’s a muchloved recreational cycling route network that covers the whole province. With a permanent BMX track and a future Velodrome, Circuit Zolder is more focused on cycling than ever, and Beringen is home to the headquarters of sports marketing agency Golazo.

Maybe it’s a coincidence that some of Flanders’ biggest companies producing racing bikes and cycling gear are located here, but connecting them into one business cluster will only make them stronger.

In my opinion, a “valley” is an ecosystem in which the cluster functions as a magnet – attracting talent, investors and entrepreneurial knowhow, with the author-

ities as a facilitator. Flanders is known worldwide for its beer and its chocolate; we want to add our bike industry to that list.

Can collaborating help the local cycling industry to create jobs?

It’s no secret that a lot of industrial companies have left our region,

or outsourced their production.

On the one hand, our focus is on creating labour-intensive jobs for low-skilled workers in bike tourism and recreational cycling. On the other, we also want to restore some of the jobs that have disappeared by focusing on a highly automated production process.

This will enable the cycling industry to customise products like shoes and frames, and this way gain competitive advantage.

Thanks to a collaboration with DSP Valley, a cluster in the field of electronics and wireless communication, we were able to get a helmet with inbuilt sensors on the market in nine months. And thanks to construction of a high-tech wind tunnel, our local partners won’t have to go abroad anymore to test their new material.

Platform to help develop vaccines

Flemish welfare minister Jo Vandeurzen has launched the platform Flanders Vaccine for knowledge centres, companies and organisations active in the research and development of vaccines. It is the result of a collaboration between Biomed and LifeTechLimburg of Hasselt University, Vaxinfectio of Antwerp University, Provaxs of Ghent University, FlandersBio and BioMARIC. The mission is to create more synergy between the academic and industrial players in the area of infectious diseases, immunology and vaccinology and encourage innovation in vaccine development.

Belgium aims for digital top In five years, Belgium should be in the top position in Europe in digital development, according to a new action plan called Digital Belgium. The plan was launched this week by Alexander De Croo, minister of telecommunications and the digital agenda, and his group of ICT experts that make up the advisory board Digital Minds for Belgium. One of the most ambitious goals is to develop 1,000 start-ups and 50,000 jobs by 2020. De Croo has also set a goal of making internet of 1GB per second the standard by 2020. Belgium should also be a frontrunner in the development of 5G mobile internet and closing the digital gap in society, he said. Legislation has to be more “digital friendly” in future, he said, and it should be possible to deliver all government communications digitally by 2020.

Sports.Tech brings athletes to the lab The University of Leuven (KU Leuven) and innovation centre Flanders Smart Hub have launched the Sports.Tech network, bringing together athletes, scientists, entrepreneurs and policy-makers in Flanders. The goal is to support top sports performances through science and technology. Sports.Tech will connect innovative Flemish initiatives, which are too often unaware of each other’s projects and are missing opportunities to pool resources. “These parties don’t know about each other, sometimes even if they belong to the same research centre,” said business developer Tine Van Lommel of KU Leuven’s Research & Development service. The network will bring together researchers and on the development of new products and solutions. \ Andy Furniere

\ Interview by Tom Peeters

\7

Your dailY news

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

\ EDUCATION

april 29, 2015

Equal opportunities

week in education

Ghent project eases Roma children into classroom learning Andy Furniere More articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.eu

A caravan site for traveller communities in Ghent has set up a makeshift classroom to teach children staying at the site basic reading and writing skills.

One patient lesson at a time, the organisers are trying to bridge the gap to the mainstream education system for Roma children, who often have never gone to school before

I

t’s unusually calm at the caravan terrain for traveller communities on the outskirts of Ghent, one of four such sites in Flanders. While the 25 available spots are typically full year-round, only six families have currently set up camp.

But the Ghent site has one facility that none of the other Flemish caravan grounds do: a container classroom where children go to school.

The idea for the educational project came from site supervisors Agnes Van Camp and Ken Paeleman, but Ghent alderman for equal opportunities, Resul Tapmaz, has backed the project, and subsidies were offered by the federal Impulsfonds voor het Migrantenbeleid (Impuls Fund for Migrant Policies).

Van Camp, who has extensive teaching experience, had already been giving children at the Ghent site impromptu lessons in a small office for years before the container classroom was installed last September.

“When I started working here, I immediately noticed that the children often seemed bored,” she explains. “By offering lessons, I wanted to give them something to do and teach them basic skills they mostly lacked – writing, reading and counting.”

For complicated historical, cultural and political reasons, a large part of the Roma population in Europe live on the margins of society. This outsider position impacts the educational opportunities of Roma children, regardless of whether they are part of traveller or settled families.

A number of initiatives have been launched in recent years to offer these children more chances, but experts say more efforts are needed.

Van Camp teaches groups of up to 15 children in English and French in the small, makeshift classroom.

She receives regular help from three students from the primary education teacher-training department of Artevelde University College as well as one student in the sports teachers’ programme at University College Ghent.

Still, even with that kind of

Study programmes need modernising

Education minister Hilde Crevits has called for study programmes in secondary education to be reformed as not all meet today’s demands.

A screening of students from the second and third grades of secondary education by the Agency for Quality Care in Education and Training focused on the 2008 to 2013 period, examining the evolution of the number of students.

Researchers also checked whether students went on to higher education or work. The study showed that graduates from general education who don’t go on to higher education have difficulty finding a job. It also showed that technical, professional and arts programmes don’t lead to the best results.

7,300 teachers compete for 417 jobs

© Marlies De Boeck

Both Roma parents and children in Ghent have enthusiastically embraced the on-site classroom

support, the past months have been trying. “Many of the children have never had schooling before so they have very limited knowledge and concentration problems,” Van Camp explains. “The group is also very diverse: they are of different ages, have different skill levels and speak different languages.”

Because families can only stay at the site for a maximum of three weeks, sustained progress is extremely difficult. That’s why flexibility is key. “We have to adapt to the different profiles of the children and make sure the lessons contain enough variation and fun games to keep their attention,” she says. The lessons do not take place according to a particular schedule, but are instead organised in an impromptu manner.

The first exercise for newcomers is always the same: to write their own names. Putting her puzzle aside for a moment, seven-yearold Loren proudly shows me that she has mastered this challenge.

When I ask her whether she likes the lessons and whether she will miss them when she leaves, she nods without hesitation.

Van Camp and her colleagues have never had any problem attracting children who are staying at the site. As for the parents, they have generally applauded the initiative. Billy, Loren’s father, emphasises how important it is that the children learn how to read, while Virginie, the girl’s mother, says they often discuss the lessons at home.

“Most parents are happy that their children are receiving opportunities that they never got themselves,” explains Van Camp. “It is also useful that the children can

help their parents to understand signs and letters.”

In the future, Van Camp hopes to provide lessons to toddlers, older teenagers and even adults. Right now, the second group has mostly stayed away from the classroom because they feel awkward being taught together with the younger children. “To reach everyone, we need more space and support,” says Van Camp.

The Ghent team is also trying to spread the message to the other traveller sites in Flanders. “Families often go from one Flemish site to the other,” Van Camp explains.

“If there were similar projects at all sites, we could provide more continuous education.”

The Roma families that typically stay at the Ghent site belong to three communities: “Roma” from Western Europe, French “voyageurs” and Irish “travellers”. That does not mean that all Roma families continuously travel around.

Roma from Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia, for instance, tend to settle down in one place. Since the late 1990s, large groups from these communities have migrated to Flanders in search of a better life.

This trend was reinforced when Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia joined the European Union in the mid-2000s.

A 2013 PhD research project completed at Ghent University showed that children in these migrant communities, those from Slovakia especially, struggle to integrate into the mainstream education system. They often end up in the special education system for students with disabilities.

As part of his research, Elias Hemelsoet discovered that 19%

of Slovakian children in Ghent’s primary education system take special-education classes, compared to 7% of Flemish children. In Ghent’s secondary education system, the difference is even starker – 33% of Slovakian students compared to 5% of native Flemish.

“Many of the Roma children had little schooling in their country of origin and Flanders’ regular school system is not adapted to their needs,” explains Hemelsoet, who now works as a policy adviser to the Flemish Community’s GO! school network. Because Roma are often severely discriminated against in Slovakia, parents are often suspicious of civil society in general and tend to not encourage children to go to school.

Meanwhile, the city of Ghent has been exploring new approaches to integrate Roma children into the regular school system. The city has backed a project that has experts acting as a go-between between schools and Roma families. “They try to develop the confidence of Roma families in the school system and assist the school staff in working with the students and parents,” Hemelsoet explains.

He thinks that targeted reception classes should also be organised to prepare teenagers without previous schooling, like many Roma youngsters, for mainstream education. He says that the general reception classes for newcomers in Flanders struggle to mainstream these youths.

Finally, Hemelsoet also points to the responsibility of the European Union, which he says should invest in more support for Roma communities.

On average, more than 7,300 teachers are looking for a job every month, while there are an average of 417 vacancies, according to the Flemish employment and training agency VDAB. “There is a shortage of teachers for technical courses, maths and French,” VDAB spokesperson Bartelijne van den Boogert told Deredactie.be. “But there is a surplus for courses like history, Dutch and art.” The Flemish Education Council predicted in 2013 that there would be a shortage of nearly 17,000 teachers between 2012 and 2022. That seems to contradict the latest figures, but spokesperson Ann Daenens said: “If you do the calculations, there is still a risk of a shortage, especially as the number of students is increasing.”

Fewer truants in Antwerp While there are more youngsters skipping school in the whole of Flanders, the number in Antwerp is decreasing. About 90% of Antwerp students in secondary and primary education rarely or never skipped school in the 2013-14 academic year, according to the city’s truancy report. The rest were absent without excuse for at least 10 days. In Antwerp’s primary education system, only 4% of pupils have skipped school for at least 10 days, compared to 4.1% in 2013-14. In secondary education, 15.5% in 20132014 were absent for at least 10 days, 2% less than the year before. The number of truants across Flanders increased by 13.4% in 2013-14 compared to the year before, to 8,038 students. \AF

\9

\ LIVING

week in activities Royal greenhouses

This week is the last chance to visit the 19th-century greenhouses of the Royal Palace in Laeken, which are only open to the public for a limited time each spring.

From Friday to Sunday, the greenhouses are open in the evenings as well as during the day. Until 8 May, Koninklijk Parklaan, Brussels; free \ www.tinyurl.com/ greenhouse-visit

Orchard discovery day Discover the ancient apple orchards of Alden-Biesen castle. Freshly pressed juice, regional products, guided walks in the orchards and around the castle grounds, plus workshops and activities for kids. 3 May 13.0017.00, Kasteelstraat 6, Bilzen; free \ www.rlh.be

Geuze tour Eight traditional lambic breweries in Flemish Brabant will open their doors for an all-day party, including Boon, 3 Fonteinen and Mort Subite. Guided tours, tastings and entertainment. Some breweries have activities throughout the weekend. 3 May 10.0017.00, various locations; free \ www.horal.be

O-Parade It’s the 60th edition of this May Day tradition in Genk.

International street theatre, puppetry, marching bands, floats and more in a colourful moving procession through the city centre.

1 May, starting at 16.00; Genk city centre; free \ www.visitgenk.be

Brabant Boat Happening Celebrate the start of the boating season with boat rides, bike rides and guided walks on the canals and rivers around Brussels. Plus a Zenne Festival in the new Astrid and Albert Park in Halle. 1 May, various locations; free to €2 \ www.vaarhappening.be

Gardening event Browse plants, gardening tools and products for sale, plus clubs and organisations, information stands and gardening experts. 2-3 May 10.00-18.00, Provincial Park Vrieselhof, Schildesteenweg 95, Ranst; €2 \ www.tinyurl.com/tuinkrebels

\ 10

Shortening the chain

Farmers and consumers reap benefits of Food Teams initiative Bartosz Brzezinski More articles by Bartosz \ flanderstoday.eu

WWW.VOEDSELTEAMS.BE

B

efore the food you buy makes it to the supermarket, it has to go through a supply chain.

From the producer who grows it, through the processor who prepares and packages it, to the distributor who finally sells it to you, with every step, the available profits diminish.

“Organic or not, it’s often the farmer who ends up with the smallest cut,” says Hilde Delbecque from Voedselteams.

Voedselteams, or Food Teams, started in 1996, as a short-chain movement to “help the local farmers who were too dependent on the food industry,” she says. “The idea is simple: Farmers decide what they produce, how they produce it, and how much they sell it for.”

The organisation operates in 167 locations, run by groups of dedicated food teams, the largest of which are in Ghent and Antwerp.

Registered members order groceries from their team’s webshop, and a week later farmers deliver them to the depot, where they get picked up. “We ensure that everything is fresh, safe and, most importantly, local,” Delbecque says.

Launched in Leuven, Voedselteams has close to 3,000 members and works with 180 farmers – a fraction of the 25,000 farms that operate in Flanders, but fast growth is not the organisation’s top priority. Delbecque says Voedselteams strives to build a sense of community around each depot.

“We don’t want to act like a normal webshop where you simply buy food and have it delivered to you,” she explains. “We want our members to know about the farmers’ lives and we want to respond to any concerns they have.”

Compared to organic products

found at the supermarket, she says, Voedselteams’ prices are usually cheaper because there are no excessive middleman fees. The farmer receives most of the money, save for 6%, which goes to Voedselteams. Delbecque: “that’s the minimum to help us stay afloat, but still far below the corporate model, where the farmer can only expect between 20 and 60%.”

Although the organisation receives government subsidies, it depends on the continued participation of its members, many of whom also act as volunteers. One of the newest is Charlotte Demedts, who joined because of her conviction that farmers deserve living wages, “so that as customers we can still get food from our own region,” she says.

Since February, Demedts has been running a food depot out of her

garage in Ronse, East Flanders.

“We have four volunteers and seven families who are actively involved, but we’re hoping to get more,” she says.

For now, the Ronse depot consists of a small fridge, five shelves and a few empty crates. Nearby are a couple of bikes and a workbench with some gardening tools. Every Wednesday, farmers deliver their goods, and Demedts sorts and labels them so the families can pick them up when it suits them.

“Aside from my belief in sustainability, I order a lot of the food myself because it actually tastes good,” she says. “Some of the vegetables are not ones I would normally think of buying at a grocery store, so that adds variety to my diet.”

Because the team in Ronse works with local farmers, it has a unique

assortment of food. Depending on the region, some online shops offer ice cream, while in others members can get fish or wine. “With a bit of planning,” Demedts says, “I can limit my supermarket visits to only once a month.”

Willem Vernaillen, who supplies the Ronse depot with sheep’s cheese and yoghurt from his dairy farm in Brakel, says collaboration with Voedselteams has enabled him to interact more with neighbours. “Farm life is busy, so it’s a chance for me to share my experiences,” he says.

The partnership also ensures he has a reliable network of customers. “When I set out to create this farm, I wanted to keep it small,” he says. “But it also needs to be profitable, or else I can’t afford to feed my own family.”

BITE Farmers busy nurturing Flanders’ white gold From April until the Feast of Saint John on 24 June, asparagus season is in full force in Flanders. As the spears shoot towards the surface of their beds, farmers take great care to prevent exposure to the sunlight that would turn their stems from milky white to grass green.

They know the optimal moment for culling, cutting the vegetable with one swipe of their razorsharp knives, a task that can only be performed by hand due to the plant’s fragile nature.

Loose sandy soil is the natural habitat of the asparagus. It grows there easily, setting down claw-like roots in rows of raised soil kept at just the right temperature. Growing asparagus calls for a healthy dose of patience, as the vegetable can only be harvested from the third year of growth.

The first spears of the “white gold” were cultivated in Flanders in the area of Ghent around 1880. Shortly thereafter, Mechelen became the centre of asparagus cultivation.

These days, Flanders has numerous asparagus farmers, mostly in the provinces of Limburg, Antwerp and Flemish Brabant.

Several growers around the region run shops where you can buy your asparagus straight from the farm.

They include Bossuyt in Oostrozebeke, West Flanders, La Vrijsen in Herk-de-Stad and Kamerijckhoeve in Gingelom, both in Limburg.

Try to buy spears that are similar in size so they all have the same cooking time. For a main course, it’s best to use nice-looking straight spears.

For asparagus that’s going into a soup, sauce or quiche, appearance is less important. The taste is all the

same, but the price can vary greatly.

To prepare asparagus, use a vegetable peeler to remove the hard outer layer starting from just below the tip and moving down toward the base of the stalk.

Asparagus is great steamed, or you can boil it in plenty of water with a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes – until they’re tender but still al dente. A tall, narrow asparagus cooking pot is ideal for keeping the delicate tips just above the surface

of the boiling water, to avoid overcooking them.

The list of dishes using asparagus is endless. The classic treatment is op Vlaamse wijze, or Flemish style, topped with melted butter, chopped parsley and hard-boiled egg. Otherwise, butter (often available farmfresh at those same shops), smoked salmon, new potatoes, quail eggs, samphire and any delicate white fish all go well with asparagus. \ Robyn Boyle

april 29, 2015

Party like it’s 1945

Pull out your shoulder pads and join Ghent’s VE Day event in 1940s style Dan Smith More articles by Dan \ flanderstoday.eu

WWW.VE-DAY.BE

W

hen Germany surrendered at the end of the Second World War, countries around the world erupted in celebration. Victory in Europe (VE) Day – 8 May, 1945 – was declared a public holiday and people took to the streets to mark the end of hostilities.

This year marks 70 years since VE Day, and on 8 May visitors to Ghent’s Cocteau will party like it’s 1945, as the venue hosts its seventh Victory in Europe Party. It takes the organisers a week to turn back the clock and recreate the already atmospheric Cocteau as it would have been at the end of the war.

It gives you a sense of the time and the relief that people must have felt Festivities kick off at 18.00 when partygoers get their first glimpse of the venue, decorated in 1945 style for the evening. But it’s not just the decor and music that will take you back. Everything is designed to remind

you of the mid-1940s, from the money to the drinks.

“Think of the classic images of girls dancing in floral dresses to the tunes of Glenn Miller and Vera Lynn,” says Evelien Taeldeman, one of the organisers. “It’s guaranteed to take you back in time instantly.”

To ensure the atmosphere is maintained, there’s a strict dress code. “We ask every-

one to come in authentic 1940s outfits,” says Taeldeman. “Some people choose to wear army, navy or air force uniforms, while others prefer civilian clothes from the era.”

The party will include a beauty salon where women can get their hair done in a 1940s style. The salon will be staffed by hairdressing students from Het Perspectief, an evening school for adults in Ghent. Taeldeman

expects them to be busy and recommends people book ahead via the website or Facebook page.

During the early part of the evening there will be tango lessons and demonstrations of the Lindy Hop, waltz and other dances that were popular during the war years. There will also be music from the era, including a set called Songs that Won the War with DJ Mister Swing, plus live performances by the All Of Us Swing band, with Luc Callaert on vocals.

The evening culminates with burlesque shows by Cerise Noire and Xarah von den Vielenregen. DJs Mister Swing, Sep Vermeersch and Cpt Peacock will provide music for the shows and continue playing into the early hours.

“It’s a complete night out, but it also gives you a sense of the time – and the relief that people must have felt at the end of the war,” says Taeldeman. “It offers something for everyone, whether you’re a history buff or just interested in the music, dancing or atmosphere of 1945.”

8 May, 18.00 Cocteau

Jan Palfijnstraat 17, Ghent

Planckendael’s newborn elephant in critical condition

Tough guys compete for rugby prize in Union Cup

The condition of a long-awaited elephant born at Planckendael animal park in Mechelen last week to mother May Tagu is still critical, according to the park’s spokesperson. The male, known as Baby Q, was having trouble standing up as well as suffering from dehydration.

This is May Tagu’s first baby, and her inexperience complicated the first hours.

“Normally, the mother helps her baby to stand up, but May Tagu hasn’t done that,” said Ben Van Dyck. “It’s very important that a newborn stands within five hours so it can feed from the mother.”

Staff separated Baby Q from his mother so they could feed him elephant milk to help him gain strength. He has since been returned to the elephant enclosure, but May Tagu is still unwilling to feed him and will also not allow keepers to milk her.

Keepers have fed him with milk taken from the zoo’s other pregnant elephant, Phyo Phyo, as well as formula, but they say this is not an ideal situation as he is unlikely to survive without his mother’s milk.

The elephant temple at Planckendael is currently closed to the public to allow the elephants to rest. “The next few days are going to be critical,” said Van Dyck.

The mother, May Tagu, gave birth after a 605-day pregnancy. The father already has a daughter: Kai-Mook, who was born at Antwerp Zoo in 2009 and now lives at Planckendael. She is the half-sister of the new calf. \ Derek Blyth

Next month, Brussels will play host to the sixth edition of the Union Cup, a European tournament for gay rugby teams.

The event is organised by Brussels team Straffe Ketten (Tough Men).

Twenty-four of the 28 European teams that are part of the International Gay Rugby association will take part, says co-ordinator Miguel Gallardo. Teams will be coming from a dozen countries, and the nationalities of the players are even more diverse.

More than 700 players and supporters are expected to descend on the Bempt sports complex in the district of Vorst for three days of competition and social events. The tournament starts on 22 May, with the playoffs for the cup the following day.

The Union Cup was first held in Montpellier, France, in 2005 and takes place every two years. Bristol hosted the last event in 2013, when it was won by London’s Kings Cross Steelers for the fourth time. This year marks 20 years since the Steelers were formed, making them the world’s oldest gay rugby team.

“I hope the Union Cup will help to increase the awareness of rugby in Belgium, which is still quite limited,” says Nick Vermeyen, 26,

© Courtesy Planckendael

WWW.UNIONCUP.COM

from Antwerp, who plays wing for the Straffe Ketten. “I also hope it shows that Belgium is a very gay-friendly country, where everyone can be themselves, whatever they do.”

Straffe Ketten will play as a team in the Union Cup under their own name. But this year they’ve also invited players they compete against in the regular local competition to create a Belgian Barbarians team. “We wanted to increase inclusiveness and show that gay and straight players can

play together,” explains Gallardo.

Straffe Ketten is Belgium’s first rugby team made up of (mainly) gay men. Formed in 2010, the team competes in the Frenchspeaking Belgian league. They also organise social events for the team and supporters. Their next monthly pub crawl takes place in Antwerp in June.

Around 30 people are involved in organising the tournament, with more volunteers expected to get involved. You can, too, via the website. \ DS

\ 11

WE TAKE YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR BUDGET UNDER OUR WING. Enjoy special discounts and free services for your whole family.

Your family boards first and sits together on board.

Kids under the age of 12 receive discounts* and everyone is entitled to 12kg of hand baggage.

brusselsairlines.com/family * Conditions: see website.

or your travel agency.

\ ARTS

april 29, 2015

Forget the message, enjoy the art Brussels hosts exhibition at end of Europe-wide commentary on freedom Ian Mundell More articles by Ian \ flanderstoday.eu

C

ritique – Crisis – Desire at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels is a serious exhibition that demands a certain degree of intellectual engagement. I suggest you ignore this demand. Walk past the introductory text and, once you reach the middle of the room, take a left and look around.

What you will see is a reminder that the Royal Museum has an amazing collection of contemporary European art. Formerly displayed over several floors, it now tends to get rationed out in temporary exhibitions like this one.

Here is one of its jewels, Francis Bacon’s “Pope with Owls” (1958), an eerie addition to the painter’s series of sinister and screaming pontiffs.

The two birds perch on the back of the throne, seeming to share the pope’s questioning gaze. This canvas is perfectly complemented

by Christian Boltanski’s “Reliquary: Murders” (1989-90), with its murky true-crime images sanctified on an altar of rusting metal boxes.

In the corner stands “The Lieutenant” (1966) by Flemish sculptor Roel d’Haese, a beguiling figure that appears to have two heads.

Opposite hangs one of Roman Opalka’s large paintings presenting a ‘detail’ of his life-long project to write down all the numbers from one to infinity.

This canvas begins at 1,556,343, the numbers painted in white on a silky grey background. From 1972 each work became progressively lighter, and by the time Opalka died in 2011 he had been painting whiteon-white for several years.

Explore further and you will find other fascinating works by Oscar Jespers, Jean Dubuffet, Thomas Struth, Alberto Burri, Jephan de Villiers and others. Hopefully, questions about why they have been

lacks the scale and structure of the original. Instead of a detailed and closely argued framework, the reasons given here for each work’s inclusion are so broad as to be meaningless.

So we have Henry Moore’s “Warrior Head” (1953) because the artist was

When he returned he created “The Destroyed City”, an anguished Cubist figure throwing its hands skywards, with a deep gash where its heart should be. The final monumental sculpture is a Rotterdam landmark, but the smaller version on display here is no less powerful.

Try not to let questions about why these paintings have been brought together intrude on your rapt attention

© SABAM, Belgium / DACS, London / photo: J.Geleyns - Ro scan

Francis Bacon’s “Pope with Owls” (1958)

brought together will not intrude on your rapt attention.

But if you must know, here is the reason. For the past two years a large exhibition called Critique and Crisis has been travelling Europe, making stops in Berlin, Milan, Tallinn and Krakow. Put together under the aegis of the Council of Europe, it takes the thesis that freedom to criticise helps to overcome social and political crises.

Using loans from major art collections across Europe, Critique and

Crisis examined how the concept of freedom has been interpreted, understood and defended in art since 1945, with particular reference to the divisions created by the Cold War. This exhibition did not come to Brussels, but the city was chosen to host a symposium to mark its conclusion this month. Critique – Crisis – Desire is therefore a local attempt to complement or perhaps evoke the absent Council of Europe exhibition.

Unfortunately, the Brussels show

concerned with the human condition and David Nash’s “Pyramid in the Sticks” (1989), a large charcoal drawing of a woodpile, because it evokes the forces of nature. Add in Nam June Paik’s inhuman and unnatural “Capella” (1966), with six miniature TV sets arranged around a car hubcap, and it would seem that anything goes.

The notion of freedom is strongest in the work of artists with some skin in the game. For example, Victor Brauner was a Jewish Romanian artist driven out of Paris when the Germans invaded in 1940. Usually a painter, Brauner was forced by refugee conditions to improvise a new way of working with the materials to hand: candle wax, pencil and ink. The figure in “Convulsion of Fluids” (1943) is an outline, a provisional human being, containing a network of dots or perhaps constellations.

Ossip Zadkine, a Russian of Jewish ancestry, also fled France in 1941.

Until 19 July

Or take Dimitri Perdikis, an abstract artist who responded to the rise of the Greek dictatorship in 1967 with more political work. In “Fear” a sinister young man stares out of a newspaper photograph collaged into a geometric arrangement of squares and circles, the smears of red paint strongly suggesting blood.

Political and social crises are addressed head on in recent work by two Flemish artists. In “Border” (2001) Hans Op de Beeck eavesdrops on a conversation between refugees, before expanding the thermal imaging to show that they are concealed in a large lorry.

Meanwhile, “Plot Point” (2007) by Nicolas Provost builds the appearance of a drama from images filmed in public, an eloquent commentary on surveillance and spectacle.

All of which is fine, but take a look at the catalogue of the Council of Europe exhibition tethered by the door, and you’ll see just what Brussels is missing.

Royal Museums of Fine Arts Regentschapsstraat 3, Brussels

New Boskamp festival is a breath of fresh air If you stroll past Ankerrui 5 in the north of Antwerp on any given night, you’re bound to witness a lively scene. The old warehouse at this address is home to Het Bos (“the forest”), an underground hangout for youngsters of all ages and the successor to legendary cultural hub Scheld’Apen.

A year after opening, the new arts centre-meets-bar-meets-club hosts its own festival for the first time. The month-long programme is called Boskamp, and the line-up is as diverse as the colours of the leaves in Stadspark. It includes music, movies and performances, or, as the announcement reads: 11x concert, 4x theatre, 5x euthanasia, 6x soap, 26x soup, 4x break-

fast, 8x film, 5x children’s workshops, 1x garden visit, 4x forest kitchen, 1x triadic ballet.

The festival is meant to draw attention to the year-round activities of Het Bos – officially a youth centre and arts workshop – and is curated by a group of local artists-in-residence. These artists will be staging their own co-ordinated chaos as well as inviting like-minded creatives. Het Bos and sister organisation De Bomen are throwing in some extra events to add to the fun.

“Every night will be interesting,” says Lotte Brown of Het Bos, “but of course there are several highlights.”

She mentions sisters Barbara and Stefanie Claes, who will open a

Start out discussing euthanasia, wind up bopping to electronica from Philadelphia’s Hallowed Bells

debate on euthanasia by means of theatre, poetry and discussion, and the midnight cinema of filmmaker Maxim Hectors, for which

he used 300 metres of mattresses.

“And then there’s the music,” Brown adds. “We have legendary names in store such as American punk band Poison Idea and garage rockers The Gories.”

The line-up may seem wild, but there’s nothing random about it.

Boskamp aims to showcase art that doesn’t get the attention it deserves. “We’re underground, but we still want to speak to as many people as possible. Theatre lovers might come here for a performance and end up at a heavy metal concert.”

1-31 May

WWW.HETBOS.BE

Connecting arts enthusiasts from all walks of life is the Bosbar. It serves coffee, soup and cake in exchange for a donation, as well as organic beer. On Thursdays, Het Bos is open for dinner, and on Sundays, there’s breakfast and a kids’ programme.

The organisation calls Het Bos a permanent experiment, and the same goes for Boskamp. The festival is a breath of fresh air in a city that’s infamous for its fine dust levels. And it’s not just for treehuggers. There’s loud music, too. \ Catherine Kosters

Het Bos

Ankerrui 5-7, Antwerp

\ 13

\ ARTS

week in arts & CULTURE Royal Library puts old newspapers online

The Royal Library of Belgium in downtown Brussels has put more than 1.2 million pages of historic newspapers online.

A new tool was launched last week by state secretary for science policy Elke Sleurs.

The new tool, BelgicaPress, functions as an advanced search engine, with which precise searches can be done within newspaper pages. The programme is meant to be used within the library, but certain newspapers – particularly those that appeared between 1831 and 1918 and so are no longer subject to copyright laws – can also be consulted from home. In the long term, the royal library wants to put 3.2 million pages online. The online collection will include censored publications from the First and Second World Wars.

Ilke Froyen new director of Passa Porta Ilke Froyen, a programme director at Brussels literature house Passa Porta, has been unanimously selected by the board to be the new general director of the organisation.

She replaces Sigrid Bousset, who led Passa Porta from 2008 until last year. Since its launch in 2004, Froyen has helmed a number of Passa Porta’s major projects, including the graphic novel competition Brussels in Shorts, the short-story festival Lange Nacht van het Korte Verhaal and this year’s Passa Porta Festival. “I am fascinated by the force of stories and also by the many voices that can be heard in Brussels,” Froyen said. “Passa Porta is a unique space where both come together, and it’s a fascinating challenge to be asked to continue building that space.”

Taalunie launches Dutch Week festival The Taalunie, or Dutch Language Union, is launching its first Week van het Nederlands (Dutch Week) this October. A variety of activities will take place “to reveal the richness of Dutch in a party-like atmosphere,” said the organisation in a statement. The theme of this first edition is “Iedereen aan het woord” or Everyone Speaks. The Taalunie officially represents the interests of the Dutch language, including spelling, literature, literacy and digitalisation of Dutch-language patrimony. It is a joint agency of the Netherlands and Flanders and is based in The Hague. \ WWW.WEEKVANHETNEDERLANDS.ORG

\ 14

Next exit, Wonderland The Van Jets’ fourth album takes listeners on a wild ride Christophe Verbiest More articles by Christophe \ flanderstoday.eu

I

t might sound strange for a rock band, but an important musical influence for Welcome to Strange Paradise, the new album by The Van Jets, was Yeezus by hip-hop icon Kanye West. Have they made a surprising musical U-turn? Not at all.

“We didn’t copy the beats or incorporate typical hip-hop rhymes,” says Johannes Verschaeve, the singer and main songsmith of the Ostend-Ghent foursome. “There’s a dual influence. First, hip-hop is often very experimental in the way it combines sounds, be it music or

The moment I write a song, I’m already thinking about how it would look live not. That’s what we’re trying at various points on this album.

“Second, it made me freer as a lyricist, using puns and playful elements. At times, I’m less singing than speaking rhythmically, without it being rapping.” Fans of rock music shouldn’t despair, though, since The Van Jets haven’t forgotten their musical roots.

The Van Jets rose to fame by winning Humo’s Rock Rally in 2004, defeating the big favourites, Absynthe Minded. “It was only after winning that we decided to fully concentrate on music,” explains Verschaeve (pictured, standing).

Since then, they’ve released four albums, including Welcome to Strange Paradise.

That paradise is not a specific place, explains Verschaeve, 34, who studied philosophy. The title refers instead to an attitude. “It’s looking at the world and its problems with crazy, cartoonish eyes, instead of singing a dead-serious protest song,” he says.

On the new album, Verschaeve covers a diverse range of subjects, be it the pollution of our seas with plastic debris, the overpopulation of the earth or the overconsumption of psychiatric medication. “I don’t sing about how regretful these things are, but how great. Of course, that’s not what I really think about them. For me, this irony gives the songs a Pop Art twist. We’re taking the listener on a wild trip.”

Not that Verschaeve is against raising those issues, he says, “but I think that should be done at a conference, not in music.” He has a weak spot for artists who think

See The Van Jets live on 8 May in Brussels’ Ancienne Belgique

along the same lines: David Bowie, Grace Jones, Beck and Gorillaz, to name a few.

That cartoonish aspect comes up in their shows, too, which are quite theatrical. “Indeed, that springs from the same idea,” Verschaeve says. “The moment I write a song, I’m already thinking about how it would look live. I think very visually. Just playing the music isn’t enough. Of course, it’s not always easy to find a balance between a rock concert and theatre.”

A surprising source of inspira-

tion for Verschaeve is the experimental musical theatre of American Robert Wilson. Still, making musical theatre themselves would be a step too far for The Van Jets.

Verschaeve: “You’d lose the spontaneity that’s so characteristic for rock music – a trait I really cherish.

The mayhem a band can create on stage would become impossible.”

After having recorded in Paris in the

8 May

past, The Van Jets went to London this time. It’s the home-turf of the album’s producer, Leo Abrahams, but there’s more: “We like to create our own bubble when we’re recording an album, without any distractions,” says Verschaeve. “Recording an album, for us, is creating a parallel universe. Daily worries would break that spell; that’s why we like to go away.” And where will they go for the album number five? “Berlin would be cool.”

English is the lingua franca of rock artists in Flanders, and The Van Jets are no exception. “The music we play is linked to the English language. When playing that music, you start singing in English without much thought.”

Singing in Dutch never has been an option for Verschaeve. A few years ago they were asked to work on a cover album of songs by Flemish music icon Will Tura. “It sounded fake. So I switched to the Ostend dialect: that language is much closer to my heart than Dutch.”

For Welcome to Strange Paradise, The Van Jets moved from PIAS, a Belgian independent, to a big label, Sony Music. “They have an international network, but that wasn’t the reason for the move. We always worked well with PIAS, but a change felt like the right thing.”

The Van Jets have attained a level of realism in their international ambitions. In the past, the foursome toured a lot in most parts of Europe, though they generally took the stage in small clubs. “We have learned that we should focus more on some target countries. Apart from the Benelux, it will be France and Germany. The idea is to attain something more than just a nice little tour in those countries.”

That’s for the autumn. First, they invite Benelux audiences to their Strange Paradise.

Ancienne Belgique

Anspachlaan 110, Brussels

Destrooper biscuit art on tour across Flanders WWW.LUCKYARTPARADE.BE

Flemish biscuit maker Jules Destrooper is celebrating the 125th anniversary of its most famous product, the thin butter waffles known as lukken. In a great show of artistic inspiration, they have invited 29 Flemish celebrities to create a work of art using a giant waffle itself as the canvas.

Gert Verhulst, an actor and head of children’s production house Studio 100, is patron of the project, dubbed Lucky Art Parade. Among those contributing in the medium of biscuit are chef Wout Bru, sing-

ers Wendy Van Wanten and Kate Ryan, conductor Dirk Brossé, tennis star Kim Clijsters and chocolatier Dominique Persoone.

The designs will go on show in Bruges on 27 April before moving on to Nieuwpoort, Ghent, Lo-Reninge, Knokke, Leuven, Antwerp, Roeselare and Hasselt, finishing up in November in De Panne.

The takings from the exhibition and auction of the artworks will go to the sheltered farm De Lovie in Poperinge, West Flanders, which specialises in growing “forgotten” vegetables and herbs for top restaurants. \ Alan Hope The Destrooper butter waffle design by former prime minister Mark Eyskens

\ AGENDA

april 29, 2015

Doing us proud

CONCERT

Belgian Pride 30 April to 15 May

T

he Belgian Pride festival and parade celebrate Brussels’ diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities with almost a month of events and partying. This year Belgian Pride celebrates its 20th anniversary, and three weeks of celebrations culminate with the big parade on 16 May. The formal programme kicks off on 30 April with MiniPride. This year it begins at the town hall, where Brussels-City mayor Yvan Mayeur will greet guests, including fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier. After the reception, the gathering will move to the Manneken Pis, where Gaultier will unveil a new costume

Antwerp Joshua Radin: The American singer-songwriter presents his sixth album, Onward and Sideways, which he wrote from a hotel room in Stockholm after falling in love with a local woman. 6 May, 20.15, Arenbergschouwburg, Arenbergstraat 28

Across Brussels WWW.PRIDE.BE

he has designed and donated to celebrate 20 years of Pride. Kriek will flow from the little statue to help get people in the mood for the evening’s parties.

Pride Festival continues with more than 100 events across Brussels. First up is the Street Art Tour, which will unveil the first permanent LGBT fresco. The Pride Film Festival begins on the same day and runs until 14 May. The Massimadi festival, meanwhile, which runs from 7 to 9 May, features LGBT films from Africa. Don’t miss their opening drink and closing party.

On 14 May is Gender@Pride. Activities relating to the theme of gender

\ www.greenhousetalent.be

CLASSICAL Kortrijk © Dennis De Roover

will take place across the centre of Brussels and involve feminist, transgender, gay and drag community groups.

By 15 May, Pride will be unmissable in the city as rainbow flag throwers decorate Brussels with the flag the LGBT community has adopted as its own. In the evening,

the Pride 20-Year Party will take place at Beursschouwburg as part of the Kunstenfestivaldesarts.

Celebrations wrap up with the annual Pride parade, which begins at 14.00 in front of the Beurs. More than 10,000 people are expected to march and dance, with thousands more lining the route. \ Dan Smith

VISUAL ARTS

FESTIVAL

The Course of History

International Jazz Day

Until 27 June Flemish photographer Bart Michiels has been living and working in New York City for decades, but he returned to Europe to document the current state of history’s most famous battlefields, from Troy to Flanders. His solo show The Course of History presents serene landscapes that bear little

Concertgebouw, Bruges www.concertgebouw.be

trace of yesteryear’s conflicts yet manage to unsettle by virtue of context and collective memory.

Michiels’ work is an integral part of Concertgebouw’s weekend festival NOISE!, which explores the relationship between art and war. \ Georgio Valentino

Kursk, Prokhorovka, 2008

30 April Jazz has come a long way. Once a strictly subcultural style shunned by the musical establishment, the innovative American-born art form has become the establishment. In 2011, citing the role of jazz in bringing the global community together, Unesco proclaimed 30 April International Jazz Day. Jazz cats will be be-bopping all over Belgium, but Brussels is the epicentre of this party. The capital hosts concerts and other events, including a conference on the political potential of jazz and a concert to mark the release of the first Real Book Belgium, a sheet-music anthology dedicated to home-grown jazz composers. \ GV

FOOD&DRINK

EVENT

Culinaria

Thuisdag

6-10 May Brussels’ annual food festival brings together dozens of Belgium’s top chefs for a showand-tell of epic proportions.

This year’s theme celebrates the national cuisine, reconciling its bewildering regional variety under the sign of “the Belgium Effect”. Like Yin and Yang or sweet and sour, Flemish and Walloon cuisine are culturally distinct but complement each other to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Chefs from both sides of the linguistic divide prepare dishes for the event, which also shines a spotlight on local products through its gourmet market. \ GV

Tour and Taxis, Brussels www.culinaria2015.com

23 May There are six million people in Flanders, and one million of them watch the evening soap Thuis.

Even expats are watching Thuis – though rumour has it that has more to do with learning Dutch than dying to find out if Sam ever finds her biological mother or if Peggy gives kidnapping Peter’s

Festival of Flanders: The Kortrijk leg of one of Flanders’ most prominent cultural events featuring concerts and activities covering the full classical and new music spectrum, from medieval to jazz, in unique settings, including churches, abbeys and belfries.

Until 10 May, across Kortrijk \ www.festivalkortrijk.be

VISUAL ARTS Brussels

Across Belgium www.jazzday.be

Artview#3: Annual meeting between artists and enthusiasts, featuring a collection of works by 10 internationally renowned Belgian artists, whose sculptures, paintings, photographs and installations give an overview of the local contemporary art scene. Until 28 June, Atomium \ www.atomium.be

FESTIVAL Brussels Yo!Fest 2015: Free festival organised by the European Youth Forum, mixing political debates and workshops with concerts and performances, with an aim to mobilise young people and youth organisations across Europe. 6 May, 10.00-midnight, Esplanade of the European Parliament

© Alain Deval

\ www.yofest.eu

get tic

kets n ow

Across Leuven www.tinyurl.com/thuisdag

baby another shot. In any case, every year, the cast of Thuis gives back to its loyal viewing community with a day of Thuis-related activities, including getting to rub shoulders with the actors themselves. It all takes place in Leuven, where the soap is shot. \ Lisa Bradshaw

FILM Brussels Atom Egoyan introduces Ararat: The Armenian-Canadian director gives a masterclass before introducing a screening of his film Ararat, about the Armenian genocide, the search for identity and the complexity of human nature.

(In multiple languages, with English subtitles) 4 May, 18.00, Bozar, Ravensteinstraat 23 \ www.bozar.be

FASHION Antwerp Fashion show: 150 models trot up and down a 1.5km outdoor catwalk (Belgium’s longest ever!), outfitted in the summer collections of several well-known brands. 3 May, 14.00-17.00, Meir

\ www.fashioninantwerp.be

\ 15

\ BACKPAGE

april 29, 2015

Talking Dutch No car, no problem Derek Blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

I

talked last week about my 30 days of silence. Now I want to tell you about my 30 days without a car.

Well, it was 29 days, to be honest. I had to move a wardrobe, and you can’t do that on a bike.

The government of Flanders recently launched the campaign 30 Dagen autovrij – 30 days without a car – to persuade people to try to live without their car for a month.

Here was the plan: Geef je auto in april wat vaker vrijaf – Give your car more time off than usual in April, en maak met elke kilometer het verschil – and make a difference with each kilometre.

The website said I would soon appreciate the benefits. Een fitter lijf – a fitter body (always good); een fris geurende stad – a city that smells fresh (that won’t be easy, not with that fritkot around the corner); meer rust en stilte – more peace and quiet (but only if someone kills the neighbour’s dog); minder fijn stof – fewer fine particulates (sign me up!); minder parkeerboetes – fewer parking fines (what is there to lose?).

And there was more: 7 redenen waarom je gemakkelijker iemand versiert te voet of per fiets – seven reasons why it’s easier to seduce someone on foot or on bike, it suggested.

Here, young lovers, is how it works. Je bespaart gemiddeld 148 euro aan brandstof – You save an average of €148 in fuel costs. Begin maar al te dromen wat je met die uitgespaarde centen kan doen – Start dreaming about what you’re going to do with all that extra money. Een bos bloemen, een etentje of een middagje romantisch een roeibootje huren – a bunch of flowers, a meal or a romantic afternoon

WWW.30DAGEN.BE/AUTOVRIJ

renting a rowboat.

Je krijgt er een betere conditie van, om van die gestroomlijnde benen nog maar te zwijgen – You end up fitter, not to mention those streamlined legs.

Je hart gaat erop vooruit – Your heart beats faster.

Je gezondheid gaat er sterk op vooruit – Your health improves. Je geniet 212 uur extra van de buitenlucht, je ziet veel meer van je omgeving en kan onderweg zo’n 600 mensen begroeten – You enjoy an extra 212 hours of fresh air, you see a lot more of your neighbourhood, and you meet about 600 people.

Je verbrandt in totaal 35.380 kcal – You burn 35,380 kcals in total. Dat is evenveel als de 600 appels die je plukt voor je hartendief of de 88 stukken appeltaart die zij (of hij) je voorschotelt – That’s equivalent to 600 apples that you pick for the love of your life, or 88 slices of apple pie that she (or he) offers you.

But maybe you shouldn’t eat all that pie. Not if you want to keep the streamlined legs.

VoiceS of flanders today hilary hurst jarman @hurststatus I’m ready for this #antwerp10miles race. @AdeccoUSA @ Win4Youth #lovewhatyoudo

Melissa Etheridge @metheridge Now Ghent was very quiet but very respectful. Changed to YCSWID not NTG. TLG and MMITD for piano songs. #Melfie!

Claus Mortensen @Claus1974 A fantastic trip is coming to an end. Had a great time and can’t wait to come back to Leuven and @ZbfLeuven again next year! #travel #beer

Lucy Scott Traybakes @traybakequeen On eurostar on way to Brussels for conference about patient advocacy in treatment for melanoma. #littlebitscared.pa

somebody to lean on @diplo Ghent and Brussels fully LIT! Liege next @headshotbe majorlazer Belgium squad https://instagram.com/p/16ybHUqMlk/

In response to: Talking Dutch: The sound of silence Teresa Kelly There is not enough of it around ! ! © Ingimage

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Poll

a. No, gay men are at a higher risk for HIV infection. Better safe than sorry. And giving blood isn’t exactly a human right

8%

b. No, but since other EU countries allow it, a substantial study should be conducted so the EU can have one evidence-based policy

33%

c. Yes, the ban discriminates against gay men, and all blood is tested anyway. The ban serves no purpose

58% claiming that they pose a heightened risk of HIV infection. After an exhaustive search of all available literature on the subject, the Red Cross admitted that it could find no scientific evidence to prove that the ban made the blood supply any safer.

However, they could also not find

evidence to prove that it didn’t. So they advised Belgian authorities to err on the side of caution and not lift the ban. A majority of you think that ban is outright discrimination. After all, the donor questionnaire is meant to weed out all those indulging in any sort of risky behaviour, not just one group.

\ Next week's question: A project backed Ghent’s city council provides education for Roma children living on a local caravan site. What do you think?

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

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the last word

Do you think the Belgian ban on giving blood for “men who have sex with men” should be lifted?

The Flemish Red Cross may think there is no reason to lift the ban on blood donations from “men who have sex with men,” but their approach, as they openly admit after publishing a report last week, is ultra-cautious.

The organisation refuses to accept blood donations from gay men,

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Peace in our time

Gas leak

“Young people … have a different image of Nato; they never knew the Cold War and see Nato troops as the blue helmets who try to bring peace everywhere.”

“It makes no sense to install natural gas lines if all it’s for is putting on the gas heater when it’s -10C. If people absolutely have to cook by gas, let them install a gas tank in the back garden.”

Trendwatcher Pedro De Bruyckere, as Randstad reports that Nato is now the most desired workplace among Belgian youth

App collapse “In my practice I’m seeing at least one amateur runner or cyclist every month who’s completely devastated by a burn-out or depression. All because he or she has been using an app [ for performance enhancement].

Some even have to be admitted to hospital.”

Energy distributor Eandis is to stop installing gas lines in new housing developments, as more new homes are becoming energy-efficient

Attorney privilege “These days you’d need to have murdered your father and mother not to be admitted to the bar.”

Antwerp lawyer Jan Dyck, on news that Belgium has a surplus of lawyers – 15 per 10,000 inhabitants, twice as many as in neighbouring countries

Flemish sports psychologist Jef Brouwers warns of the dangers of sports apps for smartphones

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