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may 6, 2015 \ newsweekly - € 0,75 \ rEad morE at www.flandErstoday.Eu currEnt affairs \ P2

Politics \ P4

In Flanders FIelds

BusinEss \ P6

innovation \ P7

new buIldIng For ghent Int'l sChool

Education \ P9

art & living \ P10

Cats on parade

Ottawa honours First World War soldier and poet who made Flanders famous and poppies a worldwide symbol

Ghent’s international school is attracting so many students, it has outgrown its premises and has plans for a new building

Ypres’ Kattenstoet only happens every three years, so make plans now to see a procession you’ll never forget

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A new start

© Jelle Vermeersch/Jongeren welzijn

flanders prepares new legislation for its young offenders and troubled youth andy furniere more articles by andy \ flanderstoday.eu

Fifty years ago, Belgium approved the youth protection law, which regulated for the first time support for minors in problematic situations, as well as the policy for minors who commit a criminal offence. Flanders recently acquired the political responsibility to deal with both situations and is working on a new decree.

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t was a little more than a century ago, in 1912, that Belgium approved a law to treat young offenders separately from their adult counterparts. Since 1965, youth judges have also had the power to find a proper solution for minors in problem situations: victims of abuse or neglect and those with personality disorders or suffering from psychiatric issues.

“Fifty years ago, youngsters were often taken from their

families and transferred to a more trustworthy family member, foster home or specialised institution,” says Karel Henderickx, the former head of the Flemish Community’s youth support institutions dealing with such youth.

Many specialised institutions of that time were former orphanages, where youngsters received basic care but not the personal attention many of them needed to reintegrate in society, he explains. The length of their stay at the institutions could be prolonged without much discussion and without consulting the youngster in question.

“A person could spend their entire youth in an institution without much evaluation of their condition,” says Henderickx, who retired from the post just last year.

In the 1980s, critics increasingly began to question the value of taking young people away from their families and

placing them in institutions. Alternatives for long-term residential stays were developed. “Young people could, for example, receive guidance at a centre after school and then go home in the evening,” explains Henderickx. “This way, they retained a strong link with society.”

Support in the institutions improved, thanks to government subsidies for creating more modern institutions and the increased professionalism of the youth support sector.

Trained social workers and teachers were better able to prepare youngsters for life outside institution walls. Regulations were introduced to make sure youth judges couldn’t take decisions without proper motivation, and young people received help from specialist lawyers.

Currently, much attention is being devoted to keeping the stay at institutions as short as possible. “Experts are continued on page 5

\ CURRenT aFFaIRs

Statue of “In Flanders Fields” poet unveiled in Ottawa

flemish officials in canada to honour soldier John mccrae, who penned famous poem derek Blyth more articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

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oen Verlaeckt, secretary-general of the Flanders Department of Foreign Affairs, travelled to the Canadian capital of Ottawa at the weekend for the unveiling of a statue in honour of the Canadian doctor and soldier John McCrae.

McCrae served in the trenches near Ypres during the First World War and composed the famous poem “In Flanders Fields” while tending soldiers at Essex Farm in May 1915.

McCrae dedicated the poem to his friend Alex Helmer, who was killed by an exploding grenade during a German gas attack. The poem refers to poppies, which led to the red flower being adopted worldwide as a symbol of remembrance.

“The horrors of the First World War on the western front are forever linked to the landscape of Flanders Fields because of the poem

by John McCrae,” said Verlaeckt. “It is our

duty to keep this memory alive and pass it on to future generations.”

The larger-than-life-size bronze memorial, which shows a sitting McCrae, notebook in hand, is supported by the government of Flanders. “The world-famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ and the poppy remind us of all the fallen,” said minister-president Geert Bourgeois. “We are unveiling a statue of John McCrae on the 100th anniversary of the poem’s composition to commemorate him and all the victims of war.”

The statue is located in front of the National Artillery Memorial on Sussex Drive, just east of downtown Ottawa. A duplicate of the statue will be unveiled later this year in McCrae’s hometown of Guelph, Ontario, about 500 kilometres southwest of Ottawa.

McCrae died of pneumonia in Wimereux, northern France, on 28 January 1918.

Union votes against strike on 12 May but pledges future action

Record number of tourists visit Flanders in 2014

The federal committee of the socialist trade union ABVV have voted not to strike again on 12 May. The committee’s vote means the decision need no longer go to a vote of the membership.

The federal committee is made up of representatives of all sector organisations and regional branches of the union. The vote went against the proposal 65% to 34%, with the ayes mainly from French-speaking Belgium.

The union last went on official strike on 22 April, in protest at the plans of the centre-right Flemish and federal governments to cut spending, skip indexation of wages (but not rent increases) and amend the rules on pension ages. That strike was supported by members of the Christian union ACV, although it was not officially backed by ACV leadership.

While rejecting another strike later this month, ABVV did say that it would intensify its actions on raising awareness of the problems of unemployment, pensions and European-wide cuts to public services. Protests will take place on 12 May to publicise youth employment, and 28

The number of tourists and business visitors to Flanders was up 6% in 2014, according to figures from Toerisme Vlaanderen. The increase was spread across the various tourist destinations: the coast (overnight stays up 7.4%), the art cities (up 6.3%) and the regions such as the Flemish Ardennes, Kempen and Haspengouw (up 6.5%).

The fine weather last spring and autumn brought many tourists to the coast and the regions, Toerisme Vlaanderen said, but the biggest increase was seen in the art cities – Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, Leuven and Mechelen (pictured) – with 720,000 more overnight stays. Antwerp alone welcomed 1,052,369 visitors, 53,000 more than in 2013.

The growth was split between foreign tourists and business visitors, accounting for 710,000 extra overnights. Visitors from the US were up 12%; those from India and Brazil were up 26% each.

© yves Herman/Reuters/Corbis

a protestor lights a flare in front of the prime minister’s office in Brussels last wednesday

May has been designated Tax Justice Day. Other actions will take place throughout June.

“We will continue to take a stand against this government and use whatever resources are available to do so,” said a federal committee spokesperson. “Striking will be done whenever necessary. As long as this government’s moneysaving policy is maintained, the workers have no choice but to continue with social resistance.” \ Alan Hope

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The figures are good news for the Flemish economy, said tourism minister Ben Weyts. “These 11.9 million arrivals and 26.6 million overnights, including over 14 million foreign visitors, represent a huge economic added value. Tourists support our hospitality and trade industries. I’d like to work in the coming years with the tourist industry to being even more visitors to Flanders.” \ AH

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complaints last year to the Flemish tenants’ union over rental deposits, one in 10 of all complaints. The Flemish housing minister said she wants to increase the deposit from two months’ rent to three

© stijn swinnen/Tourism mechelen

chronically sick children who follow their lessons online using Bednet pass their exams, the organisation said. Bednet has schooled some 1,200 children in its 10 years of existence

19,000 35%

members of the Muntpunt library in Brussels at the end of December, a decrease of 1,233 in the three months from the library’s first anniversary in September

increase in the amount of a traffic fine that has gone unpaid after 30 days, under a proposal from federal mobility minister Jacqueline Galant

out of some 30,000 food and drinks service establishments in Belgium are equipped with the new smart cash register, which became mandatory on 30 April. The system is meant to combat fraud

may 6, 2015

weeK In brIeF Sporting Lokeren footballer Gregory Mertens died last week in hospital in Genk after collapsing on the pitch during a match against Racing Genk.

Mertens, 24, suffered a cardiac arrest and underwent emergency surgery but did not regain consciousness. Mertens had been thoroughly screened at the start of the season, the club said.

Professor Marc Gewillig of the University of Leuven said even state of the art screening was only able to detect 75% of problems.

Mounted police officers will patrol the coast this summer, West Flanders governor Carl Decaluwé has announced. The decision follows a successful pilot project last year. Mounted officers will police the beaches and the shoreline, while extra units of the maritime police patrol the waters from Het Zwin and Knokke-Heist to De Panne.

Federal foreign minister Didier Reynders will address parliament this week about Belgium’s B-Fast rapid reaction unit, which returned to Belgium without being able to carry out its mission in Nepal. The team left on 26 April, the day after the devastating earthquake in the South Asian country, to help find and rescue survivors. The B-Fast plane could not land in Kathmandu, however, until Tuesday, and by the time the 43-strong team arrived, the Nepalese government’s mission had changed to providing shelter and care for the survivors – a task for which B-Fast was not equipped.

The future of Neo, the shopping and leisure development planned by the City of Brussels at Heizel, could be in jeopardy after the auditor of the Council of State issued an opinion that the amendment to the regional zoning plan that makes the complex possible did not go

FaCe oF Flanders ahead according to regulations.

The case was brought by a group of residents and businesses currently operating at Heizel.

If the council follows the auditor’s reasoning, the complex would not be allowed to include a shopping centre – the biggest draw of the project from the point of view of investors.

Residents of Melle in East Flanders who last week refused to evacuate their homes for the decommisioning of a Second World War bomb could face fines of up to €250, police warned. The 250-kilogram bomb was discovered next to the railway line, and police evacuated 2,900 people from the area. Twelve residents refused to leave, delaying the operation.

A Delhaize store in Brussels’ Elsene commune has removed panels meant to discourage the homeless from sitting on its windowsills, following public outcry. The company said the panels had been installed to prevent begging, which it felt was annoying to customers.

The panels will be replaced by a removable system that will only be used in cases of serious nuisance, Delhaize said.

The Flemish agency for nature and woodlands (ANB) has announced plans to make the 535 hectares of the Hallerbos permanently car-free.

At present the wood, between the Zenne river and the Sonien Forest and world-famous for its springtime carpet of bluebells, is only free of traffic on Sundays and public holidays. According to the ANB, the motor traffic is not only a noise nuisance, it is also responsible for the deaths every year of thousands of animals, from deer to salamanders. The first phase begins on 1 July with the closure of Vlasmarktdreef and Eikendreef between Achtdreven junction and Hallerbosstraat.

Colruyt is no longer the company with the best reputation in Belgium, after an unbroken run of five years. First place has been taken over by sugar refiner Tiense Suikerraffinaderij of Tienen in Flemish Brabant.

Fourteen thousand Belgians are polled for the ratings by the local reputation management bureau Akkanto.

National rail authority NMBS has contested the results of a study by the Boston Consulting Group, which looked at the performance of railway companies in 25 European countries. NMBS scored badly in punctuality, speed and ticket prices, and came in second-tolast place for service ahead of Ireland. “The NMBS is surprised at the lack of objectivity in the methodology used,” the authority said in a statement, claiming the figures used are outdated.

The national telecommunications regulator BIPT is carrying out an investigation of so-called “unlimited” formulas offered by telecoms companies, which often turn out to be subject to more limits than the name implies, minister for telecoms Alexander De Croo said. Companies often offer unlimited downloads, telephone minutes or text messaging, but the small print in contracts also warns of possible sanctions against “excessive” use.

The Scottish brewery BrewDog plans to open a pub in Brussels. The brewery, known for pushing the envelope with beers made with extreme hopping and alcohol levels of up to 41%, is opening its outlet in the former Sabena building opposite Central Station some time this year, the company announced.

BrewDog has more than 20 bars across the UK as well as in Barcelona, Stockholm, Helsinki and Sao Paolo.

oFFsIde Power to the people The first of May is just behind us, the day when we mark the struggle of workers to obtain the rights we now enjoy. The working man and woman were constant sources of inspiration to 19th-century Brussels sculptor Constantin Meunier as he worked during the last 10 years of his life on his magnificent Monument to Labour, which stands in a small park in the Laken commune of Brussels.

It’s not possible to study Meunier’s masterpiece (pictured) up close because the park was enclosed several years ago by an iron fence, a reaction to an incident of vandalism. Now some local people have

started a protest action aimed at having the fence removed and the park opened up to the public.

Last week they took the matter into their own hands and temporarily removed a section of the fence, brought in deck chairs and a barbecue and had themselves a party.

Lotte Stoops is one of the members of the neighbourhood committee AYAY, which headed up the picnic.

People manage to climb over or through the fence, she pointed out to TV Brussel, and if they were of a mind to vandalise the statues, nothing was stopping them. So why not get rid of the fence?

Jommeke He doesn’t look as if he’s about to turn 60 years old, until you realise he has a bowl-cut hairstyle and goes around in short trousers (not shorts) and proper shoes (not trainers). His name is Jommeke, and he’s only 60 in real life: In his own world, he’s 10 years and four months old forever, according to his creator Jef Nys. The Jommeke cartoon strip first saw the light of day in October 1955 in the monthly publication Kerkelijk leven (Church Life). Later it appeared in Het Volk newspaper, which also published the first 75 comic albums of what would eventually become a series of 250.

It was one of the best-selling of all Flemish comic series, but virtually no-one outside of Flanders knows about Jommeke; Nys, who died in 2009, never achieved the stature enjoyed by fellow cartoonists, like Marc Sleen (Nero), Willy Vandersteen (Suske en Wiske) and, above all, Hergé (Tintin).

Part of the reason is that Jommeke was always aimed at children. Like Tintin (known as Kuifje in Dutch), Jommeke is rather a goody-two-shoes without much character; but whereas Tintin has Haddock and gets into some seriously

© Courtesy Ballon media

dangerous situations, Jommeke keeps the company of children, like his loopy friend Filiberke and identical twins Rosemieke and Annemieke.

Even as a child hero, Jommeke is tame and remains so by explicit order of Nys, who stopped being the sole author in 1972 but who made it a condition of his will that Jommeke should never come in contact with violence, weapons, sex, drugs or other such influences.

The closest he ever came was in the 1992 comic book Dertig varkensstreken (Thirty Pig Jokes), part of the Urbanus comic series by the comedian of the same name and artist Willy Linthout. Jommeke makes a cameo appearance, and the other characters swear like troopers to prevent the story being swamped by his impeccable morality.

There’ll be none of that, obviously, in the celebrations planned for this anniversary year by publisher Ballon Media.

Alongside a project with the Make-a-Wish Foundation, there will be a Jommeke presence at the Pennenzakkenrock festival and 50 summer camps. In October, expect a special birthday collection at the Boekenbeurs in Antwerp. \ Alan Hope

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

www.ayay.org

© Ben2/wikimedia

“We’re sitting here on a real Brussels treasure,” she said. “The land belongs to the region, the monument belongs to the city; the region owns the fence but it’s maintained by the city. Those barriers and the wall belong to the port. So it could be some time before we … get everyone around the table.” \ AH

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

Editor Lisa Bradshaw dEPuty Editor Sally Tipper contriButing Editor Alan Hope suB Editor Linda A Thompson agEnda Robyn Boyle, Georgio Valentino art dirEctor Paul Van Dooren PrEPrEss Corelio AdPro contriButors Daan Bauwens, Rebecca Benoot, Derek Blyth, Leo Cendrowicz, Katy Desmond, Andy Furniere, Diana Goodwin, Julie Kavanagh, Catherine Kosters, Toon Lambrechts, Katrien Lindemans, Ian Mundell, Anja Otte, Tom Peeters, Daniel Shamaun, Senne Starckx, Christophe Verbiest, Débora Votquenne, Denzil Walton gEnEral managEr Hans De Loore PuBlishEr Corelio Publishing NV

Editorial addrEss Gossetlaan 30 - 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden tel 02 373 99 09 editorial@flanderstoday.eu suBscriPtions tel 03 560 17 49 subscriptions@flanderstoday.eu or order online at www.flanderstoday.eu advErtising 02 373 83 57 advertising@flanderstoday.eu vErantwoordEliJkE uitgEvEr Hans De Loore

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5th ColuMn Party in paralysis

1 May, Labour Day, is traditionally a time for speeches by socialist leaders, on the benefits of the welfare state and potential threats to it.

Last week, it was also an occasion to look at the state of the socialist party SP.A itself.

The recent death of former SP.A leader Steve Stevaert only highlights the fact that the socialists have seen better times. While in 2003, under Stevaert’s leadership, the party received 24% of the vote, it stood at merely 14% last year. It was forced into opposition by a centre-right majority, which, in spite of all its squabbling, still enjoys broad popular support.

Finding an opposition voice after decades in power is never easy, as the weight of past decisions still looms. But there is more to SP.A’s problems than that. It is paralysed by the election of its new leader.

The outcome, many believe, is certain, as incumbent Bruno Tobback seems isolated and challenger John Crombez is mostly described as “sympathetic”. Still, the impact of the election is far-reaching, as the strong leadership the party is accustomed to is absent.

In Antwerp, one of SP.A’s strongholds, the crisis runs even deeper. Yasmine Kherbache, destined to be former mayor Patrick Janssens’ successor, resigned from most of her local offices, leaving the party in an even greater state of confusion.

So what were the speeches about on 1 May? What stood out was the call for “a left-wing front”. That is the term commonly used for a co-operation between SP.A and Groen. One of the advocates is, not surprisingly, Ghent mayor Daniël Termont, whose city reflects a successful co-operation between the two parties.

In Antwerp, too, there were pleas for a left-wing front. In Flanders’ largest city, a front between SP.A and Groen would be a force to be reckoned with, a veritable counterweight to the popularity of N-VA’s Bart De Wever. It does, however, take two to tango, as even the socialists pointed out last week. The greens find it hard to warm to the idea, fearing the dominance of the larger socialists.

And last week again, the old scenario repeated itself.

Groen party leader Meyrem Almaci turned down SP.A’s “courting”, as did Kristof Calvo, Groen’s speaker in the federal parliament. “If cartels are the main subject on 1 May, there is a problem,” he tweeted. \ Anja Otte

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Klimaatzaak sues governments thousands join to subpoena four governments over climate policy alan hope more articles by alan \ flanderstoday.eu

Almost 9,000 members of the public have joined an initiative launched by a group of 11 prominent Flemings to take legal action to force the federal and regional governments to improve their climate policies.

Klimaatzaak (Climate Business) was formed at the end of last year, with the statement that the four governments – federal, Flemish, Walloon and Brussels – were in breach of their obligations regarding climate change. The group is demanding a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 87.5% based on 1990 levels, with a deadline of 2050.

The four governments issued a response to the demands earlier this year and met with Klimaatzaak. “Despite this interesting and constructive discussion, it soon became clear that the vari-

Flemish parliament shortens summer recess The six parties in the Flemish parliament have voted in favour of new parliamentary rules tabled by speaker Jan Peumans (N-VA). The revised regulations include a shorter summer recess to allow MPs more time to approve government decisions during the summer months.

MPs will no longer be able to head off on holiday around the Flemish national holiday on 11 July. They will instead work two more weeks in July so that they “follow the same rhythm as the Flemish government,” said Peumans.

But the parties rejected a proposal to return to work two weeks earlier, on 1 September. They will return to parliament in mid-September as usual.

Meanwhile, the Brussels parliament has voted to return to work on the third Monday of September, a full month earlier than usual. \ Derek Blyth

© Courtesy klimaatzaak

The founding members of klimaatzaak

ous parties could not come to a consensus that would see the necessary commitments translated into a climate policy,” said Klimaatzaak in a statement. “All parties were in agreement that

a global temperature increase of more than two degrees Celsius must be avoided.”

The group includes artists, scientists and conservationists, including film director Nic Balthazar, Ignace Schops of the Regionaal Landschap Kempen and musician Stijn Meuris. They are now joined by 9,000 members of the public who added their names to a subpoena bringing the four governments to court and asking them to provide a timetable for their compliance with the CO2 demand and a division of responsibilities.

The subpoena has gone out, and the group expects a preliminary hearing within two weeks.

If the governments fail to meet the group’s demands, and those are upheld by the court, the group is asking for an exemplary fine of €10,000 a day to be levied.

Experts meet to discuss future of public transport The first of two hearings was held last week in the Flemish parliament in a bid to cut the region’s traffic and pollution by attracting more people to public transport.

The Committee for Mobility and Public Works brought together representatives from transport companies and passenger lobby groups to discuss the government’s proposed changes to the public transport network based on a shift in policy from “basic mobility” to “basic accessibility”.

The government of Flanders’ goal is to address the region’s chronic traffic and pollution problems by persuading people to abandon their cars and adopt public transport, despite cuts to services announced this year and an end to free public transport for people over 65. The government aims to make public transport more accessible and competitive and to focus on providing efficient transport for daily commuters, including students and workers.

Among the participants were two experts from Scandinavia who described new forms of sustainable public transport developed in Denmark and Sweden. Representatives from

© Courtesy TaRs631/wikimedia Commons

unions, transport operators and lobby groups Supporters van het Openbaar Vervoer and TreinTramBus were also present.

A second meeting this week will bring together experts from other organisations, including the Anti-Poverty Network, the Taxi Federation and the cycle hire organisation Blue-bike/Blue Mobility. The talks are aimed at shaping a new operating contract for the Flemish public transport company De Lijn, which is due to come into force on 1 January next year. \ DB

Mixed reactions to surrogate mother conference in Brussels Belgium has an urgent need for a legal framework for surrogate motherhood that protects the interests of the child, the surrogate and the prospective parents, according to Kind & Gezin, the Flemish agency for the family and children.

“Kind & Gezin is concerned that people with a desire to have children may find themselves caught up in a commercial arrangement,” said spokesperson Leen Du Bois. “That would involve risks which do nothing to protect the interests of all of those involved.”

Du Bois was speaking as protesters gathered outside a building on Koningsplein in Brussels where the Men Having Babies fair was taking place at the weekend. The event was organised by a group of private clinics and agencies from the US to introduce the idea of surrogacy to gay couples from across Europe.

The agencies offer clients a list of surrogate mother candidates. The surrogate would be impregnated with the sperm of one of the men, in return for financial compensation, and would carry the baby to term. The process costs the couple a minimum of €90,000.

The event logged 140 requests for surrogate mothers from Belgium and abroad, includ-

© Corbis

ing the Netherlands, France, Bulgaria and Israel. “What the Americans are doing is not the model I would recommend,” said Petra De Sutter, a senator for Groen who is also head of gynaecology at the University Hospital of Ghent (UZGent).

“Our people can use their services, however, because commercial surrogacy is well regulated there. The Americans also have the right to come here and hand out information. But if they’re here to recruit clients and make money out of it, that would trouble me. This motivates me to work harder for a law on surrogacy, so

that people are not obliged to go abroad to find what they’re looking for.”

UZGent organises surrogacies, but not for payment. There have only been about 20 cases in recent years, according to Veronique Van Asch, a lawyer who specialises in the area.

“Since demand is far greater, people obviously have to turn to other countries,” she told De Standaard. “Last year I even had a heterosexual couple who went to the US for a surrogacy. They were allowed to put both their names on the birth certificate and come home with their own child, without any problems. For gay couples, of course, things are more difficult.”

Belgian organisations were not present at the fair. Gay rights organisation Cavaria received an invitation but declined to attend. “We prefer to stay away,” said spokesperson Jeroen Borghs.

“We find it too commercial. Admittedly, our membership is split. Some consider surrogacy to be exploitation of the woman. Others consider it their only chance of having a child of their own. As an organisation, we were unable to agree on a standpoint.” \ AH

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may 6, 2015

A new start

children’s rights commissioner among those trying to improve youth detention continued from page 1

also increasingly trying to help youngsters in co-operation with their relatives and friends,” explains Henderickx.

Young offenders are increasingly obliged to do community work, like helping out at retirement homes, so they don’t become marginalised from society. Mediators bring some of them into contact with their victims to talk about what has happened – with the goal of helping both parties deal with the situation.

Since 2014, organisations like family agency Kind & Gezin and pupil support agencies have been working together intensively to provide more personalised support, as part of the new Integral Youth Support system.

There are still a lot of things that can be improved, however, children’s rights commissioner Bruno Vanobbergen concluded after spending three days at De Zande in Ruiselede, West Flanders – one of the Flemish Community’s four specialised youth support institutions. Vanobbergen immersed himself in the “closed” section of the institution that houses only young offenders. Security measures are more strict in these closed sections than in the open sections.

Youth in both the open and closed department of each institution are divided into groups of about eight people each, living together as small communities. Ruiselede houses only boys, as does a centre in Everberg. The facility in Mol houses both boys and girls, while the fourth institution in Beernem houses only girls. In total, the four institutions provide about 300 places.

Vanobbergen participated in daily activities at the institution and talked to youngsters and staff about their concerns. He then shared his findings via a blog and op-eds in the media. The action was meant to highlight 50 years of youth protection and the development of a new plan for youth support in Flanders.

“One of the purposes was to shift the perception that all youngsters in these institutions are typical ‘bad boys’ who will always be a danger to society,” explains Vanobbergen.

“Several boys talked very calmly and sensibly to me, making me wonder how they could have ended up there.”

Only about one in 10 of the boys in these institutions has actually committed a criminal offence; the rest come from problematic backgrounds.

What struck Vanobbergen was how life at the institution is strictly regulated and monitored. There are detailed schedules, and the residents have to ask permission to go to the toilet, for example. “Some of them appreciate the structure because the lack of it caused them trouble outside,” he says.

“But for others, the restrictions are difficult to handle.”

Vanobbergen took part in recreational activities like mountain biking and joined in lessons. Teachers give six hours of lessons each weekday to the youngsters, three hours of theory and three with practical goals. On Wednesdays, they finish early, just like regular schools in Flanders.

“A big problem is that they cannot attain a diploma or certificate through the lessons in the institution,” Vanobbergen points out.

“This is very frustrating for those who are staying there for a long time, as they have to start again almost from zero when they

www.JongErEnwElZiJn.BE

© JelleVermeersch/Jongeren welzijn

youngsters in Flanders’ youth support system attend class in their residential institution but cannot earn a diploma, a source of frustration

get out.”

He has called on the government to adjust this regulation as quickly as possible.

One controversial aspect of the institutions is the way residents are brought in by the police. “Many of the young people and staff felt that in certain cases it was unnecessary to handcuff youngsters because they were not aggressive,” explains Vanobbergen. “The handcuffs made them feel like serious criminals when they are not.”

Several boys talked very sensibly to me, making me wonder how they ended up there Before youngsters can go on to a “reception living group”, where they’re prepared for a stay in the regular living groups, they have to undergo a safety check in an isolation cell.

They spend at least half an hour in the cell to calm down and swap their clothes for the institution’s uniform. In Ruiselede, all residents have to undergo this check, but that is not the case in all institutions.

“The procedure may work for certain youngsters, but for others it’s an unnecessary traumatising experience,” says Vanobbergen.

“They feel they’re being treated like criminals, while they may be the victim of their parents, for example.” He has called for a more personalised approach.

According to Henderickx, the sector is aware that this is a sensitive issue. “Efforts are made to keep the procedure as short as possible,” he says. If youngsters need to stay longer in the cell – for a maximum of five days and after thorough assessment from staff – they are let out for activities and lessons during that time.

“It may seem harsh, but I have seen new

arrivals who had hidden guns, lead pipes and insulin syringes in their clothes,” says Henderickx.

Talks with the youths also showed that they are not always satisfied with their lawyer.

“There are already specific study courses for this, but universities should establish a separate study discipline in youth law,” says Vanobbergen.

Other priorities for Vanobbergen are to work more with families, retain the link with the outside world and shorten the stay of youngsters in closed departments – meaning security facilities. “I heard from staff members that, after a stay of six months, most youth don’t really benefit anymore from the care there,” he says. “Other solutions should be sought, like letting them live independently but with extensive guidance, or moving them to an open department.”

Vanobbergen was happy to see that youngsters were involved in the regulation of daily life at the institution through meetings with staff. “They have a say in the practical arrangements, but not on the actual content of their care,” he says. “They should be able to discuss the content of their education programmes, for example.”

He hopes that former residents of institutions will be involved in negotiations for a new Flemish government decree on youth

© Titus simoens

Children’s rights commissioner Bruno Vanobbergen spent several days in an institution to see the day-to-day activities and listen to the young residents’ concerns

support law. This decree, set to be introduced in 2018, will cover the support for both youth from problem situations and offenders. Following recent state reforms, Flanders now has the authority to deal with the latter, which used to be a federal responsibility.

“Because of their experiences in institutions, former residents could provide a valuable contribution to the development of the new decree,” says a spokesperson for the cabinet of welfare minister Jo Vandeurzen.

The welfare ministry is developing the exact strategy for this development. What’s certain is that working groups will focus on thematic topics, joining academics and representatives from stakeholder organisations in the youth support sector. The working groups will work on the basis of a concept note already approved by the Flemish government.

“The new decree is a good opportunity to further personalise the guidance for the youngsters and to update the legislation according to the newest insights in the sector,” says the spokesperson.

An important topic on the agenda is the regulation of mediation between perpetrators and victims. The working groups will also concentrate on programmes that take into account the youngsters’ personal situation and provide more extensive psychological assistance. Another issue is what happens to youngsters when they reach the age of 21 and can no longer be helped by the youth support sector.

One recent decision by the government of Flanders is the extension of the infrastructure at the Flemish Community’s specialist youth support institutions in Beernem and Ruiselede – resulting in 36 extra places in the short term.

“The need for more space has been growing throughout the decades,” says the welfare ministry spokesperson. “We are taking action to increase the capacity but always in combination with the development of alternative methods.”

\5

\ BUsIness

weeK In busIness Brewing lindemans The beer brewer, based in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Flemish Brabant, and known for its kriek and gueuze, has inaugurated a €15 million production unit, doubling capacity to meet demand. The company exports to 45 countries worldwide with exports representing 55% of production.

Construction Besix

The country’s largest building group has earmarked Australia as its development area for the next five years. Besix, which derives up to 50% of its turnover from projects in the Middle East, is seeking to diversify its activities and has some €3 billion worth of orders on its books.

energy eDF luminus

The local affiliate of the French EDF group has acquired the energy automation services company Advice, based in Merelbeke, East Flanders, which claims a 20% share in the market, for an undisclosed amount.

media Outside Broadcast The Leuven-based TV broadcaster and producer has been sold to the US NEP media group, headquartered in Pittsburgh, for an undisclosed amount. Outside Broadcast produces The Voice van Vlaanderen programme and broadcasts Jupiler League football matches.

Packaging VPk

The Aalst-based packaging material and cardboard producer is investing €6.5 million in a new production unit in Courcelles, Wallonia.

The move is part of the company’s €60 million investment programme to increase capacity in Europe. VPK is one of Amazon’s leading suppliers for packaging products.

Ports antwerp

The port of Antwerp is seeking to build a second large container dock on the Scheldt’s left bank. Port authorities believe that container traffic will grow significantly over the next few years, mirroring the increase in size of the ships. Meanwhile, the recently completed Deurganck dock, the world’s largest, has been flooded.

Textiles sioen

The technical textiles company, based in Bierbeek, Flemish Brabant, has acquired the Belgian tarpaulin reinforcements producer Dynatex to strengthen its position on the transport coverings market.

\6

Bourgeois to promote “Flanders Port Area” internationally

minister-president visits ghent port and historic ship pilots’ house derek Blyth more articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

F

lemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois said he wanted to promote Flanders ports internationally during a visit to Ghent last week. The minister, whose portfolio also includes foreign affairs and heritage, began with a tour of the Huis van de Vrije Schippers, the historic headquarters of Ghent’s ship pilots.

The 16th-century Gothic-style building on Graslei in the centre of Ghent, once used by the guild of inland shippers, is about to undergo restoration to create an exhibition area devoted to the port on the ground floor. Other floors will be used for office space and reception areas. The building, due to reopen in 2018, will host events

Geert Bourgeois (third from right) visits Ghent’s Pilots’ House last week

linked to the port, including visits by foreign investors, ministers and ambassadors.

Bourgeois then visited the city’s port area with business leaders and representatives of Flanders Investment and Trade. Among the CEOs were several representing international companies based in the port of Ghent, including steel multinational ArcelorMittal, vehicle manufacturer Volvo and paper manufacturer Stora Enso.

“I want to capitalise on our know-how in harbour management,” Bourgeois said. “When we take part in trade missions abroad, we will make a point of promoting the port of Ghent as well as the other Flemish ports under the brand Flanders Port Area.”

Jules Destrooper taken over by cigar company

Temp work back in vogue across Belgium after two hard years

The West Flanders bakery company Jules Destrooper, famous for its butter waffles, has been taken over by GT&CO, the holding company of the Vandermarliere family best known as a cigar manufacturer.

Vandermarliere was previously owner of Gryson, one of the last independent tobacco companies in Flanders, before selling to Japan Tobacco Company in 2012. The family still owns the J Cortès cigar company. Since the Gryson sale, which raised a reported €475 million, “the family has patiently and professionally waited for new market opportunities”, GT&CO said in a statement.

Jules Destrooper first brought his waffles to market in 1890 and the company has since grown into one of the country’s most recognisable brands with sales in 75 countries. The company has facilities in Lo-Reninge and Ypres, employing 160 people, and last year had sales of €36 million.

“We are entrepreneurs,” said Guido Vandermarliere.

“Money sitting in the bank is of no interest to us. Belgium is a village, but we have the world at our feet. We’re buying Destrooper not to hold on to what it is, but for its expansion potential.”

The value of the takeover has not been revealed.

In related news, another West Flanders entrepreneur, Philip Cracco, has taken over Montebi, the parent company of watchmaker Rodania, a brand that now returns into Flemish hands. The brand was sold eight years ago to investment fund BV Capital Partners.

Cracco is the investor behind temporary employment agency Accent, and his plans for Rodania include doubling sales (€15 million in 2014) over the next six years. “The company may well have potential, but it needs to be managed better,” he said. Here, too, the takeover price was not revealed. \ Alan Hope

The call for temporary workers picked up again in 2014 after two difficult years, allowing the industry to look forward this year to a return to levels similar to 2007, before the global economic crisis, according to industry federation Federgon.

Last year saw an increase of 9% in requests for temp staff in Belgium, for a total of just over 177 million hours billed. The increase is attributed to economic growth and the employment of more than 200,000 job-students and more people over 55 than ever before.

The sector employed 34,245 over-55s, who together accounted for 9.3% of total temp employment. Another 55,294 over-45s accounted for 15% of the total.

Sectors that saw the most growth include construction, despite falling levels of employment overall in the sector. Requests for temp services in management functions were up by 8.6%.

The use of services cheques continued its downward trend, with a fall of 0.9%, although the number of clients using the medium was up 2.6% and the number of people employed was up by 0.9%. The explanation, according to Federgon, is that more people are employing home help but for fewer hours. \ AH

City invests €750,000 in International School of Ghent The City of Ghent is investing €750,000 in a new building for the International School of Ghent (ISG). The school was established in 2012 for the children of foreign staff in academic institutions and technology companies from West and East Flanders.

The school, currently located at the Leopold Barracks near Citadelpark, first opened its doors to 10 children between the ages of 2.5 and 12. This school year, ISG has 50 students.

The new building, on De Pintelaan in the south of the city near the university hospital, will accommodate 150 students and be ready by September of 2016.

ISG was founded to ensure that foreign workers and firms would not discount East and West Flanders because of a lack of an English-speaking primary and secondary school.

“Ghent is one of the world’s top locations for biotechnology,” said Ghent’s alderwoman of civil affairs, Sofie Bracke. “International education is certainly one of the elements that play a role for companies or research centres considering setting up shop here.” \ Andy Furniere

AB InBev to meet board of directors quota early, says CEO Leuven-based AB InBev, the largest brewer in the world, has announced a target of one-third of all boardroom posts to be filled by women before 2019, when the target becomes a legal quota in Belgium. Company chair Kees Storm made the announcement at the annual general meeting (AGM) last week.

For most companies, the quota comes into force in 2017; for companies with a controlling shareholder – AB InBev is controlled by Belgian and Brazil-

ian families – the quota becomes law two years later. “We will meet that deadline, and most likely will achieve that figure even sooner,” Storm said in answer to a question from the floor. “Above all, what we want is a balanced board with the right people, irrespective of gender or nationality.”

At present, AB InBev has 14 directors, two of whom are women: Maria Asunción Aramburuzabala of Mexico was the reference shareholder of Mexican market leader Grupo Modelo, which was taken

over by AB InBev in 2012, and M Michele Burns of the US, former CEO of human resources multinational Mercer. Burns (pictured), who has sat on several boards, including Wal-Mart and Goldman Sachs, was appointed at the AGM.

InBev could find additional women directors within the ranks of its shareholders, Trends magazine suggested. Eugénie Patri Sébastien is a director of the Luxembourgbased holding company of InBev’s Belgian shareholders. Viscountess Diane de Spoelberch, the wife of former Interbrew director Charles Adriaenssen, became a director of the holding in 2013.

“I cannot rule out that women might be nominated to the board by controlling shareholders,” Storm said. \ AH

\ InnOVaTIOn

may 6, 2015

Home-grown shrooms

weeK In InnovatIon

Permafungi has found a sustainable answer to a plentiful by-product Julie kavanagh more articles by Julie \ flanderstoday.eu

www.PErmafungi.BE

I

n Belgium, we like our coffee: Consumption averages over seven kilograms a year per person. This love affair makes for a large amount of coffee grounds, but a new Brussels business has developed a project that gives this plentiful by-product a second life.

Two Martins – Martin François and Martin Germeau – are the brains behind Permafungi, an innovative agricultural project that grows oyster mushrooms in a mixture of coffee grounds and straw.

Permafungi combines fungi, the Latin term for mushrooms, with perma, a contraction of permaculture. For those of us whose school science has receded into the distance, permaculture is about developing agricultural systems that are sustainable and self-sufficient.

Permafungi traces its origins to early 2013 when Germeau, a bioengineer by training, and at the time volunteering at a permaculture project in Thailand, started considering ways to make permaculture a reality in his native Brussels.

François, also far from home in Montreal, was searching for a project with a social aspect. By chance, the two met online and subsequently developed the business.

Another home-grown success, organic eatery chain Exki, seemed a natural place to source the raw material. A cargo bike makes a round of 10 Exki outlets to collect the coffee grounds. “Oyster mushrooms and coffee are the perfect marriage,” says Germeau.

Walking down into the cool, cavernous cellars of the Tour&Taxis near the canal, Germeau explains why Brussels is the perfect location for a project like Permafungi. “Mushroom cultivation needs dark, temperate conditions, and so lends itself very well to an urban environment – a warehouse or a basement, for example,” he explains. “We are very fortunate that Tour&Taxis agreed to rent us some of their underground space.”

With similar ventures in the US, Berlin, Portugal and the Netherlands, there is a small but committed global community with which to tease out teething problems.

“There is healthy competition but also a lot of co-operation,” Germeau says.

“We were in contact with a similar start-up in Rotterdam that was attempting to use a combination of straw and coffee grounds with little success. Permafungi at the time was making no progress using a mix of coffee bean husks and grounds. So we did a sort of swap and found that the straw

Researchers measure stress in fish

Researchers from the Flemish Institute for Agriculture and Fisheries Research (Ilvo) and Ghent University (UGent) have found a way to determine chronic stress in fish. The researchers, led

by Johan Aerts of Ilvo and UGent, found that measuring the amount of glucocorticoids in a fish’s scales can reveal the stress that fish experienced during its life. It opens a range of possibilities, such as exploring the relationship between continuous stress in fish and the effects on their health, development and reproduction. That is important for the aquaculture sector and faor the care of fish in public aquariums, and can play an important role in monitoring the health of fish in their natural environment.

study reveals why we pee when it’s cold

© Photos courtesy Permafungi

martin Germeau (left) is one of the founders of Permafungi, hidden in the cellars of Tour&Taxis

technique was ideal for the conditions in Brussels, while in Rotterdam their breakthrough came when they tried the coffee husks.”

The final piece in the Brussels production puzzle fell into place when the two founders borrowed the process of sterilising the straw from a US operation.

Oyster mushrooms and coffee are the perfect marriage Co-creation has been a watchword from the outset, and, in two years, Permafungi has matured into an urban permaculture success story, with five staff, a multitude of volunteers and a healthy dose of goodwill.

But production is just one pillar; Permafungi is also committed to educating the public through workshops and tours, as well as promoting domestic cultivation of oyster mushrooms through their “ready-to-sprout kits”.

“There are no secrets here, as can often be the case with mushroom cultivation,” Germeau says. “We are happy to share our knowhow.”

After a walk along dark, flagstone corridors, we arrive at the hub of production, where Germeau explains the three-step process

involved in oyster mushroom cultivation. Over the mechanical hum of the ventilation system supplying purified air, he breaks down the science behind the planting, incubation and, finally, sprouting of the mushrooms.

Because of the highly sterile conditions, the closest we get to the planting stage – where the mushroom seed is mixed with coffee and straw – is a wave to the lab technician in white overalls and mask. Incubation, equally inaccessible, is the three-week period during which the mixture matures in complete darkness.

The final stage, the “fruiting”, or sprouting of the mushrooms, is more impressive to the casual eye. In a light, humid room, large sausage-shaped plastic bags are suspended from the ceiling in rows. Sprouting out from the plastic at haphazard angles are florets of oyster mushrooms. The young sprouts are dark, but as they grow, they fade to an off-white – let’s just say it – mushroomy colour.

Permafungi’s mushrooms are harvested seven days a week.

They work with a local distributor specialised in permaculture and also sell direct to the Terrabio organic shop on Huidvettersstraat and the two Brussels branches of the co-operative supermarket Färm.

You'll also find their shrooms at the Tour&Taxis restaurant and at Brussels raw food eatery YAG. As the team have refined their technique, mushroom production tripled between January and March of this year.

Eachpackofmushroomsproduces

Pick up a kit to grow your own at home

two or three yields, and the used mix is then passed on to the nearby urban farm in Maximiliaanpark, where it becomes fertiliser. Thus, production and sustainability are largely in harmony at Permafungi.

“Our one problem is the amount of plastic we use. Any biodegradable plastic would be destroyed by the fungus, so we have no option but to use traditional plastic,” says Germeau. “Developing a longerlasting compostable plastic would be interesting research, but, even if it were viable, it would take some years to develop.”

Germeau acknowledges that establishing their start-up came with some administrative challenges. “As we’re unusual in carrying out agricultural production in an urban environment, it’s often a case of interpreting existing legislation that doesn’t correspond exactly and finding the best fit.”

As a parting gift, Germeau twists a stem of oyster mushrooms off and proffers it with the advice “chop roughly and sauté in a little oil”.

Ion channels in cell walls are responsible for the sudden need to urinate when confronted by cold temperatures, according to a team of scientists at the laboratory for ion channels research and experimental urology at the University of Leuven, led by researcher Thomas Voets. They say the finding opens new perspectives for the treatment of overactive bladders or incontinence.

The channels allow charged particles to stream in and out, a process that creates electric signals, which are an important form of information exchange in our bodies. Using animals under anaesthetic, the researchers showed that the channel called TRPM8 is responsible for the urination reflex. By disabling the channel, researchers managed to block the cold-induced reflex.

new treatment for muscular dystrophy

An international team of researchers led by professor Gunnar Buyse of the University of Leuven has developed the drug Raxone/Catena, which stops the loss of respiratory function in people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Duchenne is an incurable, inherited neuromuscular disorder that affects one in 3,500 youngsters worldwide.

Until now, a steroid treatment was used to slow the weakening of muscles, but side effects meant patients could not use it over the long term. Raxone/Catena does not have such side effects. \ Andy Furniere

\7

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

\ eDUCaTIOn

may 6, 2015

The right to play

weeK In eduCatIon

youth workers and vgc dispute future of flanders’ playgrounds Bartosz Brzezinski more articles by Bartosz \ flanderstoday.eu

I

t’s July, and the kids are at the playground. But instead of running around or playing on the swings, they’re working on an assignment given to them by their teacher. There are no summer breaks here, no holidays: only an endless cycle of study for all 12 months of the year.

“That’s what we’re afraid will happen under the new regime,” says Bert Breugelmans from Vlaamse Dienst Speelpleinwerk (VDS), an organisation that trains and advises playground workers in Flanders.

The issue revolves around eight playgrounds in Brussels. Until recently, they were managed by the Flemish Community Commission (VGC), the local representative of the government of Flanders. Since 2005, youth workers trained by the VDS have facilitated summer programmes on these playgrounds, including games and activities, and ensured the children’s safety.

From June, however, the VGC has decided to hand control over playgrounds to their adjoining schools and the role of facilitators to teachers. The change is part of an effort to improve the educational record in the capital.

By tying the playgrounds to schools, their focus will be on

“practising the Dutch language in a playful but challenging environment”, according to the plan’s framework. The imitative also aims to “create opportunities to develop non-academic skills, counter loss of knowledge during holiday periods and reduce inequality, particularly among children from lower socio-economic and non-Flemish language backgrounds.”

For months, VDS has voiced its concerns over the plan, with a protest march through Brussels and a petition with 1,500 signatures. The basis of its criticism is Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognises every child’s right to play time.

“The government has now made education the primary goal of these playgrounds,” Breugelmans says. “But you can’t solve the city’s educational problems by taking from children what little relaxation time they have. Playgrounds should be about having fun, not about forcing children to learn new things. Otherwise, it’s like having a school year that’s 12 months long.”

Like many of the youth workers, Roxanne Abels, who has worked at the playgrounds since she was 16, is unhappy with the government’s decision.

www.sPEElPlEin.nEt

© VDs

“I do believe VGC has good intentions and wants to tackle some pressing needs in Brussels’ education system,” she says. “But I don’t think it’s handling it the right way.

Children need places where they can just be themselves without having to answer to the expectations schools might have of them.”

VDS has told the government and the schools that it wants to continue working with them on playground initiatives. “We might not agree on certain issues,” Breugelmans says, “but we can still try to give the children the best chance to play.”

Eighty or so youth workers now face the prospect of having no job this summer. Despite their experi-

ence and commitment, Abels says, they feel left out of the decisionmaking process.

With some fellow youth workers, she is trying to contact schools to see if they would be interested in employing them as volunteers.

“We’re looking for a school with a vision of playing and free time that matches ours,” she says. “We’ve strived to improve our playgrounds for years and were pretty much free to make our own decisions. This freedom has allowed us to create the best possible holiday for the children and volunteers.”

If it does not find a suitable school, Abels says, the group has discussed starting its own playground next summer.

KU Leuven makes list of world’s top 100 universities Eleven courses from Flemish universities have been included in the top 50 for each discipline, part of this year’s QS World University Rankings. The university of Ghent provides three of the courses, and the university of Leuven the remaining eight. Leuven, meanwhile, is once again the only Belgian university in the top 100 universities list.

The rankings looked at 36 disci-

© layla aerts/Visit Flanders

leuven’s university library

plines in 894 universities in 60 countries and rated them on academic reputation, the impact of their research and their reputation as an employer. A top 50 was drawn up for each discipline and each university given an overall rating.

Dentistry at Leuven won fifth place in the discipline, unprecedented for a Belgian university and Belgium’s only top-10 rating. The university’s

Q&a

railsgirls.com/BrussEls

edness that girls have after the workshop. There are girls who went further into tech and are even helping out in the tech community now.

There are other women who will not necessarily do something with this now but later on, in the sense they will encourage the women around them to try this path.

This weekend, three dozen women and girls will learn to build their first web application in just eight hours. This one-day workshop is organised by Rails Girls Brussels, which is helmed by Leuven-based software developer Oana Sipos What is Rails Girls?

It’s a workshop targeted at girls that doesn’t require any previous experience and aims to introduce girls with very different backgrounds to the world of technology. We have mentors who train the girls step by step. The intent is to create an environment where they can feel confident and safe.

How is it different from other local coding initiatives?

There’s nothing else I know of that is targeted at girls in particular.

There are general programming courses, but they’re not necessar-

other top 50 ratings went to philosophy (24), law (30), geography (34), statistics (38), cultural and development studies (39), materials science (40) and pharmacy (43).

Leuven took 82nd place overall.

The University of Ghent, at 129th place overall, scored with veterinary science (27), psychology (30) and land and forestry management (48). \ Alan Hope

ily web-oriented and there’s not necessarily anything where you can learn to code from zero to hero, or let’s say, from zero to something.

I think the format is unique among meet-ups in Belgium and Brussels.

What do you hope to achieve with this one-day event?

A lot of girls have a lot of ideas, but they just don’t know how to use the tech tools out there to realise them.

So what we try to do is teach them a bit of prototyping and sketching, and some technical terms. It’s like an introductory course in very basic programming terms, but one

that can already open some doors.

We also give them resources and inspirational talks to keep them going.

Are you meeting your ambitions?

It’s difficult to measure the impact because it’s more over the long term, but there is this open-mind-

What’s the biggest obstacle to getting women into tech?

I think it’s this stereotype that technology is for men only and that women should stay aside. This translates into a lack of confidence, so then it’s so much easier to choose other fields like social sciences or languages than to try to tackle technology and, for instance, go for a computer science degree.

start compulsory school sooner, say liberals The Flemish liberal party, Open Vld, and its Frenchspeaking counterpart, MR, have submitted a proposal to lower the age at which compulsory education begins to five. The measure should prevent children from starting school with a lack of knowledge that hinders them later on. Current legislation states that education must start by six, the age at which children begin the first year of primary school. The liberal parties want to make it obligatory to start in the third year of pre-school. They say the earlier underprivileged children get to know school, the better their chances of a good future. Although education is the responsibility of the communities, determining the compulsory education age is a federal matter.

more first aid courses in schools Every student in Flanders should receive at least two hours of first aid training in secondary school, according to education minister Hilde Crevits. First aid knowledge is already part of the final requirements for secondary school graduates, but half of Flemish schools do not offer the courses, allowing students to earn their diplomas without fulfilling the requirements. Schools cited an overloaded schedule and a lack of expertise as reasons. Crevits is setting up a collaboration between the education networks, the Red Cross, municipalities and fire brigades, with the intention of providing a first aid course to all students in the fifth year of secondary education.

Thesis prize for gender and diversity research Ghent University will award the new DiverGent thesis prize for the most innovative Master’s thesis on the topics of gender or diversity during the next academic year. The City of Ghent is collaborating on the initiative. The prize will challenge students to develop “divergent” opinions, which are necessary to contribute to current debates and to propose solutions for policymakers. “Looking from a perspective that puts gender and diversity central requires you to think beyond the status quo,” the university said. \ Andy Furniere

\ Interview by Linda A Thompson

\9

\ lIVInG

weeK In aCtIvItIes amazing Thai weekend

Colourful outdoor festival of Thai culture in the centre of Antwerp with Thai food, traditional dance, Thai massage, kickboxing demos and the chance to win a free trip to Thailand. 9-10 May 10.00-18.00, Groenplaats, Antwerp; free \ www.tinyurl.com/ antwerp-thai-weekend

Beervelde Garden Days The theme this year is Tea in the Garden, with a table set for 120 and decorated with floral displays. Also flower and plant market, contests, workshops and activities for kids, all in the beautiful setting of the historic Beervelde estate.

8-10 May 10.00-18.00, Dorp 75, Beervelde (East Flanders); €10 \ www.parkvanbeervelde.be

arts & crafts festival An outdoor arts fair in a unique location: a former clay pit and brick factory that’s been turned into a recreational park. Artists’ stands will be set up near the old ring kiln and in the gardens. Bike rentals, paddle boats, a brasserie and playground will also be available. 10 May 12.0017.00, De Schorre Provincial Park, Schommelei 1, Boom (Antwerp province); free \ www.deschorre.be

Brussels Food Truck Festival More than 80 food trucks from Belgium and abroad will gather in the centre of Brussels. New this year: an Airstream corner featuring iconic American trailers.

8-10 May, Keizerinlaan and Kunstberg, Brussels; free \ www.brusselsfoodtruckfestival.be

europe Day European institutions across Brussels open their doors to the public on 9 May to celebrate European peace and unity. There are also guided walking tours in English of the EU quarter, including Berlaymont, parliament, Leopoldpark, Ariadne’s Bridge, plus the Jourdanplein neighbourhood. On 10 May, a festival village will be located on the pedestrian plaza in front of Central Station. 9-10 May; free \ www.tinyurl.com/ Europe-day-15

\ 10

“A bit rebellious”

nationa(a)l pop-up shop pushes creative talent into the spotlight katrien lindemans more articles by katrien \ flanderstoday.eu

www.nationalstorE.BE

F

or 10 days in May, the former building of the Vivaqua water authority in Brussels will be transformed into one big showcase for Belgian creativity. The Nationa(a)l pop-up store and event venue will spotlight emerging talent from across the country in nine disciplines. These 90 creative minds were handpicked by a dozen Nationa(a)l ambassadors and creators in their own right.

The impetus for the first edition of Nationa(a)l in 2012 was a study about the challenges facing the local creative industry. “There’s no lack of creativity in Belgium,” the researchers concluded, “but the sector needs a boost in communication and promotion.”

Linda Van Waesberge, a Brusselsbased stylist and fashion ambassador for this year’s edition of Nationa(al), couldn’t agree more.

“The quality of the clothes and accessories by Belgian designers is outstanding,” she says. “But somehow most people don’t know anything about them.”

She gives the example of Ghentborn handbag designer Marie Martens. “Although she makes great bags at a reasonable price, not many women have heard of her, and they tend to choose a design by an international label. Putting her designs in the spotlight will hopefully change this.”

Van Waesberge chose eight designers for Nationa(a)l – all of them women. “Pure coincidence,” she says with a laugh. “I wanted to group new designers with tons of creativity and ambition, who weren’t being sold anywhere at the moment. They all have authenticity and quality; all they need now is a

© Courtesy nationa(a)l

nationa(a)l combines a 10-day pop-up shop with concerts, a fashion show and workshops

good dose of publicity.”

In addition to Van Waesberge, 15 other ambassadors chose up-andcoming talent in their respective industries. They include Brusselsbased directors Adil El Arbi and Bilal Fallah for cinema, artist Pieter Vermeersch for visual arts and cartoonist Herr Seele for publishing.

Herr Seele, whose given name is Peter van Heirseele and who is most famous for his irreverent Cowboy Henk cartoons in Humo magazine, says an entire new

wave of Belgian illustrators has emerged. “We’re famous for traditional comic books such as Tintin and Guust Flater – what we call the Franco-Belgian school,” van Heirseele explains. “But there are quite a few new, young illustrators in our country. Their work is different and very open towards other cultures and influences. Humour plays an important role, and it often gets trashy. I love that. Art has to be a

8-17 may

bit rebellious.”

For Nationa(a)l, van Heirseele selected four young illustrators – Olivier Schrauwen, Brecht Vandenbroucke, Steve Michiels and Goele Dewanckel. “Whenever I’m abroad for exhibitions, I notice how strong our Flemish illustrators are,” he says. “Our pen is sharp, but we also convey emotion. I feel there’s more poetry in our drawings than in the work of our writers. As you can see, I’m quite proud of what we do.”

Last year, Nationa(a)l drew 6,000 visitors. Its atypical approach of mixing multiple disciplines in events, a shop and an exhibition recently earned the organisers the award for Best New Concept from the city tourism agency Visit Brussels.

“We’re hoping 10,000 people will show up this year,” says Nationa(a)l artistic director Leopoldo Profili. “We’ve worked hard on our communication programme and developed posters with trilingual quotes such as ‘Do you aime music’ and ‘Eat goei bouffe’. We want to go even more interdisciplinary than last year.”

With a fashion show with dance performances, a special light choreography and an album release by the Brussels-Parisian pop rock band Applause, the opening show on 8 May should set the tone.

Both ambassadors and their selected talents will be on hand for concerts, movies, signing sessions, a rooftop bar and workshops. Some events are free; others require tickets and reservations.

8-17 may

Wolstraat 68, Brussels

bIte an apple a day Flanders is in the midst of an apple crisis, and it’s calling for your help.

Last year, readers will recall, the Russian government imposed a ban on certain agricultural exports from the EU. The measure hit Flemish exports hard, and pork, apple and pear producers in particular.

Thanks to superhuman marketing efforts, including a campaign to eat more pears, the pear growers of Flanders are quite satisfied.

“Sales of pears went up 30%; prices today are back at the level of April last year, and our pear fridges are empty,” reports Philippe Appeltans of the local VBT union of fruit auctioneers. Pears also found new markets in Canada, China and the countries bordering Russia.

Now the same sort of effort is needed for apples, which are suffering not only from the loss of a

© wikimedia

Russian market that normally takes 10% of production, but which have also seen prices plunge as Poland – also a major client of Russia – has dumped its surpluses on the EU

market.

So below are our suggestions on how to consume more apples during this difficult time. And with prices hovering around €1 per kilo, these preparations have never been so economical.

Apple juice: The stuff that comes in boxes is a pale imitation of the real thing. Make your own and filter it as much or as little as you like to keep that pure apple goodness.

Apple cider: Cider is fermented apple juice: just add a pack of champagne yeast and let those microorganisms do their job. Much easier than beer to make at home.

Apple cider syrup: Spicy and sweet, great over pancakes, soaked into cake or as a basis for warm cider when the cold months roll around again (ie next week).

Liège-type apple syrup: Keep boiling

the above syrup and it gets thicker and thicker until you have a dark, heavy paste that’s sweet on bread but also gives great depth to soups and stews.

Apple cider vinegar: A different sort of fermentation, allowing your cider to turn to vinegar. Bottled and labelled, give this out as gifts. How domesticated is that?

Fermented apples: Lacto-fermentation is not for the faint of heart, but the results are to die for. A little whey, water and salt are all it takes, together with some rigorous hygiene, and you get apple slices to accompany ham and other cold cuts, with probacteria as a bonus.

Apple chutney: An old favourite, either fiery hot or take as you like it.

Recycle your empty spaghetti sauce jars instead of carting them to the kerb. \ Alan Hope

may 6, 2015

The ultimate catwalk

cats Parade in ypres takes family-friendly approach to gruesome medieval tradition denzil walton more articles by Denzil \ flanderstoday.eu

www.kattEnstoEt.BE

never be known, but there are four theories that have been suggested.

The Too Many Cats in Ypres theory. Ypres owed its prosperity to the cloth industry.

Wool was imported from England and stored in the local cloth halls. These were warm, dry homes for rats and mice, which bred profusely. To control them, a few cats were released into the cloth halls.

The plan worked fine, and rodent numbers decreased. Unfortunately, the cloth halls were now overrun by cats. How could these be controlled? Catch them and hurl them from the tower, of course.

The Cats Are the Devil’s Minions theory.

We have 13th-century Pope Gregory IX to thank for this one. He claimed that a sect in southern France had been caught worshipping the devil in the form of a black cat.

Cats became the official symbol of heresy, and anyone showing affection for a cat came under the church’s suspicion.

The Cats Are Witches’ Pets theory. Older peasant women living alone often kept cats as pets for companions. Bad idea! If cats are incarnations of the devil, then this means that their owners must be … witches.

Suspected witches were frequently burnt at the stake along with their cats. (It’s easy to imagine that any cat jumping from the flames could be caught and hurled from a high tower instead.) Incidentally, this theory is believed to account for the shortage of cats in 14th-century Europe, a corresponding plague of black rats and the resulting plague.

The If The Queen of England Can Do It, So Can We theory. Queen Elizabeth I had a cat burned alive during her coronation celebration in 1558 to symbolise the releasing of demons. Five years later, England’s Witchcraft Act associated the keeping of cats with “wickedness”, which led to the executions of many more cats and their owners.

In other words, the people and authorities of Ypres had plenty of reasons to participate in and enjoy the barbaric entertainment of cat throwing. Thankfully, the last live cat met its fate this way in 1817, and when the idea of the first Ypres Kattenstoet was proposed in 1938, real cats were replaced by the plush variety.

During the Second World War the fun stopped, but by the 1950s it had become a regular part of the town’s spring festivities.

Indeed, until the 1980s, Ypres was better known for its Kattenstoet than for its war tourism.

Festivities start on Saturday, with town criers, fire-eaters, witches, soldiers, archers, stilt-walkers, drummers, dancers and musicians streaming through the streets of Ypres announcing the 44th Kattenstoet.

The parade itself takes place the following day at 15.00. It culminates with the cat throwing from the belfry tower in the Grote Markt at 18.00, followed by the burning of the witches at 19.00. Everything is free, unless you want a seat in the covered stands.

Just when you thought you had experienced all the wackiness that Flanders could throw at you, along comes an event that raises the wacky bar a notch. It’s the Kattenstoet, or Cats Parade, in West Flanders, and as far as parades go, it’s truly one of a kind.

I

n spite of its innocuous name, the Kattenstoet, or Cats Parade, organised every three years in the West Flemish town of Ypres is no Crufts-style catwalk of feline’s finest. Instead, it’s a procession of local marching bands, carnival floats representing Ypres through the ages, singers, street theatre and dance troupes.

Interspersed among them are those indispensable components of every Flemish parade: giants.

Weighing up to 225 kilograms and standing five, six or even seven metres high, these constructions are extremely colourful and highly imposing. The Kattenstoet giants include Kattenkoning Cieper (Cieper, King of the Cats); his wife Minneke Poes; soldier Godfried de Tempelier; the smoke-breathing Ypres devil Pietje Pek; and even a giant called … Goliath.

Both onlookers and parade marchers also dress up as cats, from ad-hoc make-up and fuzzy ears to full-on cat costumes.

As if that isn’t enough excitement for a Sunday afternoon, the parade culminates with the town jester hurling plush toy cats from the Ypres belfry tower into the crowd below and some ritual witch-burning for good measure.

Cat-throwing, really?

Yes, you read that correctly. Cuddly toy cats are thrown from the 70-metre-high belfry in the middle of Ypres. It’s perhaps worth assuring younger children that they are toys before the whole things starts. (You may also want to think about keeping their favourite cuddly toy chained to the buggy.)

If you catch a plush cat, you are of course its rightful owner and can take it on home.

If throwing plush cats from a high tower seems a little politically incorrect, the origins of this custom are even more disturbing. The Kattenstoet replicates events during the middle ages when live cats were tortured and killed during Kattenfoors (Cat Fairs) in towns and cities throughout Europe.

For example, take the visit of the Prince of Orange and the Duke of Anjou to Bruges in the summer of 1582. They were greeted by the sight of a giant structure in the shape of a ship in the market square. Strapped to the mast were more than three dozen cats, along with cases of fireworks. This sounds bad, doesn’t it?

Indeed, the ship was set alight, and the cats became, well, history.

According to a text from 1871, one onlooker reported: “The screams of the hapless creatures on the ignition of each firework produced further cheers and merriment among the happy throng.”

what’s wrong with cats?

Why should cats be singled out for such harsh treatment? The true reason might

9-10 may © Photos courtesy City of ypres

after the parade featuring cat giants, you can catch your own cuddly cat toy as the rain down from the city’s belfry

across ypres

\ 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

may 6, 2015

The Hitchcock opera

Private view combines unlikely sources of inspiration, from digital voyeurism to murder ian mundell more articles by Ian \ flanderstoday.eu

www.oPEraXXi.BE

W

hen someone says you are going to see a Hitchcock opera, what does that mean exactly?

Even in late April, just three weeks before Private View has its world premiere in the biennial Opera XXI festival in Antwerp, those closely involved in the project were still waiting to find out.

“We’ve never heard it played,” explains writer Gaea Schoeters, who has been working on the opera’s structure and narrative. “The first rehearsal with the musicians is scheduled for the week after next, so that will be the first time we’ll actually hear what it sounds like.”

The reason for this suspense is that almost everyone involved in Private View is based in a different country. Schoeters and composer Annelies Van Parys are from Flanders, librettist Jen Hadfield lives in the Shetland Islands, off the north coast of Scotland, and director Tom Creed is from Ireland.

The apartment block is used to show how people have retreated into separate worlds The singers are Die Neue Vocalsolisten of Stuttgart, in Germany, while the music will be played by the Asko-Schönberg Ensemble of Amsterdam. Then there are found-footage interventions by the Dutch video group Collective 33⅓, from Zwolle.

The whole production is coordinated by Muziektheater Transparant in Antwerp.

Getting everyone together for a sustained period of work was impossible, so they worked in parallel, putting all the elements together bit by bit. “That was a fascinating working process,” says Schoeters. “Even for the composer – although she can imagine most of the music – the point where it becomes real is actually very late in the process.”

Van Parys has composed vocal work before, but this will be her first full opera. She had been looking for inspiration in classical

a multinational and multimedia opera, Private View is a highlight of the Opera XXI festival

Greek drama, but when nothing caught her imagination she turned to the work of film director Alfred Hitchcock. Here there was suspense and a quirky sense of humour, along with themes that she wanted to explore such as voyeurism and social isolation.

“Rear Window is Annelies’ favourite Hitchcock movie, so I think that triggered her to do a Hitchcock opera,” says Schoeters. The 1954 film tells the story of a man confined to a wheelchair who obsessively watches his neighbours from the back of his New York apartment building. Slowly he becomes convinced that he has seen a murder.

“The task that we set ourselves from the very beginning was absolutely not to remake Rear Window,” Schoeters goes on.

“But we have borrowed the apartment block idea to tell a story about the present reality and how people have retreated into separate worlds within society.”

Part of that contemporary reality involves the influence of social media, which tend to separate people from the communities around them and encourage a kind of digital voyeurism. “We didn’t want to actually show Facebook or internet relationships, but to take these ideas and put them back into an analogue world of an apartment block full of people who are neighbours but hardly know each other.”

Another aspect of Rear Window that has been retained is the notion of a murder that may or may not have taken place.

Schoeters was interested in exploring whether something as negative and as frightening as a killing might actually break through this social isolation and bring people together.

“The murder sets them into action to re-establish contact with each other and with the world, in order to find out what really happened. The question is: When this threat disappears, have they really changed?”

Van Parys has avoided the music usually associated with Hitchcock, whether Franz Waxman’s score for Rear Window or the work of his great musical collaborator, Bernard Herrmann. She has also changed her own approach to composition.

“She deliberately stepped away from the kind of music that she usually makes, which is based on colours and atmospheres,” says Schoeters. “Here she set herself the task of putting more narrative and more dialogue into the music.”

Each of the characters has a theme and particular instrumentation. For example, one couple who think of themselves as rather

13-24 may

racy have an electric guitar motif, while a little old lady who stays in her apartment with her clocks is associated with prepared piano and a set of music boxes. Alongside this are more conventional classical instruments such as strings, brass, woodwind and percussion.

Meanwhile, in place of classical opera’s habit of having people sing about how they feel, Hadfield’s libretto brings out action and humour. “It’s very witty and tongue in cheek, with a lot of layers,” says Schoeters. “And the boys in Collective 33⅓ have done the same kind of thing with their visual language.

There are a lot of visual jokes.”

This should give Private View a broad appeal. “A lot of people have the idea that opera is old-fashioned or a difficult medium,” Schoeters admits. “But by bringing suspense, humour and this lighter tone to it, I think it can be very appealing to a wide range of people.”

It’s fitting then that Private View should premiere at Opera XXI, a forward-thinking contemporary opera and musical theatre festival organised every two years that has made experimenting its watchword.

Other highlights of Opera XXI include There is no why here, a project by Italian composer Andrea Molino, directed

by Wouter van Looy, also for Muziektheater Transparant. Taking its title from the writer and holocaust survivor Primo Levi, it explores questions of good and evil, presenting different and sometimes contradictory points of view. The performance includes images recorded by cameras on stage and from external webcams, played like musical instruments.

Then there is L’autre hiver (The Other Winter) by composer Dominique Pauwels and librettist Normand Chaurette, which deals with the turbulent relationship between 19th-century French poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine.

Through their story, this “phantasmagorical opera” explores the tension between everyday reality and the world of words.

Opera XXI

Across Antwerp and Ghent

More perForManCe thIs Month ganesh versus the third reich

spirit

Back to Back

sidi larbi cherkaoui & saburo teshigawara

Ganesh,theHindugodwithanelephant’s head, travels to Nazi Germany to reclaim the swastika, an ancient Indian symbol, from Hitler. Or at least that’s the story we are meant to see, if only the actors can overcome their objections to the roles they have to play and get to grips with the material. Rule-bending, thoughtprovoking drama from Australian theatre group Back to Back, which specialises in work with disabled actors. (In English) 7-8 May, Vooruit, Ghent

Spirit brings together work by Antwerp choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Japanese choreographer Saburo Teshigawara, performed by the GöteborgsOperans Danskompani. Cherkaoui’s Noetic explores the struggle between a desire for structure in our lives and the need to break free from rules (pictured).

Meanwhile, Teshigawara’s Metamorphosis takes its lead from Kafka, exploring bodily renewal and the desire for control. 7-10 May, deSingel, Antwerp

\ www.vooruit.be

\ www.desingel.be

revue ravage: death of a Politician tom lanoye

Sold out in Brussels, Ghent and Turnhout, the Kortrijk leg is your only chance to see Tom Lanoye’s play about an ageing politician who is too fearful and too vain to give up power. Josse de Pauw directs and leads a stellar cast, including Els Dottermans, An Miller and Nico Sturm. The music is composed by Peter Vermeersch and performed live

by Flat Earth Society. (In Dutch) Until 12 May, across Flanders \ www.kvs.be

© Bengt wanselius

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\ aRTs

weeK In arts & Culture Rits arts school to change name The Brussels film and theatre school Rits has been awarded the right to the use of the word “Royal” in its name, the palace informed the institution’s director, Dieter Lesage. The school will now be known by the English name Royal Institute for Theatre, Cinema and Sound (RITCS). The school on Dansaertstraat has 700 students following Bachelor’s and Master’s courses in audiovisual and performance arts. \ www.rits.be

Plopsaland is best amusement park Plopsaland in De Panne has won Best Amusement Park in Belgium in the fifth edition of the Diamond Theme Park Awards, which awards prizes in multiple categories covering theme parks in Belgium and the Netherlands. Plopsaland De Panne also won Most Kid Friendly Park and was home to the Best Attraction, which went to its Anubis ride.

Antwerp Zoo, meanwhile, had the Most Beautiful Birth with its baby Hamlyn monkey, while Best Event went to Bobbejaanland in Antwerp province for its Halloween bash. \ www.diamondthemeparkawards.com

De munt wins Best world Premiere at Opera awards Brussels opera house De Munt has picked up the prize for Best World Premiere from the International Opera Awards in London for its production of Au Monde by Philippe Boesmans. “De Munt goes to great trouble every year to invest in new creations, and no-one has made a greater contribution in recent decades than Philippe Boesmans,” De Munt said in a statement. The opera house was nominated in five categories, including Best DVD, Best Opera House and Best Richard Strauss Anniversary Programme. Royal Opera Flanders, meanwhile, was nominated for Best Company and Best Chorus. “We were very proud to be nominated alongside the most renowned choruses in the world,” the company said. \ www.demunt.be

\ 14

A fresh perspective

after 20 years, Brussels’ kunstenfestivaldesarts reflects on time georgio valentino more articles by Georgio \ flanderstoday.eu

A

s the hybrid name suggests, Kunstenfestivaldesarts (KFDA) is a bridge between Belgium’s two largest linguistic communities, who tend – even in officially bilingual Brussels – to explore their respective art worlds in splendid isolation.

But it’s much more than a gesture of national amity. Artists from around the world are also invited to participate in what has become one of the capital’s biggest celebrations of contemporary performance. More than anything, KFDA is a testament to Brussels’ standing in the international arts scene.

Indeed, the city owes some of its current clout to this very festival. KFDA has been staking its claim for a full two decades now, and this 20th anniversary edition is bigger than ever, with 32 projects spread out over 22 venues and three weeks. Some 330 artists from 16 countries, participate in 134 performances and one exhibition. And thousands of visitors will enjoy them.

KFDA marks this milestone with a general reflection on time – the way it structures artistic creation and the way art structures time in

www.kfda.BE

its turn. The centrepiece of this meditation is a comprehensive catalogue of the festival’s 20 years, The Time We Share.

In the process of documenting KFDA’s history, the editors and contributors (often the artists themselves) link the performances of yesteryear to contemporaneous artistic and social developments.

This kind of work is normally the reserve of art historians theorising centuries after the fact, but the defining feature of contemporary art is its self-consciousness. Today’s artists and their public demand the right to define themselves.

So three evenings of discussions accompany the publication and are spaced throughout the festival.

The theme also resonates in this year’s performances, which address the full spectrum of flux from the ever-changing codes of performance to the evolution of identity to the transformation of public space (with a focus, of course, on Brussels).

KFDA invites its audience to look into the future if only to look back on the present from a fresh

maria Tarantino’s new film Our City explores the many sides of Brussels

perspective, to recognise the changes that escape notice in real time. It’s a tall order, and some artists will undoubtedly miss that particular mark. Luckily, contemporary art allows for such shortcomings as long as one comes short in style.

8-30 may across Brussels

don’t MIss at KFda My Breathing is my Dancing • Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker While Kunstenfestivaldesarts trumpets its dedication to up-and-coming artists (and it’s true that the programme is full of rising stars), the name at the top of its marquee is that of Belgium’s pre-eminent contemporary choreographer. Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s emotive minimalism helped put Flanders on the dance map in the 1980s. She continues to deconstruct the medium in her recent performancecum-exhibition Work/Travail/Arbeid, which was launched at Wiels in March in the context of another festival and yields midway through KFDA to the world premiere of her latest creation, My Breathing is My Dancing. 8-14 May, Wiels, Van Volxemlaan 354

Les Marches de la Bourse • Anna Rispoli Anna Rispoli has been tapped to turn in a KFDAopening performance in the heart of the city.

The Italian-born, Brussels-based artist, whose work exists in the sweet spot between public space and private experience, chose a venue of obvious significance: the Beurs. This relic from the 19th century is a monument to that period’s imperial ambitions and so, naturally, it’s also one of Brussels’ go-to sites for protesters (and the occasional reveller). Rispoli invites several of these back to the steps where they once made their statement. Entry is free. 8 May, 18.00, Beursplein Umbelina’s Cave • Leandro Nerefuh Although contemporary art is all about “thinking outside the box”, sometimes it feels like formal experiment has reached the point of diminishing returns. So the truly transversal work of Brazilian artist and social theorist Leandro Nerefuh is a breath of fresh air. Returning to the avant-garde’s roots in criticism, Nerefuh first astounds by having something to say.

He astounds once more in the way he delivers the message. His work is truly transdisciplinary, fusing not just artistic media but also academic disciplines. Umbelina’s Cave explores postcolonial identity via lecture and performance.

(In English) 10-12 May, Beursschouwburg, Auguste Ortsstraat 20-28 Our City • Maria Tarantino Since its host city is so central to KFDA, it’s no surprise that the festival has invited director Maria Tarantino to screen her documentary Our City. The 2014 film is a report on the changing identity of Brussels. Tarantino isn’t interested in the city’s role as capital of Europe (or of Belgium or of Flanders) but rather plunges into everyday Brussels. She interviews natives and newcomers from around the world and, in the process, discovers that Brussels is a true crossroads. (In Dutch and French with English subtitles) 20-24 May, Galeries Cinema, Koninginnegalerij 26

Vanitas Extended: a haunting art route through Ypres www.vanitasEXtEndEd.BE

The group exhibition Vanitas Extended connects the war-time past of Ypres to present-day talent and timeless views. Curator Nathalie Vanheule, born in the city, came up with the idea for the exhibition after three family members died in the space of two weeks, just before she gave birth to her daughter. “Death overtakes us,” she says. “We can never be prepared for it.”

The multimedia art parcours, which takes the visitor to indoor and outdoor locations across the city, tries to shed new light on the classical vanitas theme in art – depictions of objects symbolic of the inevitability of death. You’ll find local and international artists, including German sculptor Madeleine Boschan, Brussels painter Stephan Balleux and Dutch artist Oscar Peters, who contributes one of his unique moveable sculptures.

“We venture off the path of fading flowers, skulls and fruit,” says Vanheule, referring to the vanitas tradition. “We go far beyond it in an attempt to hold on to life.”

In the city’s Sint-Maartens cathedral, you can

admire the work of Flemish painter Cindy Wright, whose impressive “Endless Road” is based on the list of lost First World War soldiers engraved on the Menin Gate.

Wright’s work contrasts heavily with the playful installations of Flemish artist Tinka Pittoors, who organises “little explosions of confetti out of everyday life”, according to the exhibition catalogue. But the vibrance hides a seed of vanitas.

Ghent artist Marie Cloquet, meanwhile, has made a striking series of manipulated photo-

graphic prints, referring to the “scorched-earth” military strategy. It results in haunting landscapes of monumental damage.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is a video

by Flemish artist Ruben Bellinkx, in an ice cellar, not far from the Menin Gate. Slowly, the camera reveals 33 men in suits, solemnly holding four tables above the ground with their mouths (pictured). Humans become a fragment of a larger whole. We lose our vanity, in Bellinkx’s view; we’re condemned to become part of each other.

Walking through the small city and the sometimes unusual locations, you can’t help but think of the words of artist Liesbet Waegemans in the catalogue, as she describes death intensifying life: “We cannot bring life back, and I think life does not ask for it. It wants to be released.” \ Dirk Leyman

until 6 June across ypres

\ aGenDa

may 6, 2015

Brussels, circa 1549

ConCert

Carolus V Festival until 30 august

Brussels

across Brussels

www.carolusfEstival.BE

E

very summer, Brussels celebrates the 16th-century figure who ruled over most of Western Europe and made this Brabant city the capital of the Low Countries. Cleverly circumventing language differences, they call it the Carolus V Festival, evoking the Latin name of Charles V. Besides the Ommegang, a recreation of the procession and pageant that was staged in 1549 on the occasion of Charles V’s visit to Brussels, there are also exhibitions, guided walks, conferences, concerts and a Family Day at Coudenberg Museum.

There are four guided tours offered in English, all of them focused on Vesalius, the anatomist who was also personal physician to the emperor.

The first is a tour of an exhibition about Vesalius and 16th-century medicine in the Coudenberg Museum. On Sundays, the guide will be clad in

either the uniform of a crossbowman or the robes of a plague doctor.

Another walk explores the Royal Quarter, starting at Coudenberg and ending in the Marollen district. Along the way, the guide brings Renaissance medicine to life through the physicians, barber-surgeons, botanists and artists of Brussels.

The third tour takes visitors through the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, where a selection of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance works are discussed in the context of medical, scientific, social and religious developments of the time.

The fourth walk takes place in the Kleine Zavel and Egmont Park, using the statues as well as plants and trees to tell the story of scientific progress, great physicians and botanic discoveries of the 16th century. There are special editions of this tour offered for the visually impaired.

Tours are organised by the heritage group CAP, which collaborates with cultural institutions in Brussels on educational projects. According to Bernard Slachmuylder of CAP, “the tours are not only about medicine but offer insights into daily life, politics, religion and the culture of the time.”

Reservations are recommended but not required.

perForManCe

Queen Elisabeth competition

Passions humaines

Flagey & Bozar, Brussels www.QEimc.BE

until 9 may

One of the world’s most prestigious classical music contests takes place every spring in Brussels. The Queen Elisabeth Competition has been discovering promising young performers since 1937. Rotating betweenpiano,violin,voice,composition and – from 2017 – cello, this year it’s violin. Hundreds entered, but the field is now narrowed down to 62 candidates, who go headto-head this week in the competition’s first round. By the end of the month, a winner will be crowned.

Flanders is rallying behind Ghent’s 25-year-old Fien Van den Fonteyne (pictured), who studied at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and regularly performs with the Flemish Opera. \ Georgio Valentino

Nineteenth-century Belgian sculptor Jef Lambeaux caused a stir when he unveiled his monumental and, some say, pornographic marble relief “Passions Humaines” (“Human Passions”).

Flemish playwright Erwin Mortier and stage director Guy Cassiers use this controversy as the point of departure for their contempo-

FestIval

ConCert

9-10 may Brussels’ annual Iris Festival includes open-air concerts, street theatre, arts and crafts and a smorgasbord of street food. The event coincides with and encompasses Saturday’s Europe Day celebrations in the European quarter, where EU institutions invite us citizens into their offices. Iris Festival also includes Welkom Brussel, a unique open-house during which secret and private spaces are opened to the public for one day only. The auction house Berg van Barmhartigheid, the observation deck at the top of the spaceage Reyers Tower and the Belgian Senate are among the 30 destinations. \ GV

www.irisfEEst.BrussEls

\ www.boottenace.wordpress.com

antwerp Théâtre national, Brussels www.thEatrEnational.BE

rary production of the same name.

Co-produced by Antwerp’s Toneelhuis, Brussels’ Théâtre National and Walloon theatre Le Manege in the context of Mons 2015 (one of this year’s European Capitals of Culture), the piece emphasises the universality of the themes by featuring a bilingual cast and script. \ GV

8 may, 20.00 Purists beware. LA-based duo The Swords of Fatima offer their own idiosyncratic take on tradition, Western and otherwise.

Comprised of Filipino-American guitarist Buko Pan Guerra and drummer Nick Scott, the Swords formed in 2007 and pioneered a genre they describe as “Southeast Asian disco surf punk”. You have

Remote Antwerp: A multimedia walking tour of Antwerp, guided by artists from contemporary German theatre collective Rimini Protokoll. Groups of 50 spectators/participants depart from deSingel to discover the city’s hidden corners. (In Dutch and English) Until 16 May, De Singel, Desguinlei 25 \ www.desingel.be

vIsual arts Ghent Factories of Free Time: Micro Museum: Russian arts outfit Gorod Ustinov inaugurate their summertime residency in Flanders, in which they present their miniature works and organise workshops for anyone interested in creating their own modern folk art. 11 May to 31 August, Museum of Fine Arts, Fernand Scribedreef 1 \ www.mskgent.be

the swords of fatima across Brussels

Poly-Fannies: Brussels gonzo-free-jazz percussion duo perform on the culture vessel Tenace, whose home port is Antwerp but which wanders throughout the country spreading the gospel of leftfield music. 9 May 20.30, Akenkaai

perForManCe

a detail from Passions Humaines

iris festival

\ www.abconcerts.be

\ Diana Goodwin

ClassICal until 30 may

EuropeDayConcert:Following an afternoon of discussion and debate about European culture, Ancienne Belgique partners with LiveEurope to put on an international concert with Belgian band BRNS, Polish group Bokka and French outfit Forever Pavot. 9 May 19.00, Ancienne Belgique, Anspachlaan 110

CinéPalace, kortrijk www.cinEPalacE.BE

every right to be sceptical; “fusion” is too often an abomination – the worst of both worlds. But the Swords’ blend of world music and DIY culture is a breath of fresh air.

From the former, they borrow folk mythologies and exotic musical motifs; from the latter, a restless energy and an appreciation of the absurd. \ GV

Food&drInK Ghent Gent Smaakt!: Ghent city hall hosts the fifth edition of the city’s foodie festival. Dozens of chefs from across Flanders convene to show off their culinary skills. 13-17 May, Stadshal, Emile Braunplein \ www.gentsmaakt.be

aCtIvItY Brussels Clean-Up Days: Several Brussels districts and NGOs participate in this European initiative to involve citizens in environmental action. Activities range from tidying city streets to raising awareness about waste management. 8-10 May \ www.letscleanupeurope.eu

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\ BaCkPaGe

may 6, 2015

Talking Dutch my beautiful bee B&B

www.30dagEn.BE/mEEr-groEn

Jamie @dodgeronfire On the train to Groezrock! Yeo. Brussels, here we come!!

derek Blyth more articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

I

’ve done silence. I’ve survived without a car. Now I’m spending 30 days trying to nurse a dying tomato plant. It’s all part of a Flemish government campaign to persuade us to change the way we live.

After long, silent walks and a car-free month, it’s now time for #30dagenmeergroen – 30 days of more green.

Going green will help to make the world a better place, insists the government office for the environment, nature and energy. Planten, bloemen en bomen in het zicht doen een mens goed – You live a healthier life with plants, flowers and trees around you. Je wordt er blijer, rustiger en gelukkiger van – It makes you more cheerful, relaxed and happy.

You don’t even have to have a garden. Heb je geen tuin of koertje? – No garden or courtyard? Dan heb je zeker wel een vensterbank of balkon waar je wat bloemen of kruiden kan plaatsen. – Then you must at least have a window ledge or balcony where you can put some flowers or herbs. Zelfs de stoep voor je deur kan omgetoverd worden tot een eiland van groen – You can even turn your front doorstep into a little island of green.

The website includes a list of dos and don’ts to guide the uncertain gardeners among us. Met deze 10 geboden wordt jouw tuin een waar paradijs – By following these 10 commandments you can turn your garden into a genuine paradise.

Some are easy to follow. Gij zult voor inheemse planten kiezen – Thou shalt only buy native species.

So no more of those exotic pink orchids. Some require a bit more skill. Gij zult een egelhuisje bouwen – Thou shalt build a hedgehog house.

Some may lead the neighbours to wonder if you’re start-

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Katie Owens @ktowens Am hearing tonight’s speech by @JunckerEU on future of Europe at @ku_leuven will be a must hear/read #EPP

Laureen Harper @LaureenHarper Touching to visit the bunker where John McCrae wrote the ever powerful “In Flanders Fields” 100 yrs ago #LestWeForget

ing a zoo. Gij zult amfibieën in uw midden opnemen – Thou shalt introduce amphibians in your garden.

Creëer een thuis voor padden, kikkers en salamanders in je tuin – Make a home for toads, frogs and salamanders in your garden.

Some may require you to take a workshop. Gij zult een bijenhotel maken – Thou shalt build a bee hotel. (Or maybe a more modest bee B&B.) And some are too good to believe. Gij zult een nootjesbar voor eekhoorns maken – Thou shalt build a nut bar for squirrels. Met een paar plankjes, wat spijkers, een glazen bokaal en een oude fietsband maak je zelf een nootjesbar voor onze rosse compagnons – You can build a nut bar for our little red friends with just a few planks, some nails, a glass jar and an old bicycle tyre.

But there’s one commandment they forgot to mention.

Thou shalt not kill a tomato plant by forgetting to water it for three weeks.

Tweet us your thoughts @FlandersToday

Poll

a. Absolutely, and the idea should be extended to other Flemish cities so the kids can keep going wherever they are

92%

b. Absolutely not. Why should taxpayer money go to education for travellers when no one knows where they will go next?

0%

c. No, the right to education is guaranteed by EU law, so the children should enrol in regular school, not be treated differently

8% heading off to another caravan site, often within Flanders.

The system would work better, say the teachers, if it were implemented in other Flemish cities so the kids could pick up where they left off. Our readers seems to agree – to an extent never before seen in one of our polls.

That’s also the drawback of conven-

\ next week's question:

tional schools. These are traveller families; they will not stay in one place long enough for children to benefit from the school system.

If we’re not to abandon them to their lot – and nobody at all voted for that option – we need to think creatively: If the children can’t come to the schools, we should take the schools to them.

Local politicians and activities have called for laws to regulate surrogate motherhood. Do you think it should be allowed?

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

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John Chapman @BelgoFoot Genk and KV Mechelen both winning at HT – their Playoff 02 group could be decided on goal difference.

In response to: Ghent project eases Roma children into classroom learning Ion Valentin Well done !!!

In response to: Who wants to be a Belgian citizen?

Nicholas Clifford 15 years here but will never give up being British. Too patriotic to my home country.

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the last word

should the city of ghent be backing a project to educate roma children on their caravan site?

Ghent started a programme last autumn that saw a container classroom arrive on the city’s designated caravan site for travelling communities such as Roma. In the months since, the project has proven successful, with children returning day after day to learn educational basics, like reading, counting and writing their own names, before

voICes oF Flanders todaY

it’s the moves that matter “I’m always really happy when I watch So You Think You Can Dance on VTM, where it doesn’t matter where a dancer comes from. As long as they can dance, that’s all that matters.”

Alona Lyubayeva, Flemish diversity official, sees examples of good practice in the most unlikely places

modest ambitions

“Life is so short, I want to be able to feel that I built something with mine.”

Rudi Pauwels is a pioneer in HIV research and the founder of four thriving biotech companies, including Biocartis

sometime soon…

“Until I was in my 40s, my parents would always ask me, ‘Son when are you going to get an ordinary job?’”

Flemish artist Jan Fabre, interviewed in Het Nieuwsblad

the incredible hulk

“I remember watching Rust and Bone and thinking that I’d never seen such a huge, hulking, handsome real man on the screen. [The character] Gabriel Oak is someone who tells you exactly what he thinks, and that’s the connection to Matthias. He’s got a fantastic ability to show what he’s thinking just through the way he looks at you.”

British actor Carey Mulligan on her co-star, Flemish actor Matthias Schoenaerts, in the new adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd, in Entertainment Weekly

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