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september 2, 2015 \ newsweekly - € 0,75 \ read more at www.flanderstoday.eu current affairs \ p2

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BUSiNESS \ p6

Animal slaughter and Eid

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Gordel 2.0

Smart schools

In the run-up to Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice, animal welfare minister takes strong stance on ritual slaughter

Two new schools for gifted children have opened in Flanders this year, but not everyone is happy with this evolution

Quirky activities and an emphasis on tourism are highlights of this year’s Gordel Festival in the belt around Brussels

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Teenage kicks

Summer camp lets young asylum-seekers enjoy Flemish rite of passage Toon Lambrechts More articles by Toon \ flanderstoday.eu

Every summer, many of Flanders’ teenagers head to countryside camps with youth groups. It’s a highlight of the school holidays: what could be better than being away from home with your friends. Teenagers from families who are in the asylum process don’t often have this possibility, so NGO Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen has organised a summer camp for young refugees.

t could be a scene at any Flemish Scout or Chiro camp. A group of teenagers are waiting together for lunch to appear on the table, talking, laughing, busy having fun. But what makes this camp special is that there are 11 nationalities around the table, and all are going through

the process of seeking asylum. After the meal it’s time to do something active: this afternoon’s programme involves a workshop on making animated films. In small groups, the youngsters busy themselves with paper dolls, clay figurines and writing stories about migration. They film and then edit everything on tablet computers. The film by Elmaze, Ivo and Rahime is finished. On one side of the sheet on which they’ve made their animation there are kangaroos bounding between the Atomium and a chip shop, representing Belgium. A high wall separates them from a ravaged country where ghostly figures wander. “On this side there are zombies who chase the kangaroos. The kangaroos have jumped over the wall to

Belgium where they are safe,” explains Elmaze. And the zombies? “They can’t jump, so they can’t get over the wall.” This is the second time Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen, an NGO that supports asylum-seekers, has organised the summer camp. Ivo, from Mozambique, took part last year, while Elmaze from Kosovo and Rahime from Serbia are new here. “During school we met up with the people from last year, and we took part in the Brussels marathon and other events,” says Ivo. “But at the camp here almost everyone is new. That’s what I like best, getting to know other people. You get different perspectives from it.” Elmaze and Rahime have known each other for a while, as both live in Nevele, East Flanders. “It appealed to me continued on page 5

\ CURRENT AFFAIRS

Thalys gunman was under state security surveillance Free movement “not up for negotiation,” European Commission tells Michel Alan Hope Follow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

youb El Khazzani, the gunman on board a Thalys train from Brussels to Paris, who was thwarted by members of the public last month, had been under surveillance by the Belgian state security service, home affairs minister Jan Jambon has revealed. He was not under a strict regime of surveillance, as he was not considered to be a particular danger. “Hundreds of people are under surveillance, but it is practically impossible to shadow them 24 hours a day,” Jambon said. “To follow someone seven days a week requires 24 operatives.” The root of Belgium’s problem with jihadists, he said, lies in the past. “We have a bad reputation for being home to the largest number of jihad fighters,” in Europe, he said. “That is a consequence of a failed migration policy in the past. We have to be aware if these people become radical.” Task forces have become much more successful at identifying potential targets for radicalisation, he said. “The number of those going off to fight has halved.” Meanwhile, the EU Commission has warned prime minister Charles Michel that the rules governing free movement in the Schengen area “are not up for negotiation”. Michel had suggested in the immediate aftermath of the Thalys attack, during which three people were injured, that the rules might be reconsidered in the light of the terrorist threat. The fundamental principle of the Schengen accords – the removal of all physical border controls between member states, including The Netherlands, Belgium and France – are

Prime minister Charles Michel (left) and interior minister Jan Jambon

“not negotiable,” according to a Commission spokesperson. The accords contain sufficient instruments to ensure security, including a 30-day restoration of border checks in cases of emergency and spot-checks on the baggage of international passengers in operation at major departure points. Michel, speaking in Paris where he met the three passengers responsible for tackling the gunman to the ground and disarming him, recognised the importance of a barrier-free Europe. “An amendment of the Schengen agreements would only be required if it was essential for our safety,” he said. “That has to be looked at, but always with the understanding that free movement is fully guaranteed. That is a fundamental right in Europe.”

Drugs syndicate boss shot dead in Limburg days before trial was due to resume Silvio Aquino, one of the brothers at the head of what is alleged to be one of the country’s biggest crime families, was shot dead on Thursday on an industrial estate in Opglabbeek, Limburg, days before the trial against the family on drugs charges was due to resume in Hasselt. According to police, Aquino’s car was blocked, and he was shot seven times. His wife, who was with him, was injured but managed to get to a nearby house. Another murder, of a man found on Thursday in Roermond, close to the Dutch border, has been confirmed as linked to the Aquino shooting, the Tongeren prosecutor’s

office said. The trial against Aquino and his brother Antonio was one of the largest the country has ever seen, involving the alleged sale of more than two tonnes of cocaine with a value of €72 million. There are 38 accused, and the prosecutor was demanding sentences of 15 years for the brothers. The case was adjourned earlier this year when the defence claimed the prosecution was depending on evidence obtained by an infiltrator in the gang, which is not legal in Belgium. A court ruled, however, that the correct procedure had been followed. Jef Vermassen, one of the defence

Overnight storms ravage East and West Flanders

lawyers representing Antonio Aquino, said he would seek an immediate adjournment as soon as the case resumes on 7 September. Three of the six Aquino brothers, all of whom have been linked to the drugs trade at some point, are on trial: Silvio; Antonio, also known as Raf; and Mario, aka Mano. The men’s wives and one of their sisters are also facing charges. The body of the other man, who has not been publicly identified, was found close to a car stopped on the shoulder of the A73 shortly after the Aquino killing. He is thought to be one of the group involved in the attack on Aquino. \ AH

Parts of West and East Flanders have been hard hit by storms that passed over the area at the weekend. The damage was caused by severe winds and hailstorms. The storm arrived from France in the early hours of Sunday morning, bringing gusting winds and hailstones that were several centimetres in diameter. Worst hit was the area around Torhout, which experience flooding in the centre, and Bruges. In Bruges, hailstones destroyed about 13,000 square metres of greenhouses. “Around five o’clock, hell broke loose here,” Torhout mayor Norbert De Cuyper said. “The disaster plan came into operation, and we’re now busy co-ordinating our aid efforts.” The plan was suspended around 10.00, though fire fighters spent the rest of the day clearing up the damage. The storm also struck in Kortemark, where a house was partially demolished and trees were blown over. The damage extended to Lichtervelde and Oostkamp, where 59mm of rain fell. The rest of the affected area saw an average of 50mm. \ AH

76,000

3,746

potential medical and dental students sat the exam for entrance to Flemish universities last week, the second sitting of the year. 362 of them were Dutch and 45 German

In related news, federal police officers carried out searches in Molenbeek, Brussels, at the home of the sister of El Khazzani, as well as a man said to be her friend. The sister is said to be strictly religious, even fundamentalist according to reports, but is not accused of any offence. The aim of the search was to gather more information about El Khazzani’s visits to Brussels, where he boarded the train for Paris before his attempted gun attack on passengers. Police say they found evidence that El Khazzani had recently stayed at his sister’s house. No one was detained, but police seized a number of objects which they would not identify except to say they were not firearms. The sister and her husband later presented themselves at the police station and were questioned for a number of hours, the prosecutor’s office said. No details on their statements were given. Meanwhile, in Paris, François Molins, the French prosecutor in charge of the case, has filed charges of attempted murder in the pursuit of a terrorist attack. Since his arrest, El Khazzani has denied any terrorist connection, which is an aggravating factor in any crime and entails a longer sentence. However, the prosecutor took into account a number of factors, his office said: El Khazzani was in possession of heavy weaponry; he had recently been in Turkey and perhaps in Syria; his excuse of having found the guns in a park in Brussels; he had been watching fundamentalist videos online just before boarding the train.

of all students in secondary education is “very to extremely disadvantaged,” according to Kind & Gezin. Causes are fragmentation of families and more children from a migrant background

calls received by rail authority NMBS last year to its free number 0800 30 230 for the public to report anything suspicious. The calls led to 55,438 interventions by NMBS staff or police

1,175,173

small nature reserves in Flanders are under threat unless the government shifts its subsidy focus away from larger and well-known areas towards smaller reserves, according to Natuurpunt

inhabitants of the Brussels-Capital Region on 1 January, 11,700 more than the year before. Brussels-City saw the biggest increase, who are largely newcomers from other EU countries

september 2, 2015

WEEK in brief The number of Flemings going to live in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, the portion of the Dutch province of Zeeland adjacent to the Flemish border, went up by 11% in the first half of this year, to 334, according to the Zeeland and Flanders Foundation. The growing trend is related to low house prices in the area. The movers come mainly from Brussels, Mechelen, Leuven and Hasselt. An anonymous benefactor has donated “an enormous amount of money” to Marie, the baby found by a bus driver abandoned at a roadside two weeks ago, SintTruiden mayor Veerle Heeren has announced. The money joins the other gifts brought to the hospital where the baby is staying until a foster family has found. Heeren said that she can access the funds when she is 18 years old. As Flanders Today went to press, it was announced that a woman had come forward as the baby’s mother. Jihad fighters who travel from Belgium to Syria or anywhere else to fight will be labelled with a risk level in a national database maintained by the government’s office of terrorist risk assessment, home affairs minister Jan Jambon has announced. Each “foreign terrorist fighter” will be screened and given an individual threat level, according to which local police will adjust their level of surveillance. The federal government took out a loan last week with a consortium of private investors for €50 million over a term of just over 100 years. The coupon, carrying 2.5% interest, must be repaid by 9 September 2115 and was described by a spokesperson for the government’s Debt Agency as “very exceptional”. New legislation took effect on 1 September, including higher

face of flanders fines for fare-dodgers on De Lijn; an increase of VAT on electricity bills from 6% to 21%; a 2% increase in state pensions and the lowest level of unemployment and income support benefits; and an end to the need for a doctor’s certificate for children’s absence from school in the week before and after holiday periods. Federal advertising regulator JEP has ruled that there was no breach of the code of conduct in the TV commercial for Aoste meat products, which provoked dozens of complaints earlier this month. In the ad, a family of vegetarian hippies allow their son to eat meat for one day, and he is converted to a carnivore by Aoste products. Vegetarians objected to being portrayed as “marginal, unkempt hippies who eat nothing but lettuce”. Responding to criticism that the government’s new social fraud reporting line, which comes into operation in October, could be used to harass someone, federal fraud minister Bart Tommelein pointed out that all reports require a name, telephone number and email address of the person reporting. But according to De Tijd newspaper, nothing in the system prevents people using fictitious details and then opting not to be contacted by the authorities. Flemish mobility minister Ben Weyts and provincial deputy Tom Dehaene have inaugurated a set of 180 direction signs running the full 17-kilometre length of the Halle-Brussels cycle route alongside the Charleroi canal. The route passes railway stations in Lembeek, Halle, Buizingen, Lot and Ruisbroek, and in Brussels picks up the cycle route to Vilvoorde. At present about 450 cyclists use the route daily. The hope is that numbers will increase as the signs make the route more visible.

Brussels public transport authority MIVB has increased the frequency of popular tram and bus lines, to take account of rising passenger numbers. All four metro lines will ride more frequently during the evening rush-hour, with lines 2 and 6 also more frequent on Saturday mornings. Trams 55, 81 and 82 will ride more frequently in off-peak hours, Saturday mornings and Sundays. Bus lines 47, 50, 57, 59 and 64 will operate an extended morning peak, while lines 29 and 63 extend their evening peak. The three busiest Noctis night buses – N05, N08 and N09 – now run every 20 minutes. Opposition party SP.A has proposed replacing the Senate with a second chamber made up of 150 members of the public chosen by lottery in order to increase participation in the democratic process. The “people’s chamber” would choose two topics to be discussed every year, with the possibility of proposing new legislation on the themes. It would also be able to propose amendments to legislation coming out of the parliament. Marieke Vervoort, Belgium’s star wheelchair athlete, took her first steps in 15 years last week, thanks to a high-tech robot suit equipped with sensors that move her joints for her. “It feels very strange when I see how tall I am,” she told VTM News. “Usually I’m the one who always has to look up; now you all have to look up to me.” The suit is currently used only in rehabilitation centres. Vervoort, nicknamed Wielemie, suffers from a rare degenerative disease which has paralysed her from the waist down. She won gold and silver medals in the 100m sprint and 200m at the Paralympics in 2012 in London and plans to take part in the next edition in Rio in 2016.

OFFSIDE A soft sell Continuing a tradition of innovation that has included insect spreads and ugly veggies, Delhaize supermarket has come up with a new way of avoiding food waste, and it’s as simple as can be. About 130,000 tonnes of food is chucked away in Flanders every year, much of it because of the law that requires supermarkets to bin stock that is past its sellby date. But many customers feel around at the back of the shelves for food with a date further out than the products at the front. So instead of stocking the shelves with new products while

Kevin De Bruyne Kevin De Bruyne still has the cherubic features of an urchin on a school outing, but at 24, he is already on his fifth club as a professional footballer. Oh, and he is also the most expensive Belgian player ever, after his transfer announced last week from German Bundesliga side Wolfsburg to English Premiership leaders Manchester City for a cool €74 million. De Bruyne’s move is Europe’s biggest transfer this summer and makes him the second most expensive footballer ever bought by an English club. His rise has been meteoric. Born in the Ghent suburb of Drongen, De Bruyne has become one the mainstays of Belgium’s football renaissance, which has seen them rise to number two in the FIFA world rankings. (City’s captain, by the way, is Red Devils skipper Vincent Kompany). A product of Genk’s famed academy, which he joined as a 14-year-old, De Bruyne can play forward, winger or attacking midfielder. He soon had his first mention in a local newspaper – not for football but for getting to school on time. “I never arrive late,” the-then 16-year-old said. “When the bus drivers were on

strike on Wednesday, I came by bike ... it’s really annoying when students come into the class late. It disrupts your concentration.” He signed for Chelsea for €8 million in 2012 and then went on loan to German side Werder Bremen. Back at Chelsea at the start of the 2013-14 season, he did not feature much. Manager Jose Mourinho claimed last month it was because he was “an upset kid, training very badly” who was ‘”knocking on your door and crying every day he wants to leave” because he wasn't playing. He was sold last year for €21 million to Wolfsburg, where he has been the undoubted star of the past 18 months. His 10 league goals and 21 assists last season, a Bundesliga record, helped him to become Germany’s footballer of the year – not a bad feat in the year after the country won the World Cup. City have already played Chelsea this season, winning 3-0 on 10 August at the Etihad Stadium. But in the away fixture at Stamford Bridge in April, we can expect De Bruyne to inflict more punishment on the struggling English champions. \ Leo Cendrowicz

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

the older ones are still there, Delhaize is simply going to wait until the older stuff has gone before bringing the new stuff out.

We’ve all done it: fishing at the back for the freshest products and leaving the older packages up front untouched. According to Delhaize, it makes no sense as most customers will consume the older food before the sell-by date anyway. In other cases, the sell-by date is a close guess, and the food can be fine for a few days beyond it. So Delhaize will no longer provide a fresher alternative in the back, which will avoid so much expired food going in the bin. We could be on the verge of a food waste revolution. \ 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 Mediahuis AdPro Contributors Rebecca Benoot, Bartosz Brzezi´nski, 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 Mediahuis 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

\ POLITICS

5TH COLUMN Not friends yet

The federal government has decided to put its internal differences aside after they came to a climax last week, when vice prime minister Kris Peeters (CD&V) publicly denounced his Open VLD colleague Alexander De Croo, whom he holds responsible for a number of press leaks about the tax shift negotiations. As a result of the leaks, CD&V was depicted as having lost these talks. The tax on capital gains, the “rich tax” the party had demanded, did not materialise. Organisations such as trade unions closely associated with CD&V reacted with disappointment. Even Unizo, the Flemish organisation that represents the self-employed – once led by Kris Peeters – was not happy about the outcome. All of this says a lot about CD&V’s position in the federal government. As the most leftwing in a right-wing cabinet, the party wanted to be the government’s “social face”. But that is not easy for what are essentially centrists. As its coalition partners – liberals Open VLD and nationalists N-VA – joined forces, CD&V was forced into a position of internal dissent. But playing the rebel does not come naturally to them, either: for decades the Christian-democrats prided themselves on being upholders of the state. Time for a new strategy. Over the weekend, several members of the majority stated that the federal government may not be friends but that does not prevent it from achieving results. The number one result being... the tax shift. The coalition partners realised that there was no point in bullying CD&V. Having a “wounded animal” in their midst would only lead to instability. In the follow-up talks about the tax shift, they threw the Christian-democrats a bone, allowing the higher VAT on electricity to be part of the index that links wages to the cost of living. CD&V recognised that little is gained from being the eternal dissenter. This only reinforces the image of it being on the losing side. So the Christiandemocrats, too, have decided on a new course: being a loyal partner, defending what has been decided in government. “As CD&V, we stand behind this tax shift 100%”, party president Wouter Beke said in De Standaard. And Peeters and De Croo? “To take decisions, loyalty is needed. That loyalty should grow, we should build it, over and over, every day,” Peeters said last week. Not friends yet, but loyal enough. \ Anja Otte

Special status for migrants rejected by other parties Suggestion by Bart De Wever dismissed as second-class citizenry Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

oalition party CD&V has joined with federal opposition parties in rejecting a proposal by Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever to create a special social status for refugees. At present, a refugee granted asylum is entitled to income support, priority social housing and child allowance. “That’s hard to justify to people who have been contributing to the system all their lives,” De Wever said. “So I think a separate social status is something that needs to be considered.” According to De Wever, who launched the idea in an interview with the VRT programme Terzake, the current situation plays a role in the refugees’ decision to come to Belgium. Groen responded immediately with the accusation that De Wever, also president of N-VA, sought to create a new kind of second-class citizen. “He is putting everything we learned from the humanitarian crisis following the Second World War in jeopardy,” said party member Wouter De Vriendt. “That includes European co-operation on the basis of free movement, and the way we approach the matter of war refugees.” CD&V member of parliament Nahima Lanjri also spoke out on the issue. “We are clearly saying no to any system of first- and second-class citizens,” she said. “We are in favour of a strict but humane asylum policy. If people have to flee their homes … and we find that they were indeed not safe and recognise their status as refugees, then we have to take them into our society as fully-fledged citizens.”

Asylum seekers line up outside the Fedasil office in Brussels last week

Gwendolyn Rutten, president of Open VLD, had a more nuanced response. “It makes no sense to imagine that there are no limits … Our social security was never intended to cope with major migration and refugee streams. We need to find a better approach than to naively hand over money and think our conscience is thereby clear.” Meanwhile, the Office for Foreigners in Brussels had to ask asylum applicants to come back the next day because of the overwhelming demand. Last Wednesday, 93 individuals or families were registered then sent away with a letter telling them to come back the next day for an interview. Earlier in the week, 203 letters were given out. After a successful interview, asylum-seekers are referred to Fedasil, which assigns accommodation. Those not yet interviewed are often forced to spend the night in one of the nearby parks. The local Red Cross are providing food and tents at the parks.

Parliament holds special session to discuss ritual slaughter The animal welfare committee of the Flemish parliament held a special recess session last week to discuss ritual slaughter in Flanders, with questions for animal welfare minister Ben Weyts. The issue will be of crucial importance on 23 September, when Muslims celebrate Eid el-Adha, the feast of the sacrifice, during which many families slaughter a sheep. According to Muslim tradition, animals are slaughtered by cutting their throats while they are still

conscious. That practice is only allowed at licensed slaughterhouses and not at the many temporary slaughtering sites set up to meet demand during Eid. Those sites must stun the animal first. Eventually, Weyts would like to see the ban extended to all slaughterhouses, a measure that brings the Jewish community into the equation. Coalition partner CD&V is against the extension of the ban. \ AH

Federal justice minister to open third forensic psychiatric centre by 2019 Federal justice minister Koen Geens has called for the creation of a third forensic psychiatric centre (FPC) to allow the removal of the last internees from ordinary prisons. FPCs accommodate those who have been found by a court to be criminally insane and who are normally detained for an indeterminate period. The first FPC opened in Ghent at the end of last year, and its 264 places are now almost full. Until then, psychiatric internees had been housed in special wings of the country’s prisons. A contract has been signed for the creation of a second in Antwerp, with 182 places and a separate

women’s wing. “The building in Antwerp will be ready in the course of 2016,” Geens said in an answer to a parliamentary question. “The goal of these centres is to provide a safe environment for the proper psychiatric treatment and appropriate care. Aside from Ghent and Antwerp, there will also in the future be a third forensic psychiatric centre, and two institutions for the long-term care of people with psychiatric problems.” Details on the location of the new centre and the number of places it will provide are not yet available, he said. \ AH

Last month, Fedasil announced it would be taking on 130 more staff to cope with the number of migrants, but the bottleneck occurs at the Office for Foreigners, the asylum-seekers’ first port of call. Director-general Freddy Roosemont said that he hoped his agency, too, would be allowed more staff. “The secretary of state [Theo Francken] will go to the council of ministers on Friday to ask for extra personnel,” he said. Hans Bonte, the socialist mayor of neighbouring Vilvoorde, has expressed concern about the impact of so many refugees on the many radicalised youths in his municipality. Vilvoorde has turned out to be a hotbed of fundamentalist Islam, with the highest number in the country of young people going to fight in Syria. Many of the refugees are fleeing from that conflict, and Bonte said he fears problems could be sparked, with relatives and friends of the Syria fighters regarding the refugees as cowards or traitors for having left. “The situation is becoming explosive,” he said. “We are in a region that has been traumatised by the situation in Syria. The capital is only a stone’s throw away, and if the incident on the Thalys shows us anything, it’s that weapons are easily come by.” The refugee crisis, he continued, “is a humanitarian disaster, and I want to do anything possible to help, but we must first and foremost be able to guarantee the safety of the asylum-seekers. And at this moment I cannot do that.”

Flanders has met most of its obligations to Brussels The government of Flanders has met the majority of its obligations to Brussels for 2014, achieving the so-called Brussels norm, the government has stated in reply to a written parliamentary question by N-VA member Karl Vanlouwe. The Brussels norm is the benchmark used by the Flemish Community in its relations with Brussels. It assumes its public to be 30% of the Brussels population, equivalent to 5% of the population of Flanders. As a result, 5% of all Flemish government spending must go to Brussels. According to the government, that target has been reached in virtually all policy areas. One area where it was over-reached was in integration, where Brussels accounted for 11% of all government spending in the area. “The total budget went up over three years by €1 million to €6.4 million,” said Vanlouwe. “Huis van het Nederlands is of course an important pillar of that policy, but part of the budget also goes to other reception and integration offices, as well as social translators and interpreters.” Elsewhere, the budget for urban policy, administered via the Flemish Community Commission, accounted for 9.3% of the total spending by Flanders; youth, culture and media for 9.18%; and sport for 7.13%. Education achieved the norm by a narrow margin: 5.14%. Only one area missed its target: welfare, public health and family policy. The budget has increased by €66 million over the last four years to €124 million, but the Brussels portion only accounts for 3% of Flemish spending – better, however, than the 1.65% achieved in 2011. \ AH

\ COVER STORY

september 2, 2015

Teenage kicks

NGO’s initiative gives teenagers a chance to forget the uncertainty they live with VLUCHTELINGENWERK.BE

continued from page 1

immediately, to go on a camp,” says Rahime. “I wanted to get to know people from other countries.” Language is a motivation too, says Ivo. “You can refresh your Dutch skills here. If you don’t go to school for two months, you forget a lot.” “We arrived on Friday, made some arrangements and played games to get to know each other,” says Elmaze. “On Saturday we did plays about migration that we made up ourselves. At first I thought it was going to be boring, but actually it was really nice. I learned a lot about how you can deal with problems. It was also very nice to work on something in a group, like the workshop we did today with those movies.” All three are going through the asylum process, and have little certainty about the future. How do they deal with it? “That uncertainty can be quite heavy to bear,” says Ivo. “During the school year I don’t think much about it, because you’re busy and you have your friends around you. But in the holidays when you sit at home with nothing to do, thoughts of the future play on your mind much more. But here I don’t have time to worry about it. I even forgot to call home.” Rahime understands what Ivo means, but he has a different view. “I’m someone who always tries to see the positive side of things. I go for it and see how far I get.” This is their last night, and tomorrow the camp is over. Are they glad to be going home? “No, I definitely would have liked to stay a little longer,” says Rahime, something about which the others

Here, I don’t have time to worry about it. I even forgot to call home immediately agree. Ivo fears saying goodbye will be hard. “But there’s always Facebook,” he says. When everyone is ready, the films are screened. As well as kangaroos and zombies, there’s a story about a mermaid who wants to live on land and gets new legs, a football flying from India to Belgium, and a migrant smartphone. Roman, the workshop facilitator, congratulates them on what they’ve done. Rein Antonissen, deputy direc-

Filmmaking, dancing and outdoor walks are on the programme for young asylum-seekers at Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen’s summer camp

tor of Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen, is also visiting today. He talks about the reasons behind the project. “We felt a large group of refugees were being forgotten, especially those who were caught by the choices of their parents and whose voice is seldom heard during the asylum process. “It’s the parents who request asylum and tell their story. The focus is on families, not on the young people themselves. There was a need to look into what is most important to them. Very little research has been done, so we thought we would just ask them.” The intention is to build a network and to keep their finger on the pulse, says Antonissen. “We want to reach a conclusion, a kind of recommendation to our policymakers. That sounds weighty, but it’s just a representation of what 40 young people who have fled with their parents think of our asylum system and the procedure in Flanders. How do they see their future, and they are ready for it?” Building networks and contacts is empowering, says Hanna Flachet, head of the youth project. “But to let them relax, to have a break, is the most important thing to us. Most young people here are still in the process, and so can’t leave the country. Often they sit at home during the holidays. Language can be a major barrier when it comes to taking part in activities.” She points out that many young

people end up in small villages where they’re the only ones with the experience of migration. “We’ve noticed that they’re very pleased to get together with others who share that experience,” she says. “They get the chance to think about their lives, regardless of the family situation. But not everything here revolves around migration. We also do the things you would do at a normal Scout camp.” Jasmine and Yacine are two of the volunteers who supervise the youngsters on camp. Both have been in the youth movement, Jasmine in Chiro, Yacine in the Scouts. “Last year I stopped being youth leader at Chiro,” says Jasmine, “so this year, I wouldn’t normally go to camp. I’m still looking for a job and when I saw the chance to be a volunteer here I was immediately interested. It seemed exciting to work with a completely different group of young people than I’m used to.” Yacine came here through a friend who is already active in Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen. “Last night we had a very nice moment. We were playing music, everyone playing something from their own country. And of course this goes with dancing. I think these people are more open, more daring. At the Scouts, when I invited people to do something like dancing, nobody ever joined in. The children here always want to dance or sing.

“I had thought the language barrier would be bigger, but that was fine,” she says. “Most of them speak quite good Dutch. What I also noticed is that young people are basically the same, even though they come from very different countries.” For Jasmine, the experience was different to an ordinary Chiro camp. “You have different conversations with these people: about differences and similarities, but also about their personal stories. It’s very interesting to hear what

they think of our culture and customs. But I think they found our way of dancing a bit boring.” After the break, the group need some fresh air. The rolling hills of Baelen, a village near Eupen in German-speaking Belgium, are perfect for a good walk. The youngsters are all laughing about silly things, teasing each other, and taking photos of themselves with farm animals in the background. Indeed, just what teenagers do, whatever country they come from.

\ BUSINESS

week in business Air freight DHL The express courier company had been granted flying rights between Brussels Airport and Dubai, Hong Kong and Shanghai to launch freight services with Ethiopian Airlines, but the federal government rescinded the decision last week. The original approval was in competition with existing connections operated by TNT linking Liège Airport. Authorities at Brussels Airport complained that the final decision could mean the eventual loss of up to 400 jobs.

Catering Pain Quotidien The Brussels-based bakery and eatery chain is opening a combo vegetarian restaurant and wine bar in downtown Ghent. Le Botaniste, serving “organic, botanical slow fast-food”, opens on 4 September. If successful, the company hopes to reproduce the concept in some of the 17 countries where it operates.

Energy Electrabel The local affiliate of the French Engie group and the country’s largest electricity supplier plans to float part of its capital on the Brussels stock market next year, following a decision by its parent company to spin-off some of its Belgian assets.

More students choose tech Federation reports an 18% increase, “a positive evolution” Andy Furniere More articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.eu

he number of students choosing a technology course of study at university or college in Flanders and Brussels has risen by 18% compared to the same period last year, according to the industry federation Agoria. According to Agoria, more than 4,000 students have registered for a technology programme, which includes engineering and ICT. The professional Bachelor’s degrees, which are very practice-orientated, are particularly popular: Those registrations have increased by about 40%. “I think a lot of youngsters are interested in practical courses because they realise it provides

them with many options on the job market after three years of studies,” Wilson De Pril, director-general of Agoria, told public broadcaster VRT. “There are a lot of vacancies for bottleneck professions.” The percentage of women registered for tech courses has risen from about 10% to 13%. In ICT, the number of female students has doubled compared to last year. “If this trend continues, it is a very positive evolution,” said De Pril. Twenty percent of newly registered civil engineering students are also female, which is the highest proportion to date.

Job student of the year worked “twice as hard to prove herself ”

Antwerp diamond dealer defrauded KBC of €63 million

This year’s job student of the year has been named as 19-yearold Gizlane Baddane, who spent her summer holidays working in the Raf bakery in Boom, Antwerp province. The award is given annually by Unizo, the organisation that represents the self-employed, together with HR consultants ADMB. “Because of her Moroccan origins, Gizlane often had to work twice as hard to prove herself to our older local customers,” said Raf director Sara Juliens. “But now those same customers are crazy about her. If Gizlane isn’t working, she’s sorely missed.”

An Antwerp diamond dealer defrauded KBC bank of €63 million, the bank has alleged. The man, Erez D, is now thought to be living in Israel. KBC made the complaint in a sworn statement delivered to the Israeli authorities. Starting in 1986, the statement alleged, Erez D built up debts worth €30 million with the KBC subsidiary Diamantbank, based on what appeared to be a thriving diamond dealing business in Antwerp. In 2005, he spent €41 million on a private jet. However, the business wasn’t as healthy as it appeared, and when the global economic crisis struck in 2008 the holes started to show. Nevertheless, in 2011, Diamantbank, now dismantled by KBC, allowed him access to the diamonds that had been handed over as security for his loans. He fled to South Africa with the diamonds, and from there to Israel. KBC is now trying to get the stones back. The bank declined to comment on the case. \ AH

Baddane (pictured) started working in the bakery when she was 16. She has worked every Sunday outside of exam periods, including during Ramadan, when she could not eat or drink, despite the fierce heat inside the bakery. She leaves this month to begin training as a primary school teacher. Her prize of a month’s salary of €1,250 and a book token was awarded by Unizo directorgeneral Karel Van Eetvelt and ADMB boss Philip Van Eeckhoute. Baddane was chosen from more than 60 nominations sent in by employers. \ Alan Hope

Insurance Ageas The Brussels insurance group is believed to be in negotiations to sell its Hong-Kongbased life insurance activities for €900 million to either the locally based Fosun or FWD group. © Courtesy Unizo

Media De Persgroep The Flemish media group, publisher of De Morgen and Het Laatste Nieuws, has sold its interest in the Danish regional newspapers it acquired earlier this year as part of a broader deal to acquire Denmark’s Berlingske Media and the Netherlands’ Wegener group. The buyer for the regional papers is Danish group Jysk Fynske Medier.

Supermarkets Picard The French frozen food retailer is closing the four outlets in Antwerp and Bruges it opened in 2013. The chain, which also operates in Wallonia and Brussels, will keep its outlet in Knokke.

Antwerp to open incubator for e-health start-ups in October BlueHealth Antwerp, a new incubator for start-up companies developing health-care applications, will open in October. The incubator will assist newly created companies in the field of digital health care through the difficult first stages of bringing their ideas to market. Start-ups with fully developed ideas will also receive support and capital of up to €50,000 to help them commercialise their products with the assistance of the know-how and networks of the partners. BlueHealth is a co-operation between the city, Antwerp University and hospital, iMinds digital research centre and private sector partners Agfa HealthCare and Cronos, an e-business integrator. Antwerp is in a unique position in the sector of e-health, said the partners in a statement, with a broad network of care infrastructure amounting to 4,000 acute hospital beds. That creates potential for companies wanting to invest in e-health – one of the city’s main growth sectors. “The technological possibilities and the government’s goal to provide more care for less money means there is room for innovation,” said Geert Claeys of Agfa HealthCare. On 1 September, iMinds will launch a call to young entrepreneurs, to be followed by a pre-selection and then a final selection of up to five or six start-ups. \ AH

Coach federation open to talks on alcohol lock for drivers The Belgian Federation of Coach Companies (FBAA) has said it is prepared to discuss a proposal by federal mobility minister Jacqueline Galant to introduce an obligatory alcohol lock for coach drivers. The lock means the vehicle will not start unless the driver carries out a breath test that is negative for traces of alcohol. The lock would be installed in private tour coaches belonging to companies based in Belgium. “Anyone who is zero-tolerance, as we are, cannot, on principle, claim to be against the alcohol lock,” commented FBAA director Yves Mannaerts. “We have to consider the matter seriously.” The alcohol lock comes into force in France this week, and Galant has asked her ministry for a report on whether the idea could be adopted here. “They transport a lot of people,” she said. “The safety rules cannot be strict enough.” At present in Belgium the lock is only used as a penalty imposed by magistrates on drink-drivers. It has been used in 25 cases since being introduced five years ago. In test projects in the past, FTAA said, passengers became nervous on seeing their coach driver operating the lock. “They immediately assumed he had a drink problem,”

said Mannaerts. “That stigma will need to be avoided.” The federation is also concerned about cost. “Our French colleagues inform us that the cost of the installation and the temporary down-time comes to around €3,000 per coach,” said Mannaerts. “That will obviously have to be on the agenda of any talks.” In related news, two employees of the sports service in Sint-GillisWaas, East Flanders, questioned a coach driver last week who was scheduled to transport 60 children to the theme park Bobbejaanland in Limburg. He appeared to be drunk, according to staff and other witnesses, and eventually drove off alone. The police are now looking for the driver, who has disappeared. \ AH

\ INNOVATION

september 2, 2015

My work and me

week in innovation

Career coaches urge new approaches to improve work-life balance

Researchers from the bioengineering sciences faculty at Ghent University have brewed a beer with purified wastewater. They carried out the experiment for a global congress on the recycling of resources from water flows. The researchers used wastewater from De Wilde brewery in Ghent. “We purified it using membranes, a technique applied to remove the salt from seawater,” explained Professor Ingmar Nopens. “This technique is used in areas with a shortage of drinking water.” The researchers say many techniques for the recycling of resources are already available, and they want to test consumer response.

Senne Starckx More articles by Senne \ flanderstoday.eu

he idea of “workable work” has become a key concept in the ongoing conversation around keeping people in the workforce longer, which is essential as both life expectancies and retirement ages have increased. But merely making jobs less stressful or exhausting isn’t the solution, say two Flemish jobs coaches. “We have to match flexibility with durability,” says Anita Stevens. Based in Haacht, Flemish Brabant, Stevens isn’t crazy about the term “workable work”. “Every job should be workable in itself,” she says. “We should instead focus on ‘work appetite’ – people should really want to do their job instead of sitting at home.” Stevens’ clients often come to her with “career cheques” – cheques handed out by the government of Flanders to encourage people to seek coaching. She works with people from all sectors between the ages of 18 and 65. “The only group that’s underrepresented in my practice is the unskilled workforce,” she says. In some sessions, Stevens tries to help her clients discover what they really want in their professional lives. In many cases, the answer is a better balance between work and downtime. “The problem in our labour market currently is that people who admit this during their job interview – that they want to take a step back – often get negative reactions,” Stevens says. “Companies sometimes think that these people just want to take things easy. That’s totally different from a career that enables you to have a more balanced life.” Stevens also works as an outplacement coach when companies lay off large numbers of workers. Often, there are many employees 55 and older in the group. “It’s not easy to find a new job that suits them,” she says. To help address the problem, in 2013, Stevens published the book De vintage werknemer (The Vintage Worker), in which she discusses the many strengths of older workers. They are wrinkled by experience, she says, but still ready for a second career – a bit like vintage furniture that perfectly fits into a stylish modern interior. Silvia Derom, an independent career coach based in Aalst, instead likes to talk about ‘creative generalists’. “Our society has always fostered the ideal of the specialist,” she says, “an employee that’s very good at one particular skill – in a narrow field that no longer holds any secrets. The problem with the specialist is that when they lose their jobs –

Ghent researchers brew beer with wastewater

Teenager’s website unites neighbours

Silvia Derom, who says that “creative generalists” are able to evolve with the rapidly changing job market

or eventually get bored with them – they struggle to find new ones.” Creative generalists are exactly the opposite: with very broad interests, they need a lot of variation in their professional lives. From the moment they have mastered a particular skill, they are looking for the next challenge. But doesn’t that sound awfully

they really dive deep into it. But that doesn’t mean they’ll stick with it for years.” What about training? Just a decade ago, additional training and re-education was regarded as the sole responsibility of workers. They had to ensure they remained up to speed on advances in their field and changing technologies.

Our society has always fostered the ideal of the ‘specialist’, but they struggle to find new jobs like a job hopper? “It’s indeed tempting to call creative generalists job hoppers,” Derom admits. “But these people are in fact much more able to ‘recycle’ themselves on the labour market. And in today’s rapidly evolving labour market, that’s certainly a strength.” In fact, there are also creative generalists who could actually be called specialists. According to Derom, generalists come in different sizes and shapes. “Some like to work on multiple projects at the same time; some focus on one project after another – I call the latter ‘serial generalists’,” she explains. “When these serial generalists focus on one project,

This was also when the concept of lifelong learning first emerged. Now, however, this responsibility has come to rest on the shoulders of employers. “From the end of the 1990s, companies started to heavily invest in personnel training,” Stevens says. But she is quick to point out that these efforts completely collapsed with the economic crisis in recent years. “In 2009, only 6% of Belgian employees between the ages of 45 and 54 received extra training from their company,” she says. “That’s really low compared to other European countries. In Sweden, for example, more than 20% of employees in this age group received extra education.”

Maybe employees had best keep their feet on the ground, then, and not put all their eggs in one basket? “There’s no harm in having a plan B up your sleeve,” Stevens says. “Even if you think you are in a sector that will never be hit by big redundancies.” She gives the example of ICT experts who specialised in mainframe computing in the 1990s and were able to earn a lot of money in that era. “But these days, ICT companies aren’t interested in that anymore, so these people can’t find a job – unless they got themselves re-educated in time,” she explains. “What lesson should we remember from this? That you should always be aware of your own expiry date.” That’s why Stevens is calling on lawmakers to work out a purposeful policy that promotes flexible careers attuned to the changing needs of employees. “In the Netherlands, for example, fire fighters who lose their jobs are redirected to jobs in the insurance industry because of their skills in determining damages. In Belgium and Flanders, there are still too many legal and administrative hurdles.” Stevens for instance once had a client in her practice who had a co-parenting arrangement with his ex-partner. So he asked his employer if he could work 30 hours in the weeks he looked after his children and 50 hours in the weeks they were with their mother. “His request turned out to be out of the question,” she says. “That’s really unfortunate.”

Thibaud Deurwaerder from Deurle, a district of SintMartens-Latem in East Flanders, has created a social network site to improve contact between neighbours in Flanders. The 16-year-old got the idea for burenonline. com at the beginning of the summer holidays, when his friends all went on holiday. “I heard other young people playing in the neighbourhood,” he said. “I wanted to make contact but didn’t know how to get in touch with my neighbours without bothering them.” On burenonline.com, users can connect with people living locally. To make sure people live at the address they submit when registering online, verification codes are sent by post.

Vlario predicts more flooding and drought Climate change research shows that summer storms will become more extreme, but there will be much fewer small rain showers. The total amount of rainfall in summer will decrease. As a result, climate change will cause two water management problems: an increased chance of drought and lowwater problems on the one hand, and on the other hand more flooding – especially sewer flooding. The findings were reported by Vlario, the knowledge centre and discussion platform for the sewer and waste water purification sector in Flanders. The conclusions are based on a study by professor Patrick Willems of the University of Leuven on urbanisation and climate change. \ Andy Furniere

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\ EDUCATION

september 2, 2015

Through the magnifying glass Two new schools for gifted children open their doors in Flanders Andy Furniere More articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.eu

EXENTRA.BE

wo private primary schools for gifted children are opening in Flanders this school year: Ingenium in Tervuren, near Brussels, and Arkades in Herentals, Antwerp province. The founders are parents whose own gifted children didn’t receive the guidance they needed in regular education. As of Monday, about 45 children are following lessons in the new Ingenium School at the site of the former Panquin barracks in Tervuren, near the Sonian forest. The children partly receive the same classes as in regular education, like languages and mathematics, but they will be taught at a quicker tempo and in a more challenging way by teachers who are themselves gifted. Alongside these regular courses, children will also have lessons in disciplines such as yoga, arts and philosophy. There will regularly be projects organised related to nature. “In a narrow sense, being highly gifted is defined as having an IQ higher than 130, while the average IQ is about 100,” says Veerle Van Melkebeek, who founded Ingenium School with her husband, Mark Janssens. “But highly gifted children are also more sensitive to stimuli and they need calming activities.” Potential pupils don’t have to take an IQ test before they can register at Ingenium. “We decide on the basis of intake interviews,” she says. Van Melkebeek is driven by the experiences she had with her own daughters in regular education. “They were getting tired of school, frustrated and even depressed,” she says. “When my youngest came back from pre-school, she often had anger attacks because she felt so bored in class.” Kathleen Venderickx, a professor at Hasselt University and co-director of the Exentra expertise centre on giftedness, confirms that such children can have emotional problems if they feel they’re not fulfilling their potential. “They are often perfectionists and are sensitive, have a critical mindset and rack their brains over issues,” she says. “It’s like they see everything through a magnifying glass.” According to Venderickx, about 3% of children are highly gifted. She believes that for most of these children, regular schools can do enough by providing personal guidance and separate lessons at certain times. “Unfortunately, teachers are not yet sufficiently trained for this during their studies,” she says. Exentra has therefore started its own courses for school teams, to familiarise them with the best techniques to help highly gifted children. “It’s important to challenge children enough because if it’s too easy for them, they won’t learn how to

They were tired of school, frustrated, even depressed study efficiently and how to acquire techniques for complex mathematical exercises, for example,” Venderickx says. Parents are also involved in coaching sessions. Because many highly gifted children have it too easy in primary school, they often run into problems in secondary school. Many of them have to change study streams and some even leave school without a diploma. For about 10% of highly gifted children, according

week in education

“Employ support staff who have experienced poverty” Socialist party SP.A has proposed tackling poverty and social exclusion in schools by employing people who have experienced the issues themselves. They believe such people would help identify problem situations at an earlier stage. Students with a difficult socioeconomic background are more at risk of falling behind in class and dropping out of school without a diploma. The pupil agencies, assistants for integrated education and care teachers currently help these students keep up. Flemish MP Steve Vandenberghe says the policy is insufficient, and staff now mainly react to problems instead of working proactively. He proposes employing experts with experience of poverty and social exclusion at schools, as a first line of support.

Lier school launches after-school care

to Exentra’s statistics, an adjusted programme in regular education is not enough, and they need separate education. “These are often children who also have autism or another disorder, but not always,” says Venderickx. “They can also just suffer from demotivation, depression, burn-out or other socialemotional issues.” The new schools have attracted a lot of interest, but also criticism. Experts are especially worried that the children will not come into contact with children who have different cognitive capabilities. They point out that it’s valuable for highly gifted children to learn how to help children with a lower IQ. In separate schools, children will not be prepared well for the diversity in society, they fear. “But these experts forget that there also is a large diversity among gifted children,” says Van Melkebeek. “The children also have hobbies, so they are not isolated.” In response, Flanders’ education ministry has said that schools are already taking action for highly gifted children, through initiatives such as flexible study programmes. According to the ministry, pupil agencies (CLBs) are already working on guidance for these children. The M decree, which will move more children from special education into mainstream education, should also provide more guidance for the highly gifted in normal schools. Both Van Melkebeek and Venderickx, however, fear the M decree may have a negative effect, because there will be more attention devoted to students with learning problems, disabilities and other issues. Van Melkebeek also feels CLBs mainly react when problems come up and

Secondary school SintGummaruscollege in Lier, Antwerp province, is opening Flanders’ only “semi-boarding school” next month. Pupils will be able to stay at the school until 18.00 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. The initiative is meant for children with working parents. “Parents have more difficulty combining work and family, and there are more single and divorced parents,” director Geert Hellemans told De Standaard. “Many youngsters miss a clear structure in their lives, with negative consequences for their academic performance.” The programme will offer individual study guidance and recreational activities in collaboration with a music academy and sports clubs. © Photos courtesy Ingenium School

The Ingenium school in Tervuren provides lessons in yoga and philosophy alongside accelerated maths and language classes

says there is a need for more preventive action. She believes the government can learn valuable lessons from the policy of the Dutch ministry of education. Both also ask for subsidies, Venderickx to make the courses of Exentra cheaper for schools and Van Melkebeek to lower the registration fees for parents at Ingenium, which relies on sponsorship from companies like Telenet and financial services group Ernst &Young. In the long term, Van Melkebeek hopes to establish Ingenium schools in every province. “I also hope regular schools set up separate classes for highly gifted children, with adjusted programmes,” she says. “Too many parents now have to resort to home education, because their children don’t get proper assistance in schools.” Since last year, a chair on giftedness at Hasselt University has been looking at how highly gifted children can be helped better in schools. Venderickx is co-ordinating the chair with professor Tessa Kieboom, director of Exentra.

Call for ban on soft drinks in schools Flemish education minister Hilde Crevits would like secondary schools to stop selling sodas and other sugary drinks to students in vending machines. She announced the intention to encourage schools to provide healthier alternatives during a discussion with citizens on Radio 1. The discussion revolved around healthy food, exercise and first aid. Crevits later told public broadcaster VRT that more parents are also speaking out against sugar-rich drinks in schools. “I want to encourage schools to offer only healthy drinks in vending machines,” she said. Soft drinks have been banned in Flemish primary schools for several years, but most secondary schools still sell them in vending machines. \ AF

\ LIVING

week in activities Peace Festival The centrepiece of this annual event is the hot-air balloon festival, with over 60 balloons from all over the world. Also: nostalgic fun fair, international food market, music and fireworks. 4-6 September, Grote Markt, Sint-Niklaas (East Flanders), free \ vredefeesten.be

Belgian Beer Weekend Annual beer festival in Brussels’ Grote Markt, starting with the consecration of the beer in the cathedral by the Knighthood of the Brewers’ Mash. There’s a parade of historical beer wagons and, of course, lots of beer. 4-6 September, Grote Markt, Brussels, free

\ belgianbrewers.be

Prinsenhof festival A neighbourhood street party with music, food, flea market and more. Children’s marching band, neighbourhood parade and a storytelling tour of the Prinsenhof district. 4-6 September, Prinsenhof, Ghent, free \ prinsenhof-gent.be

American football try-outs The Limburg Shotguns will hold an open training for anyone interested in playing this fun sport. Just wear athletic clothes and shoes – no experience necessary. Stay afterwards to watch junior and senior games. 5 September 13.00-15.00, Shotgun Field, Staalsesteenweg 69, Beringen (Limburg), free \ shotgunfootball.be

Day Out with Thomas Book ahead to take a ride on Maldegem’s steam train with the popular children’s book character Thomas the Tank Engine, followed by a Thomas theme party. 5-6 September, Stationsplein 8, Maldegem (East Flanders) \ thomasdestoomlocomotief.be

Knapkoek Festival A knapkoek is a regional speciality from Limburg: a crunchy sugar cookie originally intended as a sort of sea biscuit for sailors. Watch a giant cookie being baked in a clay oven, folkloric dance groups and bagpipers. 6 September 14.00-23.30, Markt, Maaseik, free \ maaseik.be

\ 10

Thai boxing, anyone?

Gordel Festival mixes traditional focus with quirky activities Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

gordelfestival.be

ou might be excused for thinking the Gordel Festival in Flemish Brabant is more of the same each year: cycling and hiking through the Flemish municipalities surrounding Brussels. But not this year. Now you’ll find decidedly un-Flemish-like activities such as Thai boxing and Highland games. The original Gordel event was launched 34 years ago as a recognition of the Flemish identity of the municipalities around Brussels, which were fast becoming inhabited by French speakers who worked in the capital, not to mention English-speaking expats. It was transformed into the Gordel Festival three years ago, becoming more entertainment-based and more diverse. The annual trek of thousands of people to the towns in de rand van Brussel (the Brussels belt) was often met with hostility from the other side of the language border: tacks thrown into the road to cause punctures for the cyclists, road signs turned around to confuse hikers and bikers. Three years ago, the minister representing this Flemish periphery, Geert Bourgeois and sports minister Philippe Muyters, both members of the Flemish nationalist party N-VA, changed the defensive Gordel into the more tourismoriented Gordel Festival, with events staged all summer, culminating in the “top day” next weekend. This year’s festival includes plenty of innovation, but also looks back to the original Gordel, with an emphasis on the municipalities with special language facilities around Brussels: Sint-Genesius-Rode, Kraainem, WezembeekOppem and Wemmel. “I was born in the area and grew up with the Gordel,” commented current sports minister Ben Weyts, also N-VA, who was born in Leuven. “This is no run-of-the-mill sports event. We want to make sure the region remains Flemish and remains green. I’m pleased to see the facilities cities occupy a prominent place. It was after all for them that this event was set up in the first place.” Activities take place on 6 September at the

provincial park in Huizingen and the sports park at Hofstade. In the latter are theme villages built around a variety of sporting activities, as well as live music from VRT Radio 2. Huizingen is turned into a display window for the province’s local products, with culinary and tasting routes for walking and cycling, as well as a market featuring Flemish Brabant’s streekproducten, or regional products. As a culmination to the day, there are performances by the irrepressible comedian Urbanus and the band De Fanfaar. To emphasise the more tourism-inspired aspect of the Gordel Festival, this year’s featured municipality is Londerzeel, not a part of the belt but a bit further north. During the festival, events take place in and around Diepensteyn Castle, which is where you’ll find those Highland Games, Thai boxing demonstration and music by Bandits, Gene Thomas and up-andcoming band A12. For the traditionalists, walking and cycling remain an indispensable part of the Gordel

Festival, with routes for every level of competence and stamina, up to and including a 140-kilometre route around Brussels. Outside of the three main sites, the top day also offers an indoor playground for toddlers at De Zandloper community centre in Wemmel and demonstrations aimed at children by first aid experts, police and firefighters at the Pivo training centre in Asse. There’s also a Run & Bike through the Sonian Forest from Jezus-Eik to the Boesdaelhoeve community centre in Sint-Genesius-Rode, a distance of 32km, in addition to shorter loops of 11km and 22km. Finally, the Lijsterbes community centre in Kraainem will host an animal circus – of sorts. There are leopard and zebra stilts for children to try out and giraffes operated by puppeteers.

6 September Across Flemish Brabant

BITE At Little Butcher’s Summer Grill, less is more The first thing you notice as you approach Little Butcher’s Summer Grill is the unmistakable aroma of barbecue smoke hanging in the air. As you’re drawn closer by the delicious smell, you come across its source, a massive “Oklahoma” smoker right out of the Wild West. Sitting next to it is the roaring and sparking half-tonne barbecue known as The Beast. Little Butcher’s Summer Grill occupies the former coach house in Park Spoor Noord, a sprawling oasis of green space and playing fields in an otherwise crowded Antwerp neighbourhood. Central to the park’s success has been Cargo Zomerbar, which pops up each summer in a former railway shed. Until now the park had lacked a good place to sit and partake in quality food while still enjoying the open space. Then up popped the Little Butcher’s Summer Grill. Developed by Sven Wille and Nikolaj Kovdal (who also run Cargo Bar), the restaurant serves matured West Flemish beef, supplied by Antwerp’s master butcher Jean Willems. The vegetables are organic, while

seafood is sourced locally. Normally, it’s Wille outside cooking in the restaurant’s open kitchen. But on the night we visited, The Beast was being handled by Yannick Van Aeken, former sous-chef at the world-renowned Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, and now at Hof Ter Linden in Edegem. He was joined for the night by mixologist Paul Morel from Antwerp restaurant The Jane, who prepared a selection of amazingly fresh cocktails and shots. We opted for the Treat Me Nice tasting menu. Served in four courses, each dish showed that even the humblest fresh ingredients can delight the senses. Highlights included an unforgettable fennel salad and a mix of deep-fried chicken and cod served with smoked cheese. But the stars of the show were the beef ribs smoked in peat and coated in beetroot glaze, and the sweetest barbecued langoustine these two Australians have eaten. No one could resist the delightfully succulent beef ribs – as evidenced by the many purple hands around the tables. To round off the evening, we were served two

littlebutcherssummergrill.be

types of ice cream – one flavoured with hay, the other with geranium. Both again demonstrated how simple, if unusual, ingredients can be made great. Little Butcher’s Summer Grill will be at the coach house in Park Spoor Noord until early October, after which it will move next to the newly renovated De Koninck brewery for the winter. The Grill will be back in the coach house permanently from next May. \ Dan Smith

september 2, 2015

Macabre misfits

Our Flanders Secrets series finds a solitary skeleton and a mysterious mound Toon Lambrechts More articles by Toon \ flanderstoday.eu

The rich heritage of Flanders has left many traces behind. Some are well-known, touristic highlights; others are far more obscure. This week: Flemish Brabant, where a 19th-century priest put an idiosyncratic stamp on an inconspicuous village church

rom the outside, the church in Strijtem, a district of Roosdaal in Flemish Brabant, doesn’t look much different from most village churches in Flanders. Except, that is, for one detail – the slim church tower and its remarkable spherical structure down the middle. It is but one of the strange touches that a 19th-century pastor added to this church after he was exiled to this village. You don’t immediately notice it, however, when you enter SintMartinus church, which was built in 1859. If you’re like most visitors, you are instead struck by how bright the church interior is. The great majority of Flemish churches tend to be dim inside, but at Strijtem you find an abundance of light, courtesy of the richly decorated stained-glass windows. Only when you’re halfway through the church and turn around do you see him – the Grim Reaper, in the form of a real skeleton, adorned with a crown. In one hand, he is holding a clock, in the other a gong. A caption on the beam upon which he is perched reads: “Death is a punishment for sin,” while another spell reminds churchgoers that Death can strike at any moment. Until the 1960s, when the church bells were automated, the skeleton hit its gong every 30 minutes. To this day, it is unclear where

In Strijtem’s church, saintly figures in the stained glass sport faces of local villagers who help fund the windows

Paul Cuylits, the brains behind this macabre installation, obtained the skeleton. According to one (implausible) legend the skeleton belongs to a police officer who was murdered. More likely, however, is that the priest got his hands on the skeleton through his father or brother, who were both doctors. Father Cuylits was a remarkable figure. He grew up in a wealthy Brussels family, but preached social justice in his parish. At the order of count Charles Woeste, leader of the conservative Catholics, he was exiled to the tiny village of Strijtem in 1898 as a punish-

ment for his open-minded views. Upon his arrival there, he decided to give the church a makeover. In addition to an Eastern-looking sphere in the middle of the church tower and the gloomy skeleton, Cuylits also had the stained-glass windows installed. Constructed between 1901 and 1903, they all depict biblical scenes and stories, and the lives of saints. But, strikingly, the faces of the figures are those of local villagers, like the notary and the mayor. It turned out that anyone who helped pay for the windows was immortalised as a sacred figure.

Even Woeste, the man responsible for Cuylits’ exile to Strijtem, was featured in the scenes on the windows – burning in the flames of purgatory.

An empty grave Much like in southern Limburg, there are still traces of a number of Gallo-Roman burial mounds in Flemish Brabant. Historians call them “tumulus”, but locals refer to them as tombe or tome. These tombs take the shape of little hills, several metres high and perfectly round in shape. In Waasmont, part of Landen in the far south-east

50 weekends in Flanders: Discovering Hasselt Flanders Today has launched an e-book with ideas for how to spend a year’s worth of weekends. Visit our website to get your free copy of 50 Weekends in Flanders. We’ll also print one of our suggestions every week here, too. Limburg capital Hasselt is a friendly little town that is slowly gaining a reputation for quirky charm. It used to have nothing much going for it except for its old distilleries, but it is now almost as hip as Antwerp, with quirky vintage shops, cool coffee bars and its own brilliant fashion museum. \ toerisme.hasselt.be

Look out for SECRET LANES It’s easy to miss the secret alleys that run between the main shopping streets, like the passage at Havermarkt 31 and the lovely Ossekopsteeg at the end of Lombaardstraat.

You should also take a look down the narrow Walputsteeg (pictured), which is lined with cafe terraces that soon fill up at the end of the work day. But the most secret spot in town is the tiny park off Hemelrijk, with benches, sculptures and a Little Free Library.

corner of Flemish Brabant, you can find a tumulus with a different kind of shape. Approximately 77 metres long, 59 metres wide and 15 metres tall at its highest point, the Platte Tombe looks like a large oval hill. Because of the mound’s enormous size, it was long thought that Pepin of Landen, an ancestor of ninthcentury emperor Charlemagne, was buried there. Pepin of Landen lived between 580 and 640. He was a so-called “mayor” in service of the Merovingian kings. But, over time, Pepin and his successors acquired so much power that they became the true rulers of the kingdom of the Franks. His line of descendants is known as the Pippinid dynasty. Gradually, the Pippinids pushed the king aside and began to govern themselves. The best-known member of this dynasty is Emperor Charlemagne, who later united the Franks. Born between 742 and 748, his birthplace is unknown, but one of the theories is that it was at what is now Herstal, just over the border from Landen in Wallonia. There is no question that Pepin of Landen existed, but his bones weren’t buried under the Platte Tombe, as folk tales would have you believe. According to some historians, the tumulus instead dates from the second century – so several centuries before Pepin’s death. Others, meanwhile, have posited that the tumulus is not a burial mound but the remains of a settlement or a military camp. The Platte Tombe, meanwhile, continues to stand solemnly in Waasmont, a silent question mark in the landscape that offers a reminder of the past, but refuses to give up its secrets.

TINYURL.COM/50WEEKENDS

Shop for chocolates at BOON Patrick Mertens and Inge Lijnen recently opened a sublime chocolate shop in a grand Hasselt townhouse. Patrick makes the chocolates in an open workshop where you can watch him stir in unusual flavours like juniper, summer fruits and Mexican pepper. You can sit in the romantic salon with a coffee and chocolates or just pick up an elegant hand-wrapped box to take home. \ thechocolateexperience.be

Drink an espresso at KING KONG COFFEE This place is the perfect hipster hangout. It has a recycled industrial interior, hip music and free wifi. The bearded barista works through orders written on yellow post-it notes while customers tap away on laptops.

Eat at HET SMAAKSALON This stunning brasserie opened in 2012 in a glorious old town house decorated with pillars, chandeliers and oil portraits. Cool young chef Giovani Oosters creates trendy modern dishes based on traditional Hasselt recipes. His aim is to create food that reflects Hasselt’s bold marketing claim to be “the capital of taste”. \ smaaksalon.be

Stay at ’T HEMELHUYS A sublime urban nest located in another one of those old townhouses, with a romantic garden hidden at the back. It’s run by two friendly women who take care of every detail, from vases of flowers in the guest rooms to fresh fruit on the breakfast table. \ Derek Blyth \ hemelhuys.be

\ kingkongcoffee.be

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The Gordelfestival is a sports and tourist event staged every year in the Groene Gordel. Come along on Sunday 6 September to get to know the ‘Groene Gordel’ around Brussels. Tours can be made on a bicycle, on foot or even on a horse. During the tours you will have the opportunity to discover various cultural assets, culinary delights and the splendid green environment.

www.gordelfestival.be

AMERICA, AT DREAM FARES THIS WINTER. Fares are melting like snow under the sun this winter! From €399 return, you can fly to more than 50 destinations in the US.

brusselsairlines.com or your travel agency.

* conditions: see brusselsairlines.com

From €399* return.

\ ARTS

september 2, 2015

Walking the dinosaur

Artist Michael Van den Abeele’s Leuven show takes in prehistory and life on Mars Christophe Verbiest More articles by Christophe \ flanderstoday.eu

MLEUVEN.BE

Flemish artist Michael Van den Abeele shows recent paintings and a sound installation in an exhibition at Leuven’s M Museum that covers war, prehistoric creatures and spacescapes painted on denim.

aggressive. I didn’t want to conform to that image. Nor did I want to make the dinosaur ironic.” Van den Abeele delved into a little visual history. “Our image of dinosaurs was created in the 1850s by a British palaeontologist who made the first concrete sculptures of them. You can still visit them in London’s Crystal Palace. They’re very naive interpretations of the animals, based on a limited amount of bones and skeletons.” Van den Abeele isn’t interested in the prehistoric animal but in the image we have of it. “Based on the bones, we have an idea of its structure,” he says. “But the outside, the image of the dinosaur, will always be speculative. That fascinates me. An image of a dinosaur always says more about the period

side from a sound installation, Michael Van den Abeele presents only paintings in his exhibition Opacity, Please at M Museum in Leuven. And that’s a bit of a surprise, since the artist, born in Brussels in 1974, is a man of various trades: installations, sculptures, video art, photos and, indeed, also paintings. But the art of painting was a late calling for Van den Abeele, who studied sculpture at Brussels art school Sint-Lukas. It was only eight years ago that he picked up a paintbrush. “There’s not one specific reason why I started painting,” Van den Abeele tells me while enjoying a mid-morning coffee. “Afterwards, I realised that the sculptures for my final exams at school were already very painterly.” He laughs: “It took me ages before I realised I was a painter who worked with other materials.” On the other hand, “for a long time I had a difficult relationship with the art of painting. I liked it, but I didn’t really feel it. Until the day I became intensely fascinated by some paintings at the Metropolitan in New York, one of them by Rembrandt.” Even then, he didn’t come home and plunge into painting. “It took me some years. But I started working more narratively: drawings, short animated films and, in the end, painting.” At M Museum, Van den Abeele also presents the sound installation “A Small Talent for War”, which tells the story of man who wants to make a clean break with his past. He becomes an arms dealer and moves to Mars, since isn’t it named after the god of war? Sadly, the Martians are much more peaceful than expected. The story is loosely based on the biography of the French poet Arthur Rimbaud. “At one point, he stopped writing and went to Ethiopia to sell weapons. It turned out to be a bad career move. Apart from that, the installation isn’t really linked to Rimbaud.” Van den Abeele tells the story in English and at one point even starts singing. Although he has already released a single, he has no musical ambitions. “If I make music, it’s always in function of visual arts. Even with the single: it

It took me ages before I realised I was a painter who worked with other materials

Michael Van den Abeele’s Dinosaur #06, 2014

started with the cover photo and the design, and it ended with the music.” “A Small Talent for War” illustrates Van den Abeele’s interest in exoticism and science fiction, two themes that are also present in his paintings. “Colony”, for instance, is a monumental wall painting, consisting of different spacescapes. It’s painted on pairs of jeans – not your usual material for an oil painting. “I once saw a pietà from I think the 18th century on a blue denim background, and I found it fascinating,” he says. More jeans, of the tie-dyed variety, are used in “I’m a Fan”: three square paintings of fans depicting a jaguar. The paintings are placed on what

looks like concrete – though it’s cemented wood – pedestals, which lends the work a sculptural aspect. One of the jaguars refers to the painting “Wild Life” by the British artist Malcolm Morley. “He was an important figure for me when I began painting,” explains Van den Abeele. “He started out as a photorealist painter. After a crisis, he questioned all his knowledge about painting. This instinct for discovery really inspired and encouraged me.” The most surprising series on view in M Museum is Dinosaur. Paintings of dinosaurs, indeed – an unusual theme in visual arts. “A few years ago, I was wondering why dinosaurs are always portrayed as idiotic and

in which it was made than about the creature we call dinosaur. It’s the perfect tailor’s dummy.” But maybe the most impressive works on display are the four paintings of the Untitled series: seemingly abstract works that, depending on how you look at them, might contain some figurative elements. “A few years ago, my paintings were a schizophrenic mix of abstraction and figuration. I wanted to disentangle those two strands and confront them, though not in one painting. That’s how I ended up with both the Dinosaur and the Untitled series.” The latter, he explains, grew out of sketches in ink that he made “very intuitively, almost in a trance on A4 paper. Out of the hundred or so drawings, I selected a few and painstakingly copied them in acrylic paint on canvas.” In doing so, he inverted the light values: the black ink became white, and the white background is now coloured.

Until 25 October M Museum

Leopold Vanderkelenstraat 28, Leuven

More visual arts this week Contour

Rinus Van de Velde

Katrin Kamrau

Focusing on moving images, performances and installations, this biennial parcours in Mechelen has become a not-to-be-missed event for lovers of contemporary art. The curator of this year’s edition, Nicola Setari, took inspiration from folkloric city legends and famous historic inhabitants of Mechelen. His line-up is a mix of upcoming and established talent, from Flanders and abroad: from Jan Fabre and Albert Serra to Javier Téllez and A Dog Republic. Until 8 November, across Mechelen

In the spring of 2016, Flanders’ hottest young painter, Rinus Van de Velde, will be featured in a solo show at SMAK in Ghent. As a warm-up, he’s showing new work at the Tim Van Laere Gallery in Antwerp: some 20 new charcoal drawings, executed in his typical style, which lends them a painterly quality (pictured). 3 September to 10 October, Tim Van Laere Gallery, Antwerp

German artist Katrin Kamrau is one of the finalists of the Young Belgian Art Prize (until 13 September at Bozar in Brussels), but she also has a solo exhibition at the Stilll Gallery in Antwerp, where she lives and works. One of her approaches involves the use of images in books about photography that illustrate techniques any inspiring photographer should know. She reinterprets the images or uses them as the starting point for her own work. Until 10 October, Stilll Gallery, Antwerp

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\ timvanlaeregallery.com

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week in arts & CULTURE Goossens cuts deal with tax man

Peter Goossens, chef and owner of the three-Michelin star restaurant Hof Van Cleve, has reached an agreement with authorities to avoid prosecution for tax evasion. He and his wife, Lieve Fermans, also implicated in the case, will pay an undisclosed sum on top of taxes and penalties owed. The agreement closes an investigation that started four years ago. According to the latest annual report, the restaurant had tax debts of €610,000 to be paid off within a year.

Johan Heldenbergh cast as lead in Zookeeper’s Wife Flemish actor Johan Heldenbergh of Broken Circle Breakdown fame has been cast as one of the leads in The Zookeeper’s Wife, a new Hollywood film about the reallife Polish couple who saved 300 Jews from the gas chambers during the Second World War. The film is based on the 2007 book by American writer Diane Ackerman. Heldenbergh plays Jan Zabinski, who was the director of the Warsaw Zoo in the 1930s. The role of Antonina Zabinski will be played by Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty). Niki Caro, director of Whale Rider and North Country, is set to direct the film. Heldenbergh, 48, has long been a popular stage, television and film actor, with memorable roles in TV series Jes and films De helaasheid der dingen (The Misfortunates) and Aanrijding in Moscou (Moscow, Belgium). The Zookeeper’s Wife is slated for release at the end of next year.

Greece wins Int’l Fireworks Festival Nanos Fireworks from Marousi, Greece, has won this year’s International Fireworks Festival of KnokkeHeist. It wasn’t exactly an upset: The company’s spectacular 20-minute display on 23 August, set to multi-language music and spoken word and accompanied by a colourful light show, was a major crowd pleaser. At Ostend’s annual Belgian Fireworks Championship, meanwhile, La Pyrothechnie Liègeoise (also known as LPL Fireworks) of Liége walked away the winner. The jury chose LPL for its ability to build up a tempo, its originality and the use of colour in the big finish. L’Etincelle of Huy came in second and was also the public’s choice as the best show.

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Far from the madding crowd Antwerp band Dez Mona go back to basics for new album Origin Christophe Verbiest More articles by Christophe \ flanderstoday.eu

hen vocalist Gregory Frateur and bass player Nicolas Rombouts first collaborated 12 years ago, they mixed gospel with the searing voice of American avant-garde singer Diamanda Galás. That experiment marked the birth of Dez Mona, a band that would go on to attract more members, though the original twosome have remained its unmistakable core. The group’s music also evolved, and they made their most poporiented album so far, A Gentleman’s Agreement, in 2012. For their sixth studio album, the brand-new Origin, Rombouts and Frateur went back to basics. “After A Gentleman’s Agreement, we played some duo shows again. It felt so good that we knew we wanted to work that way again,” Rombouts explains. And yet, Origin enlists the help of the full band. “In the end, it felt better to have some more elaborate arrangements. But there is a difference,” Rombouts points out. “A Gentleman’s Agreement was a band album; we took artistic decisions with the whole group, whereas this one really started with the two of us.” Origin is the first album they have recorded in Rombouts’ home studio so the production process differed greatly. For instance, Rombouts points out, there are no live drums on the album. Which doesn’t mean there are no drums. “We recorded our drummer Steven [Cassiers] playing and afterwards cut those recordings up – like using a drum computer.” When you consider that the band also released the live album X last year to celebrate their 10th anniversary and the title of their new record, it’s no surprise that, for Frateur, “this feels like a new start.” But Rombouts points out that none of it was premeditated. “This happened very intuitively.” Compared to Dez Mona’s first years, the songwriting process

dezmona.com

is both faster – and slower. The first basic idea for a song comes much more easily as Frateur and Rombouts need less time to explain what they want. But the subsequent process moves more slowly as they take more time to work on each track. “We’re also much more concentrated on how to tell a story, musically and lyrically,” Frateur explains. “And I don’t feel the need any more to show off my entire vocal range in every song.

Hitting the right emotion is much more important. It feels like I’m communicating now.” “We’re a very honest group,” Rombouts adds. “Some bands try to recreate their first album. On our records, you can clearly hear how we have evolved – both as musicians and human beings. Those first two albums could have been much better.” The English-language lyrics for the songs on Origin were written, as usual, by Frateur. But the liner notes specify that they were “sophisticated by Craig Ward”. Ward is a Scottish musician who has played in various

Dez Mona founders Gregory Frateur (left) and Nicholas Rombouts have embraced their original duo status, but will kick off their tour this month with the whole band

Antwerp bands over the past 20 years, including playing with seminal rock band dEUS from 1995 and 2000. Frateur began collaborating with Ward several years ago. Before that, his lyrics were scrutinised by native speakers, but he still felt that something was missing. “I lacked support for the poetic side of lyric writing. I’ve never really had the ambition to become a lyricist,” he laughs. “I actually used to hate it!” According to Frateur, that’s why the band’s older lyrics are so fragmented. “Craig pointed out the importance of the phonetic side of lyrics to me,” he says, “because the sound of the words contributes to the sound of the arrangement. He also made me realise that simple lyrics can be beautiful.” Speaking of simplicity, on the song “All I Ever Wanted”, Frateur delivers what may be his simplest and most direct lyrics so far: “All I ever wanted was for you to love me.” “But the way I sing it – and I’m quoting Craig here – lends those words a richness that I probably wouldn’t have reached if I had relied on more difficult words.” Frateur has always very clearly stated that he doesn’t want to sing in Dutch. “I find Dutch a difficult language to sing in,” he confirms. “It often doesn’t sound nice and lacks musical power – standard Dutch especially.” But Frateur does sing with the band Los Speedy Bobs together with Tom Pintens and Roy Aernouts. On stage, they do covers of levensliederen, or songs about life. “They date from another era, and that really makes a difference,” he explains. “But I must admit that this experience make my resistance against Dutch less pronounced. I still don’t think the language would fit Dez Mona. But in another context, who knows?” Dez Mona kick off their autumn tour on 20 September

Socially conscious theatre groups join forces Two of Flanders’ more socially active theatre groups have decided to merge. Educatief Theater Antwerpen (ETA) has been around for 40 years and reaches out to children and young people who would not otherwise come into contact with culture. Fast Forward, on the other hand, was created in 2001 in Leuven and targets its productions at those who speak Dutch as a second language. Starting this theatre season, the merged companies will go under the name of Theater van A tot Z. “Our groups have always stood up for those who fall through the net in the area of culture,”

explains Marc Hendrickx of ETA, who now takes over the general management of Theater van A tot Z. “We concentrate on young people from the technical and professional schools sector, while Fast Forward has built up a unique level of expertise by working with people learning Dutch.” Between the two groups, “we have presented 250 shows in front of a combined audience of 50,000,” says Peter Schoenaerts of Fast Forward, artistic director of the new collective. “And over the years, both groups have learned how to work with vulnerable groups and get them excited

Marc Hendrickx (left) and Peter Schoenaerts

about theatre and culture. A joint operation was the obvious next step.” \ Alan Hope

\ AGENDA

september 2, 2015

Bikini-clad love

CONCERT

L’Elisir d’Amore 8-18 September

ne of the world’s best-loved operas returns to Brussels in the context of De Munt’s Extra Muros programme. Gaetano Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore was first staged at the capital’s opera house in 1840, only a few years after its world premiere in Milan. It’s been a fan favourite ever since. This reprise isn’t staged at De Munt, however, but at Koninklijk Circus. With the historic opera house shuttered for renovations until 2016, the organisation is outsourcing its season. Composed by Donizetti with a libretto by Felice Romani, L’Elisir d’Amore is perhaps the quintessential 19th-century opera buffa.

Brussels Leon Bridges: Romantic throwback soul, funk and gospel by the Texas singer who this summer released his debut album, Coming Home. 6 September 20.00, Ancienne Belgique, Anspachlaan 110

Koninklijk Circus, Brussels demunt.be

The plot hinges on a love triangle between the peasant Nemorino, his landlady Adina and her suitor Sergeant Belcore. Throw in a faux love potion peddled by the snakeoil salesman Dr Dulcamara, and hilarity ensues. This is no tragedy: Despite many twists of fate, everyone lives happily ever after. Donizetti was a rare talent. Considered innovative in his day, the prolific Italian composer transcended novelty. His masterworks might have been in danger of becoming passé with the advent of the avant-garde; instead, they became canon. That’s not to say there’s no room for a bit of updating on the margins. For

\ abconcerts.be

FAMILY this new production, Italian director Damiano Michieletto has transposed the action from the Basque countryside of yesteryear to a retrotinged but contemporary Mediterranean resort. The costumes and sets are inspired by American TV series The Love Boat. Nemorino is now a lifeguard, Adina a bikini-clad pin-up girl and Belcore a sailor. The diversity of the creative team

testifies to the opera’s enduring popularity across Europe. De Munt has assembled an international cast, including young Viennese conductor Thomas Rösner and Russian soprano Olga Peretyatko, who shares the role of Adina with Belgian counterpart Anne-Catherine Gillet. (In Italian with Dutch and French surtitles) \ Georgio Valentino

FAMILY

FESTIVAL

Stripfeest

Antwerp Fashion Festival

4-6 September

Warandepark, Brussels stripfeest.be

Every year, some 100,000 converge on Brussels’ Warandepark to celebrate one of the city’s most famous exports: comic strips. This free weekend features exhibitions, vendors, conferences, workshops and book signings with authors and artists. The popular Tintin Rally sees over 80 vintage cars and motorcycles (all models featured in the pages of the beloved comic albums) arrive in style for an auto show. There’s also a balloon parade peopled with Belgian comic characters like Spirou and the Smurfs. Festivities don’t end at nightfall: evenings are packed with entertainment, including light shows, open-air cinema and live drawing.

4-6 September

CONCERT

Fair Festival

Hot Chip

5 September Ecologically minded producers and vendors from across Flanders flock to Ghent’s post-industrial summer oasis DOK for the third edition of this fair-trade market. Some 85 stand-holders are on hand to trade goods of all kinds, from organic food to craft beer to natural cosmetics to eco-friendly home-improvement tools. Fair Festival’s veggie barbecue gives you a chance to taste the sustainability of this equitable lifestyle choice. There are also workshops and lectures to show you how you can live more harmoniously. And, of course, DOK’s man-made beach is at fairgoers’ disposal. Kids’ activities are organised there throughout the day.\ GV

FOOD&DRINK Brussels

Across Antwerp antwerpfashionfestival.com

DOK, Ghent fairfestival.be

17 November, 19.00 Hot Chip return to Belgium by popular demand. The British electro-funk quintet’s last appearance, at last spring’s Les Nuits de Botanique festival, coincided with the release of their sixth studio album Why Make Sense. The disc has scored positive reviews around the world and brought invitations

Essence of Thailand: A celebration of Thai culture, featuring food, traditional massage, dance and sport, artisanal products and a tombola for the chance to win a flight to Bangkok. 6 September 10.00-20.00, Dumonplein (Sint-PietersWoluwe) \ thaiembassy.be/ essence-of-thailand-2015-en

Mol Makreel roken: Follow a free demonstration on smoking mackerel the old-fashioned way, followed by tastings that include herring with fresh onion sauce, hot dogs and soup. A bouncy castle for the kids and a concert by The Jackets. 5 September 14.00-2.00, Meergorenbaan

MARKET

FortBom Festival: An international family theatre festival in the tents, bunkers, dark hallways and wide open fields of Fort 4. Street theatre, music, circus and more speaks to young and old alike. 5-6 September, Domein Fort 4, Fortstraat \ fortbom.be

Antwerp’s fashion star has been on the rise ever since the iconoclastic Antwerp Six burst onto the scene, scissors in hand, in the 1980s. The Antwerp Fashion Festival was inaugurated in 2012 as a onenighter but has since grown into a full weekend of sartorial celebration stretching across the entire city. We’re talking fashion shows, pop-up shops, designer exclusives, meet-and-greets, film screenings, exhibitions, street parties, concerts and competitions. More than 100 shops and designers are participating this year. \ GV

\ GV

Mortsel (Antwerp province)

\ gemeentemol.be

Wetteren Trix, Antwerp trixonline.be

get t

icket

s now

to tour the UK, Europe, the US and South America—all of which are on the group’s autumn itinerary. Fans can expect a smattering of new numbers as well as triedand-true party tunes like “Over and Over”, “And I Was a Boy from School” and “Ready for the Floor.” \ GV

Fête à la Gare: Wetteren’s first food truck festival features a diverse range of fare, in addition to concerts, DJs and the Cyprus-Belgium football match aired live on a big screen. 5-6 September, Stationsplein \ tinyurl.com/fetealagare

MARKET Lier Lier op Scène: Get acquainted with the city’s rich array of theatre and other performance companies and organisations and all that they have in store for the upcoming cultural season. 6 September 11.0018.00 \ tinyurl.com/lieropscene

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september 2, 2015

Talking Dutch Play time

Derek Blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

ecently, I was puzzled by the word scharrelkinderen in a Flemish newspaper. It means, literally, free-range children. And it comes from America, where raising free-range children has become a serious issue. There is now a movement in the US called Free-Range Kids which, according to the website, devotes itself to “Fighting the belief that our children are in constant danger from creeps, kidnapping, germs, grades, flashers, frustration, failure, baby snatchers, bugs, bullies, men, sleepovers and/or the perils of a non-organic grape.” The movement emerged after several controversial cases in which children were taken into care after their parents allowed them to venture out alone. Now it has arrived in Flanders. One of its supporters is Polish journalist Maja Wolny, who has lived here since 2002. She recently wrote an article in favour of allowing children more freedom – om te kunnen zwerven – to explore, en vrij rondlopen – and wander about freely, in een veilige maar uitdagende omgeving – in a safe but challenging environment.

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She talked about her own childhood in Poland in the 1980s. Volwassenen in die tijd kenden geen vrijheid – Adults in those days didn’t have any freedom; kinderen wel – but kids did. She recalled living in a neighbourhood where children could wander where they wanted. In onze buurt waren geen afsluitingen – there were no fences in our neighbourhood, geen ondoordringbare hagen die de huizen van elkaar scheidden – no thick hedges separating the houses. Je speelde met touwen – You played with rope, stenen – stones, stokken – sticks, krijt – chalk, lege blikken dozen van schoenpoetspasta – empty shoe polish tins, schroefdopjes – bottle caps, of elastiek – or elastic. Now she lives in Flanders, where she thinks kids should have

more freedom – zonder de hedendaagse drukbezette agenda – without the modern busy agendas, die voor veel Vlaamse kindjes voorschrijft dat je kan komen spelen van 16 tot 17u30 – which means for a lot of Flemish kids that you can come and play from 16.00 to 17.30, de vrije tijd tussen de muziekles en de tennishobby – the free time between the music lesson and the tennis game. She recalls reading a government brochure on “Migrating to Flanders” that explains to foreigners how people live here. Vlamingen leven niet op straat – The Flemish don’t live on the street, it said. Ze leven vooral in hun huis – They mainly live inside their houses. Mensen gaan niet zomaar bij elkaar op bezoek – People don’t just go and visit one another. Ze maken meestal eerst een afspraak – They normally make an appointment first. Wolny thinks it’s time little Flemings stopped growing up under those conditions. She would like to see more free-range kids. But there are a lot of people out there who think it is simply too dangerous, what with the creeps, the bullies and those non-organic grapes.

Tweet us your thoughts @FlandersToday

Poll

a. No. Kids run around enough outside during school. Schools have better things to spend their money on

64% b. If the desks are adjustable, allowing students to stand or sit, buy them and convince kids they don’t need to sit all the time

36% oned, without schools spending scarce cash resources on standing desks, no matter how beneficial to health they may be. It’s a fair enough point, provided it’s true that the pupils are running around when they’re not in class. If they’re sitting down at home a lot, in front of the telly or a

computer or a tablet, then maybe the schools do need to take action. Making children stand up during lessons used to be a punishment; maybe it could turn into a way to help them avoid health problems in the future.

\ Next week's question: N-VA president Bart De Wever has proposed a special social status for migrants, with restricted rights. What do you think? Log in to the Flanders Today website at www.flanderstoday.eu and click on VOTE!

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In response to: Antwerp grill restaurant takes less-is-more approach Vanessa McC @NeedaGin @flanderstoday Less Costs More would be a more accurate headline. Overpriced. Maria Edwards @Dolc9 #Maanrock- feeling incredibly lucky for being here, what a great weekend. Brilliant Mechelen!!!

Gareth Harding @garethharding 5 beautiful Brussels squares that shouldn’t be parking lots | The Bulletin: http://www.xpats.com/5-beautiful-brusselssquares-shouldnt-be-parking-lots#.VdsOzxV2zQg.twitter … Totally agree. Could easily make it 10.

urbandata @urbandata Ghent removed cars from 16 streets for the entire summer. Look what happened http://popupcity.net/streets-made-bypeople/ … #streating #cplan

Nathan @Nathann_09 @BenPurpSoul I couldn’t believe it when I saw that Amsterdam had sunshine yesterday, now Antwerp. They’ve shifted all the rain London bound.

Matt Hughes @HugheSteeple First workout in Leuven. Rolling strong with the squad @ HassyHass35 @shewolfruns

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the last word

Do you think schools should invest in special desks that allow students to follow lessons standing upright?

Ghent company Jaswig has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to develop a standing desk for schools, but they’d do better than to come around here because you rejected the idea. Kids get enough time to stand up and move about, you reck-

VoiceS of flanders today

Sweet success

Treasure hunt

“Oh, the share price leaves me cold. I get much more pleasure from seeing someone in a supermarket take a pack of Lotus speculoos off the shelf.”

“People these days hardly carry any cash on them, and bracelets and rings are mainly cheap tat made in China. In the old days, I could raise enough in two weeks to pay for a holiday in Spain. But those days are gone.”

Jan Boone of Lotus Bakeries, whose share price has rocketed from €1,320 in June to €1,683 now

Puppet state “When K3 won an award, I thought, ‘That’s not my award.’ Because I hadn’t written the lyrics, I hadn’t composed the music, and I had only sung onethird of the vocals. The praise was for other people – but then so was the criticism.” Karen Damen of the old girl-band K3, as the televised competition readies to select the new K3

Gaston Sampson, 81, is one of the Flemish coast’s last beachcombers

Inconvenient illness “My lip hangs down, my eyes are tearing constantly, I can barely talk, I’ve a constant feeling of numbness, I can’t laugh or whistle. It’s unbelievably annoying.” Federal anti-fraud minister Bart Tommelein has a case of Bell’s Palsy, an infection of a facial nerve, which has paralysed one side of his face

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