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may 25, 2016 \ newsweekly - € 0,75 \ read more at www.flanderstoday.eu current affairs \ p2

politics \ p4

Digital killed the radio star

BUSiNESS \ p6

Skeleton key

The government of Flanders is planning a switch from FM radio to digital audio broadcast by 2022

KU Leuven’s robotic exoskeleton can help elderly people and those who’ve lost mobility to walk again

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innovation \ p7

education \ p9

art & living \ p10

Hunting and gathering

Several of Flanders’ top chefs will be the team to beat at an international competition testing Europe’s foraging skills \ 10

© Courtesy Octopusplan

We like to move it

Champion gymnist gets kids in Flanders moving any way they can Leo Cendrowicz Follow Leo on Twitter \ @LeoCendro

Off the sofa and up the wall: Gymnast and TV host Nicolas Vanhole is using his expertise at parkour to encourage children in Flanders to get out and get fit.

G

liding gracefully up walls and scampering over roofs, Nicolas Vanhole is demonstrating one of the coolest sports ever: parkour. You might know parkour as “freerunning”, a jumping, twisting and spinning pursuit that looks more like ballet than athletics and is now de rigueur for every Hollywood action movie and TV commercial.

But while Vanhole (pictured above) is mesmerising, he’s not showing off: He’s teaching. The idea is to impart to a generation of Flemish children the value – and fun – of regular exercise.

The 24-year-old is the face of Parkour, an initiative launched this month aimed at getting youngsters to do more sport. It’s being rolled out in 1,000 schools across Flanders and Brussels, with teachers and parents encouraged to support chil-

dren in finding ways to do Vandore’s eight exercises. It’s just one of a number of programmes recently launched across Flanders to improve children’s health and fitness.

Vanhole, who is already known as the host of Heroes on Flemish kids’ channel Ketnet, is a former gymnastics champion, and started doing parkour 10 years ago. “The idea is to use parkour to get children out, to get them moving,” he says.

“These days, a lot of children spend their free time sitting in front of the television, playing computer games and on social media. They really need to exercise more, they need fresh air, they need to keep their bodies active.”

The scheme was devised by Octopusplan, which began as a campaign for the rights of pedestrians and cyclists and now helps schools and communities improve road safety and mobility. They describe parkour as “a safe and creative way to get from point A to point B over different obstacles in the open air”.

Others describe parkour as the art of moving from one point

to another as efficiently as possible using only your body. In both a class setting and outdoors, this can involve running between, jumping, vaulting, leaping and climbing over various obstacles.

Vanhole designed eight simple exercises for pupils to learn, each of which is demonstrated in a video clip on the Octopusplan website. The project, which kicked off in Mechelen two weeks ago, sets different levels for different ages, starting at age six.

It includes a competition, so the schools can post images and clips on social media. Vanhole, who teaches sport at the We’re All Athletes centre in Leuven, also travels around to schools doing workshops.

“Most kids can do most of the exercises,” he says. “The goal is not to get them to do it perfectly, but to make them aware that they can move around, and do so safely. And that they can do it with just a low wall and their own body.”

Parkour enthusiasts are often filmed trespassing on roofs continued on page 5

\ CURRENT AFFAIRS

Homage to victims of attacks Two months after the Brussels terrorist attacks, king speaks of strong society Alan Hope Follow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

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wo months to the day after the attacks on Brussels Airport and Maalbeek metro station, a ceremony was held in the royal palace in memory of the 32 people who died and the many who were injured.

Some 500 people attended, including members of the royal family and all ministers of the federal government. King Filip addressed the audience, made up mainly of survivors and relatives of the dead, whose names were read out.

“We have shown how strong our society is,” he said.

“Strengthened by your courage, your values, your dignity, strengthened by the bonds with the people around you, which have grown stronger in these dark days. You did not give in. You were touched in the depth of your heart, yet your response is still loving and generous.”

Airport terrorist suspect co-operates with reconstruction Suspected terrorist Mohamed Abrini – otherwise known as “the man in the hat” – has taken part in a reconstruction of the events of 22 March in Schaarbeek and at Brussels Airport.

Abrini, the sole survivor of the group of three suicide bombers that detonated bombs at the airport, began the day in Schaarbeek, where police had established a large security perimeter around Max Roostraat to carry out the reconstruction.

Abrini and the other two bombers – Ibrahim El Bakraoui and Najim Lachraaoui – took a taxi to the airport, carrying the suitcases packed with explosives.

Bakraoui and Lachraaoui detonated their bombs, but Abrini left the terminal building and walked into Brussels, where he is assumed to have hidden somewhere in Schaarbeek.

In the meantime, Ibrahim’s brother Khalid blew himself up on the metro in Maalbeek station. The death toll from both attacks stands at 32.

Later in the day, after the final flights at Zaventem, Abrini took part in a reconstruction of what happened on his arrival at the airport on 22 March. The procedure took place “without incident” according to the federal prosecutor’s office. “In the interests of the investigation, no details will be given about the course of the reconstruction or the results.” \ AH

Prime minister Charles Michel also addressed the gathering. “We are grateful to all those who saved lives: first responders who were present on the ground quickly and without self-interest, and the doctors and nurses who achieved miracles to help the injured,” he said. “These women and men are the proof that courage can be found in all of us. That, too, offers hope for the future.”

“My first thought when I left that place of chaos was to leave the city and never return,” said Dominique Denoel, who was seriously injured in the attack at Maalbeek metro station. “Now I know that I would only have been fleeing my responsibility because we are all of us responsible for the world we live in. Our only fault is that we let these things happen.”

Veteran comedian Gaston Berghmans dies aged 90 Flemish actor and comedian Gaston Berghmans has died in a rest home in Antwerp at the age of 90. He had been ill for some time.

Berghmans was spotted in the 1950s doing a sketch at a party at his sports club and brought to the attention of a producer of variety shows. He soon found his way to the fledgling TV during the Expo ’58 world fair in Brussels but stumbled by refusing to abandon his Antwerp dialect for more “proper” Dutch. He continued, however, to work on stage.

At the end of the 1950s he met musician Leo Martin and the pair eventually teamed up as a sketch act that became a household name, with a second – this time successful – attempt at conquering the television audience.

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Gaston Berghmans (left) with Leo Martin in the 1980 series De kolderbrigade

Martin died in 1993, shortly after the duo celebrated their 20th anniversary. Berghmans retired a year later and was awarded a career star from the Flemish Television Academy. He leaves a wife, Jenny, and a daughter, Chantal.

Berghmans was “a monument of Flemish popular humour,” minister-president Geert Bourgeois said. His most popular character, Joske Vermeulen, is “part of our canon. Flanders has lost an icon today”.

Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever said Berghmans represented “all that is good about what we call ‘popular. On his birthday I thanked Gaston for the smile he was able to conjure on the face of the Flemish.”

“The death of Gaston is the end of an era,” said Flemish actor and comic Carry Goossens. “If you ask me, Gaston was one of the greatest comics Flanders has ever known.” He also influenced the current generation. According to Willem Bouva, winner of the Humo Comedy Cup in 2014.

“Gaston was a childhood hero to me,” he said. “I watched his sketches on TV, and that was my introduction to comedy. He was the godfather of the Flemish comedy scene.” \ AH

Child Focus alarmed at number of missing refugee minors The charity Child Focus is working to alert authorities and the public about the number of missing unaccompanied refugee minors in the country. In the first four months of this year, the organisation opened 32 case files, compared to 36 in the whole of 2015.

According to director Heidi De Pauw, that could be only the tip of the iceberg. “We are certainly not aware of every single minor

refugee in Belgium,” she said.

Unaccompanied minors who go missing are not always reported to the police or even to the institution from which they disappear. In the best of cases, the child is assigned a guardian, which makes monitoring more effective. But because of the sheer numbers of refugee children, the waiting list for a guardian is long.

According to Child Focus, which

acts as a help centre for missing and exploited children, there could be as many as 500 refugee children missing since last year alone. “We are calling for a proper registration and description of every unaccompanied minor,” De Pauw said. “With nothing but a name and age, it’s impossible for the police and the justice system to track them down. It’s no wonder that we often run up against a wall of indifference and

1.5 million

46.5%

fewer passengers at Brussels Airport in April compared to the year before, as a result of the terrorist bombing, which saw the airport closed entirely from 22 March to 3 April

© Frederic Sierakowski/BELGA

Moroccans, one Turk, one Afghan and one Hungarian on staff among the 4,146 contracted Flemish government employees, according to socialist politician Yasmine Kherbache

people in Flanders are living with their parents or with adult-age children, coming to 18% of all households, according to Dirk Luyten of the Higher Institute for Family Sciences

discouragement.”

In terms of what is happening to these minors, the organisation fears the worst. “In nearly every case, human traffickers are involved, criminal organisations, with money the sole objective,” De Pauw said. “They often traffic children alone at the request of the family, but they can be forced into prostitution or domestic service by the traffickers.” \ AH

€2.4 million

Syrian refugees registered with Flemish jobs agency VDAB in the first four months of the year. The agency expects the total number of refugees from all countries to top 10,000 by the end of 2016

raised every working day by the road toll imposed on heavy goods vehicles using Flemish roads, according to Viapass, which runs the system – the equivalent of 25 million kilometres covered

may 25, 2016

WEEK in brief The only Belgian victim of the Egypt Air crash last week in which 66 people died was Geert Supré, 56, from Sint-Laureins, East Flanders. He was aboard the flight for a business trip to the Egyptian capital on behalf of Vanguard Logistics Services of Antwerp, where he was financial director for Europe.

Club Brugge became the Belgian Jupiler Pro League football champions for the first time in 11 years after their 4-0 thumping of title rivals Anderlecht earlier this month. With two games still to go in the play-off round, Michel Preud’homme’s side earned a six-point cushion. Under the play-off rules, their table finish to the regular season means they have an unassailable lead in the standings. In front of their home fans at the Jan Breydel stadium, top scorer Abdoulay Diaby scored twice within five minutes in the first half, before Hans Vanaken and Timmy Simons added goals after the break.

City workers last Friday cleared away the flowers, candles and other tokens that had been left on Beursplein as a memorial to the victims of the 22 March terrorist attacks in Brussels and Zaventem.

Brussels minister Bianca Debaets has called for the creation of a permanent memorial inside the building, which is to be transformed into a beer museum. The removal of the existing memorial, which was created spontaneously by the people of the city, “leaves an empty space behind,” she said.

Roger Kesteloot, director-general of Flemish public transport authority De Lijn, has had his mandate renewed for another six years, mobility minister Ben Weyts has confirmed. Kesteloot took over the job in 2010 from Ingrid Lieten, who went on to become a minister in the government of Flanders.

Three performers with Opera Vlaanderen are among the winners of

face of flanders this year’s International Opera Awards in London. Asmik Grigorian won best young female singer for her role in La juive. Swedish mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg won for her CD Agrippina, on which she sings arias, including by Händel, Telemann and Porpora.

The biggest prize went to tenor Gregory Kunde for male singer of the year. Kunde performed the title role in Otello by Rossini.

Air, the ad agency behind CallBrussels, last autumn’s campaign inviting anyone in the world to call a Brussels resident on one of three public telephones installed for the campaign, has won a creative advertising award from One Club in New York. The campaign won the Interactive category. Over four days following the November lockdown, 12,688 people called Brussels from 154 countries.

The Montgomery tunnel in Brussels, currently closed for repairs, will open in November, mobility minister Pascal Smet has announced. The government of the Brussels-Capital Region decided to carry out the repairs in one session, rather than removing faulty roof panels, opening the tunnel temporarily and then closing it again to replace the panels.

The Flemish parliament is expected to approve a resolution calling for the costs of all assistance dogs – not only guide dogs for the visually impaired – to be reimbursed.

Assistance dogs can be used in cases of motor and auditory handicap, epilepsy, autism and diabetes, but in those cases costs – some €20,000 – are not reimbursed by medical insurance.

The city of Ypres has been awarded the Golden Apple Award by the international federation of travel writers, Fijet. The prize is given annually to a country, region or organisation for extraor-

dinary efforts in promotion and development of tourism. The city was praised for its approach to commemoration of the First World War. “This is tourism with respect for its surroundings and for diversity; responsible and sustainable tourism,” the jury said.

Belgium is to join with the UK, the Netherlands and France to set up a task force to tackle human trafficking across the North Sea, the countries announced following a meeting of the EU justice agency Eurojust. The agency has carried out 18 investigations since 2014.

The task force aims to improve the exchange of information and make cross-border investigations simpler and more effective.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has agreed to lend a portrait by the Flemish artist Quentin Metsys of Erasmus to an exhibition at M Museum in Leuven this autumn.

The exhibition is part of the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the publication of Sir Thomas More’s philosophical work Utopia, which was written during More’s stay in what is now Flanders.

He was a friend of Erasmus and Antwerp city secretary Pieter Gillis, who commissioned a set of four portraits as a gift for More. Two of the three remaining will also be coming to Leuven, while talks on the fourth are ongoing.

Animal welfare minister Ben Weyts has taken on 11 new members of staff to increase the capacity of the department by 60%, from 19 to 30 full-time staff. Since animal welfare became a regional responsibility in 2014, the number of reports has grown by 85% to more than 3,550 last year. The number of inspections rose by 23%, and some 200 animals are taken into protective custody every month. “We’re the victims of our own success,” Weyts said. “But we can’t close our eyes to animal suffering.”

OFFSIDE A ripping yarn Sometimes it’s as if you’re the only person on the street whose trousers aren’t ripped to shreds, often artfully and probably expensively. Last seen in the glory days of grunge, shredded jeans are back, and have been snapped up like frosted doughnuts by today’s youth.

And the backlash has begun. At a school in Sint-Niklaas last week, students who lived within walking distance were sent home for defying a school ban on ripped jeans. “Other students were asked to find an alternative, such as in their sports clothes,” explained An Van Haut, head of the OnzeLieve-Vrouw-Presentatie Catholic secondary. “If they couldn’t find anything, they could look in the

© Courtesy Red Bull

Max Verstappen Two weekends ago saw the most dramatic Formula One race in years, and it was all down to one young man: Max Verstappen.

He set a record that will almost certainly never be broken.

Verstappen’s victory in the Spanish Grand at the Circuit de Catalunya on 15 May makes him the youngest driver in history to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix – by more than two years. He is 18 years and 228 days old.

Verstappen broke the record set by his predecessor at Red Bull, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel. And the reason no-one is likely to surpass it is that so young was Verstappen when he made his debut last year that F1 has since set a minimum age of 18 for entry into the sport.

When he made his Formula One debut as a 17-year-old last year, Verstappen was tipped as the sport’s rising star ‒ but few had expected him to claim a Grand Prix win so soon.

He drives for the Netherlands but was born in Hasselt, destined to compete in the world of motor sport. Jos Verstappen, his father, was Michael Schumacher’s

teammate at Benetton during a 107-race career, while his mother, Sophie Kumpen, was also a successful karter, winning two Belgian championships.

Max soon followed in their footsteps after receiving his first kart at the age of four. In his first years as a junior kart driver, he won nearly every race he entered. By 2012, having stepped up to international karting, Verstappen had become European and world karting champion. Moving up to F3, Verstappen collected 10 wins to finish third in the FIA European Championship.

Formula One teams soon began to take note of him, and he joined Red Bull’s junior driver programme, Toro Rosso, for the 2015 season. But not for long: After just four races, he made his Formula One Grand Prix debut in the 2015 season opening Australian Grand Prix.

Verstappen is now the fifth favourite amongst bookmakers to win the championship, albeit at distant 40-1 odds. But even if he doesn’t win it this year, as a rare talent, he already has the world at his feet. \ Leo Cendrowicz

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

© Ingimage

stock of reserve clothing the school keeps.”

The ban is supposed to fit in with the school’s dress code: no short shorts or skirts, no spaghetti straps

or plunging necklines. Parents had expressed their satisfaction with the dress code as a whole, she said.

“Not every fashion trend is appropriate in every context.”

And there it would have remained had it not been for a group of students from the fifth year who took their complaint to Het Laatste Nieuws, which published their story on its front page. “We hardly have any other trousers. Now we have to go shopping again to be able to go to school,” complained the 17-yearolds.

“Now that we’re in the middle of a media storm, we have to be seen to react decisively,” director Van Haut said. “Hence the inspection at the school gates this morning.”

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 Bartosz Brzezi´nski Agenda Robyn Boyle, Georgio Valentino Art director Paul Van Dooren Prepress Mediahuis AdPro Contributors Rebecca Benoot, Derek Blyth, Leo Cendrowicz, Andy Furniere, Lee Gillette, Diana Goodwin, Clodagh Kinsella, Catherine Kosters, Toon Lambrechts, Ian Mundell, Anja Otte, Tom Peeters, Senne Starckx, Christophe Verbiest, Denzil Walton General manager Hans De Loore Publisher Mediahuis NV

Editorial address Gossetlaan 30 - 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden tel 02 467 23 06 editorial@flanderstoday.eu subscriptions tel 03 560 17 49 subscriptions@flanderstoday.eu or order online at www.flanderstoday.eu Advertising 02 467 24 37 advertising@flanderstoday.eu Verantwoordelijke uitgever Hans De Loore

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\ POLITICS

5TH COLUMN Old demons

A strike by prison guards has split the country once again between the Flemish, who have been willing to compromise on the matter, and the French speakers, who have not. A “raid” on the offices of the minister for justice by a number of French-speaking protestors has left not only the receptionist in shock. It has also awoken old political demons about the future of Belgium, as well as relatively new ones: Is this a failed state?

An example was a Twitter battle between Bart De Wever, leader of Flanders’ largest party (N-VA), and socialist Elio Di Rupo (PS), former prime minister and De Wever’s favourite political adversary. De Wever called the strike “political”. An “admission of weakness”, Di Rupo responded, accusing De Wever of not taking the responsibility for the federal government’s “inefficient cuts”.

Last week was full of discussions like this. A number of business leaders made an exceptional appeal.

“This country is not working anymore, said former Bpost CEO Johny Thijs. “It is on strike. It is standing still.

Reshape it.” He called for more unity in politics.

Thijs’ statement coincided with a new electoral poll that showed some surprising results. All Flanders’ majority parties have lost voters since the last elections. N-VA has lost the most – some 8% – but is still the largest party by far, with 24% of intended votes.

Majority parties CD&V and Open VLD each pull in merely 13% of voters.

The main reason for this result is the return of the far-right Vlaams Belang, which had shrunk to irrelevance in recent years. It now stands at 13%, too. The refugee crisis and the Brussels bombings seem to have lured back voters who had turned to N-VA. If elections were held today, the current federal coalition would not have a majority.

Whether this realisation will lead to greater unity, as was expected after the Brussels attacks, remains to be seen.

De Wever has cited a lack of ambition on the part of the federal government. “People would not find it normal if [national football coach] Marc Wilmots said that the Red Devils were ‘failing’,” Open VLD party president Gwendolyn Rutten said.

She urged De Wever to keep out of the federal government’s business. “So will Rutten stay out of the education debate?” (a Flemish government matter), her CD&V colleague Wouter Beke responded.

Unity anyone? \ Anja Otte

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Government to scrap FM radio Flemish media minister presents plan to switch to DAB+ by 2022 Alan Hope Follow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

A

ll Flemish radio stations will have made the switch from analogue broadcast to digital audio broadcast (DAB+) by 2022, according to a concept note presented by media and culture minister Sven Gatz and approved by the government of Flanders.

Public sector radio stations are due to renew their licences in 2018. The three private broadcasters – Nostalgie, Joe FM and Qmusic – will have their licences renewed next year for four years to help cover the transition, providing they invest in DAB+, Gatz said.

In the meantime, talks will have to take place with digital manufacturers and the car-radio industry.

The switch will happen in stages,

said Gatz, and in some quarters has already started; public broadcaster VRT already has test DAB+ broadcasts. No switch-off date for FM has yet been set, but Gatz is known to be aiming for 2022.

The final date will depend on how quickly DAB+ gains ground.

Local radio stations will remain on FM, but for the next round of frequency auctions, they will be offered frequency bundles, allow-

ing them to broaden their reach and serve a larger public. The disappearance of the major radio stations from FM will also leave more room for other users, including emergency services, taxis and private security firms.

The main broadcasters welcomed the note. A spokesperson for VRT said the organisation was “more or less ready for the switch, but only when the whole market switches”.

Medialaan, which owns Joe FM and Qmusic, said it was “pleased” that the government was going full-out for digital. “The choice of a future-oriented radio policy guarantees the Flemish listener a better quality of radio with more possibilities,” spokesperson Sara Van Cauteren said.

Striking prison guards invade justice minister’s office

Government debates stricter monitoring of homeschooling

A group of about 1,000 striking prison officers and union activists invaded the offices of federal justice minister Koen Geens last week, causing damage in the entry of the building on Waterloolaan. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Geens said he regretted the destruction and “brute violence” against his reception staff.

According to a spokesperson, “he is more committed than ever to push through the penitentiary reforms he has promised, in agreement with the government and parliament, and in permanent consultation with the unions.”

His office stressed that he was still ready to talk with a union delegation, but the prison officers had turned down the invitation. The prison staff, who are now in their fifth week of striking, are mainly from prisons in Wallonia and Brussels. Many of them are using medical certificates to stay home.

In three institutions, soldiers

Flemish education minister Hilde Crevits is considering an obligatory information session for parents who educate their children at home in order to improve homeschooling. “This will also give us more information about who is providing homeschooling,” she said.

Education is compulsory between the ages of six and 18 in Flanders, but there is no obligation to attend classes at school. Parents have the right to provide lessons to their children themselves. Children following home education can get a certificate or diploma through the Exams Commission.

MP Jo De Ro of liberals Open VLD has criticised the monitoring of home education. “Of the 2,287 students following home education in the school year 2013-2014, only 120 received a visit from the inspection services,” he said.

The number of inspections increased sharply in the school year 2014-2015, however, when the inspection services made a

have been drafted in to reinforce staff. Trainee police officers have also been diverted to prison duty, to the dismay of police unions.

The strikers are demanding more resources and more manpower, in contradiction to the reform plans proposed by Geens.

The attack on the justice department offices was condemned by opposition and government parties alike. “Violence and destruction are not the answer,” said SP.A president John Crombez.

“Dialogue has to come from both sides. By breaking in, you rule yourself out of the discussion,” said Groen representative Meyrem Almaci.

In related news, a prisoner died at the Lantin prison near Liège after being attacked by a cell mate with a plastic knife. Lantin is one of the prisons with severe staff shortages because of the strike. A member of the Wallonian parliament visited the prison and stated that the conditions were “apocalyptic”. \ AH

© Rob Stevens/KU Leuven

list of 451 cases that they thought entailed a possible risk and checked 203 of them.

Open VLD says data on home education can help local authorities and the security services to battle radicalisation among young people. Crevits disagreed, saying, “Just because a parent chooses home education, that doesn’t necessarily mean there is a risk of radicalisation.”

Because of privacy and information security legislation, local authorities do not have access to all of the data, though it can be provided if there is a justifiable reason. \ Andy Furniere

Ministers in London to promote Flemish Old Masters Flemish culture minister Sven Gatz and tourism minister Ben Weyts were in London last week to promote the Flemish Old Masters, a multi-year project to begin in 2018. The project centres on three artists – Rubens, Bruegel and Jan Van Eyck – and will be launched when the commemorations of the First World War are complete.

“The Flemish Masters have attracted international admiration since the middle ages, thanks to their craftsmanship, creativity and technical innovations,” the ministers said in a statement.

“They moved out over the world and were then, as now, the best ambassadors for Flemish culture.”

The project focuses on the three painters but will also include the promotion of other artists and art forms, all the way to contemporary art, comic strips and gastronomy.

The ministers visited the National Gallery

in London, which holds important works by the three Flemish Masters, including Rubens’ “Samson and Delilah” (pictured). They also attended a lunch with representatives of various cultural institutions to explore the possibility of working together.

In related news, Rubens is the best-known Flemish Master in the UK, Russia, Germany and Spain, according to a survey carried out in 17 countries by Toerisme Vlaanderen. More than 10% of people in those countries described him as one of Europe’s five most important painters.

In Spain, more than half of people surveyed recognised his name, and in Russia the figure was three out of four. Bruegel scored highly in the Netherlands, Austria and Russia, while Van Eyck had high recognition in the Netherlands, Spain and the US. \ AH

© Courtesy National Gallery/Wikimedia

\ COVER STORY

may 25, 2016

We like to move it

Key to tackling children’s sedentary lifestyle is getting them outdoors continued from page 1

and balancing precariously near sheer edges, but Vanhole insists the initiative is about safe exercise in the immediate environment.

“We make clear that it is about public spaces or your own garden, but not other people’s houses and other buildings,” he says. “If you are responsible, there’s no problem.”

The main point, of course, is to find ways to get children moving: Parkour is novel, but it’s as simple as any exercise. It doesn’t take a sports scientist to see the huge physical benefits of regular movement training. As something that makes children run, jump, climb and explore their environment, parkour should make them stronger, faster, fitter and more agile.

It’s a message that’s echoed by the Flemish Institute for Health Promotion and Sickness Prevention (Vigez), which has launched a number of health and exercise projects. “We believe that children should move and play for at least one hour a day and should limit their screen time to two hours a day,” says spokesperson Liese Weemaels.

A Vigez brochure on our sedentary lifestyles shows that most children in Flanders sit for between six and nine-and-a-half hours a day. And while much of that time is at school, they also spend huge chunks of their day seated at home,

OCTOPUSVERKEERSLAND.BE/PARKOUR

© Photos courtesy Octopusplan

Nicolas Vanhole teaches Flanders’ children how to get the most out of their bodies

because of the traffic. In our caroriented society, it can be difficult or even dangerous to go to the park.

We need to create an environment that lets children play outside. If they play outside, they are more

cians”.

Vigez is involved in 10,000 Steps, a campaign aimed at encouraging adults to have a more active lifestyle, based on research that suggests we should be taking at

The goal is not to get them to do it perfectly, but to make them aware that they can move around, and do so safely in front of the TV, computer or phone.

Vigez tries to counter the trend by going to schools and day-care centres, explaining how to develop a health policy. “If children don’t move enough, they face all sorts of problems,” says Weemaels. “When they are little, the signs are not always obvious, but it’s when they get older that we see the effects. We find that children who sit too much do worse at school. Their selfesteem is lower. They have muscle problems, and they are more at risk for cancer and diabetes.”

Recent figures reveal that 22% of children in Belgium – and the figure is 27% in Brussels – between the ages of five and nine are overweight. For children in urban environments it’s especially difficult to get enough exercise, says Weemaels.

While teachers and day-care workers can play a big role in making sure children keep mobile, society as a whole has a responsibility to act, she says. “Today, even if it’s sunny, it can be hard to go outside

likely to be healthy.”

Exercise, she continues, “is partly your own responsibility, but partly the responsibility of our society – local communities and politi-

least 10,000 steps a day to stay healthy.

The initiatives in Flanders also have political backing. Philippe Muyters, Flanders’ sports minis-

Parkour in Mechelen proves that every city is a playground

ter, highlights three reasons for encouraging children to exercise.

“First, sport can keep you healthy,” he says. “In Roman times, they said Mens sana in corpore sano, or a healthy mind in a healthy body.”

Secondly, sport is a social activity.

“It gets people together,” he says.

“You can have a drink together afterwards. Sport is about social inclusion.”

And finally, it teaches children extra skills in their daily lives.

Muyters, who used to coach his local football team, says sport can bring out leadership qualities. “As a coach, you can urge them on. And in turn, they learn to speak out, to come up with ideas.”

Muyters says he has seen how sport changes people. “As a coach,

I always stressed that it was important to arrive on time,” he says. “It’s a basis of respect for the coach and the players. It’s just one example of how you can work with young people.”

The difficulty, he admits, is finding time for sport and exercise.

“You have to start young, try different sports and keep at it,” he says, pointing out that he still gets up early every morning to do 45 minutes of cycling, or running up to 10 kilometres. “You have make time. I have been urging people to make sport a priority in their weekend.”

For Vanhole, the Parkour initiative is about making it as easy and as fun as possible for children to exercise. “I think the main point is that it’s creative,” he says. “It’s a sense of both freedom and responsibility. It’s about reminding your body and mind that you can adapt. And the process of doing so is the best way to maintain your health and fitness.”

He says practice increases confidence, willpower and strength.

Parkour, he adds, will also make children more aware of their environment and how they can learn to use it. “In the videos I’ve seen, people of every ability are trying to find their own way to move. Some people aren’t great at sport at first, but they learn that they can move.”

He thinks the initiative also helps children see the possibilities. “We found that they like to move, they like being outside in the sun, they like the freedom. Everyone can train. There are so many opportunities, but you have to see them. We just want to open people’s eyes.”

\5

\ BUSINESS

week in business Banking Dexia The ailing Belgo-French financial institution saddled with some €68 billion of debt is to make a book profit of up to €140 million on its exposure to the Austrian Hypo Group Alpe Adria, following the decision of the local government to guarantee Alpe Adria’s debts.

Retail AS Adventure The chain of outdoor equipment and apparel, based in Hoboken, Antwerp province, has plans to open up to 50 outlets in France over the next 10 years. The company has shops across Belgium and in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the UK. With its acquisition of the Snow and Rock chain, the company reports that 70% of its sales come from international operations.

Sentences in diamond trial

Main defendant in fraud case fined more than half a million euros Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

O

ne of the biggest fraud cases in the world of diamond trading has ended in Antwerp, with a jail sentence of four years for the main defendant, as well as a fine of €550,000 and a ban on practising the trade.

Eight other defendants were sentenced to between 12 and 30 months and fined between €2,750 and €550,000. A total of 36 individuals and companies were on trial.

The case centred on Monstrey Worldwide Services, a diamond

transport firm run by Raymond Monstrey, the main defendant.

He and his co-defendants set up a system that allowed diamond dealers to trade diamonds illegally, through a series of real and shell companies and cash transactions, in order to avoid paying taxes. According to the prosecution, the value of the fraud came to more than €1 billion.

Between 2001 and 2005, the court heard, 355 diamond traders made use of the Monstrey system. Of those, 220 were identified and

Metals Umicore The Brussels-based materials group is negotiating the $250 (€223) million sale of its zincbased chemicals interests to Silox, an affiliate of the Prayon group, located in Engis, near Liège.

Hotels Astoria The former five-star hotel on Koningsstraat in the centre of Brussels has been acquired

by Malta’s Corinthia Hotels, which plans to invest up to €80 million to renovate the landmark building. Built in 1909, the hotel has been vacant for 10 years. Saudi Global Resorts bought the building in 2007 but ultimately decided against further investing in the needed restorations. The re-opening is slated for 2019.

Airlines VLM The Antwerp-based regional carrier has won a reprieve from its creditors by applying for court protection to continue operation over the next six months. The airline, which operates 11 Fokker F-50 turboprop planes, connects Antwerp Airport to six destinations in Germany and the UK. The company was previously owned by Air FranceKLM until its 2014 sale to the German Intro Aviation and a subsequent management buy-out.

\6

© Ingimage

Proximus reveals priority list for mobile calls after Brussels attacks

Retail Blokker The Dutch discount retailer is renovating 200 outlets in Belgium, starting this summer with its store in Maasmechelen. The group has announced that it will unveil a redesign and new commercial approach.

36 brought to trial. Apart from the nine defendants mentioned, the sentences ran from six to 30 months, and fines from €2,750 to €110,000.

Most sentences were suspended, given that it had taken more than 10 years to bring the case to court; the case was so complicated that the verdict alone runs to 1,067 pages. Evidence files submitted contain more than 70,000 pages.

Illegal gains of more than €100 million were declared forfeit by the court.

© Curimedia/Wikimedia

Flemish families awarded €120,000 from Vueling for late flights A group of families from Flanders has successfully collected almost €120,000 from the low-cost airline Vueling by way of compensation for serious flight delays. The families’ representative said they had made use of “a legal quirk” to claim the money.

Since 2013, EU law dictates that any airline passenger whose flight arrives three hours or more late at its destination is entitled to compensation, which increases as the distance increases. In this case, the Spanish-owned Vueling refused to pay, even after a justice of the peace in Zaventem ruled against them.

Instead of pursuing the matter in court, the families turned to debt agency Claim It, which made use of a little-known legality known as third-party seizure. Claim It approached the international air transport association (IATA), which acts as a clearing house for ticket payments. Claim It sent a bailiff to IATA’s office in Brussels to demand payment of the compensation, and IATA paid out €120,000 on Vueling’s behalf.

ClaimIt has many more cases against the airline, CEO Ralph Pais said. “Now we know we can use this loophole. This could be a precedent.” \ AH

Ghent tech start-up raises €45 million in venture capital The Ghent-based tech start-up Showpad has raised €45 million in a venture capital round. The funding will go to finance further growth. The main investors are Dawn Capital of London, Hummingbird Ventures, with offices in London, Istanbul and Ghent, and Insight Venture Partners of New York.

Dawn and Hummingbird had already invested in Showpad, but Insight, the largest of the three firms, is a newcomer. It has already invested in major names such as Twitter, Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba and magazine app Flipboard.

Showpad was launched in 2011 to allow companies to align marketing and sales and provide up-to-date information on prices and stocks. The company now has 850 clients, including Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola and Audi. As well as their Ghent base, they also have offices in London and in San Francisco and Portland in the US. Earlier this year, Ghent mayor Daniël Termont and economy alderman Matthias De Clercq visited Silicon Valley to drum up support for Ghent start-ups, which are estimated to number 350, good for 2,600 jobs. Showpad’s success, however, dwarfs all other investments: Ghent tech companies raised €24 million in total last year, compared to €77 million raised by those in Leuven. \ AH

On the day of the terrorist attacks in Brussels on 22 March, mobile phone operator Proximus introduced a priority calls system to allow 50 senior officials and others to use the network in Brussels even when it was saturated for other users. The move was revealed last week by Proximus CEO Dominique Leroy, appearing before the parliamentary committee investigating the attacks.

Among those on the priority list were prime minister Charles Michel and federal police chief Catherine De Bolle. “That was the first time we had used a priority system,” Leroy said. “Since then, we have drawn up a list of about 120 people who will now have priority all year round, 24 hours a day.”

There had been two major attacks only an hour apart, and the installation of emergency masts in the royal park and the Jubelpark did little to ease congestion. The saturation reached a peak at 11.00, two hours after the Maalbeek attack and only eased off after 15.00.

“We learned a lot of valuable lessons that day, but we also want to stress that, in such cases, there will always be saturation,” Leroy told the committee. “Telephone traffic was 10 to 20 times higher than usual, and no network anywhere is ready for that.”

In related news, the committee also learned that almost one in four calls made on the Astrid network used by emergency services failed on the day of the attacks, again because of the demand on the system. On 22 March, there were 2,000 more emergency personnel on the ground than usual, with 10 times the pressure on transmission masts in Brussels and Flemish Brabant. Personnel made a total of 34,000 calls, 8,400 of which failed. \ AH

Job students to be allowed to work more hours The federal minister for social affairs has proposed allowing students to work more flexible and longer hours. At present, students are permitted to work 50 days in the year, with a maximum of 40 hours a week in most cases, to be eligible for the lower student rate of social security charges.

Last year 469,000 students in Belgium took advantage of the scheme. Under Maggie De Block’s proposal, days would be converted into hours, with a maximum for the year of 550, compared to 400 at present. The number of hours could then be split up as the employer required.

Currently, if low demand means a student employee is sent home, they are considered to have used up a whole day; under the new system only the actual hours worked would count.

The system has the support of the employers’ organisation Unizo.

© Ingimage

According to a survey carried out by Unizo, three employees out of four use student labour, particularly to cover periods of peak demand. One in five also uses student employment as a channel for permanent jobs.

The Flemish student association VVS has expressed support for De Block’s plans, but trade union ACV is against. The average student only works 22 days, with 65% working 25 days or fewer. In 2014, only 1.2% of working students exceeded the 50-day limit. “This will only increase the downward pressure on pay,” one representative said. \ AH

\ INNOVATION

may 25, 2016

Get up and go

week in innovation

KU Leuven’s robot skeleton helps get the elderly back on their feet Ian Mundell follow Ian on Twitter \ @IanMundell

MIRAD-SBO.BE

T

he concept of a robotic exoskeleton is relatively simple; it’s a machine that someone can wear to enhance their physical capabilities. But actually building one is another matter.

Not only do you have to construct an agile, lightweight robot, it also has to interact with the person wearing it. “You have to have an understanding of human motion, and then also look at other aspects like comfort, wearability, and psychological acceptance,” says professor Joris De Schutter of the department of mechanical engineering at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven).

De Schutter leads a consortium of Flemish researchers who are working on a solution to these challenges. “We would like to integrate all these aspects and come up with a design that responds to the requirements of each of them,” he says.

Mirad, which stands for “an integrated Methodology to bring Intelligent Robotic Assistive Devices to the user”, is a four-year project that

The idea is to give people some extra help so that they can remain mobile was launched at the beginning of 2013 with a budget of about €3 million. In addition to KU Leuven, it involves the Leuven University Hospital, the Free University of Brussels (VUB) and a number of other collaborators.

The researchers’ goal is to build an exoskeleton that would help people with reduced mobility, such as the elderly, to stand up and walk.

“It’s not that elderly people suddenly cannot walk, it’s that they get weaker and can only cover smaller distances,” De Schutter explains. “And as soon as they cannot do that anymore, we put them in a wheelchair and they become a lot less autonomous. So the idea is to give these people some extra help so they can remain mobile, even if only for a few more years.”

© Courtesy Mirad

This kind of exoskeleton is an engineering challenge because it has to match and augment the complex set of movements involved in sitting, standing and walking. Joints on both legs need to be moved, in several directions and at different times.

And the exoskeleton has to help people walk without walking for them. “The idea is that we give them just a little bit of assistance – at the ankle, knee and hip – at the right moment and in the amount that is needed to keep them walking,” De Schutter says.

The amount of force that has to be delivered was calculated by taking a computer model of the human gait and simulating the kind of weaknesses that appear in old age. The capability gap between the two is where the exoskeleton has to respond. It also needs to account for its own weight, so that the person wearing it expends no extra effort in moving.

On top of that, the exoskeleton’s control system must be automatic. “You don’t want a machine with a screen or a lot of buttons or complicated commands,” De Schutter explains. “The system should be able to recognise human intent and spontaneously follow and assist the user.”

The project’s first prototype supports the change from sitting to standing and back again. “It automatically detects the moment the user intends to stand up,” De Schutter says. “There are different phases in standing up, and in the assistance that is required, and the prototype detects automatically when it has to switch between them.”

When extended to a walking exoskeleton, which is also being tested with a prototype, the control system detects when someone wants to walk and at what pace. Eventually it will also be able to respond to an inclined floor, mounting stairs and turning corners.

So far, the sit-to-stand prototype has been tested by both young and elderly volunteers, with some success. The next phase is to work with multiple sclerosis patients and people recovering from strokes. The former need help with a long-term decline in mobility, while the latter need support during recovery.

There are also greater differences in abilities between people within these groups than among the elderly, and De Schutter says this will be an added challenge for the exoskeletons.

Mirad’s mission is to carry out basic strategic research, so it will stop short of producing a commercial exoskeleton. Instead, in the final year of the project, the researchers will seek out industrial partners interested in collaborating on further R&D to bring a product to the market.

De Schutter is convinced that this transition can be achieved, albeit not immediately for a full exoskeleton. “We targeted something very challenging: a complete, bilateral exoskeleton for the lower limbs,” he says. “But the technology can also be applied to simpler assistive devices, maybe just for one joint.”

This is also being addressed by Mirad, with an ankle prosthesis for children with cerebral palsy, to help them develop a more natural gait.

Another follow-up project in the pipeline is to develop an exoskeleton for use in manufacturing, including assisting people working in difficult positions or with heavy objects. De Schutter: “We want to keep the research going.”

Q&A

EVAPP.ORG

Was the app hard to design?

The biggest challenge was privacy.

We work with sensitive data – the volunteers’ medical and personal information – so we had to make sure that the dot on the screen cannot be linked back to the person. We did that by working closely with the Belgian Privacy Commission.

Eva Degraeuwe is part of a team of student entrepreneurs at Ghent University that has developed the Emergency Volunteer Application (EVapp) mobile app. It ensures that medically trained volunteers respond to victims of a heart attack as quickly as possible, saving lives before the ambulance arrives.

How does EVapp work?

When a heart attack occurs, someone calls the emergency number 112. Then the emergency dispatch centre uses the app to mobilise volunteers such as doctors and nurses, or anyone who can do CPR. The app starts with the nearest person. Two people are mobilised to get on the scene and start basic life support. It then mobilises a third or a fourth person to get an automatic external defibrillator to restart the heart.

How many volunteers do you need and are they always required to respond?

You need about five people in a one-kilometre radius. We are fairly densely populated in Belgium, and over half a million people know CPR. Our recruitment plan is to get 40,000 volunteers to cover the country. Belgian law does not make you liable for providing care, but we have also made it possible for volunteers to accept or decline a call, so they are not pressured.

© Courtesy Eva Degraeuwe

There is also an electronic calendar where volunteers can indicate their availability.

What’s next?

We are starting test projects with municipalities in Antwerp province, which will show how fast we can get people there and give us average survival numbers. EVapp is set up as a non-governmental organisation. We are not looking for any profit at all. We just want the application out there.

Art historian wins ‘Belgian Nobel’ This year’s Francqui prize – often referred to as the Belgian Nobel Prize – goes to Barbara Baert, professor of art history at the University of Leuven. Baert received the prize for her innovative view on human sciences and her work in iconology, the branch of art history that deals with the interpretation of themes in visual art. Baert establishes a dialogue with other disciplines of human sciences such as anthropology, theology, philosophy, literary studies and psychoanalysis, to broaden the scope of art history. She mainly examines the visual culture and worship of relics in the middle ages but also deals with other periods, tackling themes such as health and fertility.

Unmanned inland vessels to be tested The Flemish waterways management organisation Waterwegen en Zeekanaal (W&Z) is preparing an experiment with unmanned inland vessels in the Brussels–Scheldt maritime canal, mobility minister Ben Weyts has announced. W&Z is preparing the pilot project with the University of Leuven and Norwegian company Marintek. The purpose is to equip a vessel so it can navigate autonomously from point A to point B via locks, bridges and other obstacles.

Legislation, however, will have to be adjusted beyond the test phase as it’s now obligatory to have a skipper on board a vessel.

Fish stocks up in Flanders’ rivers The number of fish in Flemish rivers has increased substantially in the last decade, according to the Institute for Nature and Forest Research (Inbo). The organisation regularly examines the presence of fish in local rivers and has found that total numbers as well as the number of species have increased.

“There are significantly more fish in the rivers than 10 years ago,” said Jan Breine of Inbo’s aquatic management group. “The situation hasn’t been this good in 70 years.”

Inbo found 41 fish species in the Scheldt estuary. Some species used to be rare in the region but are now present in large numbers. Inbo cites the improvement in water quality as the reason for the improved figures. \ Andy Furniere

\ Interview by IM

\7

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\ EDUCATION

may 25, 2016

Lessons in life

week in education

Ghent students start their own businesses through ARTEpreneur project Senne Starckx More articles by Senne \ flanderstoday.eu

W

hen most of us think back to our student days, we get nostalgic about that ocean of free time we had – not yet burdened by worries about finance, children, careers and mortgages. Many of us spent our lives hanging around in bars and at parties. Some of us read a whole library, others lost themselves in endless computer games.

Looking at the average Flemish student today, it’s clear things have changed. One striking difference is the emergence of the “entrepreneurial student”.

Whereas previous generations never really thought about making money from what they learned at university while still on campus, more and more of today’s students have already started their own business before they even get their degree.

“I wake up and go to sleep with graphic design,” says Quinten Braem, who’s in his third and final year of his Bachelor degree in graphic and digital media at Artevelde University College in Ghent. “While I was still at secondary school I was getting requests from family and friends to design print and online material for them – logos, brand identities, posters, banners, you name it.”

A couple of years ago, he continues, “I had so many assignments that I had to cancel some – from companies, too – because as a student I wasn’t allowed to send invoices.”

It’s a frequent complaint among students (and among the unemployed, disabled or retired): there’s a fixed limit to the hours they can work and the money they can earn. That’s why many students still end up working in the hospitality industry, where they can

Budding entrepreneurs at Ghent’s Artevelde University College

earn more money. That situation, of course, discourages the most industrious.

It’s the reason Artevelde University College founded the ARTEpreneur project last summer. ARTEpreneur is actually a co-operative, and it gets support from the Flemish government’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship agency, Vlaio.

The co-op gives entrepreneurial students the chance to start their own business even before they’ve graduated.

“We provide students with all the administrative requirements to start their company without affecting their statute, which allows their parents to continue receiving child benefits,” explains Artevelde business coach An Boone, who leads the project. “The students use the VAT and enterprise number of our co-op to send their invoices. With the money they earn, they can build up a nice starting capital, which we pay out once they’ve graduated and are discharged from our project.”

Besides all the administration and the “back door” that allows them to become entrepreneurs, ARTEpreneur students like Braem also

get assistance in the development of a business plan, in the search for new customers for his company and – last but not least – in the combination of work and study.

“Obtaining a e. “Before they can be part of our project, interested students have to pitch their idea

Astrid Hannes is research director at University College PXL in Hasselt.

Last month the school held its first PXL Experts @ Your Service event

question every organisation has to ask itself is: How can I fulfil new demands from my customers?

What is PXL Experts @ Your Service?

We opened our doors for SMEs, local governments and social organisations to come and ask our experts for professional advice on innovation. The event was a big success: We welcomed people from more than 150 organisations, from various economic sectors like construction and health care, local administrations like social service departments and even a large printing business. I believe we also had a good representative sample of local SMEs. Our 163 experts had their hands full.

Can you give some examples of innovations your experts proposed?

For the printing business we proposed reducing energy consumption by optimising how the company uses oils to run its machines. In this particular case, the knowhow of our construction and energy experts is indispensable. For a domiciliary care firm we suggested improving the quality of life of elderly people living at home by connecting several ICT devices with each other. And we have a “smell expert” who investigates the perception of the odours

school, we have to finish several large projects every year, besides attending classes.”

As a young entrepreneur, he’s reluctant, he says, to say “no” to a client. “So it’s sometimes hard to combine the two. But I’ve known since I was 12 that I wanted to become self-employed and start my own company.”

The products or services the students sell don’t always correspond directly to what they’re studying.

Emmanuelle Van Gheluwe and Joke Verhaeghe, who studied economy and marketing at Artevelde, for example, founded Moving Cocktails.

Armed with a “cocktail truck”, the entrepreneurial pair provide their customers with original drinks. Lee Van Hecke and Brent Mouton, fellow students of Braem, launched their own fashion line, Seak Clothing, focused on urban skate style.

I’ve known since I was 12 that I wanted to become self-employed and start my own company to our executive board.” There are currently 23 students – not only from Artevelde but also from Ghent University, University College Ghent, Vives and Odisee – enrolled in the programme, representing 17 companies.

Though his studies come first, Braem admits he often has to work deep into the night to get all his work done, for both school and his company. “Graphic design is my passion, so I try to do every job as well as I can. For

Boone enjoys seeing both her ARTEpreneur students and their projects evolve. And she also notes that they tend to work together. “That’s the co-operative spirit of ARTEpreneur,” she says.

“Co-operative entrepreneurship leads to collaboration between the students in multiple areas.

They swap knowhow and experience, they act as a sounding board for the group, and they even try to improve each other’s business plans.”

Q&A How can your experts help these organisations become better innovators?

Every one of our experts has their own expertise, ranging from bioresearch, construction and energy, to entrepreneurship, logistics and even music; we have 10 expertise centres in total, which we also presented at the event. Our experts try to discover what innovations, both big and small, are possible in an organisation. They do this by looking at internal production processes, at the flow of materials, at a company’s client orientation… For example, one important

in buildings. People from hospitals and rest homes were very interested in his expertise.

‘Schools should ban smartphones’ Schools in Flanders should ban the use of smartphones during breaks, according to physical therapy professor Annick Timmermans of Hasselt University. “I don’t understand why more and more schools are allowing the use of mobile phones during school hours,” she said. “It only leads to more sitting and more neck and shoulder problems.”

The professional association representing physical therapists, Axxon, supported the statements. “If you are looking at something while bent over, your neck muscles are continuously working, which is enormously strenuous,” said Axxon president Peter Bruynooghe.

In the Netherlands, 40% of youngsters suffer from muscle tension caused by using tablets and mobile phones. There are no statistics for Belgium.

Leuven works with Central European universities The University of Leuven (KU Leuven) has signed the Central Europe Leuven Strategic Alliance (Celsa), a co-operation agreement with six universities in Hungary, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. The universities will set up joint study programmes and work together to find solutions for major European problems. The universities aim to secure more European research funding by submitting joint projects. “The universities with which we are collaborating are diamonds in the rough – institutions that, for various reasons, haven’t fully achieved their potential yet,” said KU Leuven rector Rik Torfs.

Teacher is ‘difficult profession’, says Crevits Flemish education minister Hilde Crevits has asked that teachers be placed on the list of “difficult professions”. The list, which the federal government is currently revising, includes jobs that require staff to work atypical hours, is physically demanding or comes with a certain risk of personal safety. People employed in “difficult professions” have the right to retire earlier. Crevits told Het Nieuwsblad that teachers have a job that is not only taxing physically but also psychologically. “Teachers take many problems home with them,” she said.” The minister argued that the activities carried out during an entire teaching career were easily as challenging as other professions included on the list. Federal pensions minister. \ Andy Furniere

\ Interview by SS

\9

\ LIVING

week in activities Europe Day During this annual event celebrating the formation of the European Union in 1950, EU institutions open their doors to visitors. Take a tour of the European Council, talk to a professional interpreter, learn about the science programmes of the Joint Research Centre, see a street painting performance, taste bread from different lands, and more. 28 May 10.0018.00, across Brussels; free \ europeday.europa.eu

Ostend at Anchor This four-day extravaganza claims to be Europe’s largest maritime heritage festival.

Expect classic and historic boats to fill the harbour, plus live music from sea shanty choirs and bagpipe bands, traditional crafts, (sea) food and drink. The theme for 2016 is “Folklore in the Fishery”. 26-29 May, Ostend harbour; free \ oostendevooranker.be

Live in Hasselt Nearly 60 bands will take the stage during this free music festival. There are four main stages, plus indoor venues at many of the city’s cafes and restaurants across the city centre. Styles include rock, blues, jazz, folk, disco, a capella, cover bands – in short, something for everyone. 28-29 May 16.00-22.00, across Hasselt; free \ liveinhasselt.be

Flemish Windmill Day All across Flanders, historic windmills will be open to the public, with local experts and millers on hand to explain how they work and give demonstrations. If you’re lucky, you might even get to take home a bag of freshly milled flour. Check the website for windmills open in your area. 29 May 10.00-18.00, across Flanders; free \ molenforumvlaanderen.be

Park Day From nature reserves to urban, provincial and neighbourhood parks, there’s lots to choose from during this annual celebration of Flanders’ green spaces. Activities include an insect buffet, guided walks, concerts, workshops, picnics and yoga.

29 May, across Flanders; free \ natuurenbos.be

\ 10

Back to basics

Top Flemish chefs turn to foraging at international competition Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

NATIVECOOKINGAWARD.COM

O

n 29 May, four Flemish chefs will compete in the Native Cooking Award, an international competition for Michelin-starred chefs held on the Knuthenlund Farm on Lolland, the fourth-largest island in Denmark. Their only cooking equipment will be an open fire and two kettle grills. Their only ingredients are whatever they can forage from the local landscape or find in the farm shop.

Nick Bril, Michael Vrijmoed, Tim Boury and Marcello Ballardin are participating in the contest, pitted against teams from Norway, Sweden, France and Denmark.

They are supported by Flanders Food Faculty, a project set up by Toerisme Vlaanderen to promote Flemish gastronomy.

“With Bril, Ballardin and Boury, you’ve got some strong guys who have really developed their own style,” says Vrijmoed, whose eponymous restaurant in Ghent holds one Michelin star. “When we met to have a brainstorming session, we noticed that everyone was doing his own thing.”

Team captain Bril, who runs the two-star Jane in Antwerp, agrees.

“Our strength is that we’re four chefs, each with his own character and cooking style,” he says.

“Four young guys who are driven and motivated to win.”

On Saturday evening, the teams will be taken on a tour of the farm, which has a special micro-climate and its own particular soil conditions. The guides will explain what grows there, and the chefs will have a chance to taste and smell the plants.

“It’s really a competition to see what you can find in nature to

© Michaël Dehaspe

Tim Boury and three other Michelen-star chefs have access only to an open fire and two kettle grills to prepare 15 three-course meals

make a tasty, high-quality dish,” explains Bril. “The trick is to integrate as much as possible from the region into what you make.”

On the day of the competition, each team member is given a job. “Ballardin and I will get on

the bikes to collect the products for the menu, which we will have planned the night before,” says Bril. Vrijmoed and Boury, chef at Boury Restaurant in Roeselare, “will prepare the fire and the grills to make sure everything is work-

ing perfectly by the time we foragers get back.”

Each team has six hours to prepare a three-course menu for 15 people.

Aside from what they can forage from the area, they each get half an animal to work into their main course. “That could be a lamb, a goat or a pig,” says Bril. “We’re hoping for a pig, but we’ll find out on orientation day.”

Next week, the four chefs will be visiting a local butcher to practise dividing half a pig into the proper technical cuts. The rest of the ingredients will come from the farm shop, including dairy products, flour, beer, apple juice and cider.

Any tips on what might be on the menu? Not according to Vrijmoed. “I can’t tell you what to anticipate because we don’t really know what to expect,” he says.

“It’s really about being there and letting it come in the moment.”

For Ballardin, owner of OAK in Ghent, the idea is to bring the chefs closer to nature and out of their kitchens. “Without forgetting the challenge, we’re going there to understand how everything grows, especially at an award-winning farm,” he says.

“We are so spoiled with all these gadgets in our kitchens, and now it’s really back to basics. This will be fun.”

Bril looks at it as a learning experience. “In your restaurant everything is at your fingertips – your ingredients, your equipment, your staff,” he says. “Here you’re strictly limited. It all comes back to the chef because you have nothing but your skills. I’m starting to get a bit nervous, but that’s a good thing.”

BITE Restaurant offers garden retreat in the heart of Antwerp Opened last year, Backyard is a Parisian-style bistro and bar located on the ‘wrong’ side of Antwerp’s Grote Markt, away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist precinct. But for its owner, that’s not a problem.

“We’re focusing on creating a space for locals, where you can sit and enjoy a drink or catch up with friends over a meal,” says Olivier Reyniers. “Many people living in this part of town don’t have an outdoor space. Backyard gives them that.”

The menu reflects that approach with a small selection of reasonably priced dishes. “We want to focus on the basics and do them well, so you’ll find steaks, pasta and hamburgers,” says Reyniers. There are also frietjes – with homemade mayonnaise – and seasonal specials are added

during the asparagus, strawberry and mussel harvests.

Previously an Irish pub, the building has been gutted and renovated. This has created a series of inter-linked spaces with a private feel. Tables on the street look out on the beautiful square, but step inside and you are in a warm Parisian bistro.

Two lounge areas are ideal for small groups or families. They are connected to the main area, but offer just enough privacy at the same time. Anchoring the gigantic space is the bar. Featuring 52 gins and a selection of fine whiskies, this is one place where you won’t go thirsty.

Another unique feature of Backyard is the Drawing Room. Located above the main restaurant, this

multi-purpose space is beautifully furnished in a comfortable modern style. It features a handmade whisky bar containing the finest and rarest brands and offers a wonderful view over the Grote Markt. Private and self-contained, the Drawing Room can seat 24 people for a comfortable meal, wine tasting, or meeting.

But it’s the eponymous back yard at the rear of the property that is the best-kept secret. Make sure you look up as you go out the back door – there’s an amazing view of the cathedral tower.

“Our backyard was originally the front of the building and dates back to 1650,” Reyniers explains. “Now it’s a quiet space where the locals come to relax.” The restaurant celebrates its first birthday on 10 July; keep an

BACKYARD.BE

© Courtesy Backyard

eye on the website for details. \ Dan Smith

may 25, 2016

A thief ’s watery grave

West Flanders’ secrets include a devilish tower and a sticky end for a gang of robbers Toon Lambrechts More articles by Toon \ flanderstoday.eu

O

n the outskirts of Nieuwpoort on the coast there stands a slightly sinister old tower. In the local dialect it’s known as the Duvetoren: not in reference to the pigeons (duve) that nest there, but to the devil himself.

Despite the name, the tower is in fact a relic of Sint-Laurentinus church. The church was destroyed several times over the years, and in the 14th century the decision was made to build a castle around the tower instead.

The builders discovered strange murals that, so the story goes, were attributed to the Templars, a company of knights shrouded in mystery that appear in many obscure legends. It’s said that the Devil’s Tower has an underground connection to the Tempelhof, a building in nearby Slijpe.

Many people have searched for the corridors, probably in the hope of finding treasure, but to no avail.

The association with the devil originates not from the Templars but from the story of Jeanne Panne, Nieuwpoort’s most notorious witch. She was accused of witchcraft in 1650 and, after being tortured, confessed to having had intercourse with the devil in the tower.

She was burned at the stake. Today, every two years, Nieuwpoort organises the Witch Festival in which Jeanne Panne’s life is staged in a procession. Even though we live in the 21st century, she still ends up at the stake.

If you go to nearby De Moeren, a piece of West Flanders near the French border belonging to the city of Veurne, you’ve reached the lowest, flattest point in Flanders, two metres below sea level. Today it’s empty and quiet, but its history involves a long-running battle

© Lambert J Derenette/ArcheoNet Vlaanderen

The Sint-Karels mill (above), once used to pump water out of the deep crater formed by digging in De Moeren; the Devil’s Tower on the outskirts of Nieuwpoort (below)

against the water.

In the middle ages, people dug up peat on a large scale, which left behind a deep crater in the landscape. The sea submerged the area, forming two lakes – the Grote Moer and the Kleine Moer – with a swampy landscape around them. At

tried-and-tested tactic of war in the region that also would stop the German advance in the First World War. De Moeren disappeared back under water, with only the steeple of the church tower remaining visible.

That steeple proved an ideal hiding

The church tower was a perfect base for the gang, because no one would come nosing about in a swamp the end of the middle ages, a plan to drain the area and regain farmland was picked up again. It worked, and a new village was built.

But in 1646, during one of the many wars in the Low Countries, the Spaniards punctured the dykes, a

place for the gang of bandits led by Jan de Moerduivel. According to legend, his skin had become black from working as a forced labourer in the peat fields, a job where the sun and the peat dust combine to blacken the skin. The church tower

was a perfect base for the gang, because no one would come nosing about in a swamp.

But disaster struck. During a storm, their boat sank, leaving them stranded in the tower. Their remains were apparently found there later when the area was drained. A church was never again built there, and instead the landscape was marked by numerous mills, not for grinding grain but for pumping water. One of them, the Sint-Karels mill, is still there. The final bit of De Moeren was drained in 1950.

The legend of Jan de Moerduivel lives on in the area’s tradition of giants – larger-than-life models carried round in processions. De Panne has a giant representing de Moerduivel: More than four metres tall, it wears a red outfit and a black hat, with a pitch-black face frozen in an eternal grin.

50 weekends in Flanders: Food trucks in Brussels 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 copy of 50 Weekends in Flanders. We’ll also print one of our suggestions every week here, too.

Food trucks serving everything from Vietnamese noodles to American bagels have become a part of the street scene in Brussels. The 25 licensed trucks park in 13 official locations and turn up at many of the weekly markets held across town such as the lively Wednesday market on Kasteleinplein in Elsene.

Drink coffee at VROOM VROOM Elfya Van Muylem parks her little

bread from their home region, filled with ham or cheese.

Nosh on veggie burgers at SIN STREET FOOD This cool food truck (pictured) sells tasty vegetarian food, including burgers. It pops up at markets and festivals all over town. Go to their Facebook page to find out the schedule for the week. van most mornings on the corner of Pleinlaan near VUB’s Etterbeek campus. She serves students with fantastic coffees along with croissants, cakes and bagels. \ vroomvroomcoffee.com

Munch flatbread from IL SAPORE DELLA DOLCE VITA Two friendly young women from Bologna sell tasty Italian food from a bright yellow van decorated with nostalgic photographs.

They serve authentic piadina flat-

Sample the crêpes at TY PENTY A friendly couple from Brittany serve traditional thin crêpes along with little bowls of cider.

They park at different locations during the week according to a timetable posted on their Facebook page.

© Toon Lambrechts

TINYURL.COM/50WEEKENDS

Enjoy street food at CHANG NOI Chang Noi’s chef cooks bubbling pots of Thai street food that you can eat in the covered area next to the van. The perfect spot for a quick lunch. \ changnoi.be

Savour fresh bagels from HOLY BAGELS Jacques Kamdem parks his bakfiets most weekday mornings on Meeusplein. Here he serves coffee, biscuits and fresh bagels to office workers in the European quarter. He then pedals out in the afternoon to the university campus to supply students with an afternoon shot of coffee. The schedule is posted on his website. \ Derek Blyth

\ holybagels.org

\ 11

Your dailY news Sign up now for our daily and weekly newsletters with local headlines, events and features, tailor-made for expats in Belgium

Subscribe for free at www.thebulletin.be

Your guide to life in Belgium The spring issue of Th The Thee Bulletin Newcomer is your guide to making the most of life in Belgium. It mixes practical community eff efforts information with features on community orts to clean up Brussels, planning for retirement, family activities around the country and other lifestyle topics.

PLUS our Education Guide 35 pages of interviews, articles and essential addresses of schools, colleges and universities in Belgium.

Pick up your copy at newsstands or at www.thebulletin.be/shop

\ ARTS

may 25, 2016

Fashion with a conscience

week in arts & CULTURE

Flanders’ first eco stylist wants to make your closet a better place Catherine Kosters More articles by Catherine \ flanderstoday.eu

STYLINGSTUDIOBY.COM

F

ashion stylist Yana Gaevskaya is determined to make the world a better place, one bio-cotton shirt at a time. After studying communications and marketing in Antwerp and textiles in London, she settled in Brussels and opened Styling Studio by, where she advises her clients on how to “curate their closets” with sustainable fashion.

what a clothing store catering specifically to you would look like. You’re the only person who can decide what should be in it because no one knows you better than you know yourself. But as a stylist, I’m there to help. The first step towards a curated closet is always the realisation that buying and owning stuff will not make you happy. The second step is evaluating what you already have and what is still missing.

We need to create a concept for your wardrobe and then get rid of pieces that don’t fit the description. Not just throwing them in the trash, but donating them to friends, charities or second-hand shops. The final step is investing in pieces that will make everything work: neutral items like a white shirt or a great camel coat that can be easily combined, preferably from sustainable brands.

When did you start going green as a stylist?

In 2014, I stopped buying clothes – a clear indicator that I wasn’t feeling OK. Seriously, I love fashion, and I love shopping, but something about the whole clothing industry was making me uncomfortable. I asked myself ‘Do I really need so much?’ The answer was obviously no, and that’s when I discovered sustainable fashion and decided to make a lifestyle and a career out of it.

What does sustainability mean in fashion?

Words like ‘sustainability’ and ‘ethical fashion’ have been used so often that they have become almost devoid of any meaning. That’s why definitions are important. Sustainability, for example, can be seen in three ways.

First, there’s environmental sustainability. The resources used to make clothes are not infinite. If you want clothing to be sustainable, you need to look at materials that last longer and have less of an ecological impact, such as organic cotton.

Second, there’s economical sustainability.

Brands have to make a profit, or it becomes impossible to pay employees fair wages. This is connected to a third aspect: social sustainability. High-street chains sell their clothing at prices that make it impossible for workers in Third World countries to earn a living wage and cover even their basic needs. Sustainable fashion is sold at a fair price.

That sounds expensive.

Yes, sustainable fashion is more expensive than what you would buy at a big chain store, but the whole point is to buy fewer disposable, low-quality items that you end up throwing away after one season, and more high-

Less is more: Yana Gaevskaya teaches you how to buy fewer of the right pieces

quality clothing to cherish for years to come.

In that sense, shopping sustainably is actually less expensive, because you don’t need so much stuff.

How do you make a wardrobe sustainable?

I start by looking at what my clients already own. Sustainability isn’t about replacing all your old clothes by new, eco-friendly brands.

Rather, it’s about creating a capsule wardrobe that fulfils all of your needs, which leads to less shopping and less garbage. I call this curating your closet. In the event that clients do need something new, I advise them on brands that are sustainable in every sense of the word.

What does a ‘curated closet’ look like?

A curated closet is your ideal wardrobe. It’s

Where does one find these brands?

If you want to shop sustainably, you need to be willing to shop online since there aren’t that many eco-friendly clothing stores in Belgium yet. One of my favourite virtual addresses is California brand the Reformation. Their slogan is “We make killer clothes that don’t kill the environment”, and they are 100% transparent about their materials and markup.

If you do prefer real-life shopping, Juttu in Antwerp, Bruges and Roeselare is a mustvisit. This eco-friendly chain sells more than 100 brands that respect people, animals and the environment.

Is sustainable fashion anti-trends?

Not per se. Sustainable fashion is anti-disposable, but since trends are cyclical and make a comeback every few years, it’s OK to buy trendy pieces as long as you keep them for future wear or find a way to incorporate them in your wardrobe after the hype has passed.

You need to curate them, so to speak. The most important thing is to think before you swipe your credit card. But by all means, you don’t need to stop shopping!

Campaign encourages citizens to protect the bee population WEEKVANDEBIJ.BE

Bees are a crucial element in biodiversity. Pollination by these insects means we can enjoy fruit and vegetables such as cherries, apples, courgettes and peppers, which would disappear without the bee. And in the wild, many plants depend on pollination for their survival.

But bee mortality rates in Belgium are high, and it’s a threat to crops that can’t be ignored. Scientists attribute this death rate to a number of factors: a shortage of food sources or nesting places, parasites and pesticides.

Week van de bij (Bee Week), an initiative of the Flemish government’s nature and environment department, aims to encourage households, schools and local councils to do their bit to protect

the bee population.

Events include open garden days, cycle rides between “bee hotels”, a family fun day and activities at the botanical garden in Meise. The government has also launched Hivelife, a free educational game for tablets based on bees.

How can you help safeguard bees?

By providing sufficient sources of pollen and nectar in your garden, limiting the use of chemicals and creating “bee restaurants”, according to Bart Vandepoele, the government’s bee specialist. Plant creepers like honeysuckle against blank walls, plant fruit trees if you have the space, and fill your garden with shrubs like hawthorn and gooseberry.

“Even if you live in the city, you can help,” says Vandepoele. “Potted

plants on the balcony or a patch of garden on the roof of your apartment can make a difference. You can also make more conscious choices when shopping.”

Organic produce is important, he continues, because it results in fewer toxic substances in the atmosphere. “We want to inspire people to care for their environment and adapt their behaviour for a more sustainable world for people and bees.”

The figurehead of the event is Bruges chocolatier Dominique Persoone (pictured), whose passion for bees extends to having his own hives atop his workshop. \ Sally Tipper

29 May to 5 June

Across Flanders

Jan De Cock studio saved by Flemish Community

The Brussels Art Institute (BAI) in Anderlecht, run by Flemish artist Jan De Cock, has been pulled back from the brink of closure by the Flemish Community Commission (VGC). Students from the Sint-Lukas arts secondary school in Schaarbeek are being taught in the BAI while their school is being renovated. VGC has agreed to pay €250,000 to Sint-Lukas, which will allow it to pay De Cock a market rent. De Cock was counting on Flemish subsidies for the BAI, but when they did not come through, he was forced to put the buildings and the associated artworks up for sale. He is keeping the buildings on the market, as the funds are not enough to keep the BAI functioning.

Proposals requested for Kaaitheater extension The government of Flanders has launched a call for proposals for a future vision for the largely Dutch-speaking performance space Kaaitheater on Saincteletteplein in Brussels. The lease on the building, designed and built in the 1920s, comes to an end in 2022.

The complex houses a theatre, apartments, office space and eateries. Kaaitheater, formerly a biennial festival, took over the building in 1993 on a 40-year lease agreement with Immobilière Moderne.

The Citroen garage complex next door has been bought by the Brussels-Capital Region, which intends to turn it into a museum of modern art.

The call for proposals asks applicants to take account of opportunities for co-operation with the Citroen centre.

100 Masters exhibition launched The Brussels Museums Council has launched the exhibition 100 Masters, which sees 100 exceptional works of art on show for 100 days in 41 museums across the capital.

The idea is to put top pieces from museums’ permanent collections on show, as they are sometimes neglected in favour of temporary exhibitions. A website provides information on the works, which include paintings, sculpture and monuments, both ancient and contemporary. Included in the 100 are Jacques-Louis David’s “The Death of Marat”, Jan Fabre’s mural “L’Heure Bleue” and an Ndop statue of a Congolese king, whose creator is unknown. \ 100masters.brussels

\ 13

\ ARTS

The monster inside us

Toneelhuis adaptation of The Kindly Ones explores the rationale of a mass murderer Bjorn Gabriels More articles by Bjorn \ flanderstoday.eu

TONEELHUIS.BE

Playwright Erwin Jans and director Guy Cassiers bring to stage the fictional yet intensely divisive memoir of an SS officer, compelling the audience to study the logic behind the cruellest of acts.

W

ith The Kindly Ones, Americanborn French author Jonathan Littell wrote one of the most controversial novels in recent years, about a subject that has forever divided the 20th century.

His fictive memoir of SS officer Max Aue, originally published in 2006 in French as Les Bienveillantes, was heralded as one of the greatest achievements in contemporary literature. It won the Prix Goncourt, France’s most prestigious literary award, and became a bestselling success.

At the same time, it met with harsh criticism. Many readers have been opposed to the novel’s perpetrator’s point of view, and its excessive – some say raunchily sensationalistic – descriptions of Holocaust horrors, sex and scatology.

In their stage adaptation of The Kindly Ones, playwright Erwin Jans and director Guy Cassiers of the Toneelhuis theatre in Antwerp have dropped most mythological references as well as the innately psychopathic side of Aue’s character (which includes parenticide and incest).

Aue, bookkeeper of atrocious carnage and a killer himself, still loses his mind, but in the stage version – a collaboration with the theatre company Toneelgroep Amsterdam – this relates more to the heinous deeds and the Nazi pseudo-rational way of thinking, rather than his personal perversions.

Such modifications are required, says Cassiers, when adapting a voluminous book such as The Kindly Ones. The focus also befits the director’s thematic leitmotifs.

Earlier works such as the Trilogy of Power, with the productions of Mefisto for ever, Wolfskers and Atropa, and also the adaptation of Martin Amis’ novel Time’s Arrow, have demonstrated his interest in the cruel machinations of dictatorship and the rhetoric that enables it.

“When I read The Kindly Ones, I was really struck by how you’re following someone you don’t want to follow”, Cassiers tells me. “You

© Kurt Van der Elst

“You’re following someone you don’t want to follow”: De welwillenden brings a controversial novel to the stage

learn to understand him without sympathising with him. You find yourself in the middle of all these lines of reasoning present in an SS corps, which are often very oriented towards practicality – and therefore even more horrific. Once you're caught up in this rationale, there’s a certain logic to it.”

You find yourself in the middle of all these lines of reasoning, and you find there is a certain logic to it Much like the novel, the stage adaptation, titled De welwillenden, functions as an analytical unmasking of the Nazi thought process – not by refuting their arguments in advance, because we all know the historical facts – but by submerging us in their rhetoric.

“The novel, and the stage adaptation, too, I

hope, raises the intriguing question of what we would have done in the same situation,” says Cassiers. “Don’t we all have a monster inside us that threatens to be unleashed as soon as there’s no solid framework, a government, we have to live by? People need that kind of structure.”

On the other hand, authorities – political and otherwise – may also contribute to a framework that allows for festering anguishes and the exploitation of violence.

In his novel, Littell repeatedly stresses how Nazis saw their acts as some kind of inevitability.

“One has to confront atrocity,” the main character claims when reflecting on the enormous number of killings. “One must always be ready to look inevitability and necessity in the face, and accept the consequences that result from them.”

Cassiers sees the stifling idea that we simply have to make do with the precarious situation before us reflected in our current state of mind. “It’s easy to say history is something from the past, and that those atrocities will never happen again,” he says.

Even though history will never literally repeat itself, he continues, there are certain tendencies today that show parallels.

“There’s a fundamental lack of confidence

in politics – a crisis situation – and media are drawing a very one-sided picture of who might be the enemy or who we should consider a threat. History and future echo each other on many levels.”

It’s no coincidence then that one of the characters in The Kindly Ones dismisses young Jewish boys as “tomorrow’s terrorists”, a line we are all too familiar with these days.

The connection between past atrocities and current crises forms part of De welwillenden, visually expressed by the lamps that hang over the audience and the stage at the opening and the end of the play.

Toneelhuis has also launched two websites for the occasion of the production: Test of Civilisation explores the roots of anti-Semitism to reflect upon racism today, and Invisible Cities collects stories about exclusion from people living in the cities where De welwillenden has been or will be staged, including Antwerp, Hasselt, Istanbul, Paris and Rome.

Once again, the comparison between the 1930s and today implores you to reconsider current events in the light of history. “Before the Second World War,” Cassiers says, “at a 1938 conference in Evian at the initiative of US president Franklin Roosevelt, countries were asked to shelter more Jewish refugees fleeing persecution by the Nazis. There was even a discussion about quota.”

But almost all countries said that they were full already, he adds, and could not welcome more refugees. “Which certainly sounds familiar… Hitler interpreted this refusal as a sort of permission to do whatever he wanted with the Jews, since he had allowed for an international intervention.”

In Toneelhuis’ rendition of The Kindly Ones, rhetoric, and the way it informs human acts, takes centre stage. Even in the case of the most gruesome chapters of history’s inhumanity, we cannot simply shrug off acts of cruelty by claiming that they are isolated cases and not the result of persistent human characteristics. History is never over.

2-4 June Kaaitheater

Sainctelettesquare 20, Brussels

More performance this month Live Comedy Festival

Deadpan comedy, absurd poetry, a tinge of violence and a plotless plot are to be expected. And a good portion of the unexpected, too. 1-4 June, 30CC, Leuven

Ticket prices to see comedians are no joke these days (Mr Cleese, please…). Usually avoiding cheap humour, stand-up entertainers like Nina Conti, Jimmy Carr, Lee Nelson and Reginald D Hunter are known for their appearances in Live at the Apollo and other British TV programmes, but they also take their wit on tour internationally. Though their comedy is mostly crowd-pleasing, be warned that Conti calls people on stage to assist in her ventriloquist act. Until 5 June, across Antwerp and Brussels

\ 30CC.BE

Schoft (Bastard)

\ LIVECOMEDYFESTIVAL.BE

Het gelukzalige (The Blissful) Dutch writer, director and actor Alex van Warmerdam must enjoy working with Flemish actor Tom De Wispelaere.

After the theatrical performance Bij het kanaal naar links (Turn Left at the Canal) and the films Borgman and Schnei-

\ 14

der vs Bax, Van Warmerdam re-teams with him, while also welcoming Dewispelaere’s Olympique Dramatique companions Geert Van Rampelberg, Ben Segers and other habitués to bring Het gelukzalige to the stage (pictured).

Brothers Mich and Raf Walschaerts have become household names in Flanders ever since appearing on TV in the early 1990s in playful sketches, including one with nothing more than a plank of wood, a narrator and a nude man.

But TV has never been their core business. Under their stage name Kommil Foo, the duo blend verbal wit, melancholy and clownish tragicomedy in poetic songs and short sketches. With Schoft, they gently strip down man as a wolf to his fellow man. This time, the nudity stings. 1-2 June, Stadsschouwburg, Kortrijk, then across Flanders until 24 July \ SCHOUWBURGKORTRIJK.BE

\ AGENDA

may 25, 2016

What are words for?

TALK Until 13 November

CONCERT Bruges Atomium, Brussels, atomium.be

B

russels’ Atomium has been at the cutting edge of design since its sleek steel-andglass spheres were first unveiled at the 1958 World’s Fair. With the recent opening of the nearby Art & Design Atomium Museum and the inauguration of its ID# (Innovative Display) programme, though, the Atomium’s sponsorship of contemporary design has reached new heights.

The former is housed next door in the Trade Mart building, but the latter brings a new sitespecific installation into the Atomium every year. The current ID# offering is TALK, a sevenminute sound-and-light show conceived by French digital arts collective Visual System.

The installation occupies two levels of the monument’s temporary exhibition sphere as well as the access escalator. It consists of a set of interacting panels varying in size. Some suggest

© Axel Addidngton/SABAM 2016

standard computer monitors, while other larger units evoke ancient sarcophagi. All of these flash geometric patterns in synch with a synthesizerheavy score. The experience builds from flickering, half-mute passages to dazzling crescendos.

TALK can of course be enjoyed as a strictly sensory experience but there is much more than meets the eye (and ear) here. Together, the visual and audio components form an elemental language, a sort of communication without words. It doesn’t tell a story, nor is it linear; it can be entered and exited at any point. But there is a purposeful grammar here, with light and sound standing in for those traditional linguistic units, words.

If the artists of Visual System are comfortable in the space, it’s because the Paris-based collective are regular guests at the Atomium. They contributed the sprawling dystopian rhizome Out of Control to ID# in 2014 and are the architects of the permanent digital installation Transit stretching the length of one of the venue’s longest escalators. \ Georgio Valentino

CONCERT

VISUAL ARTS

New Dark Age

Simon Denny: Business Insider

27 May, 21.00

Charlatan, Ghent charlatan.be

Ghent-based tribute band New Dark Age are touring Flanders to pay homage to cult London post-punk group The Sound, who released a string of critically acclaimed albums in the 1980s before fizzling out. The band’s leader, Adrian Borland (pictured), eventually threw himself under a London train. The recent resurgence of interest in all things postpunk has led to a reappraisal of The Sound and their place in the history books. New Dark Age perform songs from the band’s first two albums, Jeopardy and From the Lion’s Mouth. Other dates include Brussels, Kortrijk and Antwerp.

Until 14 August

FILM

EVENT

Palestina with Love

Apéro Saint-Gilles

The Syrian civil war has put refugees back in the daily headlines, but there is another refugee crisis that has been smouldering in the region far longer. The Palestinians have been displaced for nearly 70 years. Their story has often been told by others. This film cycle gives Palestinian filmmakers a platform

wiels.org

Berlin-based artist Simon Denny’s first solo exhibition in Belgium combines brand new work with pieces presented at last year’s Venice Biennale (where he represented his native New Zealand). The young artist’s critique of globalisation is in keeping with his generation’s salutary sense of rebellion. Denny’s multimedia installations are overtly political, targeting by name – or corporate logo – businesses like Samsung and government agencies like the US National Security Agency.

On the technical level, he fuses postmodern hyperrealism with a wry surrealist sensibility. Official documents are juxtaposed with bizarre, seemingly unrelated artefacts to suggest the absurdity of it all. \ GV

\ GV

29-30 May

Wiels, Brussels

Bozar, Brussels bozar.be

to express themselves. Offerings include Hind Shoufani’s historical documentary A Trip Along Exodus and the premiere of Toomas Järvet’s Ramallah-set drama Rough Stage (pictured), both followed by discussions with the directors.

There is also a round table with several Palestinian artists. \ GV

27 May to 29 July, from 17.00 Apéro Saint-Gilles returns after a long winter’s hibernation. If you don’t already know, this weekly, open-air party is an institution in Brussels’ most cosmopolitan commune. Sint-Gillis residents hail from all corners of the world and work in all corners of Brussels, but after they clock out on

Quilt: The four-piece indierock band from Boston perform a happy mix of folk, psychedelic pop and 1960s wanderlust. 28 May 20.00, Cactus Muziekcentrum, SintSebastiaanstraat 4 \ cactusmusic.be

FESTIVAL Ghent Papegaaifeesten 2016: Annual street party featuring live music, children’s entertainment, flea market, cake and coffee and more. 28 May 10.00-20.00, Casinoplein \ depapegay.gent

Leuven Wereldfeest: World festival for the promotion of sustainability and fair pay for farmers in the South, featuring dozens of stands run by various non-profit organisations, food stands selling world cuisine and live music by the Macedonian Balkan band Koc’ani Orkestar, among many others. 28 May 13.00, De Bruulpark, Pieter Coutereelstraat \ wereldfeest.be

FAMILY Ghent Côté Jardin: Musical picnic on the lawns of the old Bijloke abbey, featuring concerts in a broad range of genres and styles for all ages, in addition to graffiti workshops and food and drink stands (or bring your own). 29 May 11.00-22.00, Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Jozef Kluyskensstraat 2 \ cotejardin.gent

Maurice Van Meenenplein, Brussels tinyurl/aperostgilles

Friday, they all convene in front of the town hall for a happy hour that stretches into the night. The weekly event boasts pop-up cocktail bars and made-to-order burgers by Urban Cook. This grand re-opening evening features live music by L-Fêtes. \ GV

Feest in ’t kasteel: Festival inside Ghent’s famous castle, inviting all ages to learn to shoot a bow and arrow, bake bread, weave and braid, battle knights, watch puppet theatre and sing and dance the medieval way. 29 May 10.0018.00, Gravensteen \ gravensteen.stad.gent

MARKET Ostend Geefplein: Event where people gather to give away clothes, toys, kitchen accessories and more used household items, or to pick up a few second-hand finds. 29 May 11.00-18.00, Maria Hendrikapark \ oostende.be/dagvanhetpark

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may 25, 2016

Talking Dutch

VoiceS of flanders today

Laying down the law

In response to: You can be fined for owning more than five cats Beverly Hills: Tuulip – bad news for you in case you’re still hoping to be back here someday. Perhaps you’re best of where you are meow.

Derek Blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

E

very year, the government publishes all the laws of Belgium in a huge book known as the Belgische Staatsblad. You might think you can ignore this book, but you really can’t.

Elke Belg wordt geacht op de hoogte te zijn – Every Belgian is assumed to be aware van de informatie die in het Staatsblad verschijnt – of the information that is published in the Staatsblad.

And that’s not all. You’re also expected to obey all the municipal regulations that have been enacted, some of which are, shall we say, unexpected. So here, to help you keep on the right side of the law, no matter where you might find yourself in Flanders, are a few of the oddest regulations in force, taken from a list published

by Knack magazine of the “Top 100 absurd municipal fines”.

In Mechelen kregen jongeren een boete voor het eten van een broodje in de portiek van een kerk – Young people in Mechelen will be fined for eating a sandwich in the entrance of a church. In Merchtem mogen kinderen niet voetballen wanneer duivenmelkers met hun duiven aan het spelen zijn – In Merchtem, children are banned from playing football while pigeon fanciers are racing their birds.

In Dendermonde mag je ook niet zonder noodzaak kloppen op vensters – In Dendermonde, you may not knock on windows unless it is an emergency. And, for heaven’s sake, be careful in Dendermonde’s playgrounds. Wie het glijden onderbreekt wanneer hij naar beneden glijdt van een glijbaan, wordt daarvoor gestraft met een boete – Anyone who stops sliding while going down a slide is punished with a fine.

In Arendonk, residents need to keep their eyes on the

In response to: Brussels launches campaign against junctionjammers Victoria Williams: Saw this last week. Funny, as I’d just been saying a few days before how badly Brussels needs these!

© Ingimage

ground. Inwoners krijgen een boete tot 250 euro – Residents can be fined up to €250 wanneer ze verzuimen om de aanwezigheid van eikenprocessierupsen te melden aan het gemeentebestuur – if they fail to report the presence of oak processionary caterpillars to the municipal authorities.

Meanwhile, in Sint-Niklaas you’re advised to keep your feet firmly on the ground because het is verboden om in een boom te klimmen – it is forbidden to climb a tree. You can skate in Koksijde, but only briefly. Het is verboden om langdurig te skaten – It is forbidden to skate for a long time, a local law says. No military parades in Destelbergen, please, because het is verboden kanonschoten te lossen – no one may fire a cannon.

Be careful what you wear in Evergem where het is het verboden om zich te verkleden als pastoor – it is illegal to dress as a priest.

And, finally, count your cats carefully. In Lier is het verboden meer dan 5 katten te houden in een appartementsgebouw – In Lier you may not have more than five cats in an apartment building.

But five elephants might not be a problem.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

FreakDoctor @FreakDoctr Well... First timer for me, they found an old WWI bomb on the construction site next to my building.... #Kortrijk

Agnes Crawford @understandrome Excellent trip to Ghent yesterday: an altarpiece, a wander and some eel.

Bobby B @felixbowlardo Eventful day. Five punctures between three of us, a fall, a lap of velodrome, rain, sunshine and beers #Oudenaarde

Smahaffy @mahaffys Day one in beautiful Leuven. Everyone is safe and having a good time.

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the last word Field of dreams

Front page news

“They buy an old farmhouse and put a couple of horses out to graze, but they’re not farmers.

They’re rich people who want to live quietly.”

“Research has a bad ending more often than a happy ending. That’s the main reason why I cherish this moment.”

Potato farmer Jan Vandepitte is one of many lamenting the growth of “fake farmers” who are taking up more and more agricultural land for gardens and paddocks

Flemish biologist Nicholas Taylor of the EPFL polytechnic in Lausanne made the cover of Nature for his discovery of viruses that attack bacteria and could replace failing antibiotics

Iron fist

Second class

“If I’m not there, things are not to my liking. The napkins are not folded properly or the chairs are not lined up next to each other.”

“I sometimes feel guilty I can’t support my teachers better because I’m teaching classes myself.”

Gabrielle Moens, 90, has been running Flandria restaurant in Ostend since 1948

School heads like Saskia Ghysel of De Panne complain they are doing two jobs for one salaryw

© Benoit Doppagne/Belga

CITY TRIP Queen Mathilde of Belgium and Queen Rania of Jordan stop off at a chocolate shop in Bruges during a state visit to Belgium by the Jordanian royal family

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