Ft 16 09 28 lowres

#449 Erkenningsnummer P708816

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 \ newsweekly - € 0,75 \ read more at www.flanderstoday.eu current affairs \ p2

politics \ p4

Meaner and greener

BUSiNESS \ p6

Eye of the beholder

innovation \ p7

education \ p9

art & living \ p10

A place to call home

Flemish businesses are being offered subsidies to get their staff on bikes and in shared vehicles to cut down on private cars

The port of Antwerp’s new headquarters is finished and opened to the public at the weekend, with mixed reviews of the bold design

Concerned about what will happen to the elephants in circuses that close down, two Antwerp zookeepers are opening Elephant Haven

\6

\7

\ 11

Reinventing the wheels

A vision of the future? Self-driving cars have taken to Flanders’ roads Denzil Walton More articles by Denzil \ flanderstoday.eu

A fleet of driverless cars hit the road this month, as the developing technology was put to the test in real-life situations. Flanders Today went along for the ride.

T

here’s something counter-intuitive about self-driving cars. Drivers are repeatedly being told to remain vigilant while at the wheel and avoid any kind of distraction that might take their eyes off the road ahead, even for a few seconds. Yet a self-driving car seems to encourage drivers to take not only their eyes off the road, but their hands off the steering wheel.

Promotional videos of the potential of self-driving cars frequently show a person sitting in the “driver’s” seat reading a book, writing emails on their smartphone or watching

a video. This is why the self-driving car is such a huge revolution. It’s something so radically different, so out-of-thebox, that it demands a totally new way of thinking.

But are we ready for it?

To understand self-driving cars, it’s first necessary to separate the future vision from the present-day reality. In the future vision, self-driving cars cruise along our roads, keep to the speed limits, maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front, stop at traffic lights, steer around unforeseen obstacles, slam on the brakes when a child runs from behind an ice-cream van and perform almost every other activity involved in safe driving.

It’s a vision in which you as the “driver” will be able to make the most of your commute to work by catching up on emails

or phone calls, or simply chilling out. Whatever you do, you’ll arrive at work feeling more relaxed than if you’d been battling the commuter traffic by yourself.

It’s also a vision that extends into your leisure time. You’ll be able to jump out of your car outside a shopping centre or restaurant, while the car takes itself off to find a space in the nearest car park. After your shopping spree or meal, you’ll simply signal to the car to pick you up and drive you safely home.

The current reality is somewhat different. This is because fulfilling the vision involves the incremental addition of functionalities to a car to make it increasingly autonomous.

Some of these systems are already in use today.

One is adaptive cruise control, which automatically adjusts continued on page 5

\ CURRENT AFFAIRS

Nutritional guidelines updated Health Council emphasises exercise and limiting consumption of sugar and salt Andy Furniere More articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.eu

health.belgium.be

B

elgium’s Superior Health Council (HGR) has published new guidelines with advice on a healthy diet. It’s the first update of nutritional guidelines in seven years.

The new recommendations pay more attention to lifestyle, with the previous three categories relating to level of activity (light, average and heavy) making way for six categories: inactive, sedentary, moderately active, active, very active and exceptionally active. The purpose is to battle obesity and diabetes, as people who are inactive need

fewer calories than those who are very active.

The guidelines again advise people to be careful with fatty foods but add nuance

First minor receives euthana sia under Belgium’s extended law A 17-year-old in Flanders has become the first minor in the country to receive euthanasia, the federal commission in charge of the procedure has confirmed. Aside from the patient’s age and that the case file is in Dutch, no details have been revealed.

Belgium adapted its law on euthanasia in 2014 to allow minors to request the procedure, the only country in the world to do so. The Netherlands allows the possibility, but only for terminal cases over the age of 12.

Under Belgian law, the young person must be undergoing intolerable suffering from a condition with no medical prognosis, must have requested euthanasia personally and must have the permission of the parents.

The federal commission has been the subject of some criticism since it announced the case. According to critics, the news will only give the outside world the impression that Belgium is in a rush to euthanise its children.

“The great misunderstanding of the outside world is that this will happen more often,” said child cancer specialist Yves Benoit of Ghent University Hospital. “That’s not the case, and we knew that when the law was introduced.”

There are about 60 terminal cases of cancer in any given year among minors in Belgium, with other terminal illnesses bringing the total to just under 200. That compares with adult cases of more than 100,000. \ Alan Hope

about the different kinds of fats. The transfatty acids in heavily processed foods should be avoided as much as possible, while other fatty acids such as omega-6 and omega-3 are perfectly fine.

The guidelines about saturated fats, such as in butter and red meat, remain the same: consumption should be limited to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Belgians also eat too much added sugar, the HGR said, pointing out that consumption of healthier alternatives to white sugar, such as honey and coconut sugar, should still be

strictly limited.

Complex carbohydrates, however, and fibres remain an important source of energy. Good sources of carbohydrates include potatoes, vegetables, fruit, legumes and wholegrain products like whole wheat bread, brown rice and pasta.

Concerning salt, the HGR recommends no more than five grams a day, which is half of the current average consumption. Excessive salt consumption is the number one cause of high blood pressure, HGR said.

€250 million to improve Brussels-Charleroi canal The government of Flanders is investing €250 million in the Brussels-Charleroi canal, including €90 million on the section that passes through de Rand, or the Flemish periphery around Brussels, between Drogenbos and Beersel.

“To make the canal more accessible for ships up to 1,350 tonnes, two locks will be enlarged and four bridges raised between Drogenbos and Beersel,” explained Tom Dehaene, chair of the Waterways and Sea Canal agency, which is carrying out the work. “In some places, the canal will be made wider and deeper, so that two large ships can pass each other.”

Four new bridges will be built in Halle. The entire package is intended to encourage more use of inland waterways for the transport of goods, helping to take lorries off the roads and offering an alternative to paying road tolls.

“According to a recent study, road traffic accounts for 46% of goods traffic in the Benelux, while waterways make up only 17.4%,” Flemish mobility minister Ben Weyts said at the press conference announcing the plans. “That’s an imbalance, especially when you see the traffic jams on our roads and the ill effects on the environment, road safety, infrastructure and econ-

© Filharmoniker/Wikipedia

The Brussels-Charleroi canal at Anderlecht

omy.”

The canal was built in 1830 as a way of transporting coal from the mines of Wallonia to the capital.

Although works have been carried out since then, the agency decided the existing infrastructure no longer met the demands of a modern water-based logistics industry.

The investments should also enhance the view of the canal and improve quality of life in the area. Other innovations include a cycle highway, a canal park and marina in Beersel and a new pedestrian bridge close to Ruisbroek train station. \ AH

Three new help centres for victims of sexual violence to open in 2017 From next year, victims of sexual violence can turn to specialised centres, following a trial project launched by state secretary for equal opportunities Elke Sleurs and Ghent University. It is estimated that some 43,000 cases of sexual violence occur in Belgium each year, though only one in 10 victims files a report.

According to Liesbeth Kennes, founder of the blog Wij Spreken voor Onszelf (We Speak for Ourselves) and herself a victim in

childhood, the foundation of the centres is an important step. “As a victim, you are too often sent from pillar to post,” she told De Morgen. “That is disastrous for the coping process.”

Next year, centres for both male and female victims will be set up in Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia. The Flemish centre is likely to be established in Ghent. The centres will offer the services of specialised doctors, psychologists and legal experts, and, if

€600,000

sought by Antwerp’s Royal Conservatory for the repair and renovation of its pianos, 41 grands and 46 uprights. The conservatory will be organising concerts and other events to raise the funds

\2

victims want to report the attack, police will come to the centre.

“Victims will receive medication, psychological support and help to start legal proceedings,” explained UGent researcher Ines Keygnaert, who co-ordinated the trial project. This broad approach, she says, should assist in quicker and sustained recovery. If the approach is successful, more centres will be founded in other cities. \ AF

€20,000

passengers used the coast tram in July and August, an all-time record and 2.2% more than the summer of 2015. Sunday, 14 August, was the busiest day, with 83,500 passengers, De Lijn said

fine for TV broadcaster VTM for breaching the laws on separation of editorial and advertising content during The Voice van Vlaanderen and Blind getrouwd (Blind Marriage)

€768,000

sufficient advance arrival at Brussels Airport for flights to Schengen zone destinations, the airport’s management said. The situation is back to normal following the 22 March terrorist bombings

paid out to the victims of the March terrorist attacks and their families.

98 cases have been approved for emergency short-term aid until final settlements are reached

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016

WEEK in brief The investigation into the Buizingen train crash of February 2010, which killed 19 people and wounded more than 55, has finally concluded. The case files, comprising tens of thousands of pages, will now be passed to the prosecutor’s office in Halle-Vilvoorde, where the case involving more than 600 civil parties can be prepared, possibly with a view to starting next year.

Two municipalities in East Flanders – Kruishoutem and Zingem – are exploring the possibility of merging from 2019, the date of the next municipal elections. The move would allow the towns to claim a premium from the Flemish government worth €500 for each of the 15,667 residents of the merged municipality – a total of more than €7.8 million.

Flanders is setting up a single network of medical facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases, welfare minister Jo Vandeurzen has announced.

The four Flemish university hospitals – in Leuven, Ghent, Antwerp and Brussels – have already been accredited, and the second phase will cover other stakeholders such as general hospitals. Rare diseases are considered to be those affecting fewer than one in 2,000 of the population.

Scooter-sharing service Scooty will soon launch in Brussels, with plans to make 700 electric scooters available in the capital over the course of next year. The service is available to drivers over the age of 21 via an app. Use of a scooter costs €2.50 for the first 10 minutes and 25 cents a minute thereafter.

Registration costs €25. \ scooty.brussels

Internationally renowned Flemish artist Koen Vanmechelen opened a permanent exhibition space in Detroit, Michigan, last week. The Energy/Mass project is a continuation of his Cosmopolitan Chicken Project, in which he creates hybrid

face of flanders chickens by crossing breeds.

The new project involves crossing a 19th-generation Cemani from Mechelen with an American Wyandotte chicken.

Two police zones in Limburg have agreed to merge, creating a super-zone with 400 officers, a budget of €40 million and a population of 176,000 people.

The MidLim zone covers Genk, As, Opglabbeek, Zutendaal and Houthalen-Helchteren, while the Noordoost-Limburg zone covers Bocholt, Bree, Kinrooi and Meeuwen-Gruitrode.

A number of patients and staff of the Forensic Psychiatric Centre in Ghent, which houses and treats prisoners with psychiatric problems, have filed complaints about living conditions and staff shortages. Patients claim they are confined to their rooms for weeks after even a slight dispute with staff, while employees says that the lack of staff is at the root of situations such as a recent knife attack and a suicide. It is not the first time that staff of the institution, which opened in 2014 as the first of its kind in Belgium, have complained. Unions plan to meet next week.

Flemish youth minister Sven Gatz has invited ministers from Wallonia and the federal government to develop a plan for a new kind of social service for young people that would pay them – he suggests €500 a month – for work with cultural or non-profit organisations. The aim, he said, is to introduce young people to another section of society and make them better citizens.

The ministers invited – federal health minister Maggie De Block, federal employment minister Kris Peeters and Walloon youth minister Isabelle Simonis – have yet to reply.

Hasselt University has made its debut in the Times Higher

Education ranking of the best universities in the world. Hasselt is listed in the section 401-500, where universities are not listed in order. The top Flemish university is KU Leuven in 40th place, down from 35 last year. Ghent retains its place at number 118, with Antwerp at 201-250 and VUB at 301-350. The list is headed by Oxford, CalTech and Stanford. \timeshighereducation.com

Biotech company Galapagos of Mechelen has been named Company of the Year by the Belgian-American chamber of commerce in a ceremony in New York. The company was described as “an outstanding example of Belgian science and entrepreneurship, which has reached the top of the pharmaceutical industry in only a few years”. Ghent software company Showpad was voted most promising company, while a lifetime achievement award was given to Flemish floral artist Daniel Ost. An Iranian student who caused hours of chaos in the centre of Brussels last July when he was spotted wearing a coat with protruding wires will not have to pay a fine or the cost of the police operation, police said.

Reza A was held at gunpoint, with surrounding streets closed off, until he could explain: He was a Ghent University PhD student measuring mobile phone radiation in the capital as part of his research.

Flemish people have spent a record amount on service cheques so far this year, according to figures from the federal employment ministry and the benefits agency RVA. Households in Flanders from January to the beginning of September paid out €53.7 million for service cheques, which can be used to pay for household help – 4.5% more than the same period last year.

© Ingimage

coastal towns like Zeebrugge, where a port worker was once actually attacked, local authorities were wringing their hands trying to think of a solution. Nothing seemed to work, but, behind the scenes, the seagulls, like the wildlings of Game of Thrones, were preparing to march on the rest of the land.

“The gulls in Zeebrugge have come

The irony was not lost on headline writers. Flemish actor Michel Van Dousselaere, who has made a career out of the spoken word, has announced that he is suffering from a form of dementia that particularly affects the power of speech.

Van Dousselaere was born in Ghent in 1949. One of his earliest roles was in 1980 in the TV courtroom drama Beschuldigde sta op (The Defendant Will Rise), followed in 1983 by his debut film, Zaman, another police drama.

He went on to become one of Flanders’ most recognisable faces on both the big and small screen, featuring in more than 50 movies and TV series, including Terug naar Oosterdonk, Wittekerke, Witse, Zot van A, Vermist, Danni Lowinski and even K3 Bengeltjes. He played a quiet father in mourning in Tot Altijd (Time of My Life), a cantankerous granddad in Groenten uit Balen and a crooked business mogul in Het goddelijke monster (The Divine Monster).

One of his most popular roles of late was as Roger De Kee in the top-rated detective drama Aspe, loosely based on the novels by Flemish crime writer

Pieter Aspe.

He made public his condition, known as progressive nonfluent aphasia, as part of a compilation of stories of dementia called Het mooiste woord is herinnering (The Most Beautiful Word is Memory). Coincidentally, former Monty Python star and director Terry Jones also announced having the same condition as Van Dousselaere last week.

“Michel can still express himself, but now it happens mainly non-verbally,” his partner, Irma Wijsman, told De Standaard. “Gestures, facial expressions. Each conversation is an interaction where I help him try to find the words.

It doesn’t work on the phone.”

The first signs of the condition showed up at work, when Van Dousselaere began to lose his renowned ability to memorise his lines. From that moment, typically for the condition, the decline was rapid.

“Language is his identity,” Wijsman said. “Michel is a storyteller. In the early days, he seduced me with his stories. He read me fairy-tales and poems.

Words were his most treasured possession, and now that’s been taken from him.” \ Alan Hope

\ dienstencheques-rva.be

OFFSIDE Gulls just wanna have fun Many a headline over the years has addressed the issue of the Flemish coast’s pesky seagulls. Most people, let’s be honest, have a bit of a laugh at the poor residents of the seaside, whose bin-bags get ripped open and whose fries and ice-creams get nicked by marauding gulls.

Well, laugh no more, because the gulls are on the advance. That’s according to Koen Van Muylem of the Institute for Nature and Woodland Research (Inbo). “The gulls are moving from where they were before,” he told De Standaard.

“They’re now appearing everywhere else in Flanders.”

When seagulls were besieging

Michel Van Dousselaere

© Kurt Desplenter/BELGA

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

under heavy pressure,” explained Inbo researcher Eric Steinen. “The numbers fell to a deep point in 2014.

With the exodus from Zeebrugge, the gulls have spread all over Flanders. The gull is no longer a seabird, but also a land and city bird.” Colonies have now formed in Bruges, Zedelgem, Ghent and Antwerp, he said.

Nature minister Joke Schauvliege will soon present a plan for controlling the seagull population in Flanders. “Municipalities will then be able to apply for permission to prick the eggs or remove nests,” she told Het Nieuwsblad. \ AH

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

Editor Lisa Bradshaw DEPUTY Editor Sally Tipper CONTRIBUTING Editor Alan Hope sub Editor Bartosz Brzezi´nski Agenda Robyn Boyle, Georgio Valentino Art director Paul Van Dooren Prepress Mediahuis AdPro Contributors Rebecca Benoot, Derek Blyth, Leo Cendrowicz, Paula Dear, Andy Furniere, Lee Gillette, Diana Goodwin, Clodagh Kinsella, Catherine Kosters, Toon Lambrechts, Ian Mundell, Anja Otte, Tom Peeters, Arthur Rubinstein, 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

\3

\ POLITICS

5TH COLUMN Internal affairs

N-VA lost two MPs last week: Hendrik Vuye and Veerle Wouters decided to leave, as they felt their party too strictly curbed their freedom of speech. The issue they wanted to talk about is at the heart of the nationalists’ party programme: confederalism, or more power for Flanders. Vuye and Wouters’ departure was particularly damaging to N-VA, not least because it took several dramatic days to materialise.

Last summer, party president Bart De Wever warned his party members that dissent should be voiced internally, not through the press. He didn’t point the finger at anyone in particular, but many believed the warning was directed at Vuye. The law professorturned MP had criticised a number of recent N-VA ideas such as the burqini ban and a limit on the freedom of speech for those defending terrorist attacks. These ideas were not well considered and there were legal objections, Vuye said.

The end game started with an interview in the financial newspaper l’Echo, in which De Wever reflected on future coalition talks. He seemed to prefer a renewed coalition with the French-speaking liberals (MR), implying that there will be no new round of institutional talks after the elections.

Vuye and Wouters interpreted this as the announcement of a prolonged institutional standstill. After all, the nationalist party had shifted its focus before, first to social and economic issues, and recently to issues of security and migration. The duo protested – publicly.

Vuye and Wouters see themselves as guardians of the nationalist ideals. De Wever more or less granted them this status, when he created the think-tank Objectief V for them. Officially, Objectief V was to prepare a new round of state reform. Unofficially, it was an elegant way out for Vuye, who was replaced as N-VA speaker in the federal parliament, for which he was seen to lack the necessary skills.

The conflict surrounding Vuye and Wouters led to some major discussions between the so-called Flemish movement and some N-VA politicians who originated from it.

The Flemish movement may not be very numerous (“a full five votes lost there”, one joke ran), but all the drama did prove damaging for N-VA. Above all, the party has lost much of its image of being principled. De Wever’s aura of infallible leader has suffered, too. In this respect, N-VA has lost more than just two MPs. \ Anja Otte

\4

Government of Flanders announces balanced budget Region fills €560 million deficit and promises no new taxes in 2017 Alan Hope Follow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

F

lemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois has announced the completion of discussions within the government on the budget for 2017. The budget is in balance, he said, and contains a package of new investments. According to budget minister Bart Tommelein, it contains no new taxes.

As Flanders Today went to press, the opening of the new session of the Flemish parliament was taking place, when the minister-president traditionally delivers the September Declaration, a speech on the state of affairs of the region. Following that, Bourgeois and Tommelein were due to announce the first details of the budget.

The ministers entered into the discussions facing a deficit of €560 million, in part due to

© Nicolas Maeterlinck/BELGA

From left: Education minister Hilde Crevits, minister-president Geert Bourgeois and energy minister Bart Tommelein

lower transfers to Flanders from the federal government for competences that were moved to the regions under the last set of state reforms.

That gap had to be filled in order to safeguard promised investments in schools, welfare and research. A spokesperson for Bourgeois says that has been achieved.

There had been fears that the government might make changes to the service cheques system, where customers buy cheques to pay for household help and receive a tax rebate on the cost, while cleaners work legally for a decent hourly rate. That system costs some €1.3 billion a year, and, while it was unlikely to be scrapped altogether, changes could have been made to make it less expensive. But according to reports, that has not been done.

Flanders Today will further report on the September Declaration on our website and in our next issue.

Major fluctuations in water costs per province ‘not fair’

Energy minister to end green fuel certificates for household incinerators

Tap water can differ in price by as much as €169 a year per household in Flanders, depending on where you live. The figures are based on research carried out by the Flemish environment agency VMM at the request of socialist member of the Flemish Parliament Rob Beenders.

According to the figures, supplier Pidpa in Antwerp is the cheapest in the region, while IWVB in Flemish Brabant is the most expensive.

“This is the situation even though you can’t choose which water supplier you use,” said Beenders.

“The composition of the water bill is simply not fair.”

Water pricing in Flanders underwent a reform this year. Previously, each household was allotted an amount of tap water for free, depending on the number of residents, before costs of actual use kicked in. That system was scrapped for a fixed amount – €80 per household with a reduction for each resident in addition to the cost of consumption.

The government has subsidised household waste incinerators to the tune of at least €250 million through green power certificates since 2004, according to a report by public broadcaster VRT. The certificates will continue to be issued until at least 2019.

A household waste incinerator can be considered a small energy plant: the incineration of household waste produces heat, with which electricity can be generated, making it an attractive source of income.

In 2004, the government decided to subsidise incinerators by allocating them green power certificates. Part of what they incinerate, such as organic waste, is considered green fuel. The Flemish government considers about half of the waste to be green, and can therefore report to Europe that it has a lot of renewable energy.

However, consumers pay for this. The greener the waste incineration, the more certificates the incinerators receive and the more consumers pay, through their electricity bills. The incineration also causes emission of carbon dioxide; many experts feel it is not a sustainable source of energy and most European countries don’t support it.

Flemish energy minister Bart Tommelein said the creation of this subsidy policy had been irresponsible and that he wanted to end the system as soon as legally possible. \ Andy Furniere

© Ingimage

“The reform of pricing only made the differences more apparent,” said Beenders. “The water companies have to have their prices approved, but they decide for themselves what they are, on the basis of their investments, among other factors. That leads to serious price differences.”

The fixed payment has also been criticised as being unfair: a person living alone pays the full €80, while a family of four pays only €5 per person, and a family of five or more pays nothing. “Explain that to single people, for whom the fixed amount makes up one-third of their water bill,” Beenders said. \ AH

Subsidies offered to groups creating communities in Brussels The Flemish Community Commission (VGC), which represents Flemish people living and working in Brussels, has announced the introduction of a new subsidy to encourage ideas for “a better, prettier, smarter and more social Brussels”.

Ideas for Bruss-it are invited from all sorts of groups – associations, schools, neighbourhood organisations or civic collectives – for projects that aim to create communities in the public sphere. Subsidies can go up to €15,000.

The idea for the fund goes back to the VGC’s governing accord from 2014, when it decided to set aside 10% of the Urban Fund budget for bottomup urban social renewal. The mission was to create new forms of activism and co-operation.

Applications for subsidy can be submitted until 7 November, and the successful projects will be announced in December to start in the New Year. There will be another call for projects in 2017. \ AH

Homans disagrees on Ghent’s method to root out discrimination in housing The City of Ghent is launching an investigation into systematic discrimination in the housing rental sector. Volunteers will call about properties advertised for rent using a foreign-sounding name. If they are told that the property is already rented, they will call again later using a Flemish-sounding name. If they are told the property is still free, that would be considered discrimination.

The volunteers will also test responses regarding a potential handicap. The checks begin next month, supervised by Ghent University’s sociology working group.

Flemish housing minister Liesbeth Homans is critical of the method.

In a note written earlier this year on the private rental market, she calls on the sector to regulate itself. “We asked the sector to present their proposals,” a ministry spokesperson

said. “We don’t want to hand down orders from the government. It’s for the landlord to decide who is the best candidate-tenant. This is, after all, a question of private property.”

People who feel they’ve been the victim of discrimination can always file a complaint, the ministry pointed out. The problem with that, according to Koen Van der Bracht of the sociology working group, is that many victims do not realise they have been discriminated against.

“They are just told that the property has been rented,” he said. “Filing a complaint is not an efficient way of battling discrimination.”

In cases where the volunteers discover what appears to be discrimination, the landlords will be approached by equal opportunities agency Unia to try to open a dialogue on the individual or rental agency’s tactics. \ AH

\ COVER STORY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016

Reinventing the wheels Are we ready to embrace the self-driving revolution? continued from page 1

the vehicle’s speed on the motorway to maintain a safe distance from those ahead. Another is a parking assistance system, which can reduce or eliminate the backand-forth of parking.

Other systems are less familiar but will be vital for a fully autonomous car. The lane assist system keeps the vehicle in the middle of a detected lane. The goal of the predictive emergency braking system is to reduce the risk of a rear-end collision by reacting more quickly than a human can.

Traffic jam assistance is an evolution of adaptive cruise control for use in dense stop-and-go traffic, while traffic light recognition technology enables cars to detect how long before a red light turns green.

On top of all these systems, a selfdriving car will be fitted out with a whole range of sensors, lasers and cameras which it uses to “see” its surroundings.

But why do we need self-driving cars? What’s wrong with things the way they are? The answer lies in the fact that 93% of all traffic accidents are caused by human error.

A miscalculation of distance.

Pressing the wrong pedal. Forgetting to look. Getting angry. Driving while tired. Changing a CD. Using a smartphone. Texting. Driving while under the influence. The list is, unfortunately, more or less endless.

And the results are too frequently fatal. Throughout the world, nearly 1.3 million people die in road crashes each year; an average of more than 3,000 deaths a day, with an additional 20-50 million people injured or disabled. In 2014, 727 people died in road traffic accidents in Belgium. That’s an average of two a day.

Plenty of legal and technical obstacles lie ahead, but will the public eventually come to accept the self-driving car as easily as they do the elevator?

gen and Volvo. They had all been fitted with adaptive cruise control, the lane-keeping assist system and a predictive emergency braking system.

After a safety briefing, the platoon was divided into six convoys and headed off on a 35-kilometre trip from Diegem to Bornem (and back), via the Brussels Ring, the A12 and the N16. I was behind the wheel of a VW Touareg.

Computers are better drivers than humans. They don’t drink, they follow the rules, and they’re not distracted So could human error be taken out of the equation? Flemish mobility minister Ben Weyts certainly believes so. “If we actually want to do something about the 400 road deaths every year in Flanders, this could be the solution,” he says.

“Computers are better drivers than humans. They don’t drink, they follow the rules, and they’re not distracted.”

Earlier this month, at the headquarters of insurance broker and risk management specialist Aon Belgium, 30 semi-autonomous cars were put to the test: models from Audi, BMW, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswa-

Adaptive cruise control was set to 120 km/h, and we settled behind the car ahead. As we approached a bend, I wondered whether to turn the steering wheel myself to stay in lane. It wasn’t necessary. The car automatically made frequent small adjustments to stay perfectly in the centre of the lane and safely navigate the bend.

A car overtook and pulled up right in front, but the vehicle quickly and smoothly braked, throttled back to maintain the correct distance, and then sped up when the road ahead was clear.

On the A12 we met our first traffic light. It was green, and I was

hoping it would remain so. It didn’t. The cars ahead of me decelerated. Mine didn’t.

Brake lights appeared. The Touareg began to decelerate, but I wasn’t convinced it had given itself sufficient time to stop. My foot nervously hovered over the brake pedal.

But just as I was about to apply the brakes, the car slowed down and came to a smooth stop behind the car in front.

“The first time is always a little scary,” said the VW representative in the passenger seat. “This is because the car calculates the optimum stopping distance and deceleration speed, based on the action of the car ahead. You were looking further ahead at what the traffic lights were showing, so you were anticipating having to stop before the car was.”

The second set of traffic lights was less traumatic, and by the third set, I had gained complete trust in the car and was even beginning to relax.

The ride wasn’t without its problems, though. I had to take back manual control at the very busy A12-Ring intersection. I also had to override the car on a sharp exit bend when a strong hand was required on the wheel.

Overall, I was impressed by the technology on display, and generally felt safe. At the same time, I understand people’s reservations, particularly with a semi-autonomous car when the driver has to

Mobility minister Ben Weyts thinks cars will eventually drive better than humans

decide when to let the car do the steering and when to take over control.

It’s an issue that Al Pijnacker, director automotive at Aon Belgium, is well aware of. “People don’t yet have full confidence in the new technology,” he says. “It’s like the automatic elevator.”

The first elevators were operated by an elevator boy or liftman, he points out, and when automatic elevators were introduced, people were wary of taking one on their own. “It took time for them to feel confident with the new technology. It’s the same today with selfdriving cars. But I’m convinced that people will come to trust and enjoy them.”

Plenty of obstacles still lie ahead, such as legal and liability issues.

In the event of something going wrong with a self-driving car, who is liable? The manufacturer, software provider, dealer, fleet owner, driver?

“Maybe we need something like an aircraft’s black box to find out what went wrong,” Pijnacker suggests.

“What’s certain is that there will not be a self-driving car until a good insurance policy adapted to this type of vehicle is available.”

A lot of fine-tuning is certainly necessary, but that’s always the case with new technology. Part of the reason for the platoon test was to gain more data, particularly on how drivers would react behind the wheel of a semi-autonomous vehicle on a busy Flemish motorway. This data will be analysed, and improvements implemented.

\5

\ BUSINESS

week in business Hotels Hilton Grand Place The four-star hotel, located opposite Brussels’ Central Station, has been acquired by the Swedish Pandox property group for €55 million from the Luxembourg-based Zurich Property. Pandox will invest a further €3 million to renovate the 224-room facility, which will continue to be called Hilton until at least 2019 when the management contract comes up for renewal.

Car Leasing Arval The French BNP Paribas banking group is selling its Arval car leasing activities to Belgian affiliate BNP Paribas Fortis. Arval is one of the world’s leading car leasing companies, with 750,000 cars in 25 countries as a result of its 2015 acquisition of GE Fleet Services’ activities in Europe.

Surgery GIMV The Flemish government’s investment fund is investing €30 million in Switzerland’s Spineart company, which develops surgical devices for the spine.

Subsidies for companies that make commuting greener €2.4 million for employers to reduce reliance on private cars Alan Hope Follow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

T

he government of Flanders’ commuter fund has approved €2.4 million in support for 23 companies that have worked to make commuting for their employees more sustainable. The Pendelfonds, or commuter fund, was set up to meet the government’s target of reducing the number of commuters travelling by car from 70% to 60% by 2020.

At the same time, the government wants to increase the share of cycling and public transport to 20% each. The fund offers subsidies to projects that help meet those targets.

Applications can be made by companies and other private sector organisations, as well as local or provincial authorities and public sector institutions in partnership with the private sector. In the latest round of subsidies, 23 companies were approved.

Among them was EY ( formerly Ernst & Young) in Machelen, which offered employees the chance

to swap a company car for a variety of other options, including public transport, carpooling or shared cars. Employees who accepted were rewarded with extra days off or the use of a company bicycle. EY also made infrastructure investments, upgrading its dressing room and shower facilities.

Business confidence at highest point in 15 years

gemconsortium.org

Atlas Copco Airpower in Wilrijk, Antwerp province, converted its management car park to a parking areas for car-poolers. Many other companies were bike-focussed: Graphic designers Vanden Broele Productions in Bruges gave out folding bikes for staff to travel from station to office, and Zonnelied in Roosdaal, Flemish Brabant, which assists the disabled, is working on a leasing system for electric bikes.

Social assistance organisation Kompas in Ghent bought a fleet of electric scooters for staff, while Baloise Insurance in Antwerp built new bicycle racks.

“By investing in initiatives that allow drivers to switch to an alternative to a car, we’re trying to entice commuters to follow,” said mobility minister Ben Weyts. “The time of the domination of King Car is over. By smartly combining alternatives, it’s possible to arrive at work faster and more safely.”

Colruyt loses case against minimum tobacco prices

The bathroom, kitchens and heating equipment group is investing €70 million to build an 88,000 square-metre automated logistics centre near its headquarters in Kortrijk, its biggest investment to date.

Confidence in entrepreneurship is at its highest point in 15 years, according to the latest edition of the Global Enterprise Monitor (Gem), published by Vlerick Business School.

More people are considering starting a business, and more are actually making the move.

Vlerick, which carries out the study for the government of Flanders, carried out telephone interviews with a representative sample of 2,000 adults in Flanders and found that 48% thought there was enough potential in the economic situation to start a business in the coming six months. One in 10 was actively intending to do so in the next three years.

Some 5.4% of respondents recently started a business or are in the process of doing so. The figures are the highest since the Gem report was first launched in Flanders 15 years ago.

Entrepreneurship in Flanders still remains low compared to its neighbours, confirmed Vlerick researcher Tine Holvoet. Among European countries, which also carry out Gem surveys, “only Italy and Germany record lower figures,” she said.

And while 54% of those polled in Flanders regard entrepreneurship as a career positively,

Investment imec

New crop of young chefs become ambassadors of Flanders

Chemicals Solvay The Brussels-based chemicals and materials group has sold its industrial water treatment activities to Italmatch of Genoa. Meanwhile, Solvay plans to increase capacity at its German affiliate in Ostringen, specialised in the production of composite materials and resins for aircraft engines.

Logistics Van Marcke

The nanotechnology research centre in Leuven is launching a €100 million venture capital fund to help local start-ups.

Chocolate Cote d’Or The Halle-based production unit of the famed chocolate producer has been sold by the US Mondelez group to the Swiss Barry Callebaut, which already operates a large production unit in Lebbeke, East Flanders.

\6

Flemish tourism minister Ben Weyts has announced the designation of a new group of culinary talent known as Jong Keukengeweld (roughly, Young Kitchen Rebels). Taking over from last year’s group, the 54 chefs under the age of 35 are tasked with representing Flemish cuisine at home and abroad.

“These young talents are the finest ambassadors for our rich culinary culture,” Weyts said. Belgium has more Michelin stars per capita than France, Italy or Spain, and the three three-star restaurants

© Ingimage

the average for the other reference countries was 68%. In addition, Vlerick found, business start-ups are often seen as a last resort.

Instead of being motivated by innovation or business opportunity, the entrepreneur sees no other job opportunity.

“The Gem poll year after year shows a relative lack of enterprise culture in Flanders,” said Holvoet. “A lack of confidence in one’s own expertise and skill to start a business seems to be a structural problem.” \ AH

are all in Flanders: Peter Goossens’ Hof Van Cleve in Kruishoutem, Gert De Mangeleer’s Hertog Jan in Zedelgem and Geert Van Hecke’s De Karmeliet in Bruges.

The new Jong Keukengeweld class represent the up-and-coming generation, following in the footsteps of their mentors. Some of them already run internationally recognised restaurants.

“Putting the restaurant culture on the international stage is a way to attract more tourists to Flanders,” said Weyts. “Like love, wanderlust goes via the stomach: For

Supermarket chain Colruyt’s challenge against minimum prices for tobacco has been turned down by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which said that the minimum price regulation was not in breach of EU law.

Colruyt filed the challenge after it was fined for selling cigarettes and other tobacco products at prices lower than the tax-stamp attached to every packet.

The company was also accused of illegal advertising, by offering quantity discounts and sales on tobacco products on certain dates, and by offering discounts to youth organisations.

The supermarket argued that the price of an article cannot be considered advertising, pointing to a 2011 directive that allowed the fixing of a maximum price but said nothing about a minimum price. Minimum prices were in breach of the principle of free movement of goods and fair competition, the chain argued.

The federal government argued that minimum prices were a tool for controlling the sale of tobacco, by including a disincentive in the amount of excise duty charged.

In an opinion in April, the advocate-general indicated that the Belgian law was not in breach of EU rules. While such opinions are not binding on the full court, they are followed more often than not. \ AH

© Courtesy Altermezzo

Jo Grootaers of Altermezzo in Tongeren is one of 54 chefs under 35 to make waves on the local culinary scene

tinyurl.com/jongkeukengeweld

40% of all tourists, food culture is an important aspect of travel.

Nowhere else is the gap between top restaurants and ‘ordinary’ restaurants so narrow.”

Weyts also noted, however, that only four of the 54 ambassadors are women, a figure he hoped to see change in coming years.

As part of the campaign, young people aged 18 to 30 can enjoy a three-course meal at one of the participating restaurants for only €45 to €55 – substantially less than the regular price – in October and again next March. \ AH

\ INNOVATION

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016

week in innovation EnergyVille officially opens

Courtesy Port of Antwerp

Harbour masterpiece

Antwerp Port Authority unveils its stunning new headquarters Leo Cendrowicz More articles by Leo \ flanderstoday.eu

The bold design of the new Antwerp port headquarters is courtesy of Zaha Hadid: a giant glass hub perched on a replica heritage building, setting the seal on the reinvention of the Eilandje district

I

t could be the coolest office in the world: rising from the water’s edge like a crystal galleon, the new headquarters of the Antwerp Port Authority are already a spectacular sight. But what makes the building even more stunning is its improbable location: atop a replica 16th-century warehouse (pictured above left).

Designed by the late Zaha Hadid, the bold neo-futurist architect known for her elegant curves and sweeping scale, the new Port House opened to fanfare on 23 September. Dubbed the “diamond ship” – a nod to Antwerp’s history as a hub for the diamond trade – the giant glass block sits proudly on its classical base, like an alien spaceship that has found a comfortable nest.

Together, the two form an impressive new landmark as the Port Authority headquarters, overlooking the city and port, and symbolising Antwerp’s global importance.

At the opening ceremony, Flemish public works minister Ben Weyts said Hadid’s building would be a calling card for Antwerp, a global landmark for the city. “A great creative power has shaped this Port House,” he said, speaking on the newly named Zaha Hadid Square in front of the building. “The new Port House will help associate Antwerp with concepts like stylishness, ambition, quality and modernism.”

As a choir sang, a symbolic key was lowered by rope to Weyts and Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever, who carried it to the gates of new offices.

The Port House perches precariously like a vast iceberg, balancing on a massive concrete buttress – a few of which are drilled through the covered courtyard of the warehouse – and cantilevering beyond the southern edge of the building. It’s a stunning juxtaposition, reminiscent of the glass pyramid in the centre of the Louvre courtyard in Paris.

The design takes its guiding cues from the building’s historical narrative, repurposing, renovating and extending the base into a new

portofantwerp.com

headquarters. Shaped like the bow of a ship, the new structure points towards the Scheldt river. Its facade of tessellated panels ripples like waves and reflects the changing tones and colours of the city’s sky.

The old building’s central courtyard is now enclosed with a glass roof and is transformed into the main reception area for the new Port House. From this central atrium, visitors can enter the historic public reading room and library. Panoramic lifts provide direct access to the new extension with an external bridge between the existing building and extension giving views of the city and port. The building has cost €55 million so far; officials admit that contractors are demanding a further €20 million.

The new Port House caps almost a decade of work by the Port Authority to move from its cramped offices on the Bonaparte Dock. It was in 2007 that the port announced plans for a sustainable and future-proof workplace for its employees, in an ever-expanding local and international arena.

At the threshold between the city and its immense port, Mexico Island in Antwerp’s Kattendijk dock was selected as the site for the new head office. The waterside site also offered significant sustainable construction benefits, allowing materials and building components to be transported by water, an important requirement in meeting the port’s ecological targets.

The building on the base has its own story to tell. It was once a fire station, as well as a listed replica of a 16th-century residence and warehouse of the Hanseatic League, a northern European commerce and defence confederation. The original warehouse burnt down in 1893 and was rebuilt in 1922, on the north side of the port.

Marc Van Peel, president of Antwerp Port Authority, said that while the former Hansa House recalled the 16th century, Antwerp’s golden era, “this new contemporary structure in shining glass represents a new golden century for Antwerp”.

He said the original brief for the new Port House had been for an iconic building, that symbolised Antwerp as a world port, preserved the Hansa House, and was built according to

the principles of sustainability. All the five entries for the eventual competition put the new building on top of the old, but Hadid’s design won out.

“What charmed the jury was the sheer dynamism of it. This is 500 years of fantastic history.

You can entertain rhetoric with this building,” he said. “There is controversy. People ask how you can combine old and new, but that is exactly what we want to do.”

The Port House is opening four months after the completion of the largest sea lock in the world, the Kieldrecht lock, which connects the left bank harbour with the Scheldt. The Port Authority says it is just one step in its ambitious programme of transformation.

Indeed, the Port House will contribute to further development and upgrading of the part of the city known as Het Eilandje. Until 2014, Het Eilandje was still part of the port area, but it has now been reclaimed by the City of Antwerp, with the new dividing line now passing just above, through the Straatsburg dock, which connects to the Albert canal.

Previously bustling docks are empty of activity as shipping has spread to the vast docks to the north, now covering an area about 10 times the size of the city. Het Eilandje, like the London Docklands, is being turned from an abandoned industrial site into a trendy residential area. The Port House is expected to help establish Het Eilandje as one of the most coveted corners of Flanders.

Baghdad-born Hadid, who became a British citizen, died in March this year. A Pritzker Prize winner and double Stirling Prize winner, she featured in the Forbes list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, and Time magazine’s 100 most influential people, and became a Dame in 2012. Among her famed works are the London Aquatic Centre for the Olympic Games, the Opera House in Guangzhou, the MAXXI in Rome and the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati.

Patrik Schumacher, the new director of Zaha Hadid Architects, admitted that the look of the building had caused controversy. “We have a thick skin. A lot of our sketches are criticised as crazy,” he said. “But as the projects materialise, they start to make sense. Architecture is communication as much as function.”

Flemish energy minister Bart Tommelein and federal energy minister Marie-Christine Marghem have inaugurated the new headquarters of research centre EnergyVille, which focuses on intelligent and sustainable energy solutions. The carbon-neutral building is located at the Thor science park, a former mining area in the Waterschei district of Genk. EnergyVille was launched about five years ago by the University of Leuven, the Flemish Institute for Technological Research Vito and nanotechnology firm imec. It houses some 200 researchers in multiple labs with different objectives, including improving battery technology, heat networks and solar panels.

The new workplace is called EnergyVille I. Construction works are already underway on EnergyVille II, expected to open by late 2018.

Life expectancy on the rise The average life expectancy in Flanders has increased by two years compared to a decade ago. The figures come from statistics of the Flemish agency for care and health, released by welfare minister Jo Vandeurzen. The life expectancy of men in Flanders is increasing more quickly, meaning they are catching up with women. In 2004, a man in Flanders had at birth a life expectancy of 77.2 years, which increased in 2014 to 79.8 years. For women, it increased from 82.5 years in 2004 to 84.3 years in 2014. “This shows that more people have a healthy lifestyle and that our healthcare system is successfully battling a number of diseases,” Vandeurzen told VRT.

Carless families save money Families without a car spend seven times less money on mobility on average, according to the federal economy department’s latest report on household budgets. According to the report, households with one or more cars spent an average €5,000 in 2014, while households without a car spent a mere €713. Those with a car spent more than 90% of their mobility budget on purchase, maintenance and repairs. The study didn’t take the cost of insurance into account, which would push expenditures up further.

A majority of households in Belgium – 83% – have at least one car. Just over one-quarter have more than one car. The other 17% have no car. \ Andy Furniere

\7

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

Subscribe for free at www.thebulletin.be

\ EDUCATION

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016

Bite-sized science

week in education

Researchers explain findings to lay audience in three minutes or less Ian Mundell follow Ian on Twitter \ @IanMundell

VLAAMSEPHDCUP.BE

A

PhD takes between four to six years to complete, but to win the Flemish PhD Cup researchers have just three minutes to tell a live audience what their work was about and why it matters.

Eight recent PhDs compete for the first Cup on 28 September, presenting research into subjects such as cancer therapy, smart concrete and pessimism in philosophy. First prize is a voucher worth €10,000 for training at Vlerick Business School, in any area the winner chooses.

While the three-minute pitch is the climax of the competition, the Cup has a broader aim.

“We really want to stimulate young researchers to talk about their work outside the academic community, and to make use of the media,” explains Arnaud Zonderman, co-ordinator of Scriptie, the non-profit organisation behind the initiative.

The competition was open to anyone who completed a PhD, in any discipline, at a Flemish university between May 2014 and May 2016. Out of the 74 people who applied, 16 were selected to go through to the first round of the competition.

This consisted of four days of communication training, including how to write about science for the public, being interviewed, camera and voice training and digital storytelling. Eight contenders were then selected by a jury to go through to the final at the Academy Palace in Brussels. The event will be live-streamed on Canvas.

The main challenge for young PhDs is to stop thinking like academics. “As scientists, when they talk about their research they want to paint the full picture,” says Zonderman. “Every little conclusion of their research is important, and they want to get all the nuances out there. But unfortunately that doesn’t always work when you’re talking to a lay audience. You have to be brief and choose what is most important to you.”

Annick De Backer did her PhD at Antwerp University, developing image processing techniques for use with electron microscopes that make it possible to count the atoms in nanoparticles. The remarkable properties of these very small structures are often defined by their size and shape, so being able to accurately count the number of atoms involved is very important.

“We do fundamental research, but we know that in future it can be applied to make more effi-

© Kevin Faingnaert

For his PhD at Ghent University, Gertjan Willems analysed political influence on film production, a topic, he says, that audiences can relate to

cient solar cells, faster computers or revolutionary medical treatments,” she explains.

But it is hard to talk to the public about fundamental research. “Often in the media you start with your main message, but my main message is already quite difficult to understand, so I always need an introduction to explain exactly what I’m doing.”

This made preparing a three-minute presentation particularly tough, and when it came to the semi-finals of the cup, she was not selected. But she has enjoyed taking part. “The media training was a fascinating experience. You are often taken out of your comfort zone, but you learn a lot.”

And she remains enthusiastic about bringing her work to a wider audience. “A lot of the results of PhD research stay in the academic world,” she says “so for me, this was an opportunity to show these results to a non-academic public.”

Gertjan Willems did his PhD at Ghent University, looking at the relationship between government policy and feature film production in Flanders between 1964 and 2002. During this period, public subsidies came directly from the government, giving ministers considerable influence over the kind of films that were made and the themes they addressed.

This subject gives Willems a slight advantage over some of his colleagues. “People can immediately connect with it, so in that sense it is easier to talk about my research than hard scientific subjects,” he says. “But it is sometimes difficult to make clear why this kind of research is important, why it is relevant to look at the history of these films and how they are produced.”

The answer is that the films people watch are an important part of the culture they live in.

“They have an impact on who we are, how we think about things and how we construct meaning,” he says. “That’s why I think it’s important to analyse this culture, to understand what it really says, and how it comes to look like it does.”

Even in an accessible subject such as cinema, Willems found the training on writing for a wider audience helpful. “I thought I was already OK in that area, but I was confronted by how many terms I use that needed more explanation. They were evident to me, but not to other people.”

Meanwhile the interview training made him reflect more concretely on the relevance of his work to society and how to convey that to a general audience. “Society pays for our research, so I’m very glad to have developed my skills in how to communicate back to society.”

Q&A

mijnnieuwethuis.planbelgie.be

Jonathan Moskovic of Plan België, an NGO that fights for children’s rights, helped develop a virtual app that lets Flemish pupils walk in the shoes of refugee children Where did this idea come from?

Our parent organisation, Plan International, started providing aid to children in the Nyarugusu refugee camp in Tanzania in June 2015, in response to the humanitarian crisis in the neighbouring Burundi. One of the reasons that we are active in this particular camp is that the inhabitants are mainly children.

The idea for an online platform came from our Swedish colleagues, who launched a website in English in order to fight against discrimination and racism and increase solidarity towards refugees. We realised that such a platform would be very useful for young students –

the photo part of the project. The narrative is also based on several interviews with children at one of Plan International’s youth spaces in the camp.

aged 10 to 14 – as more than 12,000 children have applied for asylum in 2015 alone. This means children in Belgium are also facing the refugees’ reality in their daily life at school, or elsewhere.

How does it help?

Thanks to the Mijn nieuwe thuis (My New Home) platform, it is now possible to experience the reality by taking a walk in the shoes of the refugee children and listening to their stories. The strength of the project, I believe, is the 360-degree experience where you can explore the inside of a refugee camp, accompanied by the children who live there.

© Courtesy Plan België

Were the refugees involved in developing the platform?

The platform was created by Plan International Sweden in collaboration with the award-winning photographer Martin Edström from National Geographic. The children of Nyarugusu have put their time and enthusiasm into

How will this be linked to schools in Flanders?

We have developed pedagogical material for teachers and parents to help them understand the refugee crisis. We are also training schools in Flanders to become Kinderrechtenscholen (Children’s Rights Schools), where pupils are aware of their rights and those of their peers worldwide. The school gives children’s rights a place in classes, school policies and activities. Eighteen schools have already completed the two-year training, while 12 others are close to finishing it. \ Interview by Senne Starckx

Leuven best, Ghent most progressive A survey by study bureau Ipsos shows that secondary school students perceive the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) as Flanders’ best university and Ghent University (UGent) as its most progressive. Either UGent or KU Leuven was the top choice of university of one in three respondents. Hasselt University and the Free University of Brussels were each the favourite of about one in 20, while Antwerp University was the first choice for one in 10. More than half of prospective UGent students believe a degree from KU Leuven is more valuable.

The majority of students also consider KU Leuven the most challenging university, while UGent is perceived as the most progressive university, offering the most freedom to students.

New framework for education quality The government of Flanders has joined education agencies and inspectors for the launch of a new general framework outlining the minimum requirements of schools in order to standardise the quality of education in the region. At the request of Flemish education minister Hilde Crevits last year, the education sector set to work on developing common standards and specific objectives related to “quality education”. Stakeholders focused on four main areas: quality, equal development of pupils, results and school policies. School teams will now further develop their quality policies. The partners also launched the new website Mijn School is OK. \ mijnschoolisok.be

Student experiment gets ESA backing A team of young researchers from Hasselt University (UHasselt) will test technology related to a balloon released into the stratosphere as part of a European Space Agency (ESA) programme. The balloon will soon be launched from the Swedish city of Kiruna.

The UHasselt students participated in ESA’s international Bexus contest – Balloon Experiments for University Students.

Students from across Europe propose experiments, and the ESA chooses which it will assist students to carry out.

The UHasselt project is called Oscar, an acronym for Optical Sensors based on CARbon Materials. It was developed by a team under the leadership of PhD student Tim Vangerven and examines the performance of printable solar cells and of a magnetic field sensor in extreme conditions. \ Andy Furniere

\9

\ LIVING

week in activities Worldwide Photo Walk Each year, amateur and professional photographers from around the world gather to explore cities, take pictures, share tips and raise money for charity. Walks are locally organised, with events in Bruges, Kortrijk, Antwerp and Brussels. Sign up on the website. 1 October; free \ worldwidephotowalk.com

Chrysanthemum Festival This year’s edition of Hasselt’s celebration of the chrysanthemum puts top Flemish floral designer Tomas De Bruyne in charge of the installations in the Japanese Garden. He’s also invited a celebrated Japanese colleague to decorate the tea house, which will be wholly open to the public for the first time. 1-9 October 10.0018.00, Japanese Garden, Gouverneur Verwhilghensingel 23, Hasselt; €5 \ tinyurl.com/ chrysanthemum-festival

Out in Brussels A full programme of activities on the historic Tour & Taxis site marks the first edition of this outdoor festival. Start the day with brunch and a panel discussion on the capital’s cultural scene, followed by a choice of guided tours by boat, by bike or on foot.

Places are limited, so reservations required. 2 October, Muntpaleis, Havenlaan 88, Brussels; €10-€15 \ uitinbrussel.be/uitinbrusseldag

Damme Culinair Treat yourself to a day in this picturesque village just outside of Bruges and sample the best of the region’s products and food specialties.

Local chefs will prepare traditional and innovative dishes, while craft brewers, bakers, butchers and cheesemakers serve up their wares.

2 October, 10.00-18.00, Markt, Damme (West Flanders); free \ toerismedamme.be

Fruit Day at the Abbey The historic orchard of the Benedictine Abbey of Vlierbeek has been carefully restored by the city of Leuven, students and community volunteers. Take a guided tour of the orchard, learn about heritage fruit trees and taste honey, jams and fresh fruit from the trees.

2 October 10.00-17.00, Vlierbeek Abbey, Kessel-Lo; free \ abdijvanvlierbeek.be

\ 10

Glass reunion

Leuven’s Park Abbey recovers long-lost stained-glass windows Ian Mundell follow Ian on Twitter \ @IanMundell

PARKABDIJ.BE

B

it by bit, Leuven’s Park Abbey is recovering a remarkable series of 17th-century stained-glass windows that once enclosed its cloister. After years of research, it has succeeded in locating most of the 41 windows, and, with the help of the government of Flanders and other supporters, it has brought 20 of them home.

The challenge now is to clean and restore the windows before returning them to the abbey, which itself is undergoing extensive renovations. There is also the hope that more of the missing windows can be lured back to Leuven.

The Park Abbey was established in 1129 by the Norbertine order of monks, but the windows were a much later addition. Produced

by Jan de Caumont, a master of glass painting with a workshop in Leuven, they were installed around the cloister between 1635 and 1644.

Unlike church windows, which are generally designed to be seen from a distance, these relatively small windows were placed at eye level and combine striking colours with finely painted detail. Each is a triptych, with scenes from the life of St Norbert of Xanten framed by portraits of notable Norbertine monks and nuns.

While the windows survived the turmoil of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic period, the abbey fell on hard times. In 1828, the monks sold the windows to the wealthy Brussels shipowner Jean-Baptiste Dansaert.

After his death, and the death of his wife, the windows were divided between their three daughters. Subsequent bequests and sales saw them scattered all over the world and sometimes broken up into their constituent

© Courtesy Park Abbey

parts.

The Abbey has been trying to buy back the windows since the 1930s but did not know where many had end up until about a decade ago.

A volunteer helping to catalogue the Abbey archive chanced on a new lead.

“One day he found a box with all kinds of correspondence about the windows,” says Erika T’Jaeckx, an art historian who is co-ordinator of tourism development for the abbey. “He started studying the documents, and that opened new lines of investigation.”

It turned out that many of the windows had found their way to the US. Some were used in grand New York houses, while others became part of museum collec-

tions.

Eventually, eight windows were purchased from Yale University Art Gallery in 2013. And earlier this year, six windows were given to the abbey by the Corcoran Art Gallery in Washington, DC, which was closing down.

Some of the outstanding windows are in the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, while others are closer to home, in private residences. Then there are two in the Royal Museum of Art and History in Brussels.

“Of course you want to retrieve all of them,” says T’Jaeckx. “But if you look at it from a museum’s point of view, this is an important part of their collection as well. I think we should already be very happy

with what we’ve got back.”

Four of the windows recently went on display in Leuven’s city hall, and discussions are under way to show them in the Park Abbey museum. “Even without cleaning and restoration, they are so beautiful,” says T’Jaeckx, “so hopefully we can have them in the museum for a time.”

The Park Abbey will progressively re-open to the public as restoration is completed, beginning in September 2017. But replacing the stained-glass windows will be part of the last phase, tentatively scheduled for 2020.

Meanwhile the Friends of the Park Abbey are running a public appeal to raise funds to clean and restore the windows.

BITE

New Hasselt shop serves up chic makeovers and frothy cappuccinos We all know the drill: You arrive for your pedicure or massage, and then wait, leafing idly though a stack of outdated magazines to pass the time. If you’re lucky, someone will offer you a cup of coffee, which you balance on one knee while juggling your smartphone in the other hand as you check your messages.

But what if the wait were just as enjoyable as the rest of your salon experience? That’s the idea behind the new Café Beauté in Hasselt, whose owners, Sabine Hahn and Caroline Rigo, have combined a full-service beauty salon with a stylish eatery serving drinks and light refreshments.

The new salon is bright and airy, with a large, wrap-around counter serving coffee and food on one side, and displaying nail polish and lash extensions on the other. A row of bistro tables lines one wall, and in the rear there’s a comfy seating area with vintage, upholstered furniture. The style is a mix of contemporary chic and your BFF’s cosy apartment.

They don’t do haircuts, but they do offer hair styling, as well as a full range of services, including a brow bar, waxing, massage, facials and makeup – all at quite reasonable prices. Café Beauté specialises in bridal makeup and hair, and it’s no wonder. With inviting décor and a

© Courtesy Café Beauté/Instagram

smart-yet-casual vibe, it’s the ideal place for a bridal or bachelorette

CAFEBEAUTE.BE

party.

The food, although homemade, is not prepared on site but delivered fresh daily. In addition to a selection of tempting baked goods, the salon offers a daily sandwich, a wrap and two salad options.

My friend and I ordered lattes, which were each served with a divine macaroon and a chocolatecovered sweet.

There’s no need to book a treatment if you just want to enjoy a drink or peruse the shelves, as Café Beauté also offers a selection of exclusive beauty products for sale. They do accept walk-ins for most services, although making an appointment is recommended. \ Diana Goodwin

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016

The great escape

Flemish couple head south to set up elephant retirement home Bartosz Brzezinski More articles by Bartosz \ flanderstoday.eu

ELEPHANTHAVEN.COM

Two former Antwerp Zoo employees have moved to France with the aim of providing a sanctuary for former circus elephants.

T

he Land Rover bumps and rattles along the narrow dirt road that runs through the rolling hills of tall grass, clusters of trees and pastures dotted with sheep. The morning sun is already high in the sky, but Bussière-Galant, the small village in western France that will soon be home to Europe’s first elephant sanctuary, is giving off a sleepy vibe.

Eventually, the road straightens up and the pine trees give way to pear orchards. Tony Verhulst steers the car down an even narrower path leading to a cluster of farm buildings surrounded by a field with an unfinished fence.

We’re greeted by Verhulst’s partner, Sofie Goetghebeur, who has just got off the phone to a newspaper in Paris. “Welcome to Elephant Haven,” she says, putting the phone on the table. “We get a lot of calls from journalists asking if they can see the elephants, but once they find out we don’t have any animals yet, it’s not that easy to convince them to come here.”

For now, the couple from Antwerp are busy cleaning up the shelters and fencing off the pastures. The only elephants in the sanctuary are clay statues donated by volunteers and supporters.

One peers from behind the shrubs, another perches on the edge of a small pond. The biggest, made of recycled plastic, was given to them by a retired American actor who lives in the area and was used to promote the project at the regional airport.

The first actual elephant is expected to arrive early next year. When the construction is complete, Elephant Haven will be home to 10 African and Asian elephants, who will be free to roam on 29 hectares of grass, interspersed with walnut and pine trees.

The elephants will be retired circus animals that can’t be returned to the wild. Most will be in their 50s and 60s; some will have ailments quite familiar to us, including arthritis and poor eyesight.

Verhulst and Goetghebeur used to work as animal caretakers at Antwerp Zoo, and the idea of opening such a place had been germinating in their minds for many years. “I’m just crazy about animals,” says Goetghebeur, who worked with great apes and okapi.

“They have character. They play with their friends, and they can be very sneaky. People can learn so much from them.”

Sofie Goetghebeur and Tony Verhulst spent years working at Antwerp Zoo before taking the decision to launch Elephant Haven in France

Verhulst, who started off as the zoo’s gardener in 1993, eventually became the elephants’ main caretaker. “I would observe them every day, realising how complex and intelligent they are,” he says. “How much they care for each other and what they value in life. I have no doubt that on a certain level, they are more intelligent than us.”

really helps.”

Helping hands are always welcome, the couple say, whether it’s to erect the fence or pick fruit from the orchard. But volunteers should expect rudimentary conditions. “For now, we have a pit latrine and an improvised shower tent,” says Goetghebeur.

The biggest problem, she adds,

Maybe, just maybe, it will remind them of the time before they were taken into captivity Elephants were once common in European circuses. Over the past decade, however, more and more countries have begun banning wild animals from shows. “There are more than 100 circus elephants in Europe,” says Verhulst. “They will have nowhere to go.”

The couple left their jobs at Antwerp Zoo last year and moved to France to focus on the project full time. For now, they live off their savings and put whatever donations they receive into the sanctuary. “Every euro counts,” says Goetghebeur. “Some people donate a few euros a month, and, while it may not seem like a lot, it

is convincing people that they’re serious. “At first the local people didn’t believe us and thought it was a joke. You just have to show them that your heart is in it, and they will grow to trust you. But I can imagine that it’s not an everyday sight, having an elephant in your back garden.”

In 2011, Verhulst and Goetghebeur spent three months volunteering at a sanctuary in Thailand, where Verhulst took care of Jarunee, a blind elephant with a broken hip.

Despite her poor health, he trained her to stay still while he drew her blood for medical check-ups. Over time, they developed a close rela-

tionship.

“We tried everything to help her,” Verhulst says,” but you could really see the light disappearing from her eyes. Elephants know when the end is near. They fight it, but eventually they come to accept it. I’ve never witnessed an elephant death before. I know it won’t be easy for us here.”

The couple moved to BussièreGalant three months ago. “We’ve looked everywhere, including in Belgium,” says Verhulst. “But the land there is expensive. This is perfect – the climate isn’t too dry, there are edible trees everywhere, and we have plenty of hay and water. And the previous owner used to have horses, so we can use some of the infrastructure.”

Elephant Haven will practise protected contact, meaning Verhulst and Goetghebeur will always be separated from the animals by a barrier of some sort.

“It’s the safest way to take care of them,” Verhulst explains. “We’ll do health checks every day, but only if they’re comfortable with it. And there will be no time schedules.

If they want to spend the night outside, they’ll be free to do so. It’s important to give them as much space as they need.”

As we climb to the top of the hill overlooking the sanctuary, Verhulst pauses in solemn silence.

“You could almost lose an elephant

here,” he says. “They will hide or sleep in the shade, and you’ll have to look really hard for them.

Maybe, just maybe, it will remind them of the time before they were taken into captivity. That would be nice.”

But he’s quick to point to out that Elephant Haven is not a crusade against zoos and circuses. “We’re not here to attack or criticise any of them. We just want to help the elephants,” he says.

“The truth is, it’s never black or white. I don’t like it when people forbid something without offering a proper solution. They say no more animals in circuses, but they don’t tell you where those animals should go.”

Despite their unwavering optimism, the couple admit to having underestimated how much time it would take. “I remember you said two years tops,” Verhulst says to his partner. “And yet here we are, five years later.”

“It’s hard because we’re in a new country, where everything’s different,” Goetghebeur adds. “But people have told us time and time again that it’s amazing how quickly an elephant who’s been held in captivity for most of their life returns to their natural self.

So even if we’re close to giving up, we just pick ourselves up and say, ‘Come on, you can do it’. After all, none of this is really about us.”

\ 11

The Bulletin and ING Belgium invite you to a seminar on

PROPERTY TODAY • Kristien Viane,

October 6, 2016

• Alexis Lemmerling,

(nearest subway station: Trône)

CEO, Noa Real Estate: “An overview of the latest trends”

Notary, Berquin: “The notary is your best friend”

ING Head Office – Marnix. Entrance via Rue de Trône, 1 – 1000 Brussels • Registrations from 17h30 • Seminar starts at 18h00 sharp

• Dave Deruytter,

Head of Expatriates and non-residents, ING Bank: “Private Real Estate, how to finance and insure, how about taxation”

Free entry • Register before September 30 at www.xpats.com/realestate

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done in Flanders?

If you can’t think of anything at all, you’d better check out our new e-book

Quirky Flanders offers 20 unexpected – or downright odd – activities or sights across the region you can get busy taking part in right now

Visit the Flanders Today website to download the e-book now! For free!

www.flanderstoday.eu

\ ARTS

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016

Walking in war’s path

Painter captures historical complexities of Scottish battlefields Georgio Valentino More articles by Georgio \ flanderstoday.eu

KOENBROUCKE.COM

K

oen Broucke has been fusing contemporary art and historical research for decades. The Ghent-born artist’s latest solo exhibition documents his recent travels in Scotland, where he painted impressions of ancient Highland battlefields and the naval graveyard at Scapa Flow.

Contemporary art’s preoccupation with the present day is, of course, axiomatic. It’s built into the very name of the form. Broucke bucks the trend by injecting a healthy dose of history into his canvases.

The artist started exhibiting at art galleries and historical museums in the early 1990s and continued to combine his passions as he racked up successive graduate and postgraduate degrees in history. He’s currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Leuven.

Broucke’s technical approach, with its expressive brushstrokes and bursts of colour, harkens back to the heyday of Modernism. His conceptual approach, however, is as postmodern as it gets.

With each project, Broucke, 51, mashes together rigorous academic research and an almost metaphysical concentration on historical places and artefacts. But, unlike most other contemporary artists, he doesn’t seek the shock of the new but the reverberations of the past.

“I start from the concept of ‘historical sensation’ as introduced by Dutch historian Johan Huizinga,” Broucke explains. “Huizinga described it as ‘that feeling, brought on by a small surviving object, of a sudden, almost sensory contact with the past.’ So I like to go into details, painting a dead rabbit I saw on my way to the battlefield, light bulbs salvaged from warships, damaged uniforms or flowers on a window sill.”

Battlefields are particularly poignant sites of reflection. Broucke’s 2015 exhibition The Beauty of War at the Royal Library of Belgium observed the Waterloo bicentenary with a battery of new paintings alongside a selection of archival works plucked from the library’s collection.

His method requires extended, seemingly aimless walks through the landscape, where he collects observations that he will process and synthesise with historical research later.

“I take photographs and draw sketches on location,” Broucke says. “The paintings are all made in the studio afterwards. Then I return to the site and do it again. The goal is the accumulation of knowledge – not just pure historical knowledge, but also intuitive knowledge of the place, of the atmosphere, of

Koen Broucke’s latest series is based on an intense exploration of ancient Highland battlefields

my own position in this landscape.”

His current exhibition, How Long Have You Been in Scotland?, at Ronse’s Light Cube Gallery is the fruit of an ongoing research fellowship at the Glasgow School of Art. Scotland’s largest city served as a base of operations for Broucke’s academic obligations in both Glasgow and London as well as excursions into the Highlands.

How Long Have You Been in Scotland? presents 70 works, many of them new pieces inspired by the sojourn. One place in particular enthralled the painter.

“I visited a few battlefields like Bannockburn and Culloden,” he says, “but Scapa Flow was my focus. I went to the former Royal Navy headquarters several times. Indeed, my work requires that I return to the same place and go into depth.”

Scapa Flow is rich in history. Sheltered by the rugged Orkney Islands, it served as the UK’s chief naval base in both world wars and was the site where the German fleet was scuttled

in 1919.

The title of Broucke’s research project “Many Ways to Scapa Flow” is a nod to another famous episode in which German U-boat commander Günther Prien infiltrated the base and sank a British battleship during the Second World War. Prien’s autobiographical narrative Mein Weg nach Scapa Flow was a wartime bestseller in his home country.

Broucke sought to capture the complexity of the place and its history in his paintings. Some foreground the vast expanse of the bay; others feature spectral ships on the horizon, ghosts of the Kaiser’s scuttled fleet.

One depicts a U-boat crew dancing around a cannon (pictured).

As if this exhibition wasn’t enough, the prolific artist is also showing simultaneously at one of Belgium’s premiere antiquarian bookshops.

Situated in the middle of Antwerp’s historic centre, Demian Books hosts Hypocrief, a showcase of Broucke’s interventions in the art-book domain, until 23 October.

Over the past 25 years, the artist has experimented with margin drawings and paintings on historical texts, collages of antique sheet music and illuminated manuscripts. Broucke will discuss all this and more at an artist talk at Light Cube on 2 October, just a week before the exhibition wraps.

Visitors will learn about his practice-based research, see preliminary drawings and hear anecdotes from his battlefield walks. He will also preview future adventures.

Next year Broucke is set to create a brand new installation at Ghent’s contemporary arts museum Smak. The piece will be a faithful duplicate of his library and studio, which will allow him to work under the public’s watchful eye.

Until 9 October Light Cube Gallery

Sint-Martensstraat 12, Ronse

A comic battles a mid-life crisis in new film Everybody Happy The sad clown theme is nicely put into play in Flemish director Nick Balthazar’s third feature film Everybody Happy, in which a middle-aged comic is facing a major burnout.

As the film begins, popular comedian Ralph Hartman is practising the smile he’s going to take on stage. His face goes from its natural crestfallen state to wide grin with pained effort. It sets the scene for the course of the film – a funny man who’s faking it.

Ralph, played by Peter Van den Begin – who definitely has the face for the part – is on a comedy

tour with several fellow stand-ups, but he’s faltering. He finds support from his manager (Josse De Pauw) and comedy cohort Laura (Barbara Sarafian), but their sympathetic advice is no match for Ralph’s inner demons and penchant for tipple.

That inner demon, in fact, appears in human form, played by real-life comic Jeroen Leenders. This alter ego, which only Ralph can see, harasses and humiliates him with stories of failure and weakness. As the film progresses, we see that every character has such an embodiment of their worst fears.

It’s a nice element in Everybody Happy (even if Balthazar tends to overuse it) providing the audience with a clear way to relate to the characters; who doesn’t have that little voice of doubt? Ralph’s alter ego threatens to destroy him

– literally – until he finally starts to confront it, having found strength in something from the past he’d long ago forgotten.

Van den Begin (pictured) and Sarafian make Everybody Happy an easy film to watch, and the use of real-life

everybodyhappy.be

Flemish comics is a nice touch. But the first half is rushed, not giving us enough time to get to know Ralph before plodding into earnest psychological territory. Sarafian’s character also flounders – not fully fleshed-out but clearly more important than the others, who are simple props on which to hang Ralph’s story.

Everybody Happy, which opens this week, is refreshing, though, in that it isn’t a film about overcoming adversity and never giving up – but rather figuring out how to walk away with dignity. \ Lisa Bradshaw

\ 13

\ ARTS

Under fire

Jeroen Olyslaegers’ new novel poses questions of identity in wartime Antwerp Rebecca Benoot More articles by Rebecca \ flanderstoday.eu

Author and playwright Jeroen Olyslaegers has produced an exceptional novel that tells of a poet in search of himself, while around him the city is under attack.

T

wo years ago, Flemish author and playwright Jeroen Olyslaegers won the Ark Prize for the Free Word for his “sincere social engagement in words and deeds”. Olyslaegers seeks to portray the essence of society, and some things – whether it’s the 21st or the 20th century –never change.

In his latest novel, Wil, Olyslaegers explores the eternal human struggle between good and evil. It’s the story of Wilfried Wils, a wannabe

Many novels have been written about the First World War in Flanders – after all, the region played a pivotal role – but novels about the Second World War are few and far between, especially those focusing on Antwerp.

“A few years ago,” Olyslaegers recalls, “I was invited to a talk by historian Herman van Goethem about a police report that an officer had made after the raids in Antwerp on 15 August, 1945. There was so much interesting historic material that van Goethem didn’t want to present it just to historians but to authors, too, hoping they’d use it in their work.”

Olyslaegers immediately knew he’d found a strong story he needed to tell, especially as he lives in one of

Some people don’t get the opportunity to realise their potential, while some who do might regret it poet who becomes a deputy in Antwerp during the Second World War. His friend Lode does what he can to save the Jews in their town, while Lode’s sister Yvette falls in love with Wilfried.

Wilfried’s mentor, Nijdig, on the other hand, wants the Jews eradicated. Torn between two worlds and ideologies, Wilfried tries to make sense of it all. While the Jews are being deported, he decides to do whatever it takes to avoid the same fate.

the streets in Antwerp where the raid occurred.

He spent a significant amount of time on research before he started writing. “First, I read the most recent books on the topic by van Goethem,” he says. “Then I read memoirs and personal accounts of that period in Antwerp – things historians often find too local or subjective. I wanted to understand the atmosphere before I began to write. From then on, I alternated writing with research to be as

© Koen Broos

The moral ambiguity that runs through Jeroen Olyslaegers’ new novel is still very much alive today

accurate as possible.”

The result is a crystal-clear portrait of a city under siege. “People from Antwerp will recognise the places,” he adds, “because I’ve used a lot of street names and specific locations, but I never actually used the name Antwerp because I wanted to write a universal novel.”

The main character considers

himself a poet, and he just wants to be himself, which isn’t always possible. “Because he’s still young, he’s still trying to find himself.

But because of the extremities of war, he doesn’t always make the right decisions. He’s just trying to survive. During the course of the novel, he tells his great-grandson what happened in the 1940s, and

when he’s looking back on his life, he starts to question it.”

Wilfried is an everyman. Many people found themselves in his position, torn between good and evil. Wil is a novel about making decisions in extreme conditions without knowing how it will all play out.

The moral ambiguity that runs through Wil is still very much alive today, says the author. On the one hand we observe, while on the other we partake, making us question the possibility of free will and identity.

“Being yourself is one of the most difficult things to do,” he says.

“Many people want you to be like everyone else. Others don’t get the opportunity to realise their potential, and those who do sometimes regret it. It’s a universal issue.”

This search for identity is heightened during times of war, where we live with an “us and them” state of mind, he says, creating the idea that you can only become one of “us” by excluding others.

Wil is an important work of fiction, illustrating a dark page in Flanders’ history. The novel has a brooding and filmic atmosphere, with some explosive scenes that make you question not only history but your own nature.

Wilfried is an engaging character, a tormented soul who embodies a duality that lies at the foundations of mankind. Complex, harrowing and confrontational, this is an exceptional novel. ) is published in Dutch Wil (

by De Bezige Bij

More new books this month Kijk niet zo, konijntje (Don’t Look at Me Like That, Rabbit • Marnix Peeters (Prometheus) Flemish journalist turned author Marnix Peeters is the rebel of Flemish literature, with his daredevil plots, wacky characters and ballsy language. And now, Oscar van Beuseghem, the anti-hero of Peeters’ censored second novel Natte dozen (Wet Boxes), is back for a new adventure. Oscar, still a fascist know-it-all, is living in a psychiatric hospital, where he shares his unique worldview with all who will listen.

He’s in love with his 17-year-old foster daughter, Fanta, who he’ll soon meet when he discovers he has cancer, and then all bets are off. Another funny and daring novel by Peeters.

In de naam van de vader (In the Name of the Father) • Toni Coppers (Manteau) Crime writer Toni Coppers’ infamous

\ 14

commissioner Liese Meerhout is back with a new case. When an unemployed dockworker is murdered, she and her detectives soon discover he was a mob informant. His son was found that same night, unable to speak. Is there a mole? And what did the boy see? Meerhout links this case to the suicide of Isaura, a 19-year-old society girl, but when the boy is abducted and Isaura’s family starts to fall apart, they have to work fast the make sure no more blood is spilled.

Typical Coppers fare, entertaining suspense-by-numbers.

De Slembroucks • Peter Theunynck (Wereldbibliotheek) Poet and biographer Peter Theunynck’s debut novel is about brothers Gust and Anton, who grow up in 1950s Flanders.

Gust is a kind boy who likes to read and loves cycling, while Anton is a musician with narcissistic tendencies. Their father is a hardworking bicycle maker, and their

mother is a dreamer. Soon family secrets and the boys’ discovery of girls, however, turn their lives upside down. A beautifully written debut about cycling, provincialism and family: it doesn’t get more Flemish than this.

Landlooperblues (Vagrant Blues) • Louis van Dievel (Vrijdag) When Anita discovers the grave of her great-grandfather in a cemetery for vagrants, she goes in search of his story and tries to discover why he left his family.

Louis van Dievel has written a poignant tale about the Merksplas colony, a cemetery in the Kempen where thousands of vagrants have been buried since the beginning of the 19th century. Nobody missed them, but now more and more people are looking for their ancestors. What was once taboo has now become the cornerstone of this novel that uncovers a piece of Flanders’ shameful past.

\ AGENDA

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016

So innocent, it hurts

CONCERT

ReWound Until 9 October

A

fter four years, eyeLoco Gallery has found a niche in the Antwerp photo gallery landscape, displaying images that are both stylised and personal.

With her razor-sharp pictures of innocent-looking girls, Klaartje Lambrechts joins the club.

In her solo show ReWound, Lambrechts offers images that at first seem pure and clean, but a closer look reveals that nothing is what it seems.

Always dressed in white, her models tend to disappear into a white background. The white gallery walls further emphasise the sterility of the decor. A few of

Ghent

eyeLoco gallery, Antwerp eyeloco.eu

the models give the visitors a penetrating look, but usually we can’t see their eyes.

Sometimes their whole face is covered by their long hair. Sometimes they are blindfolded or veiled or, in the case of a triptych of girls jumping, they just close their eyes, dreaming away.

But whatever they do, their pale skin, blond locks and white dresses – symbols of youth and fertility – cannot hide their bruises, which are only suggested by details such as a bandage or a thin piece of red rope tying up their hands.

The intensity of the images is in these subtle details. In one, tiny

spots of blood cover nearly the entire face of the model, and the damage, the shame and the hurt become tangible.

Lambrechts had a successful career in fashion when she started studying photography at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp.

The first images of this studio series were part of the Photo Event group show in Mechelen in 2014.

As then, a poem called “Ademloos” (Breathless) by Kris Van Riet accompanies the images, accentuating the tension between immaculate tenderness and underlying pain. \ Tom Peeters

CONCERT

FESTIVAL

Flat Earth Society: SS Belgenland

Hello Mixity

1 October, 20.00 The Red Star Line is remembered for its primary function: transporting down-at-heel migrants from Europe to America via the port of Antwerp. But the transatlantic shipping service also offered pleasure cruises for wealthy passengers in the Roaring ’20s. The Red Star Line Museum’s forthcoming exhibition Cruise Away is set to explore

Red Star Line Museum, Antwerp redstarline.be

these voyages through travel diaries and photographs. But before it launches, Ghent’s experimental big band Flat Earth Society offers a preview. Band leader Peter Vermeersch has scored a montage of found film footage from Red Star Line cruise ship SS Belgenland, which will be projected during the performance. \ Georgio Valentino

30 September, 18.00 Multilingual and multicultural, Brussels is said to be the crossroads of Europe. Even before the arrival of the European institutions and Nato, the capital was a melting pot comprised of Belgium’s distinct linguistic groups as well as successive waves of immigrants. Now, of course, Brussels boasts residents

Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill: Irish fiddle virtuoso Martin Hayes performs traditional Irish folk with spare yet essential accompaniment from American guitarist Dennis Cahill, resulting in dynamic, toe-tapping music.

1 October 20.15, Handelsbeurs, Kouter 29 \ handelsbeurs.be

PERFORMANCE Menen Vrouwen van de zolder (Women of the Attic): In a heart-warming ode to the late Flemish theatre director Eric De Volder, actors Ineke Nijssen and Gilles De Schrijver of Het Kip explore the inspirational items, drawings and texts he left behind (in Dutch). 30 September 20.15, Waalvest 1 \ ccdesteiger.be

Roeselare Kunstberg, Brussels mixity.brussels

from over 180 different countries.

The city’s new Mixity initiative is a year-long celebration of all this diversity. This week’s free music festival Hello Mixity, featuring 120 artists of 20 nationalities on two open-air stages, is a mere taste of what’s in store in 2017, when Mixity begins in earnest. \ GV

The Ultimate Burlesque Experience: Showgirls and other performers move to a Roaring ’20s theme, featuring sensual, elegant acts, in addition to an absinthe bar, retro beauty salon and “naughty” stands. 30 September 20.00, De Spil, H Spilleboutdreef 1 \ despil.be

VISUAL ARTS Brussels Belgian-Korean Comics Exhibition: The Songs of Our Families: Five Belgian and Korean comic strip artists show original illustrations, disclosing distinctly individual ways of telling similar stories. Until 22 October, Korean Cultural Center, Regentschapsstraat 4 \ kccbrussels.be

LITERATURE

TOUR

Hanya Yanagihara 6 October, 20.15

FESTIVAL Brussels

Brussels Biennale of Modern Architecture Flagey, Brussels flagey.be

1-29 October This second edition of the Brussels Biennale of Modern Architecture, titled Modernisms Are Shaping the City / Modernisms Are Shaking the City, explores the urban landscape of post-war Brussels.

The capital underwent a profound transformation after its liberation from German occupation in 1944.

Smaller shops and houses were

Having sold out Passa Porta in a second, American author Hanya Yanagihara has been moved to the much larger Flagey. She will discuss her short but eventful literary career. After paying her dues as a book publicist and travel journalist, Yanagihara published her first novel, The People in the Trees, in 2013 to encouraging reviews. Her second novel, last year’s A Little Life, was a bona fide bestseller. Hailed as “the great gay novel”, the book made the shortlist of both the National Book Award and the Man Booker Prize. The discussion, in English, is moderated by Flemish radio personality Ruth Joos. \ GV

Across Brussels bbma.be

cleared to make way for largescale infrastructure, office buildings like the Zuidertoren and high-rise apartment blocks. Each Saturday in October, visitors can participate in a different themed tour in Dutch, French and English.

The programme also includes one lecture and three film screenings, all held during the week. \ GV

Staminee de Bib: Muntpunt library and cultural centre transforms into a cafe for a week, where books and beer, stories and meetings, coffee and cake go hand-in-hand, plus book sales, quiz, debates and more. 7-15 October, Muntpunt, Munt 6 \ muntpunt.be

TALK Antwerp Readings on Sundays: Series of talks by professors, curators and art historians on a range of topics, from the works of Rubens and Brueghel to the artistic status of photography in the 19th century. 2 October to 5 March 2017, Thomas More Campus National, Kronenburgstraat 62-66 \ kmska.be

© Sam Levy

\ 15

\ BACKPAGE

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016

Talking Dutch

VoiceS of flanders today

Road rage

In response to Long-awaited beer pipeline opens in Bruges David Gilroy: How many people will be diving under the street to put a tap on it?

Derek Blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

D

riving in Belgium takes some getting used to, as any expat will tell you. But a new survey shows that motorists think it’s the cyclists who are reckless. And pedestrians don’t get off lightly, either.

The survey was published this month by the Belgisch Instituut Voor de Verkeersveiligheid – Belgian Institute for Road Safety to launch the annual Week van de Mobiliteit – Mobility Week. It asked a simple question to three groups of road users – drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

Wat zijn jouw grootste ergernissen in het verkeer? – What are the things that annoy you most in traffic?

So, what sends drivers round the bend? Voetgangers die zonder te kijken oversteken – Pedestrians who cross the road without looking. Mensen die zomaar oversteken, terwijl het zebrapad vlakbij ligt – People who cross anywhere they want, even when there’s a pedestrian crossing nearby.

The list continues: Oversteken wanneer het rood is – Crossing on a red light. Op de rijbaan lopen terwijl er een voetpad is – Walking in the road when there’s a pavement. Wandelen met donkere kleren aan wanneer het donker is – Walking in dark clothes at night.

Next came the top five complaints from pedestrians.

Aan het zebrapad staan, maar niemand die wil stoppen – Standing on a pedestrian crossing, but no one bothers to stop. Automobilisten die bellen achter het stuur – Drivers who use their phone behind the wheel.

And as for that pavement, parkeren op het voetpad – parking on the pavement. De autodeur openen zonder op te letten – Opening a car door without looking, something that also wound up cyclists. Parkeren op het zebrapad – Parking on a pedestrian crossing.

Then the cyclists joined in. Parkeren op een fietspad –

In response to Antwerp in top 30 of global Sustainable Cities Index Antonios Forlidas: As a foreigner I vote for Antwerp. Apart from the fact that it’s a wonderful city, the mentality of the residents is very important, too.

© Ingimage

Parking on a cycle lane. Te dicht bij een fietser rijden – Driving too close to a cyclist.

And cyclists are often ignored in other ways, too: Een manoeuvre uitvoeren zonder rekening te houden met de fietser – Changing direction without taking account of a cyclist. Naar rechts afslaan zonder de fietser door te laten – Turing right without giving way to a cyclist.

So why is it that everyone is angry on our roads? Vergelijk het verkeer met een jungle – You can compare traffic with a jungle, explained traffic psychologist Gerard Tertoolen in Het Nieuwsblad. Het is er overleven – It’s about survival.

Once we’re out in traffic, we’re fighting for our lives, he says. Dat leidt ertoe dat onze hersenen naar de meest primitieve modus overschakelen – As a result, our brains switch to their most primitive function. We denken amper na – We hardly reflect, onze impulsen nemen het over – our impulses take control.

The road safety authority is now trying to encourage everyone to be less aggressive on the roads. Hoffelijk voor elkaar – courteous towards one another is the slogan they would like us to adopt.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

In response to Ghent uses volunteers to root out discrimination in housing Darko Lasnik: Yes they do, been there... but, shouldn’t the owner of the property be the one to decide who will live in his property?

Eleni Stamatiou @Eleni_Stm Seems like ships inspire architects of all generations #zahahadid #lecorbusier #architecture #antwerp

Mark Scott @markscott82 Tip of the hat to Belgium: two-mile beer pipeline opens in Bruges

Andrea-Ioana @andrea_ioana Am back in Vienna now. Belgium was perfect. I loved Bruges.

The water in Ostend was refreshing. Antwerp was too crowded.

All in all perfect.

LIKE US

facebook.com/flanderstoday

the last word Giving back “Now I’m going to let my hair grow again, so I can give away another 20 centimetres in a couple of years.”

© Yorick Jansens/Belga

FEEL THE BURN A firefighter takes part in a disaster-planning exercise at Antwerp airport in Deurne, based on the scenario of two downed aeroplanes. More than 500 people took part in the exercise, which was held in the presence of the King, Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever and various politicians

So I turned to politics…

“I did a screen test, and I think I was in the final four.”

Lena Eerdekens, 14, of Hoboken survived a brain tumour when she was eight, and last week donated her regrown hair to Think Pink, a breast cancer charity

Mobility minister Ben Weyts revealed that he almost landed a role in the 1987 Flemish film Crazy Love.

The part of Stan eventually went to Michael Pas

Age-old problem

Motor madness

“Since everyone now has to work longer, this age celling is no longer justifiable. Age discrimination is just as illegal as discrimination on grounds of gender or race, but not enough people realise that.”

“Our average client has 42 other cars, 1.7 aircraft and 1.4 luxury yachts.”

Els Keytsman of equal opportunities organisation Unia, which has launched a campaign to inform employers about age discrimination in hiring practices

Stefan Brungs, sales director of the new Bugatti showroom in Brussels.

He hopes to sell at least one car a year, at a price of €2.4 million (before taxes)

5ELNGFR*bbgccf+[N\T \ 16