Delano December 2011

December 2011 – Issue 08 – 4€ – www.delano.lu

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Understanding Luxembourg: current affairs, business, lifestyle, Culture

Being human: Thierry Leterre on the value of people at Miami University’s Differdange campus

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editorial

impressum December 2011 - Issue 08

Editor in chief: Duncan Roberts (duncan.roberts@maisonmoderne.lu) Journalist: Aaron Grunwald (aaron.grunwald@maisonmoderne.lu) Contributors: Neel Chrillesen, Line Eskildsen, Natalie A. Gerhardstein, Tonya Stoneman Photography: Charles Caratini, Luc Deflorenne, David Laurent/Wide, Andrés Lejona, Olivier Minaire Proofreading: Cynthia Schreiber, Cathy Weber

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Black swan waiting Text: Duncan Roberts — Illustration: Quentin Vijoux

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When Delano launched in January we asked business leaders their prognosis for the year ahead. Uncertainty was a key word used by Alain Kinsch in his 2011 outlook. It is a mood that prevails as the year draws to a close. 2011 has been a year of unexpected events, none more surprising than the shock resignation of minister of the economy Jeannot Krecké. Luckily, minister in waiting, Etienne Schneider, is well respected and has already said he expects to provide continuity.

The decision by voters, and the Democratic Party, to make Xavier Bettel mayor of Luxembourg City, after he finished 500 votes ahead of incumbent Paul Helminger, was maybe less unsettling for the Grand Duchy, but still took many people by surprise. It will be interesting to see how Bettel and Schneider--both around the same age, at 37 and 40 respectively--will meet the challenges of the year ahead. Both have acknowledged that their predecessors did an excellent job, but both are also men whose leadership style differs markedly from those they are replacing.

It seems nobody was immune from uncertainty in 2011. Our first edition also featured another now departed figure, Leopard Trek team manager Bryan Nygaard. He quit the cycling team-launched to great fanfare at the start of the year--almost simultaneously to the surprise announcement that it would be merging with US team RadioShack.

And, of course, a further surprise lay in store for Leopard Trek’s financial backer, Flavio Becca, when his home and offices were raided by police as part of an investigation into alleged misappropriation of funds from one of his many companies.

In our 2011 preview, Keith O’Donnell said the “risk of a large, painful event... is as high as ever.” The past year was packed with surprises, but so far none that has had the shock impact of what could be called a Black Swan Event.

With commentators predicting that 2012 will be tougher on the economy than the past 12 months, perhaps it is time to steel ourselves for just such an incident.

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CONTENTS

50 COVER STORY

THIERRY LETERRE New adventures The Miami University Dolibois European Centre is already the school’s most popular foreign study programme. How is MUDEC’s new dean building on his predecessor’s legacy, and how did his own path wind its way to Differdange?

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8 CURRENT AFFAIRS

28 BUSINESS

THE BAN IS COMING The battle over smoking in bars

FIRST MOVER Is Sparinvest the tip of the iceberg?

NETWORKING Pirate Productions

14 SCHMIT RECRUITING

Attracting talent from abroad

34 ROBERT MANDELL The new US ambassador on FATCA

58 GOING NATIVE

18 KRECKÉ RETIRING

41 PROFIT FROM EXPERIENCE

60 LOCAL FLAVOR

20 SCHLIM EDUCATING

42 ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE

66 THE MASTER AND MARGARITA Simon McBurney does the “unstagable”

26 GIULIANI BLASTING

44 STARTING A FOUNDATION

68 MOVIE MILESTONE Utopolis marks its 15th anniversary

Last push for reform

Campaign to fight AIDS taboos Former NYC mayor on the debt crisis

56 LIFESTYLE

The 2nd business mentoring cycle

Delano’s holiday gift guide

Does design help the bottom line?

AMCHAM philanthropy conference

REGULARS

Three festive treats

SNAPSHOTS

46 THINK LOCAL Lisbeth Kjellberg: the Danish change management consultant explains why she moved back to Luxembourg, why she pays more attention to communication here, and why Scandinavians seem so direct.

12 BAZAR INTERNATIONAL A pre-Christmas tradition

74 MY OTHER LIFE

38 INTERNATIONAL CHAMBERS The Crown Prince praises international business

Hilary Fitzgibbon: the real estate investment professional and organiser of the Irish Club ski trip talks about how she fell in love with the sport, why it is never too late to pick it up, and why you should join the fun.

32 BEYOND BANKS AND CASTLES

Improving Luxembourg’s image abroad

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Public health

The ban is coming An extension to the legislation prohibiting smoking in public places to include bars and clubs is now inevitable. But still the arguments on both sides of the battle rage on.

Text: Aaron Grunwald & Duncan Roberts — Illustration: Charlotte Wood

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Olivier Minaire

current affairs

Marie-Paule Prost-Heinisch: the government needs to be consistent

Marie-Paule Prost-Heinisch raises an eyebrow and gives an exasperated sigh when she hears that health minister Mars Di Bartolomeo says he plans to present legislation to extend the smoking ban to parliament by early January.

“He’s been saying that for three years now.

But now the pressure is really on. If he waits any longer the problem will become diluted.” Not that the president of the Fondation Cancer is blaming the minister. “We don’t really have to lobby him; he is on our side. But the government needs to be consistent.” The ministry for small and medium-sized business, on the other hand, listens a bit too much to lobbyists, Prost-Heinisch says. She quotes from the Ombuds committee for the rights of children, which says that “political power should be used to impose laws in the interests of citizens, not lobbyists.”

There is no doubt that the lobbyists are vociferous. Horesca, which represents the hotel, café and restaurant trade, was originally opposed to the smoking ban in restaurants back in 2006, and is not going to allow the government to extend the ban to its other members without a fight. François Koepp, its secretary general, argues that “more than 80 percent

of non-smokers don’t visit a bar and will never visit a bar.” He is in favour of the minority making its own independent choices and not one dictated by the majority.

Koepp feels the very livelihood of his members is under threat. He cites figures from Ireland where pubs have seen a decline in income of some 18 percent since the smoking ban was introduced.

“One bar after another in Luxembourg will close,” says Koepp. He argues that 87 percent of his members would prefer to be allowed to choose whether they are a smoking or non-smoking bar, and then clearly post their policy out front. “ You would see the non-smoking bars would slowly start switching over.” Mars Di Bartolomeo says he plans to meet with representatives from Horesca. “We will have discussions. I hope constructive discussions, and not, I hope, civil war.”

Whether that will appease another lobby group, which goes by the earnest name of the Association pour la Défense des Droits et Libertés Fondamentales des Citoyens, is another question. The group says its primary goal is to fight the law on extending the smoking ban and on its regularly updated Facebook

page it appears to endorse the labeling of the World Health Organistion as a Nazi institution.

Loud minority Prost-Heinisch argues that there is a vast silent majority in favour of the ban in cafés and discotheques. “But the very small minority shout very loudly, which gives a false impression.” Indeed, ProstHeinisch points out that only seven percent of the population is happy to be a smoker, according to a TNS-ILRES study conducted last year. The survey, revealed that 76 percent of the population are non-smokers and, of the remainder, 17 percent want to give up or smoke less. “So the acceptance for the new law is there.”

Mars Di Bartolomeo agrees. He points out that Luxembourg’s 2006 law banning smoking in restaurants and cafés that served food was heavily criticised when it was introduced, but today is supported by more than 90 percent of those polled.

The government has a duty to introduce an extended ban, argues the Fondation Cancer. After all, it actually ratified the World Health Organisation’s

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Etienne Delorme (archives)

current affairs

Mars di Bartolomeo: not a law against smokers

convention on tobacco control in 2005, agreeing to ban smoking in all public places. “That surely includes bars and discos,” says Prost-Heinisch. And in the current government’s policy programme, published in July 2009, the coalition stated that it would take action on tobacco with an accent on protecting the young. Di Bartolomeo states quite clearly that the new law is “certainly not going to be a law against smokers. It’s going to be a law strengthening the protection of non-smokers and above all young people.” That includes discouraging youngsters from picking up the habit. But François Koepp argues that youngsters do not pick up the smoking habit in bars but rather from friends at school. “Of course we have to prevent young people from smoking. But we are for campaigns in schools.

We’ve asked for that for years.”

For Prost-Heinisch, the main priority is health protection, particularly among bar staff and minors. A report by the Smoke Free Partnership in 2006 suggests that up to 80 people a year might die in Luxembourg as a result of inhaling passive smoke. But she also argues that as smoking is prohibited in schools, restaurants and sports halls it should also be banned in cafés where youngsters hang out. The minister says that the previous round of restrictions,

implemented five years ago, successfully led a large decline in the number of smokers. Indeed, according to the inter-governmental organisation OECD the number of regular smokers in the Grand Duchy declined by nearly a third fewer between 1999 and 2009. Luxembourg has a lower percentage rate of smokers than Belgium, Germany, France and Ireland but more than Sweden and Iceland.

Di Bartolomeo points out Luxembourg has made more progress in reducing rates than France, which often accuses Luxembourg of promoting smoking because of its lower tobacco duties. But the French recently enacted a 100 percent smoke-free regime that is now stricter than the Grand Duchy’s. And French doctors were recently up in arms over Luxembourg’s cheap cigarettes, which they claim is responsible for the fact that in Lorraine the number of smokers has hardly changed over the past ten years, whereas in the rest of France the figure is falling. Tobacco tourism also plays into the hands of Horesca. Koepp notes the government “still counts on the income of tobacco as well as alcohol” for a significant portion of its budget, and that a smoking ban could impact both sources of tax income.

Such arguments are quite spurious, according to Prost-Heinisch. “If yoghurt

was proven to kill half of the people who ate it, yoghurt companies would go bankrupt immediately,” she says citing a WHO figure that suggests 50 percent of regular smokers die of tobacco related causes.

In Luxembourg one in eight deaths can be attributed to tobacco, accounting for between 500 and 600 estimated fatalities a year.

A question of choice Allowing bars to have a choice in whether they allow smoking or not is a stalemate, says Prost-Heinisch. Indeed, in a paper titled “The Spanish model of non-smoker protection in hospitality: a failed approach”, Nick K. Schneider and Dr. Martina Pötschke-Langer from the Heidelberg cancer research centre point out the practical difficulties in imposing a compromise ban, as well as the health risks still endured by hospitality workers who have no choice but “to expose themselves without any protection to the dangers of passive smoking if they do not want to lose their job.” Koepp counter argues that “nearly 83 percent of bar employees smoke themselves.” He does, however, support mandatory rules on improved ventilation systems. Cafés that wanted to be ‘smoking bars’ could afford to invest in modern extraction systems “if they knew there weren’t any other regulations coming.” But Prost-Hei-

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David Laurent/Wide

current affairs

SMOKERS: more going outside

nisch says that, just as with the law that banned smoking in restaurants, if all bars implement the ban there will be no unfair competition, no need for expensive investment. She even suggests that bars and cafés may attract new customers.

She does concede that in some villages the café is the focal point of social life and older people may go for a drink and a smoke. “Do you really want people in their 70s to go outside to smoke?” asks François Koepp. “Like in every sector, they will have to adapt to the times and find other ways of attracting clientele, maybe as an internet café,” says ProstHeinisch. One café owner who has already adapted is Ture Hedberg, who

imposed a no-smoking rule on Konrad in the rue du Nord. “Frankly, allowing smoking in public indoors is a bit backwater,” says the Swede, who is a smoker himself. “The ban will come sooner or later, and none of us small businesses are going to be particularly prepared.” Hedberg admits that plenty of people have said they will not go to his bar because of the smoking ban. “What no-one does, though, is say that it’s a bad idea.” And, on the other hand, Konrad is packed with young families and groups at weekend lunchtimes. Even in the evenings the bar attracts a healthy crowd.

“A smoking bar will smell of smoke 24/7, there’s no avoiding it,” he says. “There are

plenty of people, even the odd smoker, who despise smoke in bars--now our job is to inform them that there are non-smoking options.”

Di Bartolomeo says the new law “could be implemented by summer next year, if everybody is ready to go in the same direction.” The minister says he is open to discussing “pragmatic” solutions, but that he has a “clear” mandate from the cabinet to push new rules through that protect non-smokers. “I myself was a smoker, so I have a lot of comprehension and solidarity with smokers,” adds Di Bartolomeo. “But as an ex-smoker, I can say: it’s better to be an ex-smoker than to be caught up with cigarettes.”

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SNAPSHOTS

Pre-holiday traditions

BAZAR INTERNATIONAL Photos: Luc Deflorenne

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa officially opened the 51st edition of the Bazar International on November 26, a highlight of the international community’s pre-Christmas social season.

Organisers say about 25,000 people visited the bazar, which is primarily a charity fund-raiser but also a great place to meet people and enjoy a great variety of food and drink and find gifts.

Held the weekend before Saint Nicholas’ Day, the event featured some 60 national and association stands selling all manner of items and food and drink particular to their home country. That meant visitors could take away some original gifts and partake in a culinary journey around the world.

Funds raised from the weekend benefit 98 charitable organisations that are active in countries around the globe. The principal charity supported this year is TARGET, a project in Ethiopia that fights the practice of female genital mutilation.

More photos are available at www.delano.lu DR & AG

New US ambassador Robert A. Mandell, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and new Luxembourg City mayor Xavier Bettel

The Grand Duchess talks flowers, with Xavier Bettel and Marie-Hélène Ehrke-Harf (back, right) looking on

Xavier Bettel, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Lisa Williams

The Grand Duchess (with Cécile Hemmen to the right) at the Luxembourg stand

Anne Brasseur and Lydie Polfer The Bazar Book Stand always draws a healthy crowd

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SNAPSHOTS

Irish ambassador Diarmuid O’Leary

Sixty stands sell local products from 57 nations, all for charity At the Canada stand

Food, entertainment, holiday shopping make this one of the standout family events of the year

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CurreNT AffAIrS

International recruitment

“ WE NEED TO BE OPEN” As innovation becomes a more important part of Luxembourg’s economy, the government hopes more of the “highly qualified” come to the Grand Duchy.

Interview: Natalie A. Gerhardstein

The government wants more skilled workers to move to the Grand Duchy as part of its campaign to promote economic diversification and foreign inward investment. In advance of his December 15 presentation to the American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg, Nicolas Schmit--the labour, employment and immigration minister--talks about attracting and keeping highly qualified talent.

NG: Why is it important to recruit more highly qualified staff to Luxembourg?

NS: Our objective is to promote diversification of the economy in various niches. This can also include diversification in financial services, an area in which we have to bring change. We see that some activities are not performing as well due to the overall financial crisis.

November 2011

Luxembourg. Innovation is key though: we need to assist older industries to innovate. Research, innovation and production are all very tightly linked.

Overall, we have to create new niches to encourage foreign companies to invest in Luxembourg, and we need to be open to the people these companies bring.

At the same time, it is important to encourage our young people to invest in their own knowledge. Not only is it critical for us to promote higher education, but we also need to offer these individuals opportunities to come back to Luxembourg.

NG: What are the core challenges in attracting talent?

NS: First we have to offer people good working conditions. However, the environment is also very important. Take universities, for example. I remember in the 1980s when the US was just at the

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DATE LINE

One way in which innovation can happen is by bringing highly qualified experts from abroad.

ICT is certainly another important activity. Luxembourg has many new, smaller companies, and we need to encourage start-ups, particularly with our young talent. We also still have an important audiovisual centre. SES, for example, has attracted people from all over the world to create a truly global company, and it shows how important it is for Luxembourg to continue attracting international talent. Luxembourg has also been performing well in e-commerce and in biotech. Science has to be international.

I wouldn’t write off industry, however.

Even if industry is now a more modest part of our economy in terms of GDP because it has decreased dramatically, I believe there is still space left for productive, high-performing industries in

The prime minister met with Portugal’s new finance minister.

The 25 annual Student’s Fair, organised by the ministry of education, featured stands from instittions in 17 countries, including Denmark, Japan and the US. The aim is to help high school leavers make informed choices about where to study.

NEW DP CHIEF Claude Meisch renov placed Xavier Bettel as head of the DP’s parliamentary bloc, the 3rd largest in the Chamber of Deputies. Bettel became mayor of Luxembourg City on November 25. Meisch has been an MP since 1999 and party president since 2004.

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current affairs

David Laurent/Wide (archives)

NICOLAS SCHMIT: Luxembourg’s growing economic niches are international in nature

HAPPY PATIENTS 73% of Luxembourg nov residents are satisfied with their doctor, 60% with hospital care and 69% with the health system overall, a Deloitte survey found. Nearly a third (31%) said they would travel outside the Grand Duchy for better or faster treatment.

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museums and by offering a wide range of events in various languages.

NG: What other job issues are you most concerned about?

NS: Our main concern at the moment is unemployment. This rate is currently high, compared to the figures we used to see in Luxembourg, and we’re focusing all our efforts on reducing it. [State employment agency] ADEM is being reformed, and we’re putting in place more efficient procedures for both employers and job seekers.

However, we are also focused on the youth in Luxembourg and in opening up their perspectives in education, in Luxembourg and abroad. We have developed a policy of encouraging youth through scholarships to go to university and acquire the best possible education.

This has to continue to be promoted.

Among the unemployed youth up to 25

POP QUIZ Mady Delvaux-Stehnov res answered questions for four hours from an audience of 1,200 high school students about the government’s proposed reform of lycées. Parents get to question the education minister after a draft bill is released in early December.

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years of age, nearly 60 percent are very low skilled or have no qualifications in terms of diplomas. If we want to develop a highly competitive economy--and we don’t have a choice, being a high-wage country--we need to take care of people by improving their skills.

We have also subscribed to the European objective which is an employment rate of 75 percent of the active population by 2020. It’s important to bring women into the labour market because they are well-trained and are the main [available] labour force left in Luxembourg. We still have a need to increase or at least maintain our labour force in order to finance our pension system in the long run. However, there are constraints working women are facing which we need to manage, related to more flexible working options and the childcare system. We also need to reflect on taxa-

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DRIVE SAFE Nearly 1 out of 2 monov torcyclists and nearly 1 of 3 pedestrians and bicyclists involved in a traffic accident last year were seriously injured or killed, STATEC said. The figures were released for UN World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

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beginning of biotech. During that time, I went as part of a delegation to California, and we visited a number of companies that were specialising in biotech research. One of the first questions which came up was, ‘What about universities? ’ And we had no answer.

We could say there were countries around us that had universities, but the fact that Luxembourg itself had none was definitely a handicap, especially in this domain. Since then, things have changed.

In Luxembourg, there is now a strong cooperation with universities in the US. People also want to live in a place with an excellent standard of living. Luxembourg offers a secure environment with good international schools. People enjoy being in a place with an interesting cultural offering, and Luxembourg provides this through its institutions such as the Philharmonie and various

Luxembourg's first Arab World embassy opened, in Abu Dhabi.

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Luc Deflorenne (archives)

CurreNT AffAIrS

MAKING LuXeMBOurG ATTrACTIVe: cost of housing is a serious problem

tion which is still not favourable when both individuals in a couple are working.

We are also discussing pension reform, as our current system is not sustainable.

But this means that people need to work a bit longer than they currently are.

We have maintained the retirement age at 65, but we know this is not the real age. People are at the moment retiring much earlier on average than the legal retirement age. Here again we’d like to see more flexible models.

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CROWNED 19-year-old Claudia nov Vitoria Müller from Schifflingen was crowned Miss Luxembourg 2012, and 30-yearold Scorssery-Philippe von Knobelsdorff from Strassen was named Mister Luxembourg 2012.

Both move on to the Miss World and Mister World competitions.

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6%

2009-2010 increase in national net energy use (STATEC).

NG: What else is being done to tackle the challenges faced by international employees, particularly those coming from outside the EU? NS: I sometimes hear there are issues with working permits for third country nationals. This might be the case, but we do have a special regime for the highly qualified. These requests should be dealt with relatively quickly, but only if people respect the conditions and meet the criteria. The same goes for researchers.

There is largely free movement for researchers, even for those arriving as third country nationals. Housing does remain a serious problem, perhaps our biggest one. There is a plan now to promote real estate development to build more houses at fair cost as prices are clearly too high, and there is a large margin for improvement in this area. There is also a favourable tax regime for expats, allowing deductions for some expenses associated with relocation.

APPOINTED LSAP leaders nominov nated Étienne Schneider to replace his boss Jeannot Krecké as economy and trade minister on Feb. 1 (see article, pages 18-19). Schneider--currently general director at the ministry--still needs to be confirmed by the Grand Duke.

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RANKED Luxembourg was nanov med best world city for personal safety in a study by expat consulting firm Mercer.

Bern, Helsinki and Zurich tied at 2nd safest. Vienna, Zurich and Auckland topped the overall quality of life index, while Luxembourg ranked 19 th.

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current affairs

Politics

Krecké not going quietly The economy minister, who recently announced his resignation, says the current indexation system threatens Luxembourg’s future.

Text: Aaron Grunwald — Photos: David Laurent/Wide

Last autumn, Jeannot Krecké expressed frustration at the pace of reform, telling a paperJam Business Club roundtable that: “If I took myself very seriously and if I was honest with myself, I should resign.”

This year, the economy and trade minister once again spoke forthrightly during a conference organised by paperJam Business Club--owned by the same group as Delano--calling for Luxembourg to urgently reach a consensus on an economic reform package.

The conference, co-hosted with the Economist Club, was primarily meant to be a review of the second Juncker-Asselborn government’s performance half-way through its six-year term. A panel discussion brought together representatives from the four main parties: Gilles Roth of the CSV, Claude Haagen of Krecké’s LSAP, François Bausch of Déi Gréng and Claude Meisch of the DP. But Krecké’s closing speech stole the limelight. The LSAP minister said that the future of the Grand Duchy’s economy lies above all in providing services to international companies.

“We no longer will be able to use differences in tax and niches of sovereignty that we have taken advantage of,” he said. “It is through the management of companies that we will be able to play our cards right and that will ensure our international future.”

Jeannot Krecké: indexation is a drag on competitiveness

“Let us be among the best! ” the economy minister declared.

Tackling indexation Among the pressing reforms he would like to see is a revamp of the system of automatic indexation of wages with inflation. Krecké would like fuel removed from the consumer price index used to calculate salary increases, noting that otherwise wages are expected to rise 2.5% next year.

He said there is no other way to preserve the competitiveness of Luxembourg businesses, especially in view of the coming explosion in energy prices: “This will happen because of the shortage of energy resources. It has only been delayed by the current slowdown in growth.”

“Let us resolve to say: there will be no indexation, not in February, not in March, not in April! ” he concluded.

Krecké’s speech was widely anticipated, as it was his first major public event

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current affairs

François Bausch and Gilles Roth

Georges Muller speaking with Nicolas J. Ries

Claude Haagen and Claude Meisch

Jeannot Krecké and Paul Helminger

since he had confirmed that he will leave his post at the start of February.

The 61-year old had quietly told cabinet and party colleagues about his decision earlier in the autumn, but had wanted to wait until after New Year to formally announce his resignation. A leak to the media derailed those plans, and he broke off from a trade mission to Vietnam to return to Luxembourg to hold a press conference, where he cited personal reasons for his departure.

Budget attacked The government’s draft 2012 budget was harshly criticized during the panel discussion, which took place just days after being attacked by both the Chamber of Commerce and Chamber of Trades.

“The budget is going in the wrong direction,” said Meisch, who is head of the largest opposition party in the Chamber of Deputies. “Not a single structural reform is undertaken.” He added: “Revenues are overstated for 2012, given the downward revision of the outlook for growth. They’ve done nothing at all. Why doesn’t the government re-examine its budget? ” “There is a problem with planned expenditures,” acknowledged Haagen. “It will

probably be necessary to make adjustments in May or June.”

Roth--from the largest parliamentary bloc and rapporteur of the budget bill-downplayed the impact of the crisis into perspective by saying: “Luxembourg remains one of the three countries that meet the Maastricht criteria [ for monetary union]. Not all tax revenues are linked to economic growth and development of the stock market. Only the investment funds subscription tax and the IRC [corporate income tax] are really affected.”

The roundtable panellists all agreed that Luxembourg’s future relies on a stronger sense of belonging by the population, especially international residents, in facing the country’s challenges together. To that end, Bausch promoted voting rights for foreigners. “We totally need foreign labour. Without it, we can just switch off the lights. This must be said to those Luxembourgers who would like nothing to change.”

Meisch shared this view: “It is not normal for people working in the private sector to create wealth in Luxembourg, but at the same time be deprived of voting rights. There is a real risk to social cohesion.”

Alain Nicholai speaking with Luc Hentzig Robert Dennewald

Brigitte Dethier

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

AIDS awareness

A MAN WITH A PLAN

Jean-Claude Schlim’s Stop Serophobia campaign is looking to change the social stigma attached to HIV. He hopes it will help persuade more people to get screened or take up treatment.

Text: Neel Chrillesen — Image: Jean-Claude Schlim

Luxembourg fi lm director and producer Jean-Claude Schlim likes to take matters into his own hands. So when he thought it was time to conceive a campaign against the discrimination of people living with HIV, he did just that. And without telling the ministry of health or the Comité de surveillance du sida--even though he’s a board member of the latter. “I created it alone with the means available while I was in the middle of filming something else, and I didn’t present it before everything was all done. They were a bit reluctant at first, but now the reactions are very positive and the ministry of health has given its full support.”

Schlim’s Stop Serophobia campaign features Luxembourg celebrities such as Pol Cruchten, Thorunn and Mickey Hardt and is inspired by similar campaigns in France and the UK. A billboard campaign was hung at bus stops in time for World AIDS Day on December 1, and it will play on television and in cinemas from December 9.

“The message is sober but it makes people think. One of the big problems in Luxembourg is that despite being well informed about AIDS, people shun everything that has to do with the actual illness. A lot is done around prevention, but people living with HIV are labelled as socially undesirable. We’ve been fighting AIDS for 30 years now and a lot has changed, but the stigma is the same. This means that there are still many who won’t get screened or even treated for fear of being outcast.”

According to the Comité de surveillance du sida, 1,012 people were diagnosed HIV positive in Luxembourg between 1983 and 2010. It is thought that

JEAN-CLAUDE SCHLIM: 30 years on and stigma is the same

a further 200-300 are HIV positive without knowing it.

Even though Luxembourg was ranked number one among 29 European countries in the 2009 Health Consumer Powerhouse survey of HIV policy and best practice, the number of new cases has remained stable in recent years. “We have to diversify our approach. Fighting prejudice is just one of the areas we should work on. Encouraging screening is another very important one and I’m glad that the government’s latest five-year plan includes a new campaign. Other advances are also on the way, like making rapid HIV testing available in all hospitals.” At the moment,

free and anonymous screening (without a doctor’s prescription) is possible in Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg and Laboratoire national de santé.

“I have promised myself not to let a year go by without doing something. AIDS must not be played down or stay a taboo.”

Before launching his recent campaign, Jean-Claude Schlim produced two CDs (Songs for Life) and a book (Images for Life) to help raise money for associations. The DVD box set of his multiple award-winning fi lm House of Boys (still showing in the US) was released in Luxembourg this month. www.aids.lu

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02.12.2011 14:31:53 Uhr

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

Local politics

CAPITAL COALITION

IT'S BEEN A GOOD OR BAD MONTH FOR: LUXEMBOURG HORROR FILM

Total Film’s ’s list of the 50 Worst Horror Movies of all time included two films made in Luxembourg. Science fiction thriller feardotcom (photo) placed at number 13, while creeping in one place higher is An American Werewolf in Paris,, damned by Total Film for its over-complex plot and for using “subpar CGI” instead of the richly textured prosthetics of John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London original.

PERLE MESTA The reputation of the first US diplomatic representative to Luxembourg was saved by none other than Richard Nixon. The former president’s full testimony before the Grand Jury was recently released following pressure from historian Stanley Kutler and others. One of Nixon’s statements reveals that he thought Mesta was not given the Luxembourg posting by President Truman “because “ she had big bosoms” but because “she made a good contribution.”

MARIO MUTSCH The Luxembourg international footballer has fallen victim to a court decision in Switzerland that has banned him and five team mates from playing for Swiss league side FC Sion.

The transfer of the players contravened UEFA regulations.

JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER The prime minister managed to be the centre of attention again when he greeted Greek president Lukas Papademos for a meeting at the ministry of state on November 22.

The previous day Juncker had been awarded the ‘Verdienstorden’, the highest honour given by the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, for his services to Europe.

David Laurent/Wide

MDP Worldwide

Luxembourg City’s DP and déi Gréng parties have unveiled an eye-catching six year programme for the capital.

FRANÇOIS BAUSCH AND XAVIER BETTEL: harmonious growth

Promising more transparency and to maintain quality of life in the capital city, Xavier Bettel has begun his term as the new mayor of Luxembourg with a few surprises. He has given the presidency of two policy commissions to opposition parties and also revealed some vote-pleasing initiatives, such as plans to introduce Park & Shop spaces in certain streets that would allow drivers to park for 30 minutes or less for free while they undertake quick errands.

And while the controversial plans to move the den Atelier concert hall to the former slaughterhouse in Hollerich have been abandoned, the new administration is keen to transform the Rotondes near the station into a permanent home for a covered market like that in Covent Garden. The idea of building a restaurant in the city park on the Kinnekswiss is another eye-catching initiative.

But the coalition’s six-year programme is also dedicated to more weighty subjects such as housing and mobility, two priorities of the city administration over

the past few years. The idea has been mooted to build homes that would be made available for rent with a purchase option after ten years. Making the city more convenient for pedestrians and cyclists by, for instance, programming traffic lights in their favour is another priority. Plans already underway for a car sharing project and for a bridge linking Cents with Kirchberg will also be pursued, says deputy mayor François Bausch.

Bettel is keen to improve administrative procedures and will introduce a tracking system for letters and planning applications, allowing residents to view online precisely who has seen their dossier and at what stage in the administrative procedure it is at. He also wants reports by the city council’s policy commissions to be made public and will introduce the live streaming via internet of council meetings. The new mayor says his vision is for the city to continue to grow harmoniously without gentrification. DR

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current affairs

Immigration

Surge in refugees The number of refugee applications has more than doubled this year, according to new government statistics.

Text: Aaron Grunwald – Photo: Julien Becker (archives)

The foreign ministry’s immigration service reported receiving 1,807 requests for international protection during the first 10 months of the year, compared to 786 cases in all of 2010, a report released on November 15 reveals. Last year’s figure was already up notably from the 505 cases filed in 2009.

The vast majority of today’s asylum seekers come from the former Yugoslavia. From January to October, 42 percent of applicants came from Serbia, 21 percent from Macedonia, and seven percent from Kosovo. Two percent each came from Tunisia and Iraq, while one percent each were Algerian and Afghani.

Of the 1,058 cases adjudicated so far this year, 547 asylum applications were refused. The immigration service also said it repatriated more than 313 people during the first 10 months of the year, only 19 “ forcibly.”

An additional 122 refugees were transferred to other EU member states under the so called “Dublin II regulations” that determine which European country is responsible for hearing the case.

The government figures do not indicate the length of time that immigration proceedings have taken this year.

However, earlier this year a group of Iraqi refugees went on a hunger strike in the Place Clarefontaine to protest what they said was a two-year delay in having their cases resolved.

In September, a spokesman for the immigration minister, Nicolas Schmit, noted the marked increase in the total number of refugees coming to the Grand Duchy, telling Delano “there have

NICOLAS SCHMIT: adding immigration agents to process asylum claims

been some delays” in handling asylum claims.

Schmit then told the Chamber of Deputies that the immigration service would temporarily recruit six additional agents to complement the existing 18 that handle refugee claims.

At press time, the new immigration officials were still being recruited, and were expected to all have been hired by the end of November, the minister’s spokesman tells Delano. The ministry hopes the six will be able to handle the asylum backlog. However the authorities will continue to monitor the caseload as “the situation will evolve.”

Several other European countries, such as Belgium and Sweden, have also seen

a rise in refugee applications, while others have seen none, the spokesman explains.

Currently most cases are taking between nine months and a year to be resolved by the immigration agency. Applicants denied asylum then have the right to appeal to an administrative tribunal that is part of Luxembourg’s judicial system.

However, a majority of cases are resolved in three to four months under the European Union’s “accelerated procedure” guidelines. While such fast track applications are “still examined in every detail ” they are thought not to meet basic Geneva Convention criteria, so are handled in a more expedited manner, the spokesman says.

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current affairs

Rudolph Giuliani

CUTS NEEDED

During his visit to Luxembourg, the former New York City mayor blasted welfare spending, Occupy Wall Street and the lack of “bold leadership” among today’s politicians.

Text: Aaron Grunwald — Photo: Olivier Minaire

Best known as the mayor of New York City during the 9/11 attacks, Rudolph Giuliani was in Luxembourg last month to speak about leadership, as part of Dexia BIL’s Repères conference series.

Before his eight years as mayor, the Republican politician was a prosecutor who investigated the mafia and fraud on Wall Street. After leaving office at the end of 2001, he founded a security consulting business and joined a private law firm. He later ran for president, but dropped out of the race in 2008 when his poll numbers sank. According to US media reports, he has considered running again in next year’s election, but so far has kept out of the contest.

Before his speech at the Philharmonie, he took on the debt crisis at a press conference. While the US is weighed down by private debt, Europe is suffering from too much spending on social programmes, in Giuliani’s view. Countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal “have to reduce their spending on the welfare state,” he said. “Ireland already did it and so far their attempt looks pretty successful.”

“The remedies are easy, but the execution may be difficult,” Giuliani reckoned, citing the lack of “bold leadership” among today’s generation of politicians, in contrast to Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.

“Leadership seems to have weakened because of the information revolution we are going through. People’s opinions change faster and faster. To be a leader you have to have courage and to stand against public opinion some of the time. There is too much emphasis on favourability ratings and

Rudolph Giuliani: leadership is lacking today

polls. You have to be willing to take the risk of being unpopular for the greater good.”

“My father always told me, ‘money doesn’t grow on trees,’” he recounted. While Giuliani stressed the “only solution is to cut spending,” in a subtle blast at the ultra-conservative Tea Party movement sweeping his party, he said leaders cannot make “cuts that are just for the sake of making cuts.”

The New Yorker also has no sympathy for anti-capitalist protestors. He noted that the financial sector contributes 40 percent of New York City’s tax revenues, including funding for its public

health system. “There are big crooks in every walk of life: doctors, professors, even journalists. Occupy Wall Street is the kind of thing you would expect from a child.

There are things that could be done to improve Wall Street, but it is not, in itself, to blame for them not having jobs.” He added: “These people should spend their time getting some further education, writing their resumés and cleaning themselves up and making themselves presentable, so they can get a job.”

As for his own new job prospects, Giu­ liani was whisked away before the assembled press could pose the question.

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UCITS IV

FIRST MOVER A Danish mutual fund company wants to build a big cross-border business. So why is it moving its headquarters to small Luxembourg?

Text: Aaron Grunwald — Photos: Luc Deflorenne

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02.12.2011 15:51:42 Uhr

Business

Andrés Lejona (archives)

JAN STIG RASMUSSEN: Luxembourg is his central hub

THORSTEN HENS: value investing approach pays extra dividends

Two Luxembourg-domiciled mutual funds mark their 10 year anniversaries on December 14, a global value and a Danish long bond fund. The event would not normally be major news, except that the funds’ manager, Sparinvest, has quietly been building a presence in the Grand Duchy as part of a longterm internationalisation strategy, and currently is in the process of re-registering its corporate headquarters from Denmark to Luxembourg.

Today the firm manages nine billion euro in assets, plus advises pension funds on managing a further four billion. The company’s holding group is in the process of being relocated and its board will soon start meeting in the Grand Duchy. “So, why Luxembourg? ” Jan Stig Rasmussen, Sparinvest’s Luxembourg CEO asks rhetorically. “Luxembourg is obviously the world’s largest cross-border distribution centre. It’s the second largest fund centre in the world.

This is really the core of it.”

Sparinvest became the very first mutual fund in Denmark, when it launched in 1968. The company was founded by a number of local savings banks (“spar”

means “save” in Danish), and those cooperative banks are still among unlisted Sparinvest’s 90 institutional shareholders. For years it focused solely on the domestic market. It eventually became the fifth largest fund family in Denmark, but that was more or less the upper limit of its growth.

VALUE INVESTING In 1989 the company merged with the bank that became Nordea, and its funds began to be distributed internationally across the Scandinavian group’s network. That gave Sparinvest a taste of having a cross-border footprint, but “we sort of lost our independence a little bit,” Rasmussen says. A few years later, Sparinvest was de-merged. “Suddenly we had no distribution network.” When Per Noesgaard was hired as group CEO, in 1996, he repositioned the entire firm. “All of the concepts that we’re following today, he introduced. And the most important is the value investment concept.”

Value funds focus on finding quality companies that are undervalued and then holding long-term stakes, explains

Professor Thorsten Hens of the University of Zurich, who is also a member of the Sparinvest Advisory Board and has consulted for several Swiss private banks. Currently the best known practitioner of this approach is Warren Buffett. And the same approach is paying off for Sparinvest’s clients. “If you look at their value fund, while the financial market was flat from 2002 to 2010, Sparinvest created 60 percent extra returns,” Hens says.

“The value concept has become more and more important to us, and that is really the core of Sparinvest’s business today,” Rasmussen adds.

By the same token, the company set about re-building its presence outside of Denmark. In the spring of 2001 the firm opened an office in Luxembourg, to manage all its non-Danish business.

“We were a Danish asset manager with an ambition of international growth,” comments Rasmussen. Its first Grand Duchydomiciled fund was an exact clone of its flagship Danish value fund, which like all of its heritage funds remains managed separately by Sparinvest’s offices in Copenhagen and Randers.

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02.12.2011 15:51:44 Uhr

Business

SPARINVEST: probably the first of many European fund companies that will re-register in Luxembourg

At first the Luxembourg funds “were used to build up a track record, because if you don’t have a good story to go out and tell, it’s actually hard to market and sell ” a fund in a new market. “The operation here was very tiny from 2001 to 2005. It was just a four or five man team running the daily operations. In 2005, we reached a point where we had a very good track record on all the funds that we introduced: we had four or five Morningstar ratings,” out of maximum of five stars on the independent research firm’s scale, for all its Luxembourg-based funds.

Indeed, that was the year Rasmussen was hired, after he had spent 25 years with Nordea’s private banking and funds businesses. “We then decided to make a more international sales and marketing plan, and we decided to slowly but surely enter into more markets. Today we are authorised in 16 jurisdictions around Europe.” It also started to open local market offices in key markets, such as Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris, which are managed by the Luxembourg hub.

Which brings us back to Rasmussen’s hypothetical question of ‘why Luxembourg?’ He says: “It’s the entire set-up

around here. The CSSF is a very business oriented financial services authority. There is a lot of expertise in Luxembourg: legal expertise but also administrative expertise.”

“We have a legal framework that everybody out there in the world understands, including in the new [emerging] markets in Asia, which is obviously going to be interesting for Sparinvest sometime in the future.”

However, he is quick to note the firm is not “moving into Asia tomorrow. Europe remains very important for us. The countries where we are now, we want to grow the distribution platform even further.”

At press time, Sparinvest had officially taken all the legal steps needed to reregister in the Grand Duchy and was awaiting for the official reply from Luxembourg authorities, which the company expects to receive by the end of the year.

FIRST OF MANY? Europe’s new cross-border fund rules, called UCITS IV, came into effect earlier this year and Luxembourg was the first to put the regulations into practice. That “creates some possibilities going forward. I believe that many fund compa-

nies out there are thinking about doing something like this. Due to the fact that we are a mid-sized fund company, we’re probably faster in taking the decision and actually carrying it out.”

Rasmussen predicts that “what we are going to see over the coming years, in general terms, is a lot of cross-border mergers.

Not Sparinvest because we still have [a specific Danish] tax issue. But many organisations that are running hundreds and hundreds of funds can actually reduce down to perhaps half or one-third” of funds in their current portfolio.

“Why should you choose a small country to register your funds? ” he asks rhetorically again. “If you already have an operation here, you know this is best place, the most flexible place, you have the knowledge in place, you have the languages in place, you have everything in place. This is and will remain the central point for doing a thing like that.”

He has heard that some competitive funds “are evaluating” re-registering in the Grand Duchy as Sparinvest is doing, “but I don’t know if anybody else has taken the decision. I would guess we are among the very first ones to do this.”

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02.12.2011 15:51:48 Uhr

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SNAPSHOTS

Brand Luxembourg

BEYOND BANKS AND CASTLES

Hana Kuhn

Photos: Charles Caratini

International residents can help improve perceptions of the Grand Duchy abroad, members of The Network heard during their November meeting.

Carole Tompers, secretary general of promotion agency Luxembourg for Business spoke to the women’s networking group about the Grand Duchy’s image abroad and the country’s international branding programme.

“As professional women in Luxembourg, we are very interested in Luxembourg’s business image,” The Network’s president, Cindi Wilson, tells Delano. “In reality, we each are ambassadors for Luxembourg every day in our business and personal interactions.”

The presentation “really made us all very aware that in our everyday dealings--especially if you have a corporate position and do a lot of international travel--you really need to be aware and cognizant of how you portray Luxembourg.”

Rather than saying the wrong thing, in Wilson’s view it is what many international residents “ fail to do” that needs to change. “Sometimes people [in other countries] have different images, maybe not modern images, of Luxembourg. If we let them keep them, instead of correcting those images, we do a disservice to LuxAG embourg.”

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Cindi Wilson

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32 - DELANO - December 2011

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08/11/11 16:13

Business

Robert A. Mandell

Diverse aUDienCes America’s new ambassador to Luxembourg may be new to diplomacy, but he does have the president’s ear as well as an ambitious agenda.

Text: Aaron Grunwald — Photos: Olivier Minaire

Shortly after arriving in Luxembourg, new US ambassador Robert A. Mandell got in his car and went for a quick trip to Trier. That was a breach of American government rules, which require ambassadors to inform Washington every time they leave the country “even when it’s just for an hour or two,” he explains. It is one of the many State Department nuances that Mandell, a political appointee from Florida, is trying to quickly learn as he takes up his duties as the 21st American ambassador to the Grand Duchy.

Mandell knew back in May that President Barack Obama would nominate him, although his name was not formally put forward until June, and he was then confirmed by the US Senate--by unanimous consent--in late October.

He arrived in Luxembourg four days later and presented his credentials to Grand Duke Henri on November 16.

DATE LINE November 2011

Mandell replaces Cynthia Stroum, who abruptly resigned in January after less than a year’s service. While she cited the need to “ focus on my family and personal business,” reports leaked to the media indicate major confl icts within the embassy over her management style and irregular expense reports. neW role Mandell is a lawyer by training, who went on to become a real estate developer. He has served on the boards of directors of a bank, several hospital systems and a large biomedical research institute, as well as local government panels on transportation and education, and, for the two-and-half years before his arrival in Luxembourg, on President Obama’s Export Council.

The new ambassador comes across as having quite an even keel, which is

7•

NOV

€923

Forecast average household Christmas budget (Deloitte).

perhaps one reason why he was nominated. Mandell does not shy away from the “political appointee” label, either. “The advantages are pretty clear. I do understand who the president is and what his agenda is.

We have a personal relationship.”

In his view, “the principle occupation of an ambassador is to represent the president in the country.” As a real estate developer he had to address “a diverse set of audiences,” from government officials and building inspectors to architects and contractors.

“So there is a multiplicity of audiences you have in anything that you do, realistically.

It’s not much different in terms of being an ambassador. You have to choose your words a little more carefully since you are representing the president of the United States, and you really have to think about what the president might either do, think or say as it relates to a certain set of circumstances.”

DOWNGRADES Two steel giants were NOV downgraded by credit ratings agencies. Standard & Poor’s revised its outlook on ArcelorMittal, citing the threat of recession in Europe and the US. Moody’s lowered Aperam’s rating to reflect weaker global stainless steel demand.

9•

FUNDS RAISED €3 billion raised via NOV EFSF bonds was disbursed to Ireland. It was the second such offering by the Kirchberg-based euro zone bailout fund since it launched in January. The agency pays interest of less than half the rate of Irish government bonds.

10 •

34 - DeLAnO - december 2011

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02.12.2011 11:26:26 Uhr

Business

ROBERT MANDELL: focused on business and economic issues

To prepare for particularities of American diplomacy, over the summer he and his wife went to “ambassador school” which is a primer in State Department rules (such as those on ambassadors leaving the country), embassy operations and the “guiding principles” of US foreign policy. “And I spent good amount of time learning French, which I did not know. But I still only know un peu.”

(Mandell “is being very modest,” an embassy staffer tells Delano, and indeed he presented his credentials to the Grand Duke in French.)

He also attended the National Defense University, to brush up on NATO (“of course! Luxembourg is one of the founders of NATO”), the European Union, the OECD, and other regional institutions. “The European Court of Justice, for example, is a critical part of European policy,” he says.

AVIATION In fact, he already managed to meet the ECJ’s president and several advocate generals and justices during his first few weeks in the Grand Duchy, and plans to attend “hearings on issues that are related to the United States.

TRAVEL DOWN Only 75% of Luxemdec bourg residents travelled internationally for pleasure last year, down from 84% in 2009, STATEC said. France was the favourite destination, with Italy, Spain and Portugal in the top 10. Residents spent more than €2 billion abroad.

14 •

We have a personal relationship” Obviously not to participate, but to be part of the gallery.”

This includes the case brought by several US airlines challenging the EU’s aviation emissions trading scheme, which the companies argue should not be applied to non-EU airspace.

Mandell stresses the US government is not actually involved in the lawsuit.

He wants to “understand the hearing, but it is not a case the US has brought or is a party to.”

NOV

CONSULTING UP KPMG Luxembourg NOV said turnover increased 3%, to €65 million, for the financial year ending September 30.

The firm said it was the largest bank auditor in Luxembourg and second largest auditor of investment funds. Its advisory business was up 14%.

21 •

17 •

58

Average age residents expect to retire (Swiss Life).

He notes that for many years Icelandic carriers connected the US and the Grand Duchy via Reykjavik. “Most people of my generation who went to college in the 60s and 70s have been to Luxembourg, because this is where they got off the airplane” when travelling to Europe. “I would hope that during my tenure here, we could figure out a way to fly, even with a stop, from Luxembourg to the United States.”

Mandell also aims to support the biomedical sector. “I’m told it’s an interest of the [Luxembourg] government, therefore it’s an interest of mine. And it’s something I actually know about.” For example, he hopes to facilitate exchanges between Luxembourg organisations and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, which is active in investigating cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular issues, Alzheimer’s disease and infec-

MOSCOW DEAL Finance minister Luc NOV Frieden signed an update to the Grand Duchy’s 1993 double taxation agreement with Russia. SICAV funds will now be covered by an official accord, a potential boon for Luxembourg’s investment and private banking sectors.

21 •

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Business

NEW US AMBASSADOR: knows President Obama’s agenda

tious diseases, and where he was a board member. His uncle is CEO of Boston Children’s Hospital, the largest such institution in the US, so he hopes to help create links with Luxembourg’s children’s hospital.

FATCA Although he is still newly arrived, he already has heard plenty about a new set of US financial rules called FATCA, which potentially will require every bank and investment fund in the world to file reports on their clients to American tax

Glitner early Icelandic bank Glitner nov repaid its €1.3 billion debt to Luxembourg’s central bank two years ahead of schedule, as its loan portfolio performed better than expected.

The bank went into administration following Iceland’s 2008 banking sector meltdown.

22 •

authorities. “I’ve already let it be known at the highest levels of the State Department... that the Luxembourg people and banks have serious concerns about FATCA and its longreaching implications. However, and I don’t know this, I believe that Congress knew about those [concerns] before they passed the law. But I don’t know that. Those are things that I am now discovering and passing back to Washington for further comment.”

He adds that: “I have spoken with some of the bankers [in Luxembourg] who have agreed to spend time with me and bring me up to date on their perspective of FATCA.”

23 •

One in five

NOV

Benelux firms lost computer data in the last year (EMC).

Mandell reports that Luxembourg’s prime minister did not bring up the law at their first meeting--noting that Jean-Claude Juncker “was very generous with his time”--and the ambassador was set to meet the finance minister shortly after his meeting with Delano.

Before concluding his interview, the ambassador mentions that Grand Duke Henri “was very kind to me,” adding: “the time that we spent together has been most beneficial to me. I admire and respect him a great deal. Up close and personal, he is everything that you think he is and more.”

MORE JOBS There were more nov people working in the Grand Duchy--380,262--since any time in more than a decade, economy ministry figures showed. More than 40% are crossborder commuters. Yet, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained stuck at 6%.

25 •

FATCA BLASTED Four industry groups nov released a letter critiquing the US financial rules known as FATCA, sent to the new US ambassador the day he formally took office (see article, pages 34-36). The regulations will stifle Americans’ access to capital, they say.

28 •

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02.12.2011 11:26:41 Uhr

Are you managing an innovative project?

Find information, partners and financial support on the Luxembourg Portal for Innovation and Research.

The portal is an invaluable source of information on R&D and innovation in Luxembourg – an essential tool for identifying potential partners and funding opportunities, browsing new technology offers, promoting the skills of your company and keeping up to date with the latest news.

www.innovation.public.lu Innovation and research start here.

PLIR_Annonce_Entreprise_210x265_Delano_UK_NEWvisu_Prod.indd 1

Supported by:

1/12/11 14:49:33

SNAPSHOTS

International Chambers Gala Dinner

BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT Photos: Olivier Minaire

Just weeks after celebrating his 30th birthday, Crown Prince Guillaume was the guest of honour at the annual gala dinner organised by the ten international chambers of business in Luxembourg. The event at the Nouveau Centre de Conferences in Kirchberg attracted 380 guests. Robert Deed, chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce for Luxembourg introduced the Crown Prince, recognising his contribution to helping promote Luxembourg abroad on various trade missions. The Crown Prince for his part acknowledged the importance of Luxembourg’s international business community as a driving force of the economy, citing the international roots of companies such as Cargolux and SES – founded with Icelandic and American expertise – and the innovation and influential global reach that foreigners bring to the Grand Duchy. But he also emphasised the openness of Luxembourg and of the government in welcoming business from abroad. Director of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Pierre Gramegna, delivered a speech of thanks in which he praised the work of the Crown Prince and of the volunteers and staff of the international chambers in building bridges between the Luxembourg and international business community. More photos on : www.delano.lu DR

Carole Caspari and Nicolas J. Ries

Crown Prince Guillaume addressing the guests Alice Walpole and Duncan Roberts

Brian Power, Thérèse Collins, Helen Barker

Crown Prince Guillaume and Robert Deed

Robert Goeres Francis Hoogewerf

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02.12.2011 11:28:11 Uhr

SNAPSHOTS

Roy Suhash and Annie Greig Aukse Packeviciute

Some 380 guests attended the event

Robert Deed, Robert Mandell, Philippe Guex, Paul Schonenberg Paul Schonenberg and Pierre Gramegna

Carean Berbee

Robert Mandell

Charles Oakes Sudhir Kohli

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02.12.2011 11:28:24 Uhr

Business

Media

paperJam.TV launches Julien Becker (archives)

Delano’s sister publication marks a new chapter in the Luxembourg market with its latest foray into audiovisual media.

Exclusive

The breakup of Dexia “will have no impact on RBC Dexia’s operations today or our future growth plans” the joint-venture has told its clients. In a letter to a Luxembourg-based midsized investment fund, obtained by Delano, RBC Dexia Investor Services stressed it is “an independently capitalised company with a strong and highly liquid balance sheet, a conservative risk profile and has its own credit ratings.”

Facing huge Greek sovereign debt exposure, Dexia is being forced to sell its Luxembourg-based businesses as part of a state bail-out plan. At press time, the future of the group’s 50 percent stake in RBC Dexia Investor Services remained unclear.

RBC Dexia’s letter was meant to reassure its client that the Esch-based custodian bank was not impacted by recent government interventions.

“RBC Dexia is not a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dexia,” the firm stressed.

The client who provided the letter to Delano said he was initially unsettled by media reports and RBC Dexia’s initial communications on the matter. However, he was re-assured by the subsequent written explanation and has no plans to move his accounts to another bank. • AG

Olivier Minaire

RBC Dexia soothes clients

Luxembourg’s largest economic and finance magazine, paperJam, began Internet TV broadcasting on November 15. paperJam.TV is in effect a media laboratory, according to Mike Koedinger, CEO of Maison Moderne. “This is another way to handle information,” he says. “This means experimenting with journalistic formats, understanding the topics that are of most interest, and the concepts that will allow us to differentiate ourselves.” paperJam.TV will allow the title’s journalists to cover the news “differently, more directly and instantaneously,” but still in line with the editorial and visual quality of the print magazine and the www.paperJam.lu website, Koedinger reckons.

Le Journal is broadcast live--in French-from 4 to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and then repeated continuously on channel 49 on Télé vun der Post, video-on-demand and www.paperJam.TV. Presented by Jean-Michel Gaudron, paperJam’s editorial director, the programme covers the day’s main news stories and features in-depth reporting and analysis by the paperJam editorial team, as well

as live interviews with the Grand Duchy’s opinion-makers. In addition, the broadcast includes regular features on Luxembourg’s financial centre, legal developments and highlights from paperJam Business Club’s thought leadership conference series.

In the future, paperJam.TV will also offer live coverage of public events, roundtables and conferences, and special talk shows when major news events are unfolding.

The outlet is based out of a custompurpose studio built in Maison Moderne’s Luxembourg-Bonnevoie offices, conceived by designer Georges Zigrand.

The technical platform was put into operation with Entreprise des P&T and Niche Guardian, while pre-production development was implemented with the support of independent producer Fred Neuen and Philippe Baudet of PAD Media & Services.

In addition to paperjam.TV, Maison Moderne has been introducing a series of English and French language applications for iPad and iPhone devices.

AG

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02.12.2011 11:31:01 Uhr

Business

Mentoring

PROFIT FROM EXPERIENCE Ten newly selected entrepreneurs are being supported by ten established business coaches.

Text: Aaron Grunwald — Photos: Charles Caratini

The second cycle of the Chamber of Commerce’s BusinessMentoring programme officially got underway November 17 (see photos on Delano.lu). Inspired and assisted by a similar project that is part of the Fondation de l’entrepre-neurship in Quebec, once again 10 Luxembourg small- and medium-sized business owners will be supported by mentors over the course of a year.

Mentors and mentees are originally from seven different countries, and are matched with a partner from a different economic sector, to avoid any potential conflict-of-interest.

The exact pairings are confidential, to foster more direct communication between entrepreneurs, the Chamber explains. However Delano spoke with two different participants (without knowing their programme partner) about why they signed-up for the second cycle.

Mentor: Laurent Schonckert The Luxembourgish chief of retailer Cactus was a mentor in the premier cycle and decided to join-up again: “I had never had a mentor… when I was younger. So I thought it could be interesting for someone to have the point of view of an outside guy, who is not involved in the daily business of their company.

“I would have been happy 10 or 15 years ago to have had one. I’m not any poorer for it, because I have the principal of learning by doing. But I thought that I would give this opportunity to someone else.

Laurent Schonckert: gains personal satisfaction from helping others find solutions

COURTNEY CHARLTON: wants tough answers to tough questions

“I believe at the end we found a solution [to the mentee’s business challenge], because that was the aim. But also, for me, let’s say the benefit is a moral benefit. To be able to say, we found a solution that seems to have fit with the owner of that company.”

reach out to have a vested interested in you. What I thought was really valuable was having a completely impartial individual that’s mentoring you. They’ve got nothing to gain or to lose by telling you really how it is.

“I’m not interested in being patted on the back. I want to know where I’m going wrong and when there are tough decisions to be made, I want the tough answers.

“So it really is about growing as an individual and as an entrepreneur.”

ON THE WEB: Schonckert and Charlton will share their experiences as the programme evolves throughout the year on Delano.lu.

Mentee: Courtney Charlton The British director of specialist recruitment firm Greenfield, founded in 2008, is looking after his own development: “As an entrepreneur, you lose the internal support that you have in a large organisation. You’re not managed by anybody.

“Whenever there are tough decisions to be made, the people that you would usually

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02.12.2011 12:30:18 Uhr

Business

Innovation

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE The government wants firms to focus more on aesthetics.

Will smart design really help the bottom line?

Text: Aaron Grunwald — Photo: Olivier Minaire

In the 80s and 90s, when IT was just starting to come into its own, “the geeks were sitting in the basement” and nobody paid too much attention to them, Prof.

John Bessant of University of Exeter Business School observed at a conference this autumn. Today the geeks are sitting on the board and have offices on the executive floor. Now it is time to have a designer join them in the top corporate ranks, argues the professor.

Bessant was speaking at an event organised by Luxinnovation, the Grand Duchy’s research and development promotion agency, and Delano’s sister paperJam Business Club. It may strike some as curious that Luxinnovation, which is better known for fostering ties between research labs and techie start-ups, has been promoting design for the past three years or so. “Designers are always perceived as decorators,” says Jan Glas, its design promotion project manager.

“But designers must know the business structure completely, and the strategy and the vision of the company, to come up with new ideas that will really benefit the whole company and increase turnover. Designers have to know the workflow, have to know the production techniques, how clients perceive the products or services. The designer is trained to look at it this way.” Glas explains that designers often are the

critical link to understanding customers. “Often companies look at the client from the inside of their company, and not from the outside.”

Luxinnovation was created to stimulate economic diversification and increase inward investment to the Grand Duchy.

Glas says: “We want to have Luxembourg have an image of being multicultural, flexible and very innovative. We need that as a country.”

His office assists companies seeking the design enhancement grants that are available from the government. The subsidy can cover up to 50 percent of “innovative advisory and support services” for a new project with a maximum of 200,000 euro in aid given to a company over three years. While requests are reviewed and approved by the economy ministry, Luxinnovation provides guidance on all aspects of the process.

The agency also has an extensive database of service providers that cover the whole spectrum of the design value chain, as well as specialists in particular industries.

New markets One company that has successfully used design to enter a new sector is IEE, the Contern-based automotive industry supplier. Today the 1,500-employee

firm’s sensors are mostly used in bumpers and seats, but IEE has started to break into the building security market. Until a few years ago “product design” meant “technical design” for the company, because its products were hidden from drivers, explains Paul Schockmel, IEE’s strategic marketing director. Visual considerations basically “weren’t relevant.”

That changed when it created a 3D sensor that accurately tracks people entering a building or work space. The system can be used to prevent “tailgaters” who follow right behind a legitimate employee who has used their badge to gain access to an area. When IEE’s first version was introduced in 2009, Schockmel says that while technically superior, it was perceived as being “ugly, too bulky” to be installed in the ceilings of corporate lobbies. “In a few cases, we did lose big orders, because the architect said ‘no, it doesn’t fit my design.’”

The company literally went back to the drawing board. It selected a design house recommended by Luxinnovation that specialises in office ceilings to reimagine its product. “It was really the first time we considered the aesthetic design in making a product,” admits Schockmel.

In addition to being able to win over

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Business

JAN GLAS: designers are not decorators

architects, the design house helped make IEE’s product easier to install, bringing down total project costs and thus saving money for builders.

The new version was launched earlier this year. Schockmel reckons it blends in nicely with ceilings and most building visitors are unlikely to even notice that his product has been installed.

Recently IEE garnered an order from “a large airport in Europe and they said, ‘now it’s easy to integrate into the ceiling.’”

Smart design is also helping Monitor-it, the Esch-based start-up which makes telemonitoring devices. Patients use the firm’s gadgets at home to transmit vital health data to a doctor or nurse. The company--a spin-out of the public research institute CRP Henri Tudor-also engaged a Luxinnovation-referred design consultant to help refine its products, says chief technology officer Patrick Harpes.

There already are a slew of telemedicine applications that run on smartphones.

However these offerings fail to consider the patient.

As users measure things like blood pressure and heart activity daily, “it is very important to make this device as easy as it could be. Often [patients] are old and very ill, perhaps suffering from heart disease, so we have to ‘ hide’ all of this technology from

We need that as a country” the user. You can’t give an 80-year-old grandma an iPhone because she’ll get lost.

We have all the technology of an iPhone plus the medical sensors all inside one box.”

Monitor-it’s design consultant helped the firm develop a simple screen menu and audio instructions for users, and easy-to-use electrodes that take an EKG without all the sticky sensors used in the hospital.

Working with a health sector specialist was a plus, because the consultant was deeply aware of the sector’s exacting regulations and the special materials used. “If you want to design a medical product, you cannot go to someone who designs cars,” states Harpes.

Campaign preview The new device is currently undergoing regulatory review and will begin clinical trials next year, but already generated quite a bit of buzz for the company at major medical technology conferences this year in Düsseldorf and Florida.

Luxinnovation is planning a major design promotion offensive this spring.

It will begin with the publication of a design guide “that will help people understand what they can do with design,” Glas explains. The book will be followed by a symposium which will feature “well-known designers talking about co-creation and stimulating creativity at the enterprise level.” The conference will be held during Design City Luxembourg, a series of events highlighting industrial and urban design across the capital that will take place from April to June next year.

Luxinnovation will also host its fourth annual open competition for students up to age 20. Aspiring designers can present their ideas on “how to solve dayto-day problems or how to improve the quality of life in the world,” says Glas.

The contest begins in March and culminates with a ceremony at the Casino Luxembourg - Forum d’art contemporain, where prizes will be awarded.

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02.12.2011 11:30:40 Uhr

SNAPSHOTS

Giving

STARTING A FOUNDATION Photos: Olivier Minaire

There is a relatively simple way to create a charitable trust in the Grand Duchy, an American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg conference heard in November.

Tonika Hirdman explained that her organisation provides a mechanism for private individuals and companies to more quickly establish and run a straightforward charitable foundation.

The legal and administrative requirements are all met by being part of the Fondation de Luxembourg.

Hirdman said that she has met with several dozen private banks in Luxembourg over the past couple years and knows of at least ten that offer specialised services to their clients.

Jean-Jacques Rommes of the ABBL explained that as Luxembourg attracts more and more high end clients, private banks need to be able to offer advice and infrastructure in the field, as wealthy clients simply demand that their philanthropic activities be part of the service package.

Venture capitalist Hugo Mahieu presented a case study on how his fi rm established the Mangrove Foundation, one of the first foundations established under the Fondation de Luxembourg’s umbrella. When it came time to create their foundation, he said: “We found everything we wanted in LuxemAG bourg.”

Jean-Jacques Rommes and Tonika Hirdman

Hugo Mahieu during AMCHAM’s second annual philanthropy conference Douglas Sutherland and Sudhir K. Kohli

Anne Contreras

The Mangrove Foundation supports NGOs focused on global overpopulation and environmental challenges

Henk van Eldik

Jane Wilkinson

44 - DELANO - December 2011

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02.12.2011 11:32:13 Uhr

Christmas subscription «Évasion»

Give a whole world of music 26.01.2012 Jane Birkin sings Serge Gainsbourg 21.03.2012 Rafał Blechacz piano «His recital changed everything» (Gramophone) 24.05.2012 Pascal Schumacher & Marlene Dietrich «Ciné-Concert» 17.06.2012 Bobby McFerrin & Chick Corea The Summit of Jazz 4 concert subscription: 90 / 126 / 171 € (< 27: 60 / 84 / 114 €) (+352) 26 32 26 32 // www.philharmonie.lu In case of hindrance, your tickets cannot be returned or exchanged.

THINK LOCAL: LISBETH KJELLBERG

Danish

“ BEST DECISIONS WE’VE EVER MADE” Second time resident in Luxembourg, Lisbeth Kjellberg gives her insight into living and working in the Grand Duchy.

LISBETH KJELLBERG: pays more attention to communication now

Interview: Aaron Grunwald — Photo: David Laurent/Wide

Lisbeth Kjellberg, originally from Rønne on the Baltic island of Bornholm, is a change management consultant in Junglinster. After working in the banking sector in Copenhagen, she lived in Luxembourg from 1991 to 2002, returning in 2008. Earlier this year she founded her own fi rm, LK Consulting.

AG: Does that give people a bad impression about Scandinavians?

LK: I think they find us very direct. It’s not natural for us to make--like the French and Germans--small talk to start the conversation because you need to understand the other person. For us, we just say hello and I’m here because of this, and then we just move on.

AG: What can international residents do to make things go smoother at work?

LK: If you look at organisations here-with a lot of different nationalities-there are a lot of places where you could be misunderstood. Therefore you should spend a lot more time communicating--and making sure people have understood your message and information--than if you were working back home in France or Germany or in Scandinavia, where you have your home country and your home language.

AG: Why did you leave the Grand Duchy and then come back again?

LK: We went back because of work.

Also because I had always had this little [feeling of] ‘not knowing’ if I was really going to stay or not. Originally we thought we were coming here for three years, as everyone does. Then we end up enjoying life and enjoying Luxembourg, staying for 11 years. But we didn’t buy a house, we didn’t do the final step. After a while, we thought, let’s move back to Denmark to see if that’s the solution. But it wasn’t.

AG: What differences between Denmark and Luxembourg do you see in business culture?

LK: In Denmark and in Scandinavia we have much more flat organisations. The individual person very often has a very concrete area of responsibility. They take that responsibility and run with it. The level of authorisation in an organisation is much flatter than it is here.

AG: What is one of the biggest challenges working here?

LK: One of the most difficult parts, I fi nd, is communication. It is difficult to communicate when a lot of us are not speaking our native language. Sometimes it’s difficult to express exactly what it is that you would like to say. On the other hand, especially for people like me coming from Scandinavia, we get so much more direct in the way that you express yourself, that it’s frightening for people. Really, we are not that direct!

But to make sure that you say things in the right way, you just go straight to the point.

I know it’s not possible for everyone, but if it is possible then I would advise them to buy a place and settle. That’s one of the things with foreigners like us. Living on a rental basis makes some of us a bit rootless in a way. So we don’t settle. You can even buy a place in France or Germany close to Luxembourg, because it is expensive living here.

AG: What is the best way to integrate?

LK: If they have a family, I would absolutely advise them to get their children in a local school. That way you get a much better understanding of Luxembourg and the way Luxembourgish people live. It’s also easier when you have your kids in the local school to make friends within the Luxembourgish community.

AG: Was that difficult for your family?

LK: Our daughter was four when we came down and two days later she was in the spielschule, the local school. I think that was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made coming here. It’s a fantastic school system and I think they are very good at integrating [international] pupils. Christina didn’t have any other language but Danish when she arrived, but after three months she was speaking Luxembourgish and German.

And that was due to the school, and also to her [new] friends. She didn’t have any Danish friends, so she had to learn it.

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02.12.2011 12:06:10 Uhr

plan K

Welcome to the Ambassador’s The Promotion Committee for Luxembourg Wines & Crémants has nominated a selection of restaurants as “Ambassadeur Vins et Crémants de Luxembourg”. This recognition indicates that the restaurant is an official ambassador of Luxembourg’s wines and crémants and committed to advising you on the wide range of quality wines from the vineyards of Luxembourg’s Moselle region.

Let your host restaurant lead you on a journey of discovery into the wonderful world of Luxembourg’s wines and crémants.

The complete list of restaurants awarded the “Ambassadeur Vins et Crémants de Luxembourg” label is available on www.vins-cremants.lu

With the kind contribution of:

EuroToques

PVC_Delano_UK_210x265.indd 1

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business

The events planner

ON THE HORIZON

Delano presents a guide to the coming months’ business, social and informational events for Luxembourg’s international community. Events are listed by organiser. Advance registration or fees may be required, so consult the website indicated for full details. All events are held in English unless otherwise noted.

FEMALE CHIEFS

AMCHAM

www.ffcel.lu

www.amcham.lu

15 •

dec

NICOLAS SCHMIT

A networking evening with the labour and immigration minister.

See interview, pages 14-16.

Hotel Melia, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, 18:30

11 •

LUC FRIEDEN

New year, new series of British Chamber luncheons. The finance minister will be the first guest speaker to open the 2012 series.

jan

24 •

Well-Being

Chris Williams, work-life balance specialist and former internationjan al athlete, will present: “Health is Wealth: Maintaining Optimum Energy and Performance”.

CRP SANTÉ

AWCL

www.bbc11.lu

12-13

BBC

The 6th BeNeLux Bioinformatics Conference will be held in Luxembourg for the first time. The cross-disciplinary forum connects IT and health researchers.

• dec

Alvisse Parc Hotel, Luxembourg-Dommeldange, all day event

19 • jan

LADIES NIGHT

“Join your gal pals for an evening at the clubhouse. Admission is an appetizer or beverage to share.”

The AWCL clubhouse, Luxembourg-Belair, 19:00 until late

British Chamber www.bcc.lu

16 •

CHRISTMAS LUNCH

Apéritifs followed by a traditional Christmas three-course meal. dec British ambassador Alice Walpole is the guest of honour.

Democrats Abroad

LEASING

Venue to be announced, 12:00

Venue to be announced, 19:00

INTERNATIONS

12 •

www.step.org/benelux

The Rives de Clausen hotspot will be reserved exclusively for InterNations members and guests. Organisers promise to “keep the music down” and extend the networking session until 11 p.m.

jan

Trombar, Luxembourg-Clausen, 18:30-23:00

9•

SPEED NETWORKING

Learn more about the expat social networking group’s monthly getfeb togethers on the Delano website: delano.lu/news/internations-fetes-turks

Marx Bar, Luxembourg-Hollerich, 18:30-23:00

14 •

dec

TRUSTS FOR DUMMIES

Paul Chambers of Atoz presents a primer on trusts, followed by a networking cocktail. Email step. benelux@gmail.com.

Cercle Munster, Luxembourg-Grund, 18:00

WOMEN LEADERS www.women-leaders.eu

26 •

INSPIRING WOMEN

Dinner featuring inspiring women and men from around the Greater Region who help make work place “more responsible, respectful, efficient and harmonious.”

Cercle Munster, Luxembourg-Grund, 18:30

jan

SECOND TUESDAYS

The next edition of Delano will feature events taking place from February 8 through April 11. We invite you to submit an event by sending an email no later than January 13 to:

STEP BENELUX

MEET EXPATS

10

Hemicycle, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, 12:00

jan

www.internations.org/luxembourg-expats

• jan

Brasserie Bosso, Luxembourg-Grund, 19:00

GOP CONFAB

26 •

Luxembourg’s Republicans gather one evening the last week of the month for a members cocktail. By invitation only. Email republicans@ internet.lu to request an invite.

www.democratsabroad.org/group/ Luxembourg

The group’s monthly get-together to discuss current political events, and also to meet and get to know new members. “Feel free to join us for an interesting evening.”

www.republicansabroad.lu

The six-year old Fédération des femmes cheffes d'entreprise du jan Luxembourg, for women who are bosses, holds its monthly conference-luncheon on the topic of leasing.

DoubleTree by Hilton, LuxembourgDommeldange, 12:00

St. George’s International School, Luxembourg-Hamm, 18:30

www.awcluxembourg.com

25 •

REPUBLICANS ABROAD

club.paperjam.lu

12 •

VC OUTLOOK

Julie Meyer has been a leading media and technology venture capitalist for more than 20 years.

She talks about championing entrepreneurship in Europe at this luncheon.

UNIV. OF LUX.

jan

Venue and time to be announced

wwwen.uni.lu

14

LUNCHTIME LECTURE

Prof. Alexander Proelß of the Univ. of Trier presents a seminar on EU member states’ international legal obligations. Sandwiches included but space is limited.

Univ. of Lux. Limpertsberg campus, 12:30-13:45

• dec

news@delano.lu.

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02.12.2011 11:59:12 Uhr

ALFI Events Calendar 2012

→ 13-14/03:

ALFI Spring Conference

→ 13/03:

ALFI Gala Dinner

→ 18/04:

ALFI & PRiM Risk Management Conference

→ 9-10/05:

ALFI SRI and Microfinance Conference

→ 23/05:

ALFI Conference London

→ 18-19/09 (tbc): ALFI Global Distribution Conference in association with NICSA & HKIFA → 20-21/11:

ALFI_Delano.indd 1

ALFI European Alternative Investment Funds Conference

alfi | association of the

12, rue Erasme

Tel: +352 22 30 26 - 1

info@alfi.lu

luxembourg fund industry

L - 1468 Luxembourg

Fax: +352 22 30 93

www.alfi.lu

28.11.2011 17:02:42 Uhr

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02.12.2011 11:57:12 Uhr

cover story

Thierry Leterre

“Students get a real taste for living abroad” The dean of the Miami University Dolibois European Center in Differdange wants to build on the strong legacy left by his predecessor.

Text: Duncan Roberts — Photos: David Laurent/Wide

Thierry Leterre: MUDEC is a booster for new adventures

Sitting in his wood-panelled office in the Château de Differdange, Thierry Leterre is every inch the modern university administrator. An intellectual of some standing, Leterre is also a warm and approachable host, a leader who takes a keen interest in the well-being of students and faculty, and, indeed, anyone attached to the Miami University Dolibois European Center (MUDEC).

Now a firmly established study programme of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (which itself was founded in 1809), MUDEC welcomes some 380 students from the States every year to its Differdange campus. Founded in 1969, the centre was officially recognised as a Luxembourg education institution in 1992. Five years later the campus relocated from the capital city to Differdange, in what Leterre says was “quite a bold move.” But it has been positive and not only because of the splendid 15th century château, but also, says Leterre, because Differdange itself has evolved and changed over the last

14 years. “We say that we have now moved from being simply in the château to being in Differdange. It depends on our context, but we are trying to be more integrated into the life of the city. Differdange will soon get a high school which will bring a younger population back to the city, so we look forward to having more exchange and interaction.”

Harmonious The MUDEC campus is, of course, tiny compared to a normal American university. On average between 110 and 130 students attend the programme each semester. But Leterre says that the Miami campus is actually quite different from normal university campuses in the States. “It is actually quite beautiful. It is semi-rural, so not completely lost in the woods like some liberal arts colleges.

We were blessed with uncreative architects, so we have the same red brick buildings replicated throughout. But the students are used to small communities, which I think is why there was this love story

between Luxembourg and Miami.” Luxembourg was also chosen because it is well-connected to the rest of Europe.

Students who attend the MUDEC programme do tend to travel a lot. “It provides ample European experience for our students. In another country that could have been an artificial formula. But with Luxembourg being a very multinational and multicultural society, it works out well.

Even though we are seeking to always build more links with the community, I think we are pretty harmonious with a country in which foreigners, like me, live and where people are constantly cross borders. So I don’t think we are betraying anything by having our students travel regularly. It is in the spirit of Luxembourg.”

Indeed, Leterre, like his predecessor, the inimitable Ekkehard Stiller, is keen to seize opportunities to connect with the local community. For instance, students from the University of Luxembourg were invited to the MUDEC Thanksgiving dinner and it is closely connected with the Luxembourg chapter

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cover story

Castle gates: the 15th century château in Differdange

of the Miami University Alumni Association, headed by local entrepreneur Antoine Scholer. Furthermore, in addition to the ten or so professors who come in from the States every year, and others from Belgium, France and even Germany, the centre has a number of Luxembourgers on its faculty staff. These include such eminent names as Paul Lesch (film and history), Emile Haag (history) and Guy de Muyser (political science). “We have very strong assets with our Luxembourg faculty members,” says Leterre.

The MUDEC programme is the most popular foreign study programme at Miami University--although it is not exclusively reserved for Miami students. “It is not a closed programme. Any university that wishes to include it as part of its programme can join. That is one aspect

I would like to develop, and why not expand the programme to students from outside the US; from Africa or Asia? I think Luxembourg is the place to do that because one thing we all appreciate about the country is that people don’t tend to typify others according to their nationality or appearance.” Leterre says that when the programme first started its success was artificial because students at Miami had fewer choices about where they could study abroad.

But now that the choice has expanded vastly, it is still a highly sought after programme and only accepts students who are truly motivated to coming to Luxembourg. For many it is their first experience of studying abroad, yet Leterre says that former students have formed a very loyal community.

“It is a booster for new adventures and

I can build on this legacy” Thierry Leterre

most Miami alumni who end up working abroad are from the MUDEC programme.

Students here get a real taste for living abroad. It’s amazing how many say that it changed their life because it opened new horizons. You could understand that in the late 60s and early 70s, when the world was very different and travelling to Europe was a real endeavour. But here students do feel different because they don’t have the backup of American society. Even if it’s less obvious than in other parts of the

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cover story

Studies: an emphasis is placed on expediential and outcome based learning

John E. Dolibois: Miami University’s European Center is named after the former US ambassador to Luxembourg

Chill out zone: students relax between lessons

world--we have all the comforts of modern life--cultures are still distinctly different and they experience it daily.”

Indeed, students live with host families, so they are in constant contact with local people--be they Luxembourgers or foreign residents. Leterre says that sometimes students form a real bond with their host families. “The people who contact us to offer students a home are committed. Sometimes they want to have an Anglophone around for their kids, sometimes because the house is empty…but there is always this notion of commitment. But we provide a support system for the families. If there is a problem they can reach out to us. If the problem is serious, which is very rare, we can impose disciplinary sanctions because we view the host family home as a dorm. And believe me American universities are certainly not tender when

it comes to sanctions.” It’s all about people, says Leterre. It is the people aspect that first attracted him to the job. He had already seen Miami University as a “tourist” while visiting a friend who was teaching at the Oxford campus. He returned in 2008 to give a round of lectures and found himself charmed by the warmth of the faculty and the students. And now he has discovered Luxembourg and its people. “And, without abusing my own country, it is far more relaxed than France.”

Legacy Leterre has a PhD in philosophy but qualified as a full professor in political science, specialising in the history of ideas. “In more recent years I have developed a research project about security, and I was working on border security and visa

issues. So it is strange that I am in a country where there are virtually no borders.”

He also did what he calls a “sub-specialisation” in communication and manages to put some of that into practice as a columnist, chiefly with La Croix and Libération. He says his activities taught him two great things. “As a political scientist, and leading an institution, I have far more respect for politicians. Because you become aware that you cannot be inspired every day and that people are always looking to you. Sometimes you will make a crappy speech and sometimes you won’t make the smartest decision of your life, but you have to make decisions. As a columnist I found an immense respect for journalists. It’s easy, honestly, to criticise how superficial some journalists are until you have to write a five thousand word column--and that is just once a month. I

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Multilingual welcome: students have to learn languages as part of the programme

learned a lesson in humility.” He quips that as a full professor in France he could ask for an extension and nobody would have refused him. Writing to newspaper deadlines is a different prospect altogether. It also improved his writing style. “I never had a high respect for very technical writing. I have written extensively about the philosopher Alain, and he used to say he hates people saying clearly obscure things or saying clear things in an obscure manner.” One of Leterre’s proudest moments came when Libération accepted the title of one of his columns without changing it, because the publication was particularly known for its punchy titles.

He says he had no qualms about replacing Ekkerhard Stiller, who had been the MUDEC dean for 20 years. “Because

Ancient halls: students enjoy the historical setting of the château

I didn’t replace him. He was retiring, so it was his decision.” He says his career as a senior administrator had been mostly spent either creating something or acting as a fireman to fix messy situations.

“Creating from scratch is great, but it is very, very tiring. Thanks to Ekkie I have had a different experience here. It is a very well administrated programme with very solid fundamentals, so I can build on this legacy. A legacy is something you can work with to move forward, and he gave me this impulse to do that. So I am very grateful to my predecessor, who, on top of it all, was a very warm and friendly colleague.

He is the kind of person you don’t replace but are happy to succeed.”

Leterre’s ambition for MUDEC is to develop and diversify. “One of the strengths of Miami University is that we integrate a

lot of expediential components in our programme. And we do so with our students here with two mandatory study tours that are totally embedded into the course.”

For instance music students might go to listen to music in Germany or Italy, or history students may go to Vienna or Auschwitz. “But we would like to extend this to different type of students.” Next year Miami will open a global servicelearning course, which in Luxembourg could involve working with local municipalities. “Working with businesses and offering more internships, and thus integrating even more into the life of Luxembourg, is another goal,” says Leterre.

“My ambition is that the programme becomes a reference for studying abroad based on expediential and outcome based learning.”

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ights Winterl uary r, Jan ecembe

D

lace de

es + P ce d’Arm

Pla

Paris

CHRISTMAS MARKET WITH CONCERTS PLACE D’ARMES 25TH NOV › 1STJAN SAINT NICHOLAS MARKET PLACE DE PARIS 25TH NOV › 23RD DEC NOËL EN PROVENCE HOME SACRÉ-COEUR 26TH NOV › 15TH JAN TWO SUNDAY OPENINGS LUXEMBURG-CITY 11TH + 18TH DEC ADVENT CIRCUS CHAMPS DES GLACIS 1ST › 18TH DEC CHRISTMAS PARADE STATION DISTRICT – CITY CENTER 11TH DEC

Luxembourg’s largest digital library has a new name Access for free and from home 45 000 electronic journal titles, 40 000 science eBooks and several hundred specialised databases and reference platforms in English, French and German.

More: blog.findit.lu

By Consortium Luxembourg

Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg, Université du Luxembourg, CRP Santé, CRP Henri Tudor, CRP Gabriel Lippmann

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01.12.2011 15:37:17 Uhr

NETWORKING

Pirate Productions

THE SHOW MUST GO ON For over thirty years the musical theatre group has been bringing quality entertainment to audiences. It is now gearing up for its latest show, a pantomime version of Aladdin.

Text: Duncan Roberts — Photos: Olivier Minaire

It seems totally appropriate that the next show being put on by Pirate Productions is a traditional British-style pantomime version of Aladdin. The tale of the boy with the magic lamp was, after all, the very first panto put on by the group in 1980, and the first under the Pirates name, which was inspired by a previous production in conjunction with the American School of Luxembourg of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates Of Penzance.

A few stalwarts of the ex-pat theatre scene from those early shows remain in Luxembourg, but the make-up of the group has changed dramatically over the last thirty years. In the very early days membership was mostly made up of English native speakers, but chairman Philip Dutton says that since he joined the group has always had an international flavour. “Less than half the membership was British, Irish or American and what has been very pronounced over the past couple of years is the increased number of eastern Europeans. We are very pleased to have them as they are extremely talented and full of life.”

That gives the company a larger pool of talent to choose from, though putting on shows in English still requires that

the actors and singers can be clearly understood--though Dutton says that poses no problem. Wherever it can, Pirates also likes to include younger actors and children, though parts are limited. Dutton explains that the group tends to point children looking to gain experience and learn about stage craft towards the New World Theatre Club, which has a youth programme.

Pirates actually started as a spin-off from NWTC, for the one-off Gilbert and Sullivan production at the Casino in Bonnevoie. Following that show’s success, the enthusiastic cast and crew decided to form a separate group that would concentrate on musical theatre productions rather than ‘straight’ drama.

“Because there is a lot of specialist technique required, a lot more technical complexity and expense, and rehearsal time is longer. So the whole scope of how you approach musical theatre is different,” Dutton explains.

Pirates tends to spend around six months preparing and rehearsing for its largescale shows. Finding venues, however, is a different proposition. Large shows require a proper theatre, with professional lighting and sound equipment and an orchestra pit and all the para-

phernalia of a large stage with spacious wings. Which poses a problem in Luxembourg. “Those types of theatres do exist, but it’s very hard to get in to them,” says Dutton. “It’s virtually impossible for us to afford and they tend to be fully booked years in advance. Even if we could get them, it is difficult to book for a week’s run, which is what we want--a couple of days to set up and get out, plus four days for the show.”

Although being part of a show with Pirates requires dedication and hard work, and a long-term commitment, the group is also keen to stress the social aspect of its activities. “Rehearsals are a lot of fun and members tend to have a lot of social activity outside of the formal rehearsals or meetings. Some of which we organise as Pirates, but very often

PRACTICAL INFO Pirate Productions asbl www.pirates.lu

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NETWORKING

PHILIP DUTTON: rehearsals are fun and the group is very sociable

Performance

ALADDIN

people just organise it themselves and ask others to join them for an event or dinner.”

Following Aladdin plans are already afoot for more productions in 2012. A smallish musical called Nunsense--“a stage show about singing and dancing nuns; a comedy, obviously”--and a cabaret type show in the group’s “Wine and...”

COMMITTEE

Chair: Philip Dutton Production Liaison: Valerie Scott Club Secretary: Bernadette Alexander Treasurer: Tadeja Severkar

series, which in the past has featured folk and song as its themes. “It surprised us all how popular the ‘Wine and folk’ show was, we didn’t think there was that much of a market for folk.” Next year’s show will focus on jazz, as Dutton says the group has some very talented jazz singers among its members.

Membership Secretary: Stefanie Lehmann News and communication: Neil Johnson Members: Rachel Parker, Nicole Steffen

MEMBERSHIP

Members receive newsletters with full details of all club activities, auditions, etc. They also support the club and get to vote in all club matters. Most importantly, membership is obligatory to be involved in a show, as only members are covered by Pirates’ insurance.

Pirates’ next production: traditional pantomime at Château de Bettembourg Performances: January 19-22 and 26-29. Times: at 8 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and at 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sunday.

Seat prices: €22 adults; €12 children (under 16) Crèche facilities: available for the matinees on 21, 22 and 29 but NOT for Saturday, January 28 Further information and bookings: tel. 621 784 762 or email: tickets@pirates.lu

EVENTS

Pirates does not hold regular meetings, apart from show-related activities. But it organises social events, a table-quiz and an AGM, details of which are provided in the club’s newsletter.

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LIFESTYLE GOING NATIVE

Local events

David Laurent/Wide

THREE FESTIVE TREATS

FIREWORKS

Over the past few years setting off fireworks at midnight on December 31 has become almost as popular in Luxembourg as in neighbouring Germany, where Sylvester “ballern” is a huge tradition and the streets fill with smoke and the smell of cordite until around 1 a.m.

Most supermarkets sell packs of fireworks--as always, it is advisable to buy from a respected retailer to ensure the pyrotechnics are safe.

A public fireworks display will be held on the place Guillaume II as the climax to the Ville de Luxembourg’s Winterlights programme. www.winterlights.lu

Shops in Luxembourg City and many other towns will be open on the Sundays in the lead up to Christmas. Stores in the capital city’s centre and the Gare area will open in the afternoon between 2 and 6 p.m. on December 11 and 18. Shops will also open on Sunday January 8 during the annual winter sales.

In addition, in association with the ministry of sustainable development and infrastructure, all buses operated by the Ville de Luxembourg will be free of charge, allowing shoppers to take advantage of public transport. The Park & Ride at Bouillon will also be open and the no.1 bus will run every ten minutes from there into the city centre on those afternoons, starting at 1:30 p.m. with the final return bus leaving the Royal Quai 2 at 6:46 p.m. The City Shopping Bus from the Glacis will also operate on a ten-minute schedule.

December 11 and 18, www.cityshopping.lu

Luxembourg is...

“ LIKE A STUDENT – EXCITED TO START A NEW CHAPTER OF LIFE, SHARING IDEAS WITH INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS, MOVING FORWARD TO AN INNOVATIVE FUTURE”

Adventscircus

SHOPPING

CIRCUS

A pre-Christmas circus on the Glacis has become part of the festive season’s tradition in Luxembourg. This year’s Adventscircus comes from Germany as usual, but language is no barrier as the artists are all international and there is no spoken word in any case. Indeed, the show promises deliver showmanship and variety theatre, with performers including acrobats, clowns, illusionists and a troupe of horses.

The circus may seem like an old-fashioned sort of entertainment these days, but this show features the latest light and sound technology to make sure it fulfils the expectations of younger audiences as well as the nostalgia for the big top of older audiences.

Until December 18, www.luxemburger-adventscircus.eu

BRITTA SCHLÜTTER, head of communication service, University of Luxembourg

CLUB LIFE

Highlights from the directory of local associations found on Delano.lu.

BUSINESS

NETWORKING

The Luxembourg Russia Business Chamber (LuxRussia) has more than 120 members from industry, commerce, banking, insurance and finance.

The Club Representing All Irish Chieftains is an international group for senior Irish executives to promote business and discussion.

LUXRUSSIA www.luxrussie.lu

CRAIC

Follow Craic on LinkedIn

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GOING NATIVE LIFESTYLE

People in the news

THE CRUCIAL THREE TOM HENGEN

THE KNOWLEDGE HOW TO...

ENTER A TEAM FOR RELAIS DE LA VIE

The teacher of English at the Lycée de Garçons in Esch/ Alzette, has won first prize in the Concours littéraire national 2011 for his poem Explorations in C. Written in English, the poem is, says Hengen “a piece about a kind of coming-of-age, if that doesn’t sound too pretentious?”. He describes it as an attempt to capture the spirit and the wealth of experiences of his time at the University of Aberystwyth in Wales, where he graduated with an MA, in American literature since 1948, with a particular focus on Native American writers.

He was also the founding co-editor of the university’s English Department’s Interchange poetry magazine. Hengen receives a prize of 1,500 euro and the publication of his poem will be paid for by the ministry of culture.

Luc Deflorenne

www.cnl.public.lu

SERGE URBANY

The 59-year old Déi Lénk politician was sworn in as a member of the Chamber of Deputies to replace André Hoffmann, who had stepped down mid-term through his mandate as he had announced previously.

Urbany is a lawyer for the OGB-L union and, like Hoffman, was a former member of the KPL communist party. He quit the KPL in 1993 to become a co-founder of de nei Lénk, and then helped found Déi Lénk in 1999.

Déi Lénk

www.sergeurbany.lu

CROWN PRINCE GUILLAUME

Cour Grand-Ducale/Christian Aschman

November was a busy month for the Grand Duke’s eldest son. He celebrated his 30th birthday and led a business mission to the Middle East during which he formally opened Luxembourg’s embassy in Abu Dhabi. But the biggest headlines came when French tabloid magazine Point de Vue revealed that he was apparently dating Stéphanie de Lannoy, a Belgian aristocrat. Some commentators even suggest a royal wedding could be on the cards next year.

The annual indoor fun run event for cancer awareness takes place over the weekend of March 24 & 25, 2012 at the Coque. Registrations opened on November 30.

1 Gather a team of between 20 and 40 runners/walkers 2 Decide whether you want to participate as a “Classic” (12 hours) or “Master” (24 hours) team 3 Decide in which of six categories --club, country, business, school, medical professionals or friends and families--you wish to participate 4 Remember the event is not a race, but a show of solidarity --there are prizes for collecting the most sponsorship money 5 Enter by visiting the event web site and paying a registration fee of 10 euro per team member. www.relaispourlavie.lu

BUSINESS

SOCIAL

SPORT

The American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg promotes networking opportunities & business relations and cross-cultural understanding.

Supports and promotes Irish social, cutural and sporting activities and helps further understanding between Ireland and Luxembourg.

Formed in 1976, Huskies has teams ranging from under 7 to full senior that train and play at the Kockelscheuer ice rink.

AMCHAM www.amcham.lu

IRISH CLUB www.irishclub.lu

HUSKIES ICE HOCKEY www.icehockey-huskies.lu

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LIFESTYLE

L'ÉPOPÉE DE LA GRANDE RÉGION

CROSS BORDER FILMS

Local production company Tarantula has released a 3 DVD box set of documentary films about the Greater Region. Tarantula’s own Donato Rotunno looks at the languages of the region in his film Blà Blä Blá, French director Stéphane Bubel explores myths in Eurobabel and German film maker Rüdiger Mörsdorf links the common histories of the four different countries of the region and suggests it is a blueprint for the future of Europe. The fi lms are all available with English subtitles. www.tarantula.lu

LES M DESIGNER OBJECTS

POETIC FUNCTIONALITY Céline Merhand and Anaïs Morel have been designing beautiful yet highly functional objects together under the Les M label for three years.

Their designs include a brilliantly cosy looking “cocon” sleeping bag and chair combo, and this rather daring looking “coline” desk organiser for storing paperclips and envelopes.

The designs are on sale at Mudam. www.lesm-designstudio.com

Seven local flavour

GIFT IDEAS MOSELLE WINE

LUXEMBOURG IN A BOTTLE The reputation of local wines has grown in stature immeasurably over the last two decades, so a bottle of a Grand Premier Cru from the Moselle will certainly go down well as a gift.

We particularly like the Domaine et Tradition series from any of the seven small and dedicated vintners who select their best wines for the special label.

Local crémant can also be really good, and here we can only go with the flow and suggest that Alice Hartmann’s Brut is among the best, though we also have a soft spot for Bernard Massard’s Cuvée 90 ans bubbly. www.vins-cremants.lu

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LIFESTYLE ÄDDI & MERCI T-SHIRTS

Wearing a t-shirt bearing the legend “gromperekichelchen”, “äddi a merci” or “kachkeis” is still a bit of a conversation starter in Luxembourg, but especially so abroad. For anyone with a link to Luxembourg and the local language, Äddi & Merci’s stylish t-shirt range is a great way to express an association with the country and to stand out from the crowd. Shirts are available in men’s, women’s and kids’ sizes and can be ordered online. www.aeddi-a-merci.lu

THE GIFT OF MUSIC

Wade Zimmerman

OP LËTZEBUERGESCH W.E.G

PHILHARMONIE SEASON TICKET

No matter how often you go, attending a concert at the Philharmonie remains a special occasion, and a truly enjoyable cultural experience.

Abonnements for many of the Phil’s concert series are still available for the remainder of the 2011-12 season-from world music or jazz to chamber music and “les grands classiques”. www.philharmonie.lu

SILK & BURG

LOCAL VIEWS MOEIN

STYLISH SNAPSHOT

Danish artist Marie Pedersen has created a series of silk screens and greeting cards featuring local scenes such as the Gëlle Fra, Pont Adolphe, the Montée du Grund and the rue du Nord. Her collection of locally themed art also includes stylish birthday and Christmas (Schéin Chrëschtdeeg) cards.

But Marie also has a passion for crochet, and her e-shop features a range of crochet jewellery that makes for a truly different gift-from wooden crochet bangles to necklaces, monogrammed pendants and brooches. www.silkandburg.lu

Published by our own house, Maison Moderne Publishing, Moien is a book about Luxembourg like no other. It features well-researched but highly accessible illustrated essays on a wide range of subjects dealing with the Grand Duchy’s past, present and future written by the likes of art historian and curator Hans Fellner, paperJam editor Jean-Michel Gaudron, Archiduc editor Céline Coubray, Delano editor-in-chief Duncan Roberts, historian and fi lm expert Paul Lesch, Maison Moderne editorial director Marc Gerges and university professor Philippe Poirier.

There is also a series of chapters that are more visual and provide a snapshot of contemporary Luxembourg. For instance in the “next generation”, 10 local cultural commentators chose 10 talents under the age of 30 who should be worth looking out for as their careers develop. Or photographer Andrés Lejona’s brilliant portraits of tourists or typical Schueberfouer food; and a stunning photo-montage of what the city looked like in its “natural state” before any settlement was built. www.maisonmoderne.lu

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LIFESTYLE

Eleven live performances to watch

ON STAGE AKRAM KHAN & NITIN SAWHNEY

IDIOSYNCRATIC

Choreographer-dancer Khan joins forces once again with composermusician Sawhney for a sort of retrospective of their work. Confluence explores the way these two artists came to work together on projects such as Zero Degrees and Bahok, and celebrates the creative process. Six musicians and five dancers join them for what the Daily Telegraph called a powerful and idiosyncratic work.

Tour de Force

January 20 and 21, Grand Théâtre, Luxembourg-Limpertsberg, www.theatres.lu SHIP OF HEAVEN

NORWEGIAN EXPLORERS

THE GREAT GATSBY

THE JAZZ SET The American Drama Group in Europe makes one of its regular stops in Luxembourg with an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. A coproduction with Tour de Force Theatre, the show recreates the glitz and decadence of the 1920s before the great Wall Street Crash.

Often cited as one of the great American novels, Fitzgerald’s work only really achieved its legendary status well after WWII--and was later helped by a fi lm version starring Robert Redford.

Published in 1925, it graphically portrays a society being destroyed by

money and dishonesty, an American Dream of happiness and individualism degenerating into the mere pursuit of wealth.

Tour de Force is renowned for its fastpaced, visually evocative and highly theatrical productions, and this latest show is no different, using live jazz to enhance the period feel and a cast of just five actors to elicit the tense and absorbing drama. The show is being put on at 7:30 p.m. on both evenings and also at 11 a.m. for school groups.

January 16 and 17, Abbaye de Neumünster, Luxembourg-Grund, www.ccrn.lu

Blending traditional church music with blues, jazz, and even Norwegian folk music, Ship of Heaven features guitarist Knud Reiersrud and organist-composer Iver Kleive (photo). Reiersrud is a keen explorer of different music and has used Middle Eastern oud in his recordings and has played with Five Blind Boys of Alabama and Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano among others.

December 17, Philharmonie, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, www.philharmonie.lu

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TIGER LILLIES FREAKSHOW

LIFE IS A CABARET

Heike Schnieder-Matzigkeit

A stunning mix of low-life circus and high-octane cabaret, The Tiger Lillies Freakshow is probably not for the fainthearted or easily offended. The show blends the surreal, Brechtian music of The Tiger Lillies with the theatrical excesses of the freak show, as devised

by Belgian-born, Hamburg-based director Sebastiano Toma. According to the Tiger Lillies, the show “explores the deviant charms of the abnormal”. A rare chance to see something truly unique on stage and well worth the short journey to Ettelbrück.

January 14, CAPe, Ettelbrück, www.cape.lu

VESSELS

A GOOD PUMMELING British indie band Vessels released its second album this year, the acclaimed Helioscope, which BBC reviewer Mischa Pearlman said was an “immense, intense” record “that pummels your senses, filling your head and your mind with its insistent polyrhythms and its incessant restlessness.” In the intimate setting of d:qliq, the sensory overdrive will no doubt be even more heightened.

January 25, d:qliq, LuxembourgCentre, www.dqliq.com

MÉLIÈS EVENING

Anyone interested in the cinema, and in particular science fiction or the fantastic film genre, will know the name Georges Méliès. One of the true pioneers of the cinema, his famous film, Le Voyage dans la lune, was made in 1902 and features the now iconic image of a bullet-shaped spaceship landing in the eye of the man in the moon. It has now been painstakingly restored with colour tinting and a soundtrack by French group Air. A documentary detailing the restoration will also be screened, and one of the co-directors, Serge Bromberg will be on hand to answer questions from the audience.

December 12, Cinémathèque, Luxembourg-Centre, www.cinematheque.lu

Sascha Vaughan

STELLAR PIONEER

LES BALLETS TROCKADERO DE MONTE CARLO

DES MEN; TUTUS The all male corps of Ballet Trockadero has been bringing the fun and joy back in to ballet since 1974. Dressed in tutus, the troupe performs with glee classics from the ballet repertoire--giving them a twist but remaining reverential, delivering deliberate mistakes on stage, but never patronising their audience. The current show sees the Trocks perform Swan Lake and Paquita as well as a few surprises. A special performance on December 31 will be a real treat for anyone looking to start the New Year with something completely different.

December 29 to 31, Grand Théâtre, Luxembourg-Limpertsberg, www.theatres.lu

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LIFESTYLE

ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN

FREDDIE’S NOT DEAD Described as “the most authentic and most impressive Queen tribute show”, One Night of Queen features singer Gary Mullen in the Freddie Mercury role as rock’s ultimate showman, charismatic singer and band leader. So convincing is his shtick, that audiences have even been known to shout for “Freddie” when demanding an encore. The two-hourconcert features all the hits, including crowd-pleasers ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘We are the Champions’.

January 20, Rockhal, Esch-Belval, www.rockhal.lu

BIRKIN SINGS GAINSBOURG

JANE B AND OTHERS

Carole Bellaïche

Although Serge Gainsbourg is associated with many women--from Brigitte Bardot to Vanessa Paradis--it is undoubtedly his relationship with Jane Birkin that was the most iconic, producing the controversial hit single ‘Je t’aime… moi non plus’, a series of albums and fi lms and also offspring in the form of talented actress-singer Charlotte Gainsbourg. After the couple split, Birkin pursued her own acting career and won acclaim for several roles in fi lms as diverse as Death on the Nile and La Belle Noiseuse. Her singing career has also been eclectic--her biggest triumph coming with 2002 project Arabesque.

A charismatic yet understated performer, Birkin is now on tour with a collection of songs from the albums she recorded with Gainsbourg. The show features songs such as the biographical ‘Jane B’ and ‘Ah! Melody’ from the concept album/fi lm Histoire de Melody Nelson.

January 26, Philharmonie, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, www.philharmonie.lu

FRIENDLY FIRES

SENSUALISTS

Pitchfork calls Friendly Fires “sensualists who excel under a lack of restraint.” This year’s second album, Pala continues in the vein of euphoric, passionate dance pop. The band’s Luxembourg debut comes at the KuFa in Esch with support from the superbly named Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs from the UK and local band Hal Flavin.

December 17, Kulturfabrik, Esch-Alzette, www.kulturfabrik.lu LAMB

STRIPPED DOWN

Andy Barlow and Lou Rhodes return for a third show at den Atelier on the back of new album, 5, their first in eight years. The record sounds familiarly ambient, but is stripped back and also has a slightly folk tinge.

It has been called a return to form by some critics, while others lament the duo’s lack of progress since their 90s heyday.

January 30, den Atelier, LuxembourgHollerich, www.atelier.lu

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01.12.2011 16:23:53 Uhr

2011

2012

NEW YEARS EVE AT THE GRAND THÉÂTRE

AKRAM KHAN IN LUXEMBOURG

A FESTIVE CELEBRATION TO CONLUDE A MONTH OF FESTIVITIES

AKRAM KHAN COMPANY DESH (SOLO) ADULTS 20€ STUDENTS 8€

ON THE 31 DECEMBER, ULTIMATE DAY OF THE YEAR, THE GRAND THÉÂTRE WILL DRESS TO THE NINES!

18.01.2012 AT 8PM

AKRAM KHAN & NITIN SAWHNEY CONFLUENCE

AFTER THE SHOW, THE TEAM OF THE BRASSERIE SCHUMAN WILL PLAY HOST IN THE FOYER OF THE THEATRE, WHERE A GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE WILL KICK OFF A DELIGHTFUL EVENING COMPRISING A SUCCULENT DINNER MENU AND FESTIVE MUSIC.

BY AKRAM KHAN & NITIN SAWHNEY WITH 5 DANCERS & 6 MUSICIANS ADULTS 25€ 20€ 15€ STUDENTS 8€ 20 & 21.01.2012 AT 8PM © ELLIOTT FRANKS

© SAScHA VAUGHAN

AT 7.30PM PROCEEDINGS WILL BEGIN WITH A PERFORMANCE OF CULT-DANCE COMPANY BALLETS TROCKADERO DE MONTE CARLO / NEW YORK IN THE MAIN AUDITORIUM OF THE THEATRE; A FLAMBOYANT FIREWORK DISPLAY COMBINING CLASSICAL PRECISION WITH HILARIOUS SLAPSTICK.

ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES OF BALLETS TROCKADERO DE MONTE CARLO/NEW YORK AT THE GRAND THÉÂTRE ON 29TH AND 30TH DECEMBER 2011 AT 8 PM

INFORMATIONS ET RÉSERVATIONS POUR LE SPECTACLE ET LE MENU AUPRÈS DE LUXEMBOURG TICKET / 1, ROND-POINT SCHUMAN / L-2525 LUXEMBOURG / TÉL. +352/47 08 95 1 PRIX DE LA REPRÉSENTATION : ADULTES 25€, 20€, 15€ / JEUNES 8€ PRIX DU MENU : ADULTES 70€, ENFANTS (-12 ANS) 35€ (BOISSONS NON INCLUSES)

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11/24/11 1:21 PM

LIFESTYLE

Theatre

A MULTIDIMENSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Tackling Mikhail Bulgakov’s “unstageable” novel, The Master and Margarita is the latest challenge taken up by Complicite. Director Simon McBurney talks about the piece’s complexity.

Text: Duncan Roberts — Photo: Complicite

Theatre fans and critics are all a quiver whenever Complicite announces its new project. So upon hearing that Simon McBurney’s company was to stage an adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s brilliantly complex novel The Master and Margarita, expectations were high to see how they pull it off. McBurney first read the novel--set in 1930s Soviet era Moscow--in his teens and says it had crossed his mind a few times to stage an adaptation. But he has only seriously worked on the project for the last 18 months.

“It’s funny, disturbing and taps into a sense of the absurd and yet at the same time something fundamentally psychological,” he says. “The difficulty for us is that we read it in translation, and the original has a poetic dimension that we can’t fully grasp.” Adapting such a complex work required making choices out of necessity about what to focus on and what aspects to cut; though McBurney says that it’s not merely a question of writing an adaptation and performing it.

“It’s also a question of the performers and the resources available to make it work.”

The work premiered in Plymouth last month. After playing in Luxembourg it will be staged at the Barbican in March next year. Yet McBurney has always said that theatre is an organic thing and he has no qualms about saying that there will be “ dozens” of changes to the piece by the time it arrives at the Grand Théâtre, and again by the time it is staged at the Barbican. “It is only a

SIMON MCBURNEY: theatre is never static

stage in its creation. For me a piece of theatre is never static, it’s always changing.

It never stops.”

He sees contemporary resonance in the source novel to do with the nature of the imagination. “Because we live in a highly materialistic society and in that sense it corresponds to Soviet society of the 1930s, which was curiously similarly materialistic in that everything was explicable and potentially understandable.”

Contemporary society is fi xated with thinking there is only the material world, he explains. “Bulgakov is asking whether the imaginative world is actually not more real than what we call this real world. For example, we live through the

illusion of our economies being a permanent fixture in the way we live, but as has recently been shown, and will be increasingly shown, they are an absolute fiction that has recently quite blatantly collapsed and been exposed.”

But McBurney never has any hopes for what the audience will get out of a particular work. “I don’t have anything specific to tell the audience, other than to present to them an experience which is at once ambiguous and at once clear. Of course that is particularly apposite to this book, where one’s reactions are quite complex and multidimensional.”

Master and Margarita is on at the Grand Théâtre on December 15 and 16 at 8 p.m. www.theatres.lu

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01.12.2011 14:18:21 Uhr

30 january 2012 Den Atelier Concert

LAMB

Send an email mentioning “den Atelier/lamb” to contest@delano.lu Deadline for entries is 16 January 2012 Winners will be notified by email

Win rt ce c o nk e t s ! tic

UNDERSTANDING LUXEMBOURG: CURRENT AFFAIRS, BUSINESS, LIFESTYLE, CULTURE www.delano.lu

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02.12.2011 16:21:44 Uhr

02.12.2011 16:58:02 Uhr

LIFESTYLE

Cinema

LET US ENTERTAIN YOU!

Ahead of its 15th anniversary in December, Utopolis founder and CEO Nico Simon and operations manager Jacky Beck talk about the past, the present and the future of the cinema complex.

Text: Line Eskildsen — Photo: Charles Caratini

“I still remember I was standing on top of the stairs in front of the candy bar and nobody came.” Nico Simon is reliving the nightmare he had on the eve of the grand opening of Luxembourg’s first purposebuilt cineplex in 1996. The dream never came true. On the contrary, Utopolis recorded around 900,000 visitors during its first operating year, some 30 percent above projections.

Jacky Beck explains that the cinema will not be celebrating its imminent anniversary with an invitation-only champagne event, but with discounts and prize competitions for its audience. “It’s better to thank those that really deserve it,” says Simon. Indeed, Utopolis’ yearly audience average peaked in 2001 and has since steadied at a level just under 900,000. “Luxembourg is a mature market, and we won’t see any major changes in numbers anymore,” says Simon. “If we want to go into higher seas and grow faster we have to come up with new concepts.”

The cinema business is now all about innovation and events, such as Utopolis’ screenings of productions live from the Metropolitan Opera, the Robbie Williams and Red Hot Chili Peppers concerts and even the 2006 World Cup. “I remember seeing Zidane’s ‘coup-de-boule’ on the big screen: that was really scary!”, Beck exclaims, while explaining that the 1996 “wow-effect” of a Luxembourg multiplex (with popcorn) is no longer enough.

Although the core business is still about selling tickets, alternative content is now

JACKY BECK AND NICO SIMON: a journey through the work

a major part of the game. “People are looking for entertainment and events.”

The increased focus on providing an all round entertainment experience can also be seen in the variety of restaurants in the cineplex. The old Stargate movie memorabilia shop will soon be replaced by a McDonalds, “which will make our offer complete. We will have a wide selection of well-branded, well-known and well-liked restaurants.” And, even if home cinemas and Internet downloads are growing in popularity, often people will watch a movie at home and then go to the cinema to “watch it how it’s supposed to be seen,” the CEO claims.

Utopolis was the first cinema in Europe to go 100 percent digital. Simon is confident that the emergence of digital technology “was a revolution” and predicts that the next 15 years will see another transformation with the same impact. “It will, however, be a revolution that people won’t notice.” The current technology is somewhat old-fashioned, as it is based on expensive xenon light bulbs. Within the next decade, lasers will replace the bulbs and a centralised engine will deliver images via glass fibre wire to the projection rooms. As Jacky Beck put it: “Darth Vader will come to the cinema.”

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01.12.2011 14:25:32 Uhr

François Biard (1799 − 1882), Quatre heures au Salon (detail), 1847, © Musée du Louvre, Département des Peintures, Paris

Art at Any Cost Jean-Pierre Pescatore (1793 – 1855), a bourgeois collector in Paris at the time of Louis-Philippe

18 NOV 2011 > 04 MAR 2012 Villa Vauban Musée d’Art de la Ville de Luxembourg

18, av. Émile Reuter L-2090 Luxembourg T +352 4796 4901 www.villavauban.lu

Opening hours Mon – Sun 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Tue closed Fri 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.

LIFESTYLE

Four films to watch

ON SCREEN SHAME

Following his turn as Bobby Sands in Hunger, Michael Fassbender teams up again with director Steve McQueen for an equally harrowing fi lm. This time Fassbinder’s character is imprisoned by his own sexual addiction. Brandon is

Film4

a successful Manhattanite who has an easy way with women, managing to seduce with few words thanks to his penetrating eyes. McQueen explores the shame--and apparent lack of it--that Brandon feels. His sequence of detached conquests is threatened by the arrival of his younger sister (Carey Mulligan).

Like any addict whose habit cannot be fed, Brandon’s reaction to his sister’s self-imposed sojourn is volatile. Fassbender delivers a mesmerising performance, and Mulligan is living up to the promise she showed in An Education.

This may not exactly be seasonal fare, but it is bound to be one of the most memorable films you will see this year.

Released December 16

Dreamworks SKG

NEW YORK...YOU’RE BRINGING ME DOWN THE HELP

MISSISSIPPI YEARNING Based on Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 best-seller, Tate Taylor’s nostalgic film focuses on the lot of black housekeepers in a Mississippi town in the 1960s. Emma Stone stars as a young student journalist who returns home and starts interviewing the black maids of her family and friends. Viola Davis co-stars as one of the most vociferous of “the help“, who opens up to Stone’s character much to the dismay of the white townsfolk.

Released December 30

HYSTERIA

HITTING THE SPOT CARNAGE

Filmed largely in Luxembourg, Tanya Wexler’s Victorian romp stars Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rupert Everett, Jonathan Pryce and Hugh Dancy in a story about the invention of the first electric-mechanical vibrator. Used by physicians to help women suffering from “hysteria”, the contraption went on to be a huge success. But the film also deals with female emancipation, with Gyllenhaal providing a vivacious foil to the Victorian gentlemen.

Released December 16

Roman Polanski’s dark drama focuses on two middle class New York couples who meet to discuss their sons’ playground brawl. Based on Yasmina Reza’s play God of Carnage, it stars Kate Winslet and Christophe Waltz as one set of parents, pitting their wits against Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly. What begins as a civil discussion soon descends into, well, carnage as middle class mores slip and the characters reveal their true selves.

Constantin Film Producktion

Delux Productions

CIVIL RIGHTS

Released December 9

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01.12.2011 16:31:29 Uhr

LUXEMBOURG TODAY A wide-angle contemporary snapshot of Luxembourg covering a broad range of subjects, including a quick look into the past and a long-term view of the future. A portrait comprising new texts and photographic contributions on: architecture – film – the financial centre gastronomy and wine – industry culture – Lëtzebuergesh – fashion the next generation – politics – sport – tourism the economy – contemporary art.

Out now in bookstores everywhere 200 pages with over 400 photos 39 € www.moien.maisonmoderne.lu

* Moien is available in French, German and English languages.

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28.10.2011 10:40:18 Uhr

LIFESTYLE KNIDDELKINNEK

LOCAL FARE

Olivier Minaire

David Laurent/Wide

The new Waistuff-Restaurant in the rue de la Loge specialises in Kniddelen and Luxembourg cuisine. What are Kniddelen? They are a sort of savoury quenelle, made here with a variety of ingredients ranging from forest mushrooms to Roquefort and the traditional bacon and onion recipe. Luxembourg specialities such as Feierstengszalot (a delicious boiled beef salad), a super-size Bouneschlupp (bean soup) or boudin noir (blood sausage or black pudding) are also available as is a fine selection of wines from the Moselle and Italy (the latter to match the pasta that is also on the menu).

WHITE HOUSE

STYLE ICON

www.kniddelkinnek.lu

White House, designed by Stefan Moreno, is a new lounge bar serving food until 1 a.m. It is located in the rue des Bains, near the “exclusive club” with which it shares the “White” name. The spacious ground floor bar is stylish in the extreme, while on the first floor the mood is more loungelike with low tables and sofas.

News and recommendations for

EPICUREANS AND NIGHT OWLS

www.white.lu

ONE NEW STAR BUT THREE LOSE OUT

OSCAR’S

David Laurent/Wide

NOT SO WILDE

Long a favourite haunt for burgers and fish and chips and its sun-trap terrace, Oscar’s in the Grund is under new ownership. Tim Probyn and Henrik Jensen--proprietors of established Q42 and Q45 as well as Soul Kitchen--have teamed up with Balazs Hajdu to create a more cosy lounge bar atmosphere. But they will retain the fabled fish’n’chips.

Follow Oscar’s on Facebook

The Grand Duchy has long been fabled for its unusually high proportion of Michelin starred restaurants per capita. The latest edition of the gourmet bible, lists just 11 starred restaurants--still not bad for a country the size of Luxembourg, but down two from last year. René Mathieu in La Distellerie, housed in the Château de Bourglinster, was the only chef to gain a star in the new guide. But restaurant Le Sud in the Rives de Clausen and Manoir Kaaselslay in Clervaux were both stripped of their

David Laurent/Wide

MICHELIN GUIDE

single stars, and Influence on Esch-surAlzette closed over the summer.

The restaurants that retain one star are Favaro in Esch-sur-Alzette, Lea Linster in Frisange, La Gaichel in Gaichel, Clairefontaine in Luxembourg-Centre, Le Bouquet Garni in LuxembourgCentre, Patin d’Or in Kockelscheuer, Les Roses at the Casino 2000 in Mondorf-les-Bains, Ma langue sourit in Oetrange, and Toit pour Toi in Schouweiler. Mosconi (photo), in Luxembourg-Grund, remains the only two starred “address”.

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02.12.2011 11:55:28 Uhr

Les grands chefs s’invitent chez vous et vous passent leur tablier !

Découvrez, avec plus de 100 photographies, 50 recettes de toutes les cuisines du monde, soigneusement sélectionnées, et faciles à réaliser soi-même.

Par:

Jacques Demarque Olivier Minaire

www.maisonmoderne.lu

cookbook_Delano.indd 1

29.11.2011 13:45:04 Uhr

MY OTHER LIFE: HILARY FITZGIBBON

Skiing

A CONTAGIOUS THRILL

The real estate investment fund professional is stoked about skiing and wants to encourage others to enjoy the relaxing sport and the good life to be found in the mountains.

Text: Tonya Stoneman — Photos: Olivier Minaire

Hilary Fitzgibbon

2012 IRISH CLUB SKI TRIP

Destination: Morzine (France) in the Portes du Soleil Dates: January 25 to 29 Accommodation: Tremplin Hotel in centre of Morzine. Ski in and out, adjacent to the main Pleney gondola, double/twin or single rooms available.

Info: 30% discount on ski hire and lift pass discount. Cross-country and offpiste skiing available. Other activities include ice skating, snow shoe-treking, paragliding, scuba diving under ice, horse drawn sleigh rides and world-class spas. Great après ski and nightlife.

Hilary Fitzgibbon, organiser of the Irish Club’s annual ski trip, didn’t learn to ski until she was in her mid-twenties. Now, she’s on a mission to expose others to the sport that has brought her bliss in both the good times of life and the hard.

Fitzgibbon is particularly passionate about those who come to the sport later in life, like she did. She discovered a genuine zeal for skiing in 2009, when she took a year-long sabbatical from her career as a real estate investor in London. She’d gone home to care for her terminally ill father in Ireland.

When he died, the markets were in decline and she wasn’t ready to go back to work, so she went to the Alps where she knew she would find serenity. She rented an apartment in Portes du Soleil just outside of Geneva on the French border, and spent the whole season in the mountains honing her craft.

For Fitzgibbon, skiing is absolute freedom. “You’re up in the mountains a million miles away from work or anything. It’s so beautiful--the clear blue sky and the sunlight shining on millions of glistening diamonds in the snow. There’s an adrenaline rush when get to the bottom of the hill and let your breath go. You reward yourself with dinner and wine because you’ve earned it.”

It is this exhilarating experience she hopes to share with others. Asked if she sees a transformation in the people who attend club ski trips, her answer is a resounding yes. “You see it on day one or two. At first, they bring their BlackBerries. But as they begin to relax, they leave them at the hotel because they don’t want distractions. People sit behind their desks every day and are constantly on the go. This is a place where they can let go and enjoy life.”

Because the Swiss exchange rate is high this year, the group will holiday in Morzine, a resort in France that offers skiers access to more than 650 km of ski slopes across 12 different resorts (including several in Switzerland) with one lift pass. There will be plenty of opportunities for experienced skiers to carve up the slopes on hills like the infamous Swiss Wall and the Burton designed “The Stash,” a snowboarder’s paradise. But the trip will definitely accommodate beginners--12 first-time skiers are already signed up.

The Irish Club ski trip is open to everyone and anyone--there are no age or skill level prerequisites. And you don’t have to be Irish. The only requirement is you have to be willing to have fun.

www.irishclub.lu

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02.12.2011 12:01:37 Uhr

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