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february 4, 2015 \ newsweekly - € 0,75 \ read more at www.flanderstoday.eu current affairs \ P2

Politics \ P4

business \ P6

Bonte goes to Washington

innovation \ P7

education \ P9

Lennik LiBations

The mayor of Vilvoorde is travelling to Washington, DC, this week as the keynote speaker at a summit on radicalisation \2

Influential American website RateBeer.com has named a rural Flemish cafe as the second-best place in the world to sample beer

art & living \ P10

goLden age

Brussels cultural stalwart Beursschouwburg was founded 50 years ago this weekend by radical Flemish artists

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Solving a dark mystery

flemish physicists throw their weight behind race to find cause of dark matter senne starckx More articles by senne \ flanderstoday.eu

A group of European physicists believe that a ghostly type of particle known as a sterile neutrino might be behind dark matter, and they’ll soon start running experiments at the Study Centre for Nuclear Energy in Mol to prove it. If they succeed, they will change physics as we know it

eutrinos are some of the most intangible particles in the universe. A group of European physicists are now hoping to catch a new, mysterious variety of these ghostly particles in a nuclear reactor in Mol, Antwerp province. If they succeed, they could shed light on one of the biggest enigmas in physics – dark matter. Almost three years have passed since the European Centre

for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva announced its discovery of the Higgs boson. Now, physicists from all over the world are entering the next particle race, one that is taking them into uncharted territory. They don’t have much choice, really, since the detection of the Higgs particle effectively filled in the last blind spot in the Standard Model – the theory that brings together all of nature’s particles and forces. But one of the biggest puzzles in modern physics remains: dark matter. The only thing we known about it is that it exists. And that it outnumbers normal, “atomic” matter. As its name suggests, it’s impossible to “see” dark matter since it doesn’t emit any detectable radiation.

Indirect measurements are the only reason that we know that dark matter even exists. Astronomers have noticed that many stars rotate around the centre of their galaxy at a higher than normal speed. Given the total visible mass of the galaxy and its corresponding gravitational pull, it’s impossible to explain how these stars continue to be in stable orbits. That is, unless an invisible form of matter exists that keeps them there. To solve the dark matter enigma, scientists need to know what it consists of. Since all physicists love a good hypothesis, a bevy of candidate hypotheses exists. Some proposals err on the side of caution. For instance, the Massive Compact Halo Objects (yes, that’s MACHOs) continued on page 5

\ CurrenT affaIrs

Kazerne Dossin marks Auschwitz liberation 70th anniversary flemish leaders gather at mechelen’s museum of the Holocaust and human rights derek blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

lemish leaders attended a commemoration held in Mechelen last week at Kazerne Dossin Memorial, Museum and Documentation Centre on Holocaust and Human Rights to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. 27 January was designated in 2005 by the United Nations as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Kazerne Dossin, or the Dossin Barracks, is the site where Jews and other minority groups were held until their deportation to concentration camps in Germany and Poland during the Second World War. It is now a government-funded memorial and museum (pictured) that works to educate the public, and particularly young people, about the dangers of racism and xenophobia. “We have to continue to inform young people about the horrors that were committed then,” said museum director Herman Van Goethem at the ceremony. Flemish education minister Hilde Crevits repeated the

Bodies found thought to be from missing fishing boat British rescuers have recovered the bodies of two crew members of the Z-85 Morgenster, a fishing boat out of Zeebrugge that went missing in the English Channel last Wednesday. The bodies have been identified as a 64-yearold Belgian and the Dutch captain. Two other crew members, a 29-year-old Dutchman and a 48-year-old Portuguese man, have not been recovered. The search for the remaining crew members was called off on Thursday evening, after it was determined by the Dover coastguard there was no hope of finding anyone alive; in current water temperatures a person could be expected to survive two hours at most, according to a spokesperson for the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Ostend. The vessel’s lifeboat was found empty off the French coast at Boulogne. The search while it lasted was joined by 15 fishing boats, two British rescue ships, two government ships, a helicopter and an aeroplane. \ AH

message that education was essential to combat racism. “It is essential to teach students to be aware of the dangers of stereotyping,” she said. “This can make them more respon-

Network of 11 human trafficking suspects arrested A network of 11 people suspected of human trafficking were arrested in a large-scale police action last week involving forces from East and West Flanders and Leuven. For years, the parking facilities along the E40 between Brussels and the coast have been notorious for the loading of human cargo onto lorries in preparation for crossing the North Sea to the

UK. However, the traffickers have started to change their strategy, according to Sarah Callewaert of the Leuven prosecutor’s office. “The gangs have moved in response to police and legal actions,” she told the VRT. “Now they are also using car parks on other motorways, including the E17, as well as more inland spots like the E314 at Rotselaar and the E40 at Heverlee.”

The leader of the latest group and his confederates were arrested in Brussels, where they put the migrants up in a safe house before bringing them to one or other car park, where they would be loaded onto lorries for the last stage of the journey to the UK. The traffickers are thought to have demanded up to €3,500 per person from the migrants, some of whom are minors. \ Alan Hope

Debate over priority-to-the-right traffic rule It’s one of the things that most perplexes foreigners when they settle in Belgium. But the priority-to-the-right rule, which gives priority to cars coming from the right unless there are signs or road markings indicating otherwise, could soon be a thing of the past, according to the Belgian Institute for Road Safety (BIVV). The most recent figures show that municipalities are increasingly voting to scrap the rule and create a new traffic regulation where cars on side roads have to give way. But BIVV warns that the new rules have to be clear if accidents are to be avoided. “Scrapping the rule can be justi-

fied in certain local situations,” said BIVV spokesman Koen Peeters. “But only if the new situation is clearly indicated to drivers.”

Motorists’ organisation VAB, however, would like to see the rule scrapped altogether across the country. “It’s past its sell-by date,” a spokesperson said. “What’s more, it’s not clear when it applies. Signs work better.” BIVV argues that the rule works well in certain circumstances, such as in builtup areas. Peeters insists that the priority rule doesn’t lead to more accidents, citing figures that show that just 10% of accidents involving death or injury are the result of a failure to observe the priority rule. \ DB

8 million

25 km/h

maximum speed allowed on an electric bicycle in Belgium. Police plan to run speed checks, after it was discovered many models are being souped up to allow them to go faster

sible citizens.” Minister-president Geert Bourgeois spoke on behalf of his government, saying that “this tragic period has left a permanent wound in European society. The Flemish government confirms its commitment to remembering the Holocaust.” Federal politicians and royalty also travelled to Auschwitz, in the south of Poland, to attend the ceremony held on the site of the Nazi concentration camp where more than one million people died during the war. Some 300 Auschwitz survivors took part in the ceremony, along with leaders from many European countries. Belgium’s King Filip and Queen Mathilde attended the ceremony as did prime minister Charles Michel and foreign affairs minister Didier Reynders. Speakers at the event warned that anti-Semitism is on the rise again in Europe. “Once again Jewish boys are afraid to wear yarmulkes on the streets of Paris, Budapest, London and even Berlin,” said Ronald S Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress.

tourists took a boat trip on the canals of Bruges in 2014, tourism alderwoman Hilde Decleer said. The previous record of 1,040,937 dates from 2011

animals killed on the roads of Belgium in 2014, according to nature conservancy organisation Natuurpunt. The number is considered a minimum; the real figure could be much higher

15%

weeknight curfew for the 350 bars in Schaarbeek, the municipal council has decided. At weekends they may stay open until 3.00. The measure is an effort to reduce noise nuisance

population growth between 2015 and 2030 estimated for Vilvoorde, the fastest-growing municipality in Flanders. That rate would bring the population of the city to almost 50,000

february 4, 2015

Week in Brief The government of Flanders has agreed to recognise two cases of severe rainfall last summer as natural disasters, opening the way for damage claims. The first of the storms hit the provinces of Limburg, East and West Flanders and Flemish Brabant at the end of July, followed by the storm over Limburg on 3 August. “The Flemish government has seen to it that those affected can now quickly be considered for financial compensation,” minister-president Geert Bourgeois said. Police carried out 22 searches in Brussels and Limburg on Thursday and made four arrests in connection with terrorist offences, the federal prosecutor’s office said. The suspects are thought to be linked to a network that recruits young men to go and fight in Syria. Police said there was no link with the investigation into the terrorist cell in Verviers, which began last month. An 11-year-old girl from Ingelmunster, West Flanders, has died of the flu virus. The child was found by her father, Pascal Verbrugghe, and a medical examiner determined she had died during the night after the flu virus infected her heart. Verbrugghe called on parents to vaccinate their children against the flu. The number of divorces jumped by 30% in the month of January compared to the previous month, after the new lower tax paid when one partner buys out the other’s share of the family home came into effect. The tax decreased from 2.5% of the price to only 1% on 1 January. Flemish public broadcaster VRT is evaluating security at its Reyers site in Schaarbeek to see if additional measures are necessary, following an incident in the Netherlands last week in which an armed man forced his way into the offices of the Dutch broadcaster

face of fLanders NOS. The man demanded to be allowed to read a statement on air but was overpowered by police. Rudi Vervoort, minister-president of the Brussels-Capital Region, has apologised for remarks in which he compared a proposal to revoke the residency rights of returning Syria fighters to the Nazis’ stripping Jews of their citizenship. The remark was criticised by politicians across the spectrum, including prime minister Charles Michel, who called it an “idiotic and shocking statement,” and Interior minister Jan Jambon, who said it was “unacceptable”. After four years of construction and delays, the new Buda bridge in Kortrijk was opened to traffic last Friday. The ultra-modern table bridge over the Leie is 33 metres long and 14m wide, weighs 180 tonnes and provides the only direct link between the city centre and Buda island. The bridge should have opened in September but was damaged during tests. The Brussels public transport authority MIVB and rail infrastructure company Infrabel will appeal a ruling by the commercial tribunal in Brussels forcing them to pay a municipal tax on their use of local authority electricity cables. For years the charge was paid by grid network manager Elia, but Elia now wants to make the users pay, to the tune of €2.7 million for MIVB and €6 million for Infrabel. The court rejected their claim and ordered them to pay. The municipal council of SintGenesius-Rode, Flemish Brabant, is due to vote this week on a proposal to make Herman Van Rompuy, former prime minister and former president of the European Council, a freeman of the town. Van Rompuy has lived in the town for 35 years. The organisers of a demonstration

in Brussels against wage costs in the food and drinks service industry claimed a successful turnout, after more than 500 owners left their premises to march on the capital. Horeca bosses dread the introduction of the new smart cash register, which will make it impossible to pay staff under the table, exposing employers to the full brunt of employment charges. The industry is calling for a reduction in VAT and cuts in the employers’ social security contribution. Flemish public transport authority De Lijn has unveiled a plan to provide transport in remote rural areas using mini-buses belonging to municipalities and local associations, as well as taxis, to replace bus services that were cut to reduce costs. The vehicles would be used part-time to link passengers with existing services and cost less to operate. Walter Masselis, the founder of the celebrated Antwerp jazz café De Muze, has died from cancer. Born in West Flanders, Masselis opened and ran a number of bars in Kortrijk before seeking his fortune in Antwerp. He is credited with the discovery of bohemian bluesman Ferre Grignard in the 1960s, but his main legacy was De Muze, which nurtured and inspired many an aspiring musician. The club closed briefly last year because of debt, but customers bought up all the furniture and fixtures at the auction and put it all back where it had come from. The Brussels-Capital Region is doubling its budget for new cycle lanes from €6 to €12 million, mobility minister Pascal Smet announced last week, following the sharp increase in the number of cyclists. Counters at 26 locations across the city noted an average of 204 cyclists an hour, compared to 158 a year before. Smet also plans to introduce electric bikes to the rental system Villo.

offside room for improvement Last week the American première of the new version of Loft, the most successful Flemish film ever, took place in Los Angeles. The film, retitled The Loft, was directed by Erik Van Looy, who also made the original. Het Nieuwsblad reported that the public was unanimous in its praise of the film. But that impression didn’t carry over to the critics. Roger Moore of the Tribune News Service reserved his harshest judgements for the screenwriter: The script, he wrote “hasgapsthatnomultitudeofhazyfiltered sex scenes or tension-turning extreme close-ups can paper over. People know things they

shouldn’t, or don’t know things they should. And by the time we’ve left the interrogation room, left the flashback to when the guys try to figure out themselves who did it before the cops arrive, it all sort of comes apart in an orgy of clumsy over-explanation that doesn’t truly explain anything”.

britt van marsenille The new patron of the Flemish chapter of the Make-A-Wish foundation is TV and radio host Britt Van Marsenille, who will fulfil the role together with Kris Wauters of the singing duo Clouseau. Van Marsenille was chosen, according to the organisation’s chair, Florent Standaert, for her “enthusiasm, warm heart and sparkling eyes”. The Make-A-Wish foundation makes a dream come true for children suffering from a serious medical ailment, many of them terminal. The organisation is celebrating its 25th anniversary on 29 April and plans a major event on the day, when those whose wishes were made to come true will be remembered. Van Marsenille, 34, was born in Hoboken, outside of Antwerp, and studied drama therapy in the Netherlands before returning to Flanders to become what they call a wrapper – a rather frenetic presenter on the children’s TV channel Ketnet. As well as her betweenprogrammes slots, she also compiled reports for the children’s current affairs programme Karrewiet, for the kids’ version of Fata Morgana (where a whole village has to meet a challenge to win a prize) and for her own show, Beestige Britt. In 2007, Van Marsenille set up

the theatre collective De EiBakkerij with illustrator Tom Schoonooghe and musician Antoon Offeciers, touring the children’s show Prinses zkt ridder (Princess Seeks Knight) across Flanders. A talking book of the production followed in 2008. As if that weren’t enough, she’s also one of the three presenters – with Anja Daems and Catherine Vandoorne – of De madammen on Radio 2, as well as a designer for the clothing labels Who’s That Girl and Wow To Go, which have their own stores in Antwerp, Ghent, Amsterdam and Berlin. Make-A-Wish Vlaanderen was launched in 1990, after Baroness Christiane de Corswaren read an article in Reader’s Digest about the American parent organisation, which was founded a decade earlier. “A world opened up before me: I would do the same in Belgium,” she writes in the latest issue of the organisation’s magazine, Wenskrant. The magazine is a compendium of wishes granted over the years, including a meeting with Samson & Gert, trips to Disneyland Paris and the Efteling, a new mountain bike and a new four-poster bed, all made possible by the help of volunteers and companies, from local bakers to multinationals like Procter & Gamble and Sodexo. \ Alan Hope

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

Over at the normally measured NPR, meanwhile, Andrew Lapin gave it to Van Looy with both barrels. The movie, he writes, “follows five slimy men who buy a fancy city apartment so they can cheat on their wives undetected. It’s as nasty as its heroes and isn’t competent enough to know it”. Elsewhere things are not much better. “A shabby bore” – rogerebert.com. “Sleazy” – New York Daily News. Only The Huffington Post strikes a vaguely positive note: “Believe me, it is so much better than you think it is going to be”. \ AH

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

editor Lisa Bradshaw dePuty editor Sally Tipper contributing editor Alan Hope sub editor Linda A Thompson agenda Robyn Boyle, Georgio Valentino art director Paul Van Dooren PrePress Corelio AdPro contributors Daan Bauwens, Rebecca Benoot, Derek Blyth, Leo Cendrowicz, Katy Desmond, Andy Furniere, Diana Goodwin, Julie Kavanagh, Catherine Kosters, Toon Lambrechts, Katrien Lindemans, Ian Mundell, Anja Otte, Tom Peeters, Daniel Shamaun, Senne Starckx, Christophe Verbiest, Débora Votquenne, Denzil Walton general manager Hans De Loore PublisHer Corelio Publishing NV

editorial address Gossetlaan 30 - 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden tel 02 373 99 09 editorial@flanderstoday.eu subscriPtions tel 03 560 17 49 subscriptions@flanderstoday.eu or order online at www.flanderstoday.eu advertising 02 373 83 57 advertising@flanderstoday.eu verantwoordelijke uitgever Hans De Loore

\ POlITICs

5th coLUMn friendly fire

The federal government coalition is far from agreement on the presence of soldiers on the streets of Belgium. CD&V – more specifically vice-prime minister Kris Peeters – has felt uneasy about the army deployment from the start. Last week, he went shopping with his wife on the Meir – TV crews in tow – to demonstrate that the streets of Antwerp are perfectly safe. Innocent enough, but sufficient to enrage the city’s mayor, Bart De Wever, leader of the N-VA and the one who insisted on military deployment. Next came a leaked mail asking a number of CD&V sympathisers to publicly express their displeasure about the increased security measures. The mail was very specific and even included some examples of tweets. The mail was sent by the local CD&V office but, painfully, also stated that Peeters’ cabinet would brief the press about the supposedly spontaneous tweets. De Wever reacted angrily, speaking of “disingenuousness”. If CD&V agrees on government decisions, it should not criticise them afterwards, he said. The other coalition parties, too, denounced the mail, Open VLD’s Alexander De Croo speaking of “ a dirty political war” and MR’s Didier Reynders calling it “unacceptable”. CD&V was quick to minimise the incident. Peeters personally knew nothing of the mail, which was misinterpreted anyway, he said. That may be true, but, politically speaking, he is responsible. The incident is just one in a long series of clashes, mostly between CD&V and N-VA. For some party members, it’s not the military presence itself that bothers them but that De Wever should get all the credit for it. CD&V, having been the leading political force in Flanders for decades, is still coming to terms with its new position as a junior partner in both the Flemish and federal governments. Peeters is the embodiment of his party’s thwarted ambitions. The Christiandemocrat had hoped to succeed himself as ministerpresident of Flanders, a position he has called “a more important post than prime minister”. He ended up with neither post after the 2014 elections. As an old CD&V adage goes: Missing out on a ministerial post allows more freedom to speak out. Peeters seems to be exploring that to the maximum, but so far the result has been only more damage to a party already licking its wounds. \ Anja Otte

Vilvoorde mayor to brief Washington on radicalised youth Hans bonte invited by obama to speak at global security summit alan Hope More articles by alan \ flanderstoday.eu

ans Bonte, the mayor of Vilvoorde, Flemish Brabant, has been invited to Washington, DC, to give the keynote address at a global security summit called by US president Barack Obama. Bonte will explain to the summit on 18 February the need for action to fight the radicalisation of young people. Relative to its population size, Belgium is one of the main sources of young people leaving to go and fight in Syria, and Vilvoorde is one of the cities most affected by the problem. According to the British think-tank International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence, 440 people from Belgium have joined militant Sunni organisations in the Syria/Iraq conflict, almost 50% more than when they were last counted at the end of 2013. Twenty-eight young men from Vilvoorde are among them, five of whom have been killed and eight of whom have returned. The Washington summit was called follow-

ing the attacks on Charlie Hebdo in Paris last month. Bonte (pictured) will explain that early detection of radicalisation is key, and a relationship of mutual trust is required with the Muslim community. “If you want parents to be able to report their own radicalised son or daughter, then you have to be sure your door is always wide open,” he told De Standaard. In Vilvoorde, alderwoman Fatima Lamarti and council member Houari El Hannouti are working to form a bridge to the community. The city also has a group of “super-committed young people” who work within the community to combat radicalisation. “The positive side to this situation is that, after two years of work, literally everyone is now aware of the problem,” said Bone. “Aid workers, shops and businesses, teachers, the mosques and so on.” Once a young person has been identified as vulnerable to radicalisation, the approach is to

Oosterweel decision brings start of works on Antwerp Ring closer The government of Flanders has formally approved an amendment to the regional planning framework for the Oosterweel connection, which will close the Ring Road around Antwerp. The approval brings the commencement of work on the project one step closer. The government was forced to amend its Regional Planning Implementation Programme – known as GRUP – because the form of the link had changed substantially from when the original GRUP was agreed to. The government approved the new GRUP in April last year, but it was obliged to hold a period of public consultation from 16 June to 14 August, during which time it received 1,300 objections signed by 15,000 people. Those deemed admissible had to be investigated, and a number were incorporated into the final version of the GRUP. According to environment minister Joke Schauvliege, the new GRUP makes it possible for the Antwerp Ring to be covered over, as demanded by the Ringland campaign. However, that claim was disputed by the activist organisations StratenGeneraal and Ademloos, which together were largely responsible for bringing about the 2009 referendum and the changes that resulted. GRUP removes any legal obstacle to the enclosure of the Ring, the groups said in a joint statement. The government has yet to reveal its plans for how the Ring of 27 lanes in some places (the diagram

shows the paper-clip shaped interchange near Sportpaleis) and four major interchanges could be enclosed. Straten-Generaal and Ademloos have also published a calendar for further action, including a class-action complaint to the Flemish ombudsman and an appearance before the Flemish Parliament in March or April. If neither of those initiatives is successful, the organisations will take the motion before the Council of State to have GRUP nullified. GRUP now goes to the Council of State, which has 30 days to give an opinion, after which the government can give its definitive approval. “The Oosterweel GRUP is a crucial first step in untangling the confusion over mobility in Antwerp,” Schauvliege said. “After the final approval from the government, building permits can be submitted, and the works can finally go ahead.” \ AH

attempt to strengthen those bonds with family and the wider community that the recruiters have tried to break, explains Jessika Soors, the city’s official in charge of deradicalisation. “We always look at the context and try to work first and foremost with regular aid providers to straighten out whatever has become twisted,” Soors said. “The final aim is that the young people feel respected again.”

Regions plan monthly meetings to tackle major challenges The regional governments of Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels will come together with the federal government every month for meetings of the Joint Committee to discuss the country’s major challenges such as the budget and terrorism. During a meeting of the Joint Committee last week, prime minister Charles Michel stressed the importance of regular meetings but admitted that there would sometimes be “difficult moments”. At the meeting, delegates, including all three regional ministers-president, discussed the idea of setting up a new body to co-ordinate the response to the terror threat. Such a body would allow dialogue and the development of strategies aimed at combatting radicalisation and increasing security. The different governments are also hoping to develop a joint strategy for carrying out major investment projects such as building new schools or completing the Antwerp Ring – without running up against the EU’s strict rules on budgetary discipline. But Michel warned that it would be difficult to get Europe’s approval for these projects while Belgium’s debt level remained high. \ Derek Blyth

Companies using too much water, minister warns Businesses will have to make more careful use of water in future if Flanders is to avoid a shortage, environment minister Joke Schauvliege has warned. According to a recent report by the federal Court of Auditors, Flanders is already facing an imminent scarcity of water. The level is too low in eight of the region’s 42 reservoirs, the report said. The main cause is the density of the population – 470 inhabitants

per square kilometre in Flanders, compared to 363 in the country as a whole, and 116 in the EU. As a result, more and more of the region is being paved over, which leads to rainwater running off into sewers instead of into the ground. “In the 1970s, 4% of the surface of Flanders was paved, now the figure is 10% and growing dramatically,” said Patrick Willems, professor of hydrology at the University of

Leuven. “Flanders has no excess of water,” Schauvliege told the Flemish Parliament. “Citizens and politicians need to be aware of that. If we don’t act quickly, there could soon be a shortage of water in Flanders.” Businesses in particular need to be more conscious of their consumption, she said. “When new permits or renewals are under consider-

ation, one of the most important questions has to be: How much water will this company use in a year? We’ll be getting stricter, although you also have to take economic reality into account. I can’t simply close down a large food company employing 200 people from one day to the next. But I can insist that they improve their water management step by step.” \ AH

\ COVer sTOry

february 4, 2015

Solving a dark mystery

country’s oldest reactor should offer conclusive answer by 2018

www.sckcen.be

continued from page 1

are fairly dull, non-light-emitting chunks of ordinary matter. Others are more exotic such as the Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (indeed, WIMPs), huge particles that don’t participate in the electromagnetic interaction. Still others are completely bonkers, like the spooky SUperSYmmetrical particles (SUSYs), supposedly the exact mirror image of every normal particle. But a new dark matter candidate recently entered the scene – the sterile neutrino. This so far theoretical particle would represent an entirely new type of neutrino next to the three existing and already well-known types – electron, muon and tau. Neutrinos are some of the most intangible particles in the universe. It was just recently that physicists were able to prove that they indeed have a non-zero mass, but it’s so small that it’s hard to express in numbers. Their almost ghostly-light weight means that they rarely interact with ordinary matter. For instance, if a lead wall was one light year thick, it would still only stop half the neutrinos that pass through it. In fact, we’re being struck by millions of neutrinos every second here on Earth – most of them coming from the sun. So how do physicists dare speak of another type of neutrino, one that doesn’t even belong to the Standard Model? “We call it ‘sterile’ because this neutrino doesn’t participate in the weak interaction, the force that mediates radioactive decay and that governs the behaviour of the three known neutrino types,” explains Dirk Ryckbosch, a physicist and neutrino expert at the University of Ghent. “The sterile

Dirk ryckbosch says finding the sterile neutrino would mark a milestone in physics

neutrino is also immune to the strong nuclear force, which keeps the atomic nucleus together, and the electromagnetic force. Only gravity has a grip on it.” The fact that the sterile neutrino is not affected by three of the four fundamental forces is critical.

researchers at the study Centre for nuclear energy hope to get the solid detector ready by the end of this year

“Otherwise we would have seen it pop up in experiments a long time ago,” says Ryckbosch. So how does this explain the connection with dark matter? “Because they’re only sensitive to gravity, sterile neutrinos make a good candidate,” Ryckbosch says. “In theory, they could be responsible for the mass of the other three neutrinos. Just like the Higgs boson is responsible for the generation of mass in ordinary matter.” To prove that sterile neutrinos are indeed behind the dark matter puzzle, scientists all over the world are feverishly looking for it. Because reactors spew out massive amounts of neutrinos during nuclear fission (when a nucleus splits into multiple, smaller fragments), their experiments often take place inside nuclear reactors. By meticulously recording the extremely rare occasions when a neutrino is stopped by a detector, physicists can count how many neutrinos of each type the reactor produces. By comparing their results with the theory, they can find out what’s missing. And if there’s not too much noise on the recording, they can identify the missing part. A group of Flemish, British and French physicists at the Study Centre for Nuclear Energy (SCKCEN) in Mol, Antwerp province, recently joined the neutrino race. Inside the reactor compartment of Belgian Reactor 2 (BR2), they are currently constructing the SoLid detector, which should be ready by the end of this year. Built in 1962, BR2 (the inside of the reactor is pictured on p1) is

one of the oldest, but also most powerful, research reactors in the world. These days, it is mainly used for the production of medical isotopes. But the reactor will take a three-year sabbatical in the beginning of 2016, since it requires maintenance. “During this period, the reactor will keep on producing neutrinos,” says Eric Van Walle, director-general of SCK-CEN. “It would be a pity to just let them fly away and not use them.” Though it has only just entered the race, the SoLid team is confident about its chances. “I’m convinced that we lie in pole position to catch the sterile neutrino first – if it exists,” says Nick Van Remortel, a particle physicist at Antwerp

University, who is leading the neutrino experiment in Mol. “To catch enough neutrinos, we need to place our detector very close to the reactor – within 10 metres of the reactor core,” he says. “Because the core of BR2 is so compact, this is actually possible. That’s why this reactor is perfect.” Another advantage, he continues, “is the low background radiation, because we need to make a clear distinction between what’s coming straight out of the reactor and what’s not. Last but not least, BR2 is powerful enough to deliver almost 1,000 events per day So by the end of 2018, we’ll have enough data to give a clear answer.” (An “event” is physics jargon for when

We could find something that sheds light on a new kind of physics University who learned the tricks of the trade at CERN during the Higgs hunt. “Our experiment is designed in such a way that by the end of 2018 we’ll know for sure if the sterile neutrino exists or not. So we’ll definitely get a ‘yes’ or ‘no’, and nothing in-between.” It’s exactly such inconclusive answers that have haunted many of the other neutrino experiments currently underway or already completed. But the SoLid project has something that the others don’t, says Antonin Vacheret, a particle physicist at Oxford

a neutrino is caught by the detector). The SoLid detector consists of more than 20,000 small, hard plastic cubes, put together in a huge cube of building blocks. Every cube is a small scintillator; this means that when struck by an incoming particle, it produces a flash of light. Every cube is also wired to the computer, so that the physicists know exactly where a neutrino has crashed into the plastic. “This extreme segmentation gives us a very good localisation of the

interactions,” says Vacheret. So let’s suppose for a second that the SoLid team realises its ambitions and that it finds the sterile neutrino in 2018. What impact would this have on the physics community? Would it be comparable to the Higgs mania we witnessed in the summer of 2012? “Finding the sterile neutrino would definitely be a big thing,” admits Ryckbosch, who’s also involved in the project. “For the first time, we would have found something beyond the Standard Model, something that sheds light on a new kind of physics. And, of course, the fact that the sterile neutrino could explain dark matter only makes it more appealing.” It’s not clear who would receive the credit should the sterile neutrino be proven to exist. The Higgs scenario could repeat itself, for instance, with the theoretical fathers of the particle celebrated. Or the honour could go to those who conducted the experiment and actually caught the particle. “Actually, it’s not at all clear who came up with the idea of a sterile neutrino first, so this could well be to our advantage,” smiles Ryckbosch. Still, instead of fantasising about the 2018 limelight, the SoLid team is currently firmly fixing its attention on assembling 20,000 plastic building blocks. “We want to start running our experiment in the beginning of 2016, when the BR2 goes into maintenance,” says Van Remortel. “This is a unique opportunity that we simply can’t miss.”

\ busIness

Week in BUsiness air etihad The Abu Dhabi-based carrier plans to double its number of flights to Brussels Airport to 14 a week as soon as the additional flying rights are granted later this year.

banking Quilvest

The Luxembourg-based assets management company has opened a private banking affiliate in Ghent in a bid to attract Flanders-based investors.

brewing abInbev

The Leuven-based beer group has taken over the Elysian Brewery in Seattle in the US state of Washington. The move will strengthen the company’s craft beers portfolio on the American market.

Cinema kinepolis

The Ghent-based cinema chain is to build a 10-screen complex in Breda, the Netherlands, expected to attract up to 450,000 people a year. The move comes weeks after the group decided on a similar project in Bretigny, near Paris. Kinepolis has ongoing building projects in Dordrecht and Utrecht.

electronics electro Depot

The French electronics and large appliance group, affiliated to the Decathlon sport equipment retailer, plans to open its first stores on the local market this year. The brand’s sales policy is based on a no-frills low-cost concept with prices more than 20% lower than competitors.

Metalworks Joris Ide

Joris Ide, which produces steel wall and roof panels and insulation materials and is based in Wingene, West Flanders, has been sold to the Irish Kingspan building products group for €350 million.

Property ackermans & Van Haaren

The Antwerp-based investment group is to acquire the 50% it doesn’t own in the 350,000 square-metre Tour & Taxis property in Brussels’ canal zone. The value of the entire development is estimated at €300 million.

Transport alstom-bombardier

The Bruges-based rolling stock and railway coach manufacturer is poised to win a €3 billion contract to build double-decker trains for the national railway company NMBS. The new trains are to be delivered between 2017 and 2025.

Largest passive building opens environmental agency moves in to “the toaster” at tour & taxis alan Hope More articles by alan \ flanderstoday.eu

elgium’s largest entirely passive office building was inaugurated last week on the site of Tour & Taxis in Brussels. Nicknamed “the toaster” because of its unusual shape, the building is the new headquarters of Leefmilieu Brussel, the region’s environmental agency. The building is centred around an atrium seven storeys high under a transparent roof that ensures constant natural lighting. The lower two floors feature a visitors’ centre built around environmental themes, an auditorium, a media library, meeting centre and restaurant. The second floor includes a laboratory, and the offices on the upper floors are designed for the

creation of different kinds of work spaces. The building, designed by Dutch architect firm

Cepezed, has a relatively small surface and is completely insulated, including triple-glazing and automatic blinds to protect against sunlight in the summer. The atrium is not only architecturally spectacular, reflecting the open square outside, it also captures heat and stores it for recycling. Leefmilieu Brussel will pay rent of €3.6 million a year for the building – considerably more than the €1.3 million it paid for its previous headquarters in Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe. The agency will save some €200,000 annually on energy costs, and savings will also be seen on water use and waste collection since the services are all now in one building instead of three.

Government gets tough on telemarketers

Price increases introduced for transport and beer

Federal minister for consumer affairs Kris Peeters has announced plans to strengthen the centralised digital register for people who don’t want to receive calls at home from telemarketers. The website, known as “bel-me-niet-meer”, already exists, but companies currently check it only voluntarily. Starting this summer, telemarketers will be required to check the list before making a call. The site covers companies trying to sell a product or service, to drum up new customers or to inform people about their products. It also bans calls from organ-

Several regulations came into force on 1 February, including changes to De Lijn fees and beer prices. Flemish public transport authority De Lijn has rescinded a number of free tariffs; only those for children under five, war veterans and the handicapped remain. Seniors have until 1 September, after which they will pay €50 a year. For other travellers, the zone tariff, considered outdated and complicated to understand, disappears, to be replaced by a one-hour tariff costing €3. A Lijnkaart for 10 trips goes up from €10 to €14. The SMS ticket goes up from €1.55 to €1.95. On the rails, passengers who board a train without a ticket will now pay a surcharge of €7 on top of the fare for the journey. The only exception concerns those stations where no tickets are on sale – only 17 across the country, according to the NMBS.

isations looking for support. Belgian consumers have been able to block such cold calls since 2012, but customers had to re-register if they changed telephone operator, and there were no sanctions for companies that didn’t check the site. “Now there are,” Peeters said. Companies will now have to check the central register before they call a number to ensure that it is not listed. Companies who fail to do so can face prosecution. Peeters has charged the Economic Inspectorate with the task of sanctioning companies who don’t respect the law. \ Derek Blyth

RateBeer calls Lennik cafe one of world’s best An unimposing village café in the Pajottenland has been voted the second-best beer bar in the world by the specialist website RateBeer. com. The pub In de verzekering tegen de grote dorst (Insurance Against Major Thirst) in the Eizeringen district of Lennik, Flemish Brabant, is only open on Sundays from 10.00 to 13.30, but its fame has spread worldwide for its outstanding menu of hundreds of lambic beers – mainly gueuze and kriek. These are beers created using wild yeasts only found in this part of Flanders, some of them rare vintages. The café (pictured) owes its international fame, according to Yves Panneels, who runs the place with brother Kurt and mother Lydia Uyttenhove, to a group of beer tourists whose bus had gone astray. “They were on a beer trip in the area and accidentally landed in Eizeringen, saw our café and decided to come in,” said Panneels. “They were so impressed by our selection, some of which you won’t find in any other café, that they told all of their beer friends. In no time, everyone knew about us.”

The Antwerp bar Kulminator, with more than 800 beers, took fifth place on the list, while other Belgian entries in the Top 50 include De Heeren van Liedekercke in Denderleeuw (15); Chez Moeder Lambic Fontainas (21), Cantillon brewery (27) and Chez Moeder Lambic (28), all in Brussels; ’t Brugs Beertje in Bruges (30) and Alvinne brewery in Zwevegem, West Flanders (42). Voters on the website, frequented mainly by Americans, have voted Westvleteren 12, brewed by monks in Vleteren, West Flanders, as the second best beer in the world. The beer usually holds the number one spot, which has now gone to an American brew. Other Flemish beers in the Top 50 include Westvleteren Extra 8 in 25th place and the Pannepot by Struise brewery in Oostvleteren in 33rd. \ AH

“The new automatic ticket machines are in place in 96% of the stations,” said spokesperson Bart Crols. “If a machine is out of order, the supplement will not be charged.” In Brussels, the cost of a 10-journey ticket for travellers to the airport increases by €4 to €32, while a single trip goes up to €4.50. A monthly pass is available for €60. Brewers AB InBev and Alken Maes, the two largest in the country, are increasing prices for their products in bars as well as supermarkets and other retail outlets. \ AH

Water company calls for laws on what may be flushed Water supply company Aquafin has called for legal regulations regarding what may be flushed down an ordinary household toilet. At present, customers flush all kinds of things down the toilet, including wet-wipes, disposable nappies, sanitary products and so-called flushable toilet rolls. None of those is suitable for flushing, according to Aquafin, which said that such products do not break down properly in water, regardless of what their own publicity might suggest. Pumps are becoming blocked at water treatment plants, at great expense, said the company. “It might say on packaging that a product is biodegradable, but that’s only true in the long term,” explained Aquafin spokesperson

Sabine Schellens to VTM News. “The product doesn’t have the time necessary in the sewage system to break down, and that’s why it causes blockages when it gets to us.” The company, which serves all of Flanders, called for legal measures such as requirements for packaging. “The packaging should state clearly that something cannot go into the sewage system. If it is all right to flush, that should also be clearly indicated,” Schellens said. \ AH

\ InnOVaTIOn

february 4, 2015

Service with a smile

Week in innovation

entrepreneurs use humour to help businesses improve their services andy furniere More articles by andy \ flanderstoday.eu

“Is this a joke?” It’s a common reaction when Raoul Maris and Hans Kerkhoff present their ideas. But although their goal is to put a smile on people’s faces, their enterprise, Gelotology, is no laughing matter. Through a light-hearted but technological approach, the pair are helping to improve the services of companies and non-profit organisations. That Gelotology is a serious enterprise can be deduced from its name, which refers to the scientific study of laughter. “We see ourselves as a service laboratory,” says Maris, “developing innovative ways to enhance the way our clients work.” The founders have a lot of experience in advertising and communications campaigns, most notably at the agencies Duval Guillaume and Boondoggle. But with their own company, they help businesses and organisations provide services through the combined power of technology, design and humour. “It’s generally known that people who are in a good mood work better,” says Maris. “In the same way, it helps to convince potential clients if you can make them laugh.” He adds that Gelotology also wants to spread optimism throughout society, to battle negativity in everyday life. To make their approach tangible for clients, Maris and Kerkhoff designed prototypes of several innovative products. Their Brompot, for instance, is a flower pot equipped with a humidity and movement sensor that makes it grumble when the plant needs water and someone is around. “Do I look like a cactus or what?” it says in Dutch, in the voice of Flemish actor Bruno Vanden Broecke. While the Brompot is not yet for sale, another Gelotology product, the Meeting Motivator, will be soon. This is a box with 10 slots in which people put their smartphones at the start of a meeting; when they do so, they’re rewarded with a one-liner. “The Meeting Motivator coaches staff to concentrate fully on what their colleagues are saying,” says Maris. “It helps to create a positive atmosphere at the office.” It costs €499 and will be on sale from the end of February.

www.gelotology.com

start palliative care earlier, experts say According to experts from Flemish universities, palliative care should be provided earlier on in a patient’s disease process. Professors from the universities of Brussels (VUB), Leuven and Ghent presented the advice to policy-makers at a congress last week at the Royal Flemish Theatre in Brussels. Professor Luc Deliens, chair of the VUB and UGent research group Care at the End of Life, said: “Taking action 10 days before death is just crisis intervention.” He added that palliative care in Belgium was too often seen as assistance in dying, when it should focus on improving quality of life.

Chronic fatigue research needed

Hans kerkhoff (left) and raoul Maris want to improve experiences seen as dull or tedious

The device is currently only available in Dutch, but Maris says they plan to launch an English-speaking version; their ambition is to get British comedy icon John Cleese as its voice. However, Gelotology’s core business is to provide customised services for companies. In 2014 at the Plopsaland theme park in De Panne, Maris and Kerkhoff carried out their first project in this sense. They approached Plopsaland with their model of an interactive queue. “Not everything in a theme park is fun,” says Maris, “like waiting in line with children. So we designed a concept that turns queues into big gaming zones.” Gelotology installed interactive poles with buttons that could light up at the queue for the Forest of Plop attraction – Plop being a well-known Flemish children’s TV character.

Children were encouraged to catch moles in this “forest” by pushing the button on a pole at the moment it lit up. “Instead of getting bored in the queue, the children and their parents were entertained by the different games,” explains Maris. Despite its success, Plopsaland did not install it permanently because of budget issues. Gelotology has attracted the interest of tour operator Thomas Cook, however, with which it has set up a project to deal with customer problems. “Travelling is more than enjoying a holiday,” says Maris. “You have to examine options, book and get to your destination. Problems can also pop up after you arrive.” The pair are currently identifying customers’ biggest problems through analysing their feedback. Gelotology will then develop witty strategies to improve the way

The Meeting Motivator encourages colleagues to put aside their mobiles when interacting with each other

Thomas Cook deals with these issues. Maris and Kerkhoff are also working with a team from the Centre for Children’s Care and Family Support, not-for-profit organisation Emmaüs and the University of Leuven for a project to encourage children to wash their hands after going to the toilet. The project is supported by IWT, the Flemish government’s agency for innovation through science and technology. “Instead of putting up posters with bacteria showing how a lack of hygiene can cause diseases, we want to change children’s behaviour in a positive way,” explains Maris. “We want to make the habit of washing your hands seem fun, instead of instilling fear.” To come up with their ideas, Maris and Kerkhoff brainstorm at two offices. They work at the former Stella Artois brewery De Hoorn in Leuven in the company of creative enterprises like Boondoggle and the Creative Minds incubator. Their headquarters, with a workshop where they develop prototypes, is in Roeselare. “In Roeselare, we decorated a wall with references to TV comedy series, which are a huge inspiration,” says Maris. “I assure you, we laugh a great deal during our brainstorming sessions.”

Experts from the universities of Brussels, Leuven, Ghent and Antwerp have written to the ministers of public health and science and innovation to demand more support for research on chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), which they say is still an underestimated and little-studied disorder. According to the experts, 0.5 to 2.5% of the global population suffers from CFS. The disorder not only has physical consequences but also brings with it a high medical, economic and social cost. Treatment options are currently undeveloped and fragmented, which gives a lot of patients the feeling that they are alone.

bednet wins european Citizen’s Prize

Bednet, a free service in Flanders that allows long-term or chronically sick children to follow lessons at school via a webcam at home or in hospital, has won a European Citizen’s Prize. The competition is organised every year by the European Parliament to reward exceptional achievements by citizens, groups or organisations. This year 47 projects won the recognition. Bednet’s candidacy was supported by Flemish MEP Ivo Belet. “Education and training are essential to take up a place in our society and one of the fundaments of true citizenship,” Belet told Belga news agency. Bednet is a free service and is gradually being extended to all longerterm sick children through a government decree. \ AF

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february 4, 2015

Unlearning perfection

Week in edUcation

Poets teach students how to let go of rules and plunge into prose andy furniere More articles by andy \ flanderstoday.eu

www.PoeZieweek.com

hen exams started nearing, students always asked Herman de Coninck the same question: “Do we need to learn this for the exam?” He always replied: “No, for life.” Since then, many educators and writers have followed in the footsteps of the celebrated Flemish poet and one-time teacher and have showed children how playing with language can enrich their lives. This week, children and teens were encouraged to analyse poems and experiment with the form in class as part of Poetry Week, a seven-day bonanza of poetry-related activities across Flanders and the Netherlands. During Poetry Week, poets travel across the region to spread their love of the genre, and teachers use specially created lesson materials to inspire their students.

Poetry is made more accessible for kids by including visual art forms, like drawing

poetry workshops in schools, toddlers are the easiest age group to work with. “Because it’s still very natural for them to play with the rhythm of language, to make up new words and to express

One girl used a poem to show that she felt bullied, which led to a class discussion But this one-week limelight doesn’t mean that poetry stays outside the classroom the rest of the year. Flemish organisations like Jeugd en Poëzie (Youth and Poetry) and the Poëziecentrum (Poetry Centre) work to bring poetry to schools year round. That’s not always an easy mission, as both students and teachers are sometimes short-sighted about what poetry encompasses. According to Leuven-based author and illustrator Sandrine Lambert, who regularly gives

themselves freely in general,” she explains. In her experience, by primary school children already feel more constrained. “Teachers sometimes put too much emphasis on writing correctly and on including rhyme in poems, which limits their imaginations,” says Lambert. “I encourage them to try new things like alliteration, metaphors, repetition and experimental vocabulary. It’s essential that they enjoy this way of expressing themselves, without being afraid

to make mistakes.” To help teachers, Lambert gives them quick language games that they can use between lessons. In her workshops for secondary schools, Lambert makes poetry more accessible for adolescents by including visual art forms like drawing. To make poetry more appealing to all age groups, Jeugd en Poëzie and the Poëziecentrum provide a broad array of classroom workshops and special training for teachers. Their goal is to open the minds of adolescents and teachers to the endless ways in which poetry can be created, which are not usually included in the typical schoolbook. Jeugd en Poëzie offers interactive poetry board games, workshops on writing about fairy tales and dreams and has experimented with audio and video fragments. In its hip-hop poetry workshop, students learn about the connections between Shakespeare’s sonnets and the lyrics of US pop singer Rihanna. The Antwerp organisation also set up an activ-

ity focused on war poetry as part of the ongoing First World War commemorations. The Ghent-based Poëziecentrum houses an extensive documentation centre for teachers, but also offers poetry workshops, sometimes in collaboration with Kip van Troje. This local theatre company stimulates children to express themselves through activities such as dance and song. The Poëziecentrum also promotes slam poetry and organises themed poetry tours around Ghent, such as around the life and work of Ghent-born author Maurice Maeterlinck, for instance. During these tours, students have to carry out all kinds of assignments, like writing a poem in the form of a text message or reciting a poem like a rap song. “There is a form of poetry for everyone,” says Sieglinde Vanhaezebrouck, who co-ordinates the Poëziecentrum’s educational department. “Poetry offers all kinds of people a way to expand their views, so they can look at situations from different perspectives, and a way to formulate their emotions and thoughts. It can, for example, help youngsters to deal with their first experiences with love and death.” Jeugd en Poëzie coordinator Flore Keersmaekers also emphasises the power of poetry to channel feelings. “Poetry workshops can help students express difficult issues,” she says. “One girl, for example, used a poem to show that she felt bullied, which led to a class discussion.” Dutch language learners can also get something out of local poetry. Keersmaekers: “People can become more articulate and assertive by learning how language can be used creatively.”

Q&a Odisee University College student Lize Paternot’s Bachelor’s thesis is on ways to adapt physical education (PE) classes to the needs of children with visual impairments Why is this an issue that should be high on the agenda? Starting next September, many more students with disabilities will follow classes in regular education, instead of being referred to special education. This evolution towards inclusive education is the result of the M decree, which was approved by the Flemish government last year. While there are several options to adjust class environments to the needs of partially sighted children, such as by providing magnifying glasses, not much attention has been devoted to adapting physical education

lessons. It is essential that pupils can properly participate in PE, so that their motor development is not hindered. How did you structure your research? I worked with children in three primary schools in the provinces of Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. I first observed how they participated in the regular PE classes and then I assisted them personally. I used tips that I found in handbooks to adapt the material and methods but also asked the pupils themselves about problems they experi-

enced and integrated their suggestions for improvements. What are your recommendations to teachers? One of my tips is to ensure that the colours of the materials contrast

with the environment well. So, for instance, it’s not a good idea to put blue cones on a blue floor. What’s even better is to use fluorescent materials to highlight the presence of, say, hoops on the floor or to mark the zones on a trampoline where pupils should jump on and off. There is also special equipment available to help children through sound, like balls with a little bell inside that pupils can hear coming toward them. Communication is important as well; both fellow pupils and teachers can assist the partially-sighted children by giving them verbal cues. So it’s also essential that there is not too much background noise. \ interview by AF

students win creativity marathon

A team of five pupils have won a creativity marathon with their plan to battle the Ebola epidemic. The marathon is an initiative by essenscia, the Belgian umbrella organisation for the chemistry and life sciences sectors, with the non-profit Flemish Young Enterprises and Flanders DC, the region’s agency for creativity. The purpose of the two-day marathon is to encourage entrepreneurship and creativity among young people. The teams had to come up with a solution for a real problem faced by a real company. Sixteen teams from seven schools were helped by experts from BASF Antwerpen, Monsanto, Indaver and Janssen Pharmaceutica. The winning team came up with ideas for an Ebola vaccination programme, to make sure patients in Africa receive vaccines in time.

schools to increase conflict studies

Flemish education minister Hilde Crevits and representatives from all Flanders’ education networks have signed a declaration to raise more awareness among students about genocide and crimes associated with the Second World War. Crevits made the announcement during a ceremony at Kazerne Dossin in Mechelen in recognition of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which this year marked the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Crevits said: “Today, the education sector is saying that it wants to get secondary school students thinking critically about how conflicts originate.”

Pre-school absences almost double

The number of children in Flanders who were too often absent from pre-school last year has nearly doubled from 2013, according to statistics released by the education ministry in response to a request by Groen. There was a huge increase in absences in Ghent, Genk, Hasselt and Brussels. The increase was biggest in Limburg and Flemish Brabant. In the 2013-2014 school year, 8% of five-yearolds in Ghent were “insufficiently present”. That means they were present for less than 220 half-days at pre-school and therefore cannot begin primary education without taking a Dutch-language test. In Genk, 4% of toddlers were insufficiently present; in Hasselt, the figure is 5%. \ AF

\ lIVInG

Week in activities bruges beer festival Two days, 80 Belgian brewers, 365 different beers. For €10 you get a souvenir glass, commemorative postcard, festival guide and tokens good for three tastings. Extra tokens cost €1,50. 7-8 February, Beurshal, Hauwerstraat 3, Bruges; free \ www.brugsbierfestival.be

krokus festival Annual performing arts festival for children, with international groups presenting original works in theatre, dance, music and sound – not your typical kids’ fare but innovative and exciting stuff. 11-19 February, CC Hasselt, Kunstlaan 5, Hasselt; free to €8 \ www.krokusfestival.be

brussels Chocolate salon The international celebration of all things chocolate returns to Brussels for a second year. Workshops, demonstrations, chocolate sculptures and a fashion show of chocolate dresses. 6-8 February, Brussels Expo, Belgiëplein 1; €10 \ http://brussels.salondu-chocolat.com

lace Market Get all your lace-making supplies and see live demonstrations at this event held on the grounds of an Antwerp castle. Every visitor receives a free pattern. 7-8 February, Domein de Renesse, Lierselei 30, Malle; €1.50 \ www.domeinderenesse.be

Genk stadium Tour If you’re a fan of Belgian football, then you’ve surely heard of Racing Genk. Every first Saturday of the month, there’s a guided tour of their home stadium, Cristal Arena, for individual visitors (no reservations required). A visit to GoalMine, the visitor’s centre and museum, is included. 7 February, 13.30, Stadionplein, Genk; €10 \ www.goalmine.be

affordable art fair The Brussels edition of this international event will focus on local talent. Emerging artists as well as established names, with all works priced between €60 and €6,000. 6-9 February, Tour & Taxis, Havenlaan 86c, Brussels; €13 \ http://affordableartfair.com

\ 10

A multidisciplinary marathon beursschouwburg celebrates 50 years of iconoclastic programming georgio valentino More articles by Georgio \ flanderstoday.eu

www.beursscHouwburg.be

his weekend, Brussels’ Beursschouwburg celebrates 50 consecutive years of contemporary theatre, dance and music with 50 consecutive hours of contemporary theatre, dance and music. Beursschouwburg first opened its doors to the public on 5 February 1965. The progressiveminded theatre was founded by a breakaway group of provocateurs from the Royal Flemish Theatre (KVS) who rightly recognised that modernists the world over were turning the page on classical theatre. Not to be outdone, these Flemish artists established an enduring forum for contemporary creation. The venue’s current general director, Tom Bonte, and his team have decided to observe its golden jubilee with more than just a champagne toast and self-congratulatory speeches. Beursschouwburg’s 50th is to be a multidisciplinary marathon with a new activity every hour on the hour for – you guessed it – 50 hours. And all for free. “We could also have done 50 days, but I don’t know how we’d survive,” Bonte (pictured) laughs as we sit down for a chat. “But, seriously, we wanted to do something special. This anniversary is a unique experience for the public and, at the same time, it shows the range of activities that we programme throughout the season.” The offerings span the artistic spectrum, from cutting-edge performance to contemporary choreography, and from multidisciplinary visual arts to trendy electronic music. The only performances to be repeated are choreographer Jefta Van Dinther’s gritty sound-andvision experience Grind and Mark Tompkins and Mathieu Grenier’s whimsical cabaret Opening Night. This also marks the Belgian premiere of the latter, a vaudeville-style production that takes us into the American dance halls of the early 20th century where today’s pop culture was born. Paris-based American performer Tomkins takes his public on a musical voyage through the century that was, complete with vocal standards by Irving Berlin, rock-and-roll by Elvis Presley and present-day pop by Beyoncé (with a few Tomkins-Grenier originals thrown in for good measure). Contemporary Austro-Franco-Belgian theatre company Superamas spices up the wee morn-

beursschouwburg director Tom bonte says the theatre has always pushed the envelope

ing hours with Dance Is a Monkey Business. This unbridled intervention will see Beursschouwburg’s various public spaces invaded by dancers in monkey suits. Mornings promise to be decidedly calmer. To wit, wellness activities like pilates are not accompanied by frenetic performers in animal guise. There are even a few hours set aside for family fun, including cartoons, workshops and a performance of the onomatopoeic Toink by local youth theatre Bronks. The kid-friendly interlude is only natural, according to Bonte. “If you’re putting on 50 hours, you have to focus on different audiences.” What’s more, Bronks founder Oda Van Neygen is a Beursschouwburg alum. Revellers are also invited to take a trip back in time to Beursschouwburg’s year zero. Experimental in 1965 is a smorgasbord of five international art-house films from that period. These 16mm cult classics reflect the artistic ferment

of the times. Among them are Kenneth Anger’s three-minute tribute to auto-erotica Kustom Kar Kommando and American filmmaker Jud Yalkut’s Turn Turn Turn, a psychedelic exploration edited around a cut-up version of the eponymous radio hit by US rock band The Byrds. Contemporary art has come a long way in the past half-century, and so has Beursschouwburg. The common thread is an enduring commitment to experimentation. This is the spirit that Bonte – who has admittedly only been part of the Beursschouwburg story for a few years – hopes to celebrate. “The theatre has of course had its ups and downs because every director has taken risks,” Bonte says. “Some risks result in success; others don’t. But Beursschouwburg can always be counted on to push the envelope, to do something different.” Arguably the biggest risk was opening the venue in the first place. In 1965, the central Brussels neighbourhood around the Beurs was largely abandoned. Worse, local audiences were hardly receptive to an unfamiliar and frankly iconoclastic brand of avant-garde theatre, which in those early years was made all the more so by the organisation’s stridently Flemish cultural politics. Although it remains subsidised by the government of Flanders, Beurschouwburg’s nationalist edge has softened greatly since. Not long after its inauguration, in fact, the theatre settled into a mostly cosmopolitan rhythm. Now, thanks in part to this cultural anchor, the surrounding streets comprise one of the capital’s most swinging districts. The theatre became a cultural hub during the 1980s, when associated artists like choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and visual artist Jan Fabre became international luminaries. The following decade the Beursschouwburg creative team focused on urban issues and city activism. They even famously organised a squat of the then-derelict hotel across the street, now the Marriott. “I think this is the best kind of cultural policy,” Bonte says. “Beursschouwburg didn’t just benefit artists or audiences. It literally changed the neighbourhood.”

beursschouwburg

5-7 february

Auguste Ortsstraat 20-28, Brussels

Bite valentine weekend at bed van napoleon For two former bankers, the owners of Bed van Napoleon sure are romantic souls. Their restaurant’s Valentine weekend event reflects the dreamy atmosphere of the decor. Dinner by Candlelight finds the lights off and the candles aglow, with diners invited to sample dishes from the à la carte menu and dabble in a selection of fine wines and local brews. Past editions have proven so popular that guests are now being urged to book a table well in advance. Tucked away at the edge of a lush forested area just northeast of Leuven, Bed van Napoleon (pictured) is one of those über-cosy, nostalgic establishments you find dotted across Flanders. Filled with wooden antique furniture, dressmaker’s mannequins and old-fash-

ioned dolls, the place begs you to pull up a chair next to the woodburning fire and stay awhile. Since taking over ownership a few years ago, Willem and Karin Schoolmeisters have reinvented the restaurant as a high-end eatery while preserving its bohemian soul. “Our loyal customers appreciate uncomplicated, honest food,”

Willem recently told Belgian Beer and Food magazine. “We do our tomato with shrimps the Flemish way; we don’t serve salad with it.” Schoolmeisters adds that a lot of locals tend to feel nostalgic about good old-fashioned homestyle cooking. “They want to be reminded of the experiences of their youth and of their grandmother’s cooking,” he said. As for the restaurant’s name, the story goes that the French emperor and a small entourage stopped at this site in the little district of Linden, part of Lubbeek, about 200 years ago. The secret of Linden, according to Schoolmeisters, is that it’s home to a family descended from Napoleon (although no one’s allowed to say whom). The restaurant doesn’t use frozen

www.bedvannaPoleon.be

food, canned food or anything ready-made. It’s all about freshly cooked dishes and seasonal ingredients – hence the relatively small menu. Choices during Dinner by Candlelight include starters such as homemade shrimp or cheese croquettes and crawfish tartare with a mango and ginger confit, followed by mains including tomato stuffed with North Sea shrimp served with hand-cut fries and homemade mayo, or fillet of Iberico pork with green cabbage puree and a mustard sauce. And should you or your Valentine fancy a beer, take a pick from the selection provided by one of two local breweries – Lupus Brewery from Aarschot and Broeder Jacob from Wezemaal. \ Robyn Boyle

february 4, 2015

A bridge to history

second world war assault remembered as vroenhoven visitor centre opens in limburg diana goodwin More articles by Diana \ flanderstoday.eu

hree years after a new bridge over the Albert canal in Vroenhoven on the Dutch border officially opened amid much fanfare, the ambitious multi-functional space built into the foundations of the modern structure has finally fulfilled its purpose: A new visitor centre, combining two permanent exhibitions with a restaurant and event hall has just opened. It was always the intention to combine the new bridge complex with a museum that would tell the story of the events that took place here in the early days of the Second World War. It was on the former bridge in Vroenhoven that German troops first landed on 10 May, 1940, and the Battle of Belgium began. Marcel Bastiaens was one of the locals invited to a preview before the official opening last month. His grandmother and two of his aunts were killed in the German assault when a bomb fell on their hiding place in the basement of a cafe. He now lives less than a kilometre from the bridge and visitor centre. “The exhibition about the bridge is very interesting – all the more so because it’s about our history here in the area,” he says. “It’s important that the things that happened here are not forgotten.” Together with bridges spanning the canal in Veldwezelt and Kanne and the Belgian military fortress at Eben-Emael, the Vroenhoven bridge was the focus of a wellrehearsed and strategic German offensive that cleared the way for a Nazi invasion of Belgium. The heavily armed fortress, considered the linchpin of Belgium’s eastern defences and widely viewed at the time as impregnable, fell within hours. Belgian forces managed to blow up the bridge in Kanne but the two other bridges were captured before they could be destroyed. The bridge in Vroenhoven

stood until 1944, when retreating German soldiers blew it up in an attempt to slow the Allied advance. An exact replica was rebuilt after the war, in 1947. The military bunker on the western bank of the canal was preserved as a memorial to the Belgian soldiers who died defending it. In 2009, the Belgian inland water authority, De Scheepvaart, decided to replace the old bridge in order to eliminate a bottleneck caused by its outdated dimensions. The canal had been broadened from its original width of 50 metres to 100. The planning of the new bridge had to take into account the historical significance of the site, along with the placement of the bunker. In a creative engineering feat, the old bunker was placed atop tall cement pilings while the western bank of the canal was carved away around it to make room for the new bridge. This was constructed alongside the old bridge, which was then demolished. Finally, the new bridge was pushed sideways into place. The bunker was integrated into a massive bulwark anchoring the western side of the bridge. Lodged securely under the bridge in the limestone wall of the canal, the bulwark was equipped with ample room for a visitor centre. The huge complex stood empty for three years, but now De Scheepvaart and its partners, the city of Riemst and the province’s tourism agency, have seen their ambitious concept become reality. The visitor centre, called De Brug van Vroenhoven, or the Vroenhoven Bridge, combines two exhibitions with a restaurant and event space. An outdoor amphitheatre and a wraparound terrace should prove popular during the summer months. The main focus of the visitor centre is De Bunker, an exhibi-

www.debrugvanvroenHoven.be

The exhibition brings back to life the invasion of 1940

tion about the German assault on 10 to 12 May, 1940. The story is presented through a combination of interactive touchscreens, video clips, archival material, artefacts and personal accounts. Maps show the positions of the Belgian defence and detail the Germans’ attack plans. Photographs taken just after the battle document the destruction. The most poignant sections of the exhibition are the video and audio testimony of people who experienced the fighting first-hand.

Historical recordings are paired with actor portrayals of the speakers. Modern-day interviews with locals who were children at the time are captured on video as they relate their memories of those terrible days and the family they lost. A large box floating a metre above the floor turns out to be a memorial to the casualties, both military and civilian. The visitor must crouch down and duck under the walls to access the interior, which is ringed with video

screens. Dozens of white crosses are suspended in the blackness overhead. Old photos give way to a series of video portraits as each person’s story is heard. For Bastiaens, the exhibition is a powerful reminder of events that are at once both historical and personal. One of the video portraits accompanies the recollections of his aunt, who lost her mother and two sisters to a German bomb. “It’s a reminder of what happened,” he says. “You don’t think about it all the time. But every family has its story of what happened then.” The memorial ends with the gradual illumination of rows of lightbulbs concealed in the walls of the box as the video screens go dark. Mirrors behind the panels reflect the brightness on all sides so that the viewer is surrounded by an infinite field of receding points of light. It’s dramatic and powerful, as much experiential artwork as museum installation. After leaving the war exhibition, visitors can learn about the canal – its history, how it works, what vessels ply its waters and what creatures live in its depths – in a second section called Binnenvaart Experience. From there, the exit leads into a restaurant with floorto-ceiling windows overlooking the canal. The mayor of Riemst, Mark Vos, as well as representatives of the Flemish and provincial tourism agencies, have all expressed hope that the centre will become a popular tourist attraction, doing for Limburg what comparable First World War sites have done for West Flanders. For anyone with an interest in the Second World War, it’s certainly worth a visit. And for the local population, it’s a longawaited tribute to the events that happened here nearly 75 years ago.

Tourism Flanders rewards region’s most inspiring projects www.toerismevlaanderen.be

Tourism Flanders has announced the winners of its annual competition for the most inspiring projects, products and people in the Flemish tourism sector. The biggest prize of the night, for Best Holidaymaker, went to Nicole Vande Putte, the driving force for more than 40 years behind the non-profit Sogeha, which organises holidays for underprivileged youngsters (pictured). Best Tourism Ambassador this year is Antwerp city guide Tanguy Ottomer, while the prize for most innovative tourist product went

to the Backstay Hostel in Ghent, which is installed in the former offices of Socialist newspaper Vooruit. Accordin g to the jury, the hostel is particularly noteworthy for its strong digital presence, including on social media. Ghent’s Design Museum, meanwhile, carried out the best marketing campaign, titled No Design to Waste,fortheexhibitionOuttoSea? The Plastic Garbage Project. In the category of Best Socially Responsible Enterprise, the award went to Botel Ophoven – a renovated cargo ship in Limburg that serves a hotel.

The prize for best Belgian TV Report went to the producers of Vlaanderen Vakantieland, while the prize for International Press Coverage went to reporters with the Russian version of the culinary magazine Jamie. Liudmila Nikitina and Ekaterina Demina wrote an article for Jamie about Antwerp’s food culture. The Green Key international ecolabel, which rewards tourism initiatives for their environmental efforts, revealed that the Brussels hotels Silken Berlaymont and the Hilton Brussels City have each

received the label. Silken Berlaymont is rewarded for its waste management, energysaving measures and promotion of “green package” activities, like tours on foot or by bike. Hilton Brussels City takes up its social responsibility by helping homeless people, has an ecological energy management system and promotes the extensive sorting of waste. Twenty-six other tourism establishments have had their ecolabels renewed. \ Andy Furniere © Courtesy ksJ ledeberg

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february 4, 2015

Geese heads and burning feet

artist bart van dijck explores belgium’s often disquieting folklore traditions ian mundell More articles by Ian \ flanderstoday.eu

www.warande.be

Childhood stories inspired Flemish artist Bart Van Dijck’s new exhibition, which looks at some of Belgium’s strangest folk traditions.

’m sitting in the dark on a stump of wood in a cardboard replica of a Kempen farmhouse. If I straighten up, my head brushes the ceiling. In front of me, bandits are burning a farmer’s feet, to make him reveal where his savings are hidden. One of the bandits holds a pair of goat legs, hooves and all, and is making clippety-clop noises on the floor. And they’re singing the song of the legendary local bandits known as the Pijpelheide devils. “This was inspired by the history of the small town where I grew up,” says artist Bart Van Dijck, who is sitting beside me on the cabin’s other stump. He had heard the bandit story from his grandfather, then a little research uncovered the song and led to the idea of recreating the scene for a video. He also took the performance out into the community. “I invited some friends to dress up as these robbers, and we went to the annual fair, just to bring the story into the present.” Folklore is an important feature of Van Dijck’s work, which can be seen in an extensive solo exhibition at De Warande in Turnhout. He observes it, records it, appropriates it and occasionally creates it from scratch. “I like to think about what a new folklore might look like, so sometimes I propose things,” he says. A common thread is the role that folklore plays in creating identity. On the smallest scale there are the stories that children invent when they’re playing, a boyhood tribalism evoked in “A letter to our enemy”. Resting on a log are a matchbox containing a tiny demonic hand and a threatening note in Dutch: “If you destroy our camp again we will cut the other hand off, too.”

This was inspired by Van Dijck’s own childhood. “We had a club, we made camps and weapons, and we fought battles against imaginary enemies,” he says. “It’s like you’re in a tribe.” He is also interested in youth subcultures, such as heavy metal. “In a way, I see it as a new folklore, as new tribes with their own rituals, signs and symbols. And it is also about creating an identity or revolting against the mainstream culture.” Tribal identity of a different kind is explored in the video “In Flanders fields”, shot during the Ijzerwake procession of Flemish nationalists. Van Dijck has split the images, so that the left side of the screen mirrors the right. People marching with flags seem to emerge from the centre, forming identical columns that touch and gesture to one another. Projected on to a large screen, the effect is mesmerising, monumental – and slightly unnerving. But the centrepiece of the exhibition is Van Dijck’s new, hour-long film The Weather Was Good, which compiles scenes from folk events across Belgium. These range from

bart Van Dijck’s 60-minute film The weather was Good looks at some of the country’s odder folk rituals, including the blancs Moussis of stavelot (top) and the goose riders of berendrecht (above), who ride horses under a dangling dead goose, each trying to pull off its head

well-known festivals, such as the Gilles of Binche and the Mons dragon, to more obscure traditions that occupy just one small village. While Van Dijck doesn’t manipulate these images in the same way as those of the Ijzerwake, he stops short of a classic documentary approach. Events unfold and sometimes mingle without explanation. “You don’t get to know the stories behind them or what the people are up to,” he says. Instead he wanted to evoke the atmosphere. “A lot of people doing strange things together; there can be something a bit uncanny about that, but also something very beautiful. It brings people together, and

I wanted to show the emotions and the euphoria that is sometimes generated by these festivities.” Van Dijck spent four years filming these events, some of which happen annually, some at greater intervals. “The Ros Beiaard is only every 10 years, so we were lucky to be able to film the 2010 edition,” he says of the festival in which four brothers ride a giant carnival horse through Dendermonde. Other Flemish traditions in the film include the Berendrecht goose riders, the Pauwel gang from

until 22 february

Galmaerden, the Evermarus play in Rutten, the Reuskens procession in Borgerhout and pretzel-throwing in Geraardsbergen. From Wallonia, there are the creepy Blancs Moussis of Stavelot, the Limotche of HautVent and the Polleur coucou, or coward. Some traditions proved elusive. He wanted to shoot the Hanske Knap beggars from the Antwerp polders but just missed them the first year the first year he tried. The next year they cancelled because some regular participants were ill, then in the third year he was told they had given up. This may not be an isolated case. “Some of the events in the film are really small and local, and might even stop in a few years because there is no follow-up from youngsters.” Although Hanske Knap is missing from The Weather Was Good, Van Dijck has taken it up in other ways, using elements as the basis for a performance piece and a series of sculptural objects. While folklore features in much of his work, Van Dijck has other interests and lines of enquiry, including notions of cultural exchange and exoticism, and the exhibition includes pieces inspired by trips to India and North Africa. Then there is purely formal work, such as the new piece “Bonfire”, a kitsch fire with fur flames, plaster logs and mirror embers. “One of the recurring themes in my work is identity and how the identity of communities is created, but, at the same time, I don’t want to get stuck on this idea,” he explains. “So for me it’s important to maintain the freedom to experiment and carry on playing with concepts, ideas and materials.”

De warande

Warandestraat 42, Turnhout

More visUaL arts this Week love letters in war and Peace

continuum of repair: the light of jacob’s ladder

This sprawling exhibition exploring the intersection of love, art, war and letterwriting contains a handful of gems involving artists in love, such as Dora Carrington on Lytton Strachey and Marcel Mariën’s surreal, sexy collage letters to his lover. Best of all is Stanley Spencer’s unfinished and rarely seen Apotheosis of Hilda, a vast tribute to his ex-wife and their obsessive letter-writing. See it now before it returns home to the Art Gallery of Ontario. Until 22 February, Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent

French-Algerian artist Kader Attia has created rooms within rooms at Bozar. Inside the small council chamber, this installation forms a second set of walls built from metal bookshelves. Within these is a cabinet of curiosities, displaying scientific instruments, books and etchings. Mirrors extend this inner room overhead, creating an infinite library tower. A single fluorescent tube is multiplied into the steps of Jacob’s ladder. Until 22 February, Bozar, Brussels

\ www.mskgent.be

\ www.bozar.be

ellen Harvey: the unloved Bruges was a busy port until the 15th century, when silt blocked its connection to the North Sea, sending the city into sharp decline. Only the creation of Zeebrugge in 1907 revived its fortunes. British artist Ellen Harvey explores this history in The Unloved, a five-room installation at the Groeninge Museum that combines mirrors, contemporary satellite images and old paintings of the city and the coast, half-glimpsed through windows into the museum’s store rooms. Until 25 May, Groeninge Museum, Bruges © stephen white

\ https://bezoekers.brugge.be/ellen-harvey

The light of Jacob’s ladder at bozar

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Week in arts & cULtUre Peter Verhelst wins Herman De Coninck Prize

Poet and author Peter Verhelst has been awarded this year’s Herman De Coninck Prize for poetry for his collection Wij totale vlam (We, All in Flames). “Major themes such as transience, space, time, happiness and love – themes that so many poets attempt to navigate – are here handled in such an honest, precise and vulnerable fashion,” the jury citation read. The public prize went to Maud Vanhauwaert for her illustrated collection Wij zijn evenwijdig (We Are on Parallel Lines). The prize is handed out annually during Poetry Week to a Flemish poet for work published in the previous year. Verhelst also won the prize in 2009, two years after it was launched in the name of the Mechelen-born poet, editor and journalist Herman De Coninck, who died in 1997.

€25,000 collected for luc De Vos project

Friends and fans of the late Flemish singer Luc De Vos have raised €25,000 in his name for an extension to the Gentbrugse Meersen nature reserve. Mourners were asked to donate to the Natuurpunt project in lieu of flowers or gift to the family after the singer’s unexpected death in November. De Vos, the lead singer of long-time band Gorki, had lent his name to the project in the district of Gentbrugge as a spokesperson not long before he died. “We are pleasantly surprised by the amount of the donation,” said Frank Maes of Natuurpunt. Donations are still being accepted on the account number BE56 2930 2120 7588 with the notation “Luc De Vos – Gentbrugse Meersen”.

Dna to re-open as soul/hip-hop venue

The legendary DNA café in central Brussels, famous as a house of punk, will re-open as a venue featuring soul and hip-hop, owners Kamil and Samy Barhadi said. The venue closed recently for renovations. “If we were to limit ourselves to punk and metal, we’d be heading straight for bankruptcy,” they told brusselnieuws.be. “That's why we've decided also to offer soul, house, deep-house and hip-hop. There will also be room for jazz, rock and new wave.” The bar closed down in 2012, before being bought by the brothers and re-opened six months later.

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Cartoons for all

anima and the youth film festival double up on the agenda this month bjorn gabriels More articles by bjorn \ flanderstoday.eu

www.animafestival.be www.jeugdfilmfestival.be

reary days ahead, or is it raining cats and dogs? Anima and the Youth Film Festival, both held during Carnival week, offer shelter. Just to be sure, Swiss artist François Chalet will provide plenty of umbrellas in this year’s visual design for Anima, even if they are only pencil-drawn and kept indoors at the Flagey building. The Brussels animation film festival opens with Shaun the Sheep the Movie, a delightfully funny claymation by the illustrious Aardman Studios. Best known for Chicken Run and its Wallace and Gromit films, Bristol-based Aardman revels in a combination of visual ingenuity and physical comedy, flavoured with verbal wit and quirky Britishness. Shaun the Sheep revisits that successful recipe, though the film has to spin a yarn with practically no words: The human characters express themselves in nonsensical gibberish and the animals, well, they don’t speak, do they? With this feature-length animation, Aardman returns to familiar ground. Shaun has grown from a supporting character in a Wallace and Gromit short, to starring in his own television series, and now playing the title role in a feature film. The movie also returns to the farm – reminiscent of the setting in Chicken Run – the begin-all and end-all of its rather flimsy storyline that contrasts the uncomplicated life in the countryside with the hustle and bustle of the big city Perhaps Shaun is missing some of that Aardman inventiveness and playful anarchy, but, rest assured, you won’t be falling asleep while these sheep hop around in their

Oscar-nominated song of the sea is on the programme of two film festivals this month

gag-filled adventure. Anima always sets out to show how diverse the world of animation is. Even though Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki, who announced his retirement in 2013, has declared himself fond of Aardman, the tone and substance of the films made by Studio Ghibli, which he co-founded in the 1980s, are light years removed from Aardman’s playful mischief. The story of Miyazaki’s retreat is told in the live-action documentary The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, a glance behind the scenes at one of the most intriguing animation studios. And, as if to counter speculations about Studio Ghibli planning to stop altogether – as was rumoured last year – Anima has programmed two new Ghibli animes: When Marnie Was Here (Hiromasa Yonebayashi) and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (Isao Takahata). A selection of recent animated documentary shorts plays yet a different register. As proven by feature-length examples such as Waltz With Bashir or The Missing Picture, animation can be a powerful means to tackle traumatic

stories. Not suitable for children, though. Often animation – creating motion with inanimate objects – harks back to the fundamentals of filmmaking. In that respect, it provides the curious – young and old, experienced or novice – with plenty of means to indulge in hands-on creativity. In good tradition, Anima hosts a wide range of workshops, from initiations aimed at five- to 12-yearolds to master classes by and for professionals. Among the Flemish speakers are Disney animator Marlon Nowe; stop-motion specialist Kristien Vanden Bussche, who worked on Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie; and Emma De Swaef, creator of Oh Willy… and the little stress man in public transport company De Lijn’s adverts. In its 34th edition, Anima – which became an Academy Award Qualifying festival last year – continues

13-22 february 14-22 february

to grow as an animation festival with international appeal. On a smaller scale but equally attentive to introducing kids to the wondrous world of cinema is the Youth Film Festival, which takes place in both Antwerp and Bruges. Although the Youth Film Festival has fewer big names and premieres to flaunt – a festival’s standing does impact the programme – it has nurtured a unique project. In an image culture enamoured if not obsessed with a tween audience, quality youth films oddly enough often fall between cramped screening schedules and plain disregard. The Youth Film Festival gives young viewers – and their parents or grandparents – the opportunity to (re)visit some of the more noteworthy films for young people of recent years, while presenting workshops all day, every day. Opening the festival will be Oscarnominated animation Song of the Sea, a magical gem also picked up by their Anima colleagues in Brussels. The closing film is the melodious South African Felix, last year’s winner of the Children Jury’s Award. One of the strongest selections, albeit for the older youngsters, is Let The Right One In (16+) by Swedish helmer Tomas Alfredson. Don’t let a quick glance at its synopsis fool you into thinking that this romantic horror film plays in the same ballpark as the Twilight saga. In fact, it plays an entirely different game.

anima

Flagey, Heilig-Kruisplein, Brussels

youth film festival

Antwerp and Bruges

Ostend’s Storm! is a fresh wind through jazz festival scene www.vrijstaat-o.be

When Ostend’s Storm! premiered two years ago, many questioned whether there was room for yet another jazz festival in Flanders. Turnout quickly showed, however, that the public’s appetite for inventive sounds from new and old faces was as voracious as ever. This month the adventurous music festival, organised by arts and culture centre Vrijstaat O, enjoys its second run in the city by the sea. And while its bigger, more established brothers, like Ghent Jazz, Jazz Middelheim and Brosella, focus on getting big names, Storm! homes in on younger and local talent, offering a wide revue of where the younger generation is taking jazz today. Today’s jazz musicians, says organiser Pieter Koten of Vrijstaat O, often play with ways to break free of the genre’s traditional boundaries. They blend and cross between

genres such as rock, soul and pop with ease, and take adventurous detours into other disciplines, including performance, literature and contemporary dance. A perfect example of this tendency is guest of honour Fulco Ottervanger. A Belgian-based Dutch jazz pianist and composer, Ottevanger flirts with the boundaries of music and other mediums such as theatre and dance as he performs at several moments throughout the festival. You can find the 30-year-old playing with his popular contemporary jazz trio, De Beren Gieren, as well as in the first performance by the Reverse Archeologists, his collaboration with fellow keyboardists Jozef Dumoulin and Kris Davis. But Ottevanger is not the only musician pushing at the borders. At centre stage of Storm! lies a twoday festival-within-a-festival, taking

bart Maris is one of the many experimentalists making up the programme of the storm! jazz festival

place on 20 and 21 February in De Grote Post cultural centre and jampacked with artists making the

6-28 february

most of their genres. One welcome name on the line-up is Israeli trumpeter Avishai Cohen Triveni, who sold out a concert last year at Vrijstaat O and this time is arriving with his new album, Dark Nights, in tow. Norwegian trumpeter Mathias Eick’s seamless weaving in of pop and rock notes demonstrates how jazz today is not limited to any specific sound. Finally,onSaturday,the21st-century jazz-fusion band BRZZVLL will join forces with British-Trinidadian poet and musician Anthony Joseph for a soul-filled funk party to close the main weekend of the festival. \ Katy Desmond

De Grote Post & across Ostend

\ aGenDa

february 4, 2015

War as tourism

concert

Memento Park 6-14 february

f after all last year’s festivities you still have an appetite for the Great War, the new theatre piece Memento Park seems to be a must. With a quote from American historian John R Gillis as a tagline – “No one knows what the past will be made of next” – author and director Thomas Bellinck explores how the First World War was quickly appropriated by the tourism industry. In 1917, when Flanders’ fields were still covered in blood, Michelin added an illustrated volume of the battlefields of the French Marne region to its roster of tourist guides it had been publishing since the beginning of the 20th century. Just

brussels Boubacar Traoré: The selftaught 72-year-old singer, songwriter and guitarist from Mali, nicknamed Kar Kar, presents his latest blues album, Mbalimaou. 7 February 20.00, Galerij van de Naamsepoort, Bolwerksquare 3

kVs, brussels www.kvs.be

a few years after the war, the British travel company Thomas Cook & Son organised trips to the places where the smell of gunpowder was still in the air. Up-and-coming stage director and playwright Bellinck tackles these unsavoury facts in Memento Park, in which he clarifies that history is a construction. But he doesn’t only look at the past. He also links the battlefield tourism of a century ago with what’s happening now with the 100th anniversary commemoration of the war. There’s at least one parallel: The recent festivities and commemorations in Flanders’ war zones, to ensure we never forget the atroc-

\ www.muziekpublique.be

leuven

ities of the past, have been spearheaded by the region’s tourism department. One of the main goals is to present Flanders as a region that promotes peace. Memento Park, which stars Karlijn Sileghem and Mark Verstraete, promises to be a cutting-edge

cLassicaL

festivaL

Piano days

burning ice

5-8 february Flagey’s Piano Days celebrates the workhorse of Western music. Since its advent in Renaissance Italy, the instrument has become indispensable in both the composition and performance of nearly all modern forms of European music from the contemporary classical of Philip Glass to the rock’n’roll of Little Richard. Piano Days crams 19 concerts, workshops and master

flagey, brussels www.flagey.be

classes into just four days. International guests perform solo and accompanied. The Brussels Philharmonic even makes an appearance. There’s even a lunchtime concert – complete with snack – by young French pianist Guillaume Coppola (pictured). The rising star performs a programme of Schubert and Liszt compositions. \ Georgio Valentino

PerforMance gelukkig zijn 10 february to 21 may When it’s nothing but books, books, books, learning another language can be a chore. Nonprofit theatre company Fast Forward helps aspiring Dutchspeakers by staging easy-to-understand Dutch-language theatre. Directed by teacher-turned-playwright Peter Schoenaerts, this new musical is Fast Forward’s biggest production to date and features

across flanders www.fast-forward.be

songs by celebrated Flemish singers like Will Tura and pop/rock groups like Noordkaap. Many of the performers speak Dutch as a second language, and the action can be followed by anyone with a beginner’s grasp. After opening in de Rand (the Flemish municipalities surrounding Brussels), the piece is set to tour Flanders well into the spring. \ GV

Memento Park also runs 26-27 February in Leuven

\ www.hetdepot.be

brussels kaaitheater, brussels www.kaaitHeater.be

Kaaitheater’s annual Burning Ice festival was conceived in 2008 as a transdisciplinary platform for artists, scientists and thinkers to explore ecological sustainability. Clearly there remains much work to be done, if not in terms of consciousness-raising then in terms of political action. This eighth edition boasts theatre by David Weber-Krebs, dance by French choreographer Rachid Ouramdane (pictured), performance art by Heike Langsdorf, a panel discussion with political theorist Chantal Mouffe and a workshop titled The Art of Creative Resistance. Organisers hope this year’s event will bolster the forces of sustainability when they meet the opposition at November’s UN climate summit in Paris. \ GV

indochine

Verbiest

fiLM

9-15 february

concert

piece, in line with Bellinck’s earlier work in which socio-political or historical awareness often played an important role. \ Christophe

The Godfathers + Elements: The legendary British rock’n’roll band with a mafia-inspired image celebrate their 30th anniversary with a tour through the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, preceded by a performance by the equally legendary Elements, the band formerly known as Red Zebra. 7 February 20.00, Het Depot, Martelarenplein 12

get tic

17 april, 20.00 Indochine think big. Led by theatrical singer (and sole remaining founding member) Nicola Sirkis, the veteran French pop/rock group have been recording international hits like “J’ai demandé à la lune” and putting on outsized arena concerts for decades. Now, however, they’re taking an intimate turn. Their Europe City Club

Echoes of Jihlava: International documentary film festival with a focus on the Czech Republic this year. 4-22 February, Cinema Nova and European Parliament \ www.dokument-festival.com

LiteratUre antwerp Wij twee samen (The Two of Us Together): Presentation of the new book by Flemish author and illustrator Ephameron, a poetic graphic narrative that visualises dementia both abstractly and sensitively. Live music by Peter Spaepen and a screening of Between the Lines, a documentary about the artist. 12 February 18.00, DE Studio, Maarschalk Gérardstraat 4 \ www.ephameron.com

kets n ow

Trix, antwerp www.trixonline.be

Tour finds the band performing in clubs across the Continent, from Barcelona to Oslo via Antwerp. This is largely a strategic decision—none of the eight club dates are in the group’s francophone stomping grounds, where they are undisputed champions. Nevertheless, standing room is sure to be limited. \ GV

taLk brussels Intercontinental: The first in a new series of architecture talks, featuring Marc Frohn, co-founder and design director of FAR ( frohn&rojas), an architectural firm with locations in Berlin, Santiago de Chile and Los Angeles (in English). 10 February 20.00, Recyclart, Ursulinenstraat 25 \ www.recyclart.be

food&drink brussels Bakery La Cucina delle Zie Open Day: The bakery presents its 2015 range of cooking, baking and decorating courses, with demonstrations and workshops, as well as discounts on course fees (in English). 8 February 10.0020.00, La Cucina delle Zie, Gewijde-Boomstraat 26 \ www.facebook.com/ lacucinadellezie

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\ baCkPaGe

february 4, 2015

Talking Dutch the doggy bag days are over

Meg Fal Photography @megfalphoto Getting super excited about Ghent light festival, I think it will be a highlight of my week!! #travel #Belgium

derek blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

ike so many good initiatives in this country, it started in Ghent. In de strijd tegen voedselverspilling – In the fight against food waste, kunnen consumenten voortaan in meer dan veertig Gentse restaurants ongegeneerd om een overschotdoos vragen – customers in more than 40 Ghent restaurants can now unashamedly ask to take their leftovers home in a box. “Overschotten belanden niet meer in de vuilbak, en restaurantbezoekers kunnen langer genieten van het heerlijke eten van Gentse chefs” – Uneaten food no longer ends up in the bin, and diners can take their time enjoying the delicious food made by Ghent’s chefs, explains environment councillor Tine Heyse. As part of its sustainability campaign, Ghent’s city council is distributing 50,000 boxes for leftovers. Are they biodegradable? Check. Are they delivered by bike courier? Check. So you can be quite sure that you’re saving the planet while you nibble on your reheated leftover vegetarian lasagne.

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There was just one little problem with this bold idea, however. What were they going to call those boxes? The Americans call them doggy bags, but that just won’t work in Flanders, the initiators say. So the consumer organisation Test-Aankoop launched a competition to find a name in Dutch. People came up with all sorts of suggestions, like kliekjesdoos – leftovers box, nagenieter – a play on the word nagenieten (to reminisce), and verspil-me-nietje – don’t waste me. I thought the proposal overdoos was brilliant until I realised the potential for confusion. In the end, Test-Aankoop decided that the word restorestje said it best. So that’s what you have to ask for if you find the Gentse waterzooi you ordered on the Korenmarkt

was just too much of a good thing. Now that the idea is established in Ghent, it is being introduced in Brussels and elsewhere. This being Belgium, though, you can’t do anything new without jumping a lot of bureaucratic hurdles. Het FAVV steunt het initiatief – The Belgian food agency is supporting the initiative, maar benadrukt dat de consument volledig verantwoordelijk wordt voor de voedselveiligheid van zodra hij de resten van zijn maaltijd meeneemt – but insists that consumers takes full responsibility for food safety from the moment they take away the remains of their meal. And there’s more. Op de doos, die overigens van FSC-gecertificeerd karton is gemaakt en in de GFTcontainer mag, staan duidelijke richtlijnen voor de consument – There has to be clear instructions for the consumer on the box, which has to be manufactured using FSCcertified cardboard suitable for disposal as paper waste. So you can now ask for a doggy bag in Flanders. As long as you don’t call it a doggy bag.

Tweet us your thoughts @flandersToday

Poll

a. No. Tuymans is right; artists need to be free to manipulate any subject or media in their art. I hope he wins his appeal

25% b. No, but he shouldn’t appeal either. He’s not out anything and should accept the verdict and move on

6% c. Yes. His defence of parody was slight. He needs to accept the court’s verdict and stop painting copyrighted photos

69% ing, a technique he has used before, arguing that his work is a “parody” of the original and therefore not held to copyright restrictions. The court did not agree, and the judgement against him states that he may not produce more paintings based on this photo. That opens him up to further legal problems should he use other photos in the

\ next week's question:

future, so he plans to appeal the decision. The idea that anything found on the internet is free for the taking is common. Clearly most Flanders Today readers are more rigorous than that: Nearly 70% consider the verdict just.

Motoring organisation VAB has proposed scrapping the priority-to-the-right rule in favour of major-road priority. What do you think? Log in to the Flanders Today website at www.flanderstoday.eu and click on VOTE!

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Richard Dawkins @RichardDawkins In Antwerp for #UnbelieversFilm, master baker gave both @ LKrauss1 & me a cake. Here is mine, about to be vandalised

SM @ssmaxent bye brussels. you were fun (and the waffle amazing) http://instagram. com/p/ySTIeSP3fc/

In response to: What’s on this week: 28 January Volkan Bozkurt Wish I was there !!

In response to: Debate over priority-to-the-right traffic rule Pedro Anselmo Aleluia!!

In response to: Ghent mayor wins hearts, at home and abroad Paulo Henrique Lustosa I love Ghent!

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the Last Word

should artist luc tuymans have been found guilty of plagiarism for copying a press photo as a painting?

Massive support among our readers for De Standaard photographer Katrien Van Giel, who took internationally feted artist Luc Tuymans to court and won. Tuymans, the court found, had simply painted a copy of her photo, which breached the copyright. The Antwerp artist fully admitted to copying the photo for his paint-

voices of fLanders today

diplomatic incident

all wet

Wouter De Vriendt of the Groen party criticised the presence of King Filip at the funeral of Saudi king Abdullah

Flemish meteorologist Deboosere

“We all want to be Charlie, but then we go shaking hands with a regime where the freedom of expression is punished with a whip.”

rocket man

“I think it’s fantastic that you’ve called them after The Jefferson Airplane. They’re one of my favourite bands. Above all, the glasses are beautiful. I can assure you I’ll be wearing them.”

Elton John received a gift of three pairs of handmade wooden frames from Limburg optician Michel Hons and replied by letter

“In December and January as much rain fell as in three months normally. That’s remarkable, but still in line with the trend of recent years. Winters now are 15% wetter than 150 years ago.” Frank

everyone’s a critic

“I’m amazed at the ferocity with which the American critics have shot down this film. The vitriol I’ve had aimed at me is frightening.”

Flemish director Erik Van Looy reacts to negative reviews of his film The Loft (see p3)

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