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Fashion forward

Dutch-language radio station FM Brussel faced a turbulent week, with its closure announced and now a possible reprieve

Flemish pianomaker Maene has surprised the music world with a new kind of piano, combining modern technology with the strings of yesteryear

Bozar hosts the first-ever comprehensive exhibition on the love story that is Belgium and fashion design

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The battle lost but history defeated Emperor Napoleon’s legacy can be found in surprising places all across Flanders

Toon Lambrechts More articles by Toon \ flanderstoday.eu

This month marks the 200th anniversary of Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, after which Europe would never be the same. The emperor also left his mark in Flanders: from forts and canals to trees and beets.

apoleon Bonaparte, who always saw things big, left behind a series of buildings in Belgium that still stand today. And the Frenchman also lives on in folk tales. He visited Flanders, at the time called the Southern Netherlands, several times, including various trips to Ostend and Antwerp, two cities that were of great importance in his strategy against England. Napoleon’s passages in the region echo in many local folk tales. In May of 1810, for instance, he stayed in Bruges and made a trip to Sluis, now on the Dutch side of the border, to inspect the defence of the town in the estuary of the Scheldt. At one point he walked thoughtlessly through a group of children who were playing with their marbles. One of the children boldly snarled at him that he had ruined their game. Fortunately for the boy, Napoleon didn’t understand Dutch, and his guide was careful enough not to provide a translation. A year later, Napoleon travelled the same route to check how the defences along the coast were advancing. At what is now the Zwin nature reserve, then still a partially open watercourse, he was ferried by a boatman named Hennefreund. Napoleon asked the man how much of his precious time the crossing would take. Hennefreund made an estimate, and Napoleon – control freak that he was – timed the crossing on his watch. When the boatman’s estimate proved to be exactly correct, the emperor praised his punctuality and granted him an annual payment of 100 golden napoleons (the currency of the time). The region’s archives show that this premium was paid effectively until the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon was also a builder, and his reign over Flanders has left many traces. One of the most famous is Fort Napoleon in Ostend, a massive pentagonal brick fortress in the dunes near the coastal city. Work began in 1811, and in 1814 the last stone was laid. By then, Napoleon had already suffered serious blows in Russia and Leipzig, and the fort was never used for military purposes. Until later: The Germans used it in their coastal defence during the Second World War. To the west of Ostend, a second, similar fort was under construction but wasn’t finished before the Battle of Waterloo. The British later finished it and called it Fort Wellington as a dig at the French. It was demolished after the Second World War to make way for the Wellington race track. In front of the MAS museum in Antwerp, meanwhile, lie the city’s two oldest docks, the Bonaparte and Willem docks. Both were dug at Napoleon’s behest and changed the nature of the harbour. Previously, Antwerp had been a river port, dependent on the tides, but the Frenchman saw things differently. Antwerp was, in his words, “a loaded gun pointed

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\ CURRENT AFFAIRS

New Neanderthal Site opens Limburg site contains evidence of humans living 140,000 years ago Andy Furniere More articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.eu

lemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois has opened an archaeological site in Lanaken, Limburg, that contains evidence of the oldest forms of human settlement ever discovered in Flanders. The special historic value of the site is illustrated through three clay walls, with layers providing an overview of different periods in history. A 60-metre path represents a voyage through time, with every 15 cm standing for a period of 500 years. The point marking 46,000 years ago shows traces of the region’s first

Neanderthals, with a few thousand of them present. Archaeologists on the site found tools, silex stones and bones of mammoths, rhinoceroses and Arctic foxes. The oldest traces of the Neanderthals found here date from about 140,000 years ago, making them the oldest traces of human settlement so far found in Flanders. The Neanderthals didn’t live on the site permanently, but different groups stayed there temporarily at various times. The exhibition, meanwhile, takes visitors back in time about 200,000 years and explains the first tracks

of modern humans discovered in Africa. The development of the clay quarry cost €1.2 million, subsidised by the Flemish, provincial and municipal governments. The city of Lanaken owns the site, which can only be visited via guided group tours. “The opening of the VeldwezeltHezerwater site is a first for Flemish archaeology,” Bourgeois said at the opening ceremony on Friday. “It is unique that such an exceptional site can be maintained in its original context, to be enjoyed by the generations who will follow us.”

Major support for world heritage bid for First World War sites The government of Flanders has signed a covenant to work with various other bodies to promote the recognition of 18 First World War sites in West Flanders as Unesco World Heritage sites. The other signatories are 10 West Flanders municipalities, the provincial authority and a group of independent organisations. In 2014, minister-president Geert Bourgeois, whose portfolio also includes heritage affairs, drew up a list of candidate sites, mainly military cemeteries and monuments. All are already listed as monuments under Belgian law and form part of a joint French-Belgian submission for recognition as world heritage to be handed in to Unesco, the United Nations educational and cultural organisation, in 2017. The list was circulated to a variety of bodies – not only those who own and manage the

sites but also organisations such as the farmers’ union Boerenbond, Flemish chamber of commerce Voka, Unizo, which represents the self-employed, and Natuurpunt.

The list also has international partners: the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the French defence ministry, the German War Graves Commission and the Institute for Veterans and War Invalids. The signing ceremony took place last week in the new Westfront visitor centre in Nieuwpoort. “This covenant will create the ideal circumstances to work on the nomination dossier, but we will also be paying attention to the upkeep of heritage sites and the sustainable development of the region,” Bourgeois said. The sites include the monument to the missing in Nieuwpoort and the Menin Gate in Ypres; German military cemetery Vladslo (pictured) in Diksmuide; the Canadian Brooding Soldier monument in Langemark; the French military cemetery in Kemmelberg; and Commonwealth military cemeteries, including Tyne Cot. \ AH

€8.4 million for new pre-metro tunnel in Antwerp Flemish mobility minister Ben Weyts has approved funding of €8.4 million for a new tunnel in Antwerp to be used by the pre-metro, or underground tram. The tunnel will cut the journey time from Wijnegem to the city centre from 25 to 15 minutes, the government said. Since April this year, trams have been routed through the tunnel known as the Reuzenpijp, a twin-bore tunnel originally planned for the premetro use but unused for 30 years until it was fitted with the necessary infrastructure, at a cost

of €100 million. The new funding goes to a 400-metre branch tunnel that passes under Turnhoutsebaan, between pre-metro stations Zegel and the Singel crossroads. “This will give Wijnegem and the Deurne district a direct connection with Antwerp’s pre-metro network,” Weyts explained. “This kind of investment pays off: the first figures on the tram lines in the Reuzenpijp are extremely positive as far as both traffic and passenger satisfaction are concerned. Passengers make their

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children from a school in East Flanders were taken to hospital after coming into contact with a poisonous laburnum bush growing on the edge of the playground. All were released after observation

choices based on comfort and speed, and that’s what we want to offer them more of.” Antwerp city council welcomed the news. “This is exactly what our policy agreement calls for: helping motorists to opt for rapid alternatives,” commented mobility alderman Koen Kennis. And he pointed out that the tram’s passage into the tunnel means it will bypass three accident black spots on the route: the Stenenbrug, the on and off ramps of the E313 and the NoordersingelTurnhoutsebaan junction. \ Alan Hope

increase in the number of fishing licences granted to young people in Flanders last year. The Flemish angling commission welcomed the increase with a special beginners’ package

young people left secondary school in Flanders without a diploma in 2013, according to the latest figures from the employment agency VDAB, a record low of only 8.8%

Antwerp to scrap night-bus service this month De Lijn will bring an end to the night bus service in Antwerp on 27 June, the Flemish public transport authority announced. The fares raised from users are not enough to cover the costs of running the service, said De Lijn, even taking into account the contribution paid by the municipalities served. The service was set up in 2007 and consists of nine lines that operate on Friday and Saturday nights until 4.00. One problem was that most journeys begin and end in the city, with very few reaching the surrounding municipalities – the main reason for the establishment of the network. De Lijn said it was prepared to talk to municipal authorities and the taxi sector to explore alternative possibilities and is looking at a possible combi-ticket for public transport and taxi, as well as collective taxi schemes. \ AH

fire service branches from all over the world have signed up to take part in the bugling at the Last Post ceremony in Ypres on 9 July – the 30,000th time the ceremony will take place

fraudsters, mainly Nigerian, have gone on trial in Mechelen charged with bilking more than 1,000 people of €7.2 million by phishing – collecting details such as bank account numbers via email

june 17, 2015

WEEK in brief Ghent mayor Daniël Termont will be off work longer than expected, as the city announced that he must undergo a 24-week course of chemotherapy for colon cancer. Termont underwent a successful operation on 2 June. The chemotherapy, Termont reported via Twitter, is “preventive”. The number of butchers in Belgium fell by 10% from over 4,000 in 2009 to only 2,694 in 2014, the neutral syndicate of the selfemployed NSZ said. According to the industry federation, the decline is partly due to the effect of competition from supermarkets, as well as the falling numbers of young people looking to enter the sector. Despite falling numbers, independent butchers still account for 30% of all meat sales. National Lottery winners left €5.5 million in prize money unclaimed in 2014, the lottery said. The figure is less than in 2013 (€5.7 million) as the public is now better informed about the timing of draws and the results. The unclaimed winnings concern mainly small amounts; the last time a jackpot went unclaimed was in 2008.

face of flanders as in the Flemish region, between 7.4 and 20 cents per kilometre. Within the city, a higher tariff will apply, ranging from 9.9 cents per kilometre for the smallest, cleanest lorries to 29.2c/km for older, more polluting trucks. Ticket windows in railway stations will be vacant on Friday, 19 June, because of industrial action by rail unions ACOD Spoor and ACV Transcom, in protest over the planned permanent closure of windows in 33 stations nationwide. Meanwhile, train drivers of the ASTB union have threatened to strike again if NMBS management is not prepared to sit down to talks about their demands regarding premiums and service pay rises. ASTB went on strike on 28 May, causing disruption to the whole network. Internet telephone company Skype, a property of Microsoft, has filed a request with the Cassation Court to have a case against it moved out of Mechelen, after the judge there communicated details of the case. The case concerns Skype refusing to allow detectives to listen in on online communications. Skype argued that the judge’s remarks amount to bias.

Animal park Planckendael in Mechelen has seen the birth of a record number of more than 100 stork chicks this year, thanks to mild weather and a relatively dry spring, park authorities said. The storks are not part of the park’s year-round inhabitants; they arrive to nest every year atop platforms built especially for them. The chicks were ringed last week.

Marine attraction Sea Life in Blankenberge has taken delivery of a trio of blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus), which replace three of the same that were moved out because they had grown too large for their accommodation. The aquarium is also now home to a zebra shark and two nurse sharks.

The Brussels-Capital Region has agreed on a tariff for road tolls for lorries, to be introduced next April at the same time as Flanders starts its tolls. For motorways – essentially only the Ring and approach roads – the same tariff will apply

Flanders’ energy minister Annemie Turtelboom has ordered an inventory of every roof in the region to find out which are suitable for the installation of solar panels or solar boilers, she told the Flemish parliament. The project will note

the slope and orientation of the roof, shade and other obstacles, and estimate the potential output of energy available. A map of the region’s roofs should be available by next summer. Flemish mobility minister Ben Weyts is considering making the collection of more minor speeding fines a job for a regional administration instead of the police courts. Weyts was responding to federal justice minister Koen Geens’ order to police zones to apply quotas to the fines issued for speeding offences detected by certain cameras. Cameras in some locations are too successful, and the volume of fines causes delays and extra cost. Weyts said the option of turning cameras off when they detect too many speeders was “unacceptable” and that an administrative system could take the pressure off prosecutors’ offices. Works on the E40 motorway that started this week will continue until the end of the summer, the roads and traffic agency AWV said. The works involve resurfacing of the motorway between the Zwijnaarde interchange (junction 15) and Erpe-Mere (junction 18) on the Brussels-bound carriageway. To reduce disruption, works will be carried out only at night in August. The road will be reduced to two lanes in both directions, with a contraflow system in force. The commune of Anderlecht in Brussels and the food market at the abattoir have agreed to introduce a ban on the use of plastic bags from March 2016, except for meat, fresh fish and other wet foodstuffs, the council announced. The market operates every weekend and welcomes some 100,000 shoppers to its 650 stalls, each one of which uses an average of 2,000 plastic bags a week for a total of 117 tonnes of plastic waste a year.

OFFSIDE Pushkin comes to shove The month of June this year is dominated by the Battle of Waterloo, which took place exactly 200 years ago this Thursday, and which has everyone so fired up that even the issue of a €2.50 coin made headline news. In a corner of Laken in Brussels, however, all minds last weekend were on another giant of the early 19th century – not a conqueror but a poet, a man of peace and reflection. Alexander Pushkin was only 16 when Napoleon was defeated, but, like everyone at the time, he was profoundly marked by the Corsican's career. A year before Waterloo, he had written his first poem about the emperor, and more were to come.

Despite Napoleon causing great damage and leaving a trail of Russian dead in his march on Moscow, the young Pushkin, like Beethoven, could not help but admire the heroism of the quest. The latest memorial service held in Pushkin's honour in Laken’s Poesjkinplein, under the gaze of

the statue of the poet by contemporary Russian sculptor Georgy Frangulyan, was organised on the theme of War and Peace. It included a reading by Belgian poet laureate Charles Ducal. Peace has broken out, in the meantime, in the war between the inhabitants of the area and the public transport authorities De Lijn and MIVB, which plan new tram routes that risk cutting right through the square, with unknown deleterious effects on the Pushkin statue. Such was the fear that the Pushkin Foundation, which organises the annual memorial every June, launched a protest. The furore has died down for the time being. The plans, however, remain on the table. \ AH

Omroepsters Their faces are familiar to anyone who watches Flemish TV channels, and some of them have gone on to be radio or TV programme hosts. But no more. After more than 60 years, the continuity announcers known as omroepsters (and occasionally the masculine form omroepers) will no longer pop up between shows to let you know what’s coming up. Their job is to be a genial personality that announces the coming attractions from the TV schedule, as well as to step in whenever there’s a break in transmission for any reason. The very first omroepster on what is now called VRT, the Flemish public broadcaster, was Irene Beval, who made her debut on 31 October, 1953, with the unforgettable announcement: “Good evening ladies and gentlemen. We begin our Panorama with programme.” She didn’t last long. The job came into its own with the trio of Paula Sémer, Nora Steyaert and Terry Van Ginderen, who made themselves into BVs – Bekende Vlamingen (Famous Flemings). Down the years, occupants of the job have gone on to be hosts of various TV shows – Rani De Coninck (Mijn Restaurant!), Martine Prenen (De

rode loper), Jo De Poorter (Vlaanderens Topmodel) – as well as news anchors (Birgit Van Mol), actors (Andrea Croonenberghs, Sonja Cantré), recording artists (Yasmine, Geena Lisa) and even politicians (Sabine De Vos). Gert Verhulst is one of the few men to have held the post. He not only went on, after his stint in the continuity chair in 1989 to 1997, to become the star (with a stuffed dog) of the children’s series Samson en Gert, he co-founded Studio 100, the multimedia entertainment company that has made him a multi-millionaire and brought the world Kabouter Plop, Piet Piraat and Bumba. The time has come, according to Eén network manager Olivier Goris, for a new look for the channel, which means that the four announcers currently appearing on Eén – Andrea Croonenberghs, Geena Lisa, Saartje Vandendriessche and Eva Daeleman (pictured) – will now be looking to pursue other opportunities. “This is without a doubt the hardest decision we’ve had to take at Eén in recent years,” said Goris. “Our announcers have always been there, and you don’t mess with that lightly.” \ Alan Hope

Flanders Today, a weekly English-language newspaper, is an initiative of the Flemish Region and is financially supported by the Flemish authorities. 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 Rebecca Benoot, Bartosz Brzezi´nski, Derek Blyth, Leo Cendrowicz, Katy Desmond, Andy Furniere, Diana Goodwin, Julie Kavanagh, Catherine Kosters, Toon Lambrechts, Katrien Lindemans, Ian Mundell, Anja Otte, Tom Peeters, Daniel Shamaun, Senne Starckx, Christophe Verbiest, Débora Votquenne, Denzil Walton General manager Hans De Loore Publisher 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 FM Flemish Brussels

The Flemish in Brussels are an oft-forgotten group. More and more, they have taken to calling themselves “Flemish Brusselaars”, as they identify more with the city than their cultural identity. These Brussels Flemish – or Flemish Brusselaars – used to be an aging group, but, in recent years, the use of Dutch has increased in the capital. And the Flemish are trendsetting – bringing Nordic mobility insights to a city known for its Mediterranean style traffic, for example. Institutionally, the Flemish in the capital are treated as a protected minority, with rights such as guaranteed political representation. Flanders, too, is generous when it comes to Brussels. As no-one knows how many Flemish there are – language censuses are illegal – it uses the one-third rule for financing: one-third of the Brussels population, or roughly 300,000 people, are considered Flemish, or at least responsive to the Dutch language. This, everyone agrees, far exceeds reality, but it is part of a policy of openness, rather than just catering for a strictly defined group. This policy results in famously good quality Dutch-language schools, popular among speakers of all languages, and cultural institutions such as AB and Beursschouwburg. As for media, a Dutch-language TV station (TV Brussel), a radio (FM Brussel), a weekly newspaper (Brussel Deze Week) and news site (brusselnieuws. be) are all run under the same umbrella and largely funded by Flanders. These services are seriously popular among Flemish Brusselaars. It is therefore striking that two ministers – Sven Gatz (Open VLD), minister for Brussels in the government of Flanders, and Pascal Smet (SP.A), Brussels minister responsible for culture – agreed with the CEO’s announcement last week that he was closing down FM Brussel and sacking the editor of Brussel Deze Week. Especially since both of these ministers pride themselves on being Brussels Flemish – or, well, whatever – themselves. Last week, the oft-forgotten residents stood up and protested the plan. FM Brussel clearly holds a special place in their hearts. Both ministers made an about-face in just days. They will now have FM Brussel’s continued operation “looked into”. The Flemish in Brussels may be few in numbers and may blend in with other Brusselaars, but they are also very attached to what makes them Flemish. Their love of FM Brussel, for instance. \ Anja Otte

Crombez is new SP.A president

After fierce campaign, Flemish MP John Crombez chosen to lead socialists Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

ohn Crombez, the Ostend-based former secretary of state for fighting fraud, has been elected as the new president of the Flemish socialist party SP.A. Crombez defeated the incumbent, Bruno Tobback, by “a clear margin” at a party congress on Saturday. Tobback, who led the socialist party to defeat in the last elections – when it took up its current position of opposition in both the federal and Flemish governments – became the first sitting SP.A president to lose a re-election. The exact scores of the two candidates had not been released as Flanders Today went to press, with Crombez (pictured) preferring to wait until a conference due to be held on Monday at which senior party posts were given out. De Standaard reported the verdict to be 77.56% for Crombez. His running mate, Stephanie Van Houtven, becomes deputy chair of the party. She was previously alderwoman for culture in the district council of Borgerhout, part of Antwerp. “The members have given John a very clear

mandate,” said Tobback later. “That’s good for the party.” Crombez has decided to resign from the Flemish parliament, where he also serves as fraction leader for the socialists, to concentrate on his party job. He also set immediately to the job of giving a new look to the party’s steering committee, with former ministers Monica De Coninck

Privacy Commission files suit against Facebook Belgium’s Privacy Commission, which is responsible for policing data protection laws, has filed for an interim judgement against Facebook. The action alleges Facebook is in breach of Belgium’s data protection laws. The complaint refers to Facebook’s latest privacy policy. The suit claims that the policy abuses the private data of Facebook users. Facebook also tracks the internet behaviour of non-users who land on websites that use Facebook products and services, such as “share” and “like” buttons. Non-users of Facebook have their movements tracked: where they arrived on the website from and where they went to next. Since millions of websites use the buttons, that could amount to a considerable map of a person’s movements, to which they have never agreed. The Privacy Commission has

already approached Facebook about these issues. “We received an email from someone from Facebook in London – someone we don’t know,” said the commission’s chair Willem Debeuckelaere. “He said that talks no longer have any point. Apparently, we’re no longer able to speak to each other outside the courtroom.” But the matter, he continued, “is urgent. We can’t wait for years for a solution to what is a flagrant and large-scale offence against Belgium’s data protection laws”. The action for an interim judgement is due to be heard by a court in Brussels on Thursday. If admitted by the court, Facebook will likely be ordered to come into line with Belgian law within a short time, and the court may impose a penalty for each day its order remains unenforced. If the interim order is not admitted, a date will be set for the case to be heard. \ AH

and Renaat Landuyt both making way for new faces. He gave a clear sign of where he wants the party to go in opposition. The old way of determining policy standpoints from the top down – from the steering committee to the membership – needs to be reversed, he said. “The way we do politics these days is old-fashioned and clashes with the way things work in other sections of society,” said Crombez. The success of parties like Syriza in Greece and Podemos in Spain, he said, “is also related to that: They’ve been restructured in a much more contemporary way. I think the days when the party leadership decreed the party standpoint unilaterally are now behind us.” The party needed to regain its courage and dare to dream again, he said. “A quote in front of the TV cameras isn’t going to do it. We have to convince people personally. Unlike for other parties, soundbites don’t work for socialists. People have to believe that we will give them back their voice.”

Government may not store telecoms data, says Constitutional Court A Belgian law that obliges internet service providers and telecom companies to store data on customer communications has been struck down by the Constitutional Court. The action against the data retention law was filed by the League for Human Rights and the French-speaking bar council. The law dates from 2013 and is a translation of a European Union directive from 2006. That measure aimed to standardise the way telecoms providers stored data for use in the fight against terrorism and serious crime. The law concerns metadata: not the content of a telephone conversation, for example, but the details of who called whom, from where and for how long. In the case of internet traffic, it concerns the email and IP

addresses of both parties, the devices used and their location. The law obliged telecoms providers – Proximus and Telenet being the largest – to retain all such data for a year, in the event of a request from intelligence services or police. The court, however, decided that the threat to privacy was not outweighed by the purpose of the law. In its ruling, it referenced decisions taken along the same lines in Germany and the Netherlands, as well as by the European Court of Justice. The government has not responded but is likely to amend the law to take account of the court’s objections. How quickly that can be achieved is important: Telecoms companies retain metadata for a time for purposes such as billing. \ AH

Fines for privacy breaches up to €810,000 to be proposed Belgium’s Privacy Commission should be able to impose fines of up to €810,000 against companies that break privacy and data protection laws, secretary of state Bart Tommelein has proposed. Tommelein, tasked with federal privacy issues, is due to present a bill later this year, pre-empting a European directive under discussion. The EU’s Council of Ministers is considering privacy regulations as a response to global internet giants, like Google and Facebook, that gather user information and exploit it for commercial gain. While most users give permission – albeit in many cases inadvertently – it was recently revealed that Facebook also tracks the website behaviour of non-users who have come

in contact with websites Facebook is linked to. Belgian law allows for criminal prosecutions for breaches of data protection laws, but they are rarely carried out. European rules could still be up to 18 months from being approved. “After the summer, I’ll be presenting a bill to parliament to transform the Privacy Commission into a regulator with the power to impose its own administrative fines,” he explained. “That way we will not only be prepared for European measures, we’ll be in a stronger position, and we’ll keep up the pressure. I want to send a clear signal: Privacy has become such an important issue; we want to show that we are taking it seriously.” \ AH © Ingimage

\ COVER STORY

june 17, 2015

The battle lost but history defeated From folk tales to farming, the famously defeated Napoleon left his mark Flanders continued from page 1

at the heart of England”. The two new docks, therefore, had a primarily military function, to harbour warships. However, it wasn’t Napoleon who chose to give his name to the dock. Until 1903, they were known as the Little Dock and the Big Dock. Only later were the docks named after, respectively, Napoleon and King William I of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Staying with a watery theme, the Damse Vaart is also known as the Napoleon canal, for it was the emperor who, in 1810, gave the order to dig the canal. The 15-kilometre waterway links Bruges to the Dutch border town of Sluis and is arguably one of the most beautiful canal in Flanders. Napoleon’s intention was to connect Bruges with the western Scheldt estuary, and the waterway was part of a planned network of canals along the coast that would make it possible to quickly move troops and supplies. Doing this by sea proved impossible because of the English naval force; using the canals, a confrontation with the English fleet could be avoided. But Napoleon would never get to see it in all its glory, as the last part was completed only in 1856, long after Waterloo. However, he unintentionally gave Flanders a beautiful waterside bike path.

Grand Canal He also had ambitious plans in the north of Limburg, though it’s hard to find any traces of them nowadays. To revive the port of Antwerp, he envisioned a complex of canals that would connect the Scheldt with the Meuse and the Rhine and, in 1804, digging began on this “Grand Canal of the North”. In Lozen, a small village now part of Bocholt in the extreme north of Limburg, a supply channel was planned to carry water from the river Meuse, where a huge statue of the emperor would be raised. (Napoleon was a stranger to modesty.) The canal between the Scheldt and the Meuse was never completed. Still, all that work wouldn’t be for nothing: Part of the course was later used to create the Zuidwillemsvaart and the Bocholt-Herentals canal. In the Netherlands and Germany there are still obvious traces of Napoleon’s Grand Canal, but in Lozen, you really need to know where to look. Between the bushes and fields, there are excavated portions to be found from Napoleon’s canal, and on aerial photos the course is clearly visible. The beet is quite a common sight in Flemish fields, and it’s another of Napoleon’s legacies. He enforced a continental blockade to bring his arch enemy England to its knees. No English products could reach

the mainland, like, for example, sugar from the colonies. The process of producing sugar from beets was already known, but it wasn’t economically viable because imports of sugar cane were very cheap due to slave labour. Napoleon dictated that certain areas must concentrate on cultivating sugar beets, and so it happened. After his defeat at Waterloo, beet cultivation collapsed, but following the abolition of slavery, Flemish farmers quickly switched back to beet production, as they do to the present day. Another legacy that stirs the imagination rather more is that of the eponymous trees, where Napoleon would have tied his horse during his many travels. The stories behind these sites are usually very similar, except for a few details. Brasschaat, Antwerp province, has such a tree, for example, as does Sint-Agatha-Berchem in Brussels, where an old lime tree had the honour of guarding the emperor’s horse. Flanders also has a number of “Napoleon beds” where he laid down to rest on his many trips. Napoleon appeals to the imagination, then as much as now. Ghent was home to a fan clubcum-veterans association for quite a long time. As Napoleon enforced conscription, many Flemings fought in the French army. After Napoleon was defeated and banished for the first time in 1814, all non-French soldiers were dismissed from the army. When Napoleon’s remains were sent home to France in 1840, the

“The Entry of Bonaparte into Antwerp on 18 July, 1803” by turn-of-the-19th-century Flemish painter Mathieu Ignace van Bree (top), who painted several such scenes of Bonaparte; detail from a portrait of Napoleon by French artist François Gérard, painted between 1805 and 1815 (above left); a trace of Napoleon’s unfinished Grand Canal in Lozen, Limburg

veterans from Ghent united, and the Fraternal Philanthropic Society of Veterans and Brothers of the French Empire was born. The Napoleonites celebrated the birth and death of the emperor each year and, at one point, came up with a plan to erect an enormous statue of their hero. The massive monument should have stood the test of time, but in

the end it was never built. The new Belgian government didn’t trust the veterans completely because, with the revolutionary wave of 1848, many former combatants turned out to still have that revolutionary fire burning in their bellies. In the Campo Santo cemetery in the Sint-Amandsberg district of Ghent, a relic of the veterans’ asso-

ciation can be found: an obelisk (probably a reference to Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt) with the imperial eagle on top, tucked away in the branches. At each corner of the monument stands an iron letter N (pictured on cover). Napoleon may have lost the battle of Waterloo two centuries ago, but his memory still lingers on in Flanders.

\ BUSINESS

week in business Air Brussels Airlines The carrier is launching a four-flights-a-week service to Accra in Ghana from October. This brings the number of West African destinations serviced by the airline to 16.

Agriculture Sipef The Schoten-based agriculture group is selling its rubber production activities in Papua New Guinea and plans to double its banana plantation operations in Ivory Coast.

Auto parts Carglass The Brussels-based car window repair and replacement company, with over 40 service centres in Belgium, has doubled its size by acquiring the Dutch Autotaalglas chain of 54 outlets in the Netherlands.

Energy Nemo The first contracts for the €640 million Nemo link connecting the UK National Grid supplier with the local Elia network via Ramsgate and Zeebrugge have been signed. Germany’s Siemens will build the power stations, while Japan’s J-Power Systems will produce and install the high-voltage underwater cable.

Fibre optics B-Telecoms The optic fibre affiliate of national rail authority NMBS has been sold to the Dutch Eurofiber for €33 million. In addition, a yearly rent of €1.6 million will be paid by the new owners for the use of the network.

Payments Play Pass The Swiss Sandpiper Digital Payments company has invested €2 million in the Antwerp-based developer and producer of wrist bracelets used as payments systems during music festivals and other large events. The new funds will allow Play Pass to further develop the interactivity of the bracelets and enter the US and Asian markets.

Supermarkets Lidl The German-owned chain of discount supermarkets has plans to open up to 50 new outlets in Belgium over the next five years. The company already operates 300 stores locally and has earmarked Flanders for a majority of its future development.

Turbulent week for FM Brussel Ministers ask for rethink of closure of Dutch-language radio station Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

lemish culture and media minister Sven Gatz and the Brussels minister responsible for culture, Pascal Smet, have joined forces to seek a solution to the dispute over the closure of radio station FM Brussel, which was announced last week. “We have asked the board of directors to look at the whole restructuring of Vlaams-Brusselse Media to find out if, how and in what form the radio broadcaster might continue to exist,” the ministers said in a joint statement. FM Brussel is owned by the non-profit Vlaams-Brusselse Media (VBM). The announcement that FM Brussel would cease operations early last week sent shockwaves through Brussels’ Dutch-language culture and media communities. It was part of a package of measures resulting from reforms undertaken over recent months by VMB CEO Michel Tubbax, appointed late last year.

An near-empty FM Brussel office last week as staff protested the closure of the station

are two of the media owned by the VBM. The others – brusselnieuws. be and TV Brussel – are not affected by any decisions. “The reforms, which will take several months to implement, are a move in the direction of digitisation and interactivity and also the result of partnerships with various other media,” Tubbax said

The Dutch-speaking radio landscape is too competitive It was simultaneously announced that Anne Brumagne, editor in chief of free weeklies Brussel Deze Week and Agenda, had been let go, with immediate effect. She was replaced by FM Brussel editorin-chief, Jeroen Roppe, who was promoted to editor of all VMB media. That decision is not being reconsidered. FM Brussel and Brussel Deze Week

in a statement. “In this way, our programmes and publications will be better positioned to reach their target groups.” FM Brussel, known for its coverage of and presence at cultural and social events, was being shut down because it was considered “not viable within our mission,” Tubbax said. “The Dutch-speaking radio landscape is too compet-

itive.” The day after the announcement, Gatz defended the board’s decision. “The reach of FM Brussel was not the widest of VBM’s four media,” he said. “In future, the focus will be on the digital aspects of the organisation.” VBM staff collectively called for Tubbax’s resignation. “Confidence is completely lost after what happened on Tuesday,” a spokesperson said. “The new strategy is absurd and will not be tolerated by staff.” In a statement, staff said: “We are not against change, but we do not believe that the CEO appointed in November is the man to ensure the future of VBM. Michel Tubbax comes from advertising and has no journalistic experience whatsoever. In recent days, he has displayed a lack of any skill with the media.” Fans of the radio station, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last summer, gathered in the wake of the announcement in Flageyplein, in front of the land-

ZEB competition “trivialises plastic surgery” The Royal Belgian Society for Plastic Surgery has accused clothing retail chain ZEB of “trivialising cosmetic surgical operations” by organising a competition in which the first prize is €5,000 worth of plastic surgery. According to a spokesperson for ZEB, the competition is meant to draw attention to the embargo on price reductions in the run-up to the official start of the summer and winter sales periods. “We want everyone to be able to do what they want and what makes them feel good, whether that’s a flamboyant look or plastic surgery,” said Erika Mees of ZEB. The federal public health ministry, meanwhile, said that the competition is illegal. “We will be informing the public prosecutor of the facts,” said spokesperson Sven Heyndrickx. “It will then be up to him to decide whether to prosecute ZEB.” According to the Society for Plastic Surgery, ZEB is inciting people to undergo a surgical procedure without due consideration and without a valid reason, short-cutting the essential information process involved. “Professional regula-

tions are not voluntary,” said association president Frans Missotten. “They must be adhered to in the interests of the patient. Cosmetic surgery is real medicine, not a party trick.” According to the law, he said, any form of communication or action that promotes medical cosmetic interventions either directly or indirectly is illegal. Such actions undermine the efforts of many plastic surgeons who treat their patients in a responsible manner, both in terms of medical care and of psychological follow-up, he said. \ AH

mark radio building where VBM is housed, protesting the closure. On social media, fans praised the station’s quirky music choices, multicultural approach and the quality of local news and reports. A petition was launched to oppose the closure, and staff at FM Brussel cancelled normal programming to broadcast only music. Unions representing staff of the non-profit and the many freelancers associated with it have announced the intention to take industrial action at a later date. Two days after the announcement, meanwhile, Gatz was joined by Smet for a press conference in Beursschouwburg. The ministers admitted that they had underestimated the reaction to the restructuring. Opposition was stronger than expected, they said, before explaining their request to the VBM board to review its plans. They stressed that their intervention was a request only: “It’s not for politicians to determine the strategy of a media company,” they said. In the meantime, FM Brussel will remain on air. No timetable has been set, but the decision means a stay of execution for the station at least until after the summer. “That’s good news,” said VBM staff member and union representative Eric Laureys. “We’re happy that there’s finally space for negotiations, after months spent in the dark.” Laureys stressed that the talks needed to start with a clean slate. “What we have seen of the plan is all about advertising, not about journalism. … We’d like to thank the many people of Brussels for their support.”

Belgian tax authorities to check Airbnb hosts The Belgian tax authorities have turned their attention to the thousands of Belgians offering housing via the online holiday rental platform Airbnb. The authorities aim to ensure that the hosts are reporting the income and paying taxes on it. Airbnb is an American internet platform for renting private rooms, houses and apartments. It has known great success in Belgium, especially in cities like Ghent, Antwerp and Brussels, where many hosts rent out rooms from as little as €30 a night. In many cases, the hosts do not report the income they get from renting out their property, although it is required by law. The Belgian Internet Service Center has begun scouring Airbnb and similar sites to aid the special tax inspectorate in launching an investigation. \ Robyn Boyle

\ INNOVATION

june 17, 2015

The quarrel solver

week in innovation Trial projects cut soil erosion by 95%

Initiative gives kids the tools to realise their dream machines Senne Starckx More articles by Senne \ flanderstoday.eu

mymachine.be

hodgepodge of quirky machines is going on view in Kortrijk this week. On show: a quarrel solver, a homework do-er, a chill-out chair and a disease sucker – and that’s just a small sample. The exhibition brings together 25 machines created by 600 students from schools across Flanders. The event closes the 2014-15 edition of MyMachine Flanders, an initiative that teaches primary school pupils to build their “dream machines” with the help of students in secondary technical schools and applied sciences higher education programmes. The goal of MyMachine is to tap the unfathomable depth of children’s fantasy, in which almost everything is possible and the laws of science and nature don’t act as obstacles. But almost everything children dream up typically remains just that – a fantasy. It turns out that when kids’ ideas are infused with a sense of reality by grown-ups, dreams do come true. Since it was founded eight years ago, MyMachine has encouraged children in primary schools to do something with their wildest ideas. It introduced them to young experts to help them realise their ideas. “Anything goes” is the guiding concept in the ideas phase of the programme. Practical considerations and drawbacks only kick in during the next stage – execution of the plans. For this part of the programme, applied sciences students from the West Flanders University College (HoWest) – following courses in industrial or digital design, for instance – propose solutions and general guidance in developing the machines. The best designs are then chosen in consultation with the children and further improved. In the last phase, technical drawings and design concepts are handed over to secondary school students in technical education. They build real prototypes of the machines, with assistance from the young inventors and teachers.

The windsurfing machine, one of the MyMachine inventions, let you windsurf anytime, anywhere

“We heavily emphasise co-operation,” says Piet Grymonprez, research director at HoWest and one of the MyMachine founders. “Our students visit the primary school where they consider – together with the young inventors – which ideas deserve to go through to the next phase, and how these ideas should be adapted to make them real,” he says. A lot depends on the materials and skills present in the participating secondary school, notes Grymonprez. “Should they use wood, or metal parts? Does the design require moving components?” Although some of the machines remain fantastical even after designed, some of them actually work. The ruzieoplosser, or quarrel solver, has a wooden rod that pierces the machine, with ends sticking out on both sides.

One child tugs at one end, and a light goes on, while the other child tugs at the other end, lighting up another light. When they pull in perfect tension, the middle light comes on, suggesting that their quarrel is solved by working together. The chill-out chair, meanwhile, finds two soft massage cushions forming chairs. There’s an MP3 player and a place to stash your drink. Best of all, the twins chairs have wheels and pedals, so you can take your chill-out session with you to any location. About 20 schools participated in this year’s MyMachine edition. When the concept first launched in 2007, founding partners HoWest, local association Intercommunale Leiedal and the Streekfonds West-Vlaanderen targeted only schools in the greater Kortrijk area. “Now we have to make a strict selection,” says Grymonprez. “Otherwise we would just have too many participants. We wouldn’t be able to keep focusing on quality instead of quantity, so we wouldn’t be able to honour our methodology.” The founders have even patented their approach and have exported the MyMachine concept to other regions. “Through our franchise model, we have MyMachine running in Slovenia, Portugal, France, South Africa and the US.” For Grymonprez, the overall purpose behind the initiative is to throw open classrooms and introduce students at the primary, secondary and university college level to creativity, collaboration and entrepreneurship. “That’s also why we deliberately chose not to have a competitive structure. It’s not about building the best or most original machine,” he says. “It’s about bringing ideas and skills together in a thoroughly innovative creative process.”

18-28 June

Budafabriek

Dam 2, Kortrijk

KU Leuven develops test for range of genetic disorders gbiomed.kuleuven.be/apps/cme

A team of researchers from the Centre for Human Genetics at the University of Leuven have developed a test that allows embryos created by in vitro fertilisation (IVF) to be tested for a range of genetic abnormalities. The test developed by the team led by professors Thierry Voet and Joris Vermeesch is now being used at the Leuven University Hospital. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) involves testing IVF embryos before they are implanted in the mother-to-be. The embryos, created in the laboratory from ova and sperm cells, are screened for genetic disorders so that only those most likely to be healthy are implanted. The technique has mainly been used to identify one specific disorder at a time – for example in families where there is a chance of inheriting Huntington’s disease – because each disorder involves a different test. The new test allows researchers to detect a range of disorders at once, as well as a number of more complex conditions that currently cannot be detected by PGD. The results are also more reliable than before. “The test detects chromosomal disorders in

the embryo, such as Trisomy 21 [which causes Down’s Syndrome], and that can improve the quality of the embryos,” explains professor Voet. The team published its findings in the latest issue of The American Journal of Human Genetics. The group was also awarded a prize for the most promising research project at the annual conference of the American Society of Human Genetics. The Leuven team has also made a breakthrough in the non-invasive testing of foetuses in utero – tests carried out in cases not involv-

ing IVF. In those cases, tests are done on blood samples taken from the mother, which contains the foetus’ DNA. The team’s goal was to improve the accuracy of the test, as well as its sensitivity to a wider range of foetal abnormalities. However, the researchers also discovered genetic abnormalities in three cases that could not be linked to the foetuses. The abnormalities appeared similar to those found in cancer, and the women were referred for further tests. In all three cases, doctors found early stage cancer – ovarian and two forms of lymphoma – which in all likelihood would not have been detected until much later by more conventional methods. “During pregnancy, cancer-related symptoms may well be masked; fatigue, nausea and abdominal pain are easily interpretable as a normal part of being pregnant,” explained professor Vermeesch. “Non-invasive prenatal testing offers an opportunity for the accurate screening of high-risk women for cancer, allowing us to overcome the challenge of early diagnosis in pregnant women.” \ Alan Hope

Bayer CropScience has developed techniques to counteract the erosion of agricultural land. The results of trial projects show that the draining of water and mud can be reduced by up to 95%. The erosion of agricultural lands reduces farmers’ profits, but it also causes mud streams that make streets dirty and means that remnants of crop protection products end up in sewers. With farmers in Bilzen, Limburg, Bayer CropScience has successfully tested new techniques. Special ploughs were used, with which the soil is lifted slightly but not turned around. Using this technique, less mud flows away. Another technique is the sowing of grass between crops like corn, with the grass holding back the water that would otherwise easily flow away.

Start-up to sell mobile seaweed farms A European consortium including four partners from Flanders has established the start-up AT~SEA Technologies, which will commercialise the industrial cultivation of seaweed on textile materials. It is the result of three years of research as part of the European project AT~SEA. Eleven partner organisations collaborated to examine whether seaweed cultivation is economically and technically feasible on an industrial scale in Europe. As the results were positive, eight partners have launched the startup. The other partners come from Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Morocco.

Researchers turn paper waste into chemicals Researchers at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) have developed a more ecofriendly way to extract lignin from paper pulp and convert it into materials for chemicals. These chemicals can be used in paint, insulation foam and many other products. The findings were published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science. Found in the cell walls of plants, lignin functions like glue between plant fibres. When wood is processed into paper, lignin is a waste product that is usually burned. The researchers from KU Leuven’s Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis developed an alternative method to simultaneously convert the wood into usable paper pulp and highgrade lignin-derived products. \ AF

Best of Belgium plus expat Directory 2015

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\ EDUCATION

june 17, 2015

Bridging the gap

week in education Mediation service to solve conflicts

Educators and industry team up for overhaul of tourism studies Andy Furniere More articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.eu

recent evaluation of the 29 existing tourism programmes in secondary education revealed that not one of them sufficiently prepared students for both higher education and the workforce. In response, Flemish tourism minister Ben Weyts has decided to bring together the education sector and tourism industry to develop a roadmap for reforms. The evaluation report, which was prepared by the Agentschap voor Kwaliteitszorg en Vorming (Agency for Quality Assurance in Education and Training) said that tourism programmes at the secondary school level leave students with “negative perspectives on succeeding in both higher education and on the labour market”. The experts recommended “radical changes” and considered whether the programmes should even continue. About 2,500 secondary school students are currently enrolled in tourism programmes in the region. The report led to quick action by Weyts. He organised working groups in which representatives from the education sector and the tourism industry discussed the shortcomings of the programmes and possible solutions. “A first important conclusion was that the teachers had difficulties determining which competences the business sector deemed necessary for new staff and which profiles they were looking for in particular,” says Jeroen Bryon, tourism adviser to minister Weyts. The discussions revealed that the business sector

Educators and industry representatives agreed that more focus should be placed on developing students’ language, e-commerce and entrepreneurship skills

is looking for new reception staff, guest checkin personnel and hospitality reps in particular. The parties also agreed that more attention needs to go to developing students’ language, IT, e-commerce and entrepreneurship skills. “Another general conclusion was that the studies are not sufficiently keeping step with new trends,” says Bryon. “For example, there should be a bigger focus on online initiatives like Airbnb and the demand of more customers for extensive background information on local sites.” Keeping tourism studies in line with new developments is also a major aim of the Lerend Netwerk Duurzaam en Innovatief Toerisme (Learning Network Sustainable and Innovative Tourism), an initiative of Flanders’ tourism agency and the non-profit ViaVia Tourism Acad-

emy, which works on sustainable tourism development at an international level. The Learning Network organises four study days a year around specific themes for the secondary, higher and adult education levels. They can include lectures, workshops or a visit to a tourist attraction. “We also provide a unique opportunity for teachers from different education levels to exchange experiences and tips,” explains co-ordinator Greet Huybrechts of ViaVia. A digital platform also allows participants to share knowledge and educational materials. A recent study day, for instance, focused on the potential of MICE tourism, short for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions. This is a form of group tourism focused on planning, booking and facilitating conferences, seminars and related events. Other study days have concentrated on creative ways to improve client services, working in intercultural environments and showing tourists the many faces of Brussels. For Huybrechts, the harsh evaluation of tourism studies didn’t come as a big surprise. “Secondary school studies should focus on developing students’ customer service skills more, both online and offline,” she says, adding that she is generally pleased with the reform plans. “The tourism sector changes very quickly; it is positive that action is being undertaken to make sure the education programmes adjust to the latest evolutions.”

Schools can test readiness for M decree online The Provincial Education Flanders (POV) network has developed a platform where schools can determine if they are ready to integrate pupils with special needs into their classrooms. The test has been introduced because of the M decree, which requires many children currently enrolled in special education to be mainstreamed into regular education from 1 September. The M decree concerns, for example, youngsters in a wheelchair or who have dyslexia. “The M decree has raised a lot of concern in schools,” Jef Van De Wiele of POV told public

broadcaster VRT. “There is a major need for support, which is why we provided this test to evaluate how ready they are for the changes.” The test examines how the school deals with diversity, its policies and its teaching practices. Directors, teachers and students can take the test on the POV’s website. Paulette De Vetter, director of the Provincial Language and Business Institute in Ghent, took the test together with her team. The secondary school offers technical and professional education. “All students are welcome, but the

pov.be

test showed us that we can still improve on the inclusiveness of our classroom practice by, for example, already taking the diversity of students into account when preparing lessons,” she said. “Some teachers are already doing this; others can learn from them.” De Vetter also noted that businesses have a responsibility to take initiatives on this issue as well. “If we are looking for an internship for one of our students who is, say, partially sighted, that student might need some adjustments to be done or more time to complete tasks.” \ AF

Q&A This year, the Klasse education platform decided to reward the work of principals for its annual Teacher of the Year competition. Winner Mireille Van Craenenbroeck heads the Sint-Ursulalyceum in Lier, Antwerp province Congratulations. What does this kind of appreciation feel like? Marvellous, as my heart lies with the Sint-Ursulalyceum. I was a student at the school, worked there as a teacher and became its director nine years ago. Directors were nominated across Flanders by students and staff. What did students say about you? They are impressed that I know them by name – all 330 secondary school students from the third to sixth year that I’m responsible for. If students feel that they can talk to me openly about small issues, like absences because of medical

school principal is so long that you have to share the leadership with your staff.

appointments, I believe they will also be more inclined to tell me about more serious problems. Students are also involved in the school’s operation? They are represented in working groups together with teachers to, among other things, organise events like the school theatre performance, set up charity initiatives and establish French conversation activities. Apart from feeling part of the school team, it allows students to get to know teachers better and come into contact with fellow students from different years.

What is an essential quality for a school director? The ability to form a good team and take decisions as a group because you can only implement a policy successfully if everyone is on the same page. The list of tasks for a

Do you invest in innovation? This year, we convinced all thirdyear students to follow geography lessons in English, as part of the Content and Language Integrated Learning project in Flanders. Next year, we will also offer arts lessons in English to fifth-year students, and some of the economics lessons for the sixth-year students will be available in French. This helps prepare students for the labour market in a globalised world. We also provided tablet computers to all our third-year students this year and will do so again next year, as this technology helps improve the quality of lessons.

The Catholic education network (VSKO) is establishing a service to mediate conflicts between school staff. Teachers and directors are currently too quick to go to court in the case of conflicts, VSKO head Lieven Boeve told De Standaard. From the next school year, the service will try to solve small issues such as a teacher disagreeing with their work schedule. These issues too often escalate, said Boeve, and end up at a professional commission or even a labour court. “It’s not a bad evolution that teachers have become more assertive and question the old power relationships,” said Boeve. “But nobody wins if it comes to a trial.”

Saga of lost exams ends well About 80 industrial engineering students at the University of Leuven’s Groep T Campus were told last week they would have to retake an exam because the papers had gone missing. Cleaning staff accidentally threw away the box of exam papers that was on the lecturer’s desk. The university assumed the papers had ended up in a container and considered them irretrievably lost. However, technical services tracked down the container in which the papers had ended up. “The exams were recovered and will be marked in the normal manner, so students will not have to retake the exam,” said Rik Gosselink, vice-rector of student policy. “We very much regret that the exams were not recovered earlier.”

Strict Catholic school for Overijse A new, more conservative Catholic school, Sint-Ignatius, is opening on 1 September in Maleizen, a district of Overijse, Flemish Brabant. In its first year, the school will accept only first-year secondary school pupils but plans to expand. Pupils will receive education according to strict Catholic standards. “A lot of parents are no longer finding what they want for their children within the Catholic education network,” said Sint-Ignatius head Katrijn Caekaert. Lessons in religion, given for two hours a week, will be based on the Mechelse Catechism, which was published for the last time in 1954. Students will have to learn much by heart and religion will make up a part of all lessons. \ AF

\ Interview by AF

\ LIVING

week in activities Zomerspel A weekend celebration of board games for all ages. The theme is pirates, but all kinds of games will be on hand. Also live entertainment, food and drink, used games for sale and more. 20-21 June; Eskimo Factory, Wiedauwkaai 25, Ghent; €7-€12 \ zomerspel.be

Beeldig Lommel Eighth annual international festival of living statues, or street performers who pose as static works of art. Plus concerts, kids’ activities and more. 20-21 June, 14.00-18.00; Lommel city centre; free \ beeldiglommel.be

Amuse culinary festival Annual outdoor food fest, with celebrity chefs, cooking demos, entertainment, local and fair trade products and international food booths. 21 June, 12.00-18.00; Kiewit domain, Putvennestraat 130, Hasselt; free \ uitinhasselt.be

Royal de Luxe French street theatre company Royal de Luxe returns to Antwerp with its trademark giant puppets, which do more than parade through the streets; they always tell a story, this year about physicist Max Planck and a grandmother who travels through the galaxy. The event helps kick off the months-long Zomer van Antwerpen. 19-21 June; Antwerp city centre; free \ dereuzen.be

Breughel Carnival A folklore festival with traditional crafts, games and activities. Each year a different work by Flemish artist Pieter Breughel the Elder is brought to life by costumed performers. 21 June, 10.0020.00; Rekkem town centre (West Flanders); free \ breughelkermis.be

Kalmthout farm festival This celebration of Flanders’ agricultural heritage starts with a blessing of the tractors, followed by a farmer’s ball. Saturday is for the kids. Sunday features draft horses, sheep shearing, chainsaw sculpture contests and more. 19-21 June; Vogelenzangstraat 22, Kalmthout; free (€5 for kids’ day) \ tinyurl.com/hoeve

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One of a kind

West Flanders company Maene builds a unique hybrid grand piano Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

hen the internationally renowned pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim decided to give himself a special present, he found what he was looking for in the workshop of Chris Maene in Ruiselede, West Flanders. By the time Barenboim walked out, he had spent €200,000, and the two experts had hatched a plan for something unique: a hybrid of the type of piano on which most piano repertoire was composed before 1885, and the type of modern piano on which it is now most usually played. There are now two examples of the instrument: one in Barenboim’s home in Berlin and the other, constructed at the same time, in Maene’s workshop. That one was built to provide a comparison and research double. It all started in 2011 when Barenboim was in Siena and had the opportunity to play an upright piano that had belonged to Hungarian composer and piano virtuoso Franz Liszt. “The warmth and tonal characteristics of the straight-strung instruments are so different from the homogeneous tone produced by the modern piano across its entire range,” Barenboim said at a recent press conference in London. “The clearly distinguishable voices and colour across the registers of Liszt’s piano inspired me to explore combining these qualities with the power, looks, stability and other technical advantages of a modern piano.” Barenboim, an Argentinian-born virtuoso who has played in concert halls all over the world since his international debut in Vienna at

Chris Maene (left) working with craftspeople in his workshop. His research for the hybrid piano took 18 months

the age of 10, first approached piano maker Steinway with his idea. Although intrigued, the company decided it did not want to spend the resources to carry out the research required. Instead, they pointed Barenboim in the direction of Maene, their distributor in Belgium and the country’s only remaining piano builder. The main difference between Maene’s hybrid piano and those found in concert halls the world over is the stringing. Around 1885, Steinway developed the technique of cross-stringing, where the strings for the very lowest keys lie over some of the higher strings. Before then, the strings of the piano had been installed in parallel. Steinway’s innovation affected the instrument’s touch, its power and its stability, setting the stand-

ard for piano-making for the next century and more. Maene’s research took 18 months, and the building of the piano 3,000 hours with a team of eight from his workshop, where he employs 50. He was in charge of every step of the construction process, from the selection and drying of the wood, to the painstaking task of applying multiple layers of varnish for that impeccable concert hall shine. Steinway staff were on hand to advise on details. Meanwhile, Barenboim insisted the whole project be kept under wraps. “He landed with his private jet at Ostend to try the piano out in secret in the empty concert hall in Bruges,” Maene recalls. “Fortunately, he was very enthusiastic.” “I am so delighted to have worked with Chris Maene, who had the

same dream,” confirmed Barenboim. “And I must pay tribute to his incredible technical expertise and his deep respect for both tradition and innovation. It may not look that different, but its construction and sound possibilities make it a brand new piano, which I hope will be embraced by pianists and music lovers as a real alternative for the 21st century.” Maene, meanwhile, intends to build two more by the end of 2016, doubling the number each year after that. But, he warned, the Barenboim-Maene piano, as it’s now known, is not for everyone. “It’s a concert grand for the great concert halls, not for the living room,” he explains. “It’s not cheap, but if it’s well looked after, my piano will certainly be good for another century – easily.”

BITE New event spotlights the humans behind the food Flanders is filled with small producers doing big things. An artisanal bakery in Hofstade sells its loaves in innovative self-service shops. Seitan and tofu producer Maya in Hasselt now also produces mochi, a traditional Japanese rice cake. Organic brewery Jessenhofke makes non-alcoholic beer using Limburg apples, and Flanders’ tiniest coffee roaster, De Gulden Tas, can be found in one of the region’s most adorable houses in Bree. These producers, and many more across Flanders, are throwing their doors wide open to the public for one day. It’s a unique chance for visitors to discover the story behind a variety of products, see the production process firsthand and, of course, taste special food and drink. Dag van de Smaakmakers (Day of the Tastemakers) is an initiative of Puur Smaak, an organisation with one goal: to bridge the gap between consumer and producer. “People tend to forget about the story behind their food and drink; there’s too much mindless consumption,” says

founder Didier Bastiaens. “The goal of this event is to, quite literally, bring people closer to the products. The participating producers are opening their doors to show the production process from start to finish.” And, of course, there will be plenty of tastings. “Above all, it’s a culinary family outing.” More than 300 products will feature in Dag van de Smaakmakers. For Nele Quick of Blueberry Fields in Koersel (Limburg), it’s a chance for her to “immerse visitors in the fascinating world

dagvandesmaakmakers.be

of blueberries and give them ideas for creative dishes.” For “forgotten vegetable” farmer Hans Denoo of ’t Groenselpoortje in Middelkerke (West Flanders), the event allows him to show off his various sorts of cabbage – including the pointed cabbage, “a very nutritious vegetable that somehow fell into oblivion”. Fabian Deckers of Musa Lova liqueurs in Leuven is equally enthusiastic. “Don’t be fooled by the exotic name – our banana liqueurs are 100% Flemish regional products,” he says. Sadly, this event is only one day, so visitors will have to make a selection. And it won’t be easy. The participants are diverse, ranging from farmers and coffee roasters to ice cream makers and whiskey distillers. Most of them are truly unique in Flanders. The entire event is free, though some producers ask visitors to book in advance. \ Robyn Boyle

28 June, 10.00-18.00 Across Flanders

june 17, 2015

To the nines

A wide-ranging exhibition at Bozar uncovers the DNA of Belgian fashion Catherine Kosters Follow Catherine \ @ckosters

MAD Brussels and Bozar have joined forces for a long-overdue retrospective that tells the story of Belgian fashion, from the first couture house to the famous Antwerp Six and the designers that have followed in their footsteps

ashion in and from Belgium is doing exceptionally well. Raf Simons now heads Dior, and John Galliano just took over the reins at Maison Margiela, ushering in an exciting new era for the fashion house founded by Limburg native Martin Margiela. Graduates from local schools routinely make their way to prominent positions at international brands or start their own labels. And yes, the Antwerp Six are still alive and kicking – but they’re no longer our sole export product. High time, in other words, for a retrospective that tells the story of Belgian fashion from beginning to end. With The Belgians: An Unexpected Fashion Story, Bozar in Brussels offers an overview of the country’s fashion throughout the decades. It’s the first retrospective of its kind and long overdue. After all, many of the designers on view were recently feted in exhibitions of their own, while other names from our fashionable past urgently needed to be rescued from oblivion.

bozar.be

The first room visitors enter is an amalgam of what it means to be Belgian: free-spirited, idiosyncratic and with a penchant for the surreal. A typical lace fan is on display next to a statue of Manneken Pis in a Delvaux lab coat. We see Margiela’s famous Tabi boots, modelled after the traditional Japanese toe socks; Christophe Coppens’ crazy deer cape and a hat by Elvis Pompilio that looks like a pot of mussels turned upside down. Welcome to Belgium. Visitors are then introduced to Belgium’s first couture house. A joint venture between dressmaker Honorine Deschrijver and 20th-century patron Paul-Gustave van Hecke, Norine excelled in original designs inspired by the avantgarde artists of the interbellum. Painter René Magritte famously designed invitations for the couple’s fashion shows, and Deschrijver was called the Coco Chanel of the north. Just a few examples of her work survive today; one is included in the exhibition. An army of mannequins represents the heirs of Norine from the 1960 to the present day. Some of the designers here are barely known to modern audiences – knitwear pioneer Ann Saelens, for example, and Yvette Lauwaert, who once ran a much-beloved fashion store in Ghent.

The show was curated by Didier Vervaeren, ex-artistic director at Delvaux, teacher at Brussels fashion academy La Cambre and inventor of a signature look that makes him as recognisable as Karl Lagerfeld to anyone who is anyone in the Belgian fashion scene. Vervaeren saw Bozar as the ideal location and now as the right moment: The opening of The Belgians coincides with the inauguration of the new MAD Centre for Mode and Design at the nearby Oude Graanmarkt. Instead of opting for a chronological approach, Vervaeren chose to celebrate Belgian fashion thematically. Ten rooms shed light on the subject from 10 different angles, with the works of nearly 100 designers on view.

Until 13 September

Others, like the Antwerp Six, are world famous. Dries Van Noten, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene, Dirk Bikkembergs, Marina Yee and Ann Demeulemeester graduated from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the early 1980s and took the fashion world by storm when they presented their collections together in London. To many, the Six are still synonymous with Belgian fashion, but the exhibition also highlights the talented designers that came after them. There’s Olivier Theyskens, who rose to prominence working for houses like Rochas and Nina Ricci; Peter Pilotto (a FlemishAustrian duo); and Haider Ackermann, a Colombian designer who is often labelled “Belgian” because

Bozar

Ravensteinstraat 23, Brussels

Indeed, studying fashion in Belgium appears to be a defining experience

he studied in Antwerp. In fact, a lot of the designers included in The Belgians aren’t Belgian at all. In a country famous for its multitude of languages and governments, a local education, it seems, is enough to merit honorary citizenship. Indeed, studying fashion in Belgium appears to be a defining experience. There are seven fashion schools here, and some, like the Academy in Antwerp and La Cambre in Brussels, are among the best in the world. Unsurprisingly, an entire room called “Laboratories” is devoted to the local schools and their alumni. In that same space, one designer receives a special mention. Martin Margiela is without a doubt the most enigmatic name in Belgian fashion. He chose to remain quite anonymous throughout his career and secretly retired from his eponymous fashion house in 2009. Enfant terrible Galliano currently leads the design team and humbly adopted the white lab coat worn by all Margiela employees over his signature baroque-pirate style. The exhibition continues with a space devoted to the crosspollination between fashion and art – Van Beirendonck, Van Noten and Tim Van Steenbergen all designed opera costumes – while another focuses on the ecological aspect of local fashion. A couple of years back, Flemish designer Bruno Pieters launched Honest By, the first fashion label that is 100% transparent. The tags on each garment show the origin and cost of every single thread and button used. The Belgians finishes with 12 silhouettes by upcoming designers – recent graduates of local schools or from young labels with bright futures ahead of them. Perhaps just as instructive is the “Limitless” room, where the emphasis is on the international allure of Belgian fashion, and a recording helps foreign visitors practise the correct pronunciation of some of those more difficult Flemish names. Pay attention if you want to be able to say “Ann Demeulemeester” or “Raf Simons” without making a fool of yourself when you tell your friends everything they need to know about Belgian fashion.

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CHILL!

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\ ARTS

june 17, 2015

All that glitters

Guardians of heritage bring diamond cutting workshop back to life in Nijlen Toon Lambrechts More articles by Toon \ flanderstoday.eu

BRILJANTEKEMPEN.BE

t’s common for people to mention Antwerp and diamonds in the same sentence. But at the turn of the last century, when Flanders’ diamond industry reached its peak, many of its stones were processed in the Kempen, the rural area east of the city. In Nijlen, one of the best preserved countryside diamond cutting workshops is being restored to its original state. A little way back from the street near Nijlen’s train station, construction workers are busy renovating this unique piece of industrial heritage. The building recalls how in earlier times, workshops in these Kempen villages would cut diamonds for the Antwerp diamond industry. The workshop belonging to the Lieckens family was one of the largest in the area, and has withstood the decline of the industry in the Kempen. “The buildings and the machines have all been preserved and will be operational again,” says Heidi Bax, co-ordinator at Briljante Kempen, an organisation that works to preserve the industry’s heritage. Slijperij Lieckens (Lieckens Grindery) “is the last in the region dating from before the First World War that’s still in such good condition”. There are other little polishing workshops in the area, she continues, “but often not much is left. Diamond cutting was a home industry; people would build a small cutting shop in their back gardens. You can still recognise these buildings by how their windows face north. This was done so they would always have the same light all day, which you need to cut diamonds smoothly.” Briljante Kempen has already constructed a new building on the site, which serves as a diamond information centre. It tells the history of the diamond industry in the Kempen using stories, images and items from the period. “In the diamond centre, we focus mainly on intangible heritage,” explains Bax. “Accounts from people who used to work as grinders, the history of the industry... When the restoration is finished, visitors will see what a cutters’ workshop looked like. This fits nicely

Then and now: the Lieckens workshop and the new visitor centre

with the story we tell here.” Processing diamonds in the Kempen took off in the late 19th century. After the construction of a power grid in the region, small workshops surfaced everywhere, in people’s homes. They took rough stones from Antwerp and delivered cut diamonds. In the Kempen, it was mostly simple shapes

that were cut, with complicated work done in Antwerp. The decline began in the late 1960s because of growing competition from the rest of the world. The diamond industry changed the Kempen forever, says Bax. “It brought prosperity to this region. The farmland in the Kempen is very poor, and farming was a hard way to

make a living. As a diamond cutter you could earn a lot, though there were health risks because of the dust. The railway also played an important role as it established a direct link to Antwerp. Polishers went by train to get new stones from Antwerp or deliver finished diamonds.” The man behind Slijperij Lieckens was Petrus Lieckens, who wanted to be part of this new prosperity. In 1908, he built a factory on his farm. His sons War and Denis had learned the profession in Antwerp and built the company into one of the largest in the region. During the First World War, Slijperij Lieckens was damaged by an explosion, but the family later took up the trade again. The big change came in 1929, when Nijlen was connected to the power grid. From then, almost nothing changed until it closed in 1985. The municipality of Nijlen saw the value of this piece of industrial heritage and bought the property in 2004. Slijperij Lieckens was officially recognised as a monument: the 10,000th site in Flanders to be given the honour. Today, hardly any diamonds are cut in the Kempen. The few remaining companies are struggling to survive, Bax says. “There is simply too much competition from lowwage countries. It’s not just here – also in Antwerp itself, there are few diamond cutters left. That’s why it’s important to preserve the heritage. There are still many people who worked as cutters and can tell us what it was like back then.” The industry may have come to an end in Nijlen and in the Kempen, but the memories of the stones that brought so much prosperity are very much alive. “We’re mapping out some walks with local guides using the region’s diamond history as a theme,” says Bax. Once the restoration is complete “and the machines are ready for use again, we will have a beautiful collection and set of stories,” she says. “It will even be possible to cut diamonds again here in Slijperij Lieckens – something we’re going to do on special occasions.”

English-language Radio X takes to the airwaves Brussels’ English-language radio station, Radio X, is taking to the airwaves this August, graduating to digital radio after broadcasting online for three years. Initially only covering Brussels and Flemish Brabant, it expects to be able to reach listeners across Flanders by early 2017. Radio X was launched in 2012 to address English speakers in Brussels, from staff at EU institutions and in big global firms to the millions of tourists who pass through each year. The X comes from “expats”, but also the “x” in the middle of Bruxelles. “We are in one of the most cosmopolitan capital cities in Europe, if not the world, and if you switch on the radio there is nothing in English,” says Paul McNally, the station’s head of news and presenter of its morning show. “It just seems that there is a vast gap there.” Broadcasting online, with people listening on computers or mobile devices, has given Radio X a loyal audience. “But we really

need to take things to the next level now and appear on an actual, proper radio,” says McNally. “That will make all the difference.” The move will put Radio X into people’s cars, many of which now have digital radios on board, and reach out to people not glued to their computers. Initially the signal will cover the Brussels-Capital Region and Flemish Brabant and should be able to be heard as far as Antwerp. Over the following 18 months, it will expand to take in other cities such as Ghent, and the gaps in between. The station’s programming has already opened up to address this wider audience. “When we started out, we were very Brussels-focused, and Brussels was big enough and interesting enough to keep us occupied,” says McNally. “But our editorial focus has already shifted quite a lot in the past six months.” The move to digital radio is supported with a crowdfunding campaign, which aims to raise €40,000 in 40 days. The money is needed

RADIOX.EU

to pay for ongoing transmission costs, copyright fees for music and some essential equipment. “It’s about getting up on the right footing so that we can do this well,” McNally explains. “And it’s also about getting listeners and our supporters involved, creating a sense of belonging.” Although conceived with expats in mind, Radio X wants to be as inclusive as possible, reaching beyond the Brussels “bubble” to anyone who wants to listen in English. To this end, the station has given training and internship opportunities to promising new radio journalists, presenters and producers. “Radio X should be representative of both Brussels and Belgium as a whole,” says McNally, “so getting as many people involved as humanly possible is one of the main goals.” \ Ian Mundell

Flanders Today editor-in-chief Lisa Bradshaw is a guest on Radio X every Wednesday morning to discuss headlines from across the region

Courtesy Radio X

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Situation definitely not normal The Working Title Situation festival takes audience participation to a new level Ian Mundell More articles by Ian \ flanderstoday.eu

workspacebrussels.be

’d like to tell you that Working Title Situation is a three-day festival of performances and installations emerging from an artists’ residency programme in Brussels. But it’s not that simple. Some of the performances are rather like installations, and some of the installations involve performance. Sometimes the performance will just be for you, alone, and sometimes you will be part of the installation. And sometimes you will feel as if you are at a picnic. Exploring hybrid and alternative formats is what Working Title Situation is all about. “There are a lot of different ways for artists to engage an audience,” explains Marnix Rummens of Workspacebrussels. “It can be interactive, it can be site-specific. It can be audio choreography, it can be some kind of workshop, or it can even be like a game.” This opens up new ways to translate content and share it with people, whether in small groups or as individuals. “I think we don’t use our full potential to address the audience in all its diversity.” Workspacebrussels supports young and emerging artists with an intensive residency programme, co-productions and coaching. It was founded by Kaaitheater and dance company Rosas as a way of using their spaces in-between seasons. Later the Brigittines art centre joined the initiative, and support is also provided by Ultima Vez (the dance company of Wim Vandekeybus) and Beursschouwburg. Funding comes from the Flemish Community and the Brussels-Capital Region. While the artists and performers work in seclusion for much of their residencies, Working Title Situation is a chance for them to share what they are doing with the outside world. Sometimes their work is finished, but often it is still under development, and the presentations are “try-outs”, or part of the creative process. Rummens is aware that seeing unfinished work can be a mixed blessing. “I try to make a judgement that the work is presentable,” he says. “Even if it is unfinished or if it fails, it should still have a great story to tell.” The first two days of Working Title Situa-

Lithuanian artist Ruta Butkute will develop an ongoing experiment, this time with Japanese choreographer Yurie Umamoto, in the live installation Polyhedral Crystals

tion, at Kaaistudio’s, are pitched a little more towards the artistic community than the general public, although all are welcome. It’s here that you can see work that really pushes the limits, such as Rodrigo Sobarzo’s Prince of Networks. This is an installation performance that involves cultivating fruit flies and choreographing them with ultraviolet light. The artist describes this as a visual manifesto – probing new ecologies, blending the digital and the analogue. “This is a very bold experiment,” says Rummens. “We don’t even know if it is going to work, but I think the idea is so interesting.” Then there is Nick Steur, whose performances involve balancing irregularly shaped stones on top of one another. Usually he works by hand with small stones, but now he plans to scale-up, using machines to balance much larger pieces of rock. He will present a scale model that explores the feasibility of the task and talk to the audience about his plans. “For me these are opportunities to bring the audience into the creation of the work and not just treat them as passive consumers; the audience can feel more included,”

Rummens says. “And for the artists, it can be inspiring.” In addition to these experiments there will be finished work, such as Bryan Campbell’s Marvellous. Casting himself as editor-inchief of a glossy magazine, Campbell uses text, his voice and his body to explore how people position themselves relative to the media and its strategies of persuasion and seduction. Working Title Situation moves to Brigittines for its third day, a Saturday, where the aim is to be more accessible. “I think it is possible to have good work that is original and fresh, but is open to a wider audience,” says Rummens. “In my mind, Saturday is family day.” Gosie Vervloessem’s Recipes for Disaster is a good example, an on-going project to recreate natural disasters in a domestic setting. This might involve building volcanoes and creating storms in a kitchen, or generating enough static electricity to make lightning strike. “It’s a cloud of thoughts and associations that are poetic, practical and experimental,” explains Rummens. “And it’s very funny, because she often fails or tries to do more than she can, so it is like an ode to the failed

attempt.” She will present her work during a picnic and also discuss plans for its future distribution using the Tupperware Party model. This touches on another theme that runs through Working Title Situation: how new formats can help artists work in a time of austerity. Saturday will also feature a number of pieces that emphasise experience. Christian Bakalov, for example, is creating an architectural installation in the upper reaches of the Brigittines chapel, cutting into the darkness with phosphorescent trails and touches. “It’s another world that you enter,” says Rummens. “It’s a sensory experience.” Meanwhile, Roel Heremans will try out an audio choreography in which eight spectator-participants are guided by a narrator’s voice on a personal trip through time and space. “He makes spaces from your memories – so virtual spaces – and blends them with the physical space you are in,” Rummens explains. “It raises questions about whether space exists by itself, or if it is also informed by memories and associations. And it does this not in a discursive way, but through experience.” Benjamin Vandewalle’s Peri-Sphere is entirely individual, a “one-on-one performative installation”. The performer invites each participant to lie in a mobile construction fitted with a periscope and a complex system of mirrors. “He can manipulate the mirrors and so manipulate your gaze, creating an out-of-body experience,” Rummens says. “He drives this car, like a camera, very slowly through the space and your gaze disconnects from your body. It is a very intense experience.” Throughout the three days there will also be more static installations and exhibitions, along with musical and dance performances. Other attractions include late-night cinema, a pop-up shop, feedback sessions and a closing party.

18-20 June Kaaistudio’s and Brigittines Brussels

More performance this week The Land of Nod

4.48 Psychosis

The Extra People

FC Bergman’s Het land Nod (The Land of Nod) imagines the secret life of the cavernous Rubens Gallery in Antwerp’s Royal Museum of Fine Arts. The sitespecific performance (though not held in the museum itself) fills an empty, echoing space with stories about art, the building and people who have sought solace and shelter there over the years (pictured). After opening in Antwerp last month, the performance transfers to C-mine in Genk before touring the Netherlands. (In Dutch) 20-22 June 20.15, C-mine 10, Genk

Jan Steen’s double-take on Sarah Kane’s disturbing monologue 4.48 Psychosis returns to Ghent for one night only. This stark exploration of clinical depression is performed twice – first by Lien Wildemeersch then by Benjamin Cools – the similarities and differences between the two versions deepening its impact. (In English) 27 June 20.00, Minardschouwburg, Korianderstraat 13, Ghent

British performance artist Ant Hampton’s new immersive performance The Extra People has a try-out in Ghent’s Vooruit. The 30 people in the audience become performers by following instructions relayed to them on headphones. Each part is different, but synchronised so that the participants interact to create a coherent piece. For this try-out, the instructions will be in English. A Dutch version follows in 2016. 23 June 18.00, Vooruit, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 23, Ghent

FC Bergman

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Jan Steen

Ant Hampton

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june 17, 2015

Headbanging in Dessel

CONCERT

Graspop Metal Meeting

Madonna: There are still a few tickets left to the queen of pop’s long-awaited Rebel Heart Tour in support of her 13th studio album. 28 November 20.00, Sportpaleis, Schijnpoortweg 119

Stenehei, Dessel

18-21 June

graspop.be

ore than a festival with musical heavyweights – among the headliners this year are Kiss, Scorpions, Korn, Slipknot, Judas Priest, Marilyn Manson (pictured) and Faith No More – Graspop Metal Meeting provides, as its name makes clear, a meeting place for like-minded music fans. Over four days, the festival meadow in the rural town of Dessel (Antwerp province) attracts myriad people who all appreciate headbanging to death growls, fast riffs and loud drums – preferably in the summer sun and with a cold beer. What started out in 1986 as a pop festival and a family outing with mainly local acts is three decades later one of the world’s major metal events. A edition that saw few visitors in the summer of 1995 was an agent of change. Graspop organiser Peter Van Geel left the overcrowded Flemish market for pop festivals and

started focusing on heavier music. Joining forces with Bob Schoenmaekers, organiser of the indoor Midsummer Metal Meeting, and promoter Herman Schueremans of Werchter fame, Graspop Metal Meeting (GMM) seemed to fill a gap, soon becoming a household name in the international festival circuit. This 20th edition takes place one week earlier than usual, as Schueremans’ Rock Werchter is occupying the last weekend of June. You could argue that – much like at the big pop festivals – the line-up sports many of the same names every year, but that would be undermining the community feel typical of a festival that covers the whole spectrum of hard rock, from symphonic (Within Temptation) to death (Cannibal Corpse) and black metal (Marduk), with occasional excursions to rap (Body Count) and blues rock (Thunder, Danko Jones).

CONCERT

FAMILY

Blaine L Reininger

Plazey

19 June, 22.00

Antwerp

Café Central, Brussels lecafecentral.com

As a founding member of the celebrated San Francisco music collective Tuxedomoon, Blaine L Reininger’s biography reads like a survey of contemporary art history. He and the group were fixtures in the city’s wild performance-art scene of the late 1970s and fellow travellers on New York’s No Wave before deciding to ride out the Reagan years in exile in Brussels, whose nascent New Wave cred would soon be acknowledged across Europe. Between band engagements, Reininger has built up a sizeable catalogue of solo albums. He is currently touring solo for the first time in 25 years.

\ teleticketservice.com

CLASSICAL Ghent

It’s really mostly the headliners who return annually, as the organisers point out on their website, tagging newcomers with “First Time at GMM”. Fifty bands – more than half the festival line-up – are performing for the first time on the sacred Stenehei. \ Tom Peeters

24-28 June Brussels celebrates the official start of summer with this free weekend festival in Koekelberg’s Elisabethpark, in front of the monumental Basilica of the Sacred Heart. It’s a giant open-air picnic featuring family-friendly performances, film, games, dance lessons, street food, cycling, minigolf and other outdoor activities.

Elisabethpark, Brussels plazey.be

The festival is dedicated to accessibility and sustainability, so this is a guilt-free good time. Musical offerings include pop and rock groups, world music, DJs and a marching band. There’s even a tribute to 1960s yéyé singer Claude François, led by Flemish rock musician Pascal Deweze. We all have our guilty pleasures. \ GV

VISUAL ARTS Olivier Bekaert: Japan: The Ghent photographer presents a series of photos from his travels through Japan, providing aesthetically pleasing and perfectly timed glimpses into everyday street life in the country. Until 30 August, Zebrastraat, Zebrastraat 32 \ facebook.com/zebrastraat

FAMILY Brussels Hond zonder staart (The Dog Without a Tail): Alpha Oumar Barry performs in this play about a boy and his best friend, a dog named M’Kulele (ages 6+; in Dutch). 20 June 17.00-18.00, De Markten, Oude Graanmarkt 5 \ demarkten.be

ACTIVITY Antwerp

VISUAL ARTS

FESTIVAL

Nick Proot: You Are No t Here

Mechelsepleinfeesten

Nick Proot knows all about perception. With his background in design and extensive experience in advertising, the Flemish photographer has learned how to make an image stick. It’s not just about form and composition; it’s also about psychology and social conventions. Our response to any given work of art, he claims, is decided before we even see it, before the work is even created. With his new multimedia exhibition You Are No t Here, Proot aims to deconstruct these processes, to deprogram the spectator through photography, film and installation. \ GV

\ bijloke.be

Ghent

\ Georgio Valentino

19-27 June

Laureate concert: The Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra performs with the first three laureates of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in a concerto for violin. 21 June 15.00, De Bijloke, Jozef Kluyskensstraat 2

PostX, Merelbeke (East Flanders) postx.be

24-28 June In the heart of Antwerp’s theatre district, the annual Mechelsepleinfeesten was a neighbourhood institution for a decade. Then in 2010, the city pulled the plug. This year, some of the square’s new residents are resurrecting the quirky block party. Cultural centre DE Studio and its neighbours have organised a comeback edition

Mechelseplein, Antwerp destudio.com

with performances in the cafés, in Sint-Joris Church and in the open air. We’re talking theatre as well as music and poetry. Tutti Fratelli, a local company that works with vulnerable communities, opens the festival with a harmonious (and socially progressive) mix of professional and amateur performers. \ GV

International Yoga Day 2015: Antwerp joins the worldwide yoga event, with its first public event dedicated to the practice, featuring a massive yoga session, led and attended by yogis from all over the world and open to all ages and levels (plus free yoga mats for all participants). 21 June 8.00-11.30, on top of Craeybeckxtunnel, Middelheimlaan \ internationalyogadayantwerp.com

FOOD&DRINK Antwerp World Pick-Nick Day: Bring a blanket to sit on and join the giant picnic in the city, featuring live music, DJs and food trucks 27 June 12.00, Park Spoor Noord, Damplein 1 \ picknickfestival.be

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june 17, 2015

Talking Dutch Let’s touch base in the idea shower

In response to: Federal prosecutor starts investigation into German espionage Babak Jahedmanesh It’s so unsettling and disturbing that only the “possible industrial espionage” part is of interest to officials! Come on!

Derek Blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

missed the television interview with the new editor of Flair magazine, but it sounds like he might not be the right person for the job. Flair – according to its website – is voor jonge vrouwen met een openmind op seks, relaties, mode, beauty, diet – Flair is for young women who are open-minded about sex, relationships, fashion, beauty and diet. It specialises in typical glossy magazine headlines like – 8 Flirt Signalen – 8 Signs He is Flirting, or – Hoge Hakken voor Beginners – High Heels for Beginners. You get the idea. So would the new editor be up to the job? asked current affairs programme Terzake. The journalist Ann De Craemer, who watched the interview, was distinctly unimpressed. Hopelijk wordt het bobotaaltje van Frederik De Swaef niet de nieuwe huisstijl van Flair – Hopefully Frederik De Swaef ’s management jargon is not going to be Flair’s new house style, she wrote in De Morgen. De Craemer listed some of the words that symbolised De Swaef ’s tenenkrullend managerstaaltje – cringe-worthy management-speak. Hij had het over “een volumestrategie volgen” – He went on about “following a volume strategy”, “diversifiëren binnen die domeinen” – diversifying within the portfolios, “monetariseren” – monetising, “native advertising” en wel zes keer over “content” – as well as mentioning “content” no less than six times. Now if there is one word that annoys Ann De Craemer, it’s “content”. Het is een term die mensen die zichzelf een air van belangrijkheid willen aanmeten maar wat graag gebruiken – It’s a word that people like to use when they want to make themselves sound important. “Content” klinkt namelijk chiquer dan “inhoud”– “Content” sounds more posh than “inhoud”, De Craemer argued, noting the Dutch word for, well, content. Het

CONNECT WITH US

In response to: Ghent garbage strike ends with union agreement Martin Thorpe We are still waiting for a collection and my bike ride to work is still an obstacle course of stinking rubbish.

is “ik-hoor-bij-de-club-en-ik-doe-heel-belangrijk-taal”– It says “I belong to the club, and I am speaking a very important language.” The journalist went on to worry about some of the sentences that might crop up once Flair’s new editor took over – Ook op zoek naar een nieuw kapsel? – Are you looking for a new hairstyle? Dan bieden deze tools je vast en zeker incentives voor een kwaliteits- en resultaatgerichte hairdo, volledig out-of-the box – Then these tools offer you clear and certain incentives to achieve a qualitative and results-driven hairdo that is totally out of the box. Or how about this? Flexibiliseer deze zomer je outfit! – Flexibilise your outfit this summer! Diversifiëren is in – Diversification is hot! Zowel thuis als op de werkvloer zal dat je operational excellence ten goede komen – This will ensure that you optimise your operational performance both at home and in the office. Dat is niet wat “de consument” van Flair van haar blad verlangt – That’s not what the Flair consumer wants from her magazine, De Craemer said. It looks like Flair’s new editor might have to take an idea shower and kick that office jargon into the long grass.

Tweet us your thoughts @FlandersToday

Poll

a. Yes. The experiment shows that nothing has changed since 1968. Schools need to actively teach antiracism from a young age

38% b. No. Eye colour does not correlate to race. The children developed a mob mentality, but it could have been based on anything

62% group – and in classroom discussions even generalised their inferiority to adults with the same eye colour. Bergs, who based the experiment on one from a 1960s American classroom, said this was proof of how susceptible children are to racism. But a majority of our readers don’t think so. Eye colour isn’t the same as skin colour, most of

you surmised. True, strictly speaking. But what the experiment did show was the almost immediate creation of an Us and Them mentality. And that tendency is just what a racial demagogue would be playing on to create a racist climate. The children in this class are clearly wide open to any manner of indoctrination.

\ Next week's question: De Lijn is putting a stop to night buses in Antwerp because not enough people are using the service. What do you think? Log in to the Flanders Today website at www.flanderstoday.eu and click on VOTE!

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In response to: Bruges brewery supercharges operations for new age Andy Klom Wow! With a beer pipeline, am looking forward to moving to Flanders next month!!

Harry Styles @Harry_Styles Thank you to everyone who was at the show in Brussels last night. You made it a great one. Thanks for having us.

Ariana Grande @ArianaGrande afternoon babes. i love u. see u soon antwerp!

John Statz @JohnStatz The canals next to Zennegat 13 outside of Mechelen, Belgium. Had a nice swim here earlier today! Show starts in 2 hrs

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the last word

Do you think that an Antwerp teacher’s social experiment proves that children are highly susceptible to racism?

Antwerp teacher Jan Bergs carried out an interesting experiment on his 10- to 12-year-old pupils earlier this month: He split them into two groups – those with brown eyes and those with blue eyes – and gave one group special privileges. He spoke disparagingly of the other group throughout the day. Very quickly, the children began to discriminate against the “inferior”

VoiceS of flanders today

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