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march 23, 2016 \ newsweekly - € 0,75 \ read more at www.flanderstoday.eu current affairs \ p2

“We got him”

Europe’s most wanted - the last surviving suspect in the November attacks on Paris is arrested in Brussels

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politics \ p4

BUSiNESS \ p6

Beer season is open

innovation \ p7

education \ p9

art & living \ p10

Alternative realities

The weather is clearing up, and the spring holiday is about to begin, which means one thing in Flanders: Beer festival season is upon us

Hold your smartphone in front of images in Hasselt to see the smartly stylised women how they really are in intriguing outdoor exhibition

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© Courtesy Jarheads

Reduce, reuse, recycle Flemish companies branch out into the world of sustainable food delivery Sally Tipper Follow Sally on Twitter \ @sallybtipper

Two Flemish food delivery services are opting for greener packaging, including glass jars and compostable paper bags, in an effort to reduce the use of resources and waste and boost recycling

C

hristophe Kemel heads home from the restaurant where he works, exhausted after an evening’s service.

Come 3am, he’s in the kitchen again, this time at home, preparing salads for his new day job.

He’s one of three young men branching out together from the restaurant trade into a brave new world of sustainable food deliveries.

Their concept, Jarheads, provides healthy lunches served in re-usable glass jars, which customers can either keep and use again or return with the next delivery. Launched just last month, they’re among a small but growing cohort of companies with an eye on providing top-quality takeaway food without the accompanying waste packaging. And

they’re growing fast.

“I’ve worked in restaurants and catering for a long time, but this is very different,” Kemel says. “The biggest thing behind it is the jars; that’s our selling point. At the moment, we work from our houses: there’s no physical location, no restaurant, so our branding has to be very strong. Back in the day, you just opened a restaurant; now you have to start a concept. And if your branding isn’t right, you’ve got nothing.”

The idea for the company sprouted from Kemel’s discussions with two colleagues, a pair of fitness fanatics frustrated by how hard it can be to find healthy takeaway food.

“You see that a lot of people want to change and eat more healthily, but you have to make it very easy for them,” he explains. “We have to maintain what we’re doing now and try to improve. What my mother always taught me is that if you do something, you should do it well.”

Jarheads currently serves Mechelen, Antwerp and Brussels,

supplying mainly offices, with a minimum order of €30. The menu is made up of salads, soups, spring rolls and a few desserts, priced between €4 and €10, with a small deposit for the container.

And because details are important, the cutlery, too, is environmentally friendly – organic plastic made from corn and chalk. As for the delivery process, there are plans afoot to make it more sustainable.

“In the city centres, we’re looking to do deliveries by bike, because it will be so much quicker,” Kemel says. “We lose a lot of time on transport. I’ve had people ask ‘how do you deliver, is it sustainable?’ but I can’t deliver by horse and carriage! Eventually, we want to do things like electric bikes, but we’ve only been going for a week.”

Their original idea was to team up with a charity and give away the leftovers, but in reality, the business is run too efficiently for that. “DakAnt in Antwerp helps disadvantaged families with food,” says Kemel. “But in the end, we don’t continued on page 5

\ CURRENT AFFAIRS

Terrorist suspect Salah Abdeslam arrested in Molenbeek France asks for extradition of the last surviving suspect in the Paris attacks Alan Hope Follow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

S

alah Abdeslam, the only terrorist suspect connected to last November’s Paris attacks who was still at large, was arrested last Friday at a house in Molenbeek.

Abdeslam has been Belgium’s – and Europe’s – most-wanted man for 18 weeks. He is now in custody in Bruges prison, and the French authorities have asked for his extradition.

Abdeslam, 26, was arrested during a heavily armed police operation that started at about 16.30 on Friday.

Police, ambulances and fire service were all in attendance in Vierwindenstraat, where shots were fired during the incident.

Abdeslam is accused of taking part in the terrorist attacks on 13 November in Paris in which 130 people were killed at a football stadium, a concert hall and on cafe terraces.

His brother, Ibrahim, died as a suicide bomber during the attacks and was buried in Brussels last week. Abdeslam has been at large since, the only surviving suspect connected to the attacks, with reports he might be in Germany, the Netherlands or even Syria.

He was arrested together with four other suspects. Police have confirmed that he and another man, who goes by the alias Amine Choukri, had both been wounded by gunshot to the leg. Both men were taken to Sint-Pieter Hospital

Salah Abdeslam

© Laurie Dieffembacq/BELGA

Defence lawyer Sven Mary talks to the press after the arrest

in Brussels for treatment and later discharged into police custody.

Three other people were arrested at the scene on suspicion of having harboured Abdeslam.

Days before, on Tuesday, police had come under fire while attempting to carry out a search at a house in the Vorst municipality. Two police officers were slightly injured and two more were detained in hospital suffering from shock. Two suspects, now thought to have been Abdeslam and Choukri, escaped. A third inhabitant of the house was killed by a police sniper. Police said he was in possession of an automatic rifle.

The search was in connection with the investigation into the Paris attacks, and involved officers from both Belgium and France. “We had

not expected this kind of resistance,” said Eric Van Der Sypt of the Brussels prosecutor’s office. “The officers were immediately fired on through the door.”

Prime minister Charles Michel left the EU summit taking place in Brussels to be appraised of the situation. French president François Hollande, who was in town for the summit, later joined him at Wetstraat 16.

A meeting of the National Security Council on Wednesday decided not to raise the terror alert level. The present level three is to be taken seriously, prime minister Charles Michel stressed. “We have to remain alert because level three means the threat is real and serious.”

After Abdeslam’s arrest on Friday,

Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever praised his party colleague Jan Jambon, minister for home affairs.

“Jan Jambon promised to clean up Molenbeek,” he tweeted. “He kept his word.” Migration minister Theo Francken tweeted “We got him”.

US president Barack Obama called Michel during the evening to congratulate him on the successful arrest of Abdeslam.

At the weekend, a French magistrate released the surprising news that Abdeslam had confessed. “I was present on 13 November in Paris, and I was to blow myself up, but in the end I did not,” Abdeslam stated, according to the magistrate.

“I could not go through with it.”

Abdeslam could be prepared to co-operate with authorities in providing information, in return for a lesser sentence, according to his lawyer, Brussels-based Sven Mary.

Mary is known for his high-profile clients, including Fouad Belkacem of Sharia4Belgium, gangster Murat

Kaplan and the late mafia boss Silvio Aquino.

According to Mary, Abdeslam’s confession demonstrates that his client is “trustworthy”, and it would be helpful if he were given the chance to talk. “My client could help cast light on the attacks,” he said. “It would be a pity not to listen to him.

If Abdeslam has any future at all, it will be as an informant.”

In return, Abdeslam would be looking for a reduced sentence or improved prison conditions.

However, Belgium has no legal framework that would make a quid pro quo enforceable, and the French authorities are determined to extradite him as quickly as possible.

It was also reported at the weekend that a suspicious pizza delivery may have been the final clue needed to track Abdeslam to the address where he was discovered.

According to Het Nieuwsblad, investigators knew he was in telephone contact with his friend Abid Aberkan, whose family occupied the house. Police had the address under surveillance, as well as a nearby house in Zeepziederijstraat.

Aberkan’s wife called in an order for pizza but had it delivered to Zeepziederijstraat. From there, the pizzas were carried round the corner to the house in Vierwindenstraat, raising suspicions among the police.

Antwerp police accused of extorting money from immigrants Four Antwerp police inspectors are in custody accused of theft and extortion of members of the public, in particular illegal immigrants. Another officer was detained before being released on bail. According to mayor Bart De Wever, all five have been suspended from duty.

The officers all work in the City zone, which includes Borgerhout and Antwerp North.

They are accused of singling out asylum-

seekers and illegal immigrants and using threats and violence – including brandishing firearms – to extort money from them.

“An investigating magistrate has been appointed, and the investigation is not yet complete, but we are treating this matter as extremely serious,” said Antwerp police chief Serge Muyters. “This is a stain on the excellent police work in which we have invested in recent years. I expect nothing less from

€1,595

average monthly cost of residency in a rest home in Flanders, according to health insurer Socialistische Mutualiteiten, more than in the country’s other two regions

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our personnel than irreproachable behaviour, at all times and wherever they may be.”

“Should these accusations prove true, this is a black mark on the history of our police force,” said De Wever. “But this case shows that the force itself is able to uncover such painful and shocking events and to investigate them thoroughly without fear or favour. For that reason, I continue to have the utmost confidence in the local police of

Antwerp.”

Brice De Ruyver, lecturer in criminology at Ghent University and security advisor to past governments, saw the police actions as “pure criminality of a completely different level of gravity from, for example, excessive force during an intervention. These people do not deserve to have any power; they must be removed from the force immediately”. \ AH

2,372

of the people who appeared on Flemish public broadcaster VRT’s various TV channels in 2015 were women, up from 35% in 2014. Newcomers made up 8.6%, compared to 7.6% the year before

permits granted for vehicles entering the pedestrian zone in central Brussels, available to anyone who can show good cause. So far, doctors and delivery trucks are the main recipients

80%

paid out to the 3,369 members of staff of Brussels Airlines as a reward for the company’s first annual profit since 2010. The premium varied according to function

of motorists would be in favour of a lower maximum speed limit on motorways when it is raining, according to a survey by VAB. The number was even higher among drivers over 50

march 23, 2016

WEEK in brief Shoe retail chain Torfs and business software publisher EASI have again been voted Best Workplace in Belgium in a poll organised by Best Workplaces, the Great Place to Work Institute and Jobat magazine. Both companies also topped the poll last year, in the categories of companies with more than 500 and fewer than 500 employees respectively. Torfs has now won the award seven times. The two companies were praised for their peopleoriented and high-quality staff policies.

Flemish photographer and journalist Lieve Blancquaert has received the biennial Van Acker Prize 2016 for a combination of high artistic quality and social engagement in photo books covering subjects such as women in Afghanistan, Aids victims in Africa and birth cultures around the world, as well as campaigns for Oxfam.

face of flanders for consulting on the expansion of ports in the archipelago. The signing took place during the latest trade mission to the country, attended by Flemish economy minister Philippe Muyters. The contracts open the door for Flemish companies to compete for the construction of 5,000km of railways, more than 100 airports and dozens of ports.

King Filip has become godfather to a family’s seventh son, as tradition in Belgium demands. The boy, Haroun Mounadi, was born as a twin in January last year in Anderlecht. His twin brother, as an eighth son, does not qualify. The tradition also applies to seventh daughters.

Luxury cruise liner The World, the only cruise ship where passengers are the owners of their cabins, is to dock at Antwerp’s Scheldekaaien in the centre from 19 to 21 May, the port authority has announced. The port will also welcome the Tall Ships Race from 7 to 10 June.

Leuven’s central prison is a thriving marketplace for testosterone supplements, according to one inmate found with two vials containing about 20g of the powder, which is used to stimulate muscle growth. The man confessed to regular use of the hormone, which he claimed is easily available in the prison. The judge in the case warned that testosterone can also cause aggressive behaviour, which is why its use in prison cannot be tolerated.

The prisoner had six months added to his sentence.

New maximum noise levels for music performances introduced three years ago to much protest from musicians and venues are now regarded positively, according to a survey of the sector by VRT radio.

Artists and technicians agree that reaching the norms is less disruptive in practice than was first thought, although some uncertainties remain about inspections and applications of some of the rules.

“It’s all worked out remarkably well,” admitted journalist and musician Stijn Meuris, initially a strong opponent of the new rules.

Dutch brewery giant Heineken has signed on to the code of conduct approved by federal consumer affairs minister Kris Peeters and the Belgian brewing industry, and the two governments are to harmonise their respective codes, Peeters said. The code of conduct reduces the restrictions breweries place on their pub landlords, increasing choice for customers. Heineken, now the second-largest brewing group in the world, owns AlkenMaes in Belgium, brewer of several brands, including Maes, Grimbergen and Ciney.

Marc Van Peel, Antwerp alderman for port affairs, has signed two agreements with the IPC Corporate University, a subsidiary of the Indonesian Port Corporation (IPC),

Women working in Flemish schools will be allowed to take breastfeeding breaks from September. The breaks have existed in practice under local agreements, but now

OFFSIDE Lost & found Gloves, scarves, umbrellas – all things most of us have left behind on the train. A pole dancer’s pole, perhaps slightly less often.

Since 2011, the rail authority NMBS told us this week, 181,538 items have landed in the lost and found from stations and trains. That includes an incredible number of mobile phones: 17,589 in all, or about 10 a day, every day, across the country.

The top 10 items found were: backpacks, jackets, cardigans, phones, wallets and handbags, shopping bags (containing shopping), keys, scarves, books (including diaries), various headgear. Some of those

the right is an official part of education law.

The city council of Schaarbeek in Brussels has said it is interested in buying the 18th-century building that houses the oldest bar in the area, Café aux Trois Rois.

The future of the historic building was in doubt after the death of the owner, Jules Van Geel, an aficionado of local folklore known to all as Julo.

The council intends to continue the folkloric tradition by renovating the building and introducing a puppet theatre and guest house.

Flemish actor and theatre director Reinhilde Decleir has been awarded this year’s Ark Prize for the Free Word, given out each year for an outstanding record of freedom of expression in Dutch-language culture. Decleir, aged 68, created and runs the social arts co-operative Tutti Fratelli.

A three-year-old girl from Mechelen has died in hospital from diphtheria, an infectious disease common at the turn of the 20th century, but now virtually non-existent because of widespread vaccination. It is not known how the child was infected.

Hospital workers and classmates are being investigated to see if anyone else has been infected. Initial symptoms include sore throat, difficulty swallowing, fever and nausea.

Earplugs intended to protect people’s hearing at concerts and music festivals do not provide sufficient protection, according to research carried out at Ghent University. Venues and festival organisers have been obliged to hand out free earplugs since 2013, but research shows they fail to block low notes enough while flattening out higher tones, which affects the sound of the music. Some concert-goers opt for earplugs made for musicians, which do not distort the sound, but these still offer insufficient protection, said lead researcher Annelies Bockstael.

© Michael Dehaspe/Visit Flanders

Vilhjalmur Sigurdarson

SOUVENIR-RESTAURANT.BE

The website Opinionated About Dining (OAD), which gathers restaurant ratings from foodies around the world, is launching a new award to add to its 100 Top Restaurants. The Best New Restaurant prize is open to establishments that have been open since 2013 and that figure in the OAD’s top 100 for this year – in this case for Europe.

One of the nine candidates is Souvenir in Ypres, the restaurant belonging to Icelandic chef (and Flemish Kitchen Rebel) Vilhjalmur Sigurdarson and his wife Joke Michiel.

Sigurdarson learned to cook at home in Iceland, but left to gain experience on the European mainland. He first worked in the Michelin-starred London restaurant Texture with fellow Icelander Aggi Sverrisson. Then he moved to Belgium, where he worked in the kitchens of some of Flanders’ finest: Kobe Desramault’s In De Wolf in Dranouter (OAD’s number one European restaurant in 2014) and the three-Michelin star Hertog Jan, run by chef Gert De

Mangeleer, in Bruges.

Michiel hails from Ypres and left her career in the media to jointly run Souvenir, which opened in 2014. Just one month, later, she gave birth to a daughter. That, Sigurdarson told Eater magazine, made him a better cook.

“Right now I just want to make … food that makes you smile, food that makes you feel good,” he said. “And I think it’s because of family that you want to make people happy.”

The decision to settle in Ypres, he says, was partly a result of the charms of the city and the surrounding countryside and partly the lack of anywhere decent to eat. “I wanted to create a restaurant with a metropolis vibe to it, in this small town. I didn’t want to go to Brussels or Antwerp to have a nice meal; I wanted to be in my own place.

That was the biggest motivation – and it’s paid off.”

The winner of the Best New Restaurant in Europe award will be announced in May. \ Alan Hope

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

WWW.PORTOFANTWERP.COM

© Courtesy De Standaard

are easy to understand: we may be carrying something we’re not used to, like a backpack; some things have a way of making their own escape, like scarves; some may in fact have been stolen, such as wallets, which are discarded after being emptied.

But how does anyone forget a

dancing pole? “It was a British lady who had been doing a show in Germany,” NMBS spokesperson Geert De Schepper told Radio 1.

“She left her pole on the train on the way home. We managed to contact her management to get it back to her.”

Items that remain unclaimed after 50 days are donated to the thrift shop Spullenhulp, which picks up a load every month. They sort out what’s still useful and either give it to those in need or sell it to the wider public to raise funds.

The partnership with the NMBS has delivered €75,000 and helped create 15 jobs. \ AH

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

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

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

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\ POLITICS

5TH COLUMN ‘We got him’

The world’s eyes were on Belgium once again, as Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam was apprehended in Molenbeek after 126 days at large. “We got him,” in the words of secretary of state Theo Francken on Twitter.

“Minister of internal affairs Jan Jambon had promised to clean up Molenbeek. He kept his word,” his party president, Bart De Wever, added.

However, even with Abdeslam behind bars, De Wever has worries, for more than one reason.

One is recent news that N-VA, Flanders’ largest party, is down 5% in the polls. De Wever, who has dominated the political debate in Flanders for almost a decade, is no longer one of the three most popular politicians.

And trust in the government of Flanders, led by N-VA founding father Geert Bourgeois, has taken a dive, too.

Of course, polls are just temporary indications of voting intentions at a time when there are no elections.

The only poll that matters are the elections themselves, politicians will say. Still, polls have an impact on the states of mind of the people that feature in them. This poll may intensify the hostility between coalition partners N-VA and CD&V, as they vie for the 2018 local elections.

De Wever’s second big problem is in Antwerp, where he is mayor. Last week he surprised everyone when he announced an investigation into “grave facts” regarding a number of the city’s police officers, which, “if proven true would mean a very black page in the police’s history”.

Soon after it was revealed that at least four police officers had allegedly robbed and extorted money out of illegal immigrants, possibly for years.

This is particularly bad news for De Wever, who has always been a staunch defender of his police force. Only last month, the city council debated a number of incidents in which, according to the opposition, the police had used excessive force.

De Wever would not hear of it. Last week he praised the force’s “internal cleanup”, but the affair may still damage the party – and the man – that has made safety a priority.

And then there is the budgetary problem, which is now affecting not only the federal government, but the government of Flanders, too. Fortunately, De Wever has some good news to cling to: We got him all right.

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Flanders marks 20 years of co-operation with Lithuania Foreign affairs minister Linkevicius in Flanders on official visit Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

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he governments of Flanders and Lithuania have marked 20 years of close co-operation with an official visit

by Lithuanian foreign affairs minister Linas Antanas Linkevicius to Bruges, where he met Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois.

Bourgeois announced that he will be returning the visit in May, when he will also visit Latvia and Estonia.

Over the last 20 years, Bourgeois said, both sides have evolved: Lithuania by shaking off the remnants of Soviet domination to become a performing and innovative economy and Flanders by acquiring new state responsibilities and developing an international network of relations equivalent to a fully-fledged ministry of foreign affairs.

The two sides then engaged in talks on subjects such as energy provision and transport, as well as the pressing subject of migration and asylum.

Bourgeois said that his government would share its expertise regarding the Zeebrugge liquid natural gas terminal with Lithuania, which, with its fellow Baltic states, has created an LNG network. A pipeline is due to be completed in 2019, linking the Baltic states and Finland with Poland and Sweden.

Bourgeois’ visit to the three Baltic states in May will coincide with the opening of a new Flemish economic representation in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. He will meet with prime minister Algirdas Butkevicius, foreign trade minister Evaldas Gustas and minister Linkevicius, visit a laser research centre and attend events at Vilnius University.

Finally, Bourgeois announced that his government has approved a subsidy in support of an exhibition by Flemish artist Heidi Ballet to be held in the autumn in Vilnius “to end this festive year for both our nations”.

Flemish and Walloon culture ministers fund 22 joint projects The Flemish and French-speaking communities have agreed on 22 cultural projects for joint financing, ministers Sven Gatz and Joëlle Milquet (pictured) have announced. The projects were among 94 applications for funding received under the Cultural Accord signed between the two communities in 2013. Funding comes to a total of €160,000.

A €10,000 subsidy went to cultural centres in Alsemberg and Tubize to create sitespecific performances in and around the huts located in Hallerbos forest in Flemish Brabant. The event takes place on 29 May. Le Beau Léon, which receives €5,000, is a coproduction of NTGent and Théatre de Liège on the dangers of populism, based on the story of Rexist politician Léon Degrelle, but with clear lessons for today.

The performances take place in Liège and Ghent in May. Other projects include musical theatre for children, a celebration of the work of poet Emile Verhaeren on the centenary of his death, a beatbox championship in Ghent

© Courtesy Sven Gatz

and Brussels, a double exhibition of young artists in Antwerp and Brussels and new installations by two Flemish artists being shown in Namur.

“We were pleasantly surprised by the number of applications, and by their quality and originality,” said Gatz. “There is evidently a great deal of enthusiasm and inspiration among cultural organisations across the country to reach across the language frontier and work together.” \ AH

© Courtesy government of Flanders

Minister-president Geert Bourgeois (left) and Lithuanian foreign affairs minister Linas Antanas Linkevicius

Belgian investigators get new powers to tap smartphones Federal justice minister Koen Geens has introduced new legislation governing the techniques investigators are allowed to use to gain access to digital communications via computers, smartphones and other devices.

The change to the rules concerns the surveillance of a device remotely, without the knowledge of the suspect, in the same way landlines are tapped now. The new law also allows police to create false identities, including fake documents, and to require information from private businesses such as transport companies and travel agents.

The methods are only available on the orders of an investigating magistrate in an active case and cannot be routinely used by police to gather evidence. The special methods may also only be used, the law reads, if “other means are not sufficient to bring facts to light”.

“At present we are able to tap [landline] telephones with the approval of an investigating magistrate,” Geens told VRT News. “It’s only normal that modern communications systems be investigated in the same way, without the person concerned being aware of the fact. This is simply a question of updating the law: nothing to do with an all-seeing Big Brother.” \ AH

€4.5 million to renovate historical churches and parsonages The government of Flanders has approved subsidies for five heritage restoration projects – four of them in Flemish Brabant – totalling more than €4.5 million.

The largest sum of €1.5 million goes to the Sint-Pieter church in Gooik, Flemish Brabant, described as “a remarkably good example of a classicist country church”. The building is part of the protected centre of the old village of Leerbeek, and the church’s organ is also protected heritage. The church (pictured) has been closed since December because of unsafe conditions. The subsidy will pay for much-needed repair work to both

the interior and exterior.

A subsidy of €978,000 goes to restoration of the parsonage of the Church of Our Lady in Tielt-Winge.

The building dates from the 18th century and has been a protected monument since 1974. It is suffering from water infiltration through the roof and gutters at the entrance and in the coach-house, leading to stability problems. The house continues to be occupied.

The Sint-Germanus church in Tienen, with origins going back to the 14th century, receives €921,000.

The church, which dominates the surrounding area because of its

© Courtesy Het Nieuwsblad

elevation, is an excellent example of the medieval Romanesque style.

Two parsonages in Kampenhout

– one from the 18th century and one slightly older – share a grant of €576,000. Both stand on the same piece of land. The older building will house a meeting room, a studio for the priest and washroom facilities. The larger one will be used by the local municipality for meetings, offices and weddings.

Finally, the Sint-Mildreda church in Alveringem, West Flanders, is receiving €511,000 for work to facades, roof and stained-glass windows.

The church, originally built in the Roman style, had its steeple restored in the mid-20th century using original materials. \ AH

\ COVER STORY

march 23, 2016

Reduce, reuse, recycle

Circular economy works in the interest of the environment and the customer continued from page 1

have a lot of waste because I’m careful about what I order. So now I just order a little extra and give it away.”

Meanwhile, in Brussels, the two brothers behind Rasoi have begun delivering curry and rice in metal tiffin carriers, which they pick up a few hours later to be washed, refilled and redelivered. And across town in Kraainem, the man behind Cirkle is scaling up the food-with-a-conscience concept in a big way.

In a previous life, Ben Bramich was an engineer for Toyota. While working in Japan – a country that’s big on efficient systems for reducing waste – he became interested in the circular economy, in which an industry keeps resources in use for as long as possible, extracting the maximum value, rather than disposing of a product after use.

“They have some really clever ways of doing things in Japan,” he says.

“It’s a mentality – how you use spare capacity and reduce waste.”

So he started wondering about how to manage a home delivery service where the vans would always be full, instead of returning to the depot empty. Why not combine food delivery with recycling collection?

And so Cirkle was born. Customers sign up, order their shopping – organic fruit and vegetables, dairy, meat, beer, bread, cheese and more – on the trilingual website and choose a delivery slot. When the drivers come to drop off food boxes, they take away old boxes filled with glass and other recyclables, old light bulbs, corks, batteries, water filters and electrical waste, as well as donations of books, clothes, CDs and even

© Courtesy Cirkle

Cirkle will not only deliver groceries to your door, they’ll haul away your recyling

Eighteen months ago the company got funding from SI2, a social investment organisation, which helped them to scale up the business. “What we’re doing is a really nice example of the circular econ-

A lot of people want to eat more healthily, but you have to make it very easy for them tinned food destined for charities.

Juices, oil and vinegar come in reusable bottles, dried fruit and cereals are packaged in compostable paper bags, and the boxes themselves are used time and again.

“I was interested in organic food and sustainable farming, and I knew organic baskets were a big thing in other countries, but at the time, in 2008, it wasn’t very well developed here at all,” Bramich explains. “In the end, I quit my job and started to do deliveries in the back of my car. We grew quite quickly, through word of mouth among the expat community.”

CIRKLE.BE JARHEADS.BE

omy,” he says. “The donations work well, and we get so much stuff back. We have designated charities, and we even have a food bank.”

The glass they collect generates the most money, he explains, in addition to providing a service for customers. “We pick out the bottles that have a deposit on them, we exchange them for cash and all of that goes to our charity of the month. It’s between €50 and €100 a month, which doesn’t sound that much, but it’s money for nothing.”

The company has about 700 customers who’ve ordered in the last three months, resulting

in about 300 deliveries a week.

“People are buying more from us because we’re adding to the range all the time,” Bramich says.

Coming soon is a collaboration with a restaurant to offer ingredients for whole meals in reusable glass jars for customers to prepare at home. Re-usable packaging for prepared meals is a real challenge, he says. “There are a lot of logistical hurdles to doing it efficiently and for it to be appealing to a customer.

You have to make it easy for them.”

If there’s a deposit taken on a container, for example, how does the customer deal with it? Do they have to return it to a specific place?

Who takes care of the cleaning, and

who pays for that? Cirkle originally charged for its collection service, but Bramich decided to make life simpler for everyone by removing this cost.

Customers like the fact that there’s no waste, he says, but re-usable packaging adds cost to their operation; it’s more expensive than using disposable packaging, and that’s perhaps why it hasn’t really taken off more widely.

Bramich: “Keeping the costs down is quite difficult. What we sell is not a cheap product – organic produce never is – and our target market is really the more affluent people in Brussels, who want top-quality produce but also want to do some-

thing that’s good for the environment.”

Cirkle’s reach stretches as far east as Leuven, and they’ve just begun doing deliveries (but not collections) in Mechelen and Antwerp through Combo, a service run by Bpost. “We do want to start doing it ourselves because then we can do the recycling there, too,” he says.

The company’s location – a former dairy factory and wine cellar beneath a creche on a quiet suburban street – seems at first glance an unlikely home for this expanding business. “But we’re right in the middle of where we need to be for our customer base,” says Bramich.

“It’s perfect.”

Second life When re-using packaging at home isn’t possible, there’s always the option to recycle. Collections vary depending on where you live. According to Fost Plus, the organisation charged with sorting and recycling packaging in Belgium: • All 589 municipalities in the country have access to collections of sorted household packaging waste • Every year, approximately 700,000 tons of packaging are recycled in Belgium. This translates to about 30kg of glass, 16kg of plastic and metal, and 65kg of paper and cardboard per inhabitant • 90% of the packaging Fost Plus collects is recycled

\5

\ BUSINESS

week in business Plastics Solvay The Brussels-based chemicals and materials group is selling its 50% stake in Inovyn, a PVC and chlorovinyl manufacturer, to its partner Ineos, headquartered in Switzerland, for €335 million. The deal had initially been expected to take place in 2018, but market conditions and Solvay’s strategy to reduce its debt load clinched the decision.

Retail Swatch The Swiss watch group has opened its first flagship store in Belgium near the Grote Markt in Brussels.

Brewing AB Inbev The Leuven-based beer group has created Newbelco, a holding company in Brussels that will serve as the umbrella structure for the group’s stakes in its own brewing activities as well as those of the recently acquired SABMiller.

Financial planning Risk Dynamics The Brussels-based financial risks assessment and management consultancy has been acquired by the US McKinsey group. The move will allow Risk Dynamics to further expand its activities in Europe, the US and Australia.

Bio-tech ETheRNA The spin-off of the Free University of Brussels (VUB) has raised €24 million to finance the development of its TriMix therapy against skin cancer. Partial funding has been supplied by the Flemish government’s venture capital fund PMV, the US Omega Fund and the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim.

Automotive Punch Powertrain The manufacturer of fuel-efficient powertrains and transmission systems, based in Sint-Truiden, Limburg, has been acquired for €1 billion

by China’s Yinyi industrial vehicles producer. Punch Powertrain, created in 1972, employs 1,200 workers.

Catering Metro The German retailer, specialised in supplies to the catering trade and high volume customers, is opening an additional outlet in the Antwerp area, its 10th in the country.

\6

Flanders feels the benefit as companies desert Brussels Traffic and costs force businesses out of the capital Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

M

obility problems and increasing property rents are leading to an exodus of businesses from Brussels, but Flanders is reaping the benefits, according to Ingrid Ceusters, CEO of property consultants Group Hugo Ceusters-SCMS. Last year in Brussels, 40% less office space was sold or rented than the year before, while commercial property rentals increased in Flanders – by 4% in Ghent, 21% in Leuven and a whopping 85% in Mechelen. Both Mechelen and Leuven are close to Brussels.

The capital still holds the most office space of the three regions, with a total of 288,000 square metres, but the market is in decline. One of the

© Szilas/Wikimedia

Brussels North office quarter

main reasons, Ceusters told Trends magazine, is mobility: three in four companies say they are

difficult to access by car – one of the reasons many opt for a base in Flanders.

“Many spin-offs and start-ups, as well as established companies and government departments, are more often making a conscious choice of one of the Flemish provincial cities,” said Louis De Clercq of Hugo Ceusters-SCMS. “Mechelen, Ghent, Leuven and other towns are growing more and more into fully fledged office citie s.”

Aside from those, Antwerp had a troubled year following good performance in 2014, but still managed to see the number of property transactions increase by 7%. And the decentralisation extends into Limburg, where the Euregio project is attracting young new businesses.

New company at port to produce bio-based plastics German chemicals company BASF is co-operating with Dutch chemical company Avantium to establish a factory in the port of Antwerp that would manufacture and market bio-based plastics. The companies have signed a declaration of intent to establish the joint venture.

The partners want to produce the chemical component furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), which is made out of renewable, plant-based resources like corn and sugar cane. FDCA will then be used in the factory to create polyethylene furanoate (PEF), a bio-based plastic that is used to make plastic bottles, film and other packaging products.

Compared to conventional plastics, PEF has better insulating characteristics for gases like carbon

dioxide and oxygen. This can extend the freshness of packaged products. PEF allows also for the production of thinner packaging, which reduces the amount of materials needed for production.

After use, PEF can be recycled.

If the negotiations go well, the joint venture should break ground next year on at the site of BASF in the port. According to De Morgen, the factory would have a production capacity of 50,000 tons a year.

De Morgen also reported that Antwerp was chosen as a location because of the presence of a cluster of chemicals companies, the expertise of BASF and the guarantee of a continuous supply of biomass via the port. \ Andy Furniere

Transport firms could face financial problems because of road tolls, says industry federation One in seven road transport companies is in danger of bankruptcy when the new road tolls for lorries are introduced on 1 April, according to a study conducted by Transport & Logistiek Vlaanderen (TLV) and Graydon consultants. The new tolls apply to all vehicles larger than 3.5 tonnes driving on Belgian roads.

According to the study, which involved questioning 225 Flemish transport firms, 65% pay their creditors within 30 days. However, the number of transport clients who pay their bills within 30 days stands at only 10%, creating an immediate cash flow problem for hauliers.

“The toll will have to be paid within 14 days,” a spokesperson for TLV explained. “Flemish transporters will have to put up the money in advance,

and for some of them, that could be risky.”

In addition to the 15% who think they may be at immediate risk, 77% said they would have liquidity problems, and 66% expected a declining competitive position compared to companies from other countries.

With days to go until the introduction of the tolls, 327,000 trucks have been registered with Viapass, which will run the system on behalf of the three regional governments. Transport companies at home and abroad have ordered 259,000 On-Board Units, which count the number of kilometres travelled. On 1 April, all trucks on Belgian roads must be equipped with a functioning OBU or face a fine of up to €1,000. \ AH

Ethiopian Airlines brings jobs back to Brussels Airport Ethiopian Airlines is bringing a number of cargo flights back to Brussels Airport, after the company moved flights to Maastricht last November. By the end of March, the airline’s cargo flights will double to 12 a week.

Ethiopian moved out last year because it was unable to obtain permanent traffic rights to fly direct to Dubai, Shanghai and Hong Kong, rather than stopping over in Addis Ababa. That issue has been resolved in the meantime by an agreement between the Belgian and Ethiopian governments, and talks got under way immediately to attract the airline back to Zaventem.

“I am delighted that Ethiopian Airlines Cargo has decided to return to our airport” said Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport. “The carrier’s return is a highly positive development, not just for the airport but also for the Belgian economy as a whole. This move will not only see the reinstatement of the jobs that were lost with the air carrier’s withdrawal, it will also create many new jobs.” \ AH

Shareholders vote in favour of Ahold-Delhaize merger Shareholders of supermarket chain Delhaize have voted in favour of a proposed merger with the Dutch group Ahold, which runs the Albert Heijn supermarkets. The vote in favour was 96.7% at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting in Brussels last week.

The new company, to be known as Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize (Royal Ahold Delhaize) will be based in Zaandam, immediately to the north-west of Amsterdam, and will consist of more than 6,500 stores in

Europe and the United States.

The new company will become the largest retailer in the Benelux, with a total of 370,000 personnel and annual turnover of €54 billion.

While Ahold shareholders at their own meeting in Amsterdam voted 99% in favour of the merger, the Brussels meeting was not without opposition. Shareholders present represented about 64 million voting shares, and some two million were abstentions. One family shareholder said he was

abstaining because he did not want to be responsible for killing off the Delhaize lion. Delhaize chair Mats Janson assured him the lion was not dead but was simply “taking its career in a new direction”.

Unions took the opportunity to protest against a proposed €1.5 million bonus for Delhaize CEO Frans Muller. Outside the hall in Evere, they handed out false banknotes bearing Muller’s face. The merger means Ahold CEO Dick Boer takes over the running of the

merged company, and the bonus is intended to encourage Muller to stay. The bonus was later approved by 59% of the votes present at the meeting.

Unions are also concerned about the consequences of the merger for Delhaize staff. Belgian competition authorities have already ordered the divestment of 13 Delhaize stores, and unions said that more jobs could be lost with the move of the company’s headquarters to Zaandam. \ AH

\ INNOVATION

march 23, 2016

A wrinkle in time

week in innovation

KU Leuven researchers play part in one of mankind’s greatest discoveries Senne Starckx More articles by Senne \ flanderstoday.eu

LIGO.CALTECH.EDU

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n 14 September 2015, sensors at the Ligo laser interferometer observatories in the United States detected a slight wavelength shift in the lasers running through the vacuum-sealed tubes inside each facility. The change was recorded and, over the next several months, scientists the world over, including those at KU Leuven’s Institute of Astronomy, tried to make sense of the data.

It turns out the wavelength shift was an echo of two black holes crashing into each other over a billion years ago in a remote corner of the universe. But when the signal was converted to sound here on Earth, the massive collision resembled a fleeting chirp.

And it could easily have been missed, had it not been for Ligo’s precise instruments that can detect shifts of less than 1/10,000th of the width of an atom. “We were very lucky,” says Gijs Nelemans, a Dutch astronomer at KU Leuven, who was involved in the discovery.

Nelemans, who splits his time between KU Leuven and Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, was part of a team that interpreted the laser shift. The gravitational wave that caused it was faint and lasted for a fraction of a second, but the findings shook the scientific community the world over.

A press conference to announce the discovery saw scores of reporters and scientists home in on Washington, DC, in February. “The discovery is a beautiful confirmation of Einstein’s theory,” Nelemans explains.

When Einstein came up with his theory of general relativity back in 1915, he speculated that cosmic events of extreme proportions had

© Courtesy SXS

Artist’s rendering of two black holes merging into one

to produce some kind of ripples in space, much like a child running around on a trampoline. The theory was revolutionary at the time, but another century would have to pass before someone – or something – could provide observational proof.

Ligo’s inconspicuous interferometers – located in Livingston, Louisiana, and in Hanford, Washington – bounce laser beams between mirrors at the opposite ends of perpendicular, four-kilometrelong vacuum pipes. If a gravitational wave were to pass through, it would alter the length of the pipes in different ways, causing the laser beams to shift slightly out of sync.

And that is exactly what happened last September.

Based on the signals, Ligo scientists, working in tandem with the Flemish team at KU Leuven’s Institute of Astronomy, estimated that the detected gravitational wave resulted from a collision of two black holes – one 29 and the other 39 times the mass of our sun.

The resulting massive black hole, located 1.3 billion light years from Earth, was 62 times the mass of the sun, but, in a fraction of a second, about three times the mass of the sun escaped.

“These three sun masses were transformed into energy, which radiated into the universe,” Nelemans explains. “Part of this radiation formed the gravitational waves that were detected at Ligo.”

According to Chris Van Den Broeck, a Flemish researcher working at the National Institute for Subatomic Physics in the Netherlands,

Professor Jan Michiels of the Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics at the University of Leuven led the team that discovered a self-destruct mechanism in the cells of bacteria, paving the path to more effective treatments of infectious diseases

diarrhoea and fever, so the findings have broader consequences.

The challenge now is to figure out how the process works exactly so that we can manipulate harmful bacteria into killing themselves.

This could aid in the treatment of many infectious diseases.

phered by the study of the gravitational waves they produce,” Van Den Broeck says. Black holes, which trap any light rays that pass by, and can therefore never be seen with the naked eye, are the perfect example.

The celebrated waves could also shed light on another mystery that has been baffling the scientific establishment. Dark matter is a hypothetical substance that is believed by most astronomers to account for around five-sixths of all matter in the universe. But like black holes, it has never been directly observed because it is too dense to be detected with imaging technology.

Nelemans speculates this may soon change. “We know that dark matter produces gravitational waves, so, in principle, we should be able to detect them if they’re produced in extremely energetic events.”

Gravitational waves could also help

We can study the universe when it was only a fraction of a second old the discovery is the opening of a new and exciting era for astronomers. “Gravitational waves provide us with a completely new window on the universe,” he says. “Until now we could only peer into the cosmos by looking at the light emitted by the stars, the planets and the galaxies.”

This, he adds, is a very limiting approach because light cannot penetrate everything, leaving vast swathes of the universe largely invisible. “Numerous fascinating phenomena can only be deci-

us unravel the mysteries of the past – a very distant past. When the universe was formed, sometime between 12 and 14 billion years ago, it was made up entirely of plasma, a hot, opaque soup of atomic nuclei and electrons. This mixture is so opaque that electromagnetic radiation, such as visible light, cannot penetrate it, rendering even the most advanced telescopes useless.

By analysing gravitational waves, Van Den Broeck says, “we can study the universe when it was only a fraction of a second old”.

Q&A

Suicidal bacteria? Really?

Like all living organisms, bacteria are made up of cells, which in turn contain proteins responsible for nearly every cellular function, from maintaining the cell’s shape to monitoring chemical processes. Proteins come in many forms and frequently develop mutations. In our research, we came upon a genetic alteration that leads to the death of the cell where that protein is found.

This process has long been known to exist and is useful for a variety of functions, such as targeting cancerous cells and helping remove the soft tissue that

connects the fingers and toes of a foetus. We have now shown that this mutation exists in much simpler organisms, such as the E coli bacteria.

How does it work?

Apparently there is a mechanism in the bacteria that can signal to cells that it’s more beneficial for them to terminate their existence. We know that the self-destruction can be triggered by the cell itself or by external factors, such as the immune system.

We also found this process in Salmonella, a bacteria that causes

Why did you decide to work with E coli?

For one, the bacteria is very common. E coli is found in our lower intestines and helps with digesting food. When it misbehaves, however, it can cause bladder infections and food poisoning. Hospitals are prone to E coli outbreaks. But in more practicaly terms, it is relatively simple to manipulate E coli’s genetic makeup.

Wouldn’t it be easier to develop

© George Gielen

more effective antibiotics?

No, because bacteria can build up a resistance to them, especially after extended treatment. We also know that frequent use of antibiotics puts the bacteria in a hibernation state that hides the harmful cells from the immune system.

Renewable energy from the roadside

A PhD student from the KU Leuven has won the Rudi Verheyen Prize for the researcher making the most valuable contribution to the Flemish environmental policy.

Koenraad Van Meerbeek examined the possibilities of converting herbal biomass from nature areas and roadside verges in Flanders into a renewable energy source.

According to Van Meerbeek, the energy from biomass could result in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions amounting to 10.8 million tons of CO2 each year. The prize, worth €8,000, is named after Professor Rudi Verheyen, who died in 2014, who helped draw up the current nature and environment policy in Flanders.

Solar cells in building materials Staff at energy research institute EnergyVille, nanotechnology research centre imec and Hasselt University are working with Dutch colleagues to look into new ways to integrate solar cells in building materials. The challenges are fitting Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) panels into materials without affecting the look of a building, making them affordable to produce and ensuring that they are energy-efficient. Currently, solar energy is mostly utilised via panels on roofs, but the Flemish and Dutch researchers will be looking to integrate solar cells in other building materials that are exposed to sunlight such as roof tiles, wall panels, windows and even curtains.

Goverment funds for ‘movement coaches’ Flemish welfare minister Jo Vandeurzen is investing €4.5 million in a project to get people who are at high risk of health problems because of a sedentary lifestyle to move more. The project, Beweging op verwijzing (Moving in the Right Direction), will officially launch at the end of the year and last for a period of five years. Under the programme, if doctors feel that patients are running health risks because they move too little, they will be able to refer them to “movement coaches”, trained as part of the new project.

The coaches will provide a customised movement plan to help patients develop a more active lifestyle, which could include cycling to work instead of driving. Costs associated with the coaching will be refunded. \ AF

\ Interview by Andy Furniere

\7

\ EDUCATION

march 23, 2016

Teacher, MD

week in education

Education council wants teachers be able to offer medical assistance Andy Furniere More articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.eu

T

eachers in Flanders who help pupils with simple medical needs, like measuring blood sugar levels, are, strictly speaking, breaking the law.

In an advisory report, the Flemish Education Council (Vlor) has called on the region’s education ministry and the federal health ministry to make it clear what kind of care teachers are allowed to provide to pupils.

Following a royal decree from 1990, Belgian law stipulates that teachers need a medical diploma to be allowed to administer medical help – except first aid – to pupils in primary and secondary schools.

That includes simple procedures, like giving nutrition through a catheter, checking the blood sugar level of a child with diabetes and

vlor.be

into regular classes.

“Teachers are receiving more and more questions from parents who want to know how the care for their child can be organised at school,” a Vlor spokesperson said.

Sometimes, children can carry out routine acts themselves, like administering an injection, under the supervision of teachers. If this is not possible, or if something goes wrong, teachers are legally obliged to intervene yet legally prohibited from administering medical help – so the law contradicts itself.

Teachers risk being fined, or even jailed, if students get hurt. It’s also impossible for teachers to get insurance for such cases.

Vlor wants the government to rectify the situation, which is complicated as both the Flemish

education ministry and the Belgian public health ministry are responsible. “It is the task of the public health ministry to provide guidelines concerning which medical acts teachers are allowed to carry out,” the spokesperson said.

Vlor points out that more options are possible and wants to start a political discussion to find creative solutions. Schools could involve home health-care workers, for example, or ensure that there is always one teacher available with the sufficient training. Having a nurse in every school would be

© Ingimage

ideal but is impossible in practical terms, Vlor said.

Its report also includes children’s’ complaints concerning care at school. An important problem is the lack of a separate room for medical interventions, resulting in a lack of privacy. “Children

often don’t want the whole class to know they have a medical issue,” said Vlor’s spokesperson. They also want to know whether a teacher is able and allowed to administer their care.

The government ministries have not yet responded to the report.

School principals in favour of abolishing tenure system A large majority of school heads in Flanders are no longer in favour of the tenure system in education, which sees teachers getting a permanent appointment after at least three years of service.

The information was gathered in a survey by the umbrella organisation Education Secretary for Cities and Municipalities (OVSG).

About 450 head teachers filled in the OVSG survey, in which they indicated how they would prefer to employ their teachers. Only 21.8% of heads chose the current tenure system, while 78.2% said they would prefer to offer teachers a normal contract.

“We have known for some time that more and more young teachers do not agree with the system because they feel that it hinders their careers,” OVSG director Patriek Delbaere told public broadcaster VRT. Young teachers often have to change schools because priority of placement is given to tenured colleagues.

According to a survey by Flemish MP Ann Brusseel (Open VLD), about half of Flanders’ teachers would prefer a system with contracts of indefi-

Lawyer and historian Herman Van Goethem will become the new rector of Antwerp University on 1 October, after beating the only other candidate, current vice-rector Johan Meeusen, during the second round of elections. Van Goethem succeeds mathematician Alain Verschoren, who had served two terms, and will be rector at least until 2020.

He teaches courses including the political and institutional history of Belgium, and is also director-general of Kazerne Dossin Memorial, Museum and Documentation Centre on Holocaust and Human Rights in Mechelen, a position he will now give up. The new rector said he plans to strengthen UAntwerp’s position in the wider metropolitan region of Antwerp and turn it into “a lab and an engine for change”.

STEM students reach European final

Children often don’t want the whole class to know that they have a medical issue administering prescription drugs at the right time. The majority of Flemish teachers don’t have this diploma.

According to Vlor, this has been a problem for a long time but is becoming more urgent because of an increasing number of viable treatments for medical issues and an evolution towards more inclusive education. These changes mean that more youngsters take pills, such as Ritalin for ADHD, for example, and there are many more pupils with special education needs being mainstreamed

UAntwerp elects new rector

© Ingimage

nite duration rather than the current tenure system.

Delbaere said that he is “very surprised” that the new survey now shows that the majority of school principals are also in favour of abolishing the system. “We didn’t ask for their reasons, but I think principals are unhappy that it’s so difficult to end a permanent appointment,” he said.

Even when a tenured teacher receives poor evaluations, it is very difficult to dismiss them. “There are disciplinary or evaluation measures available, but they rarely lead to dismissals,” he said.

ovsg.be

“Principals want to be more in control of staffing.”

OVSG has advised the government to organise debates on the system. However, the topic is not part of the negotiations between the government and the education sector on the so-called “teachers’ career pact” – aimed at making the teaching profession more attractive – because the partners fear the issue might block any progress in the discussions.

Jos Van Der Hoeven, secretary-general of the Christian Teachers’ Union, accused the OVSG of not participating seriously in the debate on the teachers’ career pact. He also warned education minister Hilde Crevits that the negotiations would be undermined if the topic of the tenure system was included in the discussions. Crevits responded that she has no intention of including it.

Brusseel, however, insisted the issue be put on the political agenda and should be the subject of a broad debate. “The tenure system … simply has too many disadvantages,” she said, “and is demotivating to young teachers.”. \ AF

A team of six students from Flanders has made it to the European final of the SciTech Challenge, which will take place at the end of May in the European parliament. The secondary school students ensured their place in the final with the Go Cycling concept, which promotes cycling in Brussels. The SciTech Challenge is a contest that promotes STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) among youngsters. It is organised by oil and gas multinational ExxonMobile and Ja Europe, a provider of entrepreneurship education programmes. The Flemish team will compete against teams from the UK and Romania in the final.

Lack of capacity in Brussels schools The citizens’ organisation Ieder Kind een Stoel (A Chair for Every Child) has announced its intention to file a legal complaint against the government of Flanders because of too little capacity for pupils in Brussels’ Dutch-speaking schools. The organisation has launched a crowdfunding action to finance the lawsuit.

The government recently allocated an extra €30 million for the construction of schools in Brussels, but the organisation said “this is not enough to provide a place to every child”. Ieder Kind een Stoel has discussed the issue with education minister Hilde Crevits and hopes to meet with Guy Vanhengel, responsible for education in the Flemish Community Commission, which represents Flemish interests in Brussels. \ AF

\9

\ LIVING

week in activities Dance Promenade This free, city-wide dance party offers lessons, demos and flashmobs in four Antwerp locations, each with a different style: retro on Steenplein, classic on the Grote Markt, global on Groenplaats and urban on Sint-Jansvliet. 26 March 12.00-18.00, across Antwerp; free \ danspromenade.be

Copa Capanna An indoor football tournament where teams of four compete on sand, Brazilianstyle. The proceeds go to charity, and there’s lots of extras for spectators, like dance battles, a cocktail bar, football-billiards, DJs, celebrity guests and more. Competing teams can register via the website. 26 March, Kortrijk EXPO, Hall 3, Doorniksesteenweg 216, Kortrijk; €5 \ copacapanna.be

Convent tour In the past, the winter garden of the Ursuline convent near Mechelen, a beautifully preserved example of Art Nouveau stained glass, was only open to the public once a month. From 27 March, it will be open every Sunday until October for guided tours in English, French and Dutch. Reservations required via info@visitwintertuin.be.

27 March 14.30-16.30, Wintertuin OLV Waver, Bosstraat 9; €10

Easter at Bokrijk Celebrate Easter as it was done in 1913. The little ones get to find eggs in the meadow, while older kids hunt them down in the farm buildings and yards.

Costumed re-enactors depict village life and demonstrate egg-dyeing and Polish egg decorating. 27-28 March 10.00-18.00, Bokrijk Open-Air Museum, Bokrijklaan 1, Genk; €12.50 adults/€2 kids \ bokrijk.be

Cordoba on the Scheldt Get to know the ethnic and religious diversity of Antwerp during a series of guided walks to various houses of worship. The next walk on 6 April includes a Senegalese mosque, a Hasidic school, a Russian Orthodox church and a Protestant church (other routes and dates available). Registration required via the website. 6 April 13.0017.00, meet at the baobab tree, Kievitplein, Antwerp; €8 \ vormingplusantwerpen.be

\ 10

Gone fishing

The quintessentially Belgian grey shrimp is sold to us by the Dutch Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

T

he grey shrimp is generally considered one of the quintessential Belgian foods, present on every menu in the form of tomaat-garnalen or kroketten. Talk to any native, and they’re likely to become teary-eyed at the memory of sitting on the seafront at Ostend or Zeebrugge as a child, with a dish of unpeeled grey shrimp and a glass of Rodenbach for mum and dad.

Belgians consume 54% of the North Sea catch of the grey shrimp (Crangon crangon), also known in English as brown shrimp. We’re far ahead of the Dutch, who eat 20%, and the Germans on 15%.

However, this country’s share of the catch is minimal – about 300 to 500 tonnes a year, or 1-2% of what we eat. The horseback shrimp fishermen of Oostduinkerke are a familiar and picturesque tourist sight, but they’re not putting much on people’s plates.

Compared to that 500 tonnes, the Dutch hoovered up more than 15,000 tonnes in 2014, with Germany close behind on 12,592 tonnes and Denmark with 3,476 tonnes.

It wasn’t always that way. According to a special issue of the periodical West Vlaanderen Werkt (West Flanders Works), published by the province’s research department, Belgian fishermen took more than 3,000 tonnes in 1956, and almost 1,500 tonnes in 1980. Since then, Belgium’s share of the catch has plummeted as the industry has been systematically swallowed up by our Dutch neighbours.

Belgium now has only 13 shrimp fisheries, and the three largest – Liberty, De Ridder and Silverpit – are owned by Dutch companies while flying the Belgian flag and

© Toerisme Oostduinkerke/Westtoer

fishing out of Ostend. At the same time, 45% of the catch is made by Dutch boats, and 80% of the trade and handling of the shrimp is in the hands of two Dutch processors.

According to Dirk Van Roey, a shrimp trader based in Boechout, Antwerp province, “almost all Belgian dealers have to dance to the tune of the Dutch processors.

They control the market and set the prices”.

“The Belgian shrimp fleet is, like the rest of the fisheries sector,” West Vlaanderen Werkt concludes, “in a downward spiral of insufficient economy of scale, declining capacity, a lack of innovative dynamism, an over-dependence on subsidies and a thinning of the ranks.”

There is one positive aspect to the local fishing industry, however:

“The attention paid to sustainable fishing techniques is increasing.”

From a supply side, the market has huge potential. In 2011, researchers from Wageningen University in the Netherlands estimated that fisheries were only taking 15-55% of the healthy adult population of shrimp; a 2014 study by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea reckoned the total catch of 35,000 tonnes was only 46% of the potential available catch.

So why, West Vlaanderen Werkt asked Emile Brouckaert, does the Belgian fishing industry not expand to pick up some of that untouched potential? Brouckaert is the director-general of the Belgian fisheries federation Rederscentrale, based in Ostend.

The answer, he explained, lies in

several areas. Shrimp fishing has a short season, from mid-summer to the end of autumn, but the investment required to get started is substantial. “As a section of the food production sector, support mechanisms are available, but government subsidies for new vessels are out of the question for now,” he said.

In addition, the EU lays down restrictions on fishing capacity, and only existing boats are allowed to fish in the zone that includes Nieuwpoort and De Panne, about a fifth of the whole coast.

Also, “shrimp fishing is only done by smaller vessels,” Bouckaert says.

“Half of the Belgian fleet, however, is made up of larger vessels that carry out other fishing activities.

This makes expansion of the fleet practically impossible.”

BITE Hop to it: beer festival season opens in Flanders As spring approaches, thoughts turn to beer, and the beginning of the procession of beer festivals that will continue until the autumn. (In fact Bruges kicks everything off in February, but there’s always a long gap before the season really gets going, for weather reasons.)

The Easter holidays have a good selection on offer in Flanders. We’ve chosen a few to get you into training for the biggest of them all, the Zythos Beer Festival in Leuven at the end of April. No less than three of these events happen on Saturday, 26 March; our apologies for forcing you to choose.

Highly specialised is From Abbey Beer to Westvleteren, a Trappist evening organised by beer expert Harry Van Royen in Stekene, East Flanders. Find out all about the rich history of brewing by the monks of the Belgian abbeys in a style that’s become much admired and much imitated worldwide. That includes the Trappist beers, of which there are very few, most of them in Belgium.

The main attraction: the chance to taste the famed Trappist Westvleteren 12, as well as newcom-

Slightly different but still closely related to beer is a gastronomic dinner of seven courses, each of them including hopkeesten – the name given locally to the hop shoots that remain buried under the soil until they’re dug up for harvest.

Only one hop grower remains active in this part of the region – in Moorsel, East Flanders – and the tradition looks back to a time when there were many. The dinner costs €65 and includes accompanying beers. \ tinyurl.com/hopkeest

© Visit Flanders

ers to the Trappist group Spencer (US) and Tre Fontane (Italy). Not bad for €15. \ kleinsinaai.be/trappistenavond

The Kastels Bierfestival is open until 2.00 and offers 100 beers to discover, so if you’re any good at arithmetic, you may want to look up some B&Bs in the area. It takes place in the Kasterlee parish centre, just south of Turnhout, and is hosted by the Kastelse Beer Association. \ kastelsebiervereniging.be

Speaking of hops, Het Anker brewery in Mechelen would like to explain the difference between Belgian hops and the increasingly fashionable American varieties, let you taste some fresh hop shoots and answer any questions you may have, such as “What’s the difference between green hopping and fresh hopping?” Of course, illustrative beers will be served. That’s on 24 and 31 March at a cost of €20. \ AH \ hetanker.be

march 23, 2016

From petty thief to Robin Hood Our Mysterious Flanders series goes in search of the region’s hidden past Toon Lambrechts More articles by Toon \ flanderstoday.eu

V

elzeke in East Flanders is a village with a rich history. During Roman times, it served as a rest stop at the crossroads of two major trade routes, where the weary traveller could sit a spell.

Paddestraat is a remnant of one of these roads that ran from Boulogne-sur-Mer in France to Cologne in Germany, and is today protected for its historical value.

Here and there, farms from the 17th and 18th centuries still dot the stretch of land along the road, but what certainly isn’t there anymore is the house where Jan de Lichte was born, arguably the most notorious bandit to ever live in Flanders.

De Lichte was born in 1723 to impoverished middle-aged peasants. Although the family received financial support from the church, just about everyone in the household dabbled in crime. Records show that de Lichte’s older brother and his uncle were convicted of theft at one time or another.

To escape poverty, young de Lichte tried life as a soldier. He enlisted in the Austrian army and later in the Dutch army, but deserted both. In 1740, he committed his first string of crimes – robberies in the neighbouring villages of Dikkele and Strijpen – and the infamous legend was born.

In 1740, during the War of the Austrian Succession, French troops invaded the region. The occupation weighed heavily on the local population, which was already living under dire conditions. A number of people left the area to search for work elsewhere, creating the ideal breeding ground for a gang of thieves.

De Lichte, who had by then built a notorious reputation for himself, gathered a group of lowlifes and plundered isolated farms, taking shelter in the nearby Raspaille forest.

They were a tough bunch; quarrels between them weren’t uncommon, be it over stolen goods or local farm girls.

There are no historical records to indicate that de Lichte was ever the leader of the pack, but when the internal disputes began to escalate, he decided to finish off his rivals one by one. When the French and Austrian armies signed a peace treaty in 1748, the French forces intensified their search for the notorious gang.

The pursuit was swift, and by September de

© Toon Lambrechts

Thieves may have lurked in the woods near Velzeke, but Sherwood Forest it most certainly wasn’t

Lichte was arrested along with most of the members of his gang. On 14 November, he was tied to a wooden wheel and beaten to death in the central square in Aalst.

Although the gang never stole anything of particularly substantial value, the word about their activities spread until the legend outgrew reality. Thefts committed by other groups were often credited to them.

De Lichte soon became a folk hero. Louis Paul Boon, one of the most celebrated Flemish writers of the 20th century, immortalised him as a freedom fighter, a local Robin Hood who aimed to start a social revolution. There is no historical evidence as to whether that was actually the case, but the novels were a huge success, and to this day shape the public perception of de Lichte.

When Boon died in 1979, the local council in Aalst, where he was born, decided to honour the author with a statue. The sculptor who

was commissioned to create it made one of de Lichte instead. This didn’t sit well with the council, which decided to give it away to Velzeke, the birthplace of the robber.

The small village, however, wasn’t keen on keeping it either, and poor de Lichte found himself shipped off to Antwerp, where he now stands on Bolivarplaats in front of the city’s newly built courthouse. An ironic resting place for Flanders’ most notorious criminal.

Leaving the Flemish Sherwood Forest, a short drive northeast brings us to Belsele, now part of Sint-Niklaas. According to one legend, this quiet place was once a large and prosperous town. But its citizens lived a life so sinful, God himself found it necessary to punish them.

One day, all the buildings in Belsele sank into the ground, leaving no trace behind. Since then, every Christmas Eve, the church bells

50 weekends in Flanders: Hike in the dunes Flanders Today has launched an e-book with ideas for how to spend a year’s worth of weekends. Visit our website to get your free copy of 50 Weekends in Flanders. We’ll also print one of our suggestions every week here, too.

You can walk along the entire length of the Flemish coast from De Panne to Het Zwin following the marked trails that make up the kustwandelroute. The route has been cleverly put together to lead you along quiet footpaths, past historical landmarks and through muddy bird reserves, avoiding as far as possible the noisy crowds. \ kustwandelroute.be

DE HAAN The dunes between De Haan and Wenduine were planted with pine trees in the 19th

can be heard ringing where the city once stood.

Today, the fateful area is part of a Roman settlement called Steenwerk. During building works in the 1960s, a team of archaeologists dug out remains of the ancient settlement. Archaeologists confirmed that it was the remains of a Roman villa, but that didn’t stop many locals from believing otherwise.

Legends of cities and castles swallowed up by the earth are not uncommon in Flanders. The people of Bathseers in Limburg, for instance, cherish the myth of the Count of Bovelingen, whose fortress vanished because he acquired stolen goods. Residents of Zoutleeuw in Flemish Brabant like to tell a similar story.

Historians have a simple answer for why tales like these are so prevalent: It was a way for our ancestors to make sense of the archaeological remains of long-forgotten times.

TINYURL.COM/50WEEKENDS

century. You can follow a meandering trail through the woods for an hour or so, and then return to De Haan along a broad sandy beach.

spot rare breeding birds like the Tawny Pipit as well as a herd of Shetland ponies brought here to keep the grasses from taking over.

NIEUWPOORT This is a fascinating walk that takes you through the IJzermonding nature reserve.

Begin by crossing the river on the little red ferry that runs across the estuary from Nieuwpoort to the nature reserve. Here you can wander through empty salt flats spotting migrating birds and the occasional seal riding the tide.

BAAI VAN HEIST Not many people know about the small nature reserve that lies to the west of Heist.

You can wander through a small area of dunes and return to Heist along the empty beach. A footbridge takes you across the main road to another nature reserve where rare birds sometimes gather.

DE PANNE TO BRAY-DUNES The coast often looks like an unbroken line of apartment buildings, but there are still areas of wild dunes where you can wander along deserted trails. One of the wildest walks takes

© Courtesy Toerisme Vlaanderen

you through the dunes between De Panne and the French beach town of Bray-Dunes, where Belgians like to go to drink a glass of French picon.

TER YDE NATURE RESERVE A wild area of dunes stretches for several kilometres just behind Oostduinkerke. Here you can wander along marked trails and possibly

HET ZWIN The Zwin is a nature reserve of marshland and dunes lying to the east of Knokke. You can set off on foot on marked trails that lead eventually to the small Dutch beach town of Cadzand. \ Derek Blyth

\ 11

95% of parents said BSB was their first school of choice* “The French/English bilingual programme is what attracted us to BSB and has been an enriching experience for our girls.

The children clearly enjoy going to school and have fun whilst learning.”

Mrs Nikla Lancksweert from UK, who chose BSB for her children.

Your No.1 school of choice *

According to a recent independent parent survey

To find out why, visit www.britishschool.be/whyBSB

Hey you.

Yes, you, with the smartphone.

There is an app for Flanders Today, you know, which makes it super easy to keep up with daily news and features anywhere at any time on your smartphone or tablet There are 2 easy ways to download the app: visit www.fl www.flanderstoday.eu anderstoday.eu and click on “Download the Flanders Today app” or go straight to your app store – Android or iOS, makes no diff difference erence

CHECK OUT OUR COOL-LOOKING, EASY TO MANOEUVRE APP HOMEPAGE

’RE YOU N CTIO E SE H T O CTLY T THE LEFT SIDE TAKES YOU DIRE

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U GO DIRECTLY TO A SECTION, AR IF YO TICLE S LOO K LI KE T HIS If you download the pdf, it looks just like the paper you’re holding in your hand (but your fingers fingers won’t get all black)

Did we mention that the Flanders Today app is free?

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\ ARTS

march 23, 2016

Lose the illusion

week in arts & CULTURE Rubens’ mum’s last will and testament discovered

App brings stylised outdoor portraits to life in Hasselt Diana Goodwin Follow Diana on Twitter \ @basedinbelgium

LIESJEREYSKENS.COM

A city-wide exhibition uses digital technology to add extra layers to huge, hyper-realistic images, which are never quite what they seem.

A

billboard-sized photograph of a woman veiled in white looms over a narrow street in Hasselt’s old city centre. Suddenly, she raises her arm and flexes her bicep, then winks at the viewer.

No, you’re not hallucinating. “High Morality” is one of 10 works that make up the art project Decamerone. The photographs, placed in outdoor locations throughout the city, come to life with the help of a free app.

Liesje Reyskens, the Flemish artist behind Decamerone, has used this kind of augmented reality in her work before. When the viewer holds a device in front of a photograph so the image is visible on the screen, a short film plays within the boundaries of the image, creating the illusion that the photograph has come to life.

Reyskens’ work features stylised, hyper-realistic portraits of femininity set against bright, artificial backdrops. The women wear lots of makeup

Let’s Go Urban gets new home Antwerp urban art and street culture organisation Let’s Go Urban has been given a permanent home by the city, just days after the group, created in 2010

by Sihame El Kaouakibi, was turned down for structural subsidy by the Flemish government's advisory committee.

The City of Antwerp will also put up €1 million for the building, a former event centre in the Kiel district, to be converted to the needs of the non-profit. Let’s Go Urban is known for giving a creative space to at-risk and immigrant youth.

I wanted to investigate why we use the same images, even though we’re from different cultures and stare blankly; the few men are young and androgynous, with long hair and smooth cheeks.

But in the animated clips, the static image of perfection is revealed to be just an illusion, as the perfectly pretty girls struggle with their picture-perfect environments.

“I always work with girls, and I really love colour,” says Reyskens. “My style developed while I was still in school, and it’s continued to evolve since then, but always with the same theme: a young woman who’s at a certain point in her life, between being a woman and being a girl, always at a tipping point.”

When Reyskens started, she was the same age as the girls in her photos, she adds. “I’m getting older, but in my mind, it’s still my world.”

The title of the work is taken from a collection of stories by 14th-century Italian writer Giovanni Bocaccio. Ten young people gather at a villa in the country and take turns telling tales about love in all its forms. Many of the titles in Reyskens’ Decamerone also allude to love and its complications: “Fatal Love”, “Love Through Adversity”.

For Reyskens, love is a lens through which other issues can be explored, such as motherhood, social media and censorship. The photos raise questions about the portrayal and performance of femininity, while the embedded videos confound our expectations and add another level of complexity to the image.

Both the photographs and the videos can also be taken purely at face value: as colourful images that brighten up the urban landscape, and as funny vignettes in which the characters do silly things. In this way, Decamerone is also meant to appeal to children. There’s even a puzzle that kids can solve using clues in the pictures, with a

An amateur historian has uncovered the last will and testament of Maria Pijpelinckx, the mother of Antwerp painter Pieter Paul Rubens, in the state archives in Ghent. Willy Stevens was looking for information on the local history of Vinderhoute when he stumbled on the document, dating from 1583. The will “reveals new information about Rubens family dynamics,” said historian Thijs Lambrecht of Ghent University. The future Flemish master was only six years old at the time but had already been chosen by his mother to inherit the family wool-trading business. Although the will was drawn up when Pijpelinckx was seriously ill, she lived another 25 years. The document will now be restored in Brussels and sent to the state archives site in Beveren for storage.

Treurenberg building wins Mipim Award

Liesje Reyskens’ idealised images transform before your eyes using a smartphone app

prize if they find the answer.

The project in Hasselt represents a sort of homecoming for the young photographer, who is from Limburg and studied at the MAD-Faculty in Genk, part of the Luca School of Arts.

“Decamerone is unique because it was made especially for us. It’s not a copy-and-paste project,” says the city’s alderwoman for culture, Karolien Mondelaers. “This is really a project that we can link to the image we want to have: a child-friendly, art-and-culture-friendly city where creativity is very important.”

Reyskens has also been commissioned by the city to do a series of installations in the Japanese Garden. Some of the photographs were taken during her six-month residency in Japan last year, when she explored the relationship between her own work and the Japanese idea of kawaii, meaning “cute”.

“I wanted to investigate why we use the same images, even though we come from different cultures,” she says.

The Decamerone and Japanese Garden projects are linked by this correlation between Reyskens’ visual aesthetic and the kawaii culture of Japan,

with its fetishisation of all things cute and girly.

Like the women in Reyskens’ photographs, Japanese adherents to kawaii dress in ultra-feminine clothes and favour bright pastels.

Reyskens’ interest in Japan helped shape both projects in Hasselt. “This year we are celebrating 150 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Belgium,” says Mondelaers. “And Liesje went to Japan last year, and so we said, let’s put everything together: a wonderful art project for adults and children, with a link to Japan. Let’s put the kawaii aspect of Japanese culture into this project.”

Other photographs taken in the Japanese Garden will be enhanced with augmented reality using the same app as Decamerone. The works in the garden will be on view starting this Saturday until 31 October.

A map of the 10 locations is available in the city’s tourist office and the free app (“Liesje Reyskens Art”) is available for Android and iOS

Until 31 May

Brussels’ Treurenberg office building has won Best Innovative Green Building at the Mipim Awards in Cannes, one of the world’s most prestigious award ceremonies for commercial developments in the world. It is the first Mipim award for a Belgian development in four years.

The Treurenberg, designed

by Assar Architects of Brussels and owned by development firm AXA Belgium, is a net zero-energy office building, meaning it produces as much energy as it consumes.

Located in Brussels-City on the corner of Treurenbergstraat and Leuvenseplein, it is the first zero-energy building in Belgium. Antwerp’s Groen Kwartier (Green Quarter) was also nominated for a Mipim Award in the category Best Urban Regeneration Project, and the Toison d’Or building in Brussels was nominated for Best Residential Development. \ treurenberg.be

Across Hasselt

\ 13

\ ARTS

De Stijl council

Etchings and the avant-garde: double bill of Dutch art at Bozar Christophe Verbiest More articles by Christophe \ flanderstoday.eu

BOZAR.BE

Brussels centre of fine arts Bozar explores the avant-garde, looks at a Dutch master in monochrome and examines new visions for the future of Europe in three exhibitions linked to the Netherlands’ presidency of the Council of the EU.

T

o celebrate the Dutch presidency of the Council of the European Union, which runs until July, the Netherlands has set up a range of cultural activities across Brussels. Three exhibitions at Bozar catch the eye: modernist Theo Van Doesburg, good old Rembrandt and the ambitious but still incomplete Imagine Europe.

Theo Van Doesburg: A New Expression of Life, Art and Technology not only fits in the programme for the Dutch presidency, it’s also part of a larger cycle of exhibitions that Bozar is organising this year about the importance and meaning of the avant-garde.

Utrecht-born Van Doesburg, who lived from 1883 until 1931, was part of the avant-garde of the interwar years. With painter Piet Mondriaan and architect and designer Gerrit Rietveld, he spearheaded neoplasticism, or De Stijl (the Style), the artistic movement founded in 1917.

He was a versatile artist: painter, poet, interior designer, graphic artist and arts theorist. All these aspects of his practice are present in Theo Van Doesburg, as are the links between his art and that of his contemporaries. In fact, of the more than 140 works here, only a third are by Van Doesburg.

Until a century ago, Rembrandt was more famous for his graphic work than for his paintings “It was time to appreciate his place in art history. Everyone knows Mondriaan, but no one knows Van Doesburg,” says Gladys Fabre, the exhibition’s French curator. “My starting point was a manifesto he wrote in 1922 in which he was looking for a new expression of life, art and science. This refers to his belief in an interaction between all art disciplines.”

That much is clear from the first room of the exhibition, where geometric abstract paintings by Mondriaan or Georges Vantonger-

\ 14

© Loan Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE), on loan to Museum De Lakenhal, Leiden

Theo van Doesburg, Composition III, 1917

loo hang next to decorative windows by Van Doesburg that follow the same colour scheme (pictured above).

Despite being unmistakably a member of De Stijl, Van Doesburg also had a Dadaist period, mainly as a poet and graphic designer – works that are close to those of Kurt Schwitters, whose collages are among the highlights of the Bozar show.

This Dadaist phase is just one example of how Van Doesburg kept evolving in the 14 years between the inception of De Stijl and his untimely death. It’s an evolution both in style and medium. You can see drawings, for instance, that Van Doesburg made for the interior of a university hall in Amsterdam, the colour scheme for a cinema and dance hall or the design for a tiled floor.

The exhibition is also strong in showing the influence of De Stijl on other European artists, some of them now almost forgotten, like the German Walter Dexel or the Hungarian Vilmos Huszár. That’s where, ultimately, the power of this exhibition lies: not only in showing an overview of Van Doesburg’s work, but also in giving the visi-

tor a feeling of the vibrant time the interbellum was for the artists of De Stijl.

A smaller exhibition, in scale though not in scope, is Rembrandt in Black & White, presenting more than 80 etchings by the 17th-century Dutch master. Famous, first and foremost, for his paintings like “The Night Watch” or “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp”, he was also an inspired etcher. All the works in the exhibition come from the private collection of Dutch collector Jaap Mulders.

Etching is a technique of printmaking that was highly important in spreading a painter’s name in the era before photography, since the works could be reproduced endlessly. Paintings, almost always hanging in private collections, could very seldom be seen.

“It’s difficult to imagine now, but, until a century ago, Rembrandt was more famous for his graphic work than for his paintings,” says Mulders. “The first catalogue of his etchings appeared in 1751, the first one with his paintings two centuries later.”

An etching is rarely a unique piece, but all the works in the exhibitions are original 17th-century prints,

made by Rembrandt or under his supervision in his studio. And, of course, Rembrandt made the amazingly detailed drawings on which the etchings are based. They are grouped in six categories: biblical scenes, genre scenes and beggars, landscapes, nudes, portraits and self-portraits.

If you consider his paintings, you’ll have to admit that, despite the qualities of the better-known

masterpieces mentioned above, Rembrandt’s art reached its peak in his self-portraits: from paintings as a bewildered young man until the famous final self-reflection with his puffed-up face, finished a few months before his death in 1669.

Rembrandt in Black & White shows that as an etcher, too, he reaches the pinnacle of his art when he portrays himself: unabashed, but never totally free of a touch of vanity.

The ambitious Imagine Europe: In Search of New Narratives was due to have opened at the same time as the other two exhibitions. After being postponed, initially for a month, it has now been rescheduled again and should open on 13 April.

It’s billed as “not a classical exhibition, but a cross between an agora, a laboratory and an atelier”. A discussion room will host debates and lectures on themes such as migration and democracy. A varied series of videos – fiction, animation, documentary – will examine possible models for change in Europe.

Across 12 rooms, visual artists and architects develop their views of new narratives for Europe. Among them is Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, who made a lifelike copy of the office of Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission.

The timeless installation “D’est”

by Belgian Chantal Akerman, who died last year, will be on show. And Flemish artist Ives Maes presents his “Recyclable Refugee Camp”, a project he started in 2003: a refugee camp built from fully compostable polyester, an ironic shot at making “100% ethical art”.

The opening of Imagine Europe has been postponed to 13 April; all three exhibitions run until 29 May, Bozar, Ravensteinstraat 23, Brussels

© Stichting Rembrandt op Reis

Rembrandt’s portrait of Abraham Francken, apothecary, 1657

\ AGENDA

march 23, 2016

Sending out a state of mind

CONCERT

BRDCST 24-27 March

Brussels Four of a Kind: Jazz quartet dedicated to swing, featuring young Flemish musicians on piano, guitar, bass and drums.

30 March 21.30, Sounds Jazz Club, Tulpstraat 28

Ancienne Belgique abconcerts.be

I

t’s not about names, but about a state of mind at the BRDCST music festival at Brussels’ Ancienne Belgique. At least, that’s the impression you get when taking a good look at the line-up of the event’s maiden edition, uniting a hybrid of cutting-edge electronics, indie pop, jazz and world music in the days leading up to Easter.

The cosmopolitan vibes of foreign cross-genre festivals such as Le Guess Who? and Incubate tempted AB artistic director Kurt Overbergh to try something similar in the capital of Europe.

“We want to demolish the barriers between genres,” he says, adding that AB strives all year to gather more colourful sounds from across the world, moving away from what he calls the “white All Tomorrow’s Parties syndrome”.

Among others, BRDCST – a nod to the influen-

tial British band Broadcast – invites boundarybreaking jazz collectives such as GoGo Penguin, the Congolese revelation Mbongwana Star (pictured), indie-favourite Battles and a bunch of innovative artists on the roster of the Ghent indie label Consouling Sounds.

Innerwoud and the mesmerising trio of composer, pianist and neoclassical soundscaper Michael Price perform in the Brussels City Archives in the Marollen quarter. All the other action is in and around the AB, with a special mention for Huis 23, the living room/ concert space above the venue’s bar, where gigs, lectures and accompanying exhibitions are free of charge.

In a pop-up bee bar, beers will be served containing honey provided by bees living on the roof of the building.

\ soundsjazzclub.be

© Michel Winter

“Like a radio show, we literally want to distribute our sound waves and share who’s inspiring us,” Overberg says. He has also written a festival manifesto that will gradually be revealed during the first three editions of the festival “to give it time to grow”. \ Tom Peeters

THEATRE

OPERA

In the Eyes of Heaven

Der König Kandaules

24-25 March, 20.30

Kaaitheater, Brussels kaaitheater.be

This new theatre piece, co-produced by Kaaitheater and directed by Ruud Gielens, explores the role of women in the Arab world. Israeli actress Hiam Abbass (The Red Tent, Rock the Casbah) stars as a downtrodden mother who sees in the Arab Spring a glimmer of hope – if not for her then for her daughter. It’s a fraught subject, but the artists have all the right credentials. The script is written

by French Islamic scholar Rachid Benzine. Gielens, a Flemish stage director, moved to Cairo in 2009, where he had a front-row seat to one of the Arab Spring’s major episodes. (In English, with surtitles in Dutch and French)

25 March to 24 April Modernist composer Alexander Zemlinsky’s 1930s opera Der König Kandaules bridged the mythical and the contemporary. The action revolves around a boastful Greek king who exhibits his naked wife for his own aggrandisement.

Unsurprisingly, the plan backfires.

Zemlinsky’s staging was to be as modern visually as it was it was musically; the climactic voyeur

kets n ow

Opera Antwerp and Ghent operaballet.be

scene was to leave nothing to the imagination. Unsurprisingly, the plan backfired. The Nazis chased the Jewish composer out of his native Austria, and his new neighbours, the Americans, stymied and censored him. The opera only premiered in 1996, a half-century after his death. (In the original German, with Dutch surtitles) \ GV

Ennio Morricone: The 87-year-old composer of such luminary film scores as Once Upon a Time in America, Days of Heaven and The Hateful Eight performs two exclusive open-air concerts with a full symphony orchestra. 25-26 June 20.00, Sint-Pietersplein \ enniomorriconegent.be

VISUAL ARTS Brussels Bruegel: Unseen Masterpieces: Delve into the works of 16th-century Flemish master Pieter Bruegel the Elder in this unique collaboration with the Google Cultural Institute, featuring virtual experiences allowing visitors to home in on details in the paintings. Until 16 March, Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Regentschapsstraat 3 \ fine-arts-museum.be

Ostend Patrick Corillon: The Real Mu.ZEE Imaginaire: A year-long series of art interventions in and outside the museum by the coastborn artist, including creative methods of displaying the museum’s collection to performances based on it.

Until 31 December, Mu.ZEE, Romestraat 11 \ muzee.be

FAMILY

\ Georgio Valentino

Ghent

© Jean-Léon Gérome, “King Candaules”

VISUAL ARTS

FAMILY

City Lights

Springtij

24 March to 28 August

get tic

Ghent

Mima, Brussels mimamuseum.eu

26 March to 10 April

Across Ostend springtij-oostende.be

Spekken Children’s Theatre Festival: Candy-themed theatre festival featuring performances, plus arts and crafts workshops for children aged two to 12. 28 March to 1 April, Tinnenpot, Tinnenpotstraat 21

\ spekken.be

This month Brussels welcomes its newest museum. The Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art (Mima) occupies three floors of postindustrial space in the fast-gentrifying canal district. As the name suggests, the institution is dedicated to showcasing new art that pushes the aesthetic and political envelope, especially those forms

enabled by contemporary urban culture and social media. Its inaugural exhibition features four fresh American artists: mural painter Maya Hayuk, graffiti artist MOMO, installation artist Swoon and culture-jamming duo FAILE. The unifying theme is contemporary cosmopolitanism and its socially progressive potential. \ GV

Spring has sprung, and that means one thing: It’s time to relieve your children’s cabin fever. This kidoriented cultural festival gives them plenty to do over the Easter holiday. The programme is packed with dozens of activities, from theatre to artistic workshops to beach sports to Easter egg hunts and much more. Among the more

exotic offerings is contemporary arts centre Vrijstaat O’s Klankkaffee, an interactive sonic installation created by local artist and musician Hans Beckers. Many events have limited capacity, so advance registration is recommended. \ GV

EVENT Sint-Niklaas Dit is morgen (This is Tomorrow): Flemish journalist and philosopher Thomas Decreus discusses the potential for a society to change for the better, turning seemingly utopian dreams – a 30-hour work week, fairly distributed wealth, free public transport – into reality. (in Dutch) 24 March 19.3022.00, Sint-Niklaas Library, Hendrik Heymanplein 3 \ ccsint-niklaas.be

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\ BACKPAGE

march 23, 2016

Talking Dutch One man went to mow

In response to: Antwerp officers accused of extortion and violence against immigrants Danielle Robertson: I hope it is treated seriously, as any case of prejudice or corruption should be. This is a reality that many countries face, and I’m glad to see Antwerp doing their part to stop it.

Derek Blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

I

t used to be that Sunday was sacred in Belgium. You couldn’t cut your grass or buy anything in the shops apart from a baguette or a bunch of flowers. People from more liberal countries like the US or the UK would often be astonished. Why do these Stalinists say I can’t cut my grass when I want?

Well, the maaiverbod op zondag – the ban on mowing on Sunday, has now been abolished in several Flemish municipalities, most recently Sint-Katelijne-Waver.

Grasmaaien mag voortaan ook op zondag – you can now cut the grass on a Sunday, the council has told residents.

The reason is simple. Voor tweeverdieners is het niet makkelijk om op zaterdag Ên de boodschappen Ên alle huishoudelijke klussen te doen – for couples who both work, it’s not easy to do both the shopping and all the housework on Saturday.

But not everyone is happy with the relaxed rules. Raak niet aan zondag rustdag – don’t mess with Sunday as a day of rest, one critic said. Voor je het weet zijn we die voor altijd kwijt – before you know it, we’ve lost it for good. Terwijl we die nooit zo hard nodig hadden als nu – and we’ve never needed it as much as we do now.

Some people in Flanders are fighting to preserve het laatste moment van stilte en rust – the final moment of peace and quiet. Some are doing this for religious reasons. But most just want to preserve the special peace of a Sunday.

Sociologist Ignace Glorieux of the Free University of Brussel (VUB) understands why people want to cut the grass on Sunday. Mensen vinden dat ze zelf moeten kunnen beslissen wanneer ze grasmaaien – people think they should be able to decide for themselves when they cut the grass, of wanneer ze naar de supermarkt gaan – or when they go to the supermarket. De overheid moet

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niet in onze plaats kiezen – the government shouldn’t be allowed to make the decision for us.

This isn’t necessarily good for us, he argues. De regeltjes zoals een maaiverbod leiden net tot die typische zondagsfeer – the rules such as the ban on mowing the lawn contribute to a typical Sunday atmosphere. Het is stil op straat – it’s quiet on the streets, mensen moeten niet werken – people don’t have to work. Wat zorgt voor een zekere rust en gezelligheid – which creates a certain sense of peace and conviviality.

One Flemish mayor has argued that people just need to be more organised. Mensen moeten maar beter plannen – people just have to plan their lives more carefully. Grasmaaien duurt amper een uurtje – it only takes an hour to cut the grass, dat kan net zo goed tijdens de week – you can do that just as easily during the week. De zondag is er om te rusten – Sunday is a day of rest.

And there is one small town in East Flanders that resolutely insists that Sunday is a holy day. It is called Nazareth.

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Poll

a. Absolutely. Non-smokers, especially children, should be protected from second-hand smoke wherever possible

46% b. A bridge too far! What's next? Parking lots, public parks? Leave the smokers be, already

15% c. How about a compromise? These kinds of public venues should be required to have decent and wellmarked smoking areas

38% though a sizeable minority think that an outright ban is perhaps a less-than-friendly way to reduce the number of people affected by second-hand smoke. While railway platforms are perhaps a last bastion, it’s seems quite reasonable to be able to stand in line at Plopsaland without breathing in

other people’s smoke.

So those people took us up on our compromise proposal: Require public venues to create a smoking area – not out back by the bins, but a decent, comfortable space to relax for a few minutes with a cigarette. That might just make everyone happy.

\ Next week's question: The Flemish Education Council has suggested allowing teachers to provide basic medical help to pupils, such as checking blood sugar and dispensing prescription drugs (see p9). What do you think?

Log on to the Flanders Today website at www.flanderstoday.eu and click on VOTE!

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Jeroen Wils @jeroenwils New shoes, new energy! Ready for a new #running season! First goal: Antwerp 10 Miles!

Stephen Shankland stshank The @imec_int tower in Leuven, Belgium, gives me vertigo, but what a view from the top floor!

Veerle Pieters @vpieters I’ve met Marijke. She’s responsible for keeping the little chapels pretty with violets around Oudenaarde‌

Lauren Chassebi @laurenchassebi Brugge, you've been wonderful đ&#x;˜˘

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the last word

Do you think Belgium’s smoking ban should be extended to open-air venues like amusement parks and football stadiums?

Anti-cancer fund Kom op tegen kanker made headlines this month by suggesting that Belgium’s smoking ban in restaurants, bars and other public places be extended to open-air venues such as amusement parks, football stadiums and even railway platforms.

Almost half of our readers agree,

VoiceS of flanders today

Banker’s remorse

The front-line

“I want to be able to look back proudly on my professional life.

That would have been extremely difficult if I had remained in the financial sector.�

Vincent De Brouwer, the new director-general of Greenpeace Belgium, comes to the organisation from a career in banking

“I knew there was a whole police force between us. But still, you’re running on adrenaline; you’re feeding on the tension that hangs in the air. At the same time, you’re thinking about what you have to say: Is it clear what I’m talking about? Am I forgetting something?�

Mamma mia

VRT News reporter Caroline Van Den Berghe on a busy week reporting on terrorist incidents

“Make sure you always have enough spaghetti sauce in the freezer.�

Child psychiatrist Peter Adrianssens gives advice on handling teenagers in Het Nieuwsblad. Make friends with their friends, including inviting them to dinner at a moment’s notice

Greatly exaggerated “The atmosphere here is congenial. We even had some cake.�

Prime minister Charles Michel comments on reports that federal budget discussions are tense

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