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july 6, 2016 \ newsweekly - € 0,75 \ read more at www.flanderstoday.eu current affairs \ p2

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Spurred to victory

Flanders Investment & Trade has handed out its annual Export Lion awards to software firms that have become world leaders in their sector

A VUB professor is reaching out to young people who self-harm and teaching their families how to stop panicking and start helping

In 1302, a rag-tag group of Flemish farmers defeated French knights on horseback, an event celebrated every July to this day

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From across the world

International students find experience of a lifetime at Flemish universities Senne Starckx More articles by Senne \ flanderstoday.eu

Every year, some 10,000 international students enrol in local universities as part of a study abroad programme. We asked some of them: Why Flanders?

very year, Flemish colleges and universities welcome thousands of foreign exchange students. Most of them come to the region as part of the Erasmus+ programme, the EU’s student mobility project that has served some one million students since 1987. According to recent statistics, Flanders is one of the most popular destinations for Erasmus students in Europe. With almost 10,000 arrivals per year, the region occupies the 10th

spot, leaving behind all the Scandinavian countries and all of Eastern Europe. What motivates these students to trade their halls of residence in London, Barcelona, Berlin, Rome or Paris for a semester, or even an entire year, in Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp or Hasselt? Now that the academic year has come to an end, we set out to ask the question. Epos, the Flemish government agency that co-ordinates student mobility and internationalisation, doesn’t really keep track of incoming students; it only takes into account Flemish students going abroad. But the universities and colleges do keep track.

“We had 521 incoming exchange students this year,” says Tim Berckmans, from the international relations office at Antwerp University. “These are both Erasmus students and those from outside Europe and on other exchange programmes.” Most of the foreign students in Antwerp came from Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. The top five hasn’t changed all that much over the past few years. “We have noticed, however, an increase in the number of Italian students applying to our university,” says Berckmans. Before they leave Antwerp, Berckmans give the international students a questionnaire, which asks them to continued on page 7

\ CURRENT AFFAIRS

Surge in nationality requests from British residents

Brussels sees immediate increase in requests for citizenship following EU referendum Alan Hope Follow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

he UK’s departure from the European Union has yet to be officially started, but British residents in Brussels are wasting no time in looking into the possibility of becoming Belgian citizens in order to remain within the EU. Elsene is the Brussels municipality with the most British residents (1,535). Delphine Bourgeois, city councillor in charge of European affairs, said that Brexit was “a sorry affair” and that the council was “very sensitive to the disappointment” of British residents. “For the British who have lived here a long time, this is unthinkable,” she said. “Some people feel like they have lost a family member.” Elsene has received about a dozen requests for naturalisation and some 30 requests for information. At the same time, Bourgeois said, the circumstances have offered the council an opportunity to emphasise its European conviction, with the creation of an Advice Council on European

matters, which will organise thematic evenings and working groups. The town hall in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe, meanwhile, a munic-

ipality with 800 UK residents, has reported 14 requests for citizenship. Ukkel, where 802 British are resident, has received 11. “This is unheard of,” said Ukkel councillor for population Boris Dilles. The day after the vote, “we had 10 or so British residents who wanted to know about nationality,” said Bernard Guillaume, responsible for civil status in Schaarbeek. In Etterbeek, the municipality closest to the European quarter, the numbers were greater. “One day after, there were about 20, but in recent months we’ve had at least one person a day inquiring about the procedure,” said an official. Brussels-City, the largest municipality in the region, has received eight applications from its 1,300 British residents. Many of those who request it are likely to obtain Belgian nationality. Conditions include residence for five years, financial independence, social integration and knowledge of one of the three national languages.

Pedestrian zone: Brussels pulls urban planning permit The Brussels-Capital Region has withdrawn the urban planning permits for the redesign of the pedestrian zone in Brussels, minister-president Rudi Vervoort announced. The decision was made after the region received negative advice from the auditor of the Council of State in a case brought by two retailer associations. The auditor said there had not been sufficient discussion with local businesses before the Brussels-City council went ahead with the creation of the zone, shutting down traffic on the main arteries through the city centre and

diverting it via a wide loop through narrow side streets. The auditor said the breach of procedure was enough to suspend the plans. The advice is not binding on the Council of State, a decision from which is still awaited. The auditor’s advice, however, is followed more often than not. Brussels-City mayor Yvan Mayeur and the councillor in charge of mobility have said that any negative advice would not prevent the works from going ahead. But Vervoort has

decided to pull the region’s permits from the city. Brussels now has to go through the permit application procedure again. Vervoort claims the decision will not cause serious delays: new permits could be ready by the end of the year. Mayeur disagrees. “Thanks to all the damages claims and requests, the works on the pedestrian zone will suffer delays in one way or another,” he said. “At the moment we’re looking with our lawyers into which works we can start, pending a new urban planning permit.” \ AH

Belgium tumble out of Euro 2016 after defeat by Wales Belgium are out of the European Championship after a 3-1 defeat by Wales in the quarter-finals that raises questions about the future of coach Marc Wilmots. The Red Devils looked crushed on the final whistle in Lille last Friday, having paid the price for a tactical naivety that saw their defence repeatedly overrun. Bidding to reach their first major semi-final since they lost to Diego Maradona’s Argentina in the 1986 World Cup, Belgium started brightly enough, when Radja Nainggolan put them ahead with a 25-yard strike after just 13 minutes. Wales captain Ashley Williams equalised after half an hour, and second-half

strikes by Hal Robson-Kanu and substitute Sam Vokes gave them victory.

89%

of Flemish holidaymakers are heading for a European destination this year, compared to 85% last year. Six out of 10 families said their travel plans had been influenced by terrorist attacks

Belgium are ranked second in the world by Fifa and had reached the quarter-finals with a 4-0 defeat of Hungary in the previous round. With Lille just 16 kilometres from the border, more than 100,000 Belgians descended on the city, leaving the vocal Welsh contingent hugely outnumbered in the stadium. But Belgium were missing key players: the injured Jan Vertonghen, Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Lombaerts, and the suspended Thomas Vermaelen. The rearranged defence looked scrappy and out of place, much to the frustration of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who later declined to back coach Wilmots. \ Leo Cendrowicz

Diest rest home must pay damages after refusing euthanasia A Catholic rest home in Diest, Flemish Brabant, that refused to carry out a request for euthanasia had no right to do so, a court in Leuven has ruled. Sint-Annendael Grauwzusters, which manages the Sint-Augustinus rest home, was ordered to pay €6,000 damages to the woman’s family. The patient, 74-year-old Mariette Buntjens, was suffering from terminal lung cancer and had made an end-of-life agreement with her doctor. When the time came for euthanasia to be carried out, the home refused her doctor access. Her family eventually removed her from the home, and the procedure was carried out. According to the family, this caused her unnecessary suffering. According to the court, the home had no right to come between the patient and her attending physician, especially as it could not show any failure on their part in following the law. Euthanasia law in Belgium allows a doctor to refuse to carry out the procedure, but the Leuven case resolves the question of whether an institution such as a rest home can do the same – with the court ruling it cannot, regardless of any religious affiliation. \ AH

€5.4 million

174.6 mm

invested in new audio-visual projects, including a film by Rundskop director Michaël R Roskam starring Matthias Schoenaerts and an adaptation of Tom Lanoye’s best-selling book Sprakeloos

of rainfall last month, the most ever recorded in the month of June since records began in the 19th century, according to Belgium’s Royal Meteorological Institute

of job students are working with no contract and undeclared, despite changes to the law making it easier for young people to work under a special regime of social charges

in lottery winnings remained unclaimed in 2015, slightly less than the year before. The total is made up of many small amounts, and winners have 20 weeks to pick up their winnings

july 6, 2016

WEEK in brief The government of Flanders has prolonged the lease of the building housing Kaaitheater in Brussels’ canal zone until 2052, with a promise to subsidise the rent of €566,000 a year. The theatre has plans for renovation and expansion, including a new dance studio and co-operation with the planned new art museum in the nearby Citroen building. A Schaarbeek jeweller who fired on two armed robbers in 2010, killing one, has been sentenced to three years suspended by a court in Brussels. The court ruled the shooting was not self-defence because the robbers were fleeing – with about €10,000 in cash and jewellery – and the jeweller was no longer in danger. The second robber was seriously injured. The European Commission has begun an investigation into alleged abuses of power by AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer, based in Leuven. The company is accused of taking measures to prevent its own labels coming into Belgium from cheaper countries, including the Netherlands and France. The company allegedly pressured drinks wholesalers to refuse competing beer imports or lose discounts and other advantages from AB InBev. “We are fully co-operating with the Commission,” the company said in a statement. “It would not be appropriate for us to comment on the substance or potential consequences of the on-going investigation.” Herman De Croo, veteran politician and father of federal minister Alexander De Croo, has sent a letter to all 308 mayors in Flanders to warn them of the invasive thistle. According to the law, landowners must destroy the fastspreading plant on their property. If they do not, the local authority may do so at the owner’s expense. But too many municipalities are ignoring the problem, De Croo

face of flanders said, helping the thistles to spread and become more intractable. The government of the Brussels-Capital Region has passed the Small Business Act to offer support to small businesses, about 33 of which are created in the capital every day. More than 80 measures are planned by 2020, including support for unemployed people to start new businesses and better access to credit for start-ups. A full list of measures was due to be revealed as Flanders Today went to press. Flemish mobility minister Ben Weyts has described as “premature” reports in the Dutch media that an agreement has been reached between the Dutch province of Limburg and Flanders over the long-awaited Spartacus tram link between Hasselt and Maastricht. According to Weyts, the plan – which would see the tram terminate somewhere other than Maastricht station because the Dutch do not want to invest in reinforcing a bridge over the Maas river – is only a proposal. Visitors to Kortrijk may be surprised to see the town hall decked out in a giant tarp depicting the cartoon hero Lucky Luke. The cover hides the scaffolding during renovations. Lucky Luke is the creation of Maurice De Bevere, the cartoonist better known as Morris, who was born in Kortrijk in 1923 and first published a strip of his hero 70 years ago. The giant tarpaulin is advertisement for an exhibition and other events honouring Lucky Luke beginning in September. The non-profit Straatverplegers (Street Nurses) have been awarded this year’s federal poverty prize for Brussels for its work with the homeless. The members of the group go into the streets and offer medical help to the homeless, as well as guidance towards shelter, housing and further health care.

The prize is worth €12,500. For Flanders, the prize went to Social House Emmaus in Mechelen, which assists young people in care. It also offers home care for seniors and budget care for householders. Isabel Albers, former editor of De Tijd newspaper, has been named as business and journalism director of all titles belonging to De Persgroep – Humo, Het Laatste Nieuws, Topics and De Morgen. The announcement follows a previous announcement naming her as the editor of Het Laatste Nieuws. Her new role will be to invest in journalistic quality and develop innovative editorial concepts, focussing on strategy and market positioning. A gynaecologist in Ronse, East Flanders, who did not inform a patient of uterine cancer until the disease was incurable has been sentenced to two years in prison, with 16 months suspended, and fined €3,000 by a court in Oudenaarde. The woman died of the cancer in 2013, eight years after the first signs of the disease were detected, but left untreated. Eugène Breynaert, the best driver in Liedekerke – and possibly all of Flanders – has died at home at the age of 93. He became famous through a 2010 segment on the former TV programme Man Bijt Hond in which he demonstrates how he exited his red Fiat Panda in his tiny garage with only centimetres of clearance. The trick involved opening the door that led from the garage to his house through his car window and then opening the car door into the open space of the house door. He then had to push the car forward by hand to get the doors closed again. The clip of the segment went viral, attracting the attention of Jeremy Clarkson and the crew of Top Gear. According to neighbours, Breynaert carried on driving his little red car to the end.

during the sales. Women have the problem more than men, with 26% suffering buyer’s remorse compared to only 12% of men. In 80% of cases, shoppers were led astray by the low price of the object rather than its suitability. One in four couldn’t find their own size, so took a size

Once a year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organisation behind the Oscars, invites film professionals worldwide to become members. Among this year’s 638 new recruits is Sahim Omar Kalifa, a Kurdish director from Iraq who arrived in Flanders in 2001. The citizen of Leuven has just finished filming his feature debut, Zagros, due in cinemas next year. But thanks to a few awardwinning short films, Kalifa is already a household name in international film circles. Kalifa, 36, was born in Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan, a stone’s throw from the Turkish border. In the mid-1990s, his parents fled to Belgium. At that time, three of Kalifa’s brothers had already been murdered. Only in 2001 did Kalifa follow his parents. He arrived in Brussels after a nightmarish trip in the back of a truck, several times during which he thought he was going to die, he told Het Nieuwsblad a few months after his arrival. At that point he was being interviewed as a refugee, not as a filmmaker. Trained as an accountant, Kalifa eventually decided to enrol in film school, in Sint-Lukas in Brussels.

His graduation film, Nan, opened the door to a new career. He went back to Kurdistan to shoot his next short, Land of Heroes, in which he looks at the Iran-Iraq War through the eyes of young children. His follow-up to that, Baghdad Messi, about a 10-year-old boy with one leg and an obsession with footballer Lionel Messi, won more than 50 prizes all across the globe and was shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination. As was Kalifa’s latest short film, Bad Hunter, about an Iraqi man who saves a woman from being raped but receives an odd kind of thank you from her family. Membership of the Academy means that Kalifa will be allowed to vote in every Oscar contest. “I’m really surprised, since I’m just at the start of my career,” he told De Standaard. “Maybe they just liked my name.” Considering the Academy’s recent problems with an all-white cast of nominations, maybe, but the near-nominations for two of his films clinched it. Once you’re in the Academy, you stay a member as long as you keep working as a film professional. In Kalifa’s case, that seems likely. \ Christophe Verbiest

\ tinyurl.com/redfiatpanda

OFFSIDE Setting sale for summer You may not think so on looking out of the window, but summer is officially here, and that means bargains bargains bargains at the sales, which started last Friday and continue until the end of the month. However, a survey carried out for the small ads website 2dehands.be suggests we’re not all getting the bargains we’d hoped for. It seem that most people think the sales are the best time to buy new clothes, but one in five admits to having made at least one blunder

Sahim Omar Kalifa

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

smaller or larger. For 16%, the item of clothing was “too extravagant” to be worn in normal circumstances. And 12% bought an item without trying it on, with predictable results. The survey offers some tips. Go shopping with a plan and do not give way to impulse. Ask yourself: do I need this? Does it fit me? Am I going to wear it more than once? Other good ideas: Wait for the second or third round of pricecutting later in the month and make use of sites like solden2016. be, which gathers information on bargains to be had in Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges and Ghent.

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

Editor Lisa Bradshaw DEPUTY Editor Sally Tipper CONTRIBUTING Editor Alan Hope sub Editor Bartosz Brzezi´nski Agenda Robyn Boyle, Georgio Valentino Art director Paul Van Dooren Prepress Mediahuis AdPro Contributors Rebecca Benoot, Derek Blyth, Leo Cendrowicz, 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

\ POLITICS

5TH COLUMN The dinner

The bankruptcy of Optima bank is dragging down yet another Ghent politician. Last week, this column spoke of Ghent mayor Daniël Termont (SP.A), who reacted rather clumsily after being named in Optima circles. Termont seemingly apologised for doing nothing wrong, then begged to be investigated – by the law or by the city council, as long as he could prove his innocence. This bungling communication has damaged his reputation as “second best mayor in the world”. Now all eyes are on Geert Versnick, the liberal provincial delegate who recently headed up a number of functions within the Optima group. Versnick, it was revealed, hosted a political dinner sponsored by a number of business, mostly property developers. This is frowned upon in Flanders, especially in the case of Versnick, as he has some influence on development permits. Belgium has had strict laws on party and candidate funding since a corruption scandal in the 1990s when an Italian helicopter company handed out money to the socialist party. The Agusta scandal, as it became known, rocked Belgian politics and influenced behaviour for years after. One of the outcomes is that political parties are now government-funded, based on their last electoral results. Television campaign ads were banned for years. The party funding system has been criticized, but so far it is still considered “the lesser of all evils”. Whether Versnick has broken the law remains unclear, but many believe he was too close to property developers, who possibly received insider information or even preferential treatment. And now Antwerp has come under scrutiny, too. A number of large developments have raised suspicions as the city council has made it much easier for developers than its predecessors. For now, the Versnick situation is rather uncomfortable for Open VLD party president Gwendolyn Rutten. Her party has a history of infighting, but she has tried to maintain a positive atmosphere. Now she has to decide on Versnick’s political future. It’s a tough call to make, especially as no-one knows if he has done anything illegal. But at least Versnick is not as high ranking nor as close a friend as former minister Annemie Turtelboom, who Rutten coolly liquidated two months ago. \ Anja Otte

Cultural subsidies announced Well-established houses receive healthy funding from government Alan Hope Follow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

lemish culture minister Sven Gatz has announced the package of subsidies approved by the government for the coming five years. The total package amounts to just under €142 million, shared by 207 organisations. The package is €5.6 million more than the subsidies for the last five years, but the spread is narrower. More than 300 organisations applied for funding. Gatz stressed that the choices were based on the opinion of the advisory committee that examined each application. Seven major institutions share €54 million among them, an increase of €2.3 million on the previous period. They are concert venue Ancienne Belgique in Brussels, Brussels Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw performance space in Bruges, Vooruit arts centre in Ghent, deFilharmonie and arts centre deSingel in Antwerp and, finally, Kunsthuis, the collective name for Opera Vlaan-

Government commits to 2% annual cut in energy use The government of Flanders has approved a plan to improve its energy efficiency. From 2017, all government organisations must save at least 2% of their energy usage each year. The Flemish Energy Company (VEB) will co-ordinate the actions to reduce energy consumption, and every organisation must develop its own plan. The overall plan focuses on reducing the volume of consumed energy, not on prices. Negotiating a cheaper energy contract is not the solution, though the energy cost will decrease with consumption. Flemish government organisations have a combined annual energy cost of €700 million. This includes the costs of provinces, municipalities, hospitals and schools, among other organisations. “The less energy we consume, the faster we will achieve our goals concerning renewable energy,” said energy minister Bart Tommelein. “As a government, we want to set a good example.” The plan should help to battle climate change, create extra employment opportunities in the building sector and save on the government budget. It also stipulates that organisations that save more than 2% can use the money they save as they see fit. “It means we are rewarding the ‘good students’ and encouraging everyone to take initiatives concerning better energy efficiency,” Tommelein said. \ Andy Furniere

Opera Vlaanderen’s award-winning 2015 production La Juive

deren and Royal Ballet Flanders, also based in Antwerp. Among the cultural organisations receiving no funding for the period are concert space Muziekodroom in Hasselt, cultural centre Vaartkapoen – better known as VK – in Molenbeek, Jan Decorte’s theatre company Bloet and vzw Kunst, which

organises the annual Art Festival Watou in West Flanders. “The Flemish arts scene is made up of large and medium-sized players, each with their own unique expertise,” Gatz said. “They are renowned nationally and internationally. But the landscape also includes a lot of smaller initiatives. The government’s decision is aimed at maintaining and strengthening the quality and diversity of the arts in Flanders.” The opposition socialists criticised the package as a breach of promises made, accusing Gatz of failing to encourage new initiatives. Socialist party president John Crombez called it a “hammer blow” to the arts sector. “The minister is supposed to be the steward of our strong arts landscape and to fight within the Flemish government for the necessary resources,” he said. “In neither case has he succeeded.”

Ban on ritual slaughter ‘clashes with freedom of religion’ A proposal to ban ritual slaughter – the practice of slaughtering an animal without first stunning it – is in breach of freedom of religion, the Council of State has advised. The proposal was sent to the Council for its advice by Flanders’ animal welfare minister Ben Weyts, before being presented to the Flemish parliament. During Eid al-Adha, or Festival of the Sacrifice, Muslim families are required to slaughter an animal, usually a sheep. The religion requires the animal to be slaughtered when it is conscious – without stunning it first. The Council said that banning ritual slaughter obstructs the requirements of religious rituals followed by both Jews and Muslims and represents a “disproportionate breach of the freedom of religion”. The Council does agree that steps have to be taken during ritual slaughter to limit the suffering of the animal. “This is very disappointing advice that demonstrates the kind of social vision of a decade ago,” Weyts said. “I consider it the duty of a decent society to avoid animal suffering wherever possible. This does not affect my ambition for a general ban on ritual slaughter.” Fellow N-VA party member and parliament fraction leader Matthias Diependaele called the advice “out of touch”. “You can’t just ignore advice from the Council of State, but I

completely disagree with it. They are making a connection that is illogical and that is out of touch with reality.” Animal welfare, he continued, “is a compelling social requirement” sufficient to overrule religious considerations. Weyts, Flanders’ first animal welfare minister, did ban the slaughter of animals without stunning them outside of official, licensed slaughterhouses last year. This meant that the temporary slaughter facilities normally opened to cope with the demand during Eid could not operate. The official slaughterhouses could not keep up with demand, leaving many Muslims unable to fulfil religious requirements. Muslims in Flanders were excused of the duty to slaughter an animal last year because of the lack of facilities. A group of Muslim organisation filed suit against the ban, which is still pending. Eid begins on 11 September this year. \ AH

A win for Facebook in battle with Privacy Commission The court of appeal in Brussels has struck down an order by the Privacy Commission against Facebook and its practice of placing a tracking cookie on the computers of people without profiles on the site. According to the court, the judge who imposed the order did not have the authority to do so because the company is registered in Ireland. Facebook uses a datr cookie – a small packet of data installed on a remote user’s computer – to follow the movements of members of the site, which is allowed under the social media giant’s terms and conditions. However, it installs the cookie on the computers of non-members who visit any websites fitted with Facebook’s Like or Share buttons. That, the Privacy Commission said, is against the law. A judge agreed, and Facebook was ordered to stop using the cookie on non-members last

year. Following the ruling, Facebook closed all content – including pages used by businesses to promote their services – to non-members. Facebook claims that the datr cookie is a security measure. The grounds of that case are still to be ruled on some time in 2017. The case that was

before the court of appeal last week was over the interim judgement given against Facebook in November, which has now been struck down. That means that Facebook can continue using the cookie while awaiting the official judgement next year. Federal secretary of state for privacy Philippe De Backer said he would now demand clarity over who does have authority to rule in such cases, if a Belgian judge does not. He also said that the government would join in a case before the European Court of Justice concerning Facebook’s cookie policy. “Privacy is a fundamental right and may not be infringed by anyone, not even a huge and popular internet giant,” he said. Facebook issued a brief statement. “We are happy with the ruling and look forward to being able to bring our services back online for everyone in Belgium.” \ AH

july 6, 2016

Brexit: the aftermath

Following the big vote, what now for Britain, Flanders and Europe? Emma Portier Davis More articles by Emma \ flanderstoday.eu

Alan Hope Follow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

A week after the historic decision by UK voters to leave the European Union, local politicians, business leaders and professors give their reactions, and their predictions.

he Flemish are poring over crucial questions about Brexit – the decision by UK voters to leave the European Union. Can flourishing trade relations with the UK ever be the same again? Will plummeting investments recover? Is it the end of the EU? Are the Brits in Brussels going to pack up and go home, causing a crash in the housing market? Depending on who you talk to or which newspapers you read, the region is set to suffer from a Brexit fallout of Lehman Brothersstyle proportions or, as Carl Devos, political science professor at Ghent University, predicts, a “modest” drop in economic growth but a recovery in the long term. According to Devos, what we have seen on financial markets is a “panic reaction” that will eventually even out. “I’m not pessimistic about the economic consequences,” he says, adding that the overall impact on Belgium will be, he repeats, “modest”. Much hangs on what kind of deal on trade will be struck between the EU and the UK, since Belgium, and notably Flanders, has a very open, trade-dependent economy. (The monthly Belgian business confidence indicator is seen as a bellwether for the EU-wide economy.) Devos contends that such a deal is likely to be similar to what exists now. “Britain will do everything it can to have as free access to EU markets as possible. You can already see that the strongest members of the Leave campaign are playing it down.” As for the overall impact of Brexit, he says, “I think much more will be left the same than will change.”

VUB professor Dave Sinardet says Brexit will “have an effect on the whole dynamic of European integration”

Not everyone agrees. Dave Sinardet, political science professor at the Free University of Brussels (VUB): “Of course, we don’t know exactly what the impact will be, but the impact economically, financially and on the future of the European Union will be quite evident.” In his view, the doom-and-gloom scenarios of a financial crisis that will affect portfolios across the world are not beyond the realms of possibility. “We seem to be going in that direction,” he says. “We are seeing a problematic

Voka is warning of “a long period of uncertainty ahead” for Flemish companies with links to Britain

turn of events.” Politically, the consequences will be complex, and the consequent debate over the EU’s direction will likely exacerbate existing tensions within the government. “The members of the current federal government are not on the same page,” says Sinardet. “The NVA is more Eurosceptic – though they call it Eurorealism – while the French-speaking liberals have more of a classic pro-EU approach.” While the Belgian government pulled together when outgoing UK prime minister David Cameron asked for better conditions earlier this year, insisting that an “out” vote would not be grounds to renegotiate membership of the bloc, the Brexit vote will likely reinforce nationalist and separatist sentiment, says Sinardet. “The NVA was already saying then that this was going in their direction,” says Sinardet, adding that Brexit will “have an effect on the whole dynamic of European integration”. The fear now, he says, is that dissenting ideologies will be emboldened by Brexit, and governments will have a harder time reaching decisions on crucial questions such as its future in the EU, a trade deal and defence spending. “It might be difficult to have a strong Belgian voice in these debates,” says Sinardet. And if all that isn’t enough, Brexit looks set to provoke separatists across the EU, including in Flanders. “Scottish independence will be seen by NVA as some kind of precedent,” says Sinardet. And Devos agrees, saying that a Flemish referendum will be back on the agenda. But as doomsayers predict a break-up of the EU, Sinardet says the economic turmoil will eventually turn around nationalist and separatist tendencies. “Maybe they will say it’s best to stay in the EU after all,” he adds, “and that Brexit doesn’t seem to be a good idea.”

‘Another Europe’ The news of the UK voters’ decision came as a shock to most people – including many of those who had voted to leave. Belgian prime minister Charles Michel captured the mood with his first reaction: “This is a blow for the European project. We are waking up in another Europe.” Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois says he “deplored” the decision. “This weakens the UK, the EU and Flanders,” he says. But his immediate thoughts were on the future. While the UK was negotiating its exit terms, he says, “it’s crucial that parallel negotiations begin with regards to a freetrade treaty, as extensive as possible, with the United Kingdom, in order to eliminate all tariff or non-tariff trade barriers. We have to be pragmatic in the interests of our welfare and our jobs.” For Belgium’s representative in the European Commission, Marianne Thyssen, the show must go on. “Let’s be clear,” she says. “This is not at all what we would have wanted, and it’s not good news. It’s a simple fact that Europe is stronger with 28 members than with 27. This is not a good thing for the image of the union, but the end of Europe? I really don’t think so.” Herman Van Rompuy, the former Belgian prime minister who went on to become the first president of the European Council, was “angry and sad” on hearing the news. “Angry because this referendum should never have taken place,” he says. “It could also mean the end of the United Kingdom. And sad because I have been a European since the age of 15 or 16. This is not the end of the European Union, but it feels like an amputation.” The news has affected the business community as well. The Flemish chamber of commerce, Voka, is warning of “a long period of uncertainty ahead” for those Flemish

companies with links to Britain. “A lot of our companies are dependent on exports to the United Kingdom,” says managing director Hans Maertens. “Brexit brings us into uncharted territory; the question is how this will work out in the future. The British voted with their hearts, not their heads.” One of the companies likely to be affected is Balta, which sells interior textiles and carpets to the UK. It employs 3,400 people, 2,600 of them in Flanders. “We will be going through an unstable period, but in the long run things will stabilise,” says marketing director Geert Vanden Bossche. “Our employees and our clients are convinced things will get back to normal.” Paul Buysse, chair of the board of Bekaert and author of Belgium’s code of Corporate Governance, was brought in by federal labour minister Kris Peeters to chair the working group looking into the consequences of the British decision. “To begin with, we need to enter hard negotiations with the British to show them that we take the European Union very seriously,” he says. “For years, Europe kept spinning its wheels because the British blocked everything. Europe may now be a little bit smaller as a major power, but it remains an economic power. Paradoxically, Brexit could mean more rather than less Europe.” Pieter Timmermans, CEO of the Federation of Belgian Enterprise, also sees a possible opportunity in the decision. “Europe now needs to consider how we can advance the integration process at a tempo supported by the people and by business,” he says. That means focusing on core tasks such as competition, the asylum crisis, energy costs and infrastructure. “Europe needs to better communicate the advantages it provides in people’s daily lives in order to gain their support.”

\ BUSINESS

week in business Metals Nyrstar The Brussels-based metals smelting group has sold its El Toqui zinc ore mine in Chile for $25 million. The deal allows Nyrstar to shore up its finances depleted by the steep drop in ore prices.

Property Steigenberger Wiltcher’s The real estate development that includes the Steigenberger Wiltcher’s hotel on Louizalaan in Brussels has been sold for €120 million to an affiliate of the French Axa group. The building complex includes 8,000 square metres of office space, a shopping mall, an Aspria health club and parking in addition to the hotel.

Retail Tom & Co The Delhaize supermarket group has sold its pet care affiliate to the local PetSerco company, headed by a former Delhaize group executive. Tom & Co was created in the mid1990s and today operates 144 outlets in Belgium, France and Luxembourg with an annual turnover of €100 million.

Pharma Nipro The Japanese pharmaceutical company is establishing its European headquarters in Mechelen. The new 7,000 square-metre facility, expected to open next year, includes R&D, the company’s Institute for Medical Practice training centre and storage space. The move will create 100 jobs.

Courier Bpost The national post office is developing Bringer, an online distribution platform that will allow private individuals to deliver parcels. The new system, to be tested in the Antwerp area soon, is expected to speed up deliveries.

Fitness Basic Fit The Dutch chain of fitness clubs, with about 145 in Belgium, is being investigated by Belgian competition authorities for abuse of a dominant position.

Chemicals Abengoa The bankrupt ethanol production unit located in the port of Rotterdam has been taken over by Brussels-based Alcogroup and its local partners Vanden Avenne Commodities and Vandema. The move will make Alcogroup Europe’s largest producer of ethanol.

Export Lions awarded

World leaders in software applications win Flanders’ export prize Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

he 15th edition of the Export Lion awards has been won by Aucxis of Stekene, East Flanders, a small company in the highly specialised field of auction and sales systems, and by MediaGeniX of Groot-Bijgaarden, which makes broadcast management software. The awards are given out annually by Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT) to companies that have shown strong export performance. Aucxis won in the category of companies with fewer than 50 employees. It is the world leader in online auction systems and also produces process control systems for users in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and other industries. The company exports to 60 countries and gets 74% of its revenue from export. MediaGeniX makes the software that allows

From left: CEO Dirk Debraekeleer of MediaGeniX, ministerpresident Geert Bourgeois and CEO Geert Vonck of Aucxis

media groups to manage the flow and planning of radio, TV and streaming content. The company won in the category of businesses with more than 50 employees and is active on five continents.

“Flanders is one of the most globalised regions in the world,” said minister-president Geert Bourgeois, presenting the awards. “Export is the engine of our economy, and it goes without saying that we must continue to stimulate it. With these export awards, Flanders Investment & Trade puts the spotlight on two remarkable export performances. Aucxis and MediaGeniX have a good export story and are top companies internationally. They put Flanders on the map worldwide.” FIT revisited all the previous winners of the awards over the last 15 years. “What stands out is that these companies have continued to grow and prosper, mainly thanks to their international strategy,” said FIT CEO Claire Tillekaerts.

Project launched to reduce food waste in logistics chain

Charge for felling Flanders’ woodland increases

The Flemish Institute for Logistics (VIL) has launched the project Fresh Food Logistics to examine where and how food is lost in the logistics process. Eleven companies in the region are participating, including supermarket chain Carrefour and the La Lorraine bakery group. According to the UN, 45% of production in the European food industry ends up as waste. In Flanders alone, the loss of food in the distribution chain amounts to 116,000 tons annually. The European Commission has set a target to halve food waste in the EU by 2030. VIL is working to assist Flemish companies to prepare for stricter EU legislation concerning food waste and to optimise the fresh food logistics chain. The project will start by determining the critical points that lead to food spoilage. It will then map the technologies that prevent food spoilage. Best practices from Belgium and abroad will be analysed to get an idea of individual business initiatives and collaborations between companies. The project should lead to an ideal logistics concept, both organisational and technological. The cost-effectiveness of the concept will also play a major role. At the end of the project, in February, 2018, practical tests will be set up. \ Andy Furniere

Flemish environment minister Joke Schauvliege has announced an increase in the charge imposed on anyone who plans to cut down woodland. The charge goes up from €1.98 per square metre to €3.50 and applies to all forms of construction, from families building a home to a company clearing land for a new factory. Most projects requiring substantial deforestation are industrial. A recent example was the plan for a new depot in Limburg by logistics company H Essers, which involved cutting down 11 hectares of coniferous forest. The Flemish government’s decision to allow the felling led to a media clash between Schauvliege and comedian Wouter Deprez. Nature conservancy organisation Natuurpunt started a crowdfunding campaign to take the case to the Council of State. Before the introduction of the euro in 2002, a square metre of woodland would cost 120 francs – roughly €3 at contemporary prices. In 2001, it fell to €1.98, where it has remained since. The law also allows the felling of

Yellow Pages publisher Truvo files for bankruptcy Truvo Belgium, publisher of the Gouden Gids, or Yellow Pages, has filed for bankruptcy. FCR Media, an Estonian group, has been accepted as a buyer and has submitted a plan for a rapid restart. The plan includes retaining 310 of the current workforce of 520 employees. FCR’s offer, which was approved by Truvo’s administrator as well as the court, asked for a minimum of 220 employees to declare their willingness to move to FCR. Staff at the headquarters in Antwerp and at the company’s other sites in Brussels, Ghent and Liège have received paperwork to declare their intention to remain employed by the new company. The form stipulates that only the sites in Antwerp – in the Berchem district – and Anderlecht will continue to operate. FCR, based in Tallinn, operates across Europe, including in Ireland and Sweden. It offers both on- and offline marketing options

to businesses. The company said clients would notice no difference. “Their current projects and campaigns will just go ahead,” the company said in a statement. “FCR Media Belgium offers the same products and services under the same conditions and at the same price.” For some time now, interest in Truvo’s main product – the annual business telephone directory – has been in free-fall as people turned instead to the internet for information and contact details. That has led to declining sales for advertising, the main source of revenue. \ AH

woodland to be compensated by the planting of replacement trees elsewhere, but in eight out of 10 cases, applicants elect to pay. The money goes to the Woodland Compensation Fund, which is used to organise the planting of new forest, much of it administered by Natuurpunt. “We want to not only keep the woodland we have in Flanders but to reinforce it with quality reforestation projects,” Schauvliege said. She recently issued an invitation for projects, with €1 million from the compensation fund to spend. \ AH

Prime minister invites British companies to move to Belgium Belgian prime minister Charles Michel has called for a rapid triggering of Britain’s exit from the EU and is already moving to attract companies established in the UK to move to Belgium. “I’m not vindictive, but we need to let the British know quickly that they’ve achieved a Pyrrhic victory,” he said, calling for “a rapid property settlement”. He also has expressed disagreement with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, who stated that the Brexit would not mean the sacking of the 1,600 or so British functionaries in the EU institutions. “From now on only Belgian and European interests concern me, not the British ones,” said Michel. “There is no way back.” Michel intends to launch a Welcome to Belgium campaign this week to attract companies currently located in the UK to move to Belgium in order to continue trading on members’ terms with the rest of the EU. “An enterprise-friendly government in the heart of Europe” is what is on offer, he said. \ AH

\ COVER STORY

july 6, 2016

From left: Lis Lemos from Brazil and Anastasiya Samsonova of Russia spent a year at Ghent University; Joanna Wojtkowiak from Poland opted for Antwerp

From across the world

Quality education draw thousands of student globetrotters to Flanders continued from page 1

explain why they chose to come to the city. Apart from the high quality of education, the school’s reputation and its international rankings, Berckmans says, most choose Antwerp for its geographical location. “This is certainly the case for students from Germany and the Netherlands, who seem to prefer a nearby destination that is in the heart of Europe. Our foreign students also appreciate that Antwerp is a relatively small, liveable and beautiful city.” The close proximity to the political heart of Europe may have also won over the four students from Australia who spent a year in Antwerp. For the 16 students from Wallonia, who took part in the Erasmus Belgica programme, the opportunity to brush up their Dutch was the main reason to head north. But questionnaires can’t reveal the whole story, so we asked some students to shed some light on the attraction of Flanders. Joanna Wojtkowiak is a 23-yearold law student from Gdan´sk, Poland. She spent her last year of university studies in Antwerp and her story is illustrative of the impact the Erasmus programme has had on the European student population since its founding almost 30 years ago. “I chose Antwerp because the university has a very good reputation at my home university,” she says. “My professor in Poland had also gone to Antwerp University before obtaining his PhD. He convinced me that it was the best possible choice.”

And he was right, she adds. “Unlike other people whose Erasmus experience is more about partying, I’ve actually learned a lot, and the teachers – who all lectured in English – were really demanding. I don’t regret anything because the entire programme was perfectly organised.” Wojtkowiak, who is now back home in Poland, is one of those students who doesn’t like to stray too far away from home. “There are cheap and direct flights from Gdan´sk to Brussels, and this also had an impact on my decision.”

The school welcomed 614 international students this year, mainly from Spain, but its reputation seems to have spread beyond the old continent as well. Many students arrive from Brazil, China, Taiwan, South Africa, Japan, Russia and even Mongolia. What makes the university so popular abroad is unclear, at least to UGent spokesperson Stephanie Lenoir, who admits that their international recruitment campaigns are minimal; the students arrive regardless. Let’s ask a student from, let’s say,

The more I researched this country, the more amazed I was by its language opportunities But was it all work and no play? “I’d be lying if I said I never took part in any of the wild parties, but it was the day-to-day life that made my time in Antwerp the best experience of my entire university life,” she says. “I’ve met wonderful, inspiring and warm-hearted people, not only from Flanders, and I went on many delightful trips around the Benelux.” Last but not least, she adds, “I had a cheap room in a beautiful, vintage apartment in the centre. All those elements make me long for Antwerp, and I will definitely come back.” Over to Ghent University (UGent).

Latin America. “I chose to come to Ghent because of the university’s reputation,” says Lis Lemos, a 25-year-old agricultural engineering student from the University of Lavras in Brazil. Lemos has spent an entire year at UGent’s faculty of bioscience engineering, where she has taken classes in English, while also trying to learn Dutch. “A professor at home told me that Ghent had a very good university,” she says. “I also thought it would be a great idea to go to a small country that’s culturally and linguistically different from mine.” The news that she would be

moving temporarily to Flanders came as a bit of a surprise to her friends in Brazil. “It’s not a big destination for studying abroad, so my choice was seen by some as completely random, like I threw a dart at a map of the world.” Luckily, she says, the dart landed on the right spot. “I’m definitely going to miss Ghent. It’s such a lovely city, and every day I discover something surprising and new.” Ghent’s particular quirks – such as its obsession with cycling – didn’t go unnoticed. “I really enjoy being able to go anywhere on a bike,” says Lemos. “Ghent is also a very safe town, especially compared to cities in Brazil. I don’t have to worry about walking around alone, even at night. In Brazil, it’s becoming increasingly difficult because of the lack of security and the high level of violence.” As her time in Ghent is coming to an end, what advice does she have for the next group of international students? “Never forget that you can ask for help, even if it’s just for small things like getting a bank card or how to pronounce a word you’ve just learned,” she says. “You are here to learn, and while you may be here all by yourself, you will never feel lonely.” The chance to brush up on language skills is arguably one of the biggest benefits of spending time abroad. For someone like Anastasiya Samsonova, who’s passionate about language, studying in a different country was a must. The 21-year-old from Novosibirsk, in the heart of Siberia, spent a year

UGENT.BE UANTWERPEN.BE

in Ghent improving her French and English. Samsonova, who is also learning Spanish and Portuguese in her free time and wants to be a teacher, opted for studying languages in Ghent, rather than signing-up for a traditional teaching programme. “When I started thinking about studying abroad, my first thought was Germany, France and maybe the UK, but definitely not Belgium,” she says. “Why would I choose this hidden country? What could it offer me?” For Russians, moving to Belgium to study, she says, remains a novel idea. But the more research she did, she says, “the more amazed I was by the language opportunities. Everyone speaks English and can understand some French. What I really admire about the culture here is the total absence of dubbing in cinema and on television. That, I think, explains the high level of languages.” Samsonova also admired the endless range of cultural activities on offer in Ghent. “In Novosibirsk, a city with a population of 1.5 million, there are fewer concerts, events and things to see, do and experience,” she says. “I will miss that for sure, on top of the opportunity to practise all the languages.” And what advice does the polyglot have for students who will come to Flanders in the future? “Don’t put off the things you want to do and see,” she says. “The year will end before you know it, and you’ll find yourself rushing, afraid of missing out on all the unique sights and experiences.”

\ INNOVATION

week in innovation New plan to encourage solar energy use

By the end of the year, a digital solar map will allow home and business owners to examine the potential of solar panels. It’s one of the priorities of energy minister Bart Tommelein’s solar plan that aims to encourage citizens, companies, organisations and the government itself to invest more in solar energy. The government will encourage crowdfunding initiative and is looking at the option of “net metering from a distance”, or investing in someone else’s solar panels and having the return on this investment subtracted from their own energy bill. The government is also extending the scope of its energy loan scheme.

Antwerp to get largest wind energy park Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois has launched a project to build the largest onshore wind energy park in Flanders. The project in the port area will consist of 19 turbines on the right bank of the Scheldt, producing three megawatts each – enough to furnish the electricity needs of almost 40,000 households. The project represents an investment of €110 million, financed by state bank Belfius. The port area is considered particularly suitable for a wind turbine park because of the lack of people living nearby. However, there are industrial chemical installations, which raise concerns about safety and nature conservation. Last year, 68 wind turbines were installed in Flanders, and there was a protest in almost every case.

New app for indoor navigation Researchers at Ghent University (UGent) have introduced SoleWay, an app for indoor navigation in public buildings. The researchers are calling on the public to add route descriptions to the app. SoleWay is user-generated along the same principle as the nonprofit encyclopaedia Wikipedia. UGent pointed out that a GPS brings visitors to the entrance of a building, but once inside it can still be difficult to find one’s way around. SoleWay can help people find a specific meeting room in a large building, for example. The researchers have already created 1,200 route descriptions in buildings associated with UGent and intend to map other universities, shopping centres and large complexes.

Back to the old ways

Leuven scientists look to decades-old remedy for bacterial infections Ellie Mears More articles by Ellie \ flanderstoday.eu

PHAGOBURN.EU

cientists in Leuven are helping to revive an old treatment for bacterial infections. Discovered 100 years ago, phage therapy uses naturally occurring viruses called bacteriophages – phages for short – to kill bacteria. Phages are found in yoghurt, cheese, water, soil and even human excrement. Acting as a kind of parasite, they attach themselves to specific bacteria and inject their own DNA. The phages (pictured) then multiply rapidly, causing the bacteria to burst. The treatment was slowly abandoned in the West following the widespread marketing of penicillin shortly after the Second World War. But it continued in the former Soviet Union, where doctors had limited access to antibiotics. Whereas antibiotics target a wide range of bacteria, a phage is specifically linked to one particular strain or species, and evolves along with it. And it’s making a comeback as scientists seek to combat superbugs: bacteria that have become resistant to the antibiotics that once killed them. According to a World Health Organisation report, we could see a “return to the pre-antibiotic era” if alternatives are not found soon. Europe’s leaders are worried. In May, the British government released a report calling on doctors to limit the number of antibiotics they prescribe and on pharmaceutical companies to fund more research into alternatives.

Phage therapy fell out of favour in the West with the introduction of penicillin

wounds. It also infects people with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that leads to large amounts of mucus collecting in the lungs. “Because the mucus remains static rather than moving into the digestive tract, it provides a breeding ground for bacteria, producing awful infections,” Blasdel explains. “Many people with a Pseudomonas

As soon as a bacteria becomes resistant to a specific phage, we can simply look back to nature to find a new one Since July last year, the European Union has been funding a multicentre phage therapy clinical trial with partners in Belgium, France and Switzerland, under a programme known as PhagoBurn. Bob Blasdel, a doctoral student at the University of Leuven’s Laboratory of Gene Technology, studies the phage used to combat Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a pathogen that infects patients with burn

infections can’t be treated with antibiotics any more, as the bacteria have become resistant. But phages could be more effective. They can get into the lungs and address the Pseudomonas infection directly.” Blasdel’s team, led by Professor Rob Lavigne, is also providing supporting research for studies on phage carried out at the Burn Wound Centre of the Queen Astrid Military

Hospital in the north of Brussels. Phage therapy has several advantages over traditional antibiotics. Because phages multiply quickly where they are needed, they can be administered in lower doses, increasing safety. But the main benefit is that the sheer number of phages available in the environment means there is a good chance of finding one to combat a particular disease. “There are millions of trillions of phages on the planet, and, according to a predictive model developed a few years ago, there may be only one new major class of antibiotics left to be found,” says Blasdel. “So as soon as a bacteria becomes resistant to a specific phage, we can simply look back to nature to find a new phage.” Until recently, scientists in Europe have been reluctant to embrace phage therapy for wounds, questioning its efficacy. However, they have an encouraging precedent in the case of Alfred Gertler, a Canadian jazz musician who contracted a nasty infection in his ankle after a climbing accident in the late 1990s. Multiple operations and a year’s

course of antibiotics through an IV pump couldn’t fix the problem, and Gertler was given a stark choice: to amputate or to not expect to live out the year. But Gertler had read a New York Times article about phage therapy and flew to the Eliava Institute in Tbilisi, Georgia, for treatment. Doctors there applied phages to the wound, which replicated rapidly, reaching right to the centre that antibiotics had been unable to access. Within days the infection was gone and the wound began to heal. Gertler was able to walk again and went back to playing music. The Eliava Institute had developed an efficient method of sourcing phages and using them in treatment. Every six months, the institute would collect a variety of phages from hospitals across the former USSR, adding them to a range of “phage cocktails”, which are still sold today in pharmacies in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine for the equivalent of €10. Because bacteriophages adapt over time, the cocktails need to be updated regularly with fresh phages. Despite plenty of anecdotal evidence, there is little concrete data available to show how effective these cocktails are at treating infections. “Collecting phages over 80 years has resulted in some massively complex cocktails,” says Blasdel. “We still only have a relatively rough idea of what is there.” Despite the cheap cost of developing phages for medicinal use in the former USSR, the bill footed by Europeans for research into this therapy is likely to be considerably higher, due to tight legislation. So far, the EU has contributed €3.8 million to the PhagoBurn trials and is looking into ways to lower the price of therapy. For Hilde Van Raemdonck of the Burn Wound Centre of the Queen Astrid Military Hospital, the cost of production will be a major determinant of whether phage therapy goes mainstream. “We need to look at a cost-effective, safe and efficient method of production,” she says. “Otherwise phage therapy will stay in the margins, and we’ll only be able to use it in specific cases where antibiotics are of no more help.”

KU Leuven researchers erase memories with genetic switch Researchers from the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) and Germany’s Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology have managed to erase memories in mice using a so-called genetic switch. The team trained mice that had been genetically modified in one gene: neuroplastin. This gene is essential for brain plasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganise itself by forming new connections between cells, which occurs when learning new

things. The mice were trained to move from one side of a box to the other when a light came on to avoid a mild electric shock. When the scientists “switched off ” the neuroplastin gene, the mice no longer performed the task properly. They showed learning and memory deficits related to associative learning. Mice with a normal neuroplastin gene continued to carry out the task perfectly.

“We were amazed to find that deactivating one single gene was enough to erase associative memories,” said KU Leuven professor Detlef Balschun. By measuring the electrical signals in the brain, the team discovered clear deficits in the cellular mechanism used to store memories. More research is necessary, Balschun said, to determine whether neuroplastin also plays a role in other forms of learning. \ Andy Furniere

\ EDUCATION

july 6, 2016

Out of harm’s way

week in education

VUB professor on quest for effective therapy for self-harming youth Sally Tipper Follow Sally on Twitter \ @sallybtipper

VERWONDERD.WEEBLY.COM

t’s thought that as many as one in 10 young people in Flanders engage in self-harm, a practice that can have serious, lifelong consequences. A professor from the Free University of Brussels (VUB) has launched a treatment study that will examine what kind of therapy works best in the longterm. For the joint project between VUB and the University of Leuven, psychotherapist Imke Baetens has trained 45 therapists across Flanders in the treatment of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI): the direct, intentional injury of body tissue, like cutting, burning and head-banging. The next step is to find adolescents between 12 and 21 who selfharm and are willing to take part in outpatient therapy. The biggest problem is getting the message to the people who need to hear it. “It’s a topic with a lot of secrecy around it,” Baetens admits. “When parents first find out their child is self-harming, they are of course distressed, but their child says they won’t do it again, and the parents believe them. We get a lot of parents who call, but getting their children to the therapist is a difficult step.” To spread the message, she has contacted family doctors and pupil support agencies and is leading workshops and lectures in schools across Flanders. The study offers up to 300 adolescents eight to 10 sessions of specialist treatment: half of them see behavioural therapists on their own, with parents invited for one session; the other half involves purely family therapy, with all family members invited to every session. Baetens will be closely studying their outcomes.

Imke Baetens (left) says parents and others shouldn’t judge or dramatise self-harming behaviour

A 12-year-old is obviously very different from a 21-year-old, so the therapy has to be personalised and age-appropriate. “The important issue for me is to find out what works for whom,” says Baetens. “To see if there are types of self-injurers who benefit more from family treatment or behavioural therapy, and why.”

It’s a topic with a lot of secrecy around it Sessions are partly reimbursed by health insurance, and, thanks to support from service clubs and other groups, there are free places for 30 young people who are unable to pay. In non-clinical samples, there’s no gender difference in the incidence of NSSI. Young adult females do it as often as males, but among

young men it’s often more secretive, and it takes a different form: head-banging, for example, or punching a wall. It’s also less likely to be perceived as NSSI by society. “When a guy hits a wall, he’s aggressive, he’s just being a guy,” says Baetens. “There are societal issues involved, as well as the personal issues.” Are some people just more predisposed to self-harming than others? “There is some new research in which we can see that people who self-harm react differently to pain,” Baetens says. She previously carried out a study in which she monitored blood pressure, heart rate and breathing, and found clear physiological differences between adolescents who engage in NSSI and those who don’t. Most specifically, she found, they differ in socially stressful situations. “A colleague in Germany did a social exclusion game in which they simulated bullying, resulting in significant physiological arousal,” she says. “And I did a discussion session with young people and their parents, asking

them to discuss a difficult topic for 10 minutes. Those who engaged in NSSI were much more worked up by the discussion than others. Their stress systems were overwhelmed.” Baetens has just helped a group of Flemish students to set up a support website, Verwonderd. In the coming months they hope to hold information nights for young people and arrange support groups for parents as well as a guided chat room. “There are times when adolescents who self-injure go into a chat room, and it becomes destructive. They can motivate each other to cut deeper or more seriously,” she warns. “There needs to be a professional mental health worker watching over the conversation and trying to keep it supportive and not destructive.” Mental health provision locally needs a lot of improvement, Baetens adds, and the biggest problem is the time it takes before someone can see a specialist. “We have waiting lists of sometimes a year. Imagine you’re feeling depressed or suicidal, and you have to wait a year. There’s a huge role for pupil support agencies in schools, but now, especially with the introduction of inclusive education under the M decree, they’re just overwhelmed.” If someone thinks a child or friend is self-harming, how can they best support them? Baetens: “Stay open and talk to them, tell them you’re worried and that you want to help them find professional help. Don’t judge, don’t dramatise, don’t ask them to stop. I get a lot of emails from people who have said to their boyfriend or girlfriend, ‘If you don’t stop I’ll break up with you.’ But that just doesn’t work.”

Flemish education minister Hilde Crevits is allocating €231,000 to the development of an online platform to allow students in teaching studies to view internship opportunities in secondary education. The students can also register their availability to take on an internship. The organisation of internships is a shared responsibility of the teaching colleges and the secondary schools, but the colleges have all developed their own way of working. The new system, which will bring together all Flanders’ education networks, will streamline the search for internships. In the first phase, the system will focus on secondary education but could later be used for other education levels as well. The new platform should be ready by 1 September 2017.

UGent student trains children in road safety A PhD student from Ghent University has developed a method of making children more aware of the dangers they face while cycling. Linus Zeuwts first examined how nine-year-olds divide their attention in traffic. The children took part in interactive videos putting them in dangerous traffic situations, and Zeuwts measured their eye movements and reaction speeds. His test showed that children analyse traffic situations more slowly than adults and so react less quickly. Zeuwts then developed a training programme that helps children determine what to do in dangerous situations. A two-hour training session was sufficient to make the children better detect risks and react to them more quickly.

One in 10 school invoices never paid

Q&A Sue Ellen Taelman has a PhD in organic chemistry from Ghent University. She carried out a feasibility study on the incorporation of algae into various sectors of the economy. Algae is sometimes dubbed “green gold”. What are the potential applications? Algae is recognised as a very promising – but challenging – source of biomass. The diversity in chemical compositions, morphology, living environment and reproduction methods offer a range of potential applications. The focus can be on the production of algae for food, feed and energy, while in the chemical industry, specific algal components can be used as cosmetic ingredients, chemical building blocks and in pharmaceuticals. It’s also possible to use for wastewater treatment and carbon mitigation.

Online database for teaching internships

What’s the biggest advantage of algae production? The fact that algae can be cultivated on marginal, non-arable land or in the sea is an enormous advantage compared to the current biomass types because fertile land is a scarce resource. On top of that, they are generally more efficient at converting sunlight into biomass than terrestrial plants because of a less complex cellular structure and their direct access to water, nutrients and CO2, which results in a higher productivity and yield. What research is still needed? Additional research is necessary to figure out what type of algae should

of valuable ecosystems in countries such as Brazil, where soybeans are cultivated at the expense of nature. In this context, Chlorella may provide a more sustainable pathway towards protein production.

be grown in what type of cultivation system for a specific application under specific conditions. For example, Chlorella is a microalgae with high protein content, ideal for production of protein-rich meal for the feed sector. Replacing it with soy meal, commonly used in Europe as the main protein source in animal diets, would avoid more destruction

What hurdles remain? Because algae production is a young technology, many steps within the production chain still need to be optimised. The challenges include increasing biomass concentration and reducing energy requirements, especially at the cultivation and drying stages. Improved engineering solutions for harvesting, dewatering and processing will have a significant impact on production. Many technologies have already been successfully demonstrated but are relatively expensive.

About 9% of all invoices from schools in Flanders are never paid, according to a survey by debt collection agency Intrum Justitia. That is about three times more than at companies, where on average 2.7% of all invoices remain unpaid. The survey showed that twothirds of invoices received by parents from the schools – generally for special materials and activities throughout the year – are paid on time. About one-quarter are paid late, and 9% not at all. The main reasons schools offer for the nonpayers are financial difficulties among families and simple negligence. About 30% of the defaulters deliberately put off paying the invoice, according to the schools. \ Andy Furniere

\ Interview by Senne Starckx

\ LIVING

july 6, 2016

Let battle commence

week in activities Circus Festival

On Flemish Community Day, Flanders is set to party like it’s 1302 Denzil Walton More articles by Denzil \ flanderstoday.eu

vlaanderenfeest.eu BRUSSELDANST.BE

hat’s the connection between the Battle of the Golden Spurs in Kortrijk in 1302 and the Battle of the Dance taking place on Muntplein in Brussels? The answer is 11 July. That was the date in 1302 when a huge battle took place on the the Groeningheveld outside Kortrijk. Lining up defiantly on one side was the impressive French army, consisting mainly of heavily armoured cavalry. Facing them were untrained and poorly armed Flemish infantry tradesmen. The result looked inevitable. However, the Flemish had chosen their field of battle well; the Groeningheveld was a boggy field. The French horses sank in the mud, the heavy armour of the French knights became an impediment, and the Flemish peasants seized their opportunity. The battle became a rout. Among the victors’ trophies were numerous golden spurs from the boots of the French knights, so it became known as the Battle of the Golden Spurs. Afterwards, Dutch became the official language of Flanders. In the 19th century, the commemoration of the battle became a symbol of the struggle for Flemish recognition in the French-dominated Belgian State. In 1973, 11 July was declared the official Flemish Community Day. Which brings us to 2016 and the Dance Battle on Muntplein. It’s just one of the events taking place as part of Brussel Danst, an event to commemorate Flemish Community Day in the capital. Young dancers will be seeking fame and prizes in front of an international panel of judges in a variety of categories. After the competition, you can join in and dance until late. There are plenty of other ways to enjoy Flemish Community Day. You could join a tango dance gathering in the Mirror Hall of the Brussels Parliament or a guided historical pub crawl, setting off from the Grote Markt. And then you could return to Grote Markt for a concert by Flemish singer Bart Peeters with his mix of folk, world music, cabaret and jazz. That’s only in Brussels. Throughout Flanders, municipal governments, cultural centres and neighbourhood groups are putting on hundreds

\ tinyurl.com/Ghentcircus-festival

Castle tour for families

Brussels is holding its annual dance-off, while all around the region events celebrate the Battle of the Golden Spurs

of activities big and small. It’s the culmination of 11 days of celebrations called Vlaanderen Feest, or Flanders Celebrates. We asked chair An De Moor to explain the event’s significance. Why is Vlaanderen Feest important? By celebrating together, we create bonds and increase the sense of belonging, identity and community spirit among Flemings and everyone who lives in Flanders. It’s not the size of a culture that counts, but its cohesion, its awareness of a common identity. Our umbrella association, Flanders-Europe, is committed to promoting an open Flemish identity that combines international orientation and a positive interaction with other cultures. How would you define “Flemish”? I believe that being Flemish is determined not by ethnicity but by the choice of a common future. It’s illustrated by Abdul Nassaj, a young man born in Flanders in 1989 to Syrian parents.

“Flanders is a part of me,” he told me recently. “I grew up here, and want to build my future here.” Is 11 July growing in importance? It’s still not what 4 July means for Americans, or Saint Patrick’s Day for the Irish. But the sense of belonging is growing every year, as is the number of neighbourhood parties, concerts and other events. I am particularly pleased to see the number of young people who take part in the festivities increasing every year. Will it ever become an official bank holiday? At the moment only Flemish civil servants get a day off, but we hope that soon everyone living in Flanders will be able to enjoy a holiday on that day. To a non-Fleming who lives in Flanders, I would invite them to join the party. It’s a great opportunity to get to know a little more about the Flemish identity, culture and our language. You can choose from nearly 2,000 initiatives in almost all Flemish municipalities and cities.

BITE

At Antwerp’s newest restaurant, only the lobster is fresh With its challenging mission to make lobster a more democratic food and to satisfy my inner beast, I anticipated the opening of Savage with high hopes. On Kaasstraat, behind Antwerp’s Town Hall, the restaurant’s concept is fairly simple: lobster, burgers, drinks. Owners Victoria Kassianenko and Max Zeynalov hail from Russia and Ukraine, respectively, but have “lived all over the world”. Both studied business and enjoy sharing food with friends. This inspired them to open Savage. Why lobster? Because Belgium happens to be the fifth-largest crustacean-consuming nation in the world. The animals are flown in from Canada. Next stop is a 3.5-tonne tank in the Savage kitchen, which accommodates up to 800. While

To celebrate Flemish Community Day, Ghent is putting on a party. Enjoy the acrobats, magicians, fortune tellers, jugglers and more… or see if you (or your kids) have what it takes to join the circus, with free workshops for all ages. There’s even a try-out trapeze. 9 July 14.00-19.00, Stadshal, Poeljemarkt, Ghent; free

it’s nice to know the lobsters are fresh, it seems slightly strange that the stars of the Savage show should be hidden away. That’s due to the design by Antwerp’s Pinkeye studio, which has turned Savage into a fast-food joint, complete with requisite red neon sign. Old lobster packing crates – cleaned and painted – form the ceiling. The colours and materials are modern and won’t offend anyone, but lack any element of intrigue. It’s easy to imagine the space being converted to sell Belgium’s second-most lucrative ingredient in less time than it takes to spell MBA. There are some seemingly creative touches, such as a wall that’s suspended from the ceiling, giving the otherwise open glass space a

sense of intimacy. Another are the copper hand basins in the centre of the room, which cater to those concerned about eating with their hands – an ethos encouraged by the restaurant. Like the suspended wall, which

SAVAGEDINING.COM

spells trouble for taller customers, the sinks are not so user-friendly. This is evidenced by the plastic spouts that have been added at the last minute to direct water into the basin rather than over nearby patrons. Sadly, they draw attention directly to the impractical design. And even with the spouts, I wouldn’t take a table too close to them. A whole lobster (about 650 grams) will set you back €35 and a lobster roll €25. For the meat lovers there are burgers (€20-€25) and hot dogs (€11-€12), and a vegetarian burger if you’ve really found yourself in the wrong place. Does Savage democratise lobster? Does lobster need to be democratised? Probably not. Should food and design be more challenging? Absolutely. \ Dan Smith

A guide takes you and your kids on a fun adventure through historic Gaasbeek Castle, in which you learn about its former inhabitants and their luxe lifestyle. Tours during the summer are adapted to the ages of the participants. Reservations required via educatief.gaasbeek@vlaanderen.be. Wednesdays until 31 August 14.3016.00, Kasteel van Gaasbeek, Kasteelstraat 40, Gaasbeek; €10 \ kasteelvangaasbeek.be

The Cherry An annual celebration of… you guessed it. More than 250 varieties of cherries from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany will be on offer, along with products made from cherries: beer, wine, baked goods, preserves, etc. Best of all, the castle’s ancient cherry orchard will be open to the public on this one day only. 10 July 10.0017.00, Alden Biesen, Kasteelstraat 6, Bilzen; free \ boomgaardenstichting.be

Cheesemaking for kids On Wednesdays in July and August, children can learn to make cheese from fresh milk in an interactive workshop. During the process, they learn about the history and craft of cheesemaking, and get to taste the product of their efforts. Registration required via info@deoudekaasmakerij.be. Until 31 August 14.3016.00, De Oude Kaasmakerij, s’Graventafelstraat 48A, Passendale; €7 \ deoudekaasmakerij.be

Guided tour of Leuven A chance to get acquainted with the beautiful and historic capital of Flemish Brabant. Visit the highlights during a guided tour (in English), including its Gothic city hall, two begijnhofs (Unesco World Heritage sites), university and more. No reservation necessary. 9 July 11.00-12.30, departs from City Hall, Grote Markt 5, Leuven; €5 \ tinyurl.com/Leuven-tour

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\ LIVING

july 6, 2016

Blogging and Brexit

Alex Vanthournout on an online career and life in London post EU referendum Sally Tipper Follow Sally on Twitter \ @sallybtipper

FASHERCISE.COM

In the fifth and final instalment of our series on Flemish people living in and working in the UK, we talk to Alex Vanthournout, a sportswear retailer treading uncharted waters in the wake of the Brexit referendum.

lex Vanthournout is many things: blogger, slow runner, lover of fashion, businesswoman. And, following the recent UK referendum, someone who’s passionate about talking politics. She moved to London from Kortrijk aged 18 to study journalism, “fell into” a series of fashion internships, then set up as a freelance writer, launching a blog to get her work read and keep herself entertained. At the time, blogging was relatively new, and she became one of the few to have made it profitable. “I’m lucky to have been part of that first wave of people who managed to turn blogging into a career,” she says. “It was an exciting time. I travelled the world, met people I would never have met in any other circumstances. But coming up to turning 30, I thought, ‘this isn’t what I want to do for the rest of my life’.” The first steps into business were born from what she calls her personal fitness journey. “I’m quite short and curvy, but I worked in the fashion world, so that was an interesting dynamic,” she says. “I started running and began writing about it in what I hoped was a refreshing way: You know, this isn’t great fun, but here are some nice things you

Sportswear everywhere: Alex Vanthournout’s online brand promotes the idea of living a stylishly fit life

can wear while you do it!” It struck a chord among her readers and led to her setting up a second blog, Fashercise, dedicated to healthy living. A Belgian friend in London, working in retail, asked her where she wanted to take it, and her inspiration was the new generation of young sportswear designers offering an alternative to mainstream brands. The blog developed into an online store under the same name, which the two friends launched in 2014. “People take fashion very seriously, but with our site, even

the name itself is meant to be jokey,” Vanthournout explains. “We refuse to be hardcore about either fashion or exercise.” She thinks that applies, she says, “to 90% of women, and that’s who I want to speak to. But if anyone had told me a couple of years ago that I’d be selling Lycra for a living, I’d have laughed at them.” The brands Fashercise sells aren’t cheap, but customers are paying for the combination of fashion and function. “If I’m going to spend lots of money on clothes, I want to be able to wear them more than once a week to go to

zumba, so a lot of what we sell can be transferred to your normal wardrobe. I wear sportswear to the office every day. When I have it on, there’s a much higher likelihood that I will work out.” The two friends have taken on a couple of interns and have been looking for investments and considering a mentor. Given the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, what happens next is out of their hands. “Our plan was to start expanding into Europe, and of course all that has to be shelved now. Frankly, we don’t know what’s

50 weekends in Flanders: By the sea in Ostend 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 copy of 50 Weekends in Flanders. We’ll also print one of our suggestions every week here, too. Ostend has stopped calling itself “The Queen of the Belgian Resorts”, yet this faded seaside town still has a hint of grandeur as well as a vibrant night life. You find some good fish restaurants in the old town, as well as excellent museums, bars and shops. \ visitoostende.be

Visit STADSMUSEUM OOSTENDE The fascinating Ostend City Museum is located in the former summer palace of the Belgian royal family. The grand, slightly shabby rooms are filled with an eclectic collection of curiosities gathered by the local history society, including music boxes, model ships, sea charts and ferry timeta-

bles. Look out for the reconstructed fisherman’s tavern and the big frieze commemorating the Siege of Ostend. \ oostende.be/stadsmuseum

Tee off at CHALET MINIGOLF Ostend has a beautiful mini golf course hidden in the middle of Leopoldpark. Thickly planted with trees and bushes, this is a romantic place to knock a ball around. Or you can just sit on the cafe terrace while your kids struggle with those tricky shots. \ chalet-minigolf.be

TINYURL.COM/50WEEKENDS

swimming in a sea of chopped vegetables.

\ demosselbeurs.be

Drink at GALERIE BEAU SITE This striking new place on the Ostend promenade offers a grand Art Deco interior on two floors and sweeping views of the sea. The owners have come up with an ambitious concept that combines art, design and food (pictured). Come sit on the terrace with a glass of chilled white wine and some nibbles while cool jazz plays in the background. \ galeriebeausite.com

Eat at DE MOSSELBEURS Here is one of the best places on the coast to eat mussels. It is a striking, contemporary restaurant with a black-and-white tiled floor, lamps hung from wooden winches and a spiral staircase leading to a romantic mezzanine. The diners sit in straight rows at tables covered with starched white cloths. It all feels very shipshape. The mussels come in traditional black pots,

going to happen, and we’re dreading what effect it will have in the long term,” she says. “In just one day after the vote, with the pound crashing, everything became a lot more expensive for us. We’ve taken a big hit. With a small business, you don’t have the buffers for if things go downhill.” She lives in Islington, a mixed London borough that voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU. “I can’t begin to explain what the atmosphere here is like,” she says. “I know we’re in a bubble in London, and everyone’s entitled to their opinions, but it feels very strange. There’s a sense of panic and uncertainty.” Much of the uncertainty relates to people’s individual futures. People like Vanthournout, who have lived in the country all their adult lives, say they now feel excluded. “I’ve never thought of my friends as anything other than Londoners,” she says, “but a lot of them are international, and the sentiment that I’ve heard over the past few days suggests that for the first time there’s a sense of a ‘them’ and an ‘us’. I feel suddenly I’m no longer part of this city that’s been home for so long.” From a professional point of view, she says, the Leave campaign’s rhetoric about immigrants taking jobs is particularly upsetting. “I’ve created a business here, and I’ve been able to do that because of the EU. From a personal point of view, I find it heart-breaking. And I’ve never talked so much about politics in my life.”

Listen to music at DE CRAYON This relaxed music bar is one of Ostend’s best-kept secrets. Once an artist’s haunt, it has a bohemian atmosphere with bare brick walls and a faded mural of Ostend harbour. The owners organise free concerts by indie bands and occasional art exhibitions to keep the spirit alive. They also pour several good Belgian beers, including De Koninck and La Chouffe. Kadzandstraat 10 Stay at HUYZE ELIMONICA Filip Deschacht runs a sublime B&B in a gorgeous fin-de-siècle home built in 1899. He spent three years restoring the house and redecorated the rooms with rustic white furniture and contemporary paintings. The breakfast is a spectacular spread served at a long wooden table in the basement, or out in the garden if it is warm. There is even a garage across the street for your car or bicycle. \ elimonica.be

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\ ARTS

week in arts & CULTURE Record for longest picnic table The Botanic Garden Meise has broken the world record for the longest picnic table in the world. A Guinness World Record adjudicator measured the table to be 300 metres and 58 centimetres, beating the previous record held by an organisation in Kuwait by more than 105 metres. The table, which can be used by visitors until the end of the summer, was built to symbolise the transfer of the garden from federal to Flemish hands. Staff of the garden spent two weeks building the table, which is fitted with 70 potted plants, including “forgotten vegetables” and edible flowers.

Koninklijk Circus management out to bid The city of Brussels has decided to end the contract with Botanique for the management of the concert venue Koninklijk Circus. Although De Tijd reported last year that the city wanted to manage the venue itself, it has opened the contract up to bids, which are being accepted until 29 August. The new contract, it said, would be valid for 27 years. Botanique is certain to re-apply, possibly in partnership with Ancienne Belgique.

Local artists let loose on Antwerp buildings The project Born in Antwerp has launched an open-air exhibition of work by 11 Antwerp-based artists. The works are on or around the facades of buildings in the city centre and will remain in place for at least a year. The exhibition is curated by artist Lieven Segers, one of the Born in Antwerp collaborators, and includes his own work as well as work by both luminaries such as Luc Tuymans and Fred Bervoets as well as young artists like Denie Put and Nel Aerts. “Art says something about all of us, so it has to be able to work on street level,” Segers said. “Our works are there for everyone: the passer-by, the art lover, the tourist.” The works are located in the city centre between Frankrijklei and the river, from Leopoldstraat to the university and fine arts museum, as well as inside the pedestrian tunnel under the Scheldt. A map is available from the tourist office on Grote Markt.

\ 14

“Still life with Flowers, Gilt Goblet, Almonds, Dried Fruits…” holds one of Clara Peeters’ unique self-portraits in its pewter jug

Still life secrets

A mysterious 17th-century artist has first solo show in Antwerp Lisa Bradshaw Follow Lisa on Twitter \ @lmbsie

Almost nothing is known about 17th-century artist Clara Peeters except what can be gleaned from the 40 works she left behind, which show she was a pioneer in more ways than one

hen little to nothing is known about an artist, it’s the work of curators and historians to fill in the blanks with only the art to go on. It’s a fascinating process, and one that has been put to good use in the case of Clara Peeters. There are 40 known still lifes by Peeters. A few of them belong to Antwerp museums and a few to Madrid’s Prado. The rest are scattered about in collections, but 12 of the finest have been brought together for the first exhibition dedicated to the artist: Clara Peeters: Dinner is Served at the Rockox House in Antwerp. There is no historical record of Peeters aside from her signature on her work and occasionally a date. She painted in the early 17th century, and it has been determined that she came from one of Europe’s most famously artistic cities: Antwerp. The canvases she used came from a manufacturer in the city, as did her knife: In several of Peeters’ works a butter knife appears bearing the emblem of an Antwerp silversmith. Her name, of course, suggests she comes from the southern Netherlands, but the most intriguing proof she lived in Antwerp is a notation in a document from 1635 Amsterdam that describes a painting from a collection as “A sugar banquet painted in 1608 by a woman Claer Pieters from Antwerp”. That Peeters’ gender is mentioned is not surprising. There were very few women who painted at this level at the time and fewer still who sold their paintings in the open art market. But in terms of female artists, “not having a story has hampered her”, says Alejandro Vergara, the Prado’s senior curator of Flemish Painting and Northern Schools, who curated the exhibition.

rockoxhuis.be

And, although Antwerp would have offered her a bustling community of artists and patrons, it was a place “entirely dominated by the figure of Pieter Paul Rubens,” says Vergara. “But he’s not a realist.” And Peeters was. Through her work, much can be ascertained about the kind of food and tableware that was bought and sold among the European upper classes in 17th-century Europe. “I can see Peeters being born in the late 16th century wanting to do something different,” says Vergara. “Her realism is a personal stance towards the artistic environment around her. She paints exactly the same objects as Frans Snyder and Pieter Bruegel the Elder, but she paints them in a completely different way.” Peeters arranged many of her still lifes at eye level, rather than viewed from above, and she incorporated difficult elements purposefully and with great confidence, such as in “Still life with Flowers, Gilt Goblet, Almonds, Dried Fruits…”, one of the exhibition’s highlights. It’s got seemingly every element of a great still life: food, flowers, wine and ornamental flasks, and has elements criss-crossing each other in a way that wasn’t entirely necessary but actively challenged the painter’s skill. It’s also one of the most impressive examples of a technique she pioneered: a self-portrait within a still life. Look very carefully at the pewter jug, and you will see a reflection of the painter, as well as the window she’s standing next to. It’s just one of many reflections of herself she included in her paintings, “Still life with Flowers, Gilt Goblets, Coins and Shells” being another impressive example, with no less than six images of her in the rounded elements of the gilt cup. “Van Eyck and some other 15th-century Netherlandish artists painted reflected self-portraits, but nobody had done so for a long time when Peeters did,” says Vergara. “And she is the first still life painter to do so.” The technique was a testament to her skill, but she had other reasons for doing it, he says. “The

self-portraits proclaim the worthiness not only of being a painter, but of being a woman painter. By incorporating her reflected portraits, she forces us to acknowledge her. She’s emphatic about being seen.” But that’s not the only first that can be attributed to Peeters. According to the date on “Still life with Fish, Candle, Artichokes; Crabs and Shrimp,” she painted the very first still life of fresh fish. “This is one of Peeters’ most carefully executed works,” says Vergara. “An infrared image of the painting shows how she carefully made adjustments to the composition.” The difficult elements of the painting, which is part of the exhibition, are easy to distinguish; the holes of a colander, a perforated ladle and a jug with intricate ridged patterns have been painstakingly executed. Peeters probably painted only still lifes because she never had the opportunity to leave home and live under the tutorage of a studio, as many boys did from the age of 12 or 13. That’s where figuative painting was learned through viewing live models. It’s clear to curators, however, that Peeters studied under someone. And copies of her work suggest she may have even had a studio herself. “There is a ‘relational richness’ to her work; the objects echo each other the way that lines of a poem do,” says Vergara. “Every square centimetre is exquisite. You have the idea that you want to stay in this space for a while.” When Clara Peeters: Dinner is Served moves to the Prado this autumn, it will be the venerable institution’s first solo exhibition ever devoted to a female painter. It appears a little mystery isn’t working against her.

Until 2 October Rockox House Museum Keizerstraat 12, Antwerp

\ AGENDA

july 6, 2016

If you go out in the woods today

EVENT

Open-air cinema 9 July to 17 September

t’s a testament to Belgium’s resilience – some might say stubbornness – that so many bars and restaurants invest so much money in outdoor tables and chairs, considering the amount of rain and the shortness of warm summer months. The same can be said of open-air cinema. It seems like more and more cultural institutions are installing screens to show films outside every summer, again in stark contrast to the reality of the situation. And it’s a pleasure to behold. Because open-air cinema is about turning a genre on its ear – forcing something outside that should really be in. It’s a metaphor, see.

Brussels

Across Flanders

tinyurl.com/openluchtfilm

And the quirky choice of films along with ever-remote locations is a never-ending delight. Take Zomer Films, which kicks off Flanders’ open-air cinema season this weekend. It’s staged in not one, not two, but seven spots across Leuven. It premieres with American culttrash director John Waters’ Polyester, which everyone who wants to see has already seen it but will be overjoyed to see for the sixth time, especially as Leuven is not leaving out the “oderama”. You’ll be able to smell what you’re seeing, and when it comes to Waters’ work, that’s a disgusting prospect. Kids would love this if you were insane enough to take them to this morally devi-

ant masterpiece. You can and should, however, take the kids to Film in het bos, screenings in forests across Flan-

ders. Intriguingly, the organisers devote half the screenings to families, with films like Inside Out and Minions, and half to adults, showing movies that are literally about awful stuff that happens to people in the woods, like The Revenant (bear attack) and The Lobster (assault rifles). Other open-air options includes Cinema Urbana, which is actually in an Antwerp hangar, but they put sand in it so it feels like the outdoors; Openluchtfilm Middelheimmuseum, where open-air cinema takes place in an open-air museum; and Film op het strand in Zeebrugge, with a screen right on the beach. \ Lisa Bradshaw

VISUAL ARTS

FILM

Kasper Bosmans: Specimen Days

Zomerfilmcollege: Chantal Akerman

Until 4 September Up-and-coming Flemish artist Kasper Bosmans represents a generation for whom the latest scientific hypotheses and the most ancient folk wisdom are not mutually exclusive. Bosmans’ work unites various academic disciplines as well as traditional crafts and culture under the umbrella of contemporary art. This solo exhibition focusses on a years-long project inspired by traditional heraldry. For the last three years, Bosmans has been elaborating a series of wood-panel paintings, standardised in form and folk style but bearing diverse images drawn from personal experience and artistic explorations. Specimen Days also features several of

SMAK, Ghent smak.be

Ommegang: Brussels’ annual festival, procession and openair performance recreating Charles V’s visit to the city in 1549. More than 1,400 actors and acrobats perform in a massive evening spectacle of jousting, stilt-walking, fire-eating and dancing. Buy a ticket to sit in the stands or attend the day-time festival and procession for free. 7 July, across Brussels

Cinema Zuid, Antwerp

10-16 July

vdfc.be

ma ville (Blow Up My Town, 1968), La Chambre (1972) and Hotel Monterey (1972) open the festival. More shorts and features follow, such as 1984’s J’ai faim, j’ai froid (I’m Hungry, I’m Cold, pictured) and her most famous film, Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. Many lectures are in English. \ GV

PERFORMANCE get ti ck

Antwerp

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Bill Burr: Stand-up by the American comedian, writer, actor and brain behind the animated Netflix series, F Is For Family (in English). 12 August 20.00, Stadsschouwburg, Theaterplein 1 \ stadsschouwburgantwerpen.be

MUSIC FESTIVAL Zottegem (East Flanders) Rock Zottegem: Annual outdoor rock festival, featuring Elvis Costello & The Imposters, De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig, Gogol Bordello, K’s Choice, Skunk Anansie, The Kooks, Grace Jones, more. 8-9 July, Festival terrain Bevegemse Vijvers

Bosmans’ sculptures and conceptual pieces. \ Georgio Valentino

CONCERT

Q Beach House Ostend’s seasonal watering holes are open for business. Every stretch of sandy beach has its bar, and every bar has its shtick. Q Beach House, one of the coast’s most happening spots, boasts a Top 40 vibe. That’s because the tropical-themed bar and restaurant

\ brusselbad.be

\ ommegang.be

Every year, Cinematek and the Vlaamse Dienst voor Filmcultuur join forces to host this unique film festival that combines screenings of classics and lectures by international scholars and critics. This year’s edition celebrates the late Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman, whose ground-breaking early shorts Saute

FESTIVAL Until 28 August

Brussel Bad: Five weeks of beach fun on both sides of the Brussels canal, including sports and activities, deck chairs, cocktails and food, open-air cinema and opera and a nautical flea market selling everything from windsurfing equipment to model boats. Until 7 August, Akenkaai

The Triffids Zeedijk 2, Ostend qmusic.be

doubles as the summer headquarters of Flemish pop radio station Q Music. Visitors will enjoy daily events, like concerts, appearances by media personalities and live radio broadcasts from a beached luxury yacht. Then there are the cocktails and tapas. \ GV

\ rock-zottegem.be

get tic

23 October, 18.00 Australian country-rock group The Triffids come out of retirement this autumn for the 30th anniversary of their breakthrough 1986 album Born Sandy Devotional. Recorded at the start of the Perth band’s halfdecade sojourn in London, BSD launched the UK radio hit “Wide Open Road” and continues to be cited as one of the greatest Austral-

kets n ow

Ancienne Belgique, Brussels abconcerts.be

ian rock albums ever made. The celebration is bittersweet, however, as the group is touring without founding member, lead singer and chief songwriter David McComb, who died in 1999. The surviving Triffids – including McComb’s fiddle-playing brother Robert – have recruited a cast of guest vocalists to honour his memory. \ GV

Tongeren Kroningsfeesten: Sevenyearly coronation celebration, featuring elaborate processions through the streets of Tongeren during a week of religious fervour surrounding the veneration of the Virgin Mary. Until 10 July \ kroningsfeesten.be

FAMILY Brussels Dansen in het Park: Outdoor fun for the whole family, featuring African dance and tango demonstrations, children’s entertainment, DJ sets, free hot dogs (including veggie) and samples of local brews. 7 July 18.00-23.00, Viaductpark, Viaductstraat 133 \ gcelzenhof.be

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july 6, 2016

Talking Dutch

VoiceS of flanders today

Pincer movement Derek Blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

he story in De Morgen left you in no doubt that something terrible was happening. Met duizende trekken ze dezer dagen door Vlaanderen – as we speak, they’re marching in their thousands through Flanders: de Chinese wolhandkrabben – the Chinese mitten crabs. You’d better lock your doors because these critters don’t sound too friendly. Ze laten zich door niets tegenhouden – they don’t let anything stand in their way, according to marine biologist Francis Kerckhof. So what are we up against here? Het zijn trekdieren – they are migrating animals, die in zee zijn gaan paren – that go into the sea to mate en nu terugkeren naar de binnenwateren – and are now returning to inland waters, explained Kerckhof. And don’t think for one moment that they’re cute. Overal zijn de klachten dezelfde – The complaints are the same everywhere: ze stinken – they smell, ze maken lawaai door met hun scharen aan deuren te krabben – they make a racket by scratching at doors with their pincers, ze vernielen visfuiken – they destroy fishing nets. The more you read about these crabs, the less you want them anywhere near your home. Ze kruipen overal in – they crawl into everything, tot in drinkbakken van honden toe – right into your dog’s drinking bowl, en dringen zelfs binnen in de huizen – and even push their way into houses. Where do these monsters of the deep come from? De Chinese wolhandkrab

komt oorspronkelijk uit Zuidoost-Azië – the Chinese mitten crab originally comes from south-east Asia. De eerste waarneming in België dateert uit 1933 – The first one was spotted in Belgium in 1933. But let’s not panic. De wolhandkrab ziet er gevaarlijk uit – The mitten crab looks dangerous, maar dat zijn ze niet – but they aren’t. Alleen als ze zich bedreigd voelen – It’s only when they feel threatened, richten ze zich met hun scharen op – that they attack with their pincers. Even so, they can inflict a lot of damage. In Adegem zag een bewoner zelfs 12.000 liter water uit zijn zwembad lopen – A resident of Adeghem watched as 12,000 litres of water poured from his swimming pool toen zes krabben erin kropen – after six crabs crawled inside en een vijftiental gaatjes in de plastic hoes prikten – and made a dozen holes in the plastic lining. Dat is niet verwonderlijk – I’m not surprised, Kerckhof said. De scharen zijn bijzonder scherp – The pincers are extremely sharp. You can even eat them. In China zijn de wolhandkrabben zowaar een delicatessen – mitten crabs are a delicacy in China, waar ze zelfs in gekoelde automaten in metrostations worden verkocht – where they are even sold in chilled vending machines in metro stations. You’re not allowed to eat them here, though. So watch out that they don’t sneak into your bed when you’re not looking.

In response to: Brexit: What now for Britain, Flanders and Europe? Geoff Lee: Those Brits still living [as I did for five years] as expats in your lovely country will be as welcome as you allow them to be. In response to: Smoking ban saves more than 3,000 lives, says UHasselt Dror Shtauber Freidman: It’s about time that they also make a special smoking area in the terraces. Why should the nonsmokers suffer from passive smoking when we want to enjoy the sun!

In response to: Brussels sees surge in nationality requests from British residents Nicola Johnston: I am applying nothing to do with Brexit I am just so ashamed of the England football team. In response to: Limited selection: Why does Netflix hate us? Evy Lo: Even Holland has a larger and better selection…

Barney Spender @bspender Spent a beautiful evening in Antwerp playing music with Belgians, Dutch and Germans. They ask Why? I say, I don’t know. I’m so sorry. Kori Nicole @loveKori__ While I was busy getting lost in Ghent, I stumbled upon some cute spots to walk, take pics and just chill...

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the last word Final whistle

Feeding frenzy

“We grieve when we lose a meaningful relationship with someone or something. The most powerful is a death, but the European Championships had an equally important place in our lives.”

“Don’t judge me.”

Johan Maes, grief therapist, on the national mourning following the Red Devils’ defeat by Wales (see story, p2)

Anti-social media “Call me old-fashioned, but it’s a question of fundamental politeness. Those gadgets have no place in the plenary session.”

Flemish parliament speaker Jan Peumans would like to ban smartphones and tablets from the chamber

Radio and TV host Ann Van Elsen posted a photo to social media of herself breastfeeding her baby, Jackie-Lou, starting a trend of “brelfies” by other local celebs

The eagle has landed “It looked alert and healthy, although its feathers were a bit beaten up.” Filip Van Praet spotted an American bald eagle on the roof of his house in Aalst last week, the second reported sighting of the bird of prey normally only found in North America

GIVE IT SOME WELLY This year’s edition of Rock Werchter will be remembered for its torrential rain, rivers of mud and performances by Paul McCartney, Iggy Pop and Florence + the Machine. More than 145,000 people joined the party, held near Rotselaar in Flemish Brabant last weekend.

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