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MARCH 22, 2017 \ newsweekly - € 0,75 \ rEad morE at www.flandErstoday.org cUrrEnt affairs \ P2

Politics \ P4

Spring ahead!

Don’t forget Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, 26 March. Before you hit the hay on Saturday night, push the clock one hour forward

BUsinEss \ P6

innovation \ P7

Off tO a gOOd Start

The government and schools of Flanders are reaching out to parents of foreign origin to communicate the advantages of pre-school \9

Frontiers of knowledge

EdUcation \ P9

art & living \ P10

BOOking thrOugh BruSSelS

The Passa Porta Festival of literature is this weekend, and you’ll find novelists, poets and all kinds of heady thinkers holed up across the capital \ 14

celebrating 10 years, European research council was game-changer for flemish scientists ian mundell follow Ian on Twitter \ @IanMundell

For the past decade, the European Research Council has been funding cutting-edge work around the world and across disciplines, and Flanders’ institutes have benefitted greatly from it.

he European Research Council (ERC) celebrates its 10th anniversary this week, with a series of events around the world to mark its support for cuttingedge, fundamental research. The celebration concluded on 21 March with a scientific conference in Brussels. Flanders also has reason to celebrate, since it has been exceptionally successful in the often stiff competition for ERC funds. This has helped support local academics, as well as inspiring researchers working abroad to move or return to Flemish institutions. “It’s really an incentive for promising researchers to receive

such a grant,” says Hans Willems, secretary-general of the Flanders Research Foundation (FWO), the national contact point for the ERC. “It’s a huge amount of money, and it means they have sufficient funding to perform the research they want to perform within the European Union, rather than looking to the United States or Japan.” The ERC was set up by the EU in 2007, at a time when politicians preferred funding research with clear applications, likely to have rapid commercial or social impact. In contrast, the ERC would support research at the frontiers of knowledge, where the results were uncertain and might take decades to emerge. The ideas would come from the researchers themselves, in any discipline from life science, the physical sciences and engineering, through to social science and the humanities. Researchers would also assess the ideas, picking only the

best. Three kinds of grants were devised, and continue to be awarded. Starting grants are for young researchers, ideally between two and seven years after they get their PhD, who want to move from working under a supervisor to become an independent investigator. They can get up to €1.5 million, spread over five years. Researchers who are already independent but want to build orstrengthenateamcanapplyforconsolidatorgrants,worth up to €2 million over five years. Then there are advanced grants, for research leaders with high-risk projects to pursue, which are worth up to €2.5 million over five years. Belgium has won 252 grants from the ERC since it began, of which 185 have gone to Flemish universities and research institutes. The country ranks ninth out of the 33 participating nations, behind Italy but ahead of Sweden, Austria and continued on page 5

\ CURRenT AFFAIRs

More trains, shorter journeys new nmBs cEo says scrapped trains will be brought back and journey times cut alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.org

he arrival of a new CEO has brought with it a pledge from national rail authority NMBS: more trains and shorter journey times. The promise was made by Sophie Dutordoir, less than a week after taking over from former CEO Jo Cornu. The changes, she said, will include more trains at the weekend, with the busiest lines delivering trains at least once an hour. Also, in the interest of students, extra trains will be scheduled for Sunday evenings to allow them to get back to school from home. Many late trains, which were scrapped in the

2014 plan because of low passenger numbers, will be reinstated. At the time the trains were scrapped from the schedule, the NMBS argued that there were two few passengers, but critics argued that those who did need them needed them badly. Missing from the new plan, however, are other changes requested by rail users. The Antwerp-Hasselt connection scrapped in 2014 will not be reinstated. Similarly, a cross-border connection between Ostend and Aachen still requires a transfer, as does Ostend-Brussels-Maastricht.

Dutordoir’s plan aims to cut journey times by an average of 3%, which in the best cases could save passengers 10 minutes spent in

the train. The 2014 plan extended journey times to take account of large-scale infrastructure works – and also to improve a problematic punctuality record. “A large part of those works are completed, and there is now room to reduce journey times,” a spokesperson said. “The glass is 60% full, let us say,” responded Jan Van Severen of public transport user group TreinTramBus. “There is good news and bad news, but things will be better for most users in general.”

Zulte Waregem claim Belgian Cup after penalty shootout

One dead in Brussels house fire after suspected gas leak

Goalkeeper Sammy Bossut was the hero as Zulte Waregem clinched their second Belgian Cup at the weekend, beating KV Oostende in a penalty shootout at the Koning Boudewijn Stadium in Brussels. With the score 3-3 after extra time, the match was decided on penalties for the first time since 1992. Bossut saved twice, and Zulte won the shootout 4-2. Landry Dimata put Oostende in front on 19 minutes, but Timothy Derijck swiftly replied for Zulte. Dimata restored Oostende’s lead in the second half with a neat backheel, before Zulte again equalised through substitute Sander Coopman.

One man died and seven people were injured in a house fire in Sint-Gillis in Brussels last Saturday. The explosion that led to the fire was probably caused by a gas leak, police said. “Several houses were damaged in the explosion,” a spokesperson for the Zuid police zone told Bruzz. “Three storeys and a roof caved in, as well as one facade, pieces of which fell on cars parked below.” The Brussels fire service said two houses on Waterloosesteenweg were destroyed, one completely, the other with only the facade remaining. The body of a man was found in the rubble and seven people were

Zulte took the lead in extra time through a Babacar Gueye header, but Knowledge Musona levelled from the spot, forcing the game to a shootout. Meanwhile, Genk eased into the last eight of the Europa League last week with a 1-1 draw against an insipid Gent, sealing a resounding 6-3 aggregate win. The result secured their place in the last

eight of European competition for the first time, and they will play Spain’s Celta Vigo on 13 and 20 April. The most anticipated Europa League quarter-final will pit Anderlecht against Manchester United. Anderlecht ousted Apoel Nicosia of Cyprus in the last 16, winning the second tie 1-0 in Brussels last week after having won the away leg 1-0. The omens are not good for Anderlecht, who lost 10-1 against United in 1956 and 5-1 in their last visit to Old Trafford, in September 2000. But they won their most recent game 2-1, in Brussels in October 2000. \ Leo Cendrowicz

taken to hospital, three of them seriously injured. Two of those injured were minors, aged two and 15. The casualties were reported to be members of a Romanian family and their Portuguese and Senegalese neighbours. The dead man was reported to be the Romanian family’s grandfather, though the prosecutor’s office did not confirm the reports. Brussels public transport authority MIVB laid on shuttle buses to replace two tram lines during road closures, while one bus route was diverted. Traffic has since been restored. \ AH

Moments of silence and noise to mark 22 March anniversary Belgian dignitaries were due to take part in commemoration ceremonies in three locations this Wednesday, marking the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks at Brussels Airport and Maalbeek metro station. The attacks on 22 March 2016 killed 32 people and injured more than 300. That morning, three men entered the departures hall of Brussels Airport. Two of them detonated devices contained in luggage. The third left the airport and walked into Brussels. His unexploded bomb was found later. About an hour later at Maalbeek metro station in the EU district, a fourth suicide

bomber detonated his device inside a metro carriage. On the anniversary, a minute’s silence will be observed at the airport at 7.58, the exact time the first attack took place. Belgian dignitaries, including the king and queen, political representatives, Brussels transport staff, emergency services and families of the victims, will then take the train into Brussels for the second commemoration at Maalbeek. Also at the airport, the sculpture “Flight in Mind” by Brussels artist Olivier Strebelle, which used to stand in the departures hall,

€4.86 million

people in Belgium consulted their doctor with flu-like symptoms between 9 January and 26 February, the period of the winter epidemic. Of those, 250,000 were in fact flu infections

in fines taken in by Flemish public transport authority De Lijn in 2016, an increase of 57% on 2015. Offences included parking at a bus stop, wrongful use of a bus lane and fare-dodging

will be unveiled at its new location on the approach road to the airport. A minute of silence will then be held at 9.11 at Maalbeek station, which will then be closed until 10.30. Also at 9.11, the entire MIVB public transport network will come to a halt – not for a minute’s silence but for a minute of noise. Drivers want to communicate that they will not be frightened by terrorism. Passengers are requested to take part by applauding, MIVB said. Finally, the dignitaries and relatives will move to Kleine Wetstraat, between Schumanplein and Jubelpark, for the inaugu-

ration of a memorial designed by Belgian sculptor and actor Jean-Henri Compère. \ AH

complaints against companies that have called households registered with the Do Not Call service since it was introduced in 2015. Thirty-two cases were settled; the rest were reported to the prosecutor

27th

overpaid by water customers in Flanders in 2015. Each customer pays a supplement for investment in sewer management, totalling €401 million. But investments came to only €318 million that year

place for Brussels in a list of the world’s most liveable cities, compiled by Mercer consultancy– six places down from its position last year. Vienna topped the list for the eighth year in a row

marcH 22, 2017

Week in Brief Flemish author Stefan Hertmans has made the longlist of the UK’s Man Booker International Prize for the English version of his novel Oorlog en terpentijn (War and Turpentine). The prize is given annually to an author and translator of an English translation. Hertmans is the first Belgian author to be nominated for the prize, which launched in 2005 to complement the Man Booker Prize. The federal government has reached an agreement with insurance industry federation Assuralia to double damages paid to the victims of the terrorist attacks in Brussels and Zaventem on 22 March last year. Victims and relatives of victims have complained about a lack of information from the authorities and from insurers. Federal health minister Maggie De Block and the Pharmacists’ Association have agreed to a new accord governing family pharmacists. The agreement allows families to designate their pharmacist of choice as they can now do with their doctor. This will, according to the association, encourage people to use the same pharmacist and improve medication safety.

face Of flanderS zone. The stations will, however, house bicycle parking and repair shops. Flemish mobility minister Ben Weyts is working on a new legal framework for taxi services, which would include both traditional taxis and newcomers such as Uber, Knack magazine reports. The new rules would distinguish between rank taxis, stationed at fixed pick-up points, and street taxis, which could be hailed en route. The plan is opposed by unions representing taxi drivers. RenownedAntwerpjazzcafeMuze is to re-open, perhaps as early as the end of this week, according to former bartender Joris Vyt, who has reached an agreement with the owners of the property. The former café owner closed the longrunning bar and club earlier this year, citing financial problems.

The Brussels Film Festival, which usually runs in June at Flagey and other venues in the capital, has been cancelled this year, citing a loss of subsidies from both the Brussels government and the Walloon community worth a total of €170,000. Subsidies granted by the EU and Elsene municipality will not be enough to maintain operations, the organisers said.

According to the prosecutorgeneral, judge Karine Gérard, the president of the court of assizes in Brussels, was not assaulted in the street near the Justice Palace early last year and robbed of €60,000 in jewellery, as she had claimed. Gérard is one of the country’s most prominent judicial figures, having presided over 80 jury trials. She had reported being mugged by three men and had bruises on her face, though the lack of witnesses and security camera footage as well as doubts as to the amount of jewellery in question led to an investigation. The case will now pass to the Cassation Court for a ruling on charges of fraud and making false statements.

The renovation of metro stations De Brouckère and Beurs in Brussels will not, as was announced previously, include shops and an information point for tourism agency Visit Brussels. Works begin in April on the two stations, which are adjacent on the central avenue in the centre, now a pedestrian

Brussels hip-hop star Stromae has launched a fashion line under the label Mosaert (an anagram of his stage name, which is itself an anagram of maestro). The line was designed by the artist, whose sense of style is as famous as his music, and by his wife, Coralie Barbier, a fashion stylist. The designs will

feature Stromae’s signature colourful shirts and socks. Five people in Belgium’s road haulage industry have been charged with social dumping, the federal prosecutor has announced. They are accused iof using shell companies set up in Slovakia to avoid paying social security charges in Belgium, creating unfair competition. Companies in France, the Netherlands and Portugal have also been implicated in the system. The Brussels-based consortium 12-12, made up of charity and NGO organisations, including Oxfam, Unicef and Doctors of the World, has launched a campaign to fight famine in Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, in what has been described as the worst food crisis since the end of the Second World War. At least 20 million people are undernourished, many facing death. Donations can be made to BE19 0000 0000 1212. The Nike distribution centre in Ham, Limburg, has won the Mipim architecturalawardforBestIndustrial and Logistics Development. Brussels architects Jaspers-Eyers, the Dutch design and consultancy concern Arcadis and Leuven planning bureau Pauwels are responsible for the sustainable 40,000 square-metre building. The annual Mipim in Cannes is Europe’s most prestigious award for commercial developments. Three terrorists involved in the suicide bombings at Brussels Airport and Maalbeek metro signed a contract one month prior to the attacks with energy provider Lampiris in the name of Olympic swimming medallist Pieter Timmers. The information was retrieved from a laptop found in the Schaarbeek house. Timmers and his partner, Elle De Leeuw, have been threatened with legal action for non-payment of the bill, De Leeuw revealed on social media.

OffSide Party animal In the Netherlands’ election last week, the Party for Animals (PvdD) went from two seats in parliament to five – a substantial gain for the party. Could it happen in Flanders? De Standaard decided to ask Hermes Sanctorum, who resigned from his political party, Groen, last year because of its stance on ritual slaughter, where animals are slaughtered without first being stunned. Like animal welfare minister Ben Weyts (N-VA), Sanctorum wants a total ban on the practice, while Groen is in favour of a solution negotiated with the faith communities representing Judaism and Islam, which employ the

landry mawungu Landry Mawungu seems like the perfect candidate to helm the Minderhedenforum (Minorities Forum), the NGO that aims to voice and defend the concerns of people with migrant backgrounds in Flanders and Brussels. The mixed-race son of a Congolese father and a Belgian mother, he is a self-declared ardent champion of human rights and a fervent believer in the power of social action and solidarity. And he’s been in charge of the Minderhedenforum’s Brussels operations for a couple of months. There’s just one thing that caught friends and foes of the organisation off guard when the identity of the new director was revealed earlier this month. Mawungu is only 27 years old. In a statement announcing the appointment, the organisation’s chair acknowledged and defended their choice as a purposeful signal meant to illustrate how strongly the Minderhedenforum believes “in youth and in the future”. Like the Unia interfederal centre for equal opportunities, the Minderhedenforum, based in Schaarbeek, has faced sharp criticism for being out of touch with common opinion and rocking the boat. This was clear during last autumn’s Zwarte Piet debate, when its opinion was that the beloved but controversial character, represented by white people in blackface,

mindErHEdEnforUm.BE

shouldn’t just clean up his act but disappear altogether. More often than not, Minderhedenforum detractors have pointed their arrows directly at Wouter Van Bellingen, Mawungu’s predecessor, who deftly sparred with lawmakers, refusing to let them play down issues of racism and discrimination, brandishing one sober stat after another in interviews and Twitter arguments. Mawungu is a graduate of the University of Leuven, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in comparative international politics. He subsequently filled a variety of positions at Oxfam Solidariteit, from HR to fundraising. In 2013, he co-founded the NGO ProActiv’Congo, which aims to improve living conditions of people in the Congo by supporting local agriculture, health care, education, training sectors and culture. Van Bellingen, for his part, is stepping down to execute the Integratiepact, a sweeping Flemish government action plan that aims to fight discrimination and promote mutual respect. It remains to be seen whether the fresh-faced Mawungu will as readily take up verbal arms as his predecessor. For now, he’s doing his homework, refusing to talk to press until he officially takes up his new position on 1 April.

\ Linda A Thompson

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

practice during religious holidays. According to Sanctorum, Flanders’ electoral quota, where a party can only win a seat with a minimum of 5% of the vote, means a

new animal rights-oriented party would be doomed to failure. (The quota does not exist in the Netherlands, where the PvdD won 3.2% last week.) Nevertheless, 46% of people polled in Flanders said they would decide their vote on the basis of a party’s position on animal welfare, while some 40% said the issue was a top priority for them. But there’s no room, Sanctorum told De Standaard, “on the Green side for two parties, whatever the positive poll results for Groen. Besides, Groen always does less well in elections than it does in polls.” \ Alan Hope

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, Sarah Crew, Emma Davis, Paula Dear, Andy Furniere, Lee Gillette, Diana Goodwin, Clodagh Kinsella, Catherine Kosters, Toon Lambrechts, Ian Mundell, Anja Otte, Tom Peeters, Arthur Rubinstein, 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 flanderstoday@ackroyd.be sUBscriPtions tel 03 560 17 49 subscriptions@ackroyd.be order online at www.flanderstoday.org advErtising 02 467 24 37 advertising@ackroyd.be vErantwoordElijkE UitgEvEr Hans De Loore

\ POlITICs

5th cOluMn The young Turks

Flanders has always taken a keen interest in Dutch politics. For decades, the neighbour to the north was our “guiding country”. This admiration waned around the turn of the century, with the rise of Pim Fortuyn, the Dutch politician with views similar to Geert Wilders’. But the fascination remains. The Dutch elections were marked by the incidents between the Netherlands and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdog˘an. His European campaign for an upcoming referendum that could grant him more power has resulted in clashes with both the Netherlands and Germany, after both countries banned Turkish electioneering within their borders. Flanders also has a large population of people of Turkish descent, with a clear majority of Erdog˘an supporters. After the failed coup in Turkey last summer, polarisation began to mount. Opponents of Erdog˘an often do not dare to speak up, as they feel intimidated by their own communities. N-VA politician Zuhal Demir, of Turkish descent, even received death threats after she was falsely accused of supporting terrorism in the Turkish press. Like in the Netherlands and Germany, a Turkish rally (not by Erdog˘an’s AKP, but by a more extremist party) has been banned in Antwerp for security reasons. In Ghent and Genk, gatherings will probably be allowed. All of this paved the way for a new kind of political party: migrant parties. In the Netherlands, DENK, with founders of Turkish descent, unexpectedly took three seats in parliament. Here, at least two activists with migrant backgrounds are considering starting similar parties. One of them is Ahmet Koç, a member of the Limburg provincial council. Koç was expelled from the socialist party SP.A for his Erdog˘an sympathies and alleged involvement in agitation in the wake of the failed coup. The other is Dyab Abou Jahjah. Of Lebanese origin, he became a household name back in 2003, when his Arab European League took part in the elections. He has become a fierce debater and columnist since but has been accused of antiSemitism. Unlike the Netherlands, Belgium has an electoral threshold of 5%, which makes it much harder for new parties to get into parliament. They stand a better chance in the 2018 local elections in certain municipalities. By their mere existence, they may also influence other parties, as was the case in the Netherlands. \ Anja Otte

Agreement on Oosterweel

two decades of dispute over as antwerp road project moves forward alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.org

he parties involved in negotiations over the Oosterweel Connection on the Antwerp ring road have agreed to the proposal drafted by the mediator brought in by the government of Flanders. The compromise was accepted by activist groups last month and has now also been accepted by the government and Antwerp’s city council. The Oosterweel Connection will close the circle of Antwerp’s ring road, providing a means for traffic from the port area to travel north without having to drive in a large circuit around the ring as is now the case. The original plan for the connection was fiercely opposed by three community groups – which formed specifically to fight Oosterweel – because it brought heavy freight traffic through populated areas of

From left: Representatives from community action groups wim Van Hees, Peter Vermeulen and Manu Claeys seal the deal with Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois and Flemish minister of mobility and public works Ben weyts

the city. A planned viaduct, which would have passed over a school for disabled children, was struck down by the popular vote in a 2010 refer-

endum. The proposal put forward by Flemish architect and mediator Alexander D’Hooghe – brought in from the

US to develop a compromise option – replaced the original plan with a two-part solution. The original route would remain, but would be scaled back to serve only local traffic; traffic from the port, on the other hand, would be routed to a northern bypass far from the city centre. The compromise covers the broad lines of the Oosterweel Connection. Matters such as investment in public transport and other alternatives to the car, budgetary considerations and the enclosure of sections of the ring still have to be worked out. In the meantime, the agreement was welcomed by Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois, who thanked the civil activist groups for their “special expertise, admirable perseverance and readiness to seek a solution in the general interest”. The agreement was also, he said, “a model for future co-operation”.

Parliament hosts young CEOs for mentorships

Committee on terrorist attacks questions director of Brussels’ Great Mosque

The Flemish parliament welcomed 10 young CEOs of Flemish companies last week for a two-day internship that lets them take part in the workings of the government. The initiative is organised with Voka, the Flemish chamber of commerce, and provides each CEO with a parliamentary mentor. The parliament has opened its doors for the last 10 years to organisations from civil society, and Voka has been participating since the beginning. The goal is to help both sides better understand the importance of close ties between enterprise and politics. Among the 10 taking part are Albert De Brabandere of the West Flanders brewery De Brabandere and Koen Maertens of Antwerp company Oscare, which provides solutions for burns scars and aftercare. The CEOs were met by Martine Goossens, secretary-general of the parliament, and then teamed up with their mentors to attend fraction meetings and sessions of parliamentary committees. On the second day, they took part in a debate with young members of parliament, before attending the weekly plenary session in the afternoon. \ AH

An appearance before the parliamentary investigative committee by the director of the Islamic and Cultural Centre (ICC), which runs the Great Mosque in Brussels, was a “missed opportunity” to show any co-operation to combat radicalism, according to committee members. Jamal Saleh Momenah was invited by the committee, which is investigating last year’s terrorist attacks at Brussels Airport and Maalbeek metro station, to answer questions about the influence of the ICC on radicalised youth. According to State Security services, the ICC has been instrumental in spreading Wahhabism, a fundamentalist form of Islam originating in Saudi Arabia. Momenah denied any such influ-

You have missed an enormous opportunity ence. “We offer classes on moderate Islam, nothing to do with Wahhabism or Salafism. Come and see for yourselves, our doors are open.” He also said that there had been no young men associated with the ICC who had gone to fight

Patrick Dewael and the ICC’s Jamal saleh Momenah

in Syria, then later admitted there had been one case. And he was unable to explain a bank transfer of €10,000 from the Islamic World League with the message “Syria”. “You can’t build an inclusive society with someone like this,” said Christof D’Haese (N-VA). “You have missed an enormous opportunity to present a peaceful Islam and to help overcome Us and Them thinking,” said Meryame Kitir (SP.A). “I’m terribly disappointed.” “This is a slap in the face for our committee, unworthy of a witness,” said committee chair Patrick Dewael (Open VLD). “Normally I thank each witness, but I am not going to thank you. And I am not going to leave you in peace.” \ AH

Bill against squatting agreed to by federal parliament The majority parties in the federal parliament have reached an agreement on a bill to make squatting illegal. The agreement follows widespread reports of a house in Ghent that has been taken over by a Roma community in the absence of the owners, who are currently abroad. The squatters have been given 14 days to leave the premises after the prosecutor’s office in Ghent decided they had not committed an offence. Under the law as it now stands, they cannot be accused of a crime because the house was not

occupied or furnished – despite evidence they broke into the premises. The owners bought the house while working in Vietnam, where they still currently live. The new proposal extends the powers of a justice of the peace, as well as speeding up the legal procedures involved. Squatting also, however, becomes an offence in and of itself. “Squatting becomes illegal, because it is in breach of the right to property, one of the cornerstones of our society,” according to Egbert

Lachaert (Open VLD), one of the MPs supporting the bill. When the law passes, the police will be able to intervene at the first complaint of squatting, which will avoid cases such as the one in Ghent. “That was a Kafkaesque situation nobody could understand,” said Sophie De Wit (N-VA), another supporter of the bill. “Everyone understands the logic of keeping your hands off of someone else’s property. That now also applies to your own home.”

Meanwhile the squatters in Ghent have been given 14 days by a court to vacate the premises. Until then, the owners will have to pay for utilities being used by the squatters. “We do not understand how a judge can decide something like this for us,” the couple told De Standaard. “The squatters are using electricity, gas and water at our expense. The judge doesn’t think that’s important – just as unimportant as the fire risk.” Old gas heaters still in the house do not, they said, meet even elementary safety standards. \ AH

\ COVeR sTORy

marcH 22, 2017

Frontiers of knowledge

Erc grants allow researchers to rake risks in areas from engineering to humanities scientists continued from page 1

Denmark. Flanders’ performance puts it on a par with Austria. The University of Leuven (KU Leuven) has the most impressive record, hosting 63 of the main research grants, a figure that puts it in the top 20 institutions across Europe and equal to countries such as Norway and Portugal. Next comes Ghent University (UGent), with 39 grants, and Flanders’ Life Sciences Research Institute (VIB), with 31 grants. This government-funded research institute has laboratories in universities across the region but administers the ERC grants itself. “The smaller universities also show some impressive results, with one or more grantees in every discipline,” says Willems. “That is quite an achievement.” Antwerp University has 14 grants while the Free University of Brussels (VUB) has 12. Finally, the semi-conductor research institute imec has four grants, Hasselt University has two, the Institute for Tropical Medicine in Antwerp two and the Orpheus Institute in Ghent one. These grants are a considerable asset to the institutions. “They are not only prestigious but also represent a lot of money, so we consider them important,” says Ignace Lemahieu, director of UGent’s research department. “It’s a substantial amount of financial support for basic research. Grants of this type are not available in Flanders, at least not for all disciplines, and the budget allows researchers to take some risks,” says Liliane Schoofs, vice rector for research policy at KU Leuven. “This is the only way to achieve real scientific breakthroughs.” The stiff competition to win ERC grants is also a positive factor, according to Lieve Ongena, senior science policy manager at VIB. “The ERC is pushing our researchers to go beyond the scope of nationally funded projects,” she says. “Many of these ground-breaking ideas would

liliane schoofs, vice rector for research policy at kU leuven

VIB is a government-funded research institute with laboratories in universities across Flanders but administers the eRC grants itself

never be elaborated if the opportunity of ERC funding was not available.” While the grants go to an individual researcher, they are often used to support a whole team of post-doctoral researchers and PhD candidates working on this

other factor is as important,” she says. “It’s about the best scientists and the best projects.” But that excellence comes from somewhere, and Willems thinks competition for FWO funds plays a part, helping researchers learn how to pitch their projects. “The strong

generation of top scientists – with a special focus on female scientists – to develop a plan for the ERC,” says Ongena of VIB’s approach. “In addition, we try to identify who should be applying in the coming year. We analyse CVs, we look at big research papers coming up, and we advise

not good enough.” All the institutions provide support with the bureaucracy of applying, and efforts are made to connect aspiring ERC applicants with those successful in previous rounds. Ghent has the most tangible rewards, offering grant winners without fixed appointments positions as professors. “For young researchers in particular, this is a big incentive to apply for ERC funding,” says Lemahieu. And if they win, their teaching responsibilities can be reduced to allow more time for research. Finally, the FWO has a runnersup scheme for researchers who reach the ERC’s final round but don’t make the cut for funding. “Of course it is on a much more limited scale than the ERC,” Willems explains, “but it’s an incentive for young post-doctoral researchers to submit an application. And then, based on that runner-up project, they can work on their CV, work on their research and try again one or two years later.” Some have already succeeded.

Many of these ground-breaking ideas would never be elaborated if ERC funding was not available person’s idea. It is also possible for a research group to win multiple awards, pushing forward a broader body of research. One example is Ghent’s photonics team, which has three starting grants, one consolidator grant and one advanced grant to its name. Since the grants are personal, researchers can apply while at one institution and then move to the preferred host once they are successful. The idea is that this helps tempt the best European researchers back from the US and other desirable destinations. Although within Europe the mobility cuts both ways. “There is always a risk that, if it looks more promising in Switzerland or the UK, they will take their grant and leave. But right now we are doing quite well in keeping them here,” says Willems. “We also see that more and more foreign researchers are interested in performing their research in Flanders.” According to Schoofs, the most important factor in Flanders’ ERC success is the quality of its researchers. “I’ve been a member of an ERC panel this year, and no

competition also means that only the best researchers receive funding on a post-doctoral level, and so they are well-placed to play a role on the European level.” The institutions also encourage researchers to seize the opportunity. “It starts with training the next

people individually.” Sometimes they are advised to wait, such as until an important paper has appeared. For Schoofs, the main task is reassuring hesitant researchers. “Young scientists can sometimes be reluctant to apply because they think they are

lieve Ongena, senior science policy manager at VIB

putting erc grantS tO gOOd uSe Silvana Mandolessi of KU Leuven is looking at how digital media are changing the way a nation’s collective memory is shaped. Starting grant (2016-21) €1.5 million Matteo Campioli at Antwerp University is working out the factors that determine when leaves fall from trees, knowledge that will improve assessments of forest growth and climate change. Starting grant (2017-22) €1.5 million Kevin Verstrepen (pictured), a VIB researcher at KU Leuven, is investigating whether living cells can remember past experiences, and if this helps them respond to their environment. Consolidator grant (2016-21) €2 million

Liesbet Lagae at imec is developing a device that combines chipbased cameras and digital image processing to sort and analyse blood cells, for example picking out cancer cells. Consolidator grant (2014-19) €2 million

Niel Hens at Hasselt University is looking at new mathematical models that will use medical and social data to track the movement of infectious diseases through the population. Consolidator grant (2016-21) €1.6 million

Piet Demeester of UGent is investigating a new kind of wireless network, capable of connecting dense groups of moving objects, such as robots. Advanced grant (2017-21) €2.5 million Gert Desmet from VUB is developing a new approach to chromatography in order to map all the molecules that are active in the human body. Advanced grant (2016-21) €2.5 million

\ BUsIness

Week in BuSineSS Cars Audi The Audi factory in Brussels, which is finishing up its current production of the A1 model, is to be re-tooled to build the German brand’s E-tron SUV from early next year and has pitched for a new electric model to be launched in 2020.

Retail lidl

The German retailer is taking over four Delhaize supermarkets in Flanders, in Leuven, Oudenaarde and Turnhout. In addition, the Amsterdambased Tanger Market group, specialised in halal food, is taking over two Delhaize stores in the Antwerp area. The moves are a consequence of last year’s acquisition of the Delhaize group by Ahold and the competition authorities’ demand that it sell 13 supermarkets.

Chemicals energy Recovery systems

The Saudi group that had announced a €3.7 billion investment in the port of Antwerp area to build a plastics recycling facility has missed the deadline for setting up a local legal entity. The Port Authority has extended the option until July.

Air American Airlines

The US-based carrier has shelved its plans to re-launch its flights to Brussels Airport, which were suspended after last year’s terrorist attacks. Delta Airlines, however, is re-starting its direct service from Atlanta on 26 March.

Textiles Balta

The West Flemish floor coverings group is taking over America’s Bentley Mills carpets manufacturer. The move will strengthen its activities in the US at a time when its parent company, Lone Star, is considering floating the company on the stock market or selling it.

Banking national Bank The country’s national bank is closing its branches in Kortrijk and Liège as part of the reduction of cashrelated activities. It has also confirmed the closure of the National Mint and has subcontracted the production of Belgian coins and notes abroad.

Employers may forbid wearing of religious symbols at work European court of justice rules discrimination laws were not broken alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.org

mployers in Belgium may refuse to allow the display of religious and political symbols in the workplace, providing the ban covers all such symbols, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled. If there is a ban on only one symbol, such as the headscarf worn by Muslim women, then that would be considered discrimination, the court said. The ruling follows a case brought by a Belgian woman who was fired from a job with security firm G4S in Vilvoorde. After three years working as a receptionist at the company, Samira Achbita decided to begin wearing her headscarf at work. The company then formalised its unwritten policy against the wearing of symbols that suggest a certain religion, political affiliation or philosophical belief. Achbita continued to wear

her headscarf and was dismissed. She took the case all the way to Belgium’s Cassation Court, which then turned to the ECJ for a

ruling on the interpretation of EU law on antidiscrimination. According to the court, G4S’s rules are not an example of discrimination on the basis of religion because the ban is so wide-ranging. However, if an apparently neutral rule were to be implemented in such a way that only one particular group was disadvantaged, then that would be what the court called “indirect discrimination”. The Cassation Court will now examine whether that condition is applicable in this case. “This landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice has the benefit of clarity,” commented Zuhal Demir, federal secretary of state for equal opportunities. “It gives clear guidelines to companies. The framework is also very clear for employees.”

Torfs and Easi are once again Belgium’s best workplaces

Brexit and traffic are top priorities of new Feb chair

Software developers Easi and shoestore chain Torfs have topped the lists of the best places to work in Belgium. The award is given annually in two categories – companies with less than 500 employees, and those with more than 500. This is the third year in a row that Easi has won the smaller business category. Employees were asked to fill in a questionnaire, on an anonymous basis, giving their opinions on workplace issues such as transparency, respect for colleagues, customers and suppliers, positive spirit and responsibility. “People are central at Easi,” explained Dirk Buyens, professor of human resources management at Vlerick Business School, which organises the awards with the Great Place to Work Institute and Jobat magazine. “This really is a business 2.0, where staff can make a difference for themselves and their customers.” Easi, headquartered in Nivelles, Walloon Brabant, and with offices in Leuven and Ghent, encourages staff, Buyens said, “to take on responsibilities and come up with new proposals. It is striking

Belgium’s chronic mobility problems will be one of Bernard Gilliot’s priorities as he takes over the chair of the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium (Feb). Gilliot is a former executive of Tractebel Engineering, a subsidiary of the French energy provider Engie. By tradition, Feb, which supports and promotes business interests, is headed alternately by a Dutchspeaker and a French-speaker, and Gilliot succeeds Michèle Sioen of the West Flemish textile concern Sioen. Both he and his predecessor, however, are perfectly bilingual. Gilliot picks up the reins as a selfconfessed diplomat, and among his main tasks in the coming three years of his tenure will be the effect of Brexit on Belgian business. As head of Feb, Gilliot is also chair of the Group of 10, the main negotiating committee representing government, employers and trade unions. “The Belgian economy is growing again, and employment opportunities are increasing,” said Gilliot. “The private sector took on 56,000 people last year, and we’ve become more competitive.”

that employees can even become shareholders. Moreover, great attention is paid to having fun at work. Happy employees mean happy customers.” Wouter Torfs’ shoe retail chain is also no stranger to the top of the Great Workplaces list, having won six times since 2010 in the larger company category. “There is attention to suppliers and shareholders as well as staff and customers,” said Buyens. Torfs, with headquarters in SintNiklaas and more than 70 outlets across Flanders, “aims to create a community in which all the stakeholders feel valued,” continued Buyens. “The company’s values are partly determined by the employees. There is also a strong HR policy. Staff are genuine ambassadors for their company’s culture.”

\ AH

Michèle sioen passes the Feb chair over to Bernard Gilliot

Some reforms are still needed, however, he said, “including a review of corporate taxation, which is crucial to attract investors”. Traffic, though, is Gilliot’s top priority for his term of office. It is crucial, he said, to find a sustainable solution to the tailbacks that plague the country, which have a grave effect on the economy. “Belgians sit an average 44 hours a year in traffic,” he said. “So I repeat Feb’s call to the mobility ministers: Sit together and develop a coherent, interfederal vision for mobility. Every resident of this country – commuters, employers, students – will be extremely grateful. It is possible. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” \ AH

Terrorist attacks had limited effects on business, study shows The terrorist attacks in Brussels a year ago and the events in Paris the previous November had an enormous human effect but surprisingly little economic impact, according to a study by the federal economy ministry. “The economy rapidly recovered,” said work minister Kris Peeters. “People are resilient.” Economic growth in Belgium was 1.2% in 2016, according to the National Bank and the European Commission, half of what it might have been without the attacks.

Some sectors – such as tourism, air travel, hospitality and events – were more seriously affected than others. In some cases, Peeters took emergency measures to extend the system of temporary unemployment, where workers can be temporarily put on hold and receive benefits, to give businesses breathing room. “People and companies gave the best response possible to the terrorists,” Peeters said. “They carried on. They showed

their resilience. Our country and our economy refused to bow down. That’s the positive note I’m taking from this.” Several sectors suffered, however, including tourism in Brussels. In the aftermath of the November 2015 Paris attacks, including the period when Brussels was under lockdown, hotel overnight stays were down 20% on the previous year. Things picked up in January and February, before the Brussels attacks in March, when figures

dipped again by some 35% and stayed depressed for longer. Retail sales in the first quarter were 2.8% lower than the same period in 2015. Brussels Airport lost an estimated €105 million over the whole of 2016, including 12 days when it was completely closed following the March attack in its departure hall. The airport closed 2016 with a profit of €17.5 million, €2.5 million of which was paid in bonuses to airport staff in recognition of their dedication in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. \ AH

\ InnOVATIOn

marcH 22, 2017

Putting the eco in economy

Week in innOvatiOn Helping elderly migrants is care story of the year

tree-planting project combines commerce with sustainability toon lambrechts More articles by Toon \ flanderstoday.org

Eco-on-mE.com

he idea behind Eco On Me is to combine an ecological consciousness with an entrepreneurialspirit.Thepeoplerunning the project aim to map out an environmentally friendly economy, where it’s easier for people to make choices that benefit the planet. “Nature and ecology have been the threads that run through almost everything I’ve done,” says Ben Brumagne, one of the project’s founders. “But it got to a point where I wanted to have a bigger impact on society.” Then he came up with a simple idea. “Why not offer a product, whatever it might be, and link it to the planting of a tree? I spoke with other people about my ideas, and Eco On Me came out of it: a group of five young people who share an enthusiasm for ecology and entrepreneurship.” Eco On Me, which is based in Brussels, put their ideas to the test in the run-up to Christmas last year, with their Tree For Life project. The idea is simple: putting a tree under the Christmas tree. “People flood each other with presents at this time of the year,” says Brumagne. “So we thought, why not offer trees as a gift?” The result was a sapling from an indigenous tree, wrapped in locally produced packaging.

Finding ecological alternatives to common products can be a hassle The species were selected for their fruits, nuts or blossoms and came with a set of recipes. An ideal present for eco-minded friends and family. “We managed to sell 1,500 trees in a few weeks,” says Brumagne. “On top of that, we pledged to

eco On Me co-founder Ben Brumagne (centre) at a tree-planting event

plant an additional tree for every tree we sold.” Finding land to plant these trees turned out to be the toughest nut to crack. “We contacted a lot of municipalities and local councils, but without success. In the end, we found space to plant our part of the share at two biological farms. A group of volunteers gave us a hand, and the last of the 1,500 trees have just been put into the ground.” With the tree-planting season in its last days, the Tree For Life project is on hold until next winter. But Eco On Me has other plans in the meantime, says Brumagne. “We want to develop a gigantic webshop for ecological products. It’s needed, because finding ecological alternatives to common products that aren’t harmful to the planet can be a hassle. Even today, in 2017, things like ecologi-

cally sound clothes are hard to find.” There is definitely a market of ecologically conscious consumers, he believes. “And the alternatives are out there. A lot of steps in the right direction have already been taken. For almost everything there is an ecological option. But these products lack visibility, and that’s something we’d like to change. It might sound ambitious, but we believe it can be done.” The new project is being fine-tuned at the moment. But the concept of combining the sale of ecological products and a tree planting programme is still there. “It’s not clear yet how we will do it, but the idea is that for every product that is sold through our platform, a certain percentage will be invested in planting trees. With every purchase, customers will be giving something back to nature.”

Incubator helps Flemish start-up make waves around the world If you follow energy news, you may have already read this year about the start-up Flemish hydropower scheme that won a prestigious award in Chile. What you may not know is that its success is due – in part – to a bank. The start-up, Turbulent, began life in Flanders and is one of the success stories of the start-up incubator and accelerator supported by KBC. Since it was launched at the end of 2013, Startit@kbc has grown “exponentially”, co-founder Lode Uytterschaut says, and has overseen the development of about 480 new concerns. It’s spread across the region and now has hubs in Ghent, Hasselt, Antwerp, Leuven, Brussels and Kortrijk. The idea remains the same – pick a handful of start-ups with promise, offer them space, workshops and access to experts and watch as they grow. This year, the programme has upped the challenge for budding entrepreneurs by introducing a panel review stage after three months, to make sure things are on track. The change came after the owners of businesses that had already benefitted from the programme said that a time pressure would help with focus. Uytterschaut’s advice for newcomers is always the same: “To start with, 90% of your time should be on your team.” A good team and a bad idea can be improved, he says, but the reverse will never work.

Turbulent team members studying a potential site in Chile

He says the programme’s jury – which deals with the selection process – doesn’t focus on any one sector, and the scheme’s website features some of the health apps, tech start-ups and food businesses that have passed through its doors. This variety allows the start-ups to collaborate, he says, as the programme’s shared space lends itself to “cross-fertilisation”, where trainees can mingle during breaks. While all projects are welcome to apply, Uytterschaut says one of their aims for the coming

startit.BE

year is to get more female-led start-ups on the books, especially in technology. Statistics from 2016 showed a 4.1% increase in the number of start-ups in Flanders, but it still remains a largely male-dominated pursuit. “Our community is around 80% male, but I don’t see any reason why this should be,” he says. “We should be focusing on getting more women to take up entrepreneurship. We have to step up to help them.” Plans are in place for partner events with Straffe Madammen, a Flemish organisation that works to make women more visible in the media, business and conferences. Uytterschaut: “We have to say to women ‘It’s ok to want to start a business in Belgium, and we are here to help you’.” There are also plans this year to expand Startit by inviting corporate start-ups to benefit from the training. The idea came after organisers realised that creative ideas are often swallowed up in big business, leading to wasted potential. “Corporations have big structures and don’t have a framework to support innovation,” Uytterschaut explains. “And they need to innovate to stay relevant.” Startit is offering corporate employees the chance to work on an idea surrounded by top entrepreneurs. “There you see magic happen,” he says. “They’ll return to their corporation ready to build a more entrepreneurial culture.”

The Brussels organisations Familiehulp and Eva have won the Care Story of the Year award, given at the Dag van de Zorg, or Day of Care, congress in Brussels last week. The organisations were recognised for their collaborative project that trains healthcare professionals to better reach elderly people with a migration background. The Care Story of the Year award, given by the Ghent-based non-profit Dag van de Zorg in collaboration with the Red Cross, rewards an “inspiring, authentic story of a small or large organisation that works every day to provide the best care”. The jury selected the winner from 31 applications, with Familiehulp and Eva receiving a collective prize of €10,000.

Brussels cyclists to ping danger spots

The Brussels-Capital Region’s mobility department is launching a new project in which cyclists are asked to map dangerous spots by “pinging” them with a Bluetooth-enabled device. The project, called Ping if You Care, is set up in collaboration with Mobiel 21 and Bike Citizens. The first test phase starts in May. Five hundred cyclists will be given a device that can be attached to their bicycles or to their clothing. Every time they are involved in a traffic incident or pass a spot they think is unsafe, they push a button, and the location will be communicated to an app. This will tell the city whether any given site is a chronic problem that affects multiple cyclists.

PlA1 gene boosts corn harvest, says VIB

Researchers at the Flemish life sciences research institute VIB and Ghent University (UGent) have discovered that the PLA1 gene strongly increases the growth and yield of corn. The researchers, whose findings were publishedinthesciencemagazine Nature Communications, succeeded in boosting corn’s biomass and seed production significantly by increasing the power of its PLA1, resulting in an additional yield of 10 to 15%. The growth-enhancing effect of PLA1 was confirmed through field trials that took place in Belgium and in the US. According to the researchers, the results are crucial in the search for stable crops in more extreme weather conditions. \ Andy Furniere

\ Mari Eccles

\ eDUCATIOn

marcH 22, 2017

Well begun is half done

Week in educatiOn

new action plan aims to make pre-school accessible to all children andy furniere More articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.org

landers is among the best performing regions in the world when it comes to the number of children attending pre-school, but some parents still have reservations about the quality of care. A new action plan spearheaded by education minister Hilde Crevits aims to change that. About 1.3% of all five-year-olds in Flanders – some 850 children – were not registered at a pre-school last school year. Of those who were, 2,326 – or around 3% – were absent too often, according to the government’s attendance threshold of 220 half days. Although pre-school participation in Flanders is among the highest in the world, the government sees room for improvement. Crevits points to the results of a recent OECD study – known as the Pisa study – as the reason for the new action plan and the increase in investment. The study shows that 15-year-olds who attended more than a year of pre-school perform significantly better at school than those who didn’t. “At pre-school, toddlers learn essential skills, like perse-

verance, curiosity, self-control and group behaviour,” explains professor Michel Vandenbroeck of the department of social welfare studies at Ghent University. “They also get used to the structure of the school day.” Statistics show that children of foreign origin – often those of Central and Eastern European background – and children from disadvantaged backgrounds who live in larger cities are less likely to attend pre-school. The new action plan, called Elke dag kleuteronderwijs telt (Each Day at Preschool Matters), focuses on reaching those parents. “Studies show that almost all parents understand the importance of pre-school, but some of them are worried about the care their children will receive,” says Vandenbroeck. Some parents, for example, worry that their child will be bullied or punished because they are not fluent in Dutch, he continues. “Since we also have a tradition of dropping children off at the school gate, parents often find it difficult to discuss their concerns with school staff.”

To put parents at ease, last year the government launched a preschool starter kit, together with the education platform Klasse. It contains information in 13 languages and acts as an easy-toread manual for parents. The starter kit, which is distributed free at primary schools and social aid organisations and can also be ordered through the mail or downloaded online, focuses on the barriers experienced by poorer families and by parents of foreign origin. The kit is intended to help parents engage with their children, by providing tips on how to talk to them about their experiences at school. The government has also been investing heavily in the next generation of teachers by reorganising college and universities’ education studies to better cater to the challenges ahead. Crevits has, for example, provided support to Kleine Kinderen Grote Kansen (Small Children, Big Opportunities), a project by the King Baudouin Foundation that aims to help future pre-school teachers deal with poverty and diversity. At the start of this year, Flanders

also appointed an official preschool co-ordinator, who will identify problem areas and provide best practices on improving preschool participation. Initially, the co-ordinator will focus on larger metropolitan areas like Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels. To gain a better understanding of the specific problems faced by each municipality, the government is also mapping out the number of toddlers who are not attending pre-school in the given area. The minister is also working on a strategic plan for primary schools, which will encompass pre-school education. The plan is intended to improve funding of pre-school education, which is currently lower than that of primary education. Experts like Vandenbroeck are optimistic about the plans put forth by the education ministry. But the professor warns that it’s naïve to think that this will eradicate inequality in the education system. “Children from a disadvantaged background face many barriers throughout their school years,” he says. “And we have to deal with them all.”

New candidate in running to be Ghent University rector A second team has entered the race to be Ghent University’s rector and vice-rector. Guido Van Huylenbroeck and Sarah De Saeger will compete against Rik Van de Walle and Mieke Van Herreweghe. Two candidates, a man and a woman, must form a team, one of whom aims to become rector and the other vice-rector. Van Huylenbroeck and Van de Walle want to become rector, while De Saeger

and Van Herreweghe hope to be vice-rector. Current rector Anne De Paepe is not planning to run for a second term. Van Huylenbroeck is a former dean of the bioscience engineering faculty and the current academic director of internationalisation. His running mate, De Saeger, is a professor in the bio-analysis department. Their campaign focuses on integ-

rity and transparency. They want to improve student performance by giving them more autonomy in the learning process. A new management structure should ensure a more participatory policy, they said. Van de Walle is dean of the engineering and architecture faculty and leads the department of electronics and information systems. Van Herreweghe is an expert in

English linguistics. “We want a dynamic university, which places importance on social commitment,” they said in a statement, “with attention to pluralism, diligence, respect for human rights and fact-checking.” The election takes place at the end of April and is the first time staff and students will be able to vote.

\ AF

What did your PhD analyse exactly? I studied how Belgian and Dutch people with Moroccan roots are represented in newspapers and how this affects the extent to which they feel Dutch or Belgian, and Moroccan or Muslim. So whether a relationship exists between the representation in the media and their identification processes. What were your most crucial findings? That newspaper content is shaped by a Western cultural lens in which Islam and non-Western roots are negatively perceived, and that it’s impossible to produce objective news. The majority of people I spoke to as part of my study had

fashioned a positive identity that combined their Moroccan, Dutch, Belgian and Muslim backgrounds, while others rejected these labels and identified as cosmopolitan world citizens. A third group had progressively started to identify less as Belgian or Dutch because they felt that people only ever saw them as Moroccan or Muslim. A larger-scale survey revealed that there is no statistical relationship between how strongly someone identifies as Moroccan or Muslim and how strongly they feel Dutch or Belgian. That means that it’s not at all necessary to renounce your Moroccan or Muslim identity in order to feel Dutch or Belgian. There is simply no relationship between the two.

dices are so that we don’t let them determine our behaviour. Journalists are no different. Where they differ is in the responsibility they have in their presentation of facts. They’re not just influenced by these cultural lenses; they also express them.

What lessons should journalists draw from your study? I would advise them to acknowledge that their articles aren’t objective. People around the world have stereotypes and prejudices about certain demographic groups. We have to be honest and acknowledge what our preju-

The Catholic education network and the Christian Education Union would like there to be a master’s degree in education for primary school teachers, to give the job higher status. For some time, education experts have been looking to Scandinavian countries where all teachers – including pre-school teachers – have a master’s degree. Lieven Boeve, head of the Catholic education network, told VRT that teachers with a master’s degree would mix with colleagues with a bachelor’s degree, leading to positive cross-fertilisation and an increase in the quality of education. The big problem is the cost, as primary school teachers with a master’s are entitled to a higher salary.

Brussels schools introduce lottery system Starting in 2018, registration in Dutch-speaking secondary education in Brussels will no longer be organised via a first-come, first-served basis. Instead, a lottery is being introduced. In the current system, parents sign their kids up online immediately once registrations are open, hurrying to get the school of their choice. Some parents rein in help from their family and friends, who all try to sign up the child as soon as registrations are open. The result is that the most popular schools are full within a few minutes – or even seconds. For registrations for the school year 20182019, a lottery system will generate a number for each student. Those numbers will then be prioritised at random.

new candidate for kU leuven rector

Q&a Anna Berbers, who obtained her PhD from the University of Leuven’s Institute for Media Studies, looked into the representation of Muslims in Flemish and Dutch media

Master’s for primary school teachers

Are you saying that journalists should help readers become more media savvy? Yes, because the negative perception as part of this cultural lens – experienced both in day-today interactions with native-born populations and in news articles – strongly affected a small number of the Dutch and Belgian Muslims I interviewed. I found that it has a potentially very harmful influence on them and could cause them to feel less connected to Dutch and Belgian society. \ Interview by Linda

A Thompson

Luc Sels, the dean of the economics and business sciences faculty, has announced his candidacy to become rector of the University of Leuven (KU Leuven). Ahead of the announcement, current rector Rik Torfs was the only candidate for the May election. Sels, 50, is both the youngest and the longestserving dean at KU Leuven, having led his faculty since 2009. De Standaard describes him as a rational decisionmaker, bridge-builder and manager. He is credited with his leadership in the integration of Antwerp and Brussels campuses into the KU Leuven structure. Sels said he would like to see more international collaboration with top international institutions and bigger focus on quality scientific research, he said. \ AF

\ lIVInG

Week in activitieS Flandriens City walk As all cycling fans know, a flandrien is a Flemish cycling hero. On this guided walking tour of Bruges, learn all about the history of cycle racing in the region and the famous Tour of Flanders race as you visit places connected with the sport. (In Dutch) 26 March 10.30-12.30, In & Uit, ’t Zand 34, Bruges; €7 \ tinyurl.com/deflandriens

Hasselt Carnival The city of Hasselt celebrates Carnival not at the beginning of Lent but at the season’s halfway point, offering residents a break from 40 days of fasting. The entire weekend is given over to silliness, including a clown parade and “wrong” pub crawl on Saturday, and the the main Carnival parade on Sunday. 26-27 March, Hasselt city centre; free \ uitinhasselt.be

Use-IT walking Tour Every Monday, the company that publishes the free folding maps of major cities in the world, geared primarily at students and backpackers, offers a free tour of Brussels led by a young local. The route changes every week and focuses on neighbourhoods outside the tourist centre, with tips on cheap eats, street art, good coffee and hidden gems. 27 March 14.00, Galerie Ravenstein 25, Brussels; free \ tinyurl.com/use-it-walk

Farewell Tour of Insect Hall The Natural Sciences Museum’s old Insect and Shell Halls will close permanently after the spring school holidays. Go behind the scenes for a last guided look at the displays and collections. Intended for adults; coffee included. Registration required. (In Dutch) 31 March 14.00-16.00, Vautierstraat 29, Brussels; free \ naturalsciences.be

Register for Brussels 20k Registration opens this weekend for the annual halfmarathon through the centre of Brussels. Registrations are capped at 40,000 and usually sell out. The course starts and ends in Jubelpark and passes through the Woluwepark and Ter Kamerenbos. 28 May 10.00, Brussels; €25 \ 20kmdebruxelles.be

\ 10

Free your mind

monthly talks on all kinds of subjects offer guidance in uncertain times noreen donovan Follow noreen on Twitter\ @noreenMeets

aPPlEfortHEBrain.BE

hen Ellen Verellen was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2012, her life as she knew it came to an abrupt halt. Four years later, having quite her busy job as a journalist, the 33-year-old from Brasschaat, Antwerp province, created Apple for the Brain, an organisation that hosts evenings where like-minded people can come together to talk, discuss and feed their minds. “Apple for the Brain is for people who want to develop themselves, who are busy with the future of the planet and with what that future entails for their children,” says Verellen. Topics vary, she says, and include “health, the planet, a holistic way of living, current affairs, philosophy, psychology and trends”. After a miscarriage, Verellen realised that she had to slow down and reduce the stress in her life. But it was during her second pregnancy, when she suddenly lost sight in her left eye, that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Following the two pregnancies and self-injecting MS treatments, but also paralysis of her limbs, sleepless nights and excruciating pain, Verellen decided it was time to look at other options. She made an appointment with a holistic practitioner and acupuncturist. After a while, she began to feel better. “After the second pregnancy, my body just crashed; I couldn’t move my legs, I couldn’t move my arms, I didn’t have enough energy to hold my own baby,” she says. “I’ve been completely stable for three years

Apple for the Brain founder ellen Verellen with the famous Flemish psychiatrist Dirk De wachter

now, and I have more energy than before my diagnosis, but I’ve also changed my lifestyle completely.” Verellen founded Apple for the Brain while trying to decide what to do with her new-found energy. She had flirted with teaching, but it wasn’t until she took part in a TV programme on holistic medicine that she came up with the idea of inviting positive, like-minded speakers to

present their ideas to people in a relaxed atmosphere, culminating in conversations and networking. Last October, Apple for the Brain hosted its first speaker: wellknown Flemish journalist and VRT’s US correspondent, Björn Soenens. His presentation was attended by 270 people and focused on how the post-9/11 social and economic climate in the US has led to Donald Trump’s

rising popularity. Since then, speakers have included columnist and author Guillaume van Der Stighelen, physician and holistic practitioner Evelyne Vanderschueren, and the psychiatrist and bestselling author Dirk De Wachter. The first presentation in English will be held on 28 March, with British author and master hypnotist Matt Hudson explaining how the brain and the mind are two separate entities. Verellen plans to invite other well-known English speakers, but “we have to get the fundamentals right first,” she says. Verellen runs two other related series, Apple for your Business and Apple for the Young Spirit, which she calls Apple for the Brain’s “brothers and sisters”. The first Apple for your Business event, scheduled for next month, “will be about everything to do with health and your business”, while the Apple for the Young Spirit, Verellen says, is specifically aimed at reawakening “the creative part of our children’s brains”. The monthly events, which take place at Antwerp’s Felix Pakhuis, are accompanied by organic food and wine, and the format, she says, is comfortable. “Instead of standing in front of a whiteboard, the speaker moves around, and the people are seated on couches.” Think of them as evenings out, she continues, with like-minded people discussing topics in a cosy atmosphere. “I believe that we live in times that are full of fear and anxiety and people need the time to be together. Let’s get information, let’s feed our minds.”

Bite

sjalot en schanul owners want customers to feel at home The owners greet us cheerfully as we step through the door. With an open kitchen and walls decorated with holiday snapshots and souvenirs, Sjalot en Schanul makes you feel as if you were eating at home. Menu choices at this long-established Antwerp restaurant aren’t abundant, but seeing the food being prepared is pure joy. From our table on the ground floor, we see the owners, Marieke Avermaete and Chrisje Van Genecthen, work on our dishes. While Sjalot en Schanul is famed for its artichoke salads, I opt for Yvette Crevette, an avocado salad with grey shrimp. The generously portioned salads are rich in flavour; mine comes with the house dressing, an all-time favourite here. The recipe, says Avermaete, “has remained a secret for 24 years, but people would crack up if they heard how simple it is.” One of my dining companions asks for the popular Santa Rosanna, a beef tenderloin with fried potatoes and endive salad. Named after one

Marieke Avermaete (left) and Chrisje Van Genecthen

of Sjalot en Schanul’s most dedicated clients, Rosanneke, who’s been coming here since the restaurant opened in the early 1990s, it’s praiseworthy. Potatoes are peeled on the spot and come with a crispy coating. The third member of our party goes with the pasta Tante Tis, named after Avermaete’s mother. Composed of pasta, chicken, garlic and countless vegetables, it tastes sublime, especially

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when complemented with a glass of white wine. At Sjalot en Schanul, even traditional Flemish dishes get new names. Avermaete takes pride in With Love in the Oven, which is just Belgian endive and ham in cheese sauce, a winter staple in Flanders. “We’ll sell one of these even on the hottest day of the summer,” she says. While some items on the menu are priced a bit high – €25 for a meal-sized salad or €30 for the beef tenderloin, including a glass of wine – the sublime flavours and freshness make it worth it. Then, there’s the owners’ endless enthusiasm and energy. The rainbow-coloured Statue of Liberty on the bar serves as a reminder of the legalisation of gay marriage in the US – a memorable day for Avermaete and Van Genecthen, who got married some 11 years ago. “It will never, ever leave,” says Avermaete, glancing resolutely at Lady Liberty. \

Daan Bauwens

Oude Beurs 12, Antwerp

marcH 22, 2017

A city that works for everyone

flemish architects emphasise importance of urban context tom Peeters More articles by Tom \ flanderstoday.org

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An exhibition in Antwerp curated by Ghent architect Paul Vermeulen looks at architecture that adapts to changing societies and involves citizens in their surroundings.

“G

ood points / Some bad points / But it all works out.” On “Cities”, a track on the influential Talking Heads album Fear of Music, David Byrne describes a man looking for a city to live in. It could just as well be the singer himself, who’s known for riding his bike in the cities he visits on tour. He even wrote a book about it (Bicycle Diaries, 2009), in which he had plenty of interesting things to say about the urban landscape. Architect Paul Vermeulen relates to the way Byrne discovers a city. So it’s no surprise the songwriter’s words appear on a wall at Find Myself a City to Live In, the exhibition he’s co-curated at Antwerp’s deSingel with Henk De Smet. Together they run the Ghent architecture bureau De Smet Vermeulen. Founded in 1989, the firm has always emphasised that good architecture is much more than just buildings. Through exhibitions, teaching at the University of Leuven and collaborating with architecture schools throughout Europe, Vermeulen and De Smet are at the forefront of a movement that considers the urban context more important than individual designs. “The way they approach architecture, rather like a social discipline and a public project, is not only inspiring, it is crucial in our turbulent times,” Bart Tritsmans of exhibition organiser Flanders Architecture, said on the opening evening. Architecture has to adapt to a changing society, and that means collaborating with all stakeholders. “A space claimed by one particular group fails as a public space and becomes parochial,” Vermeulen once wrote in the architectural journal OASE, discussing use and appropriation. “But the parochial realm may be neglected as well when, for instance, neighbours fail to recognise their shared interest. So a purely morphological concept of urban space is insufficient. This is why we use ethnographic observation during the design process.” Vermeulen was referring to Broek, the bureau’s project for the waterfront in Vilvoorde. This multiethnic area had an industrial past and used to be a lively neighbourhood. “Through observation, we got to know the stakeholders,” the architects explain in the exhibition’s brochure. They had meetings with city services, owners and developers, but also went to the streets

Week in artS & culture king of the Belgians wins award in Us The film King of the Belgians by Ghent-based directors Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth has won the Global Vision Award at the Cinequest Film & VR Festival in San Jose, California. The film, which opened in Belgium last November, follows a fictional Belgian king as he struggles to make it home from Turkey after solar storms curtail flights and disable communication systems. It premiered to a 20-minute standing ovation at last year’s Venice Film Festival, and has also won the annual Audiovisual Award from the Belgian authors’ rights organisation SACD and the KNF Award for best Dutch co-production at the Rotterdam Film Festival. \ kingof.be

De krook architects win Pritzker Prize

Just as the architects’ designs evoke what’s already in the city, so the exhibition appropriates the floor, ceiling, walls and windows

and started conversations, including with children and the elderly. “Spatially, the waterfront must be united with the fabric on the road,” they say. “Socially, the various users must search for a common interest. The intimidating thoroughfare is replaced by streets. Empty factory buildings can be reused for local or urban needs.”

len explained at the opening of the exhibition. “You have to see the border between the garden and the high-rise, and do something with it. From a small-scale perspective, you have to be able to see what can be relevant on a large scale.” Here, the answer was laying a new street, not on the border but across

As an architect, you have to be able to read the city. You have to see the border between the garden and the high-rise and do something with it A hangar that was meant to make way for the thoroughfare is already being used as a local community centre. This example of urban development from the bottom up illustrates the architects’ approach, while highlighting the importance of street and community life and assembling all kinds of differences. The Broek project shows how smart architectural interventions have a positive impact on the form and use of the city. Rather than a visionary plan, it’s all a matter of the right balance between continuity and change, according to the architects. Another example of their craft of connecting is found on the left bank of the Scheldt in Antwerp. Designing a day-care centre and a residential care centre, they were involved in the Intergenerationeel Wonen Project LinkerOever (Iglo). “As an architect you have to be able to read the city,” Vermeu-

the parks and the high-rise building and letting low-rise construction penetrate the high-rise. While doing so, the architects established connections – between the materials of the low-rise and the panels of the high-rise – as well as differences, such as the windows. “Evolution and complexity replace the intransigence of the past,” the brochure says. The Iglo project also demonstrates how the architects are inspired by everyday urban phenomena, which are given new meanings. This is a process of upgrading the ordinary so it is no longer seen as banal. Take the birds that inspired the lighting in the day-care centre. Long narrow lamps evoke the bird’s slender body, with noise minimising baffles on each side,

Until 11 june

made of white cloth to represent the wings. Here, the architects have connected the unspoiled imagination of the children with the city sky outside. Just as the architects’ designs are an evocation of what’s already in the city, so the exhibition appropriates the floor, ceiling, walls and windows. Furniture is used to evoke a plain urban foundation for the surrounding area, stuffed with drawings, scale models, mock-ups and video projections in many materials. Irregularities are not hidden but processed in the scenography, ready to start a dialogue with the environment. Setting up a dialogue, in this case between people moving through the city, was also the main goal of Vermeulen De Smet’s design for Maalbeek metro station in Brussels, where a glass wall connects the car park and the metro. As a result, the underground city-dweller can distinguish car headlights while standing in the station’s main hall and feel more connected with the surrounding city. “In ‘Cities’, David Byrne calls London a small city, and Memphis home to Elvis and the ancient Greeks,” Vermeulen said at the exhibition, adding that this singer in an oversized suit, with a scale model in his hand, dancing stiffly and singing his lungs out, could be his patron saint. “Now, it’s up to architects to find out where an oversized London is small.” And to find new connections and associations between the past and the future.

desingel International Arts Campus Desguinlei 25, Antwerp

The architects that co-designed De Krook, Ghent’s new library and multimedia centre, have won the Pritzker Architecture Prize. The award, sometimes referred to as “architecture’s Nobel”, is given annually by the Hyatt Foundation, based in Chicago. RCR Arquitectes in Olot, Spain, were selected for the prize because “their work demonstrates an unyielding commitment to place and its narrative,” said the jury, “to create spaces that are in discourse with their respective contexts.” RCR are responsible for many buildings across Europe, including the Soulages Museum in Rodez, France; the Barberí Laboratory in Olot; and the Joan Oliver library, senior centre and gardens in Barcelona. \ pritzkerprize.com

Crowdfunding for dinosaur exhibition

The Natural Sciences Museum in Brussels has launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance a new permanent exhibition featuring the skeleton of a plateosaurus they have affectionately named “Ben”. Some €25,000 is needed to arrange the installation of the 210-million-year-old remains. The plateosaurus was a herbivore that walked upright, known for its long neck and exceptional length. Ben is five metres long and must be fixed on a customised metal frame. If the campaign is successful, he could be on display by the end of the year. It would be the first time since 1883 that a new original dinosaur fossil would be displayed in Brussels. \ growfunding.be/plateoteam

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The Bulletin and ING Belgium invite you to a free seminar on

PROPERTY TODAY

for EXPATS living in BELGIUM • Kristien Viaene,

Managing Director, Noa Real Estate: “The latest developments on the market”

• Alexis Lemmerling

March 23, 2017

ING BANK NV – 24 Av. Marnix. Entrance via Rue de Trône, 1 – 1000 Brussels

(nearest subway station: Trône) • starts at 6 PM

notary, Berquin notaries: “An update on the recent legal changes”

• Dave Deruytter,

head of expats and non-residents, ING Bank: “How to finance and insure your private property in Belgium? – what about taxation?”

Free entry • Register before March 22 at https://goo.gl/dcsYF2

\ ARTs

marcH 22, 2017

Made to move

Bozar retrospective breathes new life into Pol Bury’s transfixing art ian mundell follow Ian on Twitter \ @IanMundell

udging by the number of his sculptures around Brussels, there must have been a time when Pol Bury was the city’s favourite public artist. But while his monumental fountain on Koning Albert II-laan still flows, the others are in a sorry state. His “Moving Ceiling” in Beurs metro station, for instance, hasn’t moved in years, and the “Sky Catcher” on Lignestraat, marred by graffiti, is equally still. This is the saddest part, because Bury is a kinetic artist; his work was made to move. You can see the desired effect in a retrospective at Bozar, which covers not just his monuments and fountains but smaller pieces, with subtle movements that demand close attention from the visitor. Bury was born in 1922 near La Louvière, one of Wallonia’s mining towns. He briefly attended art school in Mons but dropped out to follow the Surrealists, and in particular Belgian painter René Magritte. After the Second World War, Bury moved towards more abstract painting, joining first the broadly modernist Jeune Peinture Belge movement, then the CoBrA group, which was split between Brussels, Copenhagen and Amsterdam. This changeability was partly down to his evolving ideas about

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art, partly because he never quite found his place. “Groups are useful, provided you can get out of them,” he said, looking back at this period in his life. The movement that mattered, in the art itself, was inspired by a 1950 exhibition of mobiles by American artist Alexander Calder. From 1953 on Bury started to make moveable abstracts, with pivoting, brightly coloured panels that could be re-arranged by the viewing public. But when the public insisted on spinning things around as quickly as possible, he resorted to motors to reduce the movement to a slower, more contemplative speed. He continued to work collectively in and around Brussels, co-founding the Art Abstrait group in 1952 and a year later putting his name to a manifesto for Spatialism, which emphasised the importance of time, duration and movement in art. In 1959 he was asked to put together an exhibition at the Hessenshuis in Antwerp. Under the banner Vision in Motion/ Motion in Vision, he brought together artists such as Yves Klein, Daniel Spoerri and Jean Tinguely, who would help turn the German

Until 4 june

Zero Group of Otto Piene and Heinz Mack into an international movement. But Bury did not join them, preferring to work alone or in more personal collaborations. In 1961 he left Belgium for France, and later moved to the US. But time and motion now became central to his work, as the retrospective demonstrates. While the initial objects are still designed to hang on a wall, they are more like sculptures. Rows of wooden pegs move slowly and click against one another, manipulated by a motor concealed in the frame. Forests of nylon filament, the end of each marked by a blob of white paint, rustle and flex, the small movements looking eerily like hairs rising on your arm. Spheres balanced on slopes edge slowly up and back, recalling the myth of Sisyphus. In other pieces this turns into a subtle exploration of perspective, as spheres of diminishing size appear to edge towards a vanishing point. The creaking and clicking made by these assemblages is part of the effect, and in the 1970s Bury toyed with objects with moving pegs that pluck wires, making minimalist music. He also became

Bozar

Ravensteinstraat 23, Brussels

more sculptural, building boxes from recovered wood, which move and sound like haunted furniture. Extending his ideas to metal brought mirrored surfaces and also allowed him to use magnets to create motion. One of the most pleasing items here is “Monument no 3 Dedicated to 12,000 balls”, which presents a mass of ball bearings on a plinth. A concealed magnet causes a ball here or there to change position very slightly: you hear the click but have to be alert to see which one has moved. Bury’s achievement is to capture our attention, to make us stop and contemplate movement, or its absence. The exhibition ends with his more monumental pieces, including a moving “Sky Catcher”, with its mirrored orbs pointing upwards, and a fountain brought indoors, © luc schrobiltgen/Bozar its struts manipulated Pol Bury’s installations move – sometimes obviously by the water flowing but sometimes subtly, forcing the viewer to pay close attention through them.

Docville film festival arrives early with author-driven cinema Docville, Leuven’s documentary film festival, has arrived two months early this year, running from 22 to 30 March rather than its usual spot in late May. The main reason for this change is the weather. “Last year we had sold-out screenings with entire empty rows in the cinema because of the first rays of sunlight,” explains An De Winter, the festival’s press officer. “We decided to move to a period with more ‘cinema weather’.” Otherwise the festival remains unchanged, with a programme of some 75 documentaries that stand out because of their cinematographic approach, their author-driven narratives or their personal views on the world. The opening film is I Am Not Your Negro by Raoul Peck, a history of racism in the United States through the eyes of 20th-century writer James Baldwin, which was nominated for an Oscar this year. And the festival closes with Liberation Day, an account of how kitsch Slovenian industrial rock band Laibach became the first western group to play in the dictatorship of North Korea. Other eye-catching films from the international selection include Tower, an exploration of a 1966 campus shooting in Texas that combines archive footage and animation, and Tokyo Idols, about young girls in Japan who court celebrity and the middle-aged

The far-reaching tentacles of the international arms trade are revealed in shadow world

men who worship them. Highlights from the national selection include Shadow World, an exploration of the international arms trade by the always inspiring Flemish director Johan Grimonprez (Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y, Double Take). Andrew Feinstein, the author of the book behind the film, will speak after the screening. Closer to home there is Stille wildernis

(Silent Wilderness) by Mathijs Vleugels, a poetic account of a Flemish couple whose adopted son disappeared in Hungary 13 years ago, leaving an unfillable gap in their lives. And Grands travaux by Olivia Rochette and Gerard-Jan Claes, which takes us inside the troubled Instituut Anneessens-Funck, a Dutch-speaking vocational school in central Brussels. Also keep an eye out for Stranger in Paradise,

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by young Dutch director Guido Hendrikx, in which Flemish actor Valentijn Dhaenens (Albert II) confronts refugees arriving in Lampedusa with the hard truth of what awaits them in Europe and what Europeans think about them. Set entirely in a classroom, this genre-crossing documentary has a strong flavour of Lars Von Trier. More traditional films with social themes appear in the Conscience section. All Governments Lie looks at independent journalism in the US, from IF Stone in the 1950s up to Michael Moore and Glenn Greenwald in the present. Free Lunch Society investigates the idea of universal basic income, while Waiting for Giraffes recounts the struggle to repopulate a zoo in the Israeli-occupied territories. The festival also has a focus on food, with films on exotic fruit hunters and wine fraud, amongst others, complemented by debates, tastings (wine, fruit, BBQ) and cooking workshops. Other activities include virtual reality films, a speed-chess session for kids – after a screening of Magnus, about a Norwegian chess prodigy – and a performance by tribute band Glitterpaard following The Sad and Beautiful World of Sparklehorse. \ IM

22-30 march Across leuven

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\ ARTs

Poetic wanderlust

antwerp poet creates a literary treasure map and takes to the streets for Passa Porta rebecca Benoot More articles by Rebecca \ flanderstoday.org

Peter Holvoet-Hanssen, who’s on the programme of the Passa Porta Festival in Brussels, has created a foldable treasure map to make the literary genre more appealing to younger generations.

he award-winning former city poet of Antwerp, Peter Holvoet-Hanssen, has kicked off a new series to entice new readers, while capturing the essence of the spellbinding literary form. Reminiscent of conventional road maps, Wereld van de Poezië in kaart (The Map of World of Poetry) is a collection of foldable treasure maps. But they won’t help you find your way around; these are maps to get lost in. Holvoet-Hanssen created the maps at the request of the Flemish Literary Fund. “In the past, the fund handed out books during Gedichtendag [Poetry Day],” he says, “but it wanted a new medium that would appeal to younger people and connect them with the community of poetry readers.” On the flipside of the first map in the series, titled Het land van Music Hall, is one of Holvoet-Hanssen’s own texts. And on the front, internationally renowned Flemish illustrator Brecht Evens has drawn a mesmerising poetry landscape that pays homage to Holvoet-Hanssen’s many influences. The idea is to lose oneself in this genuine land of imagination. One could stare at the vibrant drawing for hours and continue to find new destinations, periods and poets. The message is: Poetry can lead down unknown paths, with its hidden layers and unexpected turns. It can help uncover truths, longing or despair, while adding

you won’t find your way around with the map designed by the former city poet of Antwerp, but you’ll likely discover a new side to reading poetry

beauty in times of uncertainty. It can take readers to new heights and plunge them into the crevices of the soul. Wereld van de poëzie in kaart attempts to guide the reader on a voyage of experiences. As you leap from one poet to the next, you begin to look at the world from an entirely new perspective. Holvoet-Hanssen’s own poetry flows like a river, alluding to other people’s poems and published work. “I love making connections,”

he says. “When I was the city poet, I even wrote poetry with people on the street. So I decided that instead of an essay form, which doesn’t always appeal to youngsters, I’ll create an exploratory journey on which anyone will be able to find their own path.” Wereld van de poëzie in kaart, he continues, “journeys through the history of poetry that is based on my own inspirations. The title of the first instalment refers to the Flemish modernist poet Paul van Ostai-

Hall was released on Pauekslag, an online portal that aims to promote and protect Flanders’ poetic heritage. It contains video clips, sound bites and additional text, adding an extra layer to the map. Holvoet-Hanssen says poetry is essential for humankind, and is more than just a piece of text to be read on special occasions. This is also the message he’s spreading on his ongoing tour of secondary schools, where he’s promoting the map. “I’m not a conventional poet,” he says. “There are poets who read aloud, and there are those who perform. I’ve never been like that. I like to connect with people and relish the unexpected. Some poems want to be read, others sung, so I usually say I’m a modern troubadour.” Holvoet-Hanssen sees Het land van Music Hall as a nomadic map through time and space, in which you walk from one period to the next. For the Passa Porta literary festival, which takes place in Brussels next weekend, he decided to do something similar. “Instead of simply reading the poetry, we’re going to drive around Brussels in an old Citroën, stop at several locations and talk to people,” he says. “We’ll improvise, depending on the mood and location, conjuring stuff up as we go.” On Saturday, Holvoet-Hanssen will be joined by the experimental poet and performer Antoine Boute. The French-speaking poet Laurence Vielle, with whom he collaborated on a similar performance in Paris, will accompany him the next day.

jen’s most popular collection. It’s a place where van Ostaijen is still very much alive.” That is why Holvoet-Hanssen opted for poems that are musical in quality and are reminiscent of Ostaijen. “He was one of Flanders’ greatest and most striking poets.” Next year, a different poet will team up with an illustrator to make a second map, and, little by little, Flanders’ poetry landscape will be mapped. Earlier this month, a digitalsupplementtoHetlandvanMusic

Wereldvandepoëzieinkaart(€12.50) is published in Dutch by Polis

Later, Dag Solstad, one of Norway’s most acclaimed authors, will talk about his life in Berlin and Oslo, as well as his interest in political history. Solstad, who turns 76 this year, won the Nordic Council Literature prize for his novel Roman 1987. Also on Sunday, in We Can Be Heroes, four prolific female authors – Almudena Grandes, Lionel Shriver, Négar Djavadi and Sofi Aksanen – share the stage to read from their work and discuss what heroism means to them. Saturday is an eventful day for poetry: In the early afternoon, Bruges poet Peter Verhelst tells Flemish illustrator Wide Vercnocke

about his latest book, Zoo van het denken (Zoo of Thoughts), while Polish writer and poet Magdalena Tulli, best known for Dreams and Stones, discusses her new projects. Later in the day, Flemish poet and actor Maud Vanhauwaert (pictured left) talks with the poet and essayist Geert van Istendael, as well as with Dutch poet Benno Barnard. Bringing the festival to the close are two interviews with three prolific authors. Annie Ernaux of France tells Belgian journalist Ysaline Parisis about her predominantly autobiographical work, while popular Dutch authors Herman Koch and Connie Palmen talk to Ruth Joos about that which is forbidden.

the paSSa pOrta feStival The biennial Passa Porta Festival returns to Brussels with an eclectic mix of local and international writers and a host of literary activities. Outside of the sold-out opening night, which requires a ticket, visitors buy a pass and simply show up to whichever reading, workshop or talk they choose. Friday’s opening night is with three writers – the Turkish Ece Temelkuran, the Franco-Iranian Négar Djavadi and the Colombian Juan Gabriel Vásquez – who take the stage to discuss literature and politics. American novelist Paul Auster was originally scheduled to open the festival, but had to cancel his visit to Brussels because of health issues. The weekend includes activities for children, including writing

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and storytelling workshops. More mature audiences can sign up for a guided tour of Brussels’ literary scene, organised by the city guide

Jan Dorpmans, in English, Dutch or French. On Saturday evening, Beursschouwburg hosts Duality, an event that sees poets, writers and illustrators pair up to create new work. Taking part will be Danish author Dorthe Nors, best known for her short stories, some of which have been published in the New Yorker. The 21-year-old Mexican writer Aura Xilonen, whose debut novel, Gringo Champion, won the Mauricio Achar award, is also on the agenda. Vásquez, whose book The Sound of Things Falling won the International Dublin Literary Award in 2014, makes his second appearance at this year’s festival on Sunday. The Colombian author will be at Beursschouwburg to talk about his latest novel, Reputations.

24-26 march

Across Brussels

\ AGenDA

marcH 22, 2017

The body electric

cOncert

Performatik 17 24 march to 1 april

t’s all about bodies at Performatik 17, the biennial festival of performance art in Brussels, which kicks off on Friday. “From movement in sculptures to the sculpting of movement: body sculptures play a central role in this edition,” the organisers explain. “They are never monumental, and are always fragile. Performatik 17 opts for probability over certainty, for the careful creation of social sculptures.” In particular they want people to focus on the here and now, and to leave the bubble of social media through which so much of modern life is experienced. So In_Dependence by Flemish artist Maarten

Antwerp Trivium: The heavy metal band from Orlando, Florida, rampage through Europe with an extensive run of headline shows. Think Metallica, Machine Head. 25 March 19.00, Trix, Noordersingel 28

Across Brussels

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Vanden Eynde and the Cameroonian Alioum Moussa uses pairs of people – this means you – to raise questions about personal, political and artistic relationships. They can be found daily on Muntplein. You will also need a partner to experience The Quiet Volume by Ant Hampton and Tim Etchels. Sitting side by side in the reading room of Muntpunt, a voice in your ear gives whispered instructions that guide you through a pile of books, a narrative that is unique to each duo. Other eye-catching work includes two pieces inspired by American dance pioneer Loïe Fuller, who innovated in her use of fabric. Bombyx Mori by the Paris-based Ola

\ trixonline.be

Oudergem & Tervuren

Maciejewska sculpts bodies and fabric into a performance for three dancers (pictured), while in Caen Amour New Yorker Trajal Harrell riffs on the blurred lines between experimentation, entertainment and erotic dancing. Sculpture is a direct inspiration for German artist Grace Schwindt, whose Opera and Steel uses Berni-

viSual artS

cOncert

kraanvogels en kersenbloesems

antonio sanchez

Until 14 october

literair Museum, Hasselt litErairmUsEUm.BE

For centuries, East Asia has loomed large in the European artistic imagination as a land of beauty and mystery. This exhibition (Cranes and Cherry Blossoms) explores myth and reality through graphic novels by contemporary Flemish and French artists. Among them are award-winning Gentenaar Carll Cneut and Parisian illustrator Rébecca Dautremer, who presents a visual adaptation of Alessandro Baricco’s 1996 novel Silk. The show is part of Hasselt’s Yokosofestival, which celebrates the 25th birthday of the city’s Japanese Garden with a programme of events and activities throughout the spring, summer and autumn.

feStival

Ghent Bozar, Brussels BoZar.BE

djEmaaElfnagEnt.com

activities and, of course, food and drink. This free event coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and aims to bring Ghent’s various communities together. The task is all the more urgent in the current political climate. \ GV

24 march to 2 april This annual festival showcases the year’s most eye-opening, socially engaged documentaries. Screenings are hosted at five venues, including festival hub Cinéma Galeries. Prizes are awarded in international, youth and worker’s categories. There’s also a new Belgian film prize. In keeping with the festival’s participatory ethos, the competition is refer-

Table Top Shakespeare: UK theatre pioneers Forced Entertainment present the complete works of William Shakespeare in 36 separate performances, using only one table and a set of ordinary household objects (in English). Until 26 March, Campo Victoria, Fratersplein 7 \ campo.nu

viSual artS Hasselt Across Japan: A look at the unique cross-fertilization between Japanese and Western fashion, and in particular the fascinating innovations introduced by Japanese avantgarde designers in combination with Western interpretations of Japanese aesthetics. Until 3 September, Modemuseum Hasselt, Gasthuisstraat 11 \ modemuseumhasselt.be

filM

millenium film festival Bij sint-Jacobs, Ghent

\ internationalchorale.com

perfOrMance

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djemaa El fna Ghent street festival Gentse Lente has been promoting intercultural dialogue and understanding since 2013. Every year local organisers recreate Marrakech’s famous Jemaa el-Fna in the heart of the East Flemish capital. The market is alive all day long with music, dance, street theatre, children’s

\ Ian Mundell

Birdman, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s whirlwind film, was as pioneering for its brilliant cinematography – seemingly shot in a single, uninterrupted take – as its trailblazing score, a continuous series of solo drums that paced, tickled and propelled the movie forward. It was written and performed by the Mexican jazz drummer and composer Antonio Sanchez. The four-time Grammy Award winner is touring the US and Europe with a performance that takes the delectable Birdman experience one step further by way of a “cineconcert” in which Sanchez plays the score onstage while the 2015 Best Picture winner unfolds onscreen. \ Linda A Thompson

\ Georgio Valentino

23 march, 16.00

27-28 march 20.30

ni’s Daphne and Apollo as a visual starting point for a performance exploring the effects of capitalism on the natural world. As well as performances, Performatik also proposes a series of talks between artists and curators, and an opening lecture by art historian Dorothea von Hantelmann.

The Pursuit of Love: Charity concert in aid of Chain of Hope Belgium, by the International Chorale of Brussels, featuring a programme of madrigals performed with baroque ensemble El Capricho del Duende and recorder ensemble I flauti dolci. 24 March 20.00, St Anne’s church, Oudergem; 26 March 15.30, St Jan’s church, Tervuren

Across Brussels fEstivalmillEniUm.org

eed by an audience jury of film buffs and activists in addition to the professional jury. This edition opens with South Korean director Hyewon Jee’s crowdpleaser Singing with Angry Bird (pictured), the story of a former opera singer who puts together a children’s choir, earning the nickname in the title for his less-than-patient temperament. \ GV

Brussels Donna Haraway: Brussels filmmaker Fabrizio Terranova talks with the American philosopher, activist and science-fiction enthusiast following a screening of his film about her, then she reads from her work the following night. (In English) 30-31 March, Bozar, Ravensteinstraat 23 \ bozar.be

Ghent Courtisane Film Festival: This yearly experimental film festival screen dozens of works by some of the world’s most cutting-edge filmmakers. 29 March to 2 April, across Ghent \ courtisane.be

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\ BACkPAGe

marcH 22, 2017

Talking Dutch

vOiceS Of flanderS tOday

keep the noise down

In response to: The Land of Beer: What is a Trappist? Noreen Bourke: I will have a sample, please.

derek Blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

aar is het rustig in de stad? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Where can you find peace in the city? Radio 1 recently asked its listeners. Seeking an answer, architects Geert Peymen and Pleuntje Jellema conducted a two-year study, in which they quizzed students and walkers. Stil is het nergens in de stad â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not quiet anywhere in a city, Peymen told Radio 1. De stad is nooit stil â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The city is never quiet. Zelfs op het platteland is het moeilijk stilte te vinden â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Even in the countryside, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not easy to find a place thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quiet. Enkel akoestiek als criterium nemen voor een rustige plaats heeft dus weinig zin â&#x20AC;&#x201C; It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make sense then to just use acoustics to measure a quiet place. Ik spreek daarom niet over stilteplek â&#x20AC;&#x201C; So I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t refer to a quiet spot, maar over luwteplek â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but a still spot. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an important distinction, explained Peymen. The word luwte often refers to weather. It means a sheltered spot out of the wind, in the lee. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a rather poetic word to use. Luwte als de plek in de rivier achter een steen â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Still as in the spot in the river behind a stone, waar de stroming geen vat op heeft â&#x20AC;&#x201C; where the current has no hold, he said.

In response to: Amazon food delivery service arrives in Belgium JesĂşs Molinos: This is it, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no reason for me to leave home now.

In response to: De Krook architects win Pritzker Prize Cristi Lupu: Woow...what a piece of art@@ ÂŠ Pleuntje Jellema

Maar luwte is voor ons ook een sociaal fenomeen â&#x20AC;&#x201C; But stillness is also a social phenomenon, he insisted. Vroeger werd je na 10 uur â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s avonds niet meer gebeld â&#x20AC;&#x201C; In the past, no one phoned you after 22.00, was er op zondag rust â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it was quiet on Sunday, eventueel ging je naar de kerk â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and maybe you went to church. Dat is weggevallen â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not like that anymore. So where are those still spots? Samen met studenten en wandelaars ging hij op pad in Gent â&#x20AC;&#x201C; He set off with students and walkers in Ghent en wist een aantal van die luwteplekken te vinden â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and offered some tips on where you could find some of these still spots.

Vaak moet je als wandelaar door een poort of een andere doorgang â&#x20AC;&#x201C; As a walker you often have to go through a gateway or some other passageway, als een overgang van de drukke stad naar de luwteplek â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to escape from the busy city to the still spot, he explained. Peymen then led his little group to a quiet courtyard called Drongenhofje. Het Drongenhofje is een goed voorbeeld â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Drongenhofje is a good example, he said. He went on to list the elements that made it the perfect still spot. It is omsloten â&#x20AC;&#x201C; enclosed, contrastrijk â&#x20AC;&#x201C; rich in contrasts and betekenisvol â&#x20AC;&#x201C; full of meaning. He gave it a final score of 6.76. Dat is goed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good.

PHoto of tHE wEEk

Clio Gielen @ClioGielen Flowers are ready, now just waiting for the sun. Come on spring! @KU_Leuven

AngĂŠlique Herreman @LiefsteAngel yesterday fun with the bike @ Oudenaarde with my two lovely Boys â&#x2122;Ľđ&#x;&#x17D;śđ&#x;&#x2DC;&#x2021;

James Smith @onlybyland #Ghent, #Belgium - #Castles, #Canals, #Chocolate, #Waffles, #Beer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not to love?

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the laSt WOrd Home for the holidays â&#x20AC;&#x153;The feast is too important for our children to send them to school. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s similar to Christmas: We give each other presents, and we look forward to it for a long time.â&#x20AC;?

Samira Azeroual is a mother of two children who will be staying home on the first day of school in September, which coincides with the Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice

going up

ÂŠ eric lalmand/Belga

One year On Ahead of the first anniversary of the Brussels terrorist attacks, Jet Airways flight attendant nidhi Chaphekar meets Queen Mathilde and king Filip at the royal palace. A picture of Chaphekar, in torn clothes, shocked, bloodied and covered in dust, was seen around the world following the attack at Brussels Airport on 22 March

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I like old escalators. Beauty can be found everywhere, if you look for it with an open mind.â&#x20AC;?

Flemish TV and radio presenter Kurt Van Eeghem has published the book Schone kunsten (Fine Arts), bringing together 150 columns on the finer things in life

Heavy metal â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you got to have beers with the band members for a whole week, maybe the price would be justified. But this is out of all proportion.â&#x20AC;?

Limburg musician and composer Gert Keunen on news that Metallica are charging â&#x201A;Ź2,400 for a meet-andgreet when they play the Sportpaleis in November

life in the fast lane â&#x20AC;&#x153;People donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have time to wait any more. They expect to be dealt with the minute they come in.â&#x20AC;?

The residents of Lier will no longer have to take a number when they visit municipal departments, said city secretary Katleen Janssens, thanks to a new system of appointments-only

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