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july 5, 2017 \ newsweekly - € 0,75 \ read more at www.flanderstoday.eu current affairs \ p2

politics \ p4

800 and counting

There are more jobs than ever available in Flanders’ pharmaceutical and chemical sectors, half of them new positions \6

BUSiNESS \ p6

innovation \ p7

A win-win

education \ p9

art & living \ p10

Limburg’s ocean

Volunteers with a Brussels organisation walked the streets to find unemployed people ready and willing to train in computer programming

A dive centre in Limburg puts you in a realistic underwater world of tropical fish, lost cities and perhaps a shark or two

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© Stephen Vincke

Lessons learned

Education gives inmates in Flanders a fresh start in life Daan Bauwens Follow Daan on Twitter \ @DaanBauwens

Flanders’ education minister has announced reforms to prison education to give inmates a better chance of finding work after release.

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ost people hope that prisoners are being rehabilitated in prison so that when they are released, they will no longer be a danger to society. But something known as detention damage – the professional or social deprivation experienced by inmates – seriously hampers their chances of reintegrating into society, even if they’re unlikely to pose any risk.

For this reason, Flemish education minister Hilde Crevits has decided to turn all of the region’s prisons into official, though off-site, departments of adult education centres (CVOs). She has also introduced a new financing system to encourage prisons to concentrate more on the needs of the inmate population.

Prisons serve both as both punishment and deterrent. But practically everywhere, they fall short on preventing recidivism, or re-offending. It’s no different for Belgium: 44% of all convicts end up back in prison, half of them in under two years.

Most ex-prisoners who re-offend lack education and training that could help them find work. Research shows that joblessness is one of the biggest obstacles to reintegration.

Education inside the prison walls could, therefore, decrease their chances of ending up back behind bars.

While partnerships between schools and prisons have existed for decades, Flanders began funding the co-ordination of teacher exchanges in 2007. Since 2015, the Flemish support centre for adult education Vocvo has taken over the co-ordination of prison education across Flanders and Dutch-speaking Brussels.

With Vocvo’s help, thousands of inmates every year embark

on tailor-made educational programmes. They can study French, English and Dutch or follow computer classes. In some prisons, inmates can sign up for officially recognised vocational training and become masons, bakers, forklift drivers, cooks or small business managers.

In 2015, 2,554 inmates in Flanders and Brussels – nearly 20% of the inmate population – enrolled in these courses. Some inmates go as far as completing secondary education.

At the Poort van Beveren correctional facility in East Flanders, a group of 30 smartly dressed men cheers as Robert Mauamba shakes his teacher’s hand and proudly displays his secondary school diploma.

Poort van Beveren is a heavily guarded concrete building, completed three years ago to house inmates with sentences ranging from nine years to life. Many of its prisoners have been charged with fraud, drug trafficking and organised crime, but also sexual offences, manslaughter and murder. continued on page 5

\ CURRENT AFFAIRS

Excess consumption driving up carbon footprint, says Vito Residents of Flanders must emit 10 times less CO2 to meet climate goals Andy Furniere More articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.eu

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very resident of Flanders is responsible for an average 20 tons of greenhouse gasses a year, according to a new study released by the Flemish institute for technological research (Vito). To keep global warming below the critical margin of two degrees Celsius, this must be reduced to two tons per year by 2050 – or 10 times less.

Vito’s study shows for the first time how much CO2 each citizen emits on an annual basis due to the use of transport and the consumption of food, clothes and other products, like appliances and electronics. The production and transport of such products is a crucial component in figuring the impact.

Food, housing and transport lead to the highest levels of emissions. Important examples, said Vito, are oil and materials that are imported, including cars and food.

About two-thirds of the carbon footprint is caused by the consumption of goods that come from abroad, and half of that comes from outside of Europe – mainly Asia. The proportion of this “outsourcing” is increasing: from 20% to 40% between 2003 and 2010.

Vito recommends governments introduce trade measures penalising pollution or rewarding sustainable production.

The study emphasises that companies can also have a major impact on the environmental performance of their suppliers. Consumers are also a big part of the solution in terms of purchasing behaviour.

Flemish environment minister Joke Schauvliege agreed with Vito’s conclusions. “Consumers and governments can contribute by choosing low-carbon products or avoiding unnecessary transport,” she told De Morgen.

Works on Brussels pedestrian zone to begin soon

New regulations on 1 July: road tax and animal welfare

Infrastructure works on the pedestrian zone in central Brussels will begin in late August or early September, according to a spokesperson for Beliris, the project manager, speaking to Bruzz.

The central avenues in Brussels have now been closed to traffic for just over two years.

While barriers stop traffic and some street furniture has been placed, the basic infrastructure remains as it was when the road was open.

Brussels-City has elaborate plans for the final version of the zone, including a unified ground surface in blue stone, as well as green space, fountains, smart rubbish bins and a cycle lane. The total project has an estimated cost of €33 million.

The timing of the start and duration of the project depends on whether there are any more legal challenges. One group of retailers in the zone met with the city council last week for talks.

The planned works will take place between Fontainasplein and De Brouckèreplein, including some side-streets, but excludes Beursplein. As part of the listed zone for the historic centre of Brussels, that section of the works is subject to a different procedure. \ Alan Hope

A number of changes to local regulations will take place on 1 July, including late fees for traffic fines and increased animal welfare inspections.

Anyone late in paying a traffic fine will receive a reminder to pay, which adds 35% to the fine. The aim is to reduce the number of unpaid fines from 15% now to 0.5%, a difference of €150 million a year.

Owners of electric and natural gas-powered commercial vehicles no longer pay road tax from 1 July, while those who buy a new or second-hand diesel or petrol vehicle face an increase in road tax.

Also as of 1 July, the Nip test, which detects Down’s Syndrome in foetuses, is free for women who have insurance with what’s called a voorkeurregeling – offered to lower income women and some other groups such as disabled people. All others pay only €8.68, the lowest price in the EU. Flemish animal welfare minister Ben Weyts, meanwhile, has doubled the staff in inspection services to increase the number of visits to slaughterhouses. The service received 450 complaints last year.

Finally, the government of Flanders is regulating the price of books, set for the first six months after publication, with sellers allowed to offer a maximum discount of 10%. The move is meant to assist booksellers by countering deep discounts offered by big-box retailers and supermarkets. \ AH

High Council for Health advises a total ban on tanning beds The federal High Council for Health has called for a total ban on sunbeds because of the risk of skin cancer. The official advice is the first the council has produced on sunbeds since 2000, when it asked for stricter regulations governing their use.

While the possible risk of skin cancer has always been acknowledged, the latest advice calls for a total ban, pointing out that there is no safe level of sunbed use. The risk of causing or aggravating skin cancer happens from the very first visit, it said.

Complicating the situation, the council said, the tanning salon industry has repeatedly

flouted regulations, despite warnings and fines. A survey earlier this year revealed that only 12 in nearly 200 salons inspected were in line with all the regulations.

Most of the violations concerned information provided to customers, high-risk skin-types being allowed to access sunbeds and maintenance of machines.

According to the High Council, a total ban could result in savings of €238 million in health-care costs and save 6,000 premature deaths from skin cancer over 50 years. In Belgium, 14% of people used a sunbed in 2015.

Some 62% of those used them at least 10 times,

and 23% of them used sunbeds more than 20 times.

Federal consumer affairs minister Kris Peeters is not in favour of a ban, he said, as such a

measure would increase the use of sunbeds at home, where they would be beyond the reach of inspectors. The council, however, pointed out that: “In countries where sunbeds are already banned, such as Brazil and Australia, private use is negligible. The measures taken by minister Peeters, such as an obligatory health warning, are insufficient.”

The High Council for Health dates from 1849 and is the federal government’s main advisory body on public health matters. The council calls in the advice of a range of scientific experts to deal with specific disciplines as the case requires. \ AH

€210 million

paid by Leuven-based AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer, for Brouwerij Bosteels, makers of Kwak and Tripel Karmeliet. The brewery will be the jewel in the crown of InBev’s new craft beer division

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countries represented by festivalgoers at Rock Werchter last weekend. The top five are Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, France and Germany. The most bands – 26 – come from the US

people on the waiting list for social housing in Flanders at the end of 2016, up from 105,370 in 2015. Waiting times remain steady, partly as a result of investment in new social housing

jobs to be created by a new warehouse being built by logistics company Essers on the site of the former Ford factory in Genk. The 160,000 square-metre warehouse will be ready in late 2018

residents of Belgium on a blacklist compiled by World-Check, a credit ratings database consulted by financial institutions. But according to De Tijd, many of those named are wrongly included

july 5, 2017

WEEK in brief Migration state secretary Theo Francken has called for the creation of a task force to investigate procedures at the Immigration Office in Brussels after a nineyear-old boy walked out of the office and wasn’t found for three days. “There were mistakes made by the administration,” Francken said. The boy, who had been brought to the office by police in the first place, was found safe by the police a few days after his disappearance.

Belgium’s women’s hockey stars were beaten on penalties by South Korea in the Women’s World League Semi-Finals in Brussels last week. The Red Panthers lost 3-2 in the shootout after a 1-1 full time draw. They ultimately finished eighth, meaning they will not have a spot in the 2018 Women’s World Cup in London.

The European Commission handed down a record fine of €2.4 billion last week to internet giant Google for abuse of its dominant position in the search market. Google was accused of using its search engine to favour its own price-comparison service Google Shopping, forcing competing services down the page. Google said it would appeal the fine to the European Court of Justice.

The Flemish parliament has approved animal welfare minister Ben Weyts’ proposal to ban the slaughter of animals without stunning from 1 January 2019. From that date, all animals other than calves and cows must undergo a stunning technique such as electro-narcosis before being slaughtered. Calves and cows, being larger than sheep and goats, require a different technique, but the technology is not yet fully developed. Jewish and Muslim organisations – for whom slaughter following stunning is not in keeping with religious beliefs – will be provided with support in adhering to the new rules.

face of flanders Flemish culture minister Sven Gatz has awarded quality labels to the museums of Bruges collectively, as well as its city archive, the city archive of Poperinge and the municipal archive of Vleteren. The label is a sign of recognition within the sector, Gatz said.

(Flemish Brabant) and Jamal Aïchi of L’Auberge de Thines in Nivelles (Walloon Brabant). During the final in October they will have to cook a three-course meal involving a vegetarian dish, a modern take on sole normand and a dessert that must include coffee, milk chocolate and citrus fruit. \ club-prosper-montagne.be

Last week’s rain arrived too late to save a large part of the summer harvest of peas and cauliflower, according to Bernard Haspeslagh of the food processing industry federation Vegebe. June was not only exceptionally dry, but also unseasonably warm. At the start of the cauliflower harvest, losses appeared to be between 25% and 33%, while the pea crop was down 30%. But price increases can be avoided by imports from other countries, he said.

Six public libraries in Flanders and Brussels have been nominated for Best Library 2017, organised by the Dutch library service NBD Biblion. The libraries are Arena in Antwerp, Affligem in Flemish Brabant, Bilzen in Limburg, Ostend, Sint-Niklaas in East Flanders and Koekelberg in Brussels. The winner will be announced in September.

The Federal Food Safety Agency ordered the Ostend’s Vismijn, or fish market auction, to close last week, following the discovery of food safety violations, including faulty refrigeration units, crumbling concrete and improper hygiene. Fishing boats are landing their catch at Zeebrugge until the market addresses the violations and is allowed to re-open.

The Prosper Montagné gastronomic club, based in Bruges, has announced its nominations for Belgium’s Top Chef 2018: Fabian Bail of Paul de Pierre in Maarkedal, Steven Buelens of Hostellerie Lesco in Wetteren, Ignace Wattenberge of Fleur de Lin in Zele (all in East Flanders), Lukas Moonens of Brasserie Julie in Dilbeek

OFFSIDE Food porn If you’re up to date with the others. modern world, you’ll be aware If everyone is posting photos of of how important it is to their nosh, how is a professional take pictures of your to stand out from the breakfast, lunch crowd? Julien Burlat and dinner and has the answer. He’s put them on the chef at Dome the interrestaurant in net for your Antwerp also one followers of the founders to admire. of the start-up But the Apicbase.

Instacraze The company has caused offers restauproblems for rants all manner one section of of professional society – the people services, including © Courtesy Apicbase who make food for recipe management, food

Traffic accidents involving serious injury are down by 25% in Ghent’s city centre since the new circulation plan came into force in April, according to city councillor Filip Watteeuw. Accidents with minor injuries are down by 19% over the three months, while the number of cyclists has increased by 20%. The circulation plan limits the ability of cars to drive across the city centre.

Kristof Pitteurs has been named as the new editor-in-chief of Brussels Dutch-language media house Bruzz, which covers print, radio and television. Pitteurs worked for TV production house Woestijnvis for several years and was a reporter for in the 1990s for TV Brussel, now part of Bruzz. He takes up his post in September.

Three municipalities in West Flanders – Wingene, Meulebeke and Pittem – are reported to be discussing a merger. They are the latest in a series of municipalities in merger talks, after the government of Flanders offered extra financing to councils that pooled their resources. Also in West Flanders, Damme and Maldegem are in merger talks, as are Neerpelt and Overpelt in Limburg.

The federation representing the real estate sector in Belgium, UPSIBVS, has launched a new website to convince UK companies to move to Belgium. The site offers an overview of available office space, as well as extolling the virtues of Belgium as a central location in a post-Brexit Europe.

© Courtesy Rubenshuis

Saint Catherine Last week an altarpiece dedicated to the fourth century Christian martyr Catherine was unveiled at Rubens House in Antwerp. It was a remarkable event for two reasons.

First, it is an important work by the 16th-century Venetian painter Jacopo Tintoretto. Second, the work is on long-term loan to Rubens House by the collector who bought it from the estate of the late David Bowie.

St Catherine of Alexandria is reputed to have been the welleducated daughter of the governor of the Egyptian city. She converted to Christianity at age 14 and was martyred a few years later by being beheaded on the orders of the pagan Roman emperor Maxentius.

She had reportedly converted hundreds to the faith, among them Maxentius’ wife. She had been sentenced to torture and death using a breaking wheel – a simple wooden wheel upon which people were tied and then their dangling limbs beaten. But when she was raised onto the wheel, it miraculously shattered. The device is also known as the Cath-

erine Wheel.

The legend is the subject of the Bowie Tintoretto (detail pictured).

An angel appears to Catherine in an Annunciation scene, informing her of her impending death.

She reacts, as might be expected, with shock, swooning on the steps of a temple as a cloud of putti hover in the sky above, and a crowd of elders avert their eyes.

The Tintoretto was a unusual addition to Bowie’s collection, most of which was made up of contemporary works by artists such as Damien Hirst and JeanMichel Basquiat.

The new owner was clearly aware that Rubens was a fervent admirer of Tintoretto – whose nickname in youth had been Jacopo Robusti and later in life Il Furioso – for the kinetic energy displayed in his work. Rubens had no fewer than seven works by the Venetian in his private collection.

The painting, now on display in Antwerp, will travel to Italy briefly in 2019 for an exhibition at the Biennale in the artist’s home town, part of a package that also includes a selection of Flemish Old Masters. \ Alan Hope

\ business2belgium.be

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

apicbase.com

cost calculation and information on allergens and nutrition. It also sells a table-top photo studio.

The Studio, which Apicbase sells to restaurants, produces perfect digital photographs of dishes. All the user has to do is choose a setting and push a button. The photo you see here is of Galician octopus from tapas restaurant L’Amitié in Antwerp.

The technology has already gained the attention of top-level chefs like Olly Ceulenaere of Publiek in Ghent, Axel Colonna-Cesari of Centpourcent in Sint-KatelijneWaver and Viki Geunes ’t Zilte atop the MAS museum in Antwerp. \ AH

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

Editor Lisa Bradshaw DEPUTY Editor Sally Tipper CONTRIBUTING Editor Alan Hope sub Editor 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, 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.eu Advertising 02 467 24 37 advertising@ackroyd.be Verantwoordelijke uitgever Hans De Loore

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\ POLITICS

5TH COLUMN The Turteltax vanishing act

It was no less than a magic trick. That was how the surprising alternative to the Turteltax, the unpopular tax on energy charged to households and companies alike, was described last week.

For years, the tax was presented as the only way to rid the region of debts caused by out-of-control subsidising of solar panels. However, after the Constitutional Court ruled the tax illegal last month, Flemish energy minister Bart Tommelein (Open VLD) came up with an alternative almost overnight.

For households, an extra €10 will be added to their electricity bills annually – rather than the previous €100. Tommelein hopes to achieve this by forcing energy producers to buy up more green energy certificates. The fact that two planned biomass plants that were meant to be subsidised may never be realised added to the financial solution.

Tommelein’s solo act surprised everyone, including his colleagues in parliament, who were surprised to read about it in the paper rather than find out at government meetings.

The minister’s proposal is not without risk: the numbers it is based on are yet to be published. Also, the alternative might have an impact on larger companies – which coalition party N-VA is especially sensitive to.

Tommelein’s strategy is indicative of the atmosphere in government right now. The energy minister was obviously wary of what would happen to his proposal had he first presented it to his colleagues.

It could be leaked, presented incorrectly or appropriated by another party.

The liberal also remembered how his predecessor, after whom the tax was nicknamed, was treated. Although the tax was a joint government decision, Annemie Turtelboom received little support from her fellow ministers or coalition parties. She took the full blame, leading to her resignation.

Another recent incident illustrates this sense of ministers having to fend for themselves. When, after much pressure from N-VA, environment minister Joke Schauvliege (CD&V) presented a map designating woodlands, it was publicly withdrawn by minister-president Geert Bourgeois (N-VA). That was a humiliation Tommelein wanted to avoid.

He has now been nicknamed “the wizard”, which he rejects.

“The difference between me and the others? I say: Yes, we can,” he told De Tijd. \ Anja Otte

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Flemish fishing boats to be barred from British waters

UK pulls out of 1964 London Fisheries Convention as part of Brexit Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

T

he British government has announced that it is triggering the two-year process required to pull out of a convention dating from 1964 that allows Belgian fishing boats access to some British territorial waters.

“This is an area in which we are very active,” a representative of the local fishing industry said.

The announcement was made by the UK’s new environment minister and Brexit hardliner Michael Gove. “This is a first historic step towards a new national fisheries policy, now that we are leaving the European Union.”

The London Fisheries Convention dates from

© Courtesy Rederscentrale

1964, before the UK joined the then-EEC. It allowed fishing boats from Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands to fish in

an area six to 12 miles from the British coast.

The Belgian industry, based entirely in Flanders, takes about 10% of its total catch in the zone, according to Emiel Brouckaert, director-general of industry federation Rederscentrale. “If part of the North Sea is closed off to us, we will never be able to replace it,” he said. “But that does not mean the Belgian catch will be down by 10%. We will find alternatives.”

Gove made it clear that he intends to reclaim the waters up to 200 miles (322 kilometres) from the British coastline, or the central line between the UK and Ireland and between the UK and France.

Agreement reached on Princess Elisabeth South Pole base

Major changes ahead for management of museums in Flanders

After three months of negotiations, state secretary for science policy Zuhal Demir and Alain Hubert of the International Polar Foundation (IPF) have come to an agreement on the management of Belgium’s Princess Elisabeth polar research base in Antarctica. The Pax Antarctica deal ends a two-year conflict on the management of the base.

According to the agreement, IPF will manage the base for six years, which could then be extended for an additional three years. Following the sixor nine- year period, management of the base will be put out to public tender.

IPF will receive a settlement of €4.5 million, which also covers unpaid invoices and the ownership of some portable equipment. Previously, all the equipment at the base was owned by Hubert. \ Andy Furniere

The administrative management of youth and culture institutions within Flanders’ five provinces will pass to the region as of 1 January, minister Sven Gatz has announced. The transfer was decided when the present Flemish government took office in 2014.

Gatz reviewed thousands of cases, including provincial initiatives, organisations and projects, as well as subsidy regulations from all five provinces. Hundreds of provincial officials will now be transferred either to the Flemish Community or to the municipal level.

“These reforms involved long and exceptionally complex negotiations with organisations on the ground and with provincial governments,” Gatz said. “I’m happy we were able to find solutions and compromises that will make our culture and youth scene

Energy tax proposal would cut surcharge to €10 a year Flemish energy minister Bart Tommelein has announced a possible solution to making up the tax deficit faced by the government following the Constitutional Court’s ruling that the “Turteltax” on electricity was illegal.

Speaking to the Flemish parliament, Tommelein said the debt backlog that the tax was intended to cover is no longer a problem, and the surcharge could be reduced from about €100 per household per year to only €10 a year.

The €2 billion debt resulted from subsidies paid for the installation of solar panels – an offer that proved much more popular than the government had expected. To make up the deficit, former energy minister Annemie Turtelboom added a surcharge to energy bills for everyone, which amounted to about €100 annually per household.

Some €1 billion has been collected via the controversial tax. According to the court’s ruling, customers need not be paid back, but the tax can no longer be levied as of January.

According to Tommelein, the government has seen substantial savings from the decision not to subsidise a biomass centre in Genk. And while the government intends to keep to its target

© Steven Decroos

The Ensor and Spilliaert wing of Mu.ZEE

better and stronger in the future.”

There will be four rounds of subsidy applications in 2018 and 2019 for culture and youth groups during the period, with the first in October.

Eight cultural institutions, including the Mu.ZEE museum in Ostend and Antwerp’s architectural archive, will now be managed by the government of Flanders. A further 11 institutions currently run by the provinces will be taken over by local authorities. \ AH

Former Brussels mayor steps out of party over Samusocial affair

of investing €1.2 billion a year in renewable energy, that can be financed by a 2.3% increase in the quota green energy providers must generate, forcing them to buy extra green energy certificates.

That is a sore point for highconsumption businesses. “If we want to remain competitive, then costs must not be allowed to increase,” Flemish chamber of commerce Voka said in a statement.

Tommelein promised to have more detailed information when parliament resumes after the summer holiday. \ AH

Former Brussels mayor Yvan Mayeur has stepped down from his party, the French-speaking socialists (PS). The move comes a few weeks after his resignation as mayor of Brussels-City as a result of the Samusocial affair.

At the same time, Mayeur’s party colleague, social aid agency (OCMW) chair Pascale Peraïta, has been expelled from the party, also because of Samusocial.

Samusocial is the Brussels agency for the homeless, which Mayeur set up when he was chair of Brussels’ OCMW. When he became mayor, he appointed Peraïta to the post. It was discovered last month that the pair were paid thousands of euros in attendance fees for Samusocial board meetings they did not attend.

It was further revealed last week that Mayeur had been collecting more than €26,000 a month net pay, which included his salary as mayor (€10,788), a premium paid to members of the federal parliament when they leave office (€9,810), his membership of the board of Vivaqua (€4,700) and his official salary as director of Samusocial (€1,575), not counting the controversial attendance fees.

“Quitting PS was unavoidable,” said Mayeur party colleague Rudi Vervoort, minister-president of the Brussels-Capital Region. “I am satisfied with what was a difficult decision for him. It was essential, for Mayeur as well as for the party.”

Peraïta, meanwhile, failed to show up to a hearing of the party’s ethical commission and was expelled from the party in her absence. \ AH

\ COVER STORY

july 5, 2017

Lessons learned

Prison education boosts confidence, helps find jobs on the outside vocvo.be

continued from page 1

The mood at the graduation ceremony is exuberant and festive.

There are mocktails and cake prepared by the graduates of the cooking class. The garland over the stage keeps falling to the ground, but nobody seems to mind, as the teachers and inmates carry on with casual conversations.

To motivate prisoners to learn, schools in Flanders’ prisons have been made to resemble those on the outside. The graduation is also modelled on ceremonies in normal schools – with the exception of a sealed-off glass booth, where four armed guards sift through paperwork and inspect security footage.

“Not many people could have pulled this off,” says 21-year-old Mauamba at the end of the ceremony. “Especially considering what I’ve been through.”

Mauamba doesn’t shy away from talking about his past. At 16, he was sentenced to 18 months for burglary. At 18, he got arrested for attempting to rob an insurance broker at gunpoint.

He was sentenced to 54 months in prison, but will likely be freed later this summer. This time with a diploma and a plan.

“This diploma is my message to the world,” he says. “It doesn’t matter what you’ve experienced. If you really want something – as long as it’s realistic – you can do it.”

He plans to look into university colleges in Ghent and Brussels, intent on studying communications management.

Aside from helping a former inmate enter higher education or secure a job, the long-term psychological effects of the programme are just as important, says Inge Van Acker, general co-ordinator of prison education in Flanders and Brussels.

stories confirming our hypothesis,” she explains. “Our work stops at the gate. Most inmates do not wish to remain in contact once they’ve been released, and we respect that.”

In the absence of concrete evidence, others warn of too much optimism.

“Employers aren’t exactly lining up to hire ex-convicts,” says Beveren’s prison director, Wim Adriaenssen.

“Will learning basic Dutch really help these people on the labour

I felt ashamed at not knowing how to read or write at my age “It’s all about self-respect,” she explains. “Some win it back, others get to know it for the first time in their lives. As children in school, most of the inmates suffered from repeated experiences of failure that have put a mark on the rest of their lives.”

When they graduate, she continues, “they see things differently.

They focus less on blaming school and themselves and more on the contextual factors that led to their incarceration. This adds to their self-confidence and helps them grow resilient when returning to the outside.”

At this point, there is no data yet to back up her claims. “But we have

market? The answer is no.”

He also says it’s not all about education. “Don’t underestimate how pragmatic the inmates can be. For the criminal courts deciding on their release, of course it looks better if the inmates can show they’re trying to improve themselves.”

And yet, Adriaenssen understands the value of inmate education.

“Prisoners have a lot of free time, and the more of it that is filled constructively, the better. Educators at our facility are a win-win for everyone, regardless of their impact on the inmates’ chances of landing a job.”

Most inmates, too, are grateful

for the opportunity. Peter Callens grew up in a travelling carnival and never learned to read or write.

At 40, he’s spent the last seven years in prison. Six months ago, he decided to teach himself to write.

He purchased a pen, took to the prison library and started copying books.

He had to work up his nerve to finally enrol in a course so he could learn the meaning of what he was writing. “I felt ashamed at not knowing how to read or write at my age,” he says.

Earlier this year, Callens left prison on temporary release and experienced culture shock. “Today’s world revolves around writing on Facebook, email and messages,” he says. “I had no idea. The world has changed. It wasn’t like that before I went to prison.”

Pedro Aguial’s story is equally inspiring. Having already served seven years of his 14-year sentence, he became fluent in Dutch, learned to read and write and has now finished a course in mathematics.

“This is better than just walking around or playing on the PlayStation,” he says. “That’s the one positive element in prison life, the only little freedom we’re granted.”

On top of that, he continues, “it is beautiful to succeed in something and have the feeling that you’re investing in your future. Because I want to be a father to my children and a husband to my wife.”

As the prison education programme expands, there’s no foreseeable shortage of teachers.

While most describe the job as extremely interesting and rewarding, there remains the question of how to deal with the students’ criminal past.

On condition of anonymity, one teacher talked about a student who was convicted of multiple murders. “I thought for a long time whether or not I wanted to – or could – teach this man,” the teacher says. “In the end, I decided not to treat him differently from other inmates. There’s no use in me punishing him more; he’s being punished already.”

The prisoner “committed grue-

some crimes”, the teacher continues, “but that could be the case for any of my students. I run into him in the hallway. Flanked by guards, he says ‘hi’ in a very friendly way.

But it still feels strange.”

As a rule, teachers don’t delve into their students’ past. “It is normal to ask yourself the question of what they have done,” says Dutchlanguage teacher Ellen Theewes.

“But we never do. After a while they’ll talk about it anyway, but by then it doesn’t matter anymore.

All of them have a human side, and that’s the side you get to know first.”

All prisoners’ names have been changed at the request of Vocvo

© Photos: Stephen Vincke

From painting to literacy, inmates learn skills to help them after they leave prison

\5

\ BUSINESS

week in business Retail Hema The Belgian division of the Dutch clothing and household goods retailer has reported profits of €33.4 million in the first quarter of this year.

Fast food Burger King The first Burger King in Belgium opened its doors last week in Antwerp, next to the Kinepolis cinema.

Burger Brands Belgium, the company behind the chain, has announced plans to open between 35 and 40 Burger Kings across Belgium in the next five years. The first is expected this year in Brussels.

Construction Sarens The Flemish Brabant crane rental company saw its turnover decrease to €555 million in 2016, a 7% drop compared to the previous year. The company, a world leader in lifting technology and heavy transport, ascribes the poor results to low raw materials prices, which they say are causing their clients to delay new investments.

Auction Henri Godts The Brussels auction house raised €75,000 with the sale of 182 rare books that belonged to the collection of an 18th-century library in Bouillon, near the French border.

Data management Sentiance The Antwerp data-processing company, which has developed a platform that makes it easier to interpret and analyse customer data, has raised €8 million from its shareholders and KPN Ventures, the investment wing of the Dutch telecoms company.

Cars Audi Five hundred jobs have been created and filled at the Audi car plant in Brussels over the past few months, as the plant gears up to start constructing the e-tron sports coupe in 2018.

Digital Aproplan The Brussels start-up has raised €5 million from investors to further develop its construction site management app. The app allows contractors, engineers and architects to share information and updates in one online platform.

\6

Global cyber-attack disrupts businesses across Flanders

Ransomware disabled corporate computer systems, halting production Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

T

hough the damage was limited, Flanders did not completely escape the effects of the cyber-attack that hit computer systems around the world last week.

Petya ransomware installs software on a computer which delivers an onscreen message saying that all the computer’s data has been encrypted and is irretrievable unless the user pays $300 in bitcoin.

The latest attack seems to have started in Ukraine, where it first hit the government’s computer system as well as software company MEDoc, which services the financial industry.

In Flanders, Petya hit shipping terminal APM in Zeebrugge, while in Heist-op-den-Berg, work at the medicines producer MSD came to a standstill.

Operations also had to be halted at the Administrative Centre in the centre of Brussels. In Herentals, biscuit manufacturer Mondelez was hit, forcing management to send staff home until the problem was solved.

Belgium’s Centre for Cyber Security advises users to always install security updates and to

© Ingimage

back-up important data to an external drive or online sites such as Dropbox. The latest Windows update and an anti-virus software, in fact, are enough to protect a computer from Petya, the agency said. The agency also said to never pay any ransom, which in no way guarantees that the data will be released.

Last year, 66% of businesses in Belgian were the victim of at least one form of cyber-criminality, according to research from the Leuven Institute of Criminology, which interviewed 300 companies from across the country.

Half of the companies signalled security breaches in their ICT systems, without data being stolen or damaged. Some 46% experienced cyber-attacks that led to an ICT malfunction.

The survey also showed that nearly one-quarter of the companies surveyed had to deal with cyber-extortion and ransomware, 13% with banking fraud and 4% with corporate espionage. About 40% reported multiple security breaches, and nearly one-third had to solve repeated incidents that caused malfunctions in their ICT systems. When faced with a ransom situation, 94% did not pay the money demanded.

About 9% of the companies affected by cyberextortion reported damage worth more than €10,000, and 3% reported a loss of turnover of more than €50,000. About one-fifth of the companies reported that their daily work structure was significantly troubled.

The study is part of a large-scale research project funded by the Belgian Science Policy Office. \ Additional reporting by Andy Furniere

800 vacancies in Flemish chemical and pharma sector

Brussels Airport Company considers moving HQ to Flanders

The chemical and pharmaceutical sectors in Flanders, which last year took on some 2,500 new staff, still has more than 800 job vacancies, according to sector federation Essenscia Vlaanderen. The federation recently carried out a survey among 141 companies.

More than half of the vacancies do not require specific experience in the sector, though companies do have increasingly higher demands concerning levels of education.

The companies questioned provide about two-thirds of the employment in the Flemish chemical and pharmaceutical sector. The study showed that 82% of them are currently hiring. Half of these are new jobs.

About one-third of the job offers ask for master’s level education, including work available for industrial and civil engineers. Bio-engineers and pharmaceutical researchers also make up a significant number of the vacancies.

A further 27% require bachelor’s degrees, mainly for technical functions in production and maintenance. The number of jobs available for staff with a secondary education diploma in technical education (TSO) has fallen from 41% last year to 29% in the first half of this year.

“It is crucial to maintain the quality of our education system,” Frank Beckx, managing director of Essenscia Vlaanderen, told Trends. “We hope that even more youngsters choose scientific or technical studies.”

The chemical and pharmaceutical sector provides 60,200 direct jobs and some 100,000 indirect jobs in Flanders. \ AF

The management of Brussels Airport Company has proposed moving its official headquarters to Zaventem, business daily De Tijd reports. At present, the legal address of the company is in Schaarbeek in Brussels.

All of the company’s operations are centred at the airport, and the official address being elsewhere creates postal delays with legal documents and registered mail, a spokesperson explained.

While a minor practical move for Brussels Airport Company – in charge of all operations at Brussels Airport – it’s a much bigger symbolic act.

The Belgian state holds a 25% stake, and the airport is intended to have a strongly national rather than regional identity.

When management presented its proposal to the board of directors, it encountered strong resistance from the two French-speaking directors – rail authority CFO Olivier Hénin and property developer Benjamin Cardanel.

The discussion is also taking place as tensions continue between the airport and the Brussels-Capital Region over the region’s tough new restrictions on aircraft noise, which has already seen companies move out of Zaventem to escape fines.

The move would also bring the Brussels Airport Company entirely within the jurisdiction of Flemish regulations, another cause for concern among representatives of the French-speaking community. \ AH

From chocolate to boots: Export Lion nominations announced Flanders Investment & Trade (Fit) has announced the nominees for this year’s Leeuw van de Export, or Export Lion. The awards are given annually to Flemish companies that have shown outstanding success in expanding their export markets.

Three companies are nominated in two categories: those with fewer than 50 employees, and those with 50 or more. The nominees in the small-business category are: Comsof of Ghent, a family business specialising in glass-fibre broadband networks, now present in 40 countries. Its turnover in 2016 was €1.9 million, 86% of it abroad, with a majority of it outside the EU. Klingele Chocolade of Evergem, East Flanders, which produces lactose-free and gluten-free chocolate or chocolate sweetened only with stevia. The factory produces chocolate for its

own as well as other labels. Their production goes to 44 countries, for a turnover last year of €5 million, 62% from exports.

Lansweeper of Dendermonde, also in East Flanders, an IT company that develops PC and network inventory systems and help desk services. Lansweeper is active in 129 countries and makes 98% of its income from exports.

Larger companies nominated are: Bekina Boots of Kluisbergen, East Flanders, which specialises in rubber boots for a variety of sectors, including agriculture, fisheries and food processing. They also produce rubber boots for leisure wear. Bekina employs only 53 people but is one of the top companies in its field in the world, with sales of €14 million in 2016. It exports to 43 countries, which is 94% of its business.

Skyline Communications of Izegem, West Flan-

ders, produces network management software for the media industry. The company won an Export Lion in 2012 in the small business category. Under the award’s rules, this is its first chance to take part again. Skyline now employs 146 people, for a turnover of €29 million, 92% of it from exports.

Soudal of Turnhout has been in business since 1966, producing coatings, polyurethane foam and adhesives for the construction industry and for consumers. Soudal now has five branches in Flanders and 62 outside Belgium. It employs 854 people at its headquarters, and more than 2,500 more across the world. Sales in 2016 amounted to €629 million.

The winners will be announced on 20 September at the Concertgebouw in Bruges. All members of Fit are invited to attend. \ AH

\ INNOVATION

july 5, 2017

Cracking the code

week in innovation

BeCode takes on Brussels unemployment with programming workshops Sibylle Greindl More articles by Sibylle \ flanderstoday.eu

BECODE.ORG

I

n Brussels, one out of four young people is unemployed.

And yet opportunities abound: The digital economy is good for 12,000 vacancies, and the number is expected to reach 30,000 by 2020.

According to experts, the problem lies not in the lack of jobs, but in the lack of adequate skills. “For us, this is a win-win opportunity,” says Karen Boers, who has co-created a programme that helps the unemployed prepare for the thousands of jobs available.

BeCode provides a free six-month training programme in coding.

Boers launched it with Laurent Hublet, an advisor to the federal minister in charge of the digital agenda, Alexander De Croo.

But it aims to do more than just create jobs. Boers was actually inspired to launch the programme following the terrorist attacks in Brussels last year. “If you have a direction in your life, you won’t be lured into doing other things,” she says. BeCode’s ultimate goal is to build a more inclusive society.

The hardest part, says Boers, was finding people who would get the most out of the programme.

To spread the word, she sent out ambassadors into the streets of Brussels to engage people at bars and computer shops and guide them through the application process.

Altogether, 130 people applied, and 80 were selected for a day of speeddating with BeCode founders and partners from Simplon, a nonprofit from France that provides the teaching methodology. Rather than testing applicants’ skills, the team gauged their motivation and willingness to commit to a sixmonth programme.

“We wanted to see how applicants work in groups,” explains Boers. “Because we don’t only teach them how to code – this skill

Belgian food industry among most successful

Belgium’s food industry is one of the most innovative in Europe, according to the annual report released by industry federation Fevia. According to an industry survey, 47% of all food and drinks producers have introduced innovative new production processes between 2012 and 2014. That compares favourably with the performance of the industry in neighbouring countries.

Belgium also scores highly on marketing innovation, with 46% of companies reporting some innovation, compared to 40% in France, 39% in Germany and 35% in the Netherlands. The Dutch, however, lead that pack when it comes to introducing new products, scoring 35% to Belgium’s 31%.

Gender-neutral toilets shorten queues © Kristof Vadino

The six-month courses are free of charge and provide training in web design and programming

would quickly become obsolete.

Our goal is to train assertive and connected individuals who will keep on learning on their own.”

They eventually chose 35 to start the programme.

The training itself is very tangible and practical. “In the first two weeks, students build a website.

They also learn coding languages and how to create a web form,” Boers says.

The programme is full time, and since most of the students are job-seekers, they also get to keep their unemployment benefits.

Some of the students, Boers adds, are already thinking of launching their own start-up.

Students take the classes at campuses in Anderlecht and the city centre. Ages range from 23 all the way to 60. But only seven of them are women.

“We had a fair amount of female

applicants, but some had to withdraw at the last minute because they couldn’t leave their kids at home,” explains Boers. “Next time, we’ll have a solution for this. As founders, we, too, are learning by doing.”

The women who applied for the programme come from all kinds of backgrounds. “They are often in charge of household duties and are looking for a flexible career that can be conducted from home,” Boers says. “Coding skills provide that opportunity.”

Since the programme is free, BeCode had to look for sponsors.

Four partners – Degroof Petercam, 4wings Foundation, Orange and Telenet – readily agreed to cover the costs of two series of courses a year for the next three years.

“For them, this is about corporate social responsibility, close to

home and close to their hearts,” says Boers. “They know from experience how difficult it is to find well-trained people, so they can just as well recruit some of our students, who, in turn, will get to repay the favour.”

Boers is also considering other ways for BeCode to generate funding, including small-scale partnerships and training for private companies. “Having our students and employees who need retraining share the same classroom – now that would be a very healthy mix.”

When she’s not running BeCode, Boers acts as a consultant for various other start-ups in Brussels. Despite her busy schedule, she enjoys visiting the classes and chatting with the students in the programme. “With five kids at home, I feel the need for such a school myself.”

Company’s deep-diving turbine stands up to North Sea waves Generating energy from the waves is an idea as old as time. For years, Flemish and international engineers have been using Ostend’s coastline to test the next generation of renewable energy technologies – only to have their lab models break down when exposed to the North Sea. A local company claims to have a found a sustainable solution. “When most people think about energy from the sea, the first that thing comes to their mind is waves,” says Steven Nauwelaerts, technical expert at Laminaria.

“But the back-and-forth movement of water is actually stronger than the up-and-down movement. Our model can use both motions to generate energy.”

The turbine looks like a typical buoy. “The difference is that our buoy floats just beneath the surface of the water,” explains Nauwelaerts, who previously worked for the port of Ostend and Ghent University. “It moves along with

© courtesy Laminaria

the water, and the motion is transferred via a special anchor rope to a generator that transforms it into energy.”

This is the easy part, says Nauwelaerts. The real challenge lies in ensuring that the buoy survives in the hostile environment of the North Sea. “At sea, weather conditions change quickly. The technology needs to withstand storms, which makes them heavy, inefficient and expensive.”

LAMINARIA.BE

Laminaria’s turbines don’t fight storms, they hide from them. “Water currents are strongest at the surface,” says Nauwelaerts. “Our machine can dive deeper when the water gets rough. It can wait out the storm, while continuing to produce energy. That’s what makes it unique.”

The potential for maritime energy is huge. The European Union’s long-term goal is to generate between 30 and 50 megawatts from sea power.

“That’s more than we can handle, but we aim to play an important role in the story of the maritime energy,” says Nauwelaerts.

Laminaria’s first prototype is ready. “Next year, we’ll install the first turbines off the coast of Scotland.”

What about Flanders? “The waves aren’t strong enough,” says Nauwelaerts. “Because our turbines can withstand rough conditions, we’re aiming for wilder waters for now.”

Efficiently planned genderneutral toilets at Flanders’ music festivals would decrease the queues for women significantly: from an average sixminute-and-19-second wait to just under one-and-a-half minutes, according to Ghent University (UGent) researchers. The waiting time for men would only increase from 11 to 58 seconds with such toilets, they said. One of the reasons women have to wait longer is that they have fewer toilets than the men because of urinals, which take up a lot less space than cabins.

The researchers recommend that all music festivals install cabins anyone can use, along with a modest number of urinals.

‘Put babies on belly,’ says study Infants in Flanders take their first steps about a month later than children around the world, because they sit too much and are often kept on their back, say researchers from Ghent University (UGent). For a master’s thesis, the researchers tracked the motor development of 77 babies from the age of four months until their first steps. Babies in Flanders, the researchers said, are too frequently put on their backs, which slows down the development of their motor skills.

“Babies should be put on their bellies as often as possible, so that they learn to roll and crawl earlier,” professor Hilde Van Waelvelde told De Morgen. The researchers also say that Flemish babies spend too much time sitting, weakening their abdominal and back muscles.

\ Toon Lambrechts

\7

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IN A CHANGING WORLD,

\ EDUCATION

july 5, 2017

Women at war

week in education

Master’s students in Bruges study role of women in extremism Linda A Thompson Follow Linda on Twitter \ @ThompsonBXL

FACEBOOK.COM/YOUNGEUROPEANPERSPECTIVES

A

t the end of last year, a dozen local students decided to stage a multifront social media campaign aimed at debunking what they saw as a grievous misconception – the idea that women are victims, with no agency of their own.

Far from being women’s or gender studies majors, these 10 students, who come from such countries as Ireland, Sweden, Germany and the Czech Republic, were completing a master’s in EU international relations and diplomacy at the College of Europe in Bruges. The campaign they launched was specifically focused on the role played by women in radicalisation and terrorism.

“Many people believe radicalisation and extremism to be something that is purely a male phenomenon, that only men are able to be radicalised and only men carry out acts of violence,” says Jessica Ní Mhainín, one of two co-leaders on the She Is Her(e) project. “But this is completely not true and especially not in relation to ISIS.”

Students film a campaign video for She Is Her(e)

are wives to jihadi fighters, they give birth to and raise the next generation of fighters, and they recruit new women to the group.

This one-dimensional depiction of women as only victims is important because it has a cost, Ní Mhainín explains. “It allows them to circumvent the intelligence of the police because they’re not given agency. Or if they’re caught, it must be because

ISIS is also focused on state building, and they think women are necessary for that The misconceptions about women’s roles appear to stem from an overall flawed misunderstanding of extremism, says the 24-year-old. “I think radicalisation and extremism is something that’s viewed quite simplistically all over, but I think women are particularly victims of this.”

According to a She Is Her(e) infographic, the women who have joined IS fill a variety of roles. They

she was married to this person, or because her brother was involved in it – and that’s often not the case.”

Belgium remains the country with the highest number of citizens fighting in Syria per capita, with most of those 470 youths having left from cities like Brussels, Antwerp and Vilvoorde in the summer of 2013.

Local news coverage of these foreign fighters has portrayed them exclusively as young men, which statis-

tically is not possible. According to 2016 figures from The Hague-based International Centre for Counter Terrorism, 17% of the foreign fighters from the EU are women, which suggests at least 80 women have left Belgium to fight in Syria.

“While women are involved, men are usually at the forefront; they’re usually the ones that carry out the attacks,” Ní Mhainín continues. She notes that a lot of the news coverage of recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels has consequently focused on the perpetrators and failed to throw light on their support network – the people who supplied them with money or technical help – and that’s where women most often come in to play.

After carefully researching their topic at the end of 2016 and with assistance from the school’s faculty, they created a dedicated Facebook page and Twitter account, produced several Q&A videos and a campaign video, compiled infographics and organised an event at the College of Europe. It was all with one aim: to raise awareness that women are also perpetrators of terrorism.

They did all this as part of a regional

competition organised by the 57-nation Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe that was simultaneously part of Facebook’s P2P (Peer to Peer): Challenging Extremism initiative. P2P invites university students from around the world to design and implement a social or digital initiative, product or tool to counter hate and extremism.

Although She Is Her(e) largely focuses on radical Islamism, the videos and posts all emphasise the role played by women rather than by “Muslim women”. The students, none of whom had personal experience with or knowledge of radicalisation, were acutely aware of the larger stakes, explains Ní Mhainín.

The European Network Against Racism, for instance, warned in an expansive 2016 report that prejudices against and stereotypical representations of Muslim women as oppressed or dangerous create a breeding ground for discriminatory practices and violence against them.

Noting that one of the Q&A videos also discussed the role played by Chechen female suicide bombers in Russia, she says: “We wanted to open it up to make sure that it was known that this is not something that is specific to ISIS and Islamism.

In terms of focusing on Muslims, we were acutely aware of falling into traps.”

Still, although there are historical precedents, Ní Mhainín says, ISIS is also different from previous terrorist groups.

“Unlike Al-Qaeda, who were mainly focused on terrorist activity, ISIS is also focused on state building, and they think women are necessary for that, and I think that’s what a lot of people don’t realise,” she says. “This is one of the reasons why, right now, in terms of Islamist extremism, women are being targeted by ISIS.”

Food safety in Belgian school kitchens is improving, according to the annual report released by the Federal Food Safety Agency (Favv). Three years ago, some one-third of schools across the country scored poorly in inspections, usually because of problems concerning facilities, infrastructure and hygiene. Last year, however, 80% received a positive evaluation. Factors that can negative affect food safety are improper storage temperatures, a lack of hygiene of surfaces that come into contact with foods and insufficient personal hygiene of staff. According to the report, however, only 38.5% of prison kitchens performed well in 2016. The situation in hospital kitchens is more clear: 65% received a positive evaluation last year, compared to 72.6% a year before.

New postgraduate on Internet of Things The universities of Antwerp (UAntwerp), Ghent (UGent) and Brussels (VUB) are joining forces for a postgraduate programme on the Internet of Things (IoT). Many influential companies are supporting the project, including Proximus, Telenet, Agfa-Gevaert, Nokia, Microsoft and the Cronos Groep. Through an IoT system, objects interact with other objects via both wired and wireless connections. Recent research shows that about 70% of Flanders’ tech companies need innovative IoT solutions to remain competitive. The postgraduate, which launches in September, will account for 66 credits, or one academic year.

Students will follow lessons in the first semester and do an internship in the second semester.

Schools get help collecting unpaid fees

Q&A Economist and winemaker Ghislain Houben of UHasselt is working to create a new generation of vintners in Flanders, a project that the region and Limburg province have provided €392,000 to carry out How will the money to support winemaking be used?

Pcfruit, the test centre for fruit growing in Sint-Truiden, and the horticultural school in the city will now be able to install equipment needed for winemaking.

For about a decade, Pcfruit has had a vineyard for tests and will soon be able to train fruit growers or others from all over Flanders in vinification techniques. The horticultural school will show students the various aspects of the process, thus creating a new and better prepared generation of winegrowers.

Food safety improving in schools

How is UHasselt involved?

We will look at how to overcome financial barriers for fruit growers and others who want to start wine production, by examining how they can join forces to be able to afford the necessary investments.

A team of Hasselt researchers will also develop an app to analyse the feasibility of a viticulture project, taking into account how much people in the area have available and the kind of investments they have to make, for example.

Will this lead to increased wine tourism?

Students of tourism at PXL Univer-

A viticulture route or digital applications could guide tourists to winegrowers, who will also have to invest in ways to attract visitors to their businesses.

sity College will use surveys to explore how the tourism sector in Limburg can be aligned with the growing wine production sector, so they can strengthen each other.

Is the wine production sector growing in Flanders?

Since about 2000, the sector has been flourishing here more and more. The main reason is global warming, which is making the local climate increasingly suitable for viticulture, while more southern regions have always been the traditional producers of wine. The Russian ban on EU imports of a variety of agricultural products has also convinced many fruit growers of the necessity to diversify their production. \ Interview by

Secondary schools across Flanders and Brussels will receive assistance in implementing policies on managing costs for parents, approaching them about unpaid fees and dealing with poverty. Education minister Hilde Crevits has announced that 45 schools have been selected for the project. Central to the project is the sympathetic collection of bills, without putting pressure on families. Currently, one in four schools uses debt collection agencies to go after parents’ unpaid fees. The fees generally concern special materials or school trips. In 2016, schools hired collection agencies to collect €2.3 million in unpaid invoices. \ AF

Andy Furniere

\9

\ LIVING

week in activities Scheldeland Under Steam The 11th edition of this annual steam train festival celebrates the 200th anniversary of famed British-Belgian train builder John Cockerill.

A special Cockerill locomotive from Luxembourg will be the guest of honour, along with other historic steam engines and railroad cars. 8 & 9 July 10.00-18.00, Station Baasrode-Noord, Fabriekstraat 118, Dendermonde; €13 \ stoomtrein.be

The Cherry Make the most of cherry season in Haspengouw with this free festival dedicated to everyone’s favourite summer fruit. Discover more than 250 varieties from all over Europe, meet the growers, take part in tastings and imbibe drinks made from cherries. Guided tours available through the historic cherry orchard on the grounds of Alden-Biesen Castle. 9 July 10.00-17.00, Kasteelstraat 6, Bilzen; free \ alden-biesen.be

Recyclart Holidays For six weeks this summer, Brussel-Kapellekerk station is the place to be for offbeat entertainment and activities: bread-baking workshops, fun fair, food and drink, a free hair salon, “pimp your T-shirt”, art shows, DJs and more. Thursday & Fridays until 4 August, Ursulinenstraat 25, Brussels; free

Altering the realm of meaning Museum workshop in Ghent lets dementia patients explain the art Daan Bauwens More articles by Daan \ flanderstoday.eu

Smak.be

D

ementia is not only about loss. Those suffering from the disease could also be experiencing life more directly, uncompromised by words, meanings or expectations.

At least that’s how Ghent artist Bie Hinnekint sees it. At the city’s museum of contemporary art, Smak, Hinnekint has invited dementia patients and their caregivers for a series of workshops. The goal of Demo-Memo is to let them experience art together.

Ten years ago, Hinnekint embarked on a mission to promote a more positive image of old age. Through contact with elderly people in residential care centres, she became appalled at the way elderly care was perceived and organised.

“Old age is not a sickness or suffering,” she says. “There was a clear need for a change in attitude.”

Four years later, she founded The Courage to Grow Old foundation, with an open-source online directory of interviews with inspiring elderly people. “Those excelling in the art of growing older, like curator Jan Hoet, singer Rocco Granata, musician Roland Van Campenhout and sculptor Koenraad Tinel,” Hinnekint says. “They each answered 10 questions on growing older.”

Demo-Memo, her latest project, draws on her conviction that

© Courtesy Smak

purer form of experience.”

As conscious thoughts gradually disappear, she continues, “there

independent of meaning and without words.”

As they tour Smak, the demen-

\ tinyurl.com/recyclartholidays

Cinema Canvas Every week during the summer months, this roaming outdoor film festival screens an eclectic selection of classic, foreign and arthouse movies across Flanders. First up is Kortrijk, followed by Antwerp, Genk, Leuven, Sint-Truiden, Gent and Vilvoorde. Check the website for the line-up and reserve your tickets; they’re going fast. Until 25 August, across Flanders; free \ canvas.be/cinema-canvas

Summer at Bokrijk Every Sunday during the summer school holiday, there’s a special themed activity at Limburg’s openair museum. This Sunday, learn all about the different animals that live at Bokrijk, from the sheep and donkeys, to the oxen and pigs. Falconry shows, shepherding demonstrations and a mobile petting zoo for the kids. Until 3 September, Bokrijklaan 1, Genk; free with museum admission \ bokrijk.be/en/events

\ 10

Finally we have an opportunity to be heard and say what we think, not what we’re supposed to think artists and people with dementia experience life more directly. “I believe people with dementia strip the world of meaning and turn to a

is more and more space to experience things as they are. Artists, too, try to attain the world of pure existence and direct experience,

tia patients decide where to go.

“Instead of trying to make people cling on to our world, as we’re always inclined to do, this time

we follow them,” Hinnekint says.

“Without a guide to tell us about art history or movements, we focus on their experiences and reactions to the art.”

According to Hinnekint, people with dementia retain imagination and enough language to put their experience into words. Their partners and children are stunned at their reactions.

“There’s always an abundance of energy and laughter,” Hinnekint says. “One of the people with dementia once told me: ‘Finally we have an opportunity to be heard and say what we think, not what we’re supposed to think.’”

Demo-Memo is intended to empower those with dementia, but also to help their families cope with the disease. “Most of their pain is caused by the fact that they want their loved ones to stay who they were – their father, mother, wife, husband,” Hinnekint says.

The family members, she continues, “want the person to remain within our realm of meaning. But you might even call it the world of fiction. What does ‘father’ mean for someone who has dementia? It is a concept, a construction.”

Through the workshops, she says, caregivers begin understanding how people with dementia experience the world. “This helps them form a new connection with their loved one.”

At Smak, the caregivers are asked to remain silent. All attention is directed at what the participants with dementia think and say.

Someone always transcribes everything that is said, and from the transcript, Hinnekint creates a poem, which is then read aloud to the group. In two years of running the workshops, she has compiled a series of 11 poems. Her goal is 100.

BITE New Brussels restaurant serves new menu every day While Brussels’ Elsene commune is overflowing with restaurants, in neighbouring Sint-Gillis it’s a bit harder to find a good place to eat. South African-Australian Richard Schaffer and French-born Mathilde Hatte both fell in love with the neighbourhood when they moved to Brussels three years ago. So they decided to help fill the foodie gap.

Le 203 is proving to be a success: In only six months, the relaxed restaurant, which focuses on simple, high-quality dishes, has been able to build a loyal following. “We didn’t want to do it anywhere else,” says Schaffer, who has trained in kitchens in Australia, Vietnam and France.

The couple’s appreciation for

the neighbourhood also shines through when it comes to the menu. The wine selection includes bottles from the wine bar just around the corner, and every morning Schaffer picks up fresh bread at the local bakery.

While he rules the (open) kitchen, his partner, Hatte, previously a lawyer by trade, takes care of the service. Every Monday, the two plan the menu for the week, with different options every day.

Fittingly, it’s all written on a large pad of paper on the wall, and each evening the menu gets ripped off to make room for a new one. Schaffer: “In six months, we haven’t done a single dish twice.”

He admits this requires a huge amount of creativity and flexibil-

© courtesy Le 203

ity – also from the customers, who generally appreciate the element of surprise. “Occasionally someone asks if they can see ‘the real menu’,”

LE203.COM

he laughs.

The reason for the concept is more serious than just wanting to offer something fun and different. “If a menu has 50 options, there’s no way it’s going to be fresh,” Schaffer explains.

The ever-changing recipes are a result of the cook’s extensive experience spanning different countries and cuisines. Le 203 always offers two starters, three mains and two desserts, making sure that both meat-eaters and vegetarians find something to satisfy them.

“As soon as a product comes into season, we use it as much as we can, and then we forget about it,” Shaffer says. “You’ll never see us cooking with watermelons or tomatoes in December.” \ Sarah Schug

july 5, 2017

Water world

From coal treatment plant to subtropical dive centre, TODI in Limburg is unique Sarah Crew More articles by Sarah \ flanderstoday.eu

TODI.BE

T

he only sound is my breath as I fin slowly through a school of vegetarian piranhas. My mask may magnify how close they really are, yet the grey creatures loom large as they swim centimetres from my face. As I descend the maximum 10 metres of this underwater world, I spot paroon sharks circling the deepest point.

Despite the eeriness of diving solo in 6.5 million litres of water in the company of more than 2,500 freshwater fishes, I’m in an almost meditative state as I explore every nook and cranny of the giant TODI dive centre at Be-Mine in Beringen, Limburg, a former coal depot. Whether indoor or outdoor, saltwater or fresh, scuba diving is always a therapeutic escape.

Down here, there’s an aquatic adventure park to discover: soaring columns, one toppled, suggest the ruins of an ancient city; stone walls provide more contemporary landscaping; barnacle-encrusted rocks reinforce the marine theme; and a mine tunnel complete with railway tracks recalls the site’s industrial heritage.

Caves, platforms and even an underwater bar with a beer tap are additional fun. This being the industrial heartland of Flanders, three cars from the nearby Ford plant have been sunk into the pool, windows missing and doors askew for divers and fish to explore.

I’m not entirely alone. Video cameras record all activity in the pool, and images are relayed to screens in the adjacent brasserie as well as to staff for security purposes. The sides of the basin also contain small windows from which visitors and diners can watch.

This unique diving site is the result of a complex refit, which has transformed a disused relic of the coal mine that closed in the late 1980s. Opened in October last year, the TODI dive centre is the largest subtropical diving and snorkelling centre in Europe.

While divers can pursue their sport in lakes and quarries in the summer, outdoor diving is almost impossible in northern Europe in winter as it’s too cold. The Nemo 33 pool in Brussels may be the second deepest in the world, but this new facility provides an alternative year-round practice facility for divers, snorkelers and free divers.

The unique site is the result of a complex refit, which has transformed a relic of the coal mine that closed in the late 1980s

Owners Dirk Heylen and Wouter Schoovaerts spent 12 years developing the project, including finding a suitable site. “We knew the Be-Mine site had a plan for reconversion, so we proposed this idea to use the existing basins,” says Schoovaerts. “We also knew we could receive a subsidy.” From the outset, the pair wanted to combine an indoor pool with an aquarium. “We have decor and fishes to focus on a sensation experience,” he adds.

The €9 million investment involved converting and extending the existing two concrete basins. The larger one, with a 36-metre diameter, had been used for washing coal. A new, raised roof with wraparound windows now allows natural sunlight to fill the pool.

An annex contains the reception, brasserie and bar with outdoor terrace, and groundfloor changing rooms.

A lift delivers visitors to the fourth floor with access to the pool and dive equipment area.

The material is all new; bottles, weights and buoyancy jackets are all provided, and all other equipment is available to rent.

The centre provides jackets to guarantee they are properly disinfected. Ensuring the perfect health of thousands of tropical fish – 30 species – requires stringent measures.

They are quarantined when they arrive at the site and divers are not allowed to feed them. The infrastructure’s smaller basin acts as a filtration plant to treat the pool’s water, keeping it crystal-clear.

Despite the water temperature of 23 degrees, wetsuits are mandatory, even for snorkelers, to maintain the centre’s status as a diving facility. The pool can hold up to 90 people, but the number is capped at 60 to keep the experience pleasurable and the owners

recommend that divers reserve a time slot.

Don’t forget to bring your diving certificate, proof of insurance and dive buddy.

If you want to learn to dive or simply experience breathing underwater and the sensation of weightlessness, there are initiation classes in scuba diving, free diving and surface diving, and it’s accessible for people with disabilities. There’s even a mermaid school.

The site is an attraction in itself. Be-Mine is an award-winning urban renovation project; a mix of commercial, residential and tourism development. Two slag heaps overlooking the spaceship-like dive centre have been transformed into adventure parks, one for mountain bikes, the other for hiking. Coal mining may have come to an end in 1989, but Flanders’ industrial legacy is proving to be highly successful and diverse.

Knead to know: Bread is the star at museum’s new attraction Everything old is new again. That certainly seems to be true in the culinary world, where seasonal produce, ancient grains and artisanal techniques are all the rage.

Now Bokrijk, the outdoor historical park in Limburg, is getting in on the slow-food movement with a new sourdough bakery and an exhibition about the history of baking in Flanders.

Kobe Desramaults, the chef from West Flanders who made headlines when he earned a Michelin star at the age of 25, has partnered with Bokrijk to open a second location of his artisanal bakery, De Superette, on the museum’s grounds. The bakery is housed in a restored barn that was moved from its original location in Meeuwen, in the Kempen region of north Limburg.

Sarah Lemke, the American baker who runs the bakery portion of De Superette (it’s also a restaurant) in Ghent, is spending the summer getting the new location up and

running. The bakery works only with sourdough, meaning that naturally occurring airborne yeasts are used as raising agents.

Most bread eaten these days, whether bought at the grocery store or made at home in a bread machine, uses fast-acting commercial yeast. Because it relies on natural yeasts, sourdough takes a long time to rise.

The long rising time leads to better digestibility and more complex flavours, as well as a longer shelf life. The flour used comes from local grains, ground in a traditional mill a few kilometres from Bokrijk. This is bread as it used to be made right here in Flanders.

For now, only visitors with an entry ticket can buy the bread at De Superette Bokrijk, but there are plans for a mobile bakery truck in the main car park and at nearby farmer’s

BOKRIJK.BE

markets.

Along with the bakery’s building, two other farm buildings from Meeuwen – a farmhouse and a bakehouse – have been renovated and repurposed to house an exhibition on the history of baking in the region.

Items from Bokrijk’s collection of historic tools and furnishings tell the story of home baking in the 19th and 20th centuries. An accompanying audiovisual installation reveals the many traditions and rituals involving bread from around the world.

Those who want to learn more about artisanal baking can sign up for evening workshops given by Lemke (pictured with Desramaults).

Visitors can also take part in baking workshops in the Atelier Barn, although these do not use sourdough. \ Diana Goodwin

\ 11

\ LIVING

july 5, 2017

And the band played on

week in arts & CULTURE

Author and historian looks at the music and magic of Ancienne Belgique Jeanie Keogh More articles by Jeanie \ flanderstoday.eu

B

russels’ Ancienne Belgique is a second home for regular concert-goers in Belgium.

But not many of them know the venue’s rich cultural history the way Johan Ral does.

A music historian and journalist, Ral wrote a book for the venue’s 35th anniversary in its current incarnation as a Flemish cultural institution. AB: Een muzikale geschiedenis (AB: A Musical History) charts the 80-year story of a concert hall-cum-cultural venue that has survived war, near bankruptcy, ownership changes, and all the ups and downs of the entertainment business.

The book is full of anecdotes about memorable shows – firsts, lasts, galas, tributes, festivals, anniversaries and fundraisers to keep it alive. One such story is about The Cure’s on-stage argument in 1982, leading to the band’s temporary break-up.

Another is the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 1988 show that resulted in one microphone being forever dubbed “the flea” because bass player Michael Peter Balzary (aka Flea) stuck it between his buttocks.

It’s been an exhilarating ride for Ral, looking into the thousands of performers who have graced the AB stage and the vast range of musical styles and movements the venue has seen – from the French Yé-Yé generation of the 1960s made famous by Johnny Hallyday, to pop, rock and experimental, not to mention theatre and dance.

AB: Een muzikale geschiedenis is an impressive visual library, with not just archive images of performers on stage but also ticket stubs complete with misspellings and wrong dates, posters, Edith Piaf ’s contract, excerpts from Jacques

© Milow

The view from the AB stage, as seen by Flemish singer Milow

Brel’s diary, and a fax from US rock band Korn outlining their dressing room requirements: “Tropicana Orange Juice*** Not from Concentrate***” Ral says cobbling together and making sense of the material he procured in the research stage was not an easy feat. “We didn’t find much structured material in the archives of the AB itself,” he says.

Luckily, Jari Demeulemeester, the venue’s former general manager, entrusted his own collection of material to the AMVB, the Archive and Museum for Flemish Life in Brussels.

“This was a nice starting point,” says Ral. “We looked up witnesses, people who had participated in the making of the AB as it is today.

We talked to collectors to get the chronology right as well as the family of the original owners, the Mathonets. And of course there was a lot of material in biographies of the artists concerned.”

The research took two years to get right, Ral says. A year after

publishing the book in Dutch, he released a French-language version; during that year he dug deeper after people who had read the Dutch version came forward to help piece together missing information. Ral hopes to publish an updated edition in English for AB’s 40th anniversary in 2019.

There have been some rocky periods for the AB – the war years, of course, and the 1970s when the owner, Georges Mathonet, was forced to give the venue up. He no longer had the means to continue when building codes changed as a result of the infamous fire at the Innovation department store on Nieuwstraat in 1967.

But throughout these tough times, the one constant has been the sheer love its owners had for music. And like any successful love affair, it could not have stood the test of time if it hadn’t been requited by the artists gracing the stage.

This is where the essential alchemy happened to give AB its staying power as an intimate

and ever-popular concert hall. In the book, local and international artists sing the AB’s praises.

Flemish singer Arno compares playing shows there to the comfort of being in his own living room, while Sicilian-born Salvatore Adamo calls it a passport to greatness, an echo of the Olympia in France and Carnegie Hall in New York.

In the afterword, British pianist and composer Jools Holland likens standing on the same spot where Piaf had once sang to having a brilliant musician’s instrument in one’s hands: It sounds different when it has been played with love.

Ral describes his admiration for the blood, sweat and tears shed by the many people who kept AB rocking and rolling throughout its various incarnations, something that couldn’t have happened without inventiveness, creativity and spirit. But what struck the strongest chord was the zeitgeist that began on the day it first opened its doors, and continues today.

“These people didn’t know each other or even know about each other,” he says, “but they were all driven by the same passion for music and for the performing arts and were willing to take risks and not give up.”

There are two other areas in which the AB has managed to hold a tune throughout history: its continuous investment in young talent, and sound and recording technology, even back in the 1930s.

Ral believes that this is what has reverberated down the years: the innovation, spark and intimacy that both artists and audiences feel at AB. AB: Een muzikale geschiedenis is published in Dutch by WPG

Celebrations make a song and dance of Flemish Community Day In the days leading up to Flemish Community Day, the government traditionally supports and even sponsors activities organised by citizens to boost social life in their neighbourhoods.

This year, that community spirit has resulted in more than 1,000 initiatives under the banner of Vlaanderen Feest, or Flanders Celebrates.

Add to that the festivities that local authorities are planning in more than 200 municipalities – from open-air concerts to barbecue parties – and Flanders is set for a real party on 11 July.

The biggest event of all can be found on the Grote Markt in Antwerp, which will be broadcast on national television. Radio and TV personality Peter Van de Veire hosts a series of Flemish acts, such as the girl band K3, a reunion of the boy band Get Ready and singers Christoff and Bart Kaëll. All have one thing in common: They will perform in their mother tongue.

Though people may not be entirely sure they can explain the historical significance of the

© Muntpunt/Bouchra Draoui

celebrations, they will nevertheless sing along to “Vlaanderen feest”, this year’s campaign song by musical theatre star Jelle Cleymans.

For those who don’t know: The date refers to 11 July 1302 and the Battle of the Golden Spurs, when a Flemish army of farmers and craftsman defeated a smaller, but more professional French army of knights near Kortrijk.

The public holiday itself dates back to 1973, when the Culture Board of the Flemish Cultural

VLAANDEREN FEEST.EU BRUSSELDANST.BE

Community, the precursor to the Flemish parliament, decided that the date should be recognised as a holiday.

As Flanders parties on 11 July, there will be dancing in the capital, too. Muntplein goes for an urban vibe, staging dance battles and a block party, while the bill on Grote Markt includes Flemish music icon Will Tura, singer Stijn Meuris and the Clement Peerens Explosition, a parody rock threesome who sing in Antwerp dialect.

A new location in Brussels is Beursplein, a symbolic gesture since its steps have become a space for gathering after both tragic and joyful events. On Flemish Community Day, there’s a Gelukkig Zijn singing session, in which everyone can sing along to simple Dutch-language songs, while the Ghent-born concept Allez, Chantez!, which brings people together to sing pop songs from the 1950s onwards, makes its open-air debut in the capital, supported by Brussels Philharmonic. \ Tom Peeters

Three youth film organisations merge Flanders’ Youth Film Festival, film distributor Jekino and the movie education non-profit Lessons in the Dark are joining forces to create a new organisation called Jef. The Youth Film Festival, which takes place in February, features movies and workshops for kids and young people. Jekino distributes films targeted at children and young people and also sponsors audio-visual workshops for a variety of age ranges, while Lessons in the Dark selects film for schoolkids to view and leads discussions around the topics. The three organisations will combine their skills and resources, continuing the film festival, YouTube Camp, workshops, original film projects and interactive film study guides for schools. \ jeugdfilmfestival.be

NMBS lays on ‘party trains’ for festivals NMBS will run several “party trains” this summer, all of which will pass through several Flemish cities on their way to music festivals across the country.

The rail authority is laying on a proper festival atmosphere with free sodas, special dance cars and an on-board DJ. The first train took revellers to Rock Werchter last week, while future trains are headed towards Les Ardentes in Liège on 9 July, to the Dour festival on 12 July and to Pukkelpop in Hasselt on 16 August. While the first two require a ticket, the three routes to Pukkelpop are free. \ tinyurl.com/partytrains

Promotions at Royal Ballet Flanders Royal Ballet Flanders has announced a number of promotions for the new season. The company’s Nancy Osbaldeston – who danced the part of Aegina in Spartacus earlier this year – is being promoted from a soloist to a principal. “In the past season, Nancy has shown herself to be a versatile and all-round dancer,” said the ballet’s artistic director, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. “Her Aegina was internationally acclaimed, and with good reason, while she also displayed impeccable technique in the work of Akram Khan and Ohad Naharin [East]. The choreographers with whom she has worked are unanimous about her talent, energy and presence.”

Other dancers to be promoted are Acacia Schachte and Matt Foley, who become soloists, and Brent Daneels, who advances from the corps to become a half-soloist. \ operaballet.be

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\ ARTS

Create and destroy

From neon lights to Pink Floyd: Joris Van De Moortel on 10 years of art Christophe Verbiest More articles by Christophe \ flanderstoday.eu

Antwerp-based artist Joris Van De Moortel is one of four chosen to celebrate rock band Pink Floyd in London, and music has always been close to his heart.

I

f you’ve ever wandered into a musical performance by visual artist Joris Van De Moortel without knowing anything about him, you might have been surprised. The chances are that at the end he destroyed some of the material. Or set fire to it. Or sprayed some paint on it.

But he doesn’t throw away the remains; he uses them to make new art.

Destruction seems to be an integral part of Van De Moortel’s artistic practice, as if creating and destroying are two sides of a coin. It’s an opinion he doesn’t fully agree with. “I know people perceive my work that way,” he says. “But look closely at a painter, and you’ll see the same process.

Painting isn’t only about putting paint on a canvas; it’s also about scraping paint off it. Only no one defines this as destruction.”

The reasoning behind his way of working, he stresses, isn’t: “Let’s destroy something to create something new. Although I can’t deny that a lot of the debris is reused.”

Van De Moortel doesn’t scavenge for old iron, discarded pieces of wood or defunct tools. He never uses garbage. “Except my own,” he says with a smile.

At the beginning of his career he bought his material at home improvement shops. Now he has his regular suppliers. “The rest of their customers mostly work in construction.”

Van de Moortel, who was born and bred in Ghent but works in Antwerp, says that throughout the years he’s used any materials available. “I don’t have a preference,” he says. Even so, the use of neon lightning has become a hallmark.

“My fascination with neon is a fascination with light. Ten years ago, I worked a lot with fluores-

© Courtesy Galerie Nathalie Obadia, photographer Maxime Fauconnier

Joris Van De Moortel: “My fascination with neon is a fascination with light”

cent tubes and other sources of illumination. But the advantage of neon lighting is that I can choose the colour, and it’s flexible: I can give it the form I want.”

Van De Moortel works with a neon technician he’s known since he was a child, because the man was his father’s neighbour. “It’s a fruitful collaboration; some of the forms I even shape myself. If I didn’t have such easy access to neon, I wouldn’t use it as much,” he says. “I’m not the kind of artist who likes to outsource those kinds of jobs. I want to be as hands-on as possible.”

Three of Van De Moortel’s works are part of a current group exhibition in Galerie Nathalie Obadia in Brussels. And the Museum van Elsene has put one of his works in the spotlight until September. Although the four works are collages of material, because of their visual language, they are more comparable to paintings

than sculpture.

“The influence is certainly there,” he admits. “Over the past years I’ve almost exclusively looked at paintings, specifically 15th- and 16th-century works. The Flemish Primitives are an important source of inspiration.”

London. The museum and Liberty, a luxury department store in London’s West End, asked four artists to create an intervention.

One of them was Van de Moortel.

Pink Floyd is one of the first bands Van De Moortel was really into. He was very happy to be asked, but

Painting isn’t only about putting paint on a canvas; it’s also about scraping paint off it It’s no coincidence, then, that the figures in “The Garden of Eden”, who are a collage of shreds of paper, are based on Adam and Eve from the Ghent Altarpiece.

Recently, a retrospective exhibition of Pink Floyd opened in the Victoria & Albert Museum in

also very surprised. “Apparently they made a longlist and then a shortlist of possible candidates, but they didn’t tell the artists about this selection process.”

He couldn’t say no, of course. But he knew he didn’t want to be too literal. Don’t look for memorabilia

of the band, for example, in “See Liberty Play”, which will be on show from 6 July in two connecting display cases facing on to Regent Street.

He’ll be showing a music studio, “made of transport cases that I used for earlier exhibitions. When I split this sound studio in two, it exactly fits into those two shop windows. The sound aspect is the main reference to Pink Floyd.”

If you’re interested in one of his performances, he’ll be giving one on 23 July during the Gentse Feesten at Gouvernement in Ghent. There will be music: Van De Moortel is an avid musician, with 16 releases on numerous formats over the past 10 years. He has often said, though, that he is a visual artist, not a musician.

But he’s far from half-hearted about music. “I play a lot of music, and my exhibitions are always linked to music, or at least sound.”

He lets out a deep sigh when I ask him if the music nourishes the visual arts, or vice versa. “It’s always been difficult for me to pinpoint the meaning and importance of music for me.”

What would he pick if he had to choose between the two? He stays silent for what seems like an eternity.

“It would be extremely hard, but I think I would go for the music.

It’s the most transportable, you could say. I also enjoy playing with other people more and more.

I’ve done this for years, but I’ve mostly focused on myself. That has changed.”

Van De Moortel has been a professional artist for a decade now; he’s always been able to earn a living with his art. “I do a lot of things that don’t earn me any money, like my performances. I can do those things, which I really like, because I can sell other works. Artistically, too, one keeps the other in balance. Sometimes I wonder: If I wasn’t selling well, would I still be doing the other things? I honestly don’t know.”

More visual arts this week Wilmer Wilson IV • Fire Bill’s Spook Kit

The Artist/Knight

The In Flanders Fields Museum, which tells the story of the First World War at the front in West Flanders, reaches out to contemporary artists, too. Like American artist Wilmer Wilson IV, who looks at the parallels between the deeply scarred post-war landscape in Flanders and American agricultural sites blemished by post-war social terror like racism. It results in scarecrow sculptures, appropriated from Flemish farms, and a giant sculpture consisting of three tonnes of salt lick blocks (pictured). Until 7 January, In Flanders Fields Museum, Lakenhalle, Grote Markt 34, Ypres

Evoking the mind and soul of the knight: That’s the intention of The Artist/Knight at the enchanting Gaasbeek Castle.

Not a in a purely historical perspective, but through the eyes of artists who are intrigued by the figure of the knight. Some international big names (Damien Hirst, Marina Abramovic, Tracey Emin) share the stage with Flemish artists, both upcoming (the amazing Hannelore Van Dijck) and established (Robert Devriendt, Jan Fabre). 11 July to 5 November, Gaasbeek Castle, Kasteelstraat 40, Lennik

\ inflandersfields.be

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\ AGENDA

july 5, 2017

Going up the country in Limburg

CLASSICAL

Blues Peer 14-16 July

Antwerp

Deusterstraat 38, Peer bluesfestival.be

“I

love the attitude of the blues: It’s about saying what you mean and meaning what you say.” We couldn’t have said that any better than Jools Holland did.

Together with His 21-strong Rhythm & Blues Orchestra (pictured), the British icon is one of the headliners of the 34th edition of Blues Peer in northern Limburg province.

It was the boogie-woogie piano at his grandmother’s place and his parents’ gospel records that got the musician hooked on the genre in the 1970s. He later spread the message as a pianist, a bandleader and the much loved host of the ongoing BBC programme Later… with Jools Holland, in which he seems to get along with anyone.

A few years ago, Holland told me that he also inherited his communication skills from his late grandmother. “She used to run a small store and had a friendly word for all of her customers – the rich old ladies

coming around for strawberries and the poor working-class only buying potatoes. I must have picked that up as a young boy.”

Holland is at the top of the festival bill with Jethro Tull, still led by singer

and flute-player Ian Anderson, and Canned Heat, who were playing their hits “On the Road Again” and “Going Up the Country” at Woodstock.

Other noteworthy names at Blues Peer are Texan blues rock veterans ZZ Top and The Magpie Salute, including a few former members of The Black Crowes.

Ticket-holders should definitely catch gospel band The Blind Boys of Alabama, always with one or two singers who were there right from the start in the late 1930s.

The Flemish delegation is headed

by Walter Broes & The Mercenaries, who have a new album out, five years after Broes dismantled his rockabilly outfit The Seatsniffers. \ Tom Peeters

Dido and Aeneas: Singers and musicians from the Académie Baroque Européenne d’Ambronay, led

by Paul Agnew, perform Henry Purcell’s 17th-century baroque opera, which gave us the enduring aria “Dido’s Lament.” 12 July 20.15, Amuz, Kammenstraat 81 \ amuz.be

VISUAL ARTS Ostend Eric van Hove: Solo exhibition showcases the BelgianAlgerian artist’s works. Van Hove’s Marrajesk studio has become a laboratory of artistic and cultural experimentation geared toward exploring equitable development. Until 27 August, Mu.zee, Romestraat 11 \ muzee.be

CLASSICAL

VISUAL ARTS

Zomer van Sint-Pieter

FESTIVAL

From China to Taiwan: Pioneers of Abstraction

Ghent

Until 31 August Like its counterpart, the Midis Minimes Festival in Brussels, Leuven’s Zomer van Sint-Pieter fills the summer months with lunchtime concerts that start at 12.15 on the dot and wrap in time for audience members to get back to work.

This 16th edition, curated by 30CC and Opus 3, boasts performances by dozens of Europe’s top classical

Across Leuven zomer-van-sint-pieter.be

ensembles and soloists. Concerts take place at 30CC’s 19th-century Schouwburg and the gothic Predikherenkerk. July’s highlights include Swiss-Polish Renaissance music duo Corina Marti and Michał Gondko, French soprano Claire Lefilliâtre and young Brusselsbased fusion group Loco Motive Trio (pictured). \ Georgio Valentino

Until 24 September Modern abstract art is often considered an exclusively Atlantic affair, but the movement had branches around the world. Elsene Museum’s summer exhibition traces its evolution in post-war China, where civil war and nationalism made artistic experimentation difficult. Much of the canvases on display were created

Museum van Elsene, Brussels museumvanelsene.be

by the Ton Fan group, art students with roots in mainland China but based in Taiwan. These painters and their followers proposed an alternative to both Chairman Mao’s hamfisted epic folk art and nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek’s conservative obsession with traditional Chinese art. \ GV

International Organ Festival: Annual concert series treats admirers of the traditional church instrument to weekly concerts performed by Europe’s top organists, including France’s Isabelle Fontaine, Germany’s Heiner Grasst and Flanders’ own Luk Bastiaens.

6 July to 31 August, Sint-Baafskathedraal, Sint-Baafsplein \ gents-orgelcentrum.be

Izegem (West Flanders) Isotopia Festival: Open-air film screenings and a barbecue are on the agenda of this intercultural exchange.

Among the four movies are Disney’s The Jungle Book and Peter Webber’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. 6 July 14.00, Centrale Vaartbrug, Zuidkaai 6 \ isotopiafestival.be

MUSIC FESTIVAL

FESTIVAL

Ostend Beach Festival

Spots op West

8-9 July Ostend’s summer techno festival hits the sand for its eighth edition. It’s a hybrid concept, a sprawling open-air discotheque straddling the coast. Over the course of one music-filled weekend, Ostend Beach hosts some 90 DJs from around the world on five stages. Each of the festival’s themed areas has a different vibe, from throbbing industrial to ambient lounge. Pulse Radio recently named it the top beach festival in the world.

This year’s headliners include London techno veteran Ben Sims (pictured), Welsh DJ Jamie Jones and American house guru Green Velvet. \ GV

Klein Strand, Ostend ostendbeach.be

6-9 July Westouter, part of Heuvelland, seems a more appropriate place for a bike ride than a theatre festival, but every year for the past decade and a half, the bucolic West Flemish village has been home to Spots op West, an amateur theatre extravaganza of international proportions.

The festival unfolds across 18 inti-

FAMILY Turnhout Across Westouter spotsopwest.org

mate venues – most of them repurposed agricultural sites – and stars more than 30 amateur theatre and improv companies. In addition to enjoying the varied performances, visitors are invited to eat, drink, discuss, participate in several workshops and even present their own productions. \ GV

Straatartiesten op de Grote Markt: Fifth edition of Turnhout street theatre festival boasts non-stop performances by family-friendly acts. Young and old will enjoy humour, magic and acrobatics. 7 July 14.00, Grote Markt \ turnhout.be/straatartiesten

EVENT Diksmuide Wanneer de Dood uit de Hemel Kwam (When the Dead Fell from the Sky): An air show starring vintage airplanes, hot-air balloons and modern drones, in the context of the ongoing exhibition of the same name at this First World War museum.

8 July 14.00, Museum aan de IJzer, IJzerdijk 49 \ museumaandeijzer.be

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july 5, 2017

Talking Dutch

VoiceS of flanders today

Sweet dreams

Derek Blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

T

ired of counting sheep? A new website offers a range of soothing video clips to give you a good night’s sleep, reports De Standaard.

De eedaflegging van koning Filip – King Filip taking the oath, de Last Post in Ieper – the Last Post in Ypres of een ritje door Antwerpen vanuit de tram – or a tram ride through Antwerp.

These restful videos have been posted on the website Mattflix to help insomniacs settle down for the night. The idea started in Spain, where sleepless nights are apparently a national problem, and people sometimes try the wrong remedy.

Slaapexperts raden bij insomnia aan – Sleep experts advise people suffering from insomnia om even voor de televisie te gaan zitten – to sit in front of the television. Maar wie de fout maakt om iets te bekijken op Netflix – but anyone who makes the mistake of sitting down to watch something on Netflix ziet zijn nachtrust als sneeuw voor de zon verdwijnen – will see their sleep vanish like snow melting in the sun.

Stel – Imagine, says De Standaard:

je lichaam is moe – your body is tired, je geest nog niet – but your mind isn’t, en dan besluit je een spannende serie te beginnen op Netflix – and so you start to watch an exciting series on Netflix.

Voor je het weet – Before you know it, zit je een seizoen verder – you’ve watched a whole season en kamp je met een tekort aan slaap – and you’re struggling with sleep deprivation.

Two Spaniards originally came up with the idea of a siesta video website. Launched under the name Napflix, it allows people to watch the most soporific videos on the internet: a log fire burning for two hours, the sound of rain against a window pane, or a beach where nothing happens. And if that doesn’t work, then you can watch their own 23-minute blackand-white film of metro doors closing.

The idea was recently copied as

mattsleeps.com

a marketing stunt by the Dutch mattress start-up Matt Sleeps.

So you can nod off to clips with titles like brieven posten – posting letters, de roltrap draait doorrr – the escalator keeps rrrolling and Damduiven – pigeons on the Dam. There is even a new Dutch word for the trend – slaaptelevisie – sleep television.

And now, just as day follows night, the idea has spread across the border. ‘Mattflix is een online slaapzender – Mattflix is an online sleep channel waar iedereen gratis slaapverwekkende filmpjes van eigen bodem kan streamen’ – where everyone can stream free sleepinducing clips from Flanders, explained Matt Sleeps founder Joep Verbunt.

So if you’re wondering how to get to sleep, Mattflix might be the answer. You can watch Flightsimulator van Zaventem naar Oslo – Flight simulator from Zaventem to Oslo, Training digitale kassa – how to use the digital cash register, or an episode of the extremely uneventful children’s programme Tik-Tak. Unless of course this story has already put you to sleep.

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the last word Short of breath

Fertile ground

“The increase does not seem to be a result of more asthma patients, but of more Belgians with pulmonary disease or smoker’s lung.

Tobacco is the big problem.�

“The latest study does not offer a conclusion as to the cause of the success we’ve seen. To know what factors actually played a role, more research is needed.�

Federal MP Yoleen Van Camp on the one million Belgians who use inhalers regularly, based on figures from medical insurance authority Riziv

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Š Bruno Fahy/BELGA

It takes two Prince Emmanuel helps his grandmother, Paola of Belgium, to blow out the 80 candles on her birthday cake last week. The queen mother celebrated with a classical concert and 150 guests

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Tempus fugit “It was always fun. The whole class was crying when we said goodbye. It all went by so fast. For me it could easily have gone on a bit longer.�

Fe Vandeputte of Antwerp was one of a generation of 12-year-olds who said farewell to primary school last week

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