The Fifth Conference - 10 PROVINCES

10 PROVINCES

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES 10 PROVINCES & A CITY: PERSPECTIVES FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

CONTRIBUTORS + + + + + + +

Alain Thys Bart Verhaeghe Carl Wyckaert Christiane Francq Christine Conix & Sylvie Bruyninckx Francine Swiggers & Louis Mariën Georges Ugeux

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Inge Geerdens Jean Stéphenne Jef Vuchelen Murielle Scherre Paul Dujardin Roland Duchâtelet Rudy Aernoudt Wim De Waele Yamila Idrissi

1|contributors the

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p. alain thys "Citizen-centric country" p.16 Carl Wyckaert

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Even large mono- cultures need constant renewal and openness.

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p. christiane francq Water, Belgium’s cement

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p. bart verhaeghe The little country that could

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Francine Swiggers & Louis Marien Lessons learned from the financial crisis

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p. christine conix & sylvie bruyninckx Reflections on space, the interaction between man and his environment

p.42 rudy aernoudt

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a paragon of Europe

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p.28 Inge Geerdens

Our economy asks for daring initiatives and an open outlook.

Without taboos. Without navel-gazing.

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p. paul dujardin Belgium, a land open to all

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - CONTRIBUTORS

p.48 Yamila Idrissi

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Jef Vuchelen How to p. work to- georges gether? ugeux Local or Global?

Local and Global?

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p. murielle scherre Is there life on Pluto?

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p. jean stĂŠphenne Biotech and healthcare research: the opportunity for our economic future p.46 wim de waele

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keeping up with the global race

p.40 roland duchâtelet

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Have a look at the world before thinking about Belgium

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A dialogue between cultures

2| Table of

contents Belgium 2025: Focus on the Citizen

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The little country that could

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From “Flemish” to “Fl’Amish”? No thank you

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Water, Belgium’s cement

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Reflections on space, the interaction between man and his environment

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Lessons learned from the financial crisis:

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Local or Global? Local and Global?

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One for all, all for a healthy economy

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Biotech and healthcare research: the opportunity for our economic future

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How to work together?

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Is there life on Pluto?

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Belgium, a land open to all

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The World, Belgium

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Belgium: a paragon of Europe

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Belgium and the Internet economy

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Understanding each other...

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Alain Thys

Bart Verhaeghe Carl Wyckaert

Christiane Francq

Christine Conix & Sylvie Bruyninckx Francine Swiggers & Louis Mariën Georges Ugeux Inge Geerdens

Jean Stéphenne Jef Vuchelen

Murielle Scherre Paul Dujardin

Roland Duchâtelet Rudy Aernoudt Wim De Waele

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Yamila Idrissi

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - INTRO

3| Intro Being open to ideas O

ur poor little country. First we get hit by a deep and chronic political crisis. Since the federal elections in June 2007 (was it that long ago?) we have endured political manoeuvring and drama to a scale not yet seen in this country’s existence. Then the financial crisis hit, ruining our system banks and with it Leterme I. Today, we are in the depths of the third crisis, the economic crisis. Job losses are mounting, the federal budget is derailing, all while Fortis remains the daily headline.

In the background, the communitarian state reform negotiations struggle to get off the ground, let alone deliver results.

We first entertained the idea to create this publication early in 2008, when the political immobility was still our biggest concern. At the time, most Belgians probably were (and still are) fed up with the haggling over BHV, Brussels, the ‘facility’ communities—you know the list well, the sticking points that cause the deadlock in our governance. Even then, most business leaders and economists were bitterly frustrated with the political situation and resulting apathy, since the country was on a one-track road to economic mediocrity. Notwithstanding the current recession, the long-term economic picture does not look good, mainly because an ageing population makes our current social economic model unsustainable. Strong economic growth could offer a way out but this is unlikely—in fact, the competitive position of our exporters is weakening instead of strengthening, and our innovation performance is at best mediocre. Let’s face facts, we face some serious challenges. Economic challenges certainly, but others too. Experts tell us our highways, especially around Antwerp and Brussels face gridlock. Think the traffic jams are bad today? Apparently we haven’t an inkling of what’s to come.... Then there’s the environment and the impact on our health. While as residents we all separate our trash very conscientiously, we nevertheless live in a monstrous cloud of smog. It is estimated that there are 12,000 premature deaths a year due to smog (think about it, that’s about 12 times as many people as we lose in traffic accidents).

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“Such negativity,” some may reflect on reading this...

Facts, we argue, facts we need to face and address.

And there lies the root of the problem. It is not unreasonable to argue that over the past decade or so (some would argue longer), we have largely bumbled along, putting out fires as they arise. But today, what this country needs more than ever is vision. What sort of future are we striving for in this country, looking 10 to 20 years ahead, even a generation ahead? What sort of economy will we work in? What sort of lifestyle will we enjoy? How will we be perceived abroad? About what will the next generation be proud of? And most importantly, what will it take to mobilise people to work and strive towards truly ambitious goals?

This sort of ‘visioning’ exercise seems to be remarkably difficult for us. Barack Obama inspired his nation.

Most of us who watched his victory speech in Chicago were inspired too, but on the evening news shows we hear that Obama-style politics would never work here since we’re too cynical. Are we?

Perhaps change is afoot. Vlaanderen in Actie certainly seems a step in the right direction, although it all remains rather cerebral and ‘packaged.’ Still, the vision is there—and that’s new.

“10 Provinces & a City: Perspectives for the Next Generation” is our contribution to the vision-building task. Over the course of its research, for publications like INNOVATORS, CLEAN and MOVE, The Fifth Conference has had the honour of interviewing numerous entrepreneurs, artists, designers and scientists. One thing we have learned is that there certainly is vision in this country—although we’re not inclined to shout over the rooftops. Sometimes you pick it up in the newspapers, in an opinion piece, or in an intimate interview in the Saturday edition. We at The Fifth Conference certainly pick it up in our conversations with these remarkable people. For this publication we have asked several key individuals to write an in-depth opinion piece on the future of this land and its people. It makes for interesting reading.

Alain Thys earns his keep making companies more customer-centric. In his article he reflects on what it would it take to make this country more citizen-centric.

Bart Verhaeghe is a ‘big projects’ entrepreneur. Belgium needs more big projects, the type that will attract people from across the globe, the type that creates exciting new experiences. Carl Wyckaert, promoter and fan of Belgian graphic novel art, celebrates our living, multi-facetted culture. We must not be overly protective and defensive with regard to our culture, because then we become a mere curiosity, a theme park. Our future depends on our willingness to venture out, to meet and interact with other cultures, to evolve and develop. Paul Dujardin, Director General of the Brussels Museum of Fine Arts, reflects on our identity in a similar vein.

Christiane Francq, CEO of water company Vivaqua, imagines a future where water is the glue keeping this country together. She also sees a re-emergence of publically managed industries, in water, energy, financial services and telecom. Liberally minded entrepreneurs may recoil in horror but events on the ground have overtaken any ideological shift.

Christine Conix, architect, argues for the creation of spaces that take account of our need for quality living environments, our history, our continuing evolution, and the environmental limitations. Especially on this

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - INTRO

latter factor, we have reached a point in Belgium where we need an ambitious and integrated policy for urban development. We need to reinvigorate our building and architecture tradition. We need to innovate and refocus on quality.

Georges Uguex, the most famous Belgian on Wall Street, highlights our presence in the international arena. One in ten Belgians lives abroad, where we do tremendous work, since we work so well with other cultures, without prejudice, without arrogance. We’re the capital of Europe, we have a voice in the international arena, in a world that is increasingly dangerous and unstable. This is an historic opportunity and responsibility—but we seem to be more preoccupied with our internal squabbles.

Jean Stéphenne, CEO of GSK Biologicals, argues that our future is the knowledge economy, but we need to do so much more to prepare for it. Francine Swiggers, most powerful businesswomen in Flanders, reflects on a better financial model. Yamila Idrissi, author and politician, appeals for real, authentic dialogue between our varied cultures.

Rudy Aernoudt delivers the Prime Minister’s speech to the nation in 2020. Murielle Scherre, alternative linge-

rie entrepreneur, wonders if there is life on Pluto. Jef Vuchelen, esteemed economist, argues that Flanders and Wallonia must ‘let go to love each other.’ Inge Geerdens, quintessential entrepreneur, wants to see so much more entrepreneurship. Wim De Waele, on a mission to stimulate ICT innovation in Flanders, offers a number of remedies to make this country an innovation powerhouse.

Roland Duchâtelet, top entrepreneur and visionary, offers some radical and particularly stimulating ideas on how to reorganise this country.

Read on, enjoy, and be inspired.

Frank Boermeester Editor, The Fifth Conference

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - ALAIN THYS

Belgium 2025: Focus on the Citizen — Alain Thys

BIO

As Managing Partner of Futurelab, Alain Thys helps entrepreneurs find new profit opportunities for their companies.

His key focus is on customerorientation, innovation and marketing ROI. Internationally, Alain is active in China, Germany, Greece, Rumania and Ukraine.

Next to his operational responsibilities, Alain is curator of the Futurelab blog (http://blog. futurelab.net). This site is rated as one of the top 50 most respected and widely read marketing blogs in the world. In 2008 Futurelab

The Hercules Reform: Eight steps to making Belgium the first Citizen-centric country in the world.

Everyone looks at the world from their own perspective. I make my living by helping companies to become customer-centric. As such, my vision of Belgium 2025 is one of a country focused on its citizens. A place where the government’s first concern is the prosperity and the well-being of its inhabitants. Where those activities that don’t contribute to this goal are eliminated. A place where people are so happy to live, they simply cannot stop talking about it. In short, a citizen-centric country where it’s great to be.

was nominated, together with other sites such as Business Week and the Financial Times, for a Webby Award as the best business blog of the year.

In a previous life, Alain led

But focusing on the citizen is easier said than done. It requires structural change. Here, we have good news.

Organisation-wise, there is no reason why Belgium cannot be the first citizen-centric country of the world by 2025.

Reebok’s retail business and managed advertising for Mexx Europe. He swam in dot-com waters and as a venture capitalist he has know golden and not so golden times.

Alain’s personal credo is beauté,

Which brings us to the bad news. To make this happen, more invisible barriers have to be removed. These consist of bad habits, political baronies and personal agendas. Tilting the balance of power, by talking directly to the citizen. These actions require courage and perseverance. The desire to truly deliver change. In short: words that do not befit the politicians we have today.

bonheur, bien-être and he tries to apply this to all he endevours.

He is married, lives in Tervuren and has an 8-year old son who regularly coaches him in negotiation skills.

Instead, we need a political Hercules. Someone who combines the shrewdness of Poirot with the brute force and disregard of a death defying demigod. And while the search is on for such a super-politician, I take the liberty of making some suggestions for his agenda: the Hercules Reforms.

Not twelve, but eight steps to structurally affect the citizen-focus of our country. To achieve the end goal, I know that more will be needed. And more intelligent people than me will undoubtedly have better ideas. But all change starts with a proposition. And this is mine.

Which politician will take up the gauntlet? Does a Belgian Hercules exist?

Hercules Reform 1: Halve the government machine

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In customer-centric companies, there is only time to focus on what matters to the customer. Staffing is adequate, but not excessive. After all, too many employees lead to bureaucracy, navel-gazing and therefore less focus on the customer.

The Belgian governments are an example of how not to do it. Counting the Federal, Flemish, Walloon and German-speaking parts of Belgium, we have 448 senators and members of parliament. This is one for every 22 000 Belgians.

In comparison, The Netherlands has 17 million people, with 225 representatives in the first and second chambers; 1 for every 75 000 people. The German Federal Parliament stands out with 1 representative for every 130 000 people.

Per head of the population we therefore have three to five times more governors than our neighbours. At the Dutch efficiency level we would be able to govern Belgium with 133 politicians.

But we don’t want to be too harsh. After all, we do have the additional complexity of 3 languages. We should therefore add 91 political people who are only involved with language and region. This would give us 224, half of what we have today.

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Cutting the government in half, would not just create financial savings

Cutting the government in half, would not just create financial savings: assuming that the average Belgian generates about the same amount of governance work than the average Dutchman, our politicians spend up to triple the time on a comparable amount of work.

As work expands to the time available, they fill it by each having their say. And if nothing is going on, they invent debates, problems and lines of thinking which absolutely require lively discussions and negotiations.

If the government machine were halved this wouldn’t happen. Everyone would have to focus on what is really important. There would simply be no time for unproductive talk.

This is not a task for a mere politician. This requires a leader: a Hercules. After all, to pass such a law he would have to convince two third of his colleagues, knowing full well that if the proposal is accepted, half of them will be made redundant. And their parties would lose a substantial part of their financing.

A citizen-centric approach starts at the top. As such, the top has to lead by example. It is a brutal reality that there are 224 excess politicians in this country. This creates political noise that makes it impossible for lead-

ers to hear what the citizens need and want. This noise has to be eliminated.

Which in turn gives the second reform a chance to succeed:

Hercules Reform 2: Listen to the citizen Although in practice things can become complicated, customer-centric companies only do one thing: they find out what the client wants and give it to him. They also make sure that the client doesn’t want the impossible, or they make it clear that he has to pay for it. This makes the client happy and the company rich. Simple.

A citizen-centric state should do the same. But somehow, it doesn’t. In a company, customer-focused managers try to be as close to their customers as possible. In government, the opposite is true. Citizens are hidden under layers of consultation bodies, pressure groups and negotiation frameworks.

These all have a role to play, but date back to a time when citizens were less able to express themselves.

When the means of communication were more limited and abuses easier to hide.

But today, these layers of consultation have pulled politicians and citizens apart. The collapse of this model is increasingly clear. According to the De Standaard newspaper, in September 2008, one out of every two Flemings displayed an aversion to politics. The bickering in de Wetstraat (the location of the Federal government) has become disconnected from the average citizen’s concerns. But, as a customer of the government, this citizen is still expected to pay the bills.

It doesn’t need to be this way. Today we have Internet, SMS and interactive television. By 2025 we will possess technology which is unimaginable today. It is possible to talk directly to the citizen...to see what he or she thinks and, based on this, set political priorities.

These priorities can drive the actions of the citizencentric government. With a dashboard of key prosperity and well-being indicators (KPWI’s), it can track the effectiveness of its measures. Anyone who ever played the game SimCity Societies knows exactly how this works.

If necessary, I still know a professor in socioeconomics who could explain to politicians that well-being can also be expressed in figures.

To achieve this, the consultation bodies, lobbies and pressure groups do not have to disappear. Instead, they can evolve into communities: groups whose function it is to amplify the voice of the citizen.

This will also lead to reforms and power shifts within

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these lobbies. But if they really have the interests of their members at heart, they’ll do this with pleasure.

Hercules Reform 3: Reshuffle the compensation of politicians So by now we have fewer politicians who listen to what the citizens want. Now we need to get them to act on this knowledge. In the business world they have a simple way to make sure this happens. It’s called “pay-forperformance”.

In short, this works as follows: when you work well and you reach your goals you can make good money. In some cases even a lot of money. When you don’t reach your goals you are reprimanded and you earn less. If things do not improve, you’re out.

A citizen-centric government would do the same with their politicians. Once a number of citizen-driven KPWI’s have been formulated, they are linked to the salaries of the ministers and parliamentarians. To make sure they are fully supported, the same system is applied to party financing.

At the beginning of the term, each party programme is translated into target figures, with progress checked on an ongoing basis. The politicians who do well receive a nice bonus. Those who systematically miss their targets are replaced.

The government has to report to its citizen-shareholders on a quarterly basis. This reporting is not based on kind words and vague promises but on hard metrics.

The advantage to all this is that politicians automatically focus on the needs of the citizens instead of on secondary political squabbles. If they fail to do so, they lose their Christmas bonuses and possibly their jobs. If the parties do not cooperate they lose their money. And

in the process everyone learns that it is not wise to make election promises that can’t be delivered on.

Also, when a party is really prepared to implement a measure based on ideological principles, this is still possible. After all, principles are important, but they’re only worth something when you’re prepared to pay for them.

Hercules Reform 4: Streamline the government machine As we get to the fourth reform we have a smaller group of leaders. They know exactly what the citizens want and need and are prepared to do whatever is necessary to deliver.

But they also have to make sure that everything is followed through by the civil service. This also has to become citizen-centric.

It’s not that the people who are working for the government have bad intentions. On the contrary: they are more driven than you might think. The accumulation of laws, rules, compromises and inefficient decisions often force them to do things that they don’t themselves believe in.

The outdated socio-political group-thinking of the previous century doesn’t make life any easier or cheaper.

Just think of the way the health insurance system is organised... Also, what about the multiple school systems and the number of invisible bodies that float about somewhere between the government and the pressure groups? The reason for their existence has long since disappeared, but like any organism they keep themselves going at any cost.

The fourth Hercules reform therefore starts with a

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - ALAIN THYS

blank page. Proceeding from the needs and objectives of the citizen, the tasks that the government has to carry out are determined. Based on these objectives an organisational and budget plan is drafted. These serve as a blueprint for a citizen-centric change management intervention in the structure of the government. This reorganisation will involve new processes, lots of training and mindset shifts for the civil service.

The citizens will gladly provide the funds for this.

They are, after all, asking for these tasks to be carried out. And if it’s too expensive, they’re simply given the choice: the price can be decreased, but then the level of service follows accordingly.

At this point, an unavoidable discussion around the number of public servants will arise. In 2007, 1,039,904 people earned a living as public servants (source: Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper, 18/09/2008).

With well over 4 million working Belgians, this means that each public servant has three other working people paying for his or her salary. There is therefore one public servant for every 9 Belgians.

This makes Belgium a country with one of the most expensive governments in Europe (source: Mckinsey & Company). As a citizen-centric approach will substantially simplify the way the government operates, this will be impossible to maintain.

However, this shouldn’t necessarily imply a social drama. When we reorganise with 2025 in mind, the age of the population gives us a helping hand. Retired public servants are simply not replaced. And with proper planning, the increased workload is redistributed based on new blueprints.

Of course it will remain painful. Changing habits within a massive structure such as the civil service does not happen overnight. It will take years. There will be discomfort. Resentment. Some people will not enjoy working in a citizen-centric government. But for those who are willing to give it a go, we will all be more than happy to pay. This brings us to the fifth part.

Hercules Reform 5: Simplify taxation Personally, I stopped filling out my own tax declaration form years ago. While I know there are many efforts to make it simpler, I’m not seeing them. Especially as the reasons for all this complexity escape me. Those who have little money, hardly benefit from the myriad of rules and regulations. For those who have a lot, they just make life more complex.

Corporate taxes are even worse. The Federation of Belgian Enterprises and the PWC have calculated that Belgian companies pay 63 different duties. Taking a closer look at this it transpires that 61 of these 63 duties generate only 15% of all taxes. (Source: Trends, 18/03/2008).

With a stroke of the pen 95% of the existing duties could be scrapped. The companies would then only pay corporate tax and employer’s contributions.

A drastic simplification of personal and corporate taxes is imperative. Once we know what the citizens need, we can calculate the costs involved.

This bill can be presented to the citizens periodically, and this doesn’t

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have to be more complex than a simple invoice to be paid.

This means that the fiscal spaghetti and its related deductions can be simplified. Ideally this would be by means of a flat tax. One tariff for everybody. No exceptions and no deductions. Everybody pays according to capacity, with the people that earn too little looked after by means of a living allowance or pension.

If this is not viable, then there is still the VAT variation, the pet subject of Vivant. Failing this, there are a couple of other systems that some clever people at the universities have come up with.

All I know is that it should be possible to make things simpler. The government renders a service and as citizens we pay the price. Plain and simple.

Hercules Reform 6: Simplify the communication policy With all the state reforms of the past, a Hercules type operation would be met with scepticism. This should not be. A citizen-centric government requires the active participation of its citizens. Regardless of the situation, cooperation is the order of the day.

Not for the flag or the country...but because it makes sense. It yields more. It takes care of granny and the children. Life will be more pleasant...maybe even cheerful.

This requires a change in the national Belgian spirit.

Creating confidence in politics. Taking one’s own future in hand. Of all the reforms this is probably the most ambitious one. But not impossible.

With € 87 million, the Belgian state was the second largest advertiser in the country in 2006 (source: MDB/ CIM). The only one scoring higher was Procter & Gamble (€ 94 million). However, if we combine the promotional money from the Flemish, Walloon and Brussels governments, we would quickly reach € 100 million per year. This makes the government the largest marketing machine in the country.

When I asked a friend of mine, a high ranking public servant, who the actual marketing boss of the government is, I was met with silence. Upon insisting, I was told that this money is nicely divided according to all sorts of codes. They make sure that ministers, secretaries, public servants and mayors may all order their own posters...buying their place in the press. I cannot assess the accuracy of this. But for anyone in business, it is clear that marketing policy in government is not simply poor, it is in fact non-existent.

With € 100 million per year Belgium could mobilise a movement that Barack Obama would look at with envy.

Especially if you used this money to communicate professionally, clearly and with integrity. And then walked the talk.

The 6th Hercules reform is therefore the establishment of a real communication service: where there are people who can tell you how to translate your vision into clear communication; who know how to tell the Belgians that a wave of immigration is necessary to pay for pensions; that certain union requests are unrealistic; that people from Eastern Europe are not only cheaper

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Notwithstanding my eight-step tirade, I love my country.

but are prepared to work harder..

In short, we need to inform and activate people, so that the question is not only: “what does the state do for me?”

But also: “what do I have to do for the state?”

Hercules Reform 7: Train the leaders of tomorrow In 2025 it will be up to the next generation to make things happen. It is our job to prepare this generation for their new tasks in a globalised and technologydriven world. A world where cheaper African workers are taking jobs from the Chinese. A world where we, as Europeans, have to prove ourselves based on initiative, audacity and creativity.

Our present school system, however, is caught up in a way of thinking stemming from the industrial revolution. Children were trained in schools to become servile beings that had to be quiet, good and do whatever the boss or priest said. The world was also stable.

What you learned you carried with you for the rest of your life.

Today, the absurdity of such an approach is worthy of Magritte. Just think about it. Learning lists by heart in a time of Google. Organising knowledge exams in a time where competencies are what matters. Asking for individual studies whilst every real project is about (virtual) teamwork. Relying on a wise “master” in a world where you increasingly need to fend for yourself.

Rather than giving our children knowledge that will soon be outdated, education should provide spirit - the ability to do things independently, to show initiative, commercial acumen, self-confidence, boldness.

These are the exact ideas that are not represented in the Belgian school system. Yes, it makes our children good, kind and obedient. They do their homework.

They do what the teacher tells them to do without asking any questions. And they will be steamrolled later in the international competitive market...

I found my own answer to this problem. My son goes to an unsubsidised private school where they do focus on the right spirit. But even with my above-average income this costs me an arm and a leg. This route is therefore not accessible to most Belgians.

Therefore the school system has to change. The content. The manner of working. The manner in which children are moulded. Fewer lessons, more autonomy.

Less listening to the teacher, more initiative taking.

Less memorising, more creativity, insight and curiosity.

Less school weariness, more pleasure.

Some say that the children are our future. But then we have to prepare them for the future and not for the past.

That’s how we best care for them, and in fact ourselves.

Whether we like it or not, they’ll soon be paying for the citizen-centric pension state.

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - ALAIN THYS

Hercules Reform 8: Think European The final step in the Hercules package should be the crowning of all the previous steps: the real integration of Belgium into Europe.

With all the controversy on radio and television one might forget that Belgium isn’t much more than a spot on the map. With some imagination the whole of the Belgian population can fit inside Paris. But listening to certain politicians, one would think that Halle or Vilvoorde is the centre of the universe.

The future of Belgium does not lie in the suburbs of Brussels, nor within the borders of the country. The future of Belgium is the future of a small state within a hopefully strong Europe. And the nearly 500 million Europeans really don’t care much for the opinions of our bickering village politicians.

In order to be fully fledged member of the team, we have to prepare ourselves. With everything in our means we have to make Brussels the capital of Europe. We have to actively seek contact with the emerging regions. Replace student trips to London with exchange projects to Kiev, Bucharest or Sofia.

But we should also have the courage to take a good look at our little country. What it can or cannot achieve on an international level. Certain industries have no chance at all. This we already know. With other industries, we are the best in the world. But we forget to tell the world.

If we act in time, contrary to the Fortis style of waiting until it is too late, we can position our country and our citizens quite powerfully in the world’s competitive environment. This will, however, be more difficult than any form of competition that we have encountered in the last 50 years.

The moment Belgium becomes citizen-centric many will look up to us. Including Europe. And with the capital, the experience, the spirit and a lean and mean government machine, we will be ready.

And now we wait for Hercules…

PS: Don’t get me wrong…

In order not to be misunderstood, I’d like to say one more thing. Notwithstanding my eight-step tirade, I love my country. It may sound old-fashioned, but it is good to be here. The hospitals work. The lights switch on. As long as you don’t hurt anyone, people leave you alone.

The only things that are missing at present are good weather, lower taxes and a little less political moaning on Radio 1. But even that we can live with.

My vision comes from the realisation that the Belgian story cannot go on like this. Not for the usual reasons given by the state reformers. It can’t go on because while we bicker and grumble, nobody is working toward a real future for this country, for our citizens, for my son.

Eden, Atlantis, the Titanic. They were all beautiful.

They are all gone. To lose “mon plat pays” (my flat country) would be a shame.

The little country that could — Bart Verhaeghe

The well-know Belgian architect, Renaat Braem, once called Belgium “the ugliest country in the world.” The equally well-known Lonely Planet travel guides, on the contrary, are full of praise: “This slow-burning country has more history, art, food and architecture packed into its tiny self than many of its bigger, louder neighbours.” The Belgian sense of perspective is a renowned quality.

But when self-criticism becomes negativity, then we end up indulging in the kind of navel-staring that stands in the way of progress. The discussion about the future of Belgium is a good example.

The former prime minister, Jean-Luc Dehaene never answered hypothetical questions: “Problems should only be solved if and when they occur.” I, for one, do not enter into a discussion of which the basic premise is problematic. Does Belgium have a future? It appears to be a neutral yes/no question, whatever the nuance, extent or complication of its answer. However, are we talking about an open question or a defeatist conclusion? In any case, the question itself suggests a problem. And the mere fact that the question is asked and that a complete book has been written about it, assumes that it is a hot topic.

I am an entrepreneur. I want to keep moving forward.

Looking for solutions and opportunities is a daily task, but also a state of mind. To spend lots of time on something that is not or cannot be, is not an option in the business world. Thus, when I am asked about the

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future of Belgium, I see opportunities. And there are many. Naturally, our country has a future. The only factors that stand in the way of a Belgian success story are the Belgians themselves.

Belgium is the geographical centre and political hub of Europe. With this type of Unique Selling Proposition, the entrepreneurial Dutch would have long created a bestselling product. But we have even more than that.

An excellent educational system. A flexible, productive and multi-lingual work force. A realistic and pragmatic perspective on things. In brief, there is no shortage of trump cards. Existential doubts are simply unnecessary. What we really can do without is a blind obsession with things that are of no interest to the outside world, such as Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde. There are enough examples of countries that do well internationally. Their success should be our inspiration and drive.

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Looking for solutions and opportunities is a daily task, but also a state of mind

Look at Spain. The country has had to come from far behind to reach the European top. Only at the end of the 20th century, after the death of dictator Franco in 1975, could the country start closing its democratic, economical and social deficit. Notwithstanding the obstacles (four official languages, regional differences ….) the country has one of the most dynamic economies in Europe with a great attraction for foreign investments and talent.

Major projects formed an important factor in the steep rise of Spain. The list of international events and projects Spain managed to attract is impressive: the soccer world cup, the world exhibition, the Guggenheim, the cultural capital of Europe, the America’s Cup. Today this country has a sports and cultural infrastructure that commands respect worldwide. For Belgium too, major projects are an ideal means to achieve international positioning. This is not only because of the dynamism and innovation they exude, but also for their tangible results, such as the influx of foreign tourists and investments in infrastructure.

In this context, Uplace would like to help put Belgium on the map with its “experience destination” in Machelen.

For years Uplace has invested in research with partners such as Columbia Business School, to come up with a concept that would fundamentally challenge the traditions in real estate and urban development. The idea was to create a “go-to” place for the modern consumer.

This can only be done when one listens to the consumer.

A survey which we carried out with Synovate Censydiam amongst 1,600 respondents, showed two clear trends: increasing time pressure and for the importance experiences. To combine an ever-growing to-do list with one’s own priorities has become an enormous challenge: we all want to be a good parent, partner and professional and in addition devote time to sports, culture and friends. At the same time, we are looking for surprises and experiences. The search for enriching experiences has replaced functional materialism.

Seventy-one percent of Europeans long for experiences that can enrich their life. It is expected that the spend on experience-based activities will increase by 44 % during the next seven years. The modern consumer wants to do things, not only possess them. Europe is evolving more and more towards an experience economy. Today Belgium has a unique chance to build its reputation internationally by anticipating and playing into this trend. In the meantime Uplace meets the needs and wishes of today’s consumers by creating an all-in-one experience destination, where living, working, shopping and relaxing go hand in hand. For both young and old, Uplace is the place-to-be for fun, interaction and inspiration.

ments whilst at the same time keeping and strengthening their identity”.

In short, Belgium has everything going for it but at the same time has to make some fundamental choices. Do we see only problems or do we rather see possibilities?

Are we going to indulge in navel-gazing or are we going to make the world our frame of reference? The answer to these questions will determine whether Belgium has the courage, vision and ambition to become an international hot spot. A happy ending is not a given but certainly possible. Or how Calimero changed into “the little country that could” ….

If you listen to people, about the way they live their lives, about what makes them happy, what motivates them, and what is missing in their lives, then the conclusion is clear: the functional separation of real estate has become obsolete. The future lies in bringing together in a single place, offices, homes, sport facilities, wellness centres, museums, recording studios, unique shopping experiences, playgrounds, theatres, hotels, etc.

With the “all-in-one experience destination” Uplace does, therefore, not only create a place where people can work, relax and work out, but where people can also find extraordinary experiences. Time and exciting, enriching experiences is what Uplace offers its guests.

My dream is that people will step on a plane in Sydney to come to Uplace in Brussels. This is probably an ambition that goes against the Belgian national character, but it is certainly appropriate. The time of “if you build it, they will come” has long gone. Consumers have become demanding and assertive. But when you offer them something that meets their needs, they react very enthusiastically. Uplace would like to show the world the best of Belgium and bring the best of the world to Belgium and in doing so offer something that is unique in the world. Uplace could become a place where Belgian cuisine, design and fashion are given an international platform, amid the most attractive offering of culture, children entertainment and leisure from abroad.

BIO

Bart Verhaeghe obtained a master in Law degree at the University of Leuven and an MBA at the Vlerick Management School.

Bart began his career at KPMG and quickly became entrepreneur. He worked for the Verelst Group and founded Eurinpro, where he was appointed CEO. At Eurinpro he led the company to

With the creation of the first “all-in-one experience destination” in Machelen, Uplace’s commitment to place Belgium on the map is very real. No doubt there are others with positive plans and ambitions. An integrated approach certainly shall increase the chances of making the Belgian project a success. Cities play an important role in this effort. Over the past few years, Belgian cities have shown tremendous progress, increasing in population size, in investments and in their offering to residents and visitors. They often have a distinct economic, social and cultural profile, such as Antwerp with its maritime connections or Kortrijk with its design reputation. By creating and developing a complementary profile, Belgian cities can form a strong front without having to fight amongst each other for financial means or investments. It is a question of combining forces without internal competition. In this context one can appreciate the interesting proposal by The Brussels Butterfly, to link Brussels and the Flemish regional cities in a networked city. In this structure “the cities could become stronger by making mutual agree-

a leading position in the worldwide logistics real estate market.

In 2006 he oversaw the successful acquisition of Eurinpro by Goodman. Today he is chairman, CEO and majority shareholder of Uplace. Bart Verhaeghe also serves as chairman of the Itinera Institute and is partner at the Vlerick Management School.

BIO

Following two years of international development work in Indonesia and 15 years as

From “Flemish” to “Fl’Amish”? No thank you

a financial expert at several multinationals, Carl Wyckaert

— Carl Wyckaert

today is an independent analyst specialized in financial management processes. Over the past five years Carl has become pas-

this out without fear of losing its own identity. Just like our artists who became truly famous once they crossed borders, by showing their talents to the rest of the world.

Although I take equal pleasure reading the comic strips Nero and Tintin it is the latter one which has grown into a cultural icon of world renown. Whilst Nero is a beautiful part of Flemish culture, I’m afraid that it will slowly disappear in the annals just because the comic strip Nero never played on an international stage. With Tintin, Hergé put Belgium on the world map and made Belgium a cultural strip reference point. In the footsteps of Hergé, strip artists such as Jacobs, Franquin, Peyo and Morris have continued to build our reputation as the strip centre of the world. The “Antwerp Five” are a success because they moved beyond the borders of Antwerp. Belgian beer and chocolate have their reputation because they are recognised and acknowledged world-wide as the best in their field, not because they can only be obtained in Belgium.

sionate about “original graphic novel art.” In that context he has been instrumental in bringing international comic strip artists to Belgium and in showcasing Belgian artists abroad. Have a look at www.graphicnovelart.com

Do I believe in a future for Belgium?

As far as I am concerned, this is a meaningless question because I do not believe in a “Belgian” future. I believe even less in a “Flemish” or a “Walloon” future. I do not believe that the future has a nationality and vice-versa, that “nationality”, as we know it, still has a future. I only believe—and therefore will invest all my energy—in a future for my children. And this future shall not stop at an administrative border.

The future shall take place internationally and globally, without any limitations. We are all world citizens whether we like it or not.

If we would like to consider a future for our children, who were accidentally branded by birth Belgian, Flemish, Walloon, or Brusselaar, we have to ask ourselves what would make them stronger, what would give them an “own identity”. Because this is what it is all about: the own identity of a person, and the total of all these identities which at the end forms the “culture” of a geographic region. By definition my personal identity shall be part of the local culture whether it is open to it or not. Conversely, the present culture shall have an influence on my identity. But this has to remain a two-way flow. I do not like the idea of a “culture” being forced upon me because I was accidentally born in a certain region or because I settled down there. I hope that I, as a human being, shall be able to resist the herd instinct.

During the months that I worked in Saudi-Arabia I came to understand and appreciate the day-to-day Arabic environment (inclusive all its official limitations) without having to give up my European individuality. Unlike some of my Western colleagues, who were numbed with “culture shock”, I could achieve results by placing my cultural individuality “next” (and not “above” as so many try to do) to those of my Saudi colleagues. I also explained

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why I made certain suggestions which went against their cultural customs. I did not have to know the Koran inside out and they were not expected to become “instant Europeans”. The experience was enormously enriching for me but also for my Arabic colleagues and has often helped me in my subsequent professional career.

One can approach culture and identity in various ways but I do not believe that one can or should “protect” a culture. A protected culture is a frozen one by definition and it is prevented from further development. To protect a culture by locking it away behind borders and to keep it alive by means of quotas, is deadly. Such a culture shrivels to a collection of curiosities. For Flanders this would mean that we would evolve from a “Flemish culture” to a “FI’Amish culture”. The Bokrijk of Europe.

On the other hand, one cannot allow large mono-cultures to impose their will upon smaller cultures. Being forced to adopt certain cultural elements, a so-called “assimilation”, gives me the shivers. It has colonial characteristics, although the process works more subtly these days.

Sometimes being taken over by a foreign culture looks more like a marketing strategy than the imposition of an official doctrine, but the end result remains the same.

Even large mono-cultures need constant renewal and openness. Otherwise there is the risk that they radicalise via a process of internal ‘self-strengthening’ and that they subsequently begin to distance themselves from everything that is not aligned with their own culture. When this type of cultural ‘block’ also carries with it an economic and military superpower, then we endanger world peace. History has illustrated this on several occasions.

On top, and perhaps more importantly, it is neither a success-formula for the culture in question. I do not see too many people today raving about the Roman Empire (perhaps with the exception of a couple of Flemish politicians) and the revival of neo-Nazism doesn’t have much to do with Adolf’s world view. The urge for cultural superiority is ultimately a dead end.

A rich and alive culture is one which can handle confrontation and exchange with other cultures and even seeks

A culture which dares to live, which dares to break out and which is not afraid to be compared to others—that is the culture which I wish for my children. Whether I would like to call this a Flemish, Belgian, European or world culture is irrelevant. It is “my” culture. Culture is not static, a culture has to live, move and grow. It can only do this if it is given space. Even then it can only survive when it keeps on having a reason for existence vis-àvis other cultures. Does a Flemish, Walloon or Belgian culture have a reason for existence? Or are we doomed to be absorbed in one of the large world cultures? When our culture only seems to be a collection of nostalgic folk dance groups or shuffle board competitions, then I fear for its future. Only when we use our history as a solid base to build upon, to convince the rest of the world that the people of this region can indeed offer something else, only then has a regional culture a potential for survival.

We can only achieve this when we start from our own strong points and we do not allow ourselves to be overpowered or suppressed by a gross commercial consumption culture which is being pushed down our throats these days via the TV. It also does not make sense to work only with adults on our culture’s future if we cannot motivate our youth to participate in this project. Culture has to evolve across generations. Stimulating and developing culture needs to be an integral part of education; it needs to live in the attitude of our youth if we want to give this project any chance of success. We should not shield our children from other cultures and cheap commercial influences, but we should teach them to distinguish the difference between valuable and worthless things in the world around them. One of our strong points is that Belgium has always scored high when it comes to education and training. Although I have often worked and lived abroad, it would not be easy for me not being able to send my children to a school in Belgium.

Nevertheless, I find that we still do not invest enough in the education and future of our children and that we could and should do much better.

Another advantage (or disadvantage according to some) is the position of Belgium on a crossroad of various historical cultures. Within a radius of 200 km one comes in contact with Romanic, Germanic and Anglo-Saxon cultures. Because a culture can only grow by confrontation with other cultures it is crucial that we step out to meet them, or invite them in, in order to get to know them better and be able to better position their culture versus ours. It is far more difficult for large, so-called “world”

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Carl Wyckaert

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A culture which dares to live, which dares to break out and which is not afraid to be compared to others—that is the culture which I wish for my children.

cultures to “escape” from their own cultural paradigms.

Their world picture is strong, often too strong, and coloured too unilaterally by “their” culture. For them, the step to approach other cultures, beyond the culinary, is often too large, and if taken, is done only superficially and in a clichéd manner. Belgium, Flanders and the Walloon provinces find themselves in a unique position to build real bridges between various world cultures. We find ourselves in a position to combine various cultures and to transform it into something completely new. Just as the “fifth conference” in 1927 brought together scientists from all over the world to think about crucial problems in connection with the quantum theory, Belgium is ideally positioned to bring about a real “fusion” of cultures.

The fear of losing our own “identity” is realistic in such a melting pot of cultures, but when we withdraw further back to our own small piece of land (Flemings to Flanders, Walloons to the Walloon provinces and the ones who come from Brussels to their town), we are doomed to be reduced to a curiosity, or to be swallowed up by the mainstream world cultures. The only alternative I see is to tackle the confrontation with the various world cultures from our own strong historical basis, and to then create something new, something unique and valuable This brings me back to the Belgian youth. I am a strong supporter (although this was introduced after my time) of the Erasmus model at the European universities, which gives students the chance to enjoy a part of their education abroad. From a purely intellectual perspective it may not be an ideal solution, but it certainly cannot be

equalled as far as personal and cultural development is concerned. The experience of living and studying abroad is unbelievably enriching.

It would be exciting if one could introduce this experience at a much younger age. As mentioned previously, we are sitting at a crossroad of cultures. But Flemings and Walloons are accused of not knowing each other anymore.

Perhaps it is time to do something about that. Why not a mini-Erasmus programme at the start of the secondary education? Or a one-month exchange between schools in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels? Or a couple of days per week in a family from the other community? Why not, at a later stage, a term in England, France, Netherlands or Germany?

Why not invite foreigners to our schools, our homes,… .

We keep on complaining that “the social fibre” has broken down as we do not know our neighbours anymore. In the 21st century our neighbours are the rest of the world.

I would say it’s time to get acquainted.

Our children are already well on their way with the internet, YouTube, Facebook and MSN, but the virtual world can never replace the “real” world. Eat a bag of French Fries together in Ghent, Brussels or Namur? Drink a Belgian beer together in Paris, London or Cologne? It simply can’t be done online...

Belgium, Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels are administrative concepts for me and apart from the practical aspect, they only have a nostalgic value. In the 21st century I do not believe in “borders” and territory protection. I see a border as an agreement, a question of having everything neatly arranged and to be able to smoothly conclude administrative matters. In the past “land” meant “surviving” and the protection of “land” was then also a necessity. Besides one’s purely personal property, I see little reason in the rich Western world to protect a land against people of another culture as long as they respect the democratic principles and laws.

Also, “language” is only a means of communication for me and should be stripped of emotion. As far as I am concerned, Jacques Brel and Maurice Maeterlinck are equally great Flemings as Hugo Claus. By bringing young people in contact with other cultures and languages I hope to break down the artificially high emotional reactions before they are being built up. When one sees how rapidly the youth develops its own language, a language that crosses all borders, I think that we as adults can still learn a great deal. The biggest restraint on our development lies in our own paradigms as adults which we struggle to shake off. Let’s only hope that we do not infect our children with our prejudices that are so maladjusted to modern times. This would be a great pity and will stand in the way of the development of real and sustainable Belgian, Flemish, Walloon, …., culture.

If we want to conquer the world being Flemish, Walloon or Belgian, and to show to the world that it is worth being Flemish, Walloon or Belgian, we shall first, and as soon as possible, have to get to know the world. Only then shall we be prepared, once our youngsters have become adult, to show what we have to offer. And whether they then show this on a Belgian or international level is irrelevant. Belgium is, and has to remain a centre where various cultures meet and where new cultures are born and made.

So does Belgium have a future? I do not know and I do not care. I only wish to build a solid, humane and culturally-rich future for my children and for the children of all who read this. Independent whether they are born Flemish, Walloon, Bruxellois or Belgian. I am convinced that the place that carries the present name Belgium has all the potential we need, a potential we should dare to exploit.

Now to get back to the question at the beginning: do I see a future for Belgium?

To conclude with the words of Arno, another famous Belgian: “Putain, putain, c’est vachement bien, nous sommes quand même tous des Européens” (“Shit, shit, it is so bloody cool, we are all in the European Pool”)

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - CHRISTIANE FRANCQ

Water, Belgium’s cement — My vision for 2020.

Christiane Francq

When it comes to water, Belgium is a model, an example to the world of what can be done. This country proves that, far from being a source of conflict, water brings us together, motivates collaborative efforts and can even be a tool for integration... It also shows that there is everything to gain by leaving drinking water in the hands of the public sector.

BIO

Christiane Francq is DirectorGeneral of Vivaqua, one of the largest Belgian water companies. It provides drinking water

Let me repeat: in our country, water is a fine example of south/north transfer, and inter-regional collaboration.

Belgium is lucky (!) enough to be able to count on sufficient rainfall to ensure replenishment of the water table and to limit agricultural irrigation, an activity that usually consumes an enormous amount of water. In spite of the high population density, water resources are used reasonably, and there is no reason to fear a shortage.

for one fifth of the country’s population. Its activities cover the entire water cycle: production and distribution of drinking water, sanitation and purification of wastewater.

On the worldwide scale, the situation is fairly paradoxical: we are all equal in the face of a water shortage, because life is impossible without this resource. But water is unequally distributed. In our country alone, one can see the divergence between the north and south of the country, with rainfall being higher in the south and where the geology favours the creation of an abundant water table.

South/North solidarity: Belgium Without the water from Wallonia, what would the residents of Brussels drink? Every year, out of the 400 million m³/year produced in the Wallonia Region, 70 million is consumed in Brussels and 90 million in Flanders. South/North transfers have quickly proven indispensable. For example, Brussels residents have been drinking Spontin water since 1899, and residents of Ghent have been savouring water from Modave since the 1920s. These special relationships continue to exist. Companies continue to collaborate closely in order to manage this resource and share their know-how.

In 2020, existing agreements have been renewed, and new contracts have been signed, proving that water links – and even welds together - the south and north of the country, and that the required solidarity rises above community and language-related problems. Global warming, the reduction in purchasing power and economic crises have further strengthened this forced proximity, which has gradually made trilingualism an essential characteristic of the water sector. As a result, Belgium is regularly cited, at a European and a global level, as an example of successful inter-community cohabitation and collaboration.

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North/South solidarity: the world Water is everyone’s concern. For me, it seems impossible not to worry about the situation in other

countries. At the beginning of the 21st century, poor quality water - or simply a lack of water - killed millions of people every year worldwide. Belgian public companies in the water sector, socially aware and in solidarity, have naturally become involved in the fight against this scourge. Without seeking to make a profit, they have placed their skills and experience at the service of populations with no access to drinking water or sanitation services. They have released funds, and given their support to emerging countries wishing to improve their water resources and develop distribution and sanitation systems… Belgian water companies have combined their efforts to contribute towards the achievement of the Millennium Declaration goal (signed in 2000 at the United Nations Headquarters).

This declaration aimed at reducing by half, by 2015, the proportion of people with no access to drinking water or basic sanitation services. In 2020, the game has still not been won, but a mammoth effort has been made. And the time is finally at hand for collective and individual awareness of what may be considered the biggest humanitarian scandal!

In 2021, the fight against a lack of water has become a priority. The global armaments budget has been reviewed downwards and the amounts hereby released are now used to eradicate this scourge. The World Water Agency, a new water governance body, manages funds, ensures an overall perspective, and proposes technological, economic or social solutions suited to local conditions. The World Weather Watch anticipates flood-related problems and monitors rainfall through its knowledge of the skies.

Public vs. private The notion of solidarity leads to another notion, which is inescapable in my opinion: having access to water is a right, and water should not be considered a commodity.

At the beginning of the 21st century, a small hard-core group resisted the call to privatisation. On the European stage, Belgian water services were almost the only ones to remain in the hands of the public sector. Nothing more normal, really, considering the importance of their mission and the need to ensure a faultless service for every consumer!

Water, although very common, is an essential element for life and not a commercial product: this idea has gained ground. Certain enterprises have proved, via their results, that the public sector has been able to perform better than the private sector. Owing to solid management, they have continued to invest substantial sums into keeping the utility in good condition, and supplying a product of irreproachable quality at the fairest cost. They have managed to convince all types of Belgian politicians that water is above all a public service that should be managed by the public sector.

As you know, the hard-core faction is sometimes emulated. When the Aqua Public European network, a European Association whose mission is to promote public water management, was created in 2008, Belgium was one of the founder members. The Association has fulfilled its role, representing public enterprises with institutions involved in water management. Over the years, the trend has reversed in most countries and, with France at the forefront, the authorities have retaken control of the sector.

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - CHRISTIANE FRANCQ

Very quickly, the question was asked: why waste money and pollute the planet buying bottles of still water when there already is a product of irreproachable quality, available 24 hours a day in everyone’s home, for a cost of up to 300 times less, and without the production of waste? In 2020, bottled still water has disappeared from supermarket shelves. What great progress for the environment!

Water is also an eminently ecological energy source.

One small litre of seawater, for example, enables vehicles to move. The vehicle of the 21st century may not be fast, but it will be clean and quiet!

Raised public awareness and information have borne fruit: consumers know the value of the blue gold. Not because water is expensive—its price is controlled, well maintained systems have a maximum output and long-term vision means that continuity of water supply is ensured—but because they know that it is the noblest product in existence. It is pure and demands a respectful attitude to nature. It brings together populations and motivates solidarity. Water is life. And the future…

The phenomenon is expanding. 2008 is still a pivotal year, with the intervention of governments to curb the international banking catastrophe. The machinery is in action: not only are privatisations frozen but, little by little, the public sector is retaking complete control over posts, telephony, the gas sector, electricity… In order to avoid the drifts of the past, the water sector was charged with developing a good management code to serve as a reference for other public departments.

Another victory: in 2020, the UN finally includes the right to water in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and all countries guarantee it in their constitutions.

Protecting water is protecting nature Sustainable development is almost second nature for water companies, who have known for years that their product is fragile, and must be preserved. I am

proud to recall that Vivaqua is a point of reference in this regard: since the beginning of the 19th century, it has protected the purity of its groundwater, buying all the land around its catchments, and thereby eliminating any pollutant activity. This pioneer policy is now recognised and imposed by Belgian legislation. However, protecting catchments is not enough: the entire cycle needs to be controlled and vigilance needs to be maintained to ensure that quality water is returned to nature. Owing to progress with regard to purification sanitation has been one of the priorities since the end of the 20th century - rivers are cleaner and more beautiful. At best, in 2030, with the help of global warming, you will be able to swim with pleasure.

Protecting nature is not only an obligation, it is a state of mind. That is why the water sector defends a sustainable development policy. In 2008, the decrease in purchasing power forced consumers to reflect on their habits in order to reduce spending and avoid waste.

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Christine Conix & Sylvie Bruyninckx

Reflections on space, the interaction between man and his environment

— Christine Conix & Sylvie Bruyninckx

BIO

Conix Architects, led by Christine Conix and Sylvie Bruyninckx, has grown steadily over the years,

Space is the interaction between man and his environment. We perceive this space at our human scale, and it revolves around one essential piece of information.

but its expansion has gained momentum in particular over the last years. The architectural practice consists of a team of about 65 creative individuals, located in offices in Antwerp and Brussels.

The architectural firm recently gained public attention because of its renovation and extension of the Atomium in Brussels (2005) and its office renovation for Bank J. Van Breda & Co. in

Man must be able to create spaces which provide him with a quality living environment. The space may be full of life (e-motion), it may be dynamic (motion) or it may express tranquillity. We must be able to inhabit the earth, a country, a town, a space, in harmonious interaction with our biotope, through all conceivable dimensions, whether in the cultural, social, ecological, economic or technological domain, or through possible mobility.

However, the earth also has its scale… and its limits.

The objectives we should set must take this information into account - it involves our quality of life and for some, survival.

The legacy of the 20th century now seems a weighty one: an exponential increase in the urban habitat and a decrease in available space, acute environmental issues, a model of society that is (overly!) greedy of natural resources, demographic problems, identification and explosion of psychological problems, some of which invade the media and political sphere (depression, paranoia...), extensive control over public and private life, data and goods.... These issues have had a direct impact on our living spaces. Towns—or parts of towns—are subject to control by authorities, where the limit between private and public life becomes blurred.

The more fragile among us are rejected and kept outside the privileged urban nuclei and, as a result, entire suburbs are becoming impoverished. At the same time, entire regions are neglected with the decline of industry. In particular, towns are absorbed in a low-density urban environment, over which there is little vision or control, due to a lack of overall perspective and the division of responsibilities. Finally and above all, ecological issues have caught hold of us, and have forced their way onto our agenda! It is not only energy that could be in short supply, but also the earth which, soon, will not be enough to “nourish” us, in the literal sense of the word. If the earth can no longer sustain current development, where will we be able to find space from now on? Does the earth still have enough space for us to expand? Is it simply too small for our current ambitions? Or is our ambition, our objective, unsuited to our environment?

For hundreds of millions of years, man has evolved and changed to find and define his place on earth. He has developed a history and a tradition that has followed and embodied this evolution. What would history be without these changes and developments? Towns themselves undergo changes, sometimes intense, either through destruction, proliferation or through a change of scale or function – commerce, power, financial nerve centre, port… There is no reason for that to stop today.

Antwerp (2007).

A conscious decision was made not to specialize: every project offers its own challenges. The type of architecture Conix

Evidently, we do not depart from nothing. Society, towns and architecture all have a history. They have shaped us, and are undoubtedly part of us, we personify them. They have fashioned our present environment, and the issues that are prominent.

However, we cannot reconstruct the past. Nor can we let ourselves be overwhelmed by emotions that seek the past, even if we should respect them. Urban spaces and architecture are not statistical data, on the contrary, and urban and suburban changes are always linked to societal evolutions.

During the 20th century, the population explosion and the use of space exceeded imaginable dimensions. The magnitude of these changes can be seen in the development of increasingly rapid and reliable methods of transport, in the exponential development of towns and urbanised areas, in the appearance of Information and Communication Technologies, etc… This new dimension has brought man into a new era, of which the scale—and perception of scale—has radically changed.

The urban process has been enhanced with new forms and definitions, including metropolises and conurbations, megalopolises and the suburban city, the sprawl, the generic city, without forgetting the idea of the global village, emerging towns or shantytowns. During the 20th century, the idea of the ideal town which was (re) born in conformity with the model of the trading town of the Gothic middle age, disappeared with this fundamental development. Architecture accompanies and embodies this movement: new spaces, new sanitation systems, new ergonomics, new real estate development for healthy accommodation of new inhabitants…. The idea of progress became prominent, as witnessed by the Expo 58 in Brussels and the Atomium.

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Architects strives for integrates 4 basic ideas: context, sustainability, society and know-how.

Conix Architects’ work can be characterized as high-standard, timeless architecture that integrates itself in its environment.

“Guided by emotions, inspired by beauty and creativity, supported by experience, sustainability and context, Conix Architects is continuously in motion.”

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We must also be aware that Belgium no longer has a real national architectural tradition

For the quality of our interaction with the environment, it is imperative that architects and urban planners pay sufficient attention to the people that will live in the spaces that they create. For the same reasons, it is also essential that the same attention is given to our natural environment, and that consideration is given to the global scale which made its appearance in the 20th century.

Thus, without going into detail, the attention given to mobility issues is of prime importance for the quality of our environment and our movements.

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Christine Conix & Sylvie Bruyninckx

On a more general level, Belgium must develop an integrated, truly ambitious policy for the country. A series of themes must therefore be developed urgently. The public space issue must be used to create structured, open and friendly spaces. Public spaces must be well thought out and designed as civic spaces. The density of towns and suburban areas must be explored more radically, either by increasing construction intensity, or by allocating large infrastructure- and construction-free zones.

With regard to existing towns, the quality of urban structures must be critically analysed. This involves evaluating whether these morphologies contribute to a sustainable vision of the town, among other things.

The new concepts being introduced into the existing environment must allow its necessary change. They then generate rapid urban development, and must present new spatial qualities that accompany changes in society, for example by offering long-term flexible usage, or symbolic quality and strong architecture.

All this without conceiving the habitat like a product for consumption in a globalised market, with no sitespecific identity.

At the same time, stakeholders in urban and national development, whether private or public, thinkers or investors, must be motivated to avoid choosing the design with the smallest common denominator1.

Our vision must be based on a qualitative, sustainable approach which takes into account the human scale and the scale of our environment. It is not only man who should be at the centre of the environment; it is interaction between man and his environment that should draw our concern. We need to move beyond our mechanical vision of space, and explore it further through architecture and urban planning in order to find the necessary qualities for man’s development, in balance with his environment.

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Let us recall the striking example of the Quartier des Halles com-

We must also be aware that Belgium no longer has a real national architectural tradition, contrary to the claims of the construction lobbies. A radical increase in quality is essential! Currently slowed down by an enormous, often contradictory corpus of laws and technical standards, research and innovation in urbanistic and architectural domains must be stimulated and sustained by the authorities. In fact, history teaches us that quality is a decisive and durable criterion: what buildings do we revere the most? On what buildings are we willing to spend beyond all expectations? And what buildings are nonetheless destroyed?

Finally, innovation in eco-technological domains is an urgent step towards replacing a model of society which burns its resources, in both the literal and figurative sense of the word. This innovation must accompany the right to housing and increased comfort for all.

petition in Paris, whose final decision concerning the choice of architect was decisively influenced by the project’s private promoter, despite the unbelievable public infatuation with the debate. On this subject, read La Campagne des Halles – Les nouveaux malheurs de Paris [the Halles Campaign – the new misfortunes of Paris] by Francoise Fromonot (Editions la Fabrique, 2005).

We would like to end our intellectual meander by declaring that we wish to be responsible for neither architecture nor urban planning. We want to open space, create a new dimension for the town in harmony with man and his environment.

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Francine Swiggers & Louis Mariën

Lessons learned from the financial crisis:

— Another model of investment for the coming decades. Francine Swiggers & Louis Mariën

BIO

Francine Swiggers is President of the Executive Committee of the financial holding Group Arco. With 4,5 billion Euro under management and 900,000 shareholders (almost one in ten Belgians), Group Arco is one of the most important financial groups in the country. In 2008, business magazine Trends

In the late summer of 2008 a destructive tornado swept through the financial system, a system that ultimately has to provide the lubricant for the real economy to create employment and welfare. Was this financial crisis a cyclical hiccup or is there a fatal structural fault in the nature of the price-driven investment system which up to now dominated the reasoning behind the financing of economic activities?

named Ms Swiggers as the most powerful businesswoman in Belgium.

Francine Swiggers

For some, the system’s failure was due to excesses, and by means of a correction and new regulations, the stock market-based financing of the economy can again play its part.

President Executive Committee Group Arco Louis Mariën Editor in Chief De Gids for Social Matters

Even if this were the case, this crisis should encourage us to come up with a new alternative. The price of a share on the stock market – i.e. the capital of a company - is too much of a plaything in the current investment model. Large financial players can (rationally or in panic) trigger avalanches of sales in specific shares, leading to enormous declines in value, and in turn leading to crisis situations.

The fascination with this type of investment model, which aims at short-term returns, seems to be too great.

Sustainable economic growth needs another model, a model which underwrites long-term perspectives as a basic principle for its investments. The cooperative investment model meets this principle, it is its leitmotiv.

Simultaneously, it shows fundamental respect for the other criteria of sustainable development, embedded in three concepts: “people, planet, profit”. There is indeed an alternative model which can secure sustainable economic development.

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“We live in financial times” was the appropriate slogan of the Financial Times in the spring of 2008. This cry aims to convince us of a reality which we assume... but in fact don’t fully understand. It is all becoming too complex. A subscription to the FT, the financial newspaper par excellence, is thus sorely needed by the private individual and the company manager who wants to understand the evolution of the economy and the sophistication of the financial markets. The goal being: to earn a better than average return on your money. Those who only aimed at an average return on their investment were said to be ignorant and narrow-minded. The financial newspapers were overflowing with an impenetrable range of capital funds.

Take your pick!

But did you know that behind the fantastic fund of bank X or insurance company Y, there was a merchant bank that provided the ultimate guarantee on your invested capital, and that it did so by means of extremely risky investments? Did the sales rep know any of this?

Miners used to send a canary ahead of them down the mine shafts to detect the risk of deadly mine gasses, but bankers and investors were not as careful, they didn’t want to see further than their noses. Many threw themselves eagerly, bordering on greedily, at investment funds which conjured up images of great gain, later turning out to be fata morganas.

Lack of information, lack of transparency. They didn’t stop to question the thick mist that hung over all those newly created products, because they were seduced by the high income, dividends or interest rates.

Greed is good, the slogan that drove the turbo of the financial markets, in the end messed things up, with damaging results for the workers, investors and tax payers.

It is too early to give a definitive answer to the question of whether the magic of the financial markets has worn off. The answer to the question of whether there should be more control over the magicians of the financial markets is a short one. One: top managers may receive good remuneration, but the remuneration may not be based on excessive bonus systems with stock options which can be asserted under any circumstances, such as at the time of acquisitions (initiated by those same managers), giving rise to price appreciations. Two: the prudential supervision of the financial sector has to be stricter and it must be organised on a European level.

Three: we would like to see the government go through all capital funds with a fine-tooth comb. With scrutiny and transparency thereby possible, the investor himself can only but profit.

An alternative without antics The “old” investment system has shown its weak points. It is now a matter of finding an alternative for the stock market system which aims at large short-term profits, and thus, in other words, preys upon them, whereby company prices make strange leaps with damaging consequences for both those companies and the economy as a whole.

We are convinced that there is indeed a viable alternative model to finance economic initiatives.

Why would an investment have to necessarily yield an income in double figures? There is definitely something wrong economically, psychologically and philosophically with what I now call the ‘greed investment’.

It is economically clear that return expectations of ten to twenty-five percent on invested capital are far outside the return possibilities of the real economy. On a yearly basis the real economy (in a favourable economic climate) of even a ‘tiger economy’ typically falls short of ten percent growth. Our “old” economies only manage four to five percent maximum. Trees do not reach the sky!

In the meantime it has become evident that exceptionally high returns on investments can only be achieved with exceptionally high risks, for which one ultimately has to pay too high a price.

Continue reading on page: 24

Psychologically, the task of generating high income and high stock market prices puts enormous pressure on the companies in question, as well as on the workers and management involved. Driven by increasingly analytical reports, one can barely look at and work towards long term goals. But the variability and the volatility of the market also puts enormous pressure on the investor and the shareholder: shall I receive a high, a small or no return at all on my money? Ethically, the craving (investors-shareholders) and the urge (managementfinancial engineers) for higher returns also raises questions. What is endangered by being a slave to high returns: the environment, employee rights, the savings of the person in the street; they all stand in the queue to be sacrificed on the altar of greed.

Is this an exaggeration? We would argue not. The Chinese economy swelled like noodles because of low wages and a brutal disregard for the environment.

Transparency as a genetic characteristic Why shouldn’t we go in the direction of an economic investment model which, apart from greater security but smaller revenue, contains various other added benefits?

To name but a few of these: limited risks; sustainable economic development; personal and social added

benefits. We are convinced that the cooperative model covers all these elements.

When we change from risky investment behaviour with potentially high revenue to conservative investment behaviour with an acceptable revenue, we can only but benefit long term from an increased economic, social and individual tranquillity. Tranquillity in the markets will no longer have to be “sought out” by means of all sorts of hedging tricks; tranquillity will already reign.

The additional benefits of the cooperative model are clear. The shareholder accepts a modest return on his investment which shifts the pressure on management and workers to a human level - although performance remains important. The company can therefore develop in a sustainable manner. This can only be of benefit to employee rights, human rights and the environment.

For the shareholder, investing in a cooperative company also has benefits, benefits that until the financial crisis have been ignored. Let us explain. Do you know where our savings ultimately were invested (the subprime crisis is fresh in memory)? Do you know in which baskets all these investments funds laid their eggs? And if we knew that (i.e. company X or Y’s listed shares), did we know what those shares have undergone due to growth imperatives and speculation? Three times ‘no’ is the answer, because the transparency of the derived invest-

ment products was akin to the transparency of a black hole. Due to the new financial market capitalism, the uninformed–i.e. normal–-investor has, over the past decade, become estranged from the return on his investment. We could use the term investment alienation in this case. A lack of transparency and investment alienation go hand in hand.

The cooperative investment model is both sustainable and transparent. Because the investor does not expect an excessive return, the company can develop progressively, without exorbitant pressure on workers, management and the environment.

The link between investor and company is thus inherently close. Transparency in a way becomes a genetic characteristic of the cooperative investment model.

The investment is always “visible” to the investor; it is difficult to spin an accounting wheel in front of him.

Buffer model According to the size of the company invested in, the investment cooperative can organise proportional supervision with the help of professional specialists. An investment cooperative can consist of tens, hundreds or thousands of investors who are satisfied with a reasonable return. The investment cooperative therefore

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Francine Swiggers & Louis Mariën

functions as a buffer between the company and individual investors. For the shareholders of the investment cooperative this provides an advantage in terms of the scale of the initiative, where the possible poorer results of the one investment can be compensated for by spreading the funds over various economic initiatives. The invested in company, on the other hand, is given the guarantee that in the long term they will be provided with capital, as the investors are not jumping in and out as they see fit.

24

The cooperative model is not limited to an investment vehicle. The cooperative model is not only capable of doing away with the estrangement between the investor and the company: we can easily imagine economic initiatives where the employees themselves invest money in their own company, which eliminates the estrangement with production. Why would young skilled people not be able to put their heads together in an industrial context to establish a cabinet-making or plumber’s workshop or erect a small building company? But let’s leave this out of consideration for now.

Small, large ….

The crisis in the financial system has taught us a lesson. Not only did the average citizen no longer know where his deposits were invested, but the top financial managers flew blindly ahead, driven by instincts, and not by ethics or rationality. Blind belief in the markets was never considered naive. The white collars of the economic and media world reserved that qualification for the socially-driven models of the pre-liberal era.

Cooperative investment and entrepreneurship also belonged in this category. Perhaps no longer.

Cooperative investment in a company isn’t a game.

Even a small-scale initiative, such as the erection of a cooperative fitters’ workshop, requires insight in purchasing and sales mechanisms, as well as planned budgeting and bookkeeping. Should an initiative grow, then professional support will become necessary to avoid driving the company into the ground.

We see great opportunities in the future for cooperative investment models in the care and energy sectors.

While care for the elder (e.g. the building of retirement villages) today is looked upon by investors for large profit potential, we envisage an alternative model whereby numerous investors of varying age and perspective, bundle their financial power with an eye on affordable care during retirement. For paramedic care and maintenance the cooperative can seek out favourable contracts, driven by value instead of cost, because the cooperative is not focused on large profits for its investments.

Similar initiatives seem feasible in the renewable energy sector whereby the shareholders participate in a collectively erected production site.

‌.Large-scale Can the cooperative model also work to provide large companies with capital in a sustainable manner? Simultaneously, can shareholders be given the chance to earn reasonable returns?

Nothing is more convincing than a good example. The capital of the cooperative Group Arco is spread over a great number of small shareholders who do not have excessive expectations as far as income is concerned.

They are happy with a percentage which keeps pace with the growth rhythm of the actual economy. This massive pooling of capital allows the group to invest in a largescale manner in various economic sectors, ranging from the financial sector to various public utilities. The choice of these sectors has been well-considered, as they relate to the needs of the average household.

The investments of Group Arco are also characterized by their long-term perspectives, averse to short-term speculation.

In a period of crisis in confidence, the cooperative is also well-prepared to deal with potential withdrawals of funds by shareholders, without endangering its solvency. This is the result of a targeted policy which is typical of the cooperative model. As a result of the habitual decisions of the shareholders to not pay out a large part of the book profits (generated by the effects of the stock market, and not based on economic value) but, instead create provisions (by way of precaution), the cooperative builds a strong buffer.

The idea of the cooperative investment model could also offer a medium-term solution for companies who want to withdraw from the stock exchange because they are growing tired of the exaggerated demands of the shareholders and the ongoing pressure of analysts.

In their moment of despair, is there anything else left to do than to put their faith in the hands of Russian moguls or to ask for state subsidies from dubious democracies?

There is, however, a third solution: to make an appeal to investment cooperation. This cooperation has to be able to win the confidence of a large number of small investors. Investment cooperation has to be able, with the help of social movements and incentives from the government, to convince millions of members - against a moderate return - to invest an amount in large-scale operations. This method can provide the necessary financing for a company that wants to withdraw from the stock market. It offers a stable and sustainable shareholder instead of a demanding and unsteady one. With a stable ownership of stock, the company can concentrate on sustainable growth over a long-term horizon.

The cooperative investment model is also a driving force for innovation. It is ideal for offering opportunities to projects that are future-orientated. This is again is linked to the nature of the model, which is to not go after fast and high returns. An investor who is after top returns could do better than invest in alternative energy or the construction of high technology for waste disposal. Such projects need the confidence of an investor who offers innovative projects the opportunity to create relatively slow profits. New projects also tend to appeal more to cooperatives if they take account of their workers, their suppliers, the environment, their immediate surroundings. In this way, the cooperative model looks to contribute to the creation of a sustainable economic model.

Earned communication From our argument it should be clear that the cooperative investment model is a valid alternative to the stock market model, which is only driven by profit and which therefore has little eye for sustainability issues. In addition, the cooperative is highly transparent, and the link between investor-shareholder and the output of its investment is comfortably close. The cooperative investment model combines, in a unique way, the social aspirations of sustainable ventures with clear economic targets.

In order to give the cooperative model a wider entrance, more commitment is needed from the social movements and politicians. The latter have to come to the conclusion, after the recent financial crisis, that an alternative investment model can render great services to the economy and society. Surely the intention isn’t to hand over our economic and social development to five or six financial global conglomerates which cannot be controlled democratically?

The social movements, on the other hand, in view of the additional value offered by the cooperative model, should inform and motivate their members towards a model which secures their investment. Additionally this brings them, as investors, closer to the result of their investment. According to us this is of inestimable value: to restore the confidence of the small investor and to give the economy a sustainable perspective.

This can, as far as financing of economic initiative is concerned, be the major change which can help give shape to the face of the next decade.

Local or Global? Local and Global? — Georges Ugeux

For inhabitants of countries which, because of their size, are unable to claim any supremacy whatsoever in the global arena, the question is particularly sensitive. Even, and especially for a country like Belgium, it is a tough question, but one that deserves to be examined if we wish to avoid endless discussions and, even worse, becoming insular.

Reality is local The only concrete reality of our life is local: we are human beings who live in a local reality, that of our suburb, our town, our village our province, our country and our continent. Believing that the global world will efface this reality is simply to ignore the fact that globality is a concept. It is not, like the local dimension, embodied in a place, a land, a legal and institutional reality.

It is thus wrong to consider global and local dimensions as being on the same footing.

A diversified Diaspora However, this does not mean that local realities are not influenced by the global dimension. From time immemorial, Belgians have been international. Their history has pushed them to be: approximately 10% of the Belgian population lives more or less permanently outside the country.

Belgians can be found in numerous sectors of activity on all continents. Irrespective of the region from which they originate, one of their greatest characteristics is their ability to merge into the landscape, to not arrogantly impose themselves (a characteristic which is often found in our neighbours), their ability to understand the local culture, and to master a number of languages that few other countries have mastery over. Belgian students are among the biggest fans of international education, whether obtaining degrees or within the framework of European programmes such as Erasme.

This dimension is very often ignored: the various Belgian governments have ignored, for reasons which are often electoral in nature, the benefit that they could derive from this international high-value network. Belgium is one of the last European Union countries to have accepted dual nationality: it has only been possible since the summer of 2008.

This means that there are many Belgian families living in Belgium with one or more family members outside the country. This was evidently the case during the time when the Congo was a Belgian colony, but the Belgian diaspora has diversified immensely. One can get lost in conjecture about the reasons for which the Belgian Government, during budgetary arbitration, purely and simply withdrew subsidies totalling 2 million euros, granted to Chambers of Commerce outside of Belgium, making their international influence difficult, and even impossible.

Some of the wealth of this diaspora comes from the multicultural, multilingual character of our country. One can get lost in conjecture, seeing the use made of such richness to oppose our communities. Is it really impossible to change our viewpoint on what is a considerable advantage for our country?

BIO

Acquisitions.

trillion. He was also in charge of

Georges Ugeux is also a director

+ Prior to founding Galileo,

the NYSE’s relationships with

of Amoeba Capital a Singapore-

+ Georges Ugeux, a 63-year old

Georges Ugeux joined the New

foreign Stock Exchanges, Regula-

based hedge fund investing in

Belgian national, is founder

York Stock Exchange in Septem-

tors and Governments.

Asian stocks. He is on the Board

and CEO of New York-based

ber 1996, as Group Executive

+ Georges Ugeux is Chairman of

of the British American Business,

Galileo Global Advisors LLC,

Vice President, International &

the Belgian American Chamber

Inc., and the French-American

a company that offers CEOs,

Research. He built and managed

of Commerce and of the Catholic

Chamber of Commerce. He sits

Boards of Directors and Govern-

the Exchange’s International

University of Louvain Founda-

on the International Advisory

ments independent advice on

Group and, during his tenure,

tion. He is a director of Caraco

Board of the Vlerick Leuven Gent

international business develop-

spearheaded the listing of 308

Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the US

Management School and Oxford

ment, restructuring as well as

companies from 43 countries,

generic drug subsidiary of the

Analytica.

capital raising and Mergers &

with an aggregate value of $2.7

Indian group Sun Pharma.

The global dimension influences local reality In this context, the global dimension is already embodied in the local dimension. Every day, it enters our local reality through the media, consumer products, holidays, culture, beliefs and obviously and increasingly, information technology. It also affects us via the million strangers who make our country their home, in the short or long term. Like all immigrants, they have contributed their set of advantages and drawbacks.

Belgium has benefited a great deal from this immigration, both in manpower as well as specialisation and diversity. We sometimes forget that if our compatriots have had the opportunity to develop their careers and businesses abroad, we in turn have to remain open to the contributions of immigrants.

It is not only human contributions that influence local reality. If we look around us, the products that we consume are transformed to the point that we can no longer imagine how we would feed ourselves if we only lived off Belgian products. The same applies to our tradition of being open to culture and art beyond our borders, making our country a place renowned for the discovery of foreign talent.

The challenges of globalisation This does not mean that globalisation can be treated indiscriminately. As with any dialectic tension, it must be managed. For this reason, it must be looked at clearly, but without negative prejudice.

The most sizeable challenge is certainly that of the impact of globalisation on employment. One thing is impossible, and that is being able to consume or buy products at the prices at which we have become accustomed, and to produce them in Belgium, where salaries and even raw material costs are a multiple of what may be obtained outside the country. This will have an indisputable impact on employment: however, if our businesses are prosperous, it is also because, for many years, they have developed international business, operate in many countries, and have thus developed high value added jobs in their headquarters.

On the other hand, it is evident that this international development will not work without the establishment of business bases throughout the world. It is neither realistic nor economically feasible to staff a foreign facility exclusively with Belgians Let us also not forget that not all our countrymen are able to expatriate themselves, and many of them have carried out their entire careers in Belgium, even in our generation.

It is a life choice, and must be respected.

Among the most obvious challenges posed by globalisation, an in-depth revision of our education system is prominent. At all levels of education, and particularly in language studies, it is a big mistake not to provide our children with the talents they will need in the interna-

tional world in which we live. An insular education can only strengthen the fears and prejudices that make it difficult for our youth to make the necessary adjustments to the modern world. In my generation, this challenge was particularly relevant with regard to the Anglo-Saxon world. Knowledge of English, discovery of the international world and America were a daily challenge. For future generations, we must prepare them for the emergence of Asia. Let us teach them the history and culture of the Asian countries, even of China, in order to prepare them. However, let us not forget that the next decades will mobilise us into a planetary struggle: that of our environment, and global warming. There is no local solution to this problem. The path will be arduous, mobilising all nations in a single direction. The United States, the most wasteful country on the planet, is finally waking up. Developing countries are not ready to sacrifice growth to the environment. This process of negotiation—at a worldwide scale—is only beginning, but it is an emergency.

The European reality

The behaviour of American forces in the field has been largely impressive, but the practice of various forms of torture have resulted in legitimate condemnation all over the world but also, do not forget, by the majority of the American population.

The Unites States’ ideological choices are not the same, which is nothing new. The financial crisis has shown how the abuse of capitalism has endangered the economic equilibrium of the world, through a crisis whose perpetrators are the same people who should have been its guardians: the directors of financial institutions.

These crises have led the world to discover that, contrary to popular belief, the United States exercises a supremacy which does not go hand in hand with skill in strategy implementation. This is a source of great concern: we can no longer have confidence in the ability of the United States to implement a strategy. At the foundation of this weakness is the manner in which the various crises were provoked, largely based on short-term thinking.

The transition from the feeling of regional and national belonging towards a true European identity is definitely in progress. The recent referendum failures have, however, shown that this process is not obvious for many European citizens. Maybe we would have liked to restrict Europe to the 11 countries with whom we have travelled the road over the past decades. The choice to include countries from Central and Eastern Europe is a strategic one. There is no doubt that this choice makes this European identity more diffuse, and its acceptance more threatening. However, it is within this European context, with Brussels as the European capital, that Belgium’s future is situated.

We have a voice that is heard, profound knowledge and an ability to resolve the inevitable tensions, all of which are appreciated throughout the world.

But this does not mean we should throw out the baby with the bathwater. On the contrary, the solution lies in dialogue with the next administration. If Europe does not engage, we are risking an even greater danger: the withdrawal of America into itself. Such a withdrawal would be a catastrophe for Europe, and for world peace.

We only have to remember the events in Georgia to understand that the risks in Europe are considerable.

However, with this in mind, Europe needs to speak in a single voice in the concert of Nations, which is increasingly difficult. However, it is the sine qua non condition of a balanced transatlantic relationship. Europe has considerable assets at its disposal: what remains is for it to learn to play its cards consistently and with determination.

It is certain that knowledge of the institutional, economic and social reality of the European Union should be a part of our basic education. We should not wait until University level for programmes, in all fields, to help students understand the European reality. Europe is a reality and not a virtual notion. We inhabit a part of Europe, and we are aiming at European ground. Increasingly, employment and career opportunities will be allocated preferentially to those who know how to move about within the European reality. The rest of the world recruits Belgians for their European membership, and their ability to help American or Asian groups develop on our continent.

By way of a conclusion...

The transatlantic dimension Recent years have seen the emergence in Europe of a rejection of the United States and its authority. It is certain that George W. Bush’s administration committed serious errors that led to a loss of interest in that country. Is this generalised? Is it reversible? The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have clearly provoked ideological and economic challenges which are a threat to world stability.

This is the way in which local reality and globalisation will manage to take account of each other, and thus in which our planet can develop harmoniously. Faced with the many emerging challenges, it is not possible to choose between one or the other: it is by learning, each from his own place, how to combine our efforts to cultivate local and global gardens, that we will achieve peace.

The risks of conflict are building: Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Georgia, Colombia, to name but a few.

Belgians have a richness which enables them to understand other cultures, and to behave without arrogance in the international arena. However, we will only be credible if we start by exercising this talent within our own country. For the last year, the world has been asking itself what we want.

“It is not necessary to hope in order to start, nor to succeed in order to persevere”, our ancestor, William the Silent told us. We have proved our ability to start, now it is time to prove that we are able to persevere without tearing each other apart.

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Inge Geerdens

One for all, all for a healthy economy — Inge Geerdens

At present the economic crisis is making world-wide victims but it is hard to deny that for years now our own economy could have done with a boost. Steadily it comes to a dead end and we are all watching; entrepreneurs, employers, employees, social partners as well as authorities alike. It is high time that all parties concerned come out of their hedgehog position and start pulling at the same rope so that in 10 years time we will be living in a healthy, powerful and solidary society.

Not easy, but certainly possible. Hopefully we’ll be able to count on a bunch of young people who not only have enough common sense, but who also display a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship. If we want to build at the future, the youth of today has to want to go along. They have to dare to grab the available opportunities and leave the well-trodden paths for what they are. The fact is that crises always create opportunities.

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to live in a dazzling and creative Belgium in 10 to 15 years time, driven by the young generation and enthusiastically welcomed by all countrymen?

Ten entrepreneurs of our northern neighbours made a true pact. And not a small one for that matter. They want to pilot the Netherlands to within the top five worldwide as far as innovation is concerned. They judge this to be a necessity as innovation creates a flourishing economy with all the ensuing advantages: growth, high employment, a strong social system…. In short: a healthy country.

Away with taboos Our country could also do with such ambitious goals.

We have to position ourselves more enthusiastically otherwise Belgium threatens to become an economic dessert. Our economy asks for daring initiatives and an open outlook. Without taboos. Without navel-gazing.

The world is a village, like it or lump it. Retreating to one’s own limited country and federal state borders does not make sense at all. Overestimating the importance of one’s own region makes even less sense. We have to look at our neighbours, at Europe and the rest of the world. Whatever happens in, let’s say, Beijing, Buenos Aires, New York, Cairo or Rome, it also affects us.

If we want to make our economy healthy and balanced, then we have to all sit together around the table; government, entrepreneurs, employers, employees and social partners. Although this is not always easy when one sees how social matters are handled here,

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - HOOFDSTUK

but it certainly is necessary. Preferably with an open mind and not with this glassy, unworldly look. Everybody has to be able to bring ideas forward without immediately rejecting them. This will obviously lead to the necessary discussions and debates, but as far as I know, this hasn’t harmed anybody yet. As long as we obtain results to the advantage of everybody.

The government as catalyst of our economy As an entrepreneur I obviously already have a couple of ideas. Meanwhile I throw them in the group. Not just like that, but with the conviction that these ideas can help our country to get on its feet.

In this context I see a central role for entrepreneurs, companies and SME’s. If you want to make a country thrive, you should start with them. This seems unavoidable.

Some countries and governments only know this too well. The other day, at the occasion of a European summit, Nicolas Sarkozy pointed out the economic importance of small and medium-sized companies in his country. They form the engine of the French economy and

'

Our economy asks for daring initiatives and an open outlook. Without taboos.

Without navel-gazing.

are probably getting generous support from “Sarko” to help the country back on its feet. Also in other countries governments took the necessary initiatives to help their companies to survive. The example of Ireland probably appeals most to one’s imagination. As far as the Irish people are concerned, poverty definitely belongs to the past. In our country the government could track down all SME’s which are doing well and give them an extra little push. This looks like a good start.

They do, however, not always have to be national initiatives. Also local authorities can play a role. Just think of Barcelona, a flashy metropolis, also as far as the economy is concerned. The mayor established a business park where up and coming companies are offered free infrastructure.

Joint solidarity The various authorities in our country could also give a helping hand in this field. It is up to them to help these companies grow. Not that I am pleading for unrestrained government assistance (not to talk about interference) but even a small effort could bring solace.

And it does not, by any means, have to be fiscal stimulations. Also logistical support, promotion campaigns or administrative simplification would put us on the right track. Or why not interest-free loans which would allow companies to bridge cash flow problems? There is an abundance of possibilities.

Such measures help everybody. They allow companies to manufacture and export more. This creates extra employment and the buying power increases. That’s how simple it is. In addition, these extra means allow for a wider and more efficient social safety net. Only a

strong economy can make a difference socially and pick up the people who fall off the boat. This is no unnecessary luxury if I can believe the social news coverage.

Entrepreneurs are also people Obviously, entrepreneurship is already being encouraged today. There are quite a number of well-intentioned initiatives. But fair is fair: they come short. He who wants to be an entrepreneur in our country is coming short. It looks more as if you are being punished because you show initiative.

Entrepreneurs have to look after themselves and in return they are showered with a flood of often populist criticism.

Admittedly, the enormous remuneration packages in some industries affect our credibility. But don’t forget that most of the entrepreneurs in our country do actually run a SME. No top salaries for us, let alone a golden parachute. We make shift with what we have hoping to remain our own boss. And yes, this risk may also yield something. However, to put SME managers and the few grossly overpaid CEO’s in the same box is taking the corner too sharply. It is therefore high time to start looking at entrepreneurs in a more positive light.

Entrepreneurs deserve respect. Also an unemployment compensation when things go wrong or a decent retirement pension would be a welcome bonus.

Belgium is and remains a SME country. But whilst our small companies are responsible for 60 % of the job opportunities, it is the multi-nationals and established names that are usually in the spotlight and that put us in the shade. What a pity.

The problem is that all the criticism frightens off many good people and entrepreneurs. At present, one out of three SME’s in our country is for sale. A frighteningly high figure. Evidently, nobody is interested anymore in taking over the business of mother or father. Our country has never shown too much interest in entrepreneurship, but at present we are really below freezing point.

All the more reason for joining hands and putting together a solid plan for our future.

A healthy economy encourages entrepreneurship in every way. This seems logic but obviously it isn’t. At present the government limits itself to a handful of promotion campaigns in order to instil into youth a sense of entrepreneurship, but that’s all. As a starter you may receive some support, but once your business is considered “up and running” you are on your own. As if entrepreneurs never hesitate or have the need for a sounding board. Nothing human is foreign to us.

ers. Entrepreneurs, and certainly the SME’s, can only offer their employees the great adventure. A correct salary, flexibility if possible, but first and foremost hard work, without guarantee of an existence beyond today.

It shouldn’t be surprising that about 20 percent of the working Belgians are working for the government.

In itself this is not wrong but I think that because of this the government shouldn’t be less energetic. Moreover, I do not see why people who work for the government should be getting better conditions.

Setting out together The few ideas which I propose here only form a first initiative for starting a dialogue which has to put our economy on the right track. But at base, I have only one piece of advice. Dear entrepreneurs, politicians, union representatives, hardworking Belgians and other interested parties: talk to each other. There is no shortage of ideas, nor lack of courage to face the challenges of the world. Let’s all pull together at the same end of the rope and also involve young people in this economic revival. It sounds like a tired cliché, but it is a fact that our youth is our future. Therefore I would like them to contribute to the building of a better and economic stronger Belgium. They often have fresh and original ideas and point of views. And still, we often give our young people the cold shoulder. Not enough experience in life the saying invariably goes. A dumb reflection because just this rash outlook can help us nicely on the way to give the economy the much-needed new impulses.

Take it from me, everybody benefits when the employers are doing well. Therefore fiddling about and endless nagging without results has to stop. This doesn’t help anybody. I hope that we won’t have to look back in 10 years time at yet another missed opportunity.

In the meantime I have already rolled up my sleeves.

What about you?

BIO

Inge Geerdens leads CVWarehouse, a technology company that advises companies on online recruitment. Previously, she founded Executive Research, a

Unfair competition

search- and recruitment agency.

Apart from the above, there are also areas in which I would like to see a less active role played by government. Recruitment for example. The many government departments are a serious competitor for companies.

Fifty percent of the youth mentions the government as their favoured employer. This is quite impressive.

Notwithstanding all the efforts with regard to retention management, our SME’s cannot compete with the advantages of working in a government context. Flexible working hours, job security, a good salary, lots of holidays …. With everything that goes with it. Great for those who work there, a thorn in the flesh for the oth-

female Entrepreneur of the

In 2005 Geerdens was named year by the Flemish government. Geerdens is recognized for the passion with which she promotes entrepreneurship in this country. In that regard, she writes a column for the TIJD newspaper, is a regular speaker, and the chess tournaments she organizes with Gary Kasparov (top entrepreneurs slug it out against Kasparov) are legendary.

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Jean Stéphenne

Biotech and healthcare research: the opportunity for our economic future

— Jean Stéphenne

Investment in research, particularly in the healthcare sector, is constantly increasing in Belgium. A reduction in the cost of researchers by around 75% for PhDs and Masters, and favourable taxation for intellectual property linked to research are two examples of measures already taken by the Belgian government. Companies active in the life sciences are aware of the measures taken by the government in favour of research and innovation, some of which encourage foreign investment, but also enhance the attractiveness of talents in Belgium.

However, it is not simple to establish a coordinated, harmonised scientific policy in Belgium because scientific research budgets are managed partially by the Federal Government and partly by the Regions. Nevertheless, the Belgian authorities should build on our strength in research further, introducing measures that enhance scientific training in the broader sense.

The opportunity is tremendous, given the importance of research in Belgium, where the world’s leading vaccine R&D centre is located, and given the importance of this sector to saving lives throughout the world. Also, international markets are opening up, with all its implications.

Clearly, in this era, business leaders wishing to see their companies grow should opt for a knowledge-based operational model. I am convinced that companies who rely mainly on knowledge workers can still achieve great success in Belgium.

Of late, however, we are seeing in Belgium a declining interest in scientific education. Today, it is challenging to attract and recruit qualified technical/scientific personnel, a difficulty aggravated by the much-disparaged numerus clausus system.

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For a high value-add scientific company, competition today makes education and training essential. It is not possible to take part in the scientific development of a

project or in the economic development of a company without well-trained employees.

This is one of the key challenges we have today in our company. The competitiveness of a region is dependent on its ability to provide its work force with adequate education, and thus ensure its continued employability.

Fortunately, our universities have not been weakened, and the quality has remained high, which is a unique opportunity for our regions.

Our prosperity today is due mainly to our ability to innovate, which in turn is reliant primarily on our talent.

Hence, our universities and higher educational institutes must orientate their educational activities towards preparation for tomorrow’s demanding jobs. This is not only about scientific education. It is also important that management, finance and entrepreneurship basics are integrated into scientific courses. In addition, there should be far more in-company training—it is by stimulating continuing education that each person will remain employable.

Internships, in-company qualifications, and other such training initiatives must be developed so that our students of today will be the experts of tomorrow. Today many companies cannot find the right profiles within Belgium and thus employ foreigners.

With regard to our own vaccine-related business, knowledge is essential at two levels. Firstly it is critical at the purely technological level, as there are no educational institutions which provide specific training for the vaccinology profession. Hence, programmes have been developed which ensure that employees acquire the necessary skills to perform their jobs. However, the challenge for GSK Biologicals is also that of maintaining its knowledge at the highest level, which requires continuous technological monitoring of all technological and scientific developments throughout the world.

The biotechnology sector is relatively new, and has made very rapid progress. At any given moment, small laboratories all over the world are making discoveries which could be profitably integrated into our Belgian companies. It is therefore crucial to remain vigilant

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Jean StĂŠphenne

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Chemistry and life sciences currently represent approximately 45% of total R&D investments by Belgian industry.

sible to keep the global decision-making centre for the vaccine division in Belgium, and we must be vigilant to ensure we maintain this position. Training our future talent and keeping research in Belgium means keeping the skills centre and the business economics centre in Belgium

with regard to such progress and discoveries.

Knowledge, directly liked to research ability, must be an educational and professional constant.

In conclusion, what future is possible and desirable for Belgium? Clearly, the biotechnology and healthcare research sectors are promising. Chemistry and life sciences currently represent approximately 45% of total R&D investments by Belgian industry.

BIO

Jean StĂŠphenne is President and General Manager of GSK Biologicals, one of the country's most important investors in R&D

Making Belgium a top destination for foreign investment and the most attractive centre for biopharmacy and biotechnology talents requires a position at the cutting edge of research, primarily through well-trained employees. The Government should integrate appropriate training into future research-related measures.

Such measures are important because, despite the opening up of international markets, it has been pos-

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Jef Vuchelen

How to work together?

— Jef Vuchelen

Introduction The well known saying “reculer pour mieux sauter” could, in adapted form, offer an important lesson for our regional disputes. The lesson could be as follows: “let go to love each other more”. In our opinion, the “Belgian problem” arises because the different regions and communities are obliged, in the current institutional structure, to take decisions about matters about which they have fundamentally different opinions.

This leads to numerous conflicts that, given a proper state structure, could have been avoided. Let us explore this idea as a possible strategy toward limiting community conflicts in Belgium.`

To disassociate The evolution of the Belgian constitution in the last couple of decades is easily summarised as an organised “growing apart”. As a result of the various state reforms, the federal authority has seen its competencies systematically reduced. In other words: the districts and communities have to take fewer and fewer decisions together. Taking “joint decisions” is in fact the core activity of the federal authority. It may come as a surprise, but it is increasingly difficult for the regions and communities to come to an agreement about what the more limited federal competencies should be.

This is, however, not out of the ordinary in the Belgian context: each issue leads to a community tug-of-war and because fewer decisions have to be taken, less can be placed in the shared bowl. But the Belgian decision process to date has involved bundling various dossiers into one larger whole so that it is easier to create balances. Otherwise expressed, to distribute a pie between two parties is difficult but to distribute a pie, a loaf of bread and a cake is a lot easier.

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A bizarre consequence of the past state reforms is thus that while the number of disputes have been reduced, it has become increasingly difficult to find solutions for the remaining disputes. In other words, today we have fewer, but more rigid conflicts. This is very destructive for the cohesion of the country because our political process is dependent not on the number of disputes but on whether they are resolved or not. A single dispute can paralyse entirely the federal state, and this in a manner that is independent of the ‘objective’ relevance of the dispute’s key issues. A petty conflict can thus immobilise entirely our policy making process.

One must also consider the budget shortage of the federal government. In the past, state reforms were often

wrapped up and facilitated by means of federal money.

But due to increasing budget shortages at the federal level, this is no longer possible.

In addition, we can argue that the manner in which the federal policy makers are selected, i.e. via federal elections that are based on regional party lists, accentuates rather than limits the disputes. In principle, these federal policy makers have to, via the federal government, represent the interest of all Belgians. One cannot avoid observing, however, that these policy makers also pursue regional interests, due to the fact that these policy makers are also members of political parties that are active at a regional level. In other words, the community conflicts at a federal level originate, at least partly, from the fact that the policy makers have—to some extent—hidden agendas. In the long run this situation is intolerable, especially where further state reforms are concerned. After all, what ambitious young politician would want to mortgage his career by devoting himself for the well-being of all Belgians? Federal electoral districts would not solve this problem.

The conclusion of this can thus only be that the past state reforms have not been forward-looking enough.

The objectives of these state reforms were not to create a state structure which would avoid future problems, or even limit them. On the contrary, the objectives were to solve the conflicts that had been accumulating in the recent past. This explains why, immediately after each state reform, a next step in the state reform was called for. Each state reform has thus been seen, especially by an increasing proportion of the Flemish population, as being only a part of a longer process toward more regional autonomy, and certainly not as an end-point in itself.

In summary, from whatever angle one looks at it, the past state reforms have not been able to prevent the fact that the regions have been growing apart from each other. This is not surprising as no attention was given to what we call, in technical terms, “the strengthening of the federal loyalty”. Absolutely nothing encourages the regions to respect each other and to look for cooperation which would benefit everybody. This process was also encouraged by the internationalisation of the economical, financial and social domains but one should wonder why this led to the inhabitants of the regions showing less and less interest in each other. If this situation continues, it shall come to an irreversible apathy: since the remaining relations (e.g. social security money flows) run totally automatically, they increase the feeling that the other regions do not contribute to one’s own prosperity. Equally alarming is the belief that the regions can assert their rights without having to honour any obligations. A typical example is the social security transfers. This inter-personal solidarity should entail a commitment to gradually dismantle that solidarity via appropriate policies. Should this not be the case then one might think or hope the other regions will come up with unlimited solidarity in the future. Dreaming is allowed, but very seldom do dreams come true.

All of the above, and a series of other facts which are of no importance here, explains the present stalemate in the Belgian state reform negotiations. The opponents of a further state reform only see losses so there does not seem to be any possibility of creating the necessary “win-win” situation. Nevertheless, any further step in the state reform shall mean that the regions create

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Jef Vuchelen

BIO

Jef Vuchelen is a leading Belgian economist at the VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel). He is specialised in public finances, econometrics and European integration. He is a prolific publisher and is regularly asked to comment on the state of Belgium’s public finances.

At present he is compiling a fourteen-day economic and financial feature on Actua-TV.

Continue reading on page: 32

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Jef Vuchelen

more distance between themselves in a number of different areas. Simultaneously, an over-arching framework shall have to be created that encourage the federated entities to work together.

‘se séparer pour mieux s’aimer’ (to leave each other to better love each other). The actual transition could mean that a ‘separation’ does not have to be applied in the strictest sense to all matters.

Can a confederation be avoided?

Perhaps this approach to state reform is wishful thinking, as further separation could run the risk of there being no more cooperation at all. The separation could be so painful that further cooperation becomes very, very difficult. However, the advantages of cooperation shall be so unequivocally clear that few shall reject the resulting prosperity. We would like to illustrate this by means of a few key examples:

The reform of Belgium from a unitary to a federal state happened with international experience as an example.

We mainly think of Germany, Switzerland, Canada, etc. The fact that Belgium was a “special case” was acknowledged by most but unfortunately the obvious lessons were not learned. One of the lessons should have been that the limited number of federated entities meant that the federal level should have been more than just a reflection of the federated entities. Today, however, this is the case, which results in each federal political problem becoming a community conflict. In other federal entities, where, among others, federalism is less based on language differences, such derailment of federal problems is less frequent: there are often so many federal entities that none of them can alone afford to let a problem escalate.

The conclusion based on the above is that a traditional federal state structure is not feasible in Belgium because of the limited number of federated entities. The transition from a unitary state structure to a federal one has succeeded in limiting the community problems in Belgium. This is perhaps not surprising, although easy to say in hindsight.

A second conclusion of the above is that a solution, whereby one leaves behind the failing federal model and returns to a unitary state, is politically not feasible.

The unitary state is dead and buried and all resuscitation attempts are wasted effort.

The failed past state reforms and the impossibility of returning to a unitary state logically results in there only being one remaining route, i.e. the continuation of the state reform process. This implies, as explained, a further division of the country, which ultimately shall lead to a form of government which fundamentally is indistinguishable from a confederation. Simultaneously, however, as overlaying-structure, the cooperation between the federated entities should be intensified. In other words: the advantages of cooperation have to compensate for the disadvantages of a greater autonomy.

The challenge to organise such cooperation is obviously immense. However, while rejecting further state reform may result in a “stand still” at the institutional level; it will not result in a “stand still” in attitudes. The radicalisation of public opinion, observed especially in the Flemish side, shall not cease via an institutional status quo, on the contrary... To think that delaying the state reform would increase the chances of avoiding it, is an incorrect approach that will only hamper the unavoidable cooperation in the future.

Although we do not hold on to a confederated state model in absolute terms, mainly because the Belgian situation shall generate its own structure, we do believe that the future state structure shall contain many essential characteristics of a confederation. In its pure form such a state structure entails that the regions shall separate and then shall autonomously decide about matters that they wish to execute jointly. This is

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a. Brussels Brussels is a stumbling block in every state reform.

Brussels does not, however, benefit from an institutional status quo because international institutions, multinational companies, Flemish- as well as Frenchspeaking people shall avoid our capital, if not leave it, because of the ongoing community conflicts. Flanders as well as the Walloon region benefit from playing out the Brussels card, but this Brussels cannot do on its own or in cooperation with the Walloon province. In other words, community peace will do Brussels a world of good. The exact solution for the Brussels problem is less important than that an overall impression is created, across all regions, that the problem has now disappeared for at least several decades.

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Brussels is a stumbling block in every state reform

As shown, Flanders would also benefit from a further development of the political, economical and financial role of Brussels as capital of Europe. Obviously, Brussels cannot be made responsible for paying all the costs involved. This forms a good basis for cooperation. Such cooperation could, for example, take the form of project financing. In practice this means that the other regions could help to pay for the infrastructure of Brussels, such as for example, accessibility of the city. This is not to say that the regions would actually draw up and carry out such projects. The cooperation would simply entail that the regions outline where the problems are, seen from their point of view, and how to solve them.

Obviously, this works the other way round too for Brussels. It is thus up to Brussels to study all the available options so that, hopefully, in the final stage, an agreement can be reached with the regions who are prepared to co-finance the relevant projects. Should this not convince, then consider the alternative: no projects, no co-financing, unhappy citizens, and ultimately the declining attractiveness of the capital.

b. Brussels bis Brussels, as said before, is the economic centre of Belgium par excellence. In essence this means that far more value is created than what is consumed by the city’s inhabitants. As a result of our fiscal system, whereby income tax is collected at the place of residence, a significant portion of the value created in Brussels escapes the Brussels taxes. This is an annoying situation as the central function carries with it high expenses. The regularly suggested solution for this Brussels budget problem is to collect the taxes at

the workplace instead of at the place of residence. This creates several other problems. Thus, linking the taxes to the workplace should also be applicable to the social security system. The social security budget, however, excluding the transfers from the federal budget, runs at a severe deficit. Therefore, in case of a regionalisation toward the workplace, the flow of transfers in the direction of Brussels would be greatly increased. In addition, it should be feared that such a regionalisation could result in an increased tax burden: as the other regions would need the same means as they have at present, there may not be any compensation for the higher Brussels taxes. The result of this could be an exodus of companies out of Brussels.

This situation thus looks like a stalemate. Brussels would like to have more means and therefore is considering more taxes, but inhabitants of Flanders and Wallonia would then experience a higher tax burden.

In fact, this situation forms an excellent basis for cooperation because the needs of Brussels, as the capital city, are clear. The other regions have to understand that part of the benefits they enjoy via their association with the “Brussels” centre have to be passed on to the capital city. Negotiations can thus determine the scale of the money flows as well as the “compensation” from Brussels. As far as the latter is concerned, this can entail co-financing of projects or reorganising the metropolitan region so that its operational expenses are suppressed. We do not deny that the negotiations will be difficult, but it seems clear that should no agreement be reached about such matters, that then the future of Brussels is at risk.

c. Social security In unitary and federal states, social security is a federal responsibility. This ensues from the need for inter-personal solidarity. The unemployed, pensioners, people with illness, etc., have to be treated equally. In confederated states a different logic is followed. To be perfectly clear, this does not imply a reduction in solidarity; simply that the solidarity applies between the regions and not automatically between the people. Obviously, one can deviate somewhat from this principle, but this will not be considered here. Solidarity between the regions entails a net flow of funds from the “richer” regions to the more “needy” ones, thus not directly between the inhabitants of the various regions. It is thus up to the regional policy makers to decide how to spend these funds. Taken to the extreme, policy makers may not even be obliged to use these funds for social security. Here is an example: Assuming that a region struggles with high unemployment and as a result of this can rely on inter-regional solidarity. This does not have to mean that the unemployment benefits have to be at the same level in all the regions. The region with high unemployment could decide to reduce the unemployment benefits and use the released monies for extra training of unemployed people. This is using the solidarity money with the future in mind.

One can, of course reason that this is fundamentally unfair because unemployed people are being treated differently in one and the same country. This is not so as the employment opportunities may differ. The fundamental question is what is best for the unemployed person: higher benefits but with poor employment opportunities or lower benefits with better employment

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Jef Vuchelen

opportunities. It is obvious that the unemployment benefits cannot be reduced below a specific minimum, but a limited autonomy that is applied to the specific characteristics of the labour market in the region in question, shall stimulate economic drivers and thus also the willingness to offer solidarity by the paying regions. A similar reasoning is applicable to many areas of the social security system so that solidarity as such is not affected by the greater regional autonomy. While we agree that in a confederated system it is in principle easier to break the solidarity, we do all need to realise that this could lead to the tearing apart of the country.

This will only happen if one or more regions are convinced that the confederation is extremely costly and without perspectives for improvement. That this may happen in the future cannot be ruled out. But also in a unitary state such imbalance could result in an existential crisis of the state.

Economical development It is an indisputable position in the discipline of the regional economy that decentralised policy allows the regions to respond more rapidly and effectively to their needs. This also applies to the structural long-term growth of the economy. A macro-economic unitary policy does not guarantee that each region enjoys an economic growth that it considers optimal. On the other hand, decentralised policy requires that the regions have the necessary funds to run such policy. What

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It is thus a question of creating a state structure whereby no single region is tempted to pursue a completely autonomous policy

would be fatal for a confederation, however, is that the regions’ economic development becomes too divergent.

Therefore a minimum level of solidarity should be built in at this level. Should such solidarity be lacking, then there is the risk that the richer regions stimulate their growth by means of tax reductions which would also attract companies from poorer regions pushing them in a downwards spiral. This cannot be the intention of regional autonomy.

Equally destructive for the cohesion of a confederation is a situation whereby one or more regions opt for lower economic growth. This will obviously lead to prosperity differences between inhabitants of the different regions which cannot be compensated by transfers from other regions. The destructive aspect ensues from the fact that the paying regions shall soon refuse to continue to pay for this voluntary chosen relative impoverishment.

Solidarity between regions should serve to absorb temporary shocks; they should not be a means to finance an intentional lower rate of growth.

Honesty forces us to look at an extreme situation, based on a catastrophic scenario of the Walloon economy. Assume, and this is clearly an assumption, that for the coming decades the Walloon growth rate continues to lag behind Flemish growth. The result is that the Walloon region would be permanently dependent upon Flemish funding. This is not likely to be sustainable because in our country there is always only one receiv-

ing region vis-à-vis a paying one (and vice versa). In countries with many regions, a comparative assessment between paying and receiving regions is not always possible. In addition, there are always several paying and several receiving regions. But even if there were only one receiving region, the burden of these unilateral transfers is spread over many regions so that the risk that these financial flows could be an alibi for secession is very limited.

The very special Belgian situation with a limited number of federated entities suggests that we tread carefully. In our country the financial flows have a connotation which does not exist in many other nonunitary countries.

International trade It is obvious that in international trade, or more generally, the relationship with foreign countries, the brand “Belgium” is of most value. Maintaining this brand may thus be worth paying for. But this argument clearly illustrates the cost-benefit situation of the Belgian union. The latter will only survive when a reasonable balance has been achieved between the advantages and the disadvantages of the union. As far as the international trade is concerned, the advantage is great but not great enough to demand very large long-term transfers from the most actively exporting region.

Conclusion The present state structure needs to be reformed. We could achieve this by taking the path of the past state reforms. This entails a further reduction of the federal government whereby this level would probably have to do more with less money. In such a scenario the community conflicts will not be reduced; in fact, since they will be increasingly difficult to settle, such a scenario is worrisome. Furthermore, political immobilisation is an obvious side effect. Frustrated citizens, disappointed in their politicians, can lead to a politically apathetic country. Therefore political immobilisation has to be avoided. Each credible state reform shall have to make sure that community conflicts do not stand in the way of policy decisions. That’s the case in a confederated or pseudo-confederated state model.

The fact that in a confederated state, policy decisions can always at any time be made, should serve as an important stimulant for regions to come to agreement with each other. Such agreements are the only way to influence policies of the other regions. Admittedly, all parties will have to make compromises and solutions shall have to be linked to each other. Nobody should assume that their standpoint shall always win. It is thus a question of creating a state structure whereby no single region is tempted to pursue a completely autonomous policy. Now that would be a lose-lose situation.

However, at present one can wonder if such a situation is not an unavoidable intermediary step to make it clear to all that there are important advantages to cooperation.

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - murielle scherre

Is there life on Pluto?

— I have my doubts about Belgium Bel-giu -uuuum. Murielle Scherre If Belgium were a trademark, consumer group Testaankoop would not have many stars to colour in. Maybe one. Just for effort.

Belgium. I was born there and I have been living there my whole life and you have to leave it to be able to appreciate it. Apart from a single Antwerp citizen, all Belgians suffer from the same disease: a misplaced sense of modesty. I have seldom seen a country with so much potential, whose reputation has been reduced, for the sake of convenience, to the smuggle route to Amsterdam. A phase on the time line disguised as land. A passing thing. During the course of history Belgium has taken on so many shapes and colours that it no longer knows how and what. Just try to explain Belgium to your foreign friends. I challenge you. The more you talk about it the more questions are asked. As far as size is concerned, we only represent a vague area in an endless Europe, however, we produce paedophile scandals and foot and mouth diseases which make the superpowers of the world go pale. And we still shrug our shoulders when we have to explain our worth after having mentioned chocolate, lace and beer.

My Belgium would look different. I would throw out all those media-horny politicians. And replace them with capable people who know what they are fighting for. I have the impression that the present politicians have been found in a pool of dismissed media people resulting in the Wetstraat not being paved anymore with cobble stones but with cameras. Journalism is, unfortunately, no longer a matter of objective reporting about decisions in the Wetstraat, decisions that deeply affect our daily life. No, journalists find it more important to inform us about the sartorial choice of Freya van de Bossche at her wedding. I’ve been waiting for so long for this information. What I would rather know is what is happening to our tax money. How much of that money is spent on “the dole”? Belgium may well be a paradise for the less motivated ones among us.

Should you want to work in Belgium you may as well take a course in bureaucracy rather than in naturalisation. How sad I am every time I meet people who have an impact on our fairy land. It’s a pity that their impact matches the size of our country. Again and again their good intentions, fed by experience with people who have the final word, are traded in for media-genic theatre once they are in politics. I could be wrong, but I don’t think that one just wakes up one fine day in politics. One grows into it. Why do all the present politicians look like (with the exception of a painful few specimen) grownups who have forgotten that they once were wild adolescent swine? Did these people not have to accumulate experience before they could nestle their backsides in the plush seats of parliament? Why

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is it then that nowhere do things go wrong more frequently than in Belgian politics? Should the need exist for a campaign to make the youth aware of safe sex, is it then so difficult to find someone amongst them who have had sex during the last 10 years in order for him to shoot the message straight into the heart of the target group? No, by lack of boom-boom you get a lot of bla-bla and as a result we still are not going in the right direction in Belgium as far as STD’s are concerned. But what difference does it make to the officials in Belgium?

Their salary is not increasing or decreasing in relation to the number of new infections.

But I am digressing. In my Belgium the little man and woman have the final say. The person with experience.

He. who every day is in it up to his ears. Short distance communication that provides long-term results. The farmer who from his field, can talk to the mayor of his village, a man who can rule his village as he sees fit.

Because he REALLY knows better. How can one make one law which has to sort out Gullegem and Huy at the same time? There is probably a common thread and this thread can certainly be present, but do you mind transferring some power to the cities and villages again? There where it belongs. And whilst we are at it, let’s dispense with some of that paperwork. Let the people organise a flea market in their street without having to study for it in order to handle the paperwork.

Belgium is a unique country. Here a dilapidated syrup factory can win against an architectural gem simply because the people from Limburg still somehow hang together and are therefore easier to motivate, whilst Ghent, because of its students and other people in transit, has suddenly outgrown its village status at the wrong time. The problem that we have with the politician(s) shall dramatically resolve itself once the cameras stay away so that those people can resume their work again without having to worry how their hair looks. Just look at Verhofstadt. A fossil in Belgian politics with a legendary Playmobil hairstyle. But at least he does his job.

Once this shortcoming has been done away with, we can start looking at our image. Because this looks like a joke.

I suggest the following: There should be two boats. Big boats. One for all the technical people and one for all the creative people. And then each boat can go to an extreme corner of Belgium. Just enjoy the view whilst you can because you are probably already enjoying the fauna and flora of the Dominican Republic but your own Belgian can still spring a surprise on you. Then we let go the boats in each other’s direction at cruising speed (this is only possible in Belgium, over land etc….) and hope to achieve such an impact that the technical and creative particles of the people melt together as in a nuclear fusion and start to suddenly speak each others language and that they will not belong to two different

camps anymore which do not know each others comings and goings and who are compulsively not interested in it. I find this ghastly. I am a creative soul but I am convinced that without the language of technology I cannot communicate my ideas to third parties. Belgium has something called Flanders technology. We have universities here which, I’m sure, have invented things of which I don’t have the foggiest idea but for which no application can be found and therefore the distribution of the invention often does not go farther than the office of the inventor. And this, while not far away in an atelier, an artist is paining his brain to come up with a technique with which he can make that one fantasy a reality. Creative and technical people have to sit at the same table. And often. The cities are often bothered with tasks which they have to carry out for which they over and over again have to use technically qualified people who lack street credibility and a sense of innovation. And that while this same city wants to come forward with its local potential but then cannot think of a way to exhibit all that creative force. What a pity. A missed opportunity. Why is there not a drawer at the city hall with all the calling cards of its local talent. A drawer that is opened every time the city wants to come forward. Cooperation. In this way the young talent gets a chance to exhibit its art and the city suddenly gets a stamp like never seen before because cooperation is always to be applauded and with a bit of luck something which the artist as well as the city can be proud about. 1+1 = reliably 3.

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In my Belgium the little man and woman have the final say

I have had my doubts about Belgium. Everything can and is allowed here. We are amidst all the European capitals. Within two hours we can cross our country in all possible directions. We have more nationalities than indigenous animal species. And still, we behave like an animal. The minority groups. Grrrrr. I look forward to the year 2058. By then, in my Belgium, we will have been forced to ‘switch’ and change so much, as we do on the dance floor of a wedding, that as a result there will no more people of pure blood and neither will there be talk of races. This shall be the end of racism. What a waste of time! Because of the wretch of an immigrant who once treated your car badly, you have to take a whole race for a gangster until there are no more people to call your friend, except yourself. You are then going towards a very sad and lonely future. I am all for mixed blood. This is also healthier for our species, the human species. As politics shall then be in the hands of people who are prepared to make choic-

BIO

Murielle is founder of high-end lingerie brand La Fille d’O. Not an ordinary brand, not an ordinary business, not an ordinary entrepreneur....

es which shall be to the advantage of all and not just a few of us and a visual ballet of creative technology shall adorn our country and while we then, apart from the normal coffee with milk, shall have so many colour variations as an extended Starbucks, our concentration schools shall all be about the concentration of the soul.

And that shall be great. The only thing which remains to be done then is to carefully cut Belgium away from France and Germany and the Netherlands and move the whole country to the Caribbean. A question of having nice weather every day. By then Belgium shall be so perfect and all the companies who are now stupid enough to succumb under the pressure of the competition and transfer their whole mess abroad, throwing out their faithful workers without mercy, shall be begging to please come back because by then Belgium will be a unique place in the world. Somewhat similar to Bokrijk at present. A type of show-box of bygone days where choices were influenced by human factors and not financial ones …..

I don’t have anymore doubts about Belgium. More than ever I know that I am proud of our teeny-weeny little country. And that we deserve it. Ce plat pays qui est le mien (this flat country which is mine). And because it feels good to look into one’s own heart, and to first sweep in front of one’s own door, I have recently questioned a few of my own choices and then confirmed them afterwards without blushing. My collection was already produced in Belgium right from the beginning.

In an atelier in Ieper. Where the clay is permeated with heroism. My raw materials however still came from far and wide. I have decided to become even more radical and to buy my raw materials locally. This, of course, increased the price of my end product, in itself not such a competent decision in our present times. But one thing I know. Should my ship sink, as a proud captain I’ll be sinking in the sea too. Savvy?

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - PAUL DUJARDIN

BIO

Paul Dujardin is DirectorGeneral of the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels. He serves on the board of several prominent arts and culture organisations and co-founded initiatives such as the Brussels Biënnale.

Belgium, a land open to all — Paul Dujardin

From its Celtic origins to the present Federal State, Belgium or the area approximating to it, whose frontiers have changed according to the regimes, peoples occupying it or influences exerted upon it, has often been referred to by modern historians as an accident of history or buffer state created in a slightly artificial fashion to stabilise this part of Europe.

From Roman times to the independence of the Kingdom of Belgium recognised by the London Conference of 1831 endorsing the creation of a constitutional hereditary monarchy, this land was on many occasions the subject of power seizure and hence of partition and reorganisation, as the result of the conquests, treaties and the stratagems of the great ruling dynasties. After the Francs, France and Germania divided up this geographical region for themselves; it then experienced temporary or repeated periods of domination by the Netherlands, Austria via the Hapsburgs, Spain and France. The only purpose of this historical summary is to underline an undeniable truth. That no state, nation or region can pride itself on developing thought or culture that is not the outcome of various other influences.

Not even so-called Old Europe can claim this, nor the conservative aspects of Western society. Today, every culture is more than ever the result of repeated crossfertilisation, the origins of which need to be sought almost across the whole world, whether these arise either from the influence of the Mediterranean basin, mass invasions or the so-called great journeys of discovery, whether deriving from the Silk Road or the voyages of circumnavigation.

There are no examples left, even among those who are sometimes referred to as the “last free men”, the Indians of the Amazon regions of Brazil such as the Surui or the Zo’és for whom efforts are being made to preserve them using more or less artificial means, where other cultures have not transformed their social, political, economic, philosophical, traditional or ancestral structure. Notions of progress and civilisation have embraced the whole planet. Belgium, as its history shows in abundance, was one of the areas most susceptible to influences, fluctuating over time, from the majority of the regions of the world. Continuously enriched by this for more than twenty centuries, it therefore holds all the advantages on the one hand to reverse a historical fact and transform an accident into an opportunity, and at the same time, to ensure that this buffer zone becomes a focal point for the most dynamic, even exemplary, encounters between peoples. This opportunity should be seized so as to take full and early advantage of its long experience of intermingling cultures whilst respecting the differences between them.

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A trilingual country covering a small area by comparison with its mighty neighbours, Belgium has nevertheless become, because of its past and its geographical position, a land with an extraordinary concentration of population that has made it an enviably prosperous one.

Though being tested at present, it nonetheless remains one of the nations best equipped to position itself at the forefront of creativity and, among other qualities, has proved its capacity for self-regeneration.

Its capital, Brussels, a city on a small scale when compared with most of its neighbours, has become a focal point for European political decision-making and for strategic decisions taken by the members of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Its position as an institutional centre, combined with the flow of migrants has made it one of the most cosmopolitan cities there is for its size. On whatever scale it is seen, whether at individual, group or community level, this juxtaposition of cultures slowly pursues the process of cross-fertilisation that is already such a strong feature of the country.

On the work front, even if we only take into account the most current situation and the needs that have emerged in the course of the last century, we must acknowledge that the country has not only called from time to time on foreign workers, but also previously on migrations from North to South which are now needed in the opposite direction. All of these occurrences have never led to a loss of identity on the part of the nation’s communities, including the German speaking region. On the contrary, it is equally undeniable that they have all benefited from the contributions made by their closeness to each other as well as from those made by foreigners who have settled in Belgium.

This situation, that could be regarded as unique because of its historical import and its specific significance for democracy, serves as a model that should be reinforced rather than undermined. Belgium is both monocultural and multicultural within a European context that makes its presence strongly felt, especially in Brussels. Just from the cultural perspective that is crucial in other areas, especially in those relating to political, social and societal life, the major difficulty which has thus far been overcome is that of maintaining a fair balance between the numerous contributions that are present yet not imposed, between the cultures that exist side by side in everyday life, between the statements of position as seen through the works of creative artists, between confrontation and reconciliation in the activities of cultural leaders and organisers at all levels, and the demands that each has for his own specific identity. In all its diversity, Belgium is a form of synthesis that finds its equilibrium in a permanent debate that manages to forge a reality that is perpetually in motion, reflecting on its achievements and in constant development. Between this intermixture which we have seen at work over the centuries and the cultural distinctiveness that has its root in the origins of its peoples, there is a dialogue that has a duty to be as open as the land where it is taking place.

But this Belgium with its pluralist culture is not Utopia, even though it might appear to be so in the eyes of some; its future is in a Europe that is itself multicultural that has the same roots but where developments over the centuries have led to differences. This notion is to do with respect for others and not with dominating them. The humanist principles that govern a large part of the relationships between individuals, groups, communities and nations, were widely disseminated throughout Europe, especially at the time of the Italian Renaissance in the 15th century and passed on in particular by one of its most active focal points in the form of the University of Leuven, by Erasmus and later by the Flemish philosopher Joost Lips. These principles

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - PAUL DUJARDIN

have deeply penetrated into all of the peoples living here in the pre-Belgium era, and these still bear fruit in people’s minds and behaviour today. This intellectual community does not yield in the face of different cultural characteristics, but rather enriches it by creating a free zone where these can meet more easily.

In this concept of Belgium as an open land in which there is a permanent debate between indigenous and imported cultures, Brussels probably represents the most striking image by virtue of the multitude of communities living there. Greater Brussels itself, which rather mirrors Belgium as a buffer zone and urban area where every kind of statistic is found, is a focal point for interaction, cross-fertilisation and individuality. It acts as a catalyst in maintaining a balance that is never totally achieved but which outstandingly provides for mutual enrichment. Within the country as a whole and Brussels itself, thanks to a Federal State that respects nationhood and communities of peoples, and has set up appropriate institutions, every Belgian and foreign voice can find expression in a constructive dialogue that is the source of self- knowledge and an understanding of others.

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Though being tested at present, it nonetheless remains one of the nations best equipped to position itself at the forefront of creativity

Between the federal and the federate, Europe and the inescapable phenomenon of globalisation, faced with surges of migration, it is almost impossible to maintain, like a constant force for progress, a balance of which one aspect is cultural. Yet this is also a winning formula, because it is the path of dialogue, respectful understanding and the most certain factor for peace that guarantees a future to each and every person. This role has partially fallen to the Palais de Beaux Arts as the result of high -level multi-disciplinary and multicultural programming that also acknowledges the contributions of popular culture, whether this be Bollywood films or songs and dances from Turkey.

The preservation of this great Belgian community that is mainly characterised by the presence of three cultures - Flemish, Germanic and French - and supplemented by the results of the tides of migration, does not merely foreshadow the movement towards a globalised and migratory world society, but is a hugely decisive asset for the future, representing as it does a virtually unique experience.

Just in its major exhibitions and festivals alone, the forthcoming programming schedules for the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels will bring together the mix of the ideas discussed above as well as examining ancient history and the most up-to-date issues. One of the European elements present will involve a review of the sixmonth national presidencies of the European Union.

This will be one way in which politics will be obliged to consider the impact of culture and to include it in the European debates of which it does not officially form part. At an international level, however, recognising the important focal points of world change, as well as the roles played by different regions, are also on the agenda; this seen through the focus of Europalia on China

and through the attention given to the works of art of the House of Savoy, preserved in the Galeria Sabauda in Turin. This example alone, through the largest collection of Flemish painting in Europe with its Van Dycks, Brughels and Rubens, gives expression to the role, importance and influences of artistic connections.

The forthcoming years will successively feature Spain, Belgium and Hungary, and will also touch on Latin America in the shape of Mexico, a former Spanish colony and the symbolic presence of an artist such as Francis Alys who, though born in Antwerp, gained international fame by working in Mexico, a city of muralists associated with the revolution and with Frida Kahlo, for whom there will be a season of her work and who had many connections with Europe. Thanks to Karl de Keyser’s photographs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and part of the work of Luc Tuymans, the issue of colonisation will come to Belgium which will also be the focal point of that most English of the Ostend artists, James Ensor, a founder of pictorial modernism whose influence is still claimed by contemporary artists and whose major works are in the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Humanism and the Renaissance, referred to earlier, with the importance they accord to the individual, freedom of thought and critical thought as developed in Europe where they remain key influences, will be at the forefront of exhibitions dedicated to Cranach and Edvard Munch. At the same time, the Royal Fine Arts Museums will on the one hand examine Belgian symbolism with its countless branches stretching out into Europe, and on the other orientalism, which has fundamentally changed the Western perspective.

These few examples, which will be developed so as to aid knowledge and understanding, and offer new approaches to themes that have already been broached, show the extent to which a land open to outside influ-

ences, internal debate and multicultural dialogue is infinitely richer for present and future needs than any form of conservatism, however rich its heritage and potential. If there is no challenge, no interaction, no testing, no risk taking, it would inevitably risk isolation and withdrawal into itself. Yet through the course set by history, Belgium has the unprecedented opportunity to be a land where many views can find voice, offering gems as wonderful as they are unexpected, and as expressionist as they are surreal in the celebration of the rich diversity of our communities. The example to be set involves both preservation and development, a task upon which the Palais des Beaux-Arts is engaged whilst exercising a concern for quality and discernment.

The World, Belgium

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Roland Duchâtelet

— Roland Duchâtelet

BIO

Roland Duchâtelet has worked in Belgian and international companies, both large and smaller, in the areas of production, finance and development.

Have a look at the World before thinking about Belgium Before we consider how to change Belgium, let’s try to guess what will happen to the world in the coming decennia.

He later became an entrepreneur himself in the technology sector.

The international companies in which Mr Duchâtelet has a significant interest together employ a total of 7000 people (of which 500 in Belgium) in 12

Sure nobody knows what accidents may happen to the world. The cold war is over, but many other dangers prevail. Educated military thinkers are one of them.

Like we saw in Iraq, they still have some say once in a while. The main counter-power of these military views on the world probably is the information evolution.

most well known company is Melexis nv, listed on EURONEXT. In 2000, Melexis was crowned Company of the Year. Today, Mr Duchâtelet is Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

Over the last 20 years the Internet and the international news channels reach individuals in all countries of the world. They make strategies of disinformation by local rulers more difficult. Moreover, English is becoming the Lingua Franca of the world. More and more people can now communicate with each other from all parts of the world, instantly.

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Finally, we see some common cultural values like the Olympic Games, the Champions League and Madonna.

produced goods and export of natural resources. All services would be kept free of any kind of tax to promote exchange of skills.

In 1994 he published the influential book “NV België: verslag aan de aandeelhouders” (Belgium

Assume that all women with a secondary school diploma in developing countries would get a weekly income in the range of 10 $ from development aid programs.

They would spend it well. It would induce development of local entrepreneurship and motivate all girls to go to school.

High taxes could be levied on import of industrially

countries with a total turnover of 750 million EUR per year. The

by computers over the Internet or by mobile phones.

Companies like Google or Microsoft may be very interested in developing such a payment market in these countries, if they are convinced by a business plan aiming for these countries to achieve the next welfare level.

The future will be one of services, migration and quality of life

Ltd: report to the shareholders).

In 1997 he launched a social movement “Vivant.” This movement strives to adapt our social security system and labour market to the economic reality

Work?

The last century we have gone through a tremendous increase in wealth, due to specialization, automation and extremely inexpensive communication.

After an initial period of imbalance, income generated by services would be higher than the distributed income, yielding more and more consumption of taxed goods which in the longer term would allow such an economic system to finance itself.

of the world market and services economy. In 2004 he published the book “De weg naar meer netto binnenlands geluk” (the road to more net domestic happiness). In 2007, Mr Duchâtelet was elected City Councilor of

In Western Europe, less than 10% of the population produces all agricultural and industrial goods consumed by 100% of the population, including building of homes and roads. We are not used to the idea yet, we are rich. But with better organization, we can make the whole world population rich.

Sint-Truiden and also later in the year to the Senate, elected by the Dutch-speaking Electoral College.

Economic development yields social development Given the increased wealth in Asia and South America, more people begin to realize that poverty can be eradicated. In fact, China just demonstrated how it can be done. True, the Chinese model cannot be replicated to the rest of the world but one could imagine that good economic models could bring other countries to a similar level. Through the past ages robots and computers have replaced the work of men and women to a very large extent and will continue to do so. In other words, mankind now has electromechanical slaves to work for them. Thus the poverty problem is no longer about how to produce goods at low cost. The problem is to be solved by mankind, by implementing economic and social rules to distribute wealth properly and to create an environment in which people can make themselves happy!

How welfare development could work

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As long as corruption is a way of life in the developing countries they will not grow any further. To eradicate corruption, we need to suppress paper money and coins and replace it by electronic payment. Why? Because electronic payments can be traced, every payment can be reconstructed years after they occurred. And if no other payment occurs…

Electronic payments are cheap today. They can be done

Wealth, birth rates and world population Like in rich countries, development makes women free with a reduced number of children as a result. Hence, the continued increase in world population is likely to switch to a decrease once we have succeeded in helping poor countries to develop themselves.

Countries are competitorS With the world becoming a village, citizens will become shoppers. Interesting and rich people are attractive citizens/shoppers, yet criminals are a burden to a country.

Highly skilled professionals will increasingly choose the country they want to live in, depending on a set of characteristics that fits best. Just like companies currently put countries in competition to choose the location of their new factory, countries will be challenged to provide quality of life. In practice this means good education, safe streets, public services, and high quality homes at a reasonable cost. Also: low traveling costs, a healthy environment, plenty of opportunities for recreation and culture.

Belgium Today, Belgium is far from perfect.

We have very poor public services compared to the high tax level and an overly complicated structure of the public authorities consisting of too many layers.

Street criminality is high and we have many dirty public spaces. Urbanization is poor and we have a big mobility problem in the rush hours around the major cities.

There are also some positives. We are generally good in

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Roland Duchâtelet

languages, the high population density limits the cost of traveling and we have good international connections by train, canals, plane and motorway.

The mix In the class of my youngest daughter there are five girls.

Only one of the girls has authentic Belgian parents.

The parents of the other girls are ‘mixed’. Nations, in the sense that people have similar biological roots, are disappearing. Groups however will not disappear. But such groups can be created with little common ground.

To illustrate take the US soldiers who, although they have a much diversified origin, have pronounced ‘nationalistic’ feelings. The ‘belonging to a group’ will become much more variable than before. This also means that traditional ways of thinking relating to groups and culture will not be able to withstand the march of time.

In particular, the view that ‘land’ belongs to a linguistic group is affected by this evolution. Although we need to understand that there will be a great deal of resistance to accepting this evolution, the way to build the future should be different. It should be based on future demographic and cultural evolutions. For Brussels in particular, it means that many more people will move to Brussels for their job and that the population will be increasingly ‘mixed’.

Life Since the world will be supplied by inexpensive food and products in a stable to declining world population, there is more to gain for Belgium by bringing into focus services to further improve quality of life. Belgians are better at enjoying life than many other nations anyway. We are lucky that this happens to be the direction where the world goes…

This implies that we do want a fairly clean and healthy environment in this country; we want it to be safe both in terms of traffic and criminality. The latter implies the use of technical means like camera’s, computers and databases. No privacy in public places, but guaranteed privacy in private places.

As a conclusion, the future will be one of services, migration and quality of life.

The practical side What services should Belgium provide to its citizens and what should it do to attract good people and bright brains?

Why not move out army, foreign policy, trade regulation, environment, cooperation with developing countries and intellectual property to the EU level? This would improve efficiency and save a great deal of costs at the Belgian level.

Rather than the complicated structure with regions, communities and provinces one might consider 6 regions: Brussels to the size of Brabant, whereby it should be run as a city with 30 districts. Those districts would more or less correspond to the bigger cities. However, investments in public transportation, recreation and the organization of mobility require a bigger view. This city-region would still be much smaller than Shanghai, Beijing or Kinshasa, both in number of inhabitants and

land area, but it would be an optimal size to fulfill its role as Europe’s capital.

Another interesting region, however with few inhabitants, would be the German speaking part of the country, since its history and culture is very different from the other parts of Belgium.

Based on their common history East and West Flanders could form a region, Antwerp and Limburg, with a different history, another one. Hainaut could be extended with the adjacent part of the Namur province including the city of Namur as a fifth region. The other part of Namur province, which was the territory of Liège a few centuries ago, and the province of Luxembourg could merge with the province of Liège.

The federal level could be financed by VAT and excise rights while being responsible for basic redistribution of wealth and services like police, jails and justice.

The nice thing about 6 regions would be that Belgians have a choice to relocate to a competing region. Citizens could put their public authorities in competition by moving from one region to the other, especially since those regions would have significant means to please their inhabitants. They would be responsible for all mainstream taxation except VAT and excise rights: company income tax, personal income tax and

social security contributions. They would be responsible for the additional redistribution of wealth, the health care system, education and urbanization.

There would be no provinces in those regions, only cities. Since research has shown that a good size of a city is 70,000 inhabitants, communes should be regrouped to count 70,000 or more inhabitants, yielding between 20 and 30 communes per region, except for the German speaking region, which counts only 70,000 inhabitants in total. Communes could get their income from the region and from services or products they supply to the population, and from taxes, more or less like is the case now..

Of course, this is just an example of how one could make the country more efficient and generate some healthy internal competition. Whatever the route, a substantial change needs to occur for it to have a chance to succeed, since minor changes to the present structure will not be approved. An institutional reform needs to be so different from the present situation that there are many advantages and disadvantages for many people compared to the present situation. With only minor changes, the public will focus on those small changes which they might not like: very few people like change. We now are in a situation where nearly everybody is convinced we need a change in this country.

Therefore, let’s make it big!

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Rudy Aernoudt

Belgium: a paragon of Europe

— Rudy Aernoudt Moral judgement brought to bear on men and things constitutes a consolation for the oppressed, the wretched, the victims of inner torment: a way of wreaking vengeance..

Friedrich Nietzsche

Belgium has existed for 185 years. Neon lights are flashing and 2020 is written in big letters. “I love you, I love you…… kiss me” are words that resound in the streets, alternately in Dutch, French, English and German.

The prime minister, who isn’t Walloon or Flemish, interrupts the music with a speech about the future of Belgium, but first he looks back on the past: Do you still remember how complex our country was?

We had three regions and three communities. The French- and the Dutch-speaking communities were in charge of the cultural and educational matters in Brussels. That’s why we had Dutch-speaking and Frenchspeaking education in Brussels. In the end there were no more Dutch-speaking children in the Dutch-speaking educational institutions. Instead, these were used

BIO

Rudy Aernoudt, Professor of Economics, University College Ghent (Faculty of Business Administration), University of Liège (Faculty of Policy Sciences) and University of Nancy (DEA European Economics). He is President of Belgique-autremet/ België-anders and Columnist (Trends/Medium4you).

Rudy@aernoudt.com

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for foreigners. There were 33 people responsible for culture. The ensuing heterogeneous cultural policies led to the fragmentation of the subsidies. Theatre companies which performed in both national languages had to draw up two different dossiers and explain that they performed two separate shows. We had consultation committees, Flemish community committees and French community committees. Apart from the communities and regions we also had ten provinces. The provincial governors normally appeared in public in front of the cameras on the occasion of a flood, clad in Wellington boots.

Although they no longer had serious jurisdictions, 20,000 officials still worked for the provincial administrations. This was especially true of the Walloon provinces, which were overpopulated and twice as expensive to maintain as the Flemish ones.

Primacy of the regions After having squabbled for decades over bilingualism - whether or not the facilities were sustainable - there was a sudden “aha” experience. Not one language but several languages were the solution for economic suc-

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Rudy Aernoudt

cess. Multilingualism is one of the factors that indeed make a region competitive. By definition, he who only speaks one language is narrow-minded according to Piet Pieyns.

After all, it was globalisation and Europeanization that brought so many languages to the European capital.

Census registered more than 200 actively spoken languages. In this context, the Flemish-French duality looked more and more like a fight from the past. The language dogmatists left their trenches, shook hands and decided to actively learn each other’s language. After all, there is more to the cultural identity of a population than the language spoken. It is a combination of values, opinions and shared experiences. Multilingualism doesn’t therefore mean the loss of cultural identity, on the contrary, it strengthens it.

Starting from this idea, the primacy of the regions over the communities was invoked. The regions were already regionally demarcated and for pragmatic reasons no more energy was spent on adjusting their borders.

The principle of territorialism was, after all, too important as a symbol for the Flemish. We have already lived 25 years without borders in Europe, why continue nagging about borders?

Linguistic cooperation across borders is now the order of the day. Already more than 100,000 Walloons and 50,000 people from Brussels work in Flanders. There are therefore no more transfers between Flanders and the Walloon region. Inter-regional solidarity has been replaced by inter-personal solidarity. People from Flanders, Brussels and the Walloon province, who are struggling financially, are supported by people who are faring better from all three areas. The number of people who live below the poverty line has gone down from 16% (2006) to 7% (2020).

Doing away with clichés The Walloons are not lazy, nor are they dumb, as the clichés would have us believe. But the context in which they lived didn’t stimulate them to take matters into their own hands. Most of them wanted to get up and about. They had a clear vision, but society was so politicised that the obstacles to initiative taking seemed insurmountable. The fact that the Flemish were so disparaging and were waving their productivity figures to show how unproductive the Walloons were didn’t get us anywhere. The average Walloon was not at fault here, but he would nevertheless be the victim of the threatened stop in transfers. It was on a political level that the message had to be translated, that work ethic must be rewarded and lethargy discouraged.

It was the head of Wallonia that was seriously ill and not its legs. Walloons are not lazy – it was the system that crippled every initiative. One had to be a Don Quixote to establish a business in Wallonia and it was far easier to nestle in the comfort of the “welfare state”.

And how they needed these businesses!

a mild form of despotism. “The democratic people sell their freedom to these authorities for the price of a mild despotism; a despotism which gives them security, attends to their needs, makes their lives easier and even allows them not to think for themselves anymore”1.

We were miles away from the Enlightenment idea defined by Kant as not being too lazy or too cowardly to think for oneself. This democratic despotism will ultimately be tolerated by the people, as they find comfort

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A patronising administration cripples entrepreneurship

in the idea that they are submitting to the very school teachers whom they have chosen. It also leads to the acceptance of exaggerated patronisation by the authorities. According to de Tocqueville, this means that the latter devote themselves to the wellbeing of their subjects and in doing so reduce the nation to a herd of timid and zealous creatures (including the Walloons!) with the authorities as their shepherd. This is the type of socialism Friedrich von Hayek warned us about, which is the shortest way to slavery2.

Objective observers were of the opinion that the tendency to patronise, to curb the independent reflections of the citizen was unmistakably present3. This led to an apathy among citizens towards the authorities and a resigned acceptance of fate. Why fight against windmills when it is so much easier to leave everything to the authorities, who shower us with messages that everything will be okay?

A patronising administration cripples entrepreneurship. A good administration, however, is a precursor to a flourishing environment for entrepreneurs. International research showed that there is indeed a correlation between the professionalism of the authorities and the economic development of a region4. An efficient government is a government that supports growth and the power of competition, strengthens the economic base, executes its tasks as efficiently as possible, limits its interference where it curbs the economy, pays enough attention to essential tasks - also called core tasks, makes a continual analysis of its expenses and compares its efficiency to those of other countries and regions.

Under pressure from the Flemish, and especially from European politics and the worsening economic situation after the bank crisis which plagued our country in 2008, the necessary turning point came. In addition to the cap on rising unemployment, entrepreneurship was encouraged in the broadest sense of the word. This led 1

Alexis de Tocqueville De la démocratie Amérique, p. 385.

2

Friedrich von Hayek, The road to serfom, 1944.

3

Johan van Overtveldt en Geert Janssens, A Brave New World,

De verzwegen waarheden over de Belgische econnomie, vkwmetena, oktober 2005, p. 77.

This situation reminds one of Alexis de Tocqueville’s analysis of democracy and how democracy can slip into

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David C. King, Richard J. Zeckhauser and Mark T. Kim, The manage-

ment performance if the U.S. States, Harvard University, 2004.

to a mobilisation in the Walloon region so that more Walloons started their own businesses and took up jobs in Flanders. The less stigmatising behaviour of the Flemish made it easier for them to work in Flanders.

The limitation imposed in the timescale of unemployment benefits urged the unemployed to more actively look for work in order to avoid being dependent on welfare. The economic growth of the Walloon region has therefore been keeping pace with that of Flanders since 2005, steadily reducing the gap in the standards of living. However, both regions will remain characterised by their respective industrial pasts.

Economic analyses Where previously all economic studies centred on comparing Flanders with the Walloon region, it has finally been realised that this was a comparison between apples and lemons. Reaching the conclusion that lemons are sourer is obvious, but not very meaningful.

Now studies and benchmarking exercises are carried out in a way so that apples and lemons are no longer compared. Wealth, or rather potential wealth, was mainly associated with the presence of minerals at the beginning of the twentieth century. That’s why socialism reigned supreme in those regions, and this has left its mark. Just think of Manchester, Liverpool, Lorraine, Nord Pas de Calais, Asturias, Rührgebiet, Liège and Charleroi... Each of these regions depended on their mineral wealth, and thus became cradles of socialism and still today remain socialist bastions. These regions are similar from both an economic and political perspective.

Flanders, whose economic development started by attracting American investments during the post-war period, therefore has to compare itself with regions such as Barcelona, Grenoble and Baden-Würtenbergh.

These investments, attracted by means of subsidies, have in the meantime found new pastures in the east; drawn by subsidies and lower wages.

Brussels, where the Gross Domestic Product per resident exceeds that of Monaco, has to measure up to cities such as London, Paris and Madrid.

Brussels to the people of Brussels Culture and education were transferred from the Communities to the regions. The Communities could therefore be done away with. Brussels didn’t get an expansion of its territory. However, it did get new jurisdictions: education and culture were given to the people of Brussels. The decision to give Brussels to its residents had significant consequences. The state structure became simpler. Belgium consisted of only a federal level and three regions. The German Community signed a bilateral agreement with the Walloon region which took care of most of its jurisdiction.

Educational and cultural matters, previously organised by the Flemish and French-speaking Communities, were now organised by the Brussels region.

Continue reading on page: 44

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Rudy Aernoudt

In addition, Belgian students show an openness of mind. One of the reasons for this is the inter-regional Erasmus programme, giving an opportunity to all students to spend a term in another Belgian region.

Flemish people who have contact with Walloons invariably spurn the clichés. A Flemish student, who through the brilliant Erasmus Belgica programme (which provides exchanges between Flemish and Walloon students and teachers) went to study in Namur and Ciney, said that before her studies she believed the traditional prejudices about Wallonia. Afterwards, her view became more positive: “The Walloons aren’t lazy at all. They at least still know what it means to enjoy life and are therefore less stressed. We could still learn a lot from them”5.

As a result of the generalised Erasmus programme, clichés invariably lost their importance, which promoted cooperation, including economic cooperation.

Role of the media ‘Unknown and unloved’ would be a good summary.

The fourth estate clearly has the responsibility of sharing more of each other’s cultures. After all, what else do we know about the Walloons other than they’re lazy? Or, as the 94 year old Flemish farmer, Dorsan Neyrinck who lives in Wallonia, said (as KVLV representative) in conversation with a visiting Flemish minister: ”The media doesn’t help to improve the relations between the Flemish and the Walloons”6.

But also here times have changed. Every medium now leaves ample space for the other region. Nearly every newspaper has a page dedicated to the other region and its language.

Economic inter-regional cooperation Brussels decided, in tune with its statute as a European capital, to make all education bilingual. Trilingual schools soon began to open. In doing so Brussels became the first European city where all schools are trilingual. The Flemish and Walloon regions, inspired by the success of Brussels, also changed their schools into bilingual ones. The ideological school networks are now merged.

The cultural policies, which previously aimed at preserving their languages in the capital, have now been transformed. The mono-cultural policy has been replaced by a policy aimed at bringing the various cultures and languages together. To obtain subsidies no longer required one to address a single language; on the contrary, it required that one brought languages together. Culture was no longer seen as a divisive element between people but as cement between 200 different language groups.

Inter-regional cooperation with regard to education Community peace enabled more cooperation. Political parties looked for more contacts with their ideological counterparts, which prevented political immobility.

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Flemish “native speakers” now give language lessons in the Walloon region and vice versa, bringing the language skills of Belgian children - according to the most recent PISA report - to the best in the world.

Quite a number of Flemish companies now employ staff from Brussels and Wallonia, but also have sites in Wallonia. After all, Flanders was silting up whilst there is still space for investment in the Walloon region.

Also, many foreign investments have been attracted to the Belgian regions which (in analogy with the American States of Maryland and Virginia) attract investors to Belgium under the slogan: “to invest in Greater Brussels”.

After all, with the application of the subsidiary principle, all policy jurisdictions were allocated to the most efficient level. When it was learned that the brand Brussels was worth 456 billion dollars whereas Flanders and the Walloon region didn’t even appear on the brand name list, it was decided to no longer invest in the marketing of regional brands but to use instead our unique brand: Brussels. Subsidies were largely cancelled and the remaining ones, at federal level, were regionalised in the same way as the remaining financing instruments were.

Export missions are organised by Flemish businesses in the Walloon region and vice versa. Flemish companies are now the biggest investors in the Walloon region and the inter-regional trade flow grows every year by more than 30%.

5

Sofie de Baere in Knack, 6 December 2006

6

G. Fonteyn, Boerenpsalm, Waalse Boeren in Wallonië, 2006, p. 46.

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - Rudy Aernoudt

Thanks to the cooperation between the regions and presence of so many international organisations, Brussels has during the last fifteen years climbed from fifth to the top congress city in the world.

The competency poles in the areas of aviation and space travel have joined forces inter-regionally. Today they approach the likes of ESA, Airbus and Boeing together, as one. Gone are the days when they both went to Airbus to insist on regional quotas, making utter fools of themselves.

Also in biotechnology, the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology and the Biotechnology competence centre in Liège have now signed a cooperation agreement, due to their complementary character.

The provinces Due to the fact that the provinces no longer have any assigned jurisdictions, they have been abolished. This resulted in 20,000 provincial civil servants being transferred to federal and regional services to replace civil servants who retired.

The Governor palaces were transformed into museums, to showcase the economic, cultural and political history of the provinces.

Bedtime stories At the fireplace a grandfather tells stories of bygone days... About municipalities where their Englishspeaking residents were forced to only use a Flemish “For Sale” board, even though the buyer was also an English-speaking person. About merchants who were rapped over the knuckles because they were extolling the virtues of their goods in both French and Flemish, in a Flemish municipality without facilities.

He told about political parties who judged the Walloons as being lazy and exploiting the hardworking Flemish.

According to them, the Walloons took advantage of the social security system, using it as a hammock as opposed to a safety net. Wallonia was considered a millstone around the Flemish neck. The Flemish solidarity with the Walloons was presented as a rucksack full of cobblestones to be carried precisely when they needed to get in front during a hellish cycle race to get to the world top .

Then there are the surrealistic stories about strips of forest which had to be transferred from Flanders to the Walloon region in order to give the Walloons access to the capital. The bus route also stopped suddenly at the E 411, on the border of the region. The transfer of the strips of forest never materialised as the cooperation between the regions strongly improved. And the bus route now simply continues so that the bus passenger no longer notices anything of the language border. He can now just change over from the TEC to De Lijn without changing his bus ticket.

Apart from these surrealistic stories there are a couple of stories and jokes from the times when the people stigmatised each other and reinforced the clichés.

What does the Walloon mother say to her child who has no table manners? “You aren’t in Flanders here”.

Or the following real story: on the border between Flanders and the Walloon region are two companies,

one on Flemish territory and the other on Walloon territory. At the entrance to the Walloon company is a board stating: “Here no Flemish is spoken”. At the entrance to the Flemish company the following board is displayed: “here one does not speak, one works”.

And the cliché that the Walloon people are not interested in languages because of their attitude rather than their knowledge is shown by the following joke: A Walloon is lost in Antwerp and meets two Flemings. “Excusez-moi, où se trouve le Lange Wapper?” The Flemish don’t understand. The Walloon repeats the same question in German, but without success. “Where can I find the long Wapper?” continues the Walloon in a third attempt. Even the English language doesn’t ring a bell with the Flemish. When he tries a last time in Spanish it is clear that this polyglot Walloon is not getting anywhere. The Walloon, notwithstanding his knowledge of languages cannot be helped and clears off. The one Fleming then says to the other: “You see... there’s no point in being a linguist. The man speaks several languages, and it does nothing for him” All these stories seem to stem from a faraway past which most of us still remember. Thank God we no longer idolise those who stigmatised the other population anymore.

Conclusion As prime minister, for the first time elected by all Belgians thanks to the introduction of the federal electoral constituency, I can conclude that we now have a simplified state structure, an efficient government apparatus and that our country, after years of sliding down the competitiveness index, is now to be found in 15th place, where we were in 2000, before sliding to 37th place.

Our efficient state structure, the introduction of the subsidiary principle, our multilingual education and our mutual respect between language groups, has led the European Commission to choose us as an example for Europe. A microcosm, that has once again given the European integration process new life, with Brussels as its dignified capital.

Horum omni fortissimo sunt Belgae, one now hears among the Eurocrats, harking back to Caesar, who by the way has nothing to do with the Belgium of today.

But that’s another story.

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - WIM DE WAELE

Belgium and the Internet economy — Wim De Waele

I have worked in the ICT sector for over 20 years and seen my share of ups and downs but nevertheless I have witnessed steady and impressive progress in what technology can achieve and cause.

Entire companies have disappeared or surfaced, and economic sectors have emerged, morphed or converged. I am, therefore, honestly incapable of making any predictions about the future, but convinced at the same time that the pace of change will continue or even accelerate. Everybody is talking about the impact Internet technology has had on the lives of people in the developed world. But we should also be conscious that we are still in the early stage of a revolution that will increasingly impact our lives as more and more of our environment becomes connected and the Internet of Things becomes a reality. Not only our computer and handhelds will be connected; by means of sensors our cars, appliances, homes, even bodies will communicate with each other through wireless and wired networks.

Most of our policy makers are aware of the fact that the competitiveness of our economy is no longer resource- or productivity-based but relies on innovation and creativity to keep up with international competition. Nevertheless, Europe and Belgium are struggling to reach the level of other economies in terms of innovation and creativity. Silicon Valley is still the center of the world as far as software technology is concerned and India and others are fast becoming ICT powerhouses. Belgium and especially Flanders is considered a country of small and medium-sized enterprises. This has both advantages and disadvantages. It can be positive if many new entrants in emerging sectors grow into international players and refresh the economic fabric of our country. If these companies remain stuck in a small market and fail to grow they will not offset the decline in mature industries and fail to deliver the stimulus our society will need. The current financial and economic crisis demonstrates how fragile large leading companies and banks can be. In a matter of weeks we lost one of leading ‘Belgian’ corporations and witnessed how quickly decision centers can shift from one country to another. I believe Belgium has the capability to transform itself to an innovative and service-driven economy over the next decade if we create the right environment for smaller companies and individuals to thrive in.

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I want to put forward a number of recommendations that in my opinion are necessary to ensure we keep up with the global race. These recommendations are not based on scientific research; they follow from my personal experience in the field of information and communication technology both in the private sector and in the research community. While some remarks might be generically applied to other fields and sectors, some might be specific to my discipline and I am not convinced they can be universally applied. But given the importance of information and communication in our society they will contribute to the making of a society that is as wealthy and qualitatively high as the one we are living in now.

Europe prides itself on its social responsibility. While I applaud that, we need to also ensure we are internationally competitive. We can almost be certain that the current financial crisis will lead to a call for more regulation and, given the excesses we have seen, rightly so. But the experience with the Sarbanes-Oxley act and other governance prescriptions such as the Code Lippens should teach us one thing. Regulation should happen at the macro-level where government has the obligation to ensure markets are transparent and well regulated and if necessary corrected. Regulation should not add red tape by defining processes and procedures that create inefficiencies in companies and only contribute to an explosion in the number of auditors, accountancy firms and other consultants specialized in these procedures.

We need to rethink our government research policies.

'

Our universities should be instrumental in creating a flow of ideas and start-ups.

When I made the move from an American software company to a European public research organization I discovered that there is apparently such a thing as a distinction between fundamental and applied research in information and communication technology. While I think I was involved in some pretty state-of-the art software development before, we never worried about that distinction. We focused on finding clever ways to solve complex issues, implemented in such a way that they provided a user with a rich and rewarding experience.

Currently European subsidy percentages are higher for fundamental research. In our field this has a perverse effect: it stimulates companies to perform R&D that is still far from market introduction or at least pretend that they are doing so. Given the speed of evolution in our sector it provides them with a cushion to be slower than their international competition.

There is a worldwide war for talent underway and specifically our university systems need to be upgraded to build and nurture an intellectual elite. That implies we need to pay well, select only the best and ensure research staff have the capability to also start business ventures. ICT is a very ‘applied’ research field and consequently researchers should all be involved at least part-time in start-ups or company collaborations. No longer are individual inventors or corporate labs the sole generators of ideas. User communities, designers and professional users are all sources of innovation that researchers and product developers should tap into. Content and services are driving our industry and technology should be regarded as an enabler for these.

Multidisciplinary teams, that are able to translate user needs into seductive offerings, are needed to remain competitive.

Our universities should be instrumental in creating a flow of ideas and start-ups. This can only be realized

if they start worrying about letting their most creative researchers reap the benefits of their work. While universities have come to realize the importance of intellectual property as a driver of our economy, the policies they are implementing unfortunately do not necessarily help the economy as a whole because they frequently put the institution before the individual. Their focus is on protecting their IP and building up a patent portfolio. There is nothing wrong with the creation of a more professional technology transfer function but let us not forget the individual researcher in the process. He or she should be the ultimate beneficiary of the research results, not the institution where he happens to work. And let us also not forget the dynamics of the ICT sector. As open source grows in importance, speed-to-market and open innovation are more important competitive differentiators than a patent portfolio.

Technology transfer organizations should be renamed into business development departments and the mindset should change accordingly.

society and its needs. Government should work with technology companies to create show-case projects in Belgium that can be used by these companies in their export effort in what will be a booming market as globally populations will age.

BIO

Wim De Waele obtained his degrees in Economics and Computer Sciences in 1987 at the University of Ghent. He sub-

All of the above has one prerequisite: that we simplify or harmonize our political system. If we want to create synergies between sectors such as health-care and ICT, we need a clear and simple decision structure but in today’s Belgium we have exactly the opposite. Personally I do not care if this goes one way or another, but as so many other citizens I long for a more transparent and efficient structure. As a country Belgium right now is mired in a never-ending and paralyzing political discussion that keeps us from getting ready for the next steps. I hope the current political and economic crisis will make people reflect upon their situation and redefine their priorities, as we will need all the available resources to tackle the challenges lying ahead.

sequently began his career as scientific researcher in artificial intelligence.

He continued his work in intelligent software systems at Siemens, in the R&D division in Brussels and Munich. Later he was hired as Services Director at Canadian software company Numetrix.

In 1994, Wim joined i2 Technologies as Services Director for Europe. He was promoted to Vice

If we succeed in the above we have a good chance of creating enough dynamics on the supply-side of the innovation equation. But we also need the market. In my experience the US market is an easier market for software than Europe, and I frequently recommend European start-ups to start a US-based sales office as quickly as possible. The US market is larger and has more technology-savvy and daring customers who are afraid of buying from a small company. Our European corporate customers are often conservative and our market is fragmented and has protectionist tendencies. Europe should continue to integrate the market for services and put into place policies that simulate the usage of new technology no matter where it comes from. Only then will we also create the required demand-side effects. As a county we need to rely on our strengths in trying to develop this world-market. Let me take one example: our health-care system is the envy of many countries. It is a prime example of a balance between government intervention and private initiative, with controlled competition. It is complex but so is our

President for consumer goods and retail, and relocated to the i2 Technologies HQ in Dallas.

Upon his return to Europe in 2001, Wim became Chief Technology Officer at the Real Software Group. Since the 1 August 2004 Wim is General Manager of the IBBT. Wim De Waele Chief Executive Officer, IBBT (Interdisciplinary Institute for Broadband Technology)

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - YAMILA IDRISSI

Understanding each other...

— Yamila Idrissi

I imagine a future in which living together is not a collision of cultures but rather a synthesis of various elements from various cultures.

I imagine a future where everybody, out of the confrontation with this wealth of various cultural elements, grabs the chance to let his frame of reference grow.

BIO

I imagine a future where everybody can become who he is; a future where identity is a flowing and versatile concept.

Yamila Idrissi’s is a remarkable individual - lawyer, policy researcher, parliamentarian, author, cultural worker... Ms Idrissi qualified in law in 1996 and subsequently served as an advocate in Brussels. From 2000 until 2003 she worked for

I imagine a future where art and culture can provide a hopeful contribution to living together inter-culturally; a future of which the first signs are already visible today. Just think of the stage play “Onze Lieve Vrouw van Vlaanderen” where Stabat Mater and Oum Kaltoum find each other. Here the present offers a glimpse of what the future has to offer us.

the Minister of Social Affairs.

Subsequently she represented the sp.a in parliament for Brussels and Flanders (policy domains Culture and Work).

In 2004 Ms Idrissi published the critically acclaimed book “Kif-Kif: aan de andere kent men zich zelf” (co-authored by Tessa Vermeiren) and wrote a regular column for the newspaper De

I imagine a future where the people are not subdivided into allochthonous and autochthonous groups; a future where Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, a world-famous dancer and choreographer, is not an “allochthonous artist”.

The shows of Cherkaoui talk about the world around us, nearby and far away. And preferably about both worlds together. Each piece of work in its own way builds a bridge between different worlds and cultures.

The focus is on the equivalence between individuals, cultures, languages and means of expression.

Morgen. In 2006 she was deputy director in the policy-cell for the Federal Minister for Work. Most recently she was project leader of the newly founded Daarkom Vlaams-Marokkaans Culturenhuis (Flemish-Moroccan House of Culture).

The author would like to thank

“We have to make sure that we do not miss an historical appointment with history. Should ever anybody write the history of this era, he will find that this is the most important social topic. One has the migration with all the problems ensuing from living together. And one has the class contradiction between the highly skilled and the unskilled.

These phenomena run parallel with each other and form the challenge of this era. “ Prophetic words of a politician from a big town in Flanders in 2003.

Paul Corthouts for his support in the preparation of this text.

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Post-war Belgium was compelled to attract immigrants from the South to rebuild its economy. First from Southern Europe, then from Northern Africa and Turkey. In the seventies it became obvious that the immigrants and their families would not return but that they would permanently form part of Belgian society. A phenomenon which occurred in the whole of Europe.

De facto Belgium became inter-cultural. But right away this new reality proved not to be simple, to handle the series of until now unknown influences, pictures, words, behaviours, … . Mentally we still limp behind this reality and interculturality is still far from obvious.

Migration confronts us with fundamental questions.

What does it mean to be Belgian or new Belgian in a multi-coloured society?

When one asks questions about immigration and the immigrant then it is unavoidable that we also are confronted with questions about who we are and what we would like to be. And about who may claim which symbols. To put it briefly,

cultural globalisation and migration have a great influence on the self-image of individuals but also of societies.

He who feels spit out clutches at the external symbols of his identity. And subsequently spits at those who do not conform to these external symbols. What’s more, since 11 September 2001 it looks as if the Islam would have an exclusivity contract with fundamentalism.

The present times of globalisation and the decreasing importance of the nation-state mean that there is no more fixed point from which we can overlook the world.

We are living in a diffused and complex time juncture.

Thus, there is absolutely a need for a social process of change and awakening. Answers to new challenges of the 21st century will not be found when we view these from old paradigms, from a “we versus they” point of view, from the thought of the 19th century nation-state.

Adequate answers can only result from new patterns of thoughts Can art and culture create these new patterns of thoughts and as such contribute to an intercultural society of which we can be proud?

Art and culture reflect contemporary developments and as such will always be children of their time. Simultaneously they form the heritage of a country and are the most important building blocks of a divided culture.

Moreover, artistic imagination is not only descriptive, but can also – and even has to - think ahead: apart from imagining and expressing challenges and difficulties, imagination can also describe chances and possibilities offered by living together interculturally. Art and culture do not only tell us how the world ticks, but also how it should tick. They form the mental framework par excellence to approach reality in all its complexity and to no longer think of doom but ultimately also of dream scenarios.

Therefore today we need “Places” where these dream scenarios can be thought about, put into words and experienced; “Places” where the opportunities offered by an intercultural society, opportunities which have been thoroughly explored, are openly introduced and made entirely visible.

“Places” which above all stimulate emancipation.

“Places” which belong to groups of people, but also to the individual person. As a cultural pacesetter, these places shall play the role of pioneer in the social story.

“Places” which play the role of an artistic and social laboratory. A laboratory where the metropolitan intercultural society of tomorrow can be prepared and shaped. Metropolitan, as it is in cities that the society of tomorrow will be shaped first. Metropolitans are the first to be receptive, whether forcibly or not, to diversity and newcomers, and thus also to new ideas and creativity. The search for what affects us and for what binds us has to radically and unequivocably lead to an artistic effect which makes plurality and cultural expression visible. The effect has to simultaneously allow the differences to be shown and discussed. This creates a new and far wider frame of reference. Moreover, the focus on the cultural fringes shall lead to a uniquely renewed artistic effect within a specific context in Brussels and the rest of Flanders.

THE FIFTH CONFERENCE 10 PROVINCES - YAMILA IDRISSI

“Places” which are characterised by the focus which is placed on cultural fringes and by the choice to search for what binds us together. Where points of contact and common ground are exposed between the different cultural expressions. Where one permanently searches for cross-overs, inter-breeding and merging. The points of contact and common ground and the frictions between them create a strong dynamic, no matter how.

This dynamic can give oxygen to the social debate and to the individual opinion, even if it leads to uneasiness.

“Places” which are a meeting and dialogue platform.

Which form a junction of networks. “Places” which bring together network figures, in Flanders, Brussels as well as in the world. We assume that there are already various networks but which have not yet found each other. A network of personal relations and contacts which in turn approach others, can lead to an oil-slick effect. This oil-slick effect can unite and mobilise positive forces.

“Places” where one can think about the meaning of concepts such as: origin, connection, modernity, spirit, tradition, belief, multiple and flowing identity, emancipation, dialogue, meeting, mirrors, recognition/acknowledgement, openness, habits, traditions, taboos, rituals, nostalgia, pride… Because change starts with the language which we use, we shall have to resort to a new language (the treasures of words, gestures and actions) in order to name the new realities. Behind words and behaviours lies a layer of core beliefs: ingrained and held views about society.

“Places” where searching is introduced as a work method.

Whereby we need to find a new method of talking which not only distinguishes itself from naïve multi-culturalism but also from hard-handed populism. Whereby we regularly realise that we (still) do not know it but also that we would like to get there together. We have to also be and remain conscious of a new manner of outlook by which we can see one and not the other thing anymore.

How we treat each other and where we overstep the mark is something we shall have to determine together.

“Places” where the process of thinking about but also of thinking away, of suppressing, can take place. Indeed, maybe we have to again unlearn part of what we know.

We’ll have to get an eye for our stereotypes, our generalisations and personal exaggerations, and have to be able to question these and even do away with these. In order to be able to think about our society again, we have to give our imagination free range again. To open up ourselves, our heart as well as our mind. Here the role of the artist can provide an additional value.

“Places” as a transit area between the “here” and the “there”. In order to map out this transit area, one needs creative artists which inhabit this area but who at the same time are also commuters. These artists are in a position to overcome the “I” and the “here”. They have the urge to cross the borders, to leave known areas far behind them.

This type of artist belongs in several worlds, but hardly anybody recognises this and these “several worlds” can thus become a lonely place. At the same time this position creates a force which puts him ahead of his time.

The reaction to this artist and his art can take on various forms. One can see him as an intruder who disrupts the peace. One can ignore him. One can also seize his presence in order to learn about the unknown.

What these commuters have in common is that they hate to be pinned down, to be identified with a stencil forced upon them by the outside world, to be limited to only one identity. After all, identity is a very fluid notion which, according to the circumstances, keeps on taking on other forms.

What these commuter artists also have in common is a story, their story ….. Whereby the story is a fertile metaphor to describe a personal identity. In fact, people and thus also artists, acquire their identity by means of (life) stories. The story preserves the past and anticipates the future.

'

I imagine a future where the people are not subdivided into allochthonous and autochthonous groups

“Places” where the makers of art and the public are stimulated. With the ultimate goal of everyone discovering and understanding themselves as well as the others. It is not only necessary to acquire specific competencies but also to keep on highlighting them. It is, among others, about the mental power and the flexibility to be able to empathize with different positions and to look at social issues through different glasses. Flexibility is needed to be able to move amongst fields each having their own logic.

Furthermore, there is a need for a context within which codes, norms and values can be negotiated without detracting from fundamental basic values. Confrontation may not be avoided here. Talking about cultural diversity is mostly a great taboo in real life. But a few conflicts cannot be avoided before being able to reach a synthesis at a higher level. Questioning and questioning oneself, criticism and self-criticism are inextricably connected to this process. This should take place during dialogues with all the parties in question, multilaterally, in an open, democratic and representative manner but does therefore not always have to happen in the spotlight.

Daarkom, the Flemish-Moroccan House of Culture, would like to be such a place.

Daarkom would like to extensively share the Moroccan and Flemish cultural expressions and create crosspollination between both. It would like to encourage citizens and organisations to get to know Flemish and Moroccan cultures and promote interaction. It would like to be a platform for meetings, dialogue and interculturality in Brussels and the rest of Flanders.

With searching as a work method in the background, a process was set into motion to find a proper name. The Flemish-Moroccan House of Culture was finally given the name “DAARKOM”.

This Arabic word means “Your House”.

The search for this name reflects, in a short but expressive manner, the challenge for which the House of Culture would like to stand with all its activities. The name had to refer in an open manner to the various cultural groups, and had to be able to appeal to the various potential publics, independently of their cultural background. The name also had to be easy to pronounce by everybody which wasn’t obvious.

The name would be an addition to the information already given in the “sub-title” of the project – “Flemish-

Moroccan House of Culture”: the reference to two initiative-taking authorities.

For this task about a 100 suggestions were submitted and discussed by culturally interested people with various cultural backgrounds.

An overwhelming majority chose DAARKOM. This very welcoming word thus means “Your house” in Arabic. It is also closely related to the expression “make yourself feel at home”. Flemish-speaking people also detect in the Arabic word “DAARKOM” two words from their own language. They can therefore relate to it and it can be easily pronounced - an exceptional detail for an Arabic word. In Flemish the composition of the words “DAAR” and “KOM” gives the feeling of being spoken to and encouraged (“Hello, do come!”). Who knows, “Daarkom” could well become part of our new vocabulary and be included in the big dictionary of the Flemish language.

The same work method was used for dealing with the style of the house and the infrastructure programme.

The House selects three core concepts running through it as a continuous thread: identity and inextricably connected to this, origin and connections. These three core concepts function as continuous touchstones and control the entire programming. In the execution, interactivity, involvement, cooperation and dialogue are central amongst and with the participants of the activities.

Daarkom addresses a wide and diversified public. Special attention is paid to people who are not yet – or in a lesser degree – culturally active. Extra attention is also paid to the youth who are often in search of their identity and their position in Flemish society.

The richness and the diversity of the Moroccan and Flemish cultures form the starting point for a programme with lots of art and attention to every day life.

It is a targeted focus which at the same time also highlights the whole world. In Daarkom all art disciplines are given a chance. Attention is paid to literature and poetry, there will be a beautiful selection of music and (narrative) theatre, there is room for sculpture, but also for reflection. Similarly important as art is the attention to daily life. Here we think of kitchen, fashion, of body & soul and of rituals.

Although Daarkom is a necessary project, it is also a vulnerable one which has the ambition to contribute to a future of which the following generations of this country can be proud of. And maybe in one or the other way it is our appointment with history. Whether this will be the case only the future can tell.

4| Colofon Editor Frank Boermeester fboermeester@thefifthconference.com

Production and Commercial Director Koen Christiaens kchristiaens@thefifthconference.com

Design and Layout afreux.be Photography K. Tuck at sxc.hu (cover) B. Depuydt at afreux.be (p. 11, 14, 17, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 33, 47) + illustrations (p. 9 and 51) D. Duncan at sxc.hu (p.19) Ulrik.be at sxc.hu (p.42) D. Castrique at sxc.hu (p.44) K. Welgemoed at msphotography.co.za (p. 31, 37, 39)

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