Street patrolFor the first time in 30 years,Belgian military personnel arepatrolling the streets of Antwerpand Brussels

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A year after its initial outbreak in Guinea in December2013, the ebola virus has killed more than 20,000 people,making it the worst outbreak of the disease in humanhistory. While experts still can’t predict how the epidemicwill evolve, local health officials have buckled down andpooled resources to prevent the virus from entering ourregion.

Mainstream media love to report on epidemics andpandemics of a deadly virus. The consequence ofthat over-reporting is that irrational fear often

spreads more rapidly through local populations than thedisease itself – just think of the recent swine and bird fluoutbreaks and the Sars pandemic.

Last year, that familiar scenario repeated itself, with theoutbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Sierra Leone, Guineaand Liberia in West Africa. Despite there being almost noEbola deaths outside the three worst-hit countries, thevirus still caused a certain amount of panic in Belgium.Sometimes the result of the mounting fear felt surreal, likewhen I visited the small hospital in my hometown of Mollast October and noticed a sign next to the entrance reas-suring visitors that the facility was totally “Ebola free”.Dr Erika Vlieghe, head of the tropical diseases departmentat Antwerp University Hospital, laughs out loud when Itell her this story. Last October, Vlieghe was appointed thenational Ebola co-ordinator byMaggie De Block, the federalminister of public health. “I’ve heard of some weird reac-tions since then, but that’s too crazy for words,” she says.

In the last three months, Vlieghe, who specialises in infec-tiousdiseases, has leda teamof expertsworkingonprevent-ing the Ebola virus from entering Belgium and on readyingall the concerned authorities for a scenario that would seeone or more infected patients setting foot on Belgian soil.There have already been a dozen false Ebola alarms, butonly two of those made the news as they involved patientswho were intercepted at Brussels Airport. In most cases,the suspected patients were suffering from malaria or someother tropical disease.One woman was placed in quarantine at the Saint-PierreUniversity Hospital in Brussels after she vomited during aflight from Sierra Leone to Brussels – severe nausea is oneof the key symptoms of Ebola. After 12 hours, a blood anal-ysis showed that she was Ebola negative.

continued on page 5

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Armed paratroopersbegan security duties atthe weekend guarding

government buildings andembassies in Brussels andAntwerp. Military personnelwere also stationed in the Jewishquarter in Antwerp, the JewishMuseum in Brussels and in frontof the American and Israeliembassies.According to justice minister KoenGeens, the deployment of troops isa temporary measure – intendedto last no longer than one month –in response to the increased threatto the country after a terroristattempt was thwarted last Thurs-day in Verviers, Wallonia.The main Jewish schools in Brus-sels and Antwerp closed on Friday,amid fears of a terrorist attack inreprisal for a day of anti-terroroperations across the country theprevious day. Two armed menwere killed by police in Verviers,Liège province.The actions had been planned forsome time, police said, and had nodirect link with the Charlie Hebdoshooting in Paris the week before.

According to a spokesperson forthe federal prosecutor’s office, theoperation was in response to intel-ligence about a planned attack ona target in Belgium, who was to bekidnapped and then beheaded oncamera. The identity of the targethas not been revealed.The operation was launched inVerviers, where occupants of ahouse fired on police who werecarrying out a search warrant.“Two suspects were killed andanother seriously injured,” saidspokesperson Erik Van Der Sypt.“Neither police nor members ofthe public were injured.”Searches were also carried out lastweek in the Brussels districts ofMolenbeek, Anderlecht, Schaar-beek and Brussels-City, as wellas in Vilvoorde and Zaventemin Flemish Brabant. Two men,believed to be returned Syria fight-ers, were arrested in Zaventem.

“Belgium isnot Kabul”The government decided to deploy150 troops to patrol the streets

in Antwerp and Brussels. “Ourpeople are trained to protectsensitive locations,” said defencechief General Gerard Van Caelen-berg, who pointed to experience inAfghanistan and Mali. The soldierswill be on static guard, authorisedto use force only in self-defence oraccording to the rules of engage-ment established by the defence

ministry.Coalition party Open VLD intendsto hold Geens strictly to such aschedule, party chair GwendolynRutten promised. “Having soldierspatrolling our streets cannot beconsidered a solution,” she said.“Belgium is not Kabul. We cannotgive way to fear.”Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever

defended the use of military pres-ence at terrorist targets. “Therehave been attacks on the Jewishcommunity in Antwerp,” he toldVTM news. “When you real-ise that they’ve used Kalashni-kovs and such weapons and havetargeted the police, then you seethat more firepower on the groundis needed.”For Ghent mayor Daniel Termont,however, the deployment of themilitary is not on the agenda. “Ina modern democracy like ours, themilitary only appear in the streetsin a war situation, and we’re along way from that,” he said. BartSomers, mayor of Mechelen,agreed. “The police take care ofsecurity here, and they’re doing agood job,” he said.The military has been deployed onBelgian soil twice before: duringthe general strike in 1960-61, whenfour demonstrators were killedduring clashes; and in the early1980s, following a series of terror-ist attacks by the so-called Fight-ing Communist Cells.

Soldiers patrol city streetsarmed paratroopers guarding potential terrorist targets in antwerp and Brussels

The province of West Flanders has announceddetails of Woordfront, the second of its First WorldWar public commemoration projects. On 18 April,the event will mark the anniversary of the first gasattacks in Flanders, centred on the town of Tielt.It was in Tielt that, in April 1915, the decision wasmade to allow the chief of German staff, GeneralErich von Falkenhayn, to carry out the gas attackhe had been pressing for. The attack, on the Ypresfront, was to be a trial run for von Falkenhayn’splans for the Russian front.The attack took place through an array of leadpipes at 17.00 on 22 April. One German soldierdescribed it as “a hissing sound, as though ahundred pipes were letting off steam. As the cloudrolled forward it was yellowish-green, a hellish,sulphurous haze. As the sun broke from behind a

cloud, this new and monstrously beautiful imagewas lit up before us.”Some 1,150 soldiers were killed in that first attack,and chemical weapons would continue to be usedthroughout the rest of the war. Gas accountedfor about 4% of deaths in the war, despite inter-national treaties outlawing their use. All of themajor countries involved in the war used them atone time or another.For the Woordfront event, representatives ofTielt and other groups will read texts and 1,150will march through the streets shouting slogansto music, each group representing one of fouremotions: anger, fear, sorrow and hope.The texts for the marchers will be provided bynovelist Saskia De Coster and the music by InneEysermans of the group Amatorski. \ AH

It is taking commuters longer totravel in to Brussels to work than in2012, according to a mobility studyby the technology industry federa-tion Agoria. Nine out of 10 employersreported travel times increased by upto 25%; almost no companies reportedan improvement in commuting times.“This situation has major economicconsequences for Brussels,” the feder-ation said. “Two out of three compa-nies have trouble finding or keepingstaff, and six in 10 have consideredleaving the capital as a result.”Agoria represents companies employ-ing some 31,000 people, with mostmember companies situated in the

outskirts of Brussels. “One in two isnot easily accessible by public trans-port,” the report said. “The major-ity report no improvement on 2008,when the first mobility inquiry wascarried out. Even accessibility by carhas deteriorated, according to 80% ofthe companies surveyed.”Among the remedies suggested by thereport: regional co-operation betweenpublic transport authorities De Lijn,MIVB and TEC; extending metro andtram lines to industrial zones; smarttraffic lights and a road toll systemthat takes account of the needs ofusers and the capacity of roads. \ AH

Commuting to Brussels takeslonger than ever

approved by Flemish mobilityminister Ben Weyts for the crea-tion and maintenance of cyclepaths in Arendonk, Bree, Halle,Drogenbos and Ghent

motorists involved in themassive 131-vehicle pile-up nearZonnebeke in West Flanders inDecember 2013 will face chargesfor their role in the chain collision,most of them for speeding

earthquakes were measured lastyear in Belgium, including thosewith epicentres in other countries.The strongest was on ChristmasDay, caused by a quake measuring2.7 on the Richter scale, centred inTiel, the Netherlands

locations in Flanders where traf-fic lights are synchronised witheach other to allow a “green wave”.Antwerp province has the most(24) followed byWest Flanders (14)

households supplied with electric-ity by the output of the three windturbine parks in the North Sea. The182 turbines together produced 2.2million megawatt hours of power

Event commemorates First World Warchemical weapons attacks

alan HopeFollow alan on Twitter \ @alanHopeFT

€21.8 million 623,71579

soldiers are stationed in the jewish quarter of antwerp as Belgium’s terrorist alert level rises to three

© yves Herman/BelGa

january 21, 2015

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face of flanderS

Last week, Flanders woke up tothe presence of a new billion-aire. The lucky man is FilipBalcaen, CEO of IVC, a companythat makes vinyl floor coverings.Luck, however, had little to dowith it.Balcaen sold his company forabout €1 billion to the Amer-ican floor-coverings groupMohawk, confirmed by IVC ina statement following a periodof speculation. Mohawk, whichalready owns Unilin, also basedin West Flanders, now becomesthe biggest flooring company inthe world, with products rang-ing from vinyl to carpets, lami-nate, tiles and hardwood.Balcaen set up IVC in 1997 andwas the chief executive andprincipal shareholder. His shareof the price brings his personalfortune over the €1 billion mark.In 2004, he sold off his carpetinggroup, Balta, for €600 million,hiving off IVC for himself. Thatsale was already one of thebiggest Flemish sell-offs ever.Balcaen, 54, is the incarnation

of the stereotypical enterpris-ing West Fleming. He becameCEO of Balta at the age of 30,after only six years’ experience.It was his father’s company, but,as he explained in an interviewwith De Standaard, “I got muchmore pleasure out of building upIVC, which I had set up againsthis advice in 1997. Building evena small company is better thanstepping into your father’smajorgroup.”Now that both major group andnot-so small company are outof his hands, he says, he plansto carry on with some form ofenterprise.The IVC sale includes10% of Mohawk stock, whichallows him a seat on the board.“I’mnotgoing toplay themarket;I’m going to invest. I will carryon as an entrepreneur for as longas physically possible, and I hopethat will be a long time. Prefera-bly in Belgium because I still feelmyself part of West Flanders. Wealways have such a positive atti-tude here, I think.” \ Alan Hope

filip Balcaen

Thenumber of divorces in Belgiumin the fourth quarter of 2014decreasedbyalmosthalfcomparedto the same period the year before,according to the Royal Federationof Belgian Notaries. Bad for busi-ness in the notary profession, butgood news in general, you mightthink.Not so much. The prime motiva-tion for this Christmas Truce wasfinancial. Couples put off theirdivorces until 2015 because of themuch-publicised misery tax. Thetax, you may recall, is levied whena couple split up and one of thembuys out the other’s share in their

erstwhile matrimonial home. InBelgium, that's the case for half ofthe approximately 22,500 divorcesthat happen every year.Until the end of the year, the taxamounted to 2.5% of the sum paid

by the partner. Taking the aver-age price of three-bedroom houseas an example, that amounts toabout €3,250 to be handed overto the government. On 1 January,however, the tax went down to 1%,or a considerably less miserable€1,300.Meanwhile, the notaries have theshortfallcovered:Thankstoaflurryof activity on the housing marketin general, the number of transac-tions handled by notaries was upin the last quarter in Flanders by awhopping 16.8% compared to thelast quarter of 2013. \ AH

let no man put asunderoffSide

WeeK in BriefAnderlecht midfielder DennisPraet has won the GoudenSchoen, or Golden Boot, asBelgium’s footballer of the year.The 20-year-old joined Ander-lecht in 2010, and he has scored21 times in 125 appearances forthe team. He received his firstinternational call up in Novem-ber. The Golden Boot awardsnamed Praet’s Anderlecht club-mate Youri Tielemans Talentof the Year, while their coachBesnikHasiwaselectedCoachofthe Year. Club Brugge’s MathewRyan took the prize of Goal-keeper of the Year, and Chel-sea and Belgium keeperThibautCourtois retained his title ofBest Belgian Player Abroad.

TheFlemishCentre forAdoptionis no longer accepting applica-tions for adoptions of babieswithin Belgium. The organisa-tionsaid thewaiting listwasnowtoo long at 495 applications, andit didnotwish to give newcandi-dates “false hope”. Only 20 to 30children are placed with adop-tive parents annually. Applica-tions received after 19 Januarywill not be considered. Later inthe year, VCA will hold informa-tion sessions across Flandersto explain to candidates on thelist their real possibilities for thefuture.

Catherine De Bolle, commis-sioner-general of the federalpolice, has been named publicsector manager of the year bythe Flemish Association forManagement and Policy. Thejury said that De Bolle was “amodel of how public leadershipcan function and make a differ-ence in difficult circumstancesand in complex organisations”.De Bolle took over in 2012 afterthe police had undergone a diffi-cult period at senior levels.

Belgium is on the verge of aflu epidemic, according to theScientific Institute for PublicHealth. Last week, the institutereported, 121 per 100,000 resi-

dents, or just over 13,000 people,consulted their doctor report-ing flu-like symptoms. Thethreshold for the declaration ofan epidemic stands at 141 per100,000 consultations per weekfor two weeks in a row.

Proposals are being acceptingfor the construction of a newannex to the Justice Palace inBrussels. One proposal, fromlocal architects Jaspers-Eyers,would involve a building of 11storeys, four of them under-ground, with a total floor spaceof 33,000 square metres – morethan double the office spacein the existing courthousecomplex.

Kortrijk will this summer jointhe growing list of municipali-tiesoffering freewi-fi.Thecover-age will include Kortrijk properas well as the seven districts.Kortrijk already offers free wi-fiat 150 hotspots around town.The extension will cost €12,705to install, and €18,150 a year torun after that.

Animal rights organisationGaia and other anti-fur protest-ers have succeeded in stoppingthe extension of a mink farm inBeveren-Waas, East Flanders,from 16,200 animals to 27,000.Flemish environment ministerJoke Schauvliege last week over-turned a decision of the provin-cialauthority,whichhadgrantedthe farm a permit for an exten-sion. “Mink are wild animals,”commented Gaia chair MichelVandenbosch. “If they’re shut upin tiny cages, they display abnor-mal behaviour, throwing them-selves against the walls of thecages and injuring themselves.”

The government of Flandersis retiring the umbrella termVlaanderen in Actie (Flandersin Action), one of the projects offormer minister-president KrisPeeters,who is nowaminister inthe federal government. It was

introduced to group togethera wide variety of projects andtargets that would, the govern-ment said, lead to Flandersbecoming one of the majoreconomic regions of Europeby 2020. The projects groupedunder the name will continue tobe a part of the long-term policyof the government.

The new general director of theColruyt supermarket chain isChris VanWettere, the companyannounced. Van Wettere, 54,has been with the companyfor more than 30 years and iscurrently director of OKay, thechain of local mini-markets, aswell as OKay Compact and Bio-Planet. He takes over fromFransColruyt, who stepped down lastyear and who is now COO ofthe retail division. Jef Colruytremains CEO of the ColruytGroup.

TheBrusselsdistrictsOudergem,Vorst and Sint-Pieters-Woluwewill allow residents to sign upfor a separate pick-up of theirorganic kitchen waste start-ing in April. The system alreadyoperates in Evere and Etterbeek,where1,450households, or 4%ofthe residents, now take part.Thescheme will be extended to theentire Brussels Capital-Regionnext year. Organic waste makesup about half of the contents ofthe white bags used for house-hold waste.

Residents of the area around theChemoplast factory in Houtha-len-Helchteren, Limburg, wereordered to remain indoors withdoors and windows closed lastweek while fire services tack-led a blaze in the factory, whichproducescleaningproducts.Thetown’s mayor reported that nodangerous chemicals had beenreleased. No-one was injured,but the warehouse and themainreception area were seriouslydamaged.

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Justice minister Koen Geenshas announced new meas-ures aimed at preventing jailedextremists from convertingother prisoners to their cause.The new measures mean thatextremist prisoners will becarefully assessed before theyare sent to a particular facil-ity. The process will give agreater role to Islamic consult-ants. “We hardly have anycontact with the consultantsat the moment,” said Geens(pictured), “but the idea is togive them a crucial role in theprocess.”The government faces a toughchoice in placing extremists inprison. Some argue for concen-trating extremists in one place,while others say it is better to

spread them between differentprisons. Opponents of concen-tration say it could lead tothe formation of radical cells,while critics of dispersal argueit could result in more prison-ers being radicalised.“It’s clear that we aren’t goingto lock up charismatic figures,like the French-Algerian terror-ist Djamel Beghal, in the samejail as young Islamic prisoners,”Geens said. \ DB

Two members of the Flemishliberal party (Open VLD) haveabandoned a proposed measureto reduce the maximum sentencefor causing a motorway deathfrom five years to three.The motion was tabled by liber-als Sabien Lahaye-Battheu andCarina Van Cauter but wasquickly withdrawn following a

storm of protest from road safetycampaigners, who said it showeda lack of respect for accidentvictims and their families.Open VLD said that the measurewas intended to bring sentencesfor driving offences into line withsentences for other offences. Itwas illogical, they argued, that “alaw-abidinghousewife”whokilled

someone accidentally wouldreceive a more severe sentencethan someone who used a knife.But they were strongly criticisedfor the timing of the proposal, asroad deaths are at a record level.“I am quite shocked,” Leuvenmagistrate Katleen Stinckens toldHet Nieuwsblad. “At the very timewhen road deaths have reached

record levels, they suddenlydecide to reduce the sentences. Ithink that drivers who kill whiledriving under the influence ofdrink or drugs should get heavysentences. Magistrates are oftencriticised when we hand out verylenient sentences in these cases.”\ DB

Vlativa, a new Flemish anti-Islammovement, has announced plans forits first march in Antwerp. The organi-sation, modelled on Germany’s Pegida,wants to hold a march on Monday, 26January, in protest atwhat it sees as thegrowing influence of Islam in Belgium.The aim of the march is to show “soli-daritywith Pegida inGermany, solidar-ity with the victims of Muslim terror-ism in Paris and in protest at thegrowing presence of Islam in our soci-ety,” said a spokesperson.Vlativa, also known as Pegida Vlaan-deren, still has to obtain permissionfrom the mayor of Antwerp, whichnormally requires a six-week period ofnotice.Meanwhile, Muslims joined Jews ina memorial service in a synagoguein the Brussels district of Ukkel lastweek held for the victims of the attack

on the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris,which left 12 people dead. The servicewas attended by about 300 people as amark of “friendship between differentreligions”.“We have come here with our Jewishfriends to show that there is no differ-ence between a Jew, a Muslim, a Chris-tian and an atheist,” said NoureddineSmaili, chair of the Muslim executive.“A human being is a human being, andyou don’t kill a human being.” \ DB

New policies to preventradicalisation in prisons

Liberals scrap plan to reduce dangerous driving penalties

Anti-Islam movement plansmarch in Antwerp

\ POlITICs

security mattersIn the mid-1990s, politics inBelgium was obsessed withreducing government debtin order to be allowed intothe Eurozone. Too obsessed,then prime minister Jean-LucDehaene stated later, as thegovernment lost sight of othermatters, such as girls disap-pearing off the streets. Onlywhen the full extent of theDutroux child abduction casewas revealed, did the policeand justice system comeunderscrutiny.Something similar seems to behappening now. While politi-cians at every level were debat-ing budgetary issues, Belgiumwas rudely awakened to theidea of terrorism. As a ringof terrorists was dismantledlast week, the political debateshifted to security.Paratroopers are now guard-ing potential targets such asJewish neighbourhoods andgovernment offices. The armyhas not been seen on ourstreets since the 1980s, a bleakperiod when terror by leftistbombers and ruthless armedrobbers dominated the head-lines.Opinions differ as to whetherdeploying the military is agood idea. Antwerp mayorBart De Wever (N-VA), Flan-ders’ most influential politi-cian, has in fact beenasking forit for several months. “Antwerpis a favourite target,” he statedthis weekend once more, refer-ring to its large Jewish commu-nity and the presence of fight-ers returning from Syria. “Thequestion you need to ask is ifyou have done everything toprevent an attack.”In the wake of the shootingat Charlie Hebdo in Paris, theN-VA leader also accused theleft of having been too softon extremism. He echoedthe words of his Rotterdamcolleague Ahmed Aboutaleb,who said: “Anyone who doesnot appreciate our freedomsshould just leave.”De Wever’s opponents do notagree. They believe that hisstrong language only serves tofurther polarise the commu-nities and incite fear. “If we gotoo far in giving up our libertyand privacy … then we are onthe losing side,” oppositionleader Bruno Tobback (SP.A)retorted.De Wever’s coalition part-ners do not completely agreewith him either. CD&V is irri-tated by his eagerness to seethe army on the streets, whileOpen VLD president Gwen-dolyn Rutten has made itclear that the army can neverreplace the police. “It may bea solution for internationaltargets such as embassies,” shesaid. “But the army patrollingour streets can never be a solu-tion. This is not Kabul, afterall.” \ Anja Otte

5th colUMn Federal governmentintroduces anti-terror measuresopposition criticises plans to restrict privacy and deploy military

The federal government is rushing througha series of 12 measures to combatterrorism following the police shooting

of two terrorists in Verviers last week. Themeasures include the deployment of troops onthe streets of Brussels and Antwerp to back uppolice, following information that the Verviersterrorist cell planned attacks on police stations(see p2).Federal justice minister Koen Geens wants

the state to have additional power to revokeBelgian passports and residence permits frompeople who are seen as a threat to security.Those imprisoned on terrorism charges will beprevented from gathering with other inmates,to prevent them spreading radical ideas, Geensannounced (see related story, this page). Theywill receive extra monitoring and specialisedcounselling.Thegovernmentalsowants tomake inroads intoprivacy legislation to allow security services tomonitor phone conversations and tap into Face-book posts, according to federal privacy minis-ter Bart Tommelein. “We want to maintain theright to privacy, but we also have to respect citi-zens’ right to safety,” he said.The government has added several new catego-ries to the list of terrorist offences and adjustedlegislation to make it easier to deal with terror-ists in court. Interior minister Jan Jambon isalso putting pressure on US-based internet

giants such as YouTube, Google and Microsoftto prevent the spread of extremist propagandaand hate speech.Opposition politicians have criticised the meas-ures as too extreme. Flemish socialist leaderBruno Tobback argued “it is wrong to answerextremism with extremism. … We have to beabsolutely clear that the use of the military aswell as the limiting of privacy and basic rightswill only be temporary. If we don’t, then we haveallowed the terrorists to change our society.”

prime minister callsfor “united front”Belgian prime minister Charles Michel, mean-while, called for a “united front against hatredand radicalism” in a meeting with the country’sreligious and ethical leaders last week, stressingthe importance of upholding “universal values”.“Belgium is an open, tolerant and welcomingcountry,” he told the gathering, “and there is noplace here for terrorism, radicalism or preach-ing hatred.” The group agreed to meet regularlyto maintain a permanent dialogue with thejustice and security ministers and to discuss themeasures needed to protect vulnerable placesand people from terrorist attacks.Flanders’ minister-president, Geert Bourgeois,told the Flemish Parliament last week that hisgovernmentwould act on every level to fight the

threat of extremist violence. He called on every-one – “established and new Flemings, believersand non-believers – to join together to protectthe fundamental values and freedoms of ademocratic society”.In related news, the first issue of Charlie Hebdosince the attacks on its Paris office on 7 Januarywent on sale in Belgium last Wednesday. News-agents sold out the 20,000 copies earmarked forBelgium almost immediately. Four newsagentsin Jette received pamphlets threatening themif they sold the paper, which bore a cartoon ofMuhammad on the cover. In Antwerp, threenewsagents reported similar threats.

derek BlythMore articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

© eric lalmand/BelGa

Belgian defence minister steven Vandeput (foreground)and state secretary for migration Theo Francken arrive atparliament for emergency meeting last Friday

© Francois lenoir/reuters/Corbis © arno Burgi/dpa/Corbis

a Pegida march in Dresden earlier this month

january 21, 2015

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An uphill battleEbola co-ordinator targets multiple fronts to prevent virus from entering country

continued from page 1

A man who travelled to Guineaand returned to Brussels with ahigh fever in October was alsotaken to the Saint-Pierre Univer-sity Hospital. But here too, a bloodtest indicated that he simply hada viral infection. “It could well bethat we are preparing ourselvesfor a patient who will never come,”Vlieghe says. “But we simply can’tafford not to be prepared.”AlthoughnoEbolapatienthas everentered Flanders, the virus hasimportant historical significanceto the region. In 1976, a number ofBelgianmissionary sisters in Zaire,now the Democratic Republic ofthe Congo, suddenly died from astrange disease. Blood sampleswere sent to Antwerp to be exam-ined by the Institute of TropicalMedicine (ITG).It was there that Peter Piot andGuido van der Groen, two youngvirologists, glimpsed the myste-rious killer through their micro-scopes for the first time. Theydecided to name the wormlikevirus after the Ebola River, whichran through the region in north-west Congo where the sisters werebased.Today, the Antwerp institute playsamajorrole intheongoing interna-tional efforts to halt the spread ofthe Ebola epidemic. It is currentlyleading an ambitious clinical studyin which Ebola patients are beinggiven blood plasma from survivorsof the disease.“The antibodies produced by thesurvivors’ immune systems canreinforce the immune responseof patients who have just beeninfected with the virus,” Vliegheexplains.When the epidemic first broke out,only about 35%of infectedpatientssurvived.Withpatients beingdiag-nosed much earlier and treatmentcentres being better equipped, thecurrent survival rate is 60%.So is an effective therapy under-way? According to Vlieghe, it’s tooearly to see results just yet. “Butwe are hopeful that it will work,”she says. “In 1995, during an Ebolaoutbreak in Kikwit [Congo], sevenout of eight patients survivedafter having received blood frompatients who had been cured.”Besides carrying out fundamentalmedical research, ITG also acts asa reference centre for Ebola diag-noses in Belgium. In its highlyprotected laboratories, bloodsamples can be quickly tested.Should a patient be diagnosedwith the disease, he or she wouldbe taken to one of three referencehospitals in Belgium – the univer-sity hospitals of Leuven, Antwerpand Brussels. Doctors, nurses andother medical staff at these facil-ities have been trained to treatEbola patients.Another measure Vlieghe iscurrently working on is the rollout

of a dedicated ambulance servicefor Ebola patients and others withhighly contagious diseases, onethat would cover the entire coun-try.In the prevention strategy to keepEbola out of Belgium, all eyes areon Brussels Airport, as it is a majorhub for direct flights to and fromWest Africa. Every airport stake-holder already has its own planto deal with crisis situations likea virus epidemic. “It’s our task toput the plans of Brussels Airlines,all the luggage carriers and airportmanagement together and adjustwhere necessary,” Vlieghe explains.According to Vlieghe, that co-ordi-nation effort has not been an easyfeat “as it brings many peoplearound the table – all with differ-ent needs and concerns,” she says.“This is the first time I have experi-enced personally how complex ourcountry is, with its countless layersof competences. But, on the otherside, I also realised that, thanks tothe goodwill and high degree ofprofessionalism, a lot is possible inBelgium.”Since October, every passengerfrom the Ebola-hit countries inWest Africa has been screenedfor fever and their luggage thor-oughly scanned. Leaking luggageis removed by a specialised firm,since fluids could indicate that thebags may contain contaminatedmeat.With the Is dotted and the Tscrossed for Brussels Airport,

Vlieghe says it’s time to look atother ways in which the Ebolavirus might enter the country. “Weare currently fine-tuning measuresconcerning international ship-ping,” she explains. “Internationaltrade can transport products orillegal refugees carrying the virus.”According to the World HealthOrganization (WHO), therehave been 13,021 laboratory-confirmed Ebola cases in thecurrent outbreak, with 7,894 ofthose ending in death. The unof-ficial count, however, has alreadyexceeded 20,000.Moreover, it looks liketheepidemicin West Africa still hasn’t reachedits tipping point. This outbreak,says Vlieghe, will last for anotherseveral months.“The graphs are clear – we are notyet at the end of the epidemic. Lastsummer, WHO warned that therewould be 10,000 cases of Ebola byNovember or December – if noadditional measures were takenagainst the disease. Well, we haveexceeded that number. Every fiveto six weeks, the number of casesdouble.”Of the three afflicted countries,Liberia seems to be recovering thebest. “The number of infectionsis really stagnating there,” saysVlieghe. “If the local authoritiessucceed in maintaining this situ-ation, it seems that the epidemicwon’tgrowfurtherthere. InGuinea,the situation is less optimistic;we see a growth of the number of

cases, but it is a gradual growth.But the problem child remainsSierra Leone, where the growth isstill exponential in certain places.”Numerous private and govern-mental labs around the world arecombining forces to come up withan Ebola cure and, more impor-tantly, an effective vaccine. Giventhe urgency of the situation, agen-cies like the US Food and DrugAdministration and the EuropeanMedicines Agency are fast-track-ing clinical trials on experimentalEbola vaccines, with animal tests,for example, being skipped.Several experts have even called forthe experimental vaccines still inthe clinical pipeline to be given tomedical staff in the afflicted areas.Doctors Without Borders staffcould, for example, volunteer to bepart of a larger phase 1 trial.In an interview with FlandersToday, van der Groen, who iden-tified the Ebola virus back in the1970s, suggested that DoctorsWithout Borders provide theirpersonnel in West Africa withTKM-Ebola, an antiviral drug.“By using this drug, these doctorscan also show the local popula-tion that Western science indeedhas a solution for the epidemic,” hesaid. “And it would address localresistance to the administration ofexperimental drugs in the popula-tion – which could feel like beingtreated like guinea pigs.”Meanwhile, Piot, van der Groen’sformer colleague, urged for exper-

imental treatments and vaccinesto at least be administered to theinhabitants of the densely popu-lated capitals of Liberia, Guineaand Sierra Leone.According to Vlieghe, the highnumber of Ebola cases in theafflicted countries is giving themedical community the opportu-nity to perform real clinical studiesfor the most promising treatmentsand vaccines. “But we shouldreally consider who’ll be treatedor vaccinated in this study,” shesays. “Maybe we’ll have to choosebetween people. Shall we treatfamily members of patients – whoare at high risk – or only the healthworkers? We mustn’t treat thisquestion too lightly.”

\ COVer sTOry

www.info-EBola.BE

© courtesy ITG

© courtesy ITG

national ebola co-ordinator erika Vlieghe has helped ready local authorities for possible domestic ebola cases

Flemish virologist Guido van der Groen inyambuku, Congo, in 1976

\ 6

A touchscreen pen in the colours of thenational flag has been voted the winner ofBelgian Beauties, a competition to find thecountry’s best souvenir. The competitionwas launched as part of the Handmade inBelgium programme, which is sponsored byUnizo, the organisation that represents theself-employed.The stylus, designed by Alain Bontinck ofAB Wooddesign in Avelgem, West Flanders,comes in a wooden case and costs €52. Thecompetition, which was co-sponsored byDHL Express, was organised because “tour-ists so often head home with a souvenir‘Made in China’ even though there are somany worthwhile, unique and craft prod-ucts that represent our country as well,” aUnizo spokesperson explained.The touch-pen is for usewith tablets, smart-phones and laptops using touchscreen tech-nology and is made of three types of woodproviding the colours of the Belgian flag:wenge for black, oak for yellow and Africancoralwood for red.AB Wooddesign makes and renovateswooden furniture, as well as creatingwooden decorations and small gifts. Thecompany received a cash prize of €1,000 for

winning the competition, handed over byQueen Mathilde.In second place came Floral, a silver pin inthe colours of the flag, designed by KarinCarmeliet from Rumst, Antwerp province,which refers to the Belgian tradition ofgiving flowers.Third placewent to Ceci n’estpas une lampe, a candle that opens up like aflower as thewaxmelts.Thedesign, by Inge-Lise Vermeire for Bika Kaarsen, resemblesa lamp, with a non-functioning wire andswitch in the form of the letter B. \ AH

The Flemish Logistics Institute (VIL) has launched theproject Cobots in Logistics to examine the added valueof integrating collaborative robots, or cobots – flexi-ble robots designed to work with humans – in logisticsprocesses. Ten Flemish enterprises, including the federalpostal service bpost, are participating in the project.According to VIL, cobots are increasingly common inproduction environments, but the possible applica-tions for the logistics sector are still largely untested.VIL, a Flemish government agency, thinks cobots couldsupport staff in warehouses with certain activities, likepackaging and sorting, which could see an increase inproductivity per employee andadecrease in overall oper-ational costs.Liesbeth Geysels, the general director of VIL, said thatshe doesn’t expect the flexible robots to have an effect onemployment opportunities. “On the contrary, they willhelp to keep logistics activities here thatwewould other-wise possibly lose to regions with lower wage costs,” shesaid. “The virtual assistants can make Flemish compa-niesmore competitive, which can create additional jobs.”The robotics technology could also “offer support forheavy and non-ergonomic work,” she said, reducing “thenumber of errors in repetitive tasks”. \ Andy Furniere

Over the next fewweeks, 350 Flem-ish entrepreneurs and CEOs willgive about 550 lectures to studentsin Flemish secondary education.The annual initiative, Entrepre-neurs in the Classroom, is organ-ised by the non-profit FlemishYoung Enterprises (Vlajo) and theentrepreneurs’ platforms VKWand VKW Limburg.The programme started earlierthis month at the KoninklijkLyceum Aalst, with a guest lecture

by Herman Van de Velde, founderof the lingerie group of the samename. Van de Velde told about 35students in the final year of generaleducation (ASO) about the signif-icance of entrepreneurship. Hetalked about his own experiencesas an entrepreneur and managingdirector.His successors in the coming fiveweeks include Bart Claes of cloth-ing chain JBC, Martine Reynaersof aluminium building materials

producer Reynaers Aluminium,PatrikDeHaes ofbiotechcompanyThromboGenics and Fons Leroy ofthe Flemish employment agencyVDAB.Entrepreneurs in the Classroomhas a double purpose, accordingto Vlajo spokesperson NathalieRoels. “Wewant to increase aware-ness among youngsters about theimportance of entrepreneurship,”she said. To that end, the initia-tive should encourage students to

consider starting their own enter-prises. “But not everyone has tobecome an entrepreneur,” notedRoels. “Intra-entrepreneurshipinside a company is just as impor-tant – like thinking of solutions,being critical and taking initiative.”The project also hopes to increasemutual understanding andco-operation between employersand future members of staff. \ AF

Tri-colour touchscreen pen votedbest Belgian souvenir

VIL prepares sectorsfor arrival ofcollaborative robots

Flemish entrepreneurs and CEOs lecture in classrooms

\ BusIness

air Brussels airportThe Zaventem-based airportregistered a record year in2014, breaking the previousrecord from the year 2000.The airport has plans toinvest up to €1 billion over thenext eight years to cope withgrowing traffic with a further10,000 jobs, according to theairport’s CEO. Meanwhile,Brussels Airlines carriedsome 6.6 million passengerslast year, 13% more than in2013.

BankingCredit europe BankThe Dutch-based financialinstitution has decided toclose its local operations fromApril 2016. The bank, whichoperated from Antwerp, hasdecided to invest in otherEuropean markets.

Cinema kinepolisThe Ghent-based opera-tor of multi-screen cinemas,with 36 complexes through-out Europe, is building a10-screen cinema in Bretigny-sur-Orge, 35 kilometres southof Paris. The new complex, toopen in June 2016, will be thecompany’s eighth develop-ment in France.

Fashion svntyThe Antwerp-based FashionClub 70, distributor of high-end labels and accessories, islaunching a range of sneak-ers through some 60 outletsin Flanders and the Nether-lands. The company is seek-ing to capitalise on the fast-growing chic athletic market.

Floor Covering IVCThe Avelgem-based Impe-rial Vinyl Company, a world-leading producer in floorcovering, has been sold by itsowners, the Balcaen family, tothe US-based Mohawk groupfor €1 billion. IVC also oper-ates a fast-growing produc-tion unit in the US state ofGeorgia.

Media Home TVThe Brussels-based realestate brokerage firm Univer-sal plans to launch Home TV,the first TV channel devotedto the property market. Theagency, with some 30 officesin the Brussels area, hopes tobe on air by 1 April.

retail Mer du nordThe ailing Brussels-basedup-market fashion group,with outlets in Hasselt,Ghent, Leuven, Aalst andKortrijk, has been rescuedby the French ready-to-weargroup Les Bourgeoises. It willmaintain existing stores andexpects to open additionaloutlets in Bruges, Antwerpand Knokke.

WeeK inBUSineSS Acquittals in Ghent buildings

agency corruption trialProsecution to lodge appeal in first of several related cases

Five functionaries of thefederal buildings agencyin East Flanders and four

contracted companies have beenacquitted en masse by a court inGhent on charges of corruption.The civil servants were accused ofaccepting bribes, including cash,expensive restaurant meals andfree building work on their ownhomes, in exchange for awardinggovernment building contracts tothe contractors.The Ghent case is part of a largerinvestigation of corruption allega-tions started in 2006 and concern-ing the buildings agency in Brus-sels and Leuven.In the current case, the civil serv-ants were accused of coaching thefour contractors – based in Sint-Gillis-Waas, Wachtebeke, Beveren

and Wortegem-Petegem – tounify their bids and then takinga “commission” of 10 to 15% fromthe contract price. They were alsotreated to meals at top restau-rants or had work carried out attheir own homes or those of familymembers at a reduced price or forfree.The prosecution had called forsentences of one year suspended,but the court returned not guiltyverdicts in all cases, arguing theevidence did not prove system-atic corruption. The charges weretoo general to allow the accused topresent an adequate defence, thecourt said. Also, the period of thealleged offences, it said, was toobroad – covering a period of 2000to 2009 – to allow a decision to bemade as to whether the offences

might not be too old to prosecute.“We had argued that the case wasso vague and generalised that

we couldn’t present an adequatedefence,” Jan De Winter, lawyer forthe civil servants, said later. “Thecharges covered a period of almost10 years, without ever sayingwhich of the accused did what atwhich time.” The prosecution hasthe option to lodge an appeal.The main buildings agency case isstill going on in Brussels, allegingsimilar practices and involving 12civil servants, 35 contractors and24 companies. Contractors in thatcase have alleged they were forcedto pay commissions of 3 to 6% ofa contract value to be allowed toenter a bid in the first place. Theprosecution in that case is askingfor sentences of six months tothree years.

alan HopeMore articles by alan \ flanderstoday.eu

© wiktor Dabkowski/dpa/Corbis

© Courtesy unizo

january 21, 2015

\ 7

This weekend, gameenthusiasts from all overthe world will team up to

create new game concepts in just48 hours. They’re taking part inthe Global Game Jam, an eventthat’s increasingly popular inFlanders with activities this year inBrussels, Antwerp, Genk, Kortrijkand Roeselare.TheGlobalGameJamisa freeevent,held in almost 500 places aroundthe world, that welcomes gameaficionados from all ages and back-grounds to develop games togetherover two intense days. Participantshave to work around a certaintheme, which is only announcedjust before the event begins.Both board and digital games arethe subject of the event, but themajority of the participants chooseto create a digital game. The idea isnot to develop finished products –that would be impossible in such ashort time – or to set up a compe-tition. The organisers’ philosophyis that events should be fun andencourage game lovers to experi-ment freely together.The ultimate goal is to foster aninnovative spirit among partici-pants, which can lead to the devel-opment of prototypes that form thefirst stage of a commercial prod-uct or provide inspiration for newproducts.For students, it’s an ideal oppor-tunity to gain practical experienceand make contact with profes-sional developers and other repre-sentatives of the game industry,which can prove helpful as theybegin their career.When the Global Game Jam wasestablished seven years ago,Antwerp game studio GriN imme-diately joined in by setting up thefirst event in Flanders. “We hadabout eight participants backthen,” saysGriNCEOWimWouters,

who is also the chair of the Flem-ish Games Association (Flega), thesector organisation for the gamedevelopment industry.Things have changed since 2008.The Antwerp event draws about 60participants each year, and threeother events are held in Flanders.“It’s a sign that interest in gamedevelopment is increasing steadilyand that the industry is growing,”says Wouters.Flega’s role in this evolution is todistribute information on variousaspects of the business, includ-ing available subsidies, represent-ing Flanders at international fairsand lobbying the government. Thepriority is the introduction of a taxshelter for game productions, sothat international companies canbenefit from a tax exemption fortheir investment in Belgian audio-visual works.The tax shelter for the Belgian filmindustry is one of the reasons whythe Flemish movie scene has flour-ished in the last decade. During theGlobal Game Jam, Flega hopes toset up networking activities at all

local events, in the form of a “Flegacafe”.Wouters believes that the estab-lishment of the Flemish govern-ment’s Game Fund, throughwhich the Flemish AudiovisualFund supports game developmentprojects, is an important assetin the development of the gameindustry.“Specialised schools are alsobecoming more and more profes-sional,” he says, “with the Bach-elor’s degree in digital arts andentertainment at the UniversityCollege West Flanders a primeexample.”The Level, the university college’s3D competence centre in Kortrijk,is one of two locations in WestFlanders where a Global GameJam will be organised this year.The other is a secondary school inRoeselare, the Burgerschool, wherethe local CoderDojo club will hostthefirst edition of the event. Coder-Dojo is a global network of free andvolunteer-led programming clubsfor youngsters.The only entry requirement in

Roeselare is that participants mustbe at least 14; they don’t necessarilyneed to have any experience. Theparticipants will form small teamsof three to five. “The CoderDojocoaches can help them if they needassistance with programming,for example,” explains organiserBaptiste Ghesquiere. “The teamscan also talk to each other; it is nota competition.”Although the Global Game Jam isopen to anyone, with or withoutany related background, Wouters’experience in Antwerp is that itmostly attracts those with a clearidea of what they want to do. “Theparticipants have various back-grounds: both professional andamateur programmers but alsographic artists and writers,” saysWouters. “Writers can help createan interesting game story.” Musi-cians also join in sometimes, tocreate a soundtrack.In Genk, the Global Game Jam willbe integrated in the Crib GameDays at Crib, the service centre forcreative innovative businesses atthe business and leisure complexC-Mine. The project’s partners arethe game development companiesC-NUI, LuGus Studios, the Micro-soft Innovation Centre and anima-tion studios like Walking the Dog.The event in Genk will start withpresentations and workshops byexperts on aspects that can helpdevelopers extend their activities,such as marketing and commu-nication techniques. “There is alot of talent in Flanders, but mostgame developers don’t know howto reach potential clients, the pressand the public,” explains organiserJochen Derwae.The Brussels event is being organ-ised by the private school LudusAcadémie, in the Elsene district,which specialises in game devel-opment.

Ready, steady, gameglobal game jam means 48 hours of intense programming across flanders

windmills provideenergy to600,000 homesThe three wind farms in theNorth Sea produced morethan 2.2 million megawatt-hours of electricity last year,or enough for 623,715 house-holds, according to statesecretary for the NorthSea, Bart Tommelein. It’san impressive result, saidTommelein, because 2014was not an optimal wind yearand the third wind farm onlycame on stream in May. Thereare 182 windmills active offthe Belgian coast, spread overthree wind farms operatedby C-Power, Northwind andBelwind. Their productionequals that of a small nuclearpower plant.

“GMOs have largemarket potential”Consumers are willing to payextra for genetically modifiedcrops with increased vitaminand mineral levels, accordingto a market potential studycarried out by Ghent Univer-sity (UGent) and published inthe magazine Nature Biotech-nology. According to a UGentstatement, researchers havealready created several cropswith health advantagesthrough genetic modification.The best results were achievedthrough the increase of multi-ple micronutrients in a singlecrop. This method leads tocrops that contain more nutri-tional benefits at a relativelylow cost, according to theuniversity. The study showsthat consumers would be will-ing to pay up to 70% more forGMOs with nutritional advan-tages. GMOswith only agricul-tural advantages would onlybe acceptable to consumers ata lower price.

Flemish firm launches“spotify for students”Antwerp-based SignpostBelgië has created an onlineplatform where students canbuy the software they needfor their studies, legally andcheaply. Known as “Spotify forstudents”, the platform wasdeveloped to deter studentsfrom downloading cheap orfree illegal software, such asengineering or graphic designprogrammes. Studentspay€29a year for access to softwarevia Signpost, an enormoussaving on often expensive soft-ware programmes. The servicehas already been tested by5,500 students at the Univer-sity College West Flanders(HoWest). HoWest generaldirector Lode Degeyter said:“It ensures youngsters don’tgive up a certain study, such asgraphic design, because theyare afraid they can’t afford thesoftware.” \ AF

WeeK ininnovation

\ InnOVaTIOn

gloBalgamEjam.org

How did you come up with theidea for Campr?Last year, Wim and I were final-year students in multimediadesign at theThomasMoreUniver-sity College in Mechelen. This plat-form is actually our thesis project.We wanted to create somethingnew in the sharing economy. Also,we are fanatic travellers – camp-ers, that is – and we regularlyencounter the sameproblem: find-ing a nice, unique camping spotthat has more to offer than justsome square metres of grass anda shower block. It’s hard to findcampsites that don’t fall short of

our expectations. So we chose tocreate an online platform wherecampers can easily find unique –and sometimes luxurious – camp-sites.

What is the difference betweenAirbnb and what you’re offer-ing?Our idea is based on Airbnb. Butwe’ve tried to broaden the service.Ideally, a user should be able tofind a camping space in a gardenin the middle of New York City.But this is not just a platform onwhich travellers find only that. Inthe first place, we aim for comfort-

able campsites in unique spots.But we’ve also been in touch with acompany that refurbishes old VWvans and turns them into perfecttravel trailers. We want them tofind clients on our platform aswell. Last but not least, we wantpeople with spots to offer some-thing extra. The local touch is soimportant when you travel: tipsand tricks, good bars, maybe evena barbeque in the garden. That’ssomething regular campsiteshardly ever offer. This platform,more than anything else, shouldbecome a community of campers.

When is this going online?On 28 January. The mobile versionwill be released a few weeks later.At the moment, we have about

100 camping spots in 25 coun-tries, and 600 users have alreadysigned up. Current campsite loca-tions include ones in in the US,Australia, the UK and Croatia.\ Interview by Daan Bauwens

Sebastiaan Schillebeeckx and Wim Vanhorenbeeck are about tolaunchCampr, anonlineplatformthatoffersuniquecampingaccom-modation around the globe

Q&a www.gocamPr.com

andy furniereMore articles by andy \ flanderstoday.eu

last year’s Global Game jam in Genk

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january 21, 2015

\ 9

Helping at-risk studentsteachers trained in education techniques for underprivileged pupils

science journalstoo expensiveSciencemagazines likeNatureand Science are consideredindispensable in universitylibraries, but subscriptionsare becoming more expensiveeach year, according to DeMorgen. Every year, univer-sities negotiate prices withpublishers but often have tocancel their subscriptions.Ignace Lemahieu, researchdirector at Ghent University,said subscriptions increasedby an average of 8% a year.Popular magazines are oftensold by publishers as a pack-age that includes a numberof other titles. To get theweekly Nature digitally andin print, UGent must take outa subscription for €15,793 ayear, compared to €8,871 eightyears ago. Increasing pricesare leading to more supportfor “open access”, or freeaccess to information, withinuniversities.

kits to help teachersrecognise povertyA number of universitycolleges in Flanders havepresented students in pre-school teaching educationwith kits to help them recog-nise signs that toddlers areliving in poverty. “Closingthe gap a little: Social eman-cipation via school life” isan initiative of the nurseryschool studies departmentsat Odisee Brussel, ArteveldeUniversity College in Ghentand Karel de Grote UniversityCollege in co-operation withseveral partners.The kits weredeveloped in reaction to a callfrom the government of Flan-ders to respond to the needsof small children living belowthe poverty line.

west Flanders hashighest pass rateWest Flanders has the highestpass rate of students in Flem-ish higher education, accord-ing to statistics assembledby Flemish MP Koen Daniëls.According to the figures, 40%of students studying in theprovince succeed in complet-ing their Bachelor’s degree inthe minimum period of threeyears, while the Flemish aver-ageis34%.StudentsataDutch-language university or univer-sity college in Brussels do theworst by far, with a 21% passrate in three years. In Flem-ish Brabant, the figure is 34%,in East Flanders, it’s 33%, andboth Antwerp and Limburgcheck in at 32%. The figuresare decreasing, however. Inthe 2005-2006 academic year,48% of students in West Flan-ders earned their diploma inthree years. \ AF

WeeK inedUcation

\ eDuCaTIOn

To improve the studyperformances ofdisadvantaged youngsters,

researchers are proposingmeasures to ensure that the bestteachers are available for them.ThePIEOprojectwill sendcoachesto these schools, to help staff dealwith challenging situations.Several studies demonstrate thatstudents with an underprivilegedsocio-economic and non-Dutch-speaking family background havemore academic problems. Theissue was among problems high-lighted by the Programme forInternational Student Assessment(Pisa), a global study by theOrgan-isation for Economic Co-opera-tion and Development (OECD).Every three years, Pisa assessesthe performances of 15-year-oldsin maths, science and reading.The latest Pisa report showedthat the gap between the best-and worst-performing Flem-ish pupils was directly related totheir socio-economic and ethnicbackgrounds. The researchersalso pointed out the gap betweenschools with mostly disadvan-taged students and schools withstudents who have better socialopportunities.A new study now shows thatdisadvantaged pupils make majorprogress in their learning, signif-icantly more than their fellowpupils, if they are taught by teach-ers who use the right methodsand maintain order in class. Theresearch was carried out by theSteunpunt Studie- en School-loopbanen (SSL), or the PolicyResearch Centre for Educationaland School Careers.The researchers examined thelearning progress of pupils inmaths in the fifth year of primaryschool. Using data gathered fromnearly 5,000 students in close to300 classes, assembled during aprevious SSL study, they analysed

the link between pupils’ perfor-mances and the answers they gaveto surveys about their lessons.The study shows that the perfor-mance gap between disadvan-taged pupils and their class-mates is reduced if teachers focusstrongly on “active learning”,“metacognitive training” and a“co-operative learning environ-ment”.“Active learning means that theteacher makes sure that studentsunderstand why they have todo something, such as carryingout long division, instead of justobliging them do it,” explains SSLresearcher Bieke De Fraine.Metacognitive training, shecontinues, “can be translated as‘teaching children how to learn’and includes teaching pupilscertain strategies to solve prob-lems and advising them on how toreflectbefore givingananswerandhow to evaluate their answers.”A co-operative learning environ-ment, meanwhile, is a class witha positive atmosphere, wherestudents are encouraged to collab-orate.So why do these aspects have amore positive effect on disad-

vantaged students than on theirfellow pupils? “Our hypothesis isthat students from a strong socio-economic and Dutch-speakingbackground can also rely on asupportive network outside theclassroom,” says De Fraine. “Thissupport can compensate for a lackof quality teaching.”In concrete terms, this supportoften consists of extra helpfrom educated, Dutch-speak-ing parents. These families alsotend to have the financial meansand knowledge to send their chil-dren to the library or for them totake part in extracurricular activ-ities, like music courses or addi-tional private lessons. “Disadvan-taged parents often don’t havethe budget or time for all of that,”explains De Fraine.To try to get the best teachersinto the schools with the high-est percentage of disadvantagedpupils, the researchers adviseproviding extra training and peda-gogical assistance to teachersthere. “The working situation inthese schools should also be mademore inviting, both financiallyand concerning workload,” saysDe Fraine. “Higher wages could

attract the teachers with the bestqualifications, just like the pros-pect of having smaller classes orfewer working hours.”One of the practical projects deal-ingwiththeimprovementofteach-ing in schools with a lot of disad-vantaged pupils is PIEO, short forProject Innovating and Excellingin Education. PIEO was launchedby former education ministerPascal Smet and is co-ordinatedby the King Boudewijn Founda-tion. Originally, it was supposedto last five years, but the periodhas been reduced to three yearsbecause of budget cuts. The clos-ing event will take place in June.As part of PIEO, eight experts arecoaching the staff at 12 schoolsin Brussels and Flanders. “Manyteachers there received extratraining and have participated inprojects before,” explains JanBlon-deel of the King Boudewijn Foun-dation. “But the knowledge theygained was never integrated intothe overall functioning of theirschool.”According to Blondeel, the chal-lenge is to turn the schools into“learning communities” wherethere is a continuous exchangeof experiences between teachersand a constant dialogue betweenschool directors and teachers.“As part of PIEO, teachers followcertain lessons given by theircolleagues,” explains Blondeel.“This way, they can pick up prac-tical ways to help children withlanguage deficits, for example, orlearn to take a child’s home situa-tion into account when assigninghomework.”The PIEO coaches will also focuson making sure that school direc-tors share the leadership of theschool with their staff while at thesame time co-ordinating a clearpolicy.

Flemish education minister Hilde Crevits hasasked theology teachers to be alert for signsof radicalisation among their students. “Theyare already doing this in a number of schools,”she told the Flemish Parliament, “but it shouldhappen everywhere.”Bahattin Koçak, who teaches Islam at schoolsin Heusden-Zolder, Limburg province, told DeMorgen that the request is a step in the rightdirection. “Finally, the government is looking tothe people on the work floor,” he said. “Finally,they are listening to us.”Koçak (pictured) hopes that Crevits’ plans willnot just focus on secondary education. “Youcan already see radicalisation in primary educa-tion,” he said. Koçak has noticed a change froma decade ago in the attitudes of many Muslim

children. “It is often ignorance, but when some-one says that his father mentioned that you cankill certain people according to the Koran, youhave to be able to take action and show that thatdoesn’t make any sense,” he said.Flemish Parliament member Nadia Sminate,

who will chair a temporary commission focus-ing on violent radicalism, responded, sayingthat the signs are not always explicit. “The radi-calisation process is very complex and is oftendemonstrated by subtle signs,” she said. “Youcannot expect teachers to recognise them justlike that.”Sminate said that teachers need to be trainedand also be offered a help line where they canask questions. Lieven Boeve, director-general ofthe Catholic education network (VSKO) told DeMorgen that the role of education is importantbut should not be overestimated. “Other peda-gogical environments also play an importantrole,” he said. “Education alone will not solvethis problem.” \ AF

Teachers asked to be alert for signs of radicalisation

© Courtesy TVl nieuws

www.tinyurl/PiEoProjEct

Teachers in antwerp are coached to help them support students from disadvantagedbackgrounds

andy furniereMore articles by andy \ flanderstoday.eu

\ 10

\ lIVInG

Beer and the Citycrowdfunded Brussels Beer Project attracts both ire and attention

Behind an innocuousshopfront in the heart ofBrussels, a few steps from

the canal, a new project is takingshape. The Brussels Beer Projecthas moved into 188 AntoineDansaertstraat with plans totransform it into a moderncommunity brewery.Fresh from a trip to Switzer-land to check out the microbrew-ery culture in Lausanne, beerentrepreneurs and Brussels BeerProject co-founders Olivier deBrauwere and Sébastien Morvanbuzz around preparing for thenext day’s beer-tasting event. DeBrauwere takes a break to host animpromptu tasting of their latestoffering, Babeleir de Bretagne.“It’s an oyster stout with a hintof cacao,” he explains and, sureenough, a vague salt-tinged tasteof chocolate lingers on the palate.Themixof influences that combineto create the Babeleir reflects theapproach of the Brussels start-up. “We want to blend Belgianknow-how with inspiration fromfurther afield,” explains de Brau-were. “The Babeleir is inspired byoyster stouts popular in Irelandand New Zealand, and we sourcedour oysters from Brittany whereSébastien grew up. We brewed alimited run of 6,000 bottles.”NativeBrusselaardeBrauweremetMorvan during a study exchangeprogramme in Canada. Afterworking for several years – one infinance, the other in marketing –they decided to take a leap of faithand make their passion for beertheir profession.In the summer of 2013, the Brus-

sels Beer Project was born. It wasan atypical brewing venture fromthe outset, eschewing traditionalfinancing in favour of the modernentrepreneur’s boon – crowdfund-ing.The pair came up with a simpleformula to stand out from thecrowdfunding crowd – beer forlife. This catchy pitch guarantee-ing a dozen bottles of beer per year( for life) in exchange for a one-offpayment almost seems too good tobe true.“Everybody’s a winner,” says DeBrauwere. “Our customers goaway with 12 beers a year and a5% discount in the micro-brewery,and on our side, we’re happy tohave people making noise aboutourbeer and following theproject.”Rather than clients and consum-ers, the Brussels Beer Project talksabout a community of beer fansand a spirit of co-creation. Thedevelopment of their 500-square-

metre brewery on the fringe ofBrussels’ most vibrant Flemishquarter is central to that.“This place actually used to bepart of a brewery,” explains deBrauwere, gesturing to the largeopen room dotted with pallets andbarrels. “We found out when welooked over the deeds. We thinkit closed in about 1914. We werealready interested in the space forits location and accessibility, butknowing that it had previouslyhoused the Bredael brewery is anice coincidence.”Buoyed by the success of their firstwave of funding that saw 369 beerfans-cum-investors help themdevelop and market the beersDelta, Dark Sister and GrosseBertha, a second crowdfundingdrive is in progress to sign up afurther 1,000 to their Beer For Lifecommunity.This second phase will see themfit out the premises in Brussels

with brewing equipment fromGermany. This small-scale opera-tion in the capital is on scheduleto begin by July.Just as with Delta and GrosseBertha, the public will rate thestar prototypes, and the favouriteswill join their expanding range tobe brewed at the Anders breweryin Halen, Limburg.The outsourcing of the chosenBrussels Beer Project prototypesfor mass brewing has earned deBrauwere and Morvan the ire ofsome in the beer community whoinsist brewing should be in-house.At the Brussels Beer Project, beerprototypes and small-scale quanti-ties are developed at their Brusselsoffices, while the actual beers soldin-store are brewed in Limburg.De Brauwere has no hard feelingstowards the critics. “Everyone haschoices to make,” he shrugs. “Youhave to do what works for you.We’ve chosen to concentrate onthe creation of small batches ofbeer, and we’re open about work-ing with a partner for the large-scale brewing. We’re happy withthe way we’re doing things.”With their willingness to mix itup and experiment, an inclusiveapproach to their customers anda knack for nifty marketing, theyare on target to hit their crowd-funding goal well ahead of themid-February deadline. As well asopening their Brussels communitybrewery this summer, the duo arelooking forward to consolidatingtheir distribution across Flandersin 2015, so expect to spot the eye-catching, pop art labels in a bar orbeer shop near you.

If you’ve never tried dogfish, you’renot alone. A study by Flanders’ Agri-cultural Marketing Board (Vlam)shows that a mere 3% of Flemishhouseholds ever put the fish ontheir dinner table.While most Flemings are aware ofthe health benefits of consumingfish on a more regular basis, manyget stuck buying the same old trustypiece of salmon or cod week afterweek.That’s why, 27 years ago, Vlamlaunched its first Fish of the Yearcampaign, a proven way to getconsumers to try different varietiesof fish. For 2015, Vlam has chosendogfish to bask in the spotlight, arelatively unknown but no less tastysort of fish that could dowith a littleextra attention.Scyliorhinus canicula, or hondshaaiin Dutch, is also known as small-

spotted dogfish, small-spottedcatshark, rockfish and even SweetWilliam. This last name was prob-ably used to distract customersfrom the fact that they were beingsold the lowly bottom dweller thatis dogfish.Let’s face it, the fish may belong tothe shark family, but it looks morelike an eel. And that’s no coinci-dence. The fillet of this shark is alsooften sold as sea eel, as it looks quitesimilar to eel once skinned andchopped.And the two are even prepared thesame way, preferably stewed in agreen herb sauce, pickled or fried.However, unlike eel, dogfish is lean,with about 0.7g of fat per 100g. (Eelcontains about 20g.)Vlamhascomeupwithseveralwaysto promote dogfish throughout theyear. In co-operation with North-

SeaChef Philippe Claeys (pictured)of famed fish restaurant De Jonk-

man in Bruges, the organisation puttogether a collectionof dogfish reci-pes, to be distributed freely at fishshops and markets.It’s also working together with anumber of culinary magazines andradio and television producers in acampaign to encourage consumersto get creative with dogfish in thekitchen.And, like every year, Vlam will holda national competition for the titleof Fish Chef of the Year. The compe-tition calls for Flanders’ best chefsto place a unique dogfish recipe ontheir restarants’ menus. The chefwith the best and most originaldish will be crowned Fish Chef ofthe Year 2016 during Horeca ExpoGent, the annual restaurant indus-try awards ceremony in November.\ Robyn Boyle

Biteknow your dogfish

BrafaIt’s the 60th edition of theBrussels Antiques and FineArt Fair, with 130 deal-ers from 12 countries sell-ing high-quality authenticpieces.Findeverything fromtribal art to jewellery, comicbooks to old master paint-ings. 24 January-1 February,11.00 to 19.00, Tour & Taxis,Havenlaan 86C, Brussels; €20

\ www.brafa.be

Poetry walkFor two weeks, a 4km walk-ing trail in Puyenbroecknature reserve will havepoems posted along theroute.The poems were writ-ten by park visitors in thepast year about their expe-rience with nature. 23 Janu-ary-6 February, ProvinciaalDomein Puyenbroeck, Puyen-brug 1, Wachtebeke; free

\ www.puyenbroeck.be

lili Hop PartyFor fans of Lindy Hop andswing music: a Saturdayevening dance party withlive music courtesy of TheShirt Tail Stompers fromLondon, DJ battles anddance contest. 24 January,20.30, De Centrale, Ham 74,Ghent; €20

\ www.lilihop.info

Guitar workshopAmerican country musicstar Johnny Falstaff will givea free honky-tonk guitarworkshop. Bring your owninstrument and be readyto jam. Followed by liveconcert with Mark Sprex ofthe Rhumba Kings. 25 Janu-ary, 14.00 (workshop), 15.30(concert), Cowboy Up Steak-house & Saloon, Kortrijkse-straat 350, Waardamme; free

\ http://cowboyup.be

Manneken-Pis walkDidyouknowthatGeraards-bergen also has a statue ofa peeing boy? And that it’solder than the one in Brus-sels? Learn about this andmore during an organisedwalk of 7, 10, 16, 22 or 32kmwith free jenever and hotchocolate along the way.25 January, starting between7.30 and 15.30, De Spiraal,Zakkaai 29, Geraardsber-gen; €1.50

\ www.padstappers.be

jumble saleOne man’s trash is anotherman’s treasure. Second-hand clothing, housewares,toys and more. Also (new)crafts for sale, children’sactivities, food and drink.24 January, 11.00-17.00,GC Den Hoek, Hoekstraat,Kortenaken; free

\ www.facebook.com/tweedehandsbeurssariemarijs

WeeK inactivitieS

www.vlam.BE

© Vlam

julie kavanaghMore articles by julie \ flanderstoday.eu

www.BEErProjEct.BE

sébastien Morvan (pictured centre) and Olivier de Brauwere say they have been more than openabout their decision to outsource the brewing

january 21, 2015

\ 11

Living legendslargest sports exhibition ever in Europe celebrates two giants of local sport

The largest sports exhibitionever held in Europe has cometo Brussels, using authenticobjects to celebrate the careersof legendary Flemish cyclist EddyMerckx and Brussels-born racingdriver Jacky Ickx.

Eddy Merckx and JackyIckx are without doubtBelgium’s most legendary

sports heroes. With 525 victoriesover the course of 12 years on theprofessional circuit, Flemish roadand track cyclist Merckx is themost accomplished rider cyclinghas ever known. And as six-timewinner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans,eight-time Grand Prix victor andwinner of theDakar rally, Brussels-born racing driver Ickx can lookback on one of the longest andrichest careers in motorsport.On the occasion of both men’s70th birthday, sports publisherKannibaal and production teamPièce Montée present a spectacu-lar exhibition about their careers.“It’s importanttobethebestduringthe time you’re a professional, butyou cannot compare generations,”said Merckx at the opening of theexhibition, modestly downplayinghis accomplishments. Ickx agreed:“In any profession, you have to tryto do the best you can, and, it’strue, sport is becoming more andmore important in today’s world.But we certainly shouldn’t overes-timate its significance.”In stark contrast to this humil-ity, the exhibition speaks only insuperlatives. Following a windingparcours, we encounter almostevery detail of their professionalcareers, in pictures, video andorig-inal gear from private collections.“All the bikes Merckx used for hisvictories in the ItalianGiro and theTour de France are lined up here,as well as his original shirts,” cura-tor Gautier Platteau tells me. “Weeven got hold of the bike on whichhe won his first championship foramateurs in 1964. This is a dreamcome true for cycling fanatics.”Motorsport fans can’t complaineither: Undoubtedly more appeal-ing to the eye, the retrospectiveshows nine authentic cars thatplayedpivotal roles in Ickx’s career.

There’s the blue Gulf GT40 he wonhis first 24 Hours of Le Mans within 1969, the spiked Ferrari 512S hecompeted with in 1970 and – hispersonal favourite – the PorscheSpyder 936 in which he won LeMans in 1977. Charts specify tech-nical details and maximum speed.Platteau admits that puttingtogether the largest sports exhi-bition ever held in Europe wasn’twithout its headaches. “It took ustwo years to retrieve and collectthe pieces. Most are in the handsof museums and sports fanatics,”he explains.For instance, “the bike Merckxwon his 1964 amateur champion-ship on is in the possession of anoil sheik and had to be shippedover from Qatar,” Platteau contin-

ues. “Race cars were brought infrom the Porsche museum inStuttgart and private collectionsfrom British and Swiss collectors.In fact, the cars are still sporadi-cally being used for staged histori-cal races.”

Kristien Van Damme, the exhibi-tion’s researcher at Pièce Montée,agrees: “We only managed to getthe most exclusive pieces herethanks to international mediationby both men themselves,” she says.“On theotherhand, a largenumberof medals, shirts and cups werefound at their homes. It’s unbeliev-able but true: Merckx’s five Tour deFrance trophies all lay hidden inhis attic. His most famous shirtswere in the cupboard.”Van Daame says that such seem-ingly prized possessions beinghidden away “shows something ofthe dualism in the mind of a sportshero. They will hesitate to boast

about victories, no matter howgrand. But they’d rather keep holdof the cups themselves than givethem away to collectors. Hencethe attic.”It would be an injustice to say thisexhibition is only for sports fans.

Not only do we follow the course ofthe two local heroes’ lives, we alsorelive the recent history of design,media andphotography.Moreover,in side rooms visitors can experi-ence the sounds and adrenalinerushes of real championships.“You’ll have a once-in-a-lifetimechance to race against Merckx orwalk into a vintage F1pit stop,” VanDamme says. Other rooms featurea 1969 supporters’ cafe – a dip intothe smoky atmosphere of long-gone Flanders – and a three-screen

video that puts you in the cockpitof a car while speeding and swerv-ing to the tunes of Flemish electroband Goose.But the most impressive side roomis also the simplest. On a lit pedes-tal under dim lighting, the “helmetof Jarama” is displayed. “It’s oneof our most exclusive pieces,” saysVan Damme. “In part melted, thefront broken, it’s the one Ickxalmost died in after a crash in1970.”A small screen shows the acci-dent and an interview from thearchives, while luminous wallsaround the pedestal carry thenames of all motorsport casual-ties since 1964. “Thousands,” VanDamme estimates. “Especiallyduring Ickx’s time: On average oneman per race was killed.”The exhibition ends with a scoop:Renowned Flemish photographerStephan Vanfleteren has made hisfirst two short films especially forthis exhibition. “He crawls into theminds of both men,” says Platteau,“and depicts the one thing thatmost awes them, the thing thatinfluenced them most.” Merckxdescribes the unforgivingly steepclimb up the Tre Cime moun-tains in the Dolomites. Ickx guidesus through the enchanting Malidesert, where he now spends sixmonths a year.“What you get is much more thanjust a sports exhibition,” says VanDamme. “It’s a sketch of two grandpersonalities, with their similari-ties and differences. Ickx lives inthe desert and regards his careeras something from the past. Hehas started a new life. Merckx isdifferent. By manufacturing andselling his own line of bikes afterhis career until very recently, heremained closely connected tothat world.“Ickx is the francophone charmer.Merckx is the Flemish cobble-stone. I spent eight monthsresearching their lives, and I cantell you: Faced with the extremevigour they share, you’re inspiredto get the maximum out of what-ever you’re doing.”

daan BauwensMore articles by Daan \ flanderstoday.eu

Trade MartAtomiumsquare 1, Brusselsuntil 21 june

www.mErckX-ickX.BE

© andre Van Bever/nicole englebertjacky Ickx and his Ford Cortina lotus in 1964 at Circuit Zolder, near Hasselt

© Presse sport

eddy Merckx in action in the Paris-roubaixrace in 1974

It’s unbelievable but true: Merckx’sfive Tour de France trophiesall lay hidden in his attic

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Friday, 6 FebruaryCommittee of the Regions

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• 16th EU Studies Fair featuring top-level universities• Opening speech by director-general

Xavier Prats Monné (DC EAC)• University spotlights• Orientation seminar on career opportunities (EPSO)• Orientation seminar on EU studies (UACES)• Career corner and CV check

ONE MONTH TO GO

january 21, 2015

\ 13

\ arTs

Art vs entertainmentjan martens’ new show questions how far dancers should go to entertain an audience

Jan Martens’ work isintroduced as an homage to“the beauty of the incompletehuman being” on his website.

Hewrites that perfection is boring,and yet his works continuallystrive for absolute flawlessness.“The striving is the interestingpart,” the Flemish dancer andchoreographer explains. “Actuallyreaching perfection is basicallyjust dull.”When I meet the rising star of thecontemporary dance scene at hiscosy home inKiel, one of Antwerp’smore popular neighbourhoods, hebegins by making apologies aboutthe state his house is in. Whilemaking tea and generously filling aplate with cookies and chocolates,he says that he has been renovat-ing the place for some time, but,what with being on the road allthe time, it’s taking a bit longerthan planned.“It’s been crazy. We spend a lot oftime on tour. We rehearse at differ-ent locations, and I am artist inresidence at Tanzhaus in Düssel-dorf until 2016,” he says, referringto the international contemporarydance centre in Germany. “Obvi-ously, there is not much time leftfor decorating,” he adds, laughing.Martens is 31, young for theamount of work he has realised sofar. He graduated from Antwerp’s

Artesis Conservatory for Dancein 2006, having previously takenclasses at the Fontys Dance Acad-emy in Tilburg, the Netherlands.He debuted as a choreographerthree years later with i can ride ahorse whilst juggling so marry me,a 2010 work focusing on a groupof women living in a world domi-nated by social networks.Today, Martens performs through-out Europe and further afield,and, though things moved veryfast for him, he says it’s hardout there for young choreogra-phers. “In Belgium, talents likeJan Fabre, Wim Vandekeybus andAnne Teresa De Keersmaeker weredominating the scene at that time.Which was great, of course, but itleft fewer opportunities for begin-ners like me. That’s why I went tothe Netherlands to get started.”Still, when he returned to Flan-ders, he was able to benefit fromthe strong reputation thesemasters of contemporary dance

had managed to build up for localartists. “Belgium had become aquality label for the contemporarydance scene,” he explains.His own success, he says, can prob-ably be attributed to his focus onstaying close to his audience. If youwant to see one of Martens’ works,you don’t necessarily have to traveltooneof Flanders’ premier culturaltemples. You can just as easilywatch his shows at small culturalcentres throughout Flanders.“Iwanttobeincontinuouscommu-nication with my audience,” heexplains. “I can learn from whatthey see and think; how they react.”And although he’s convinced thatthere’s nothing wrong with a bitof elitism in dance, he is not goingto be the one to create perfor-mances only a happy few actuallyunderstand. “My work is not aboutperfect technique; it’s about tellinga story people can relate to, aboutbeing understood.”Martens pushes this logic to its

extremes in one of his latest works.In THE DOGDAYS ARE OVER, eightdancers sporting brightly colouredworkout clothes basically jump upand down for 65 minutes. But, ofcourse, there’s more to the perfor-mance than that.“Jumping is a basic movement,”Martens explains. “But in thishighly complicated mathematicaland geometrical choreography, itis truly exhausting the dancers tothe extreme. It’s almost inhumanhow hard it is for them. Inevitably,they will fail. And the audience iswitnessing that.”For Martens, the process is akin towatching bullfighting, or modern-day gladiators. “We are all voyeurs,watching the dancers reach theextremes of what is physicallypossible. At times of severe auster-ity, also in the cultural sector,

artists feel the pressure to enter-tain a broad audience. The ques-tion then remains: ‘How far shouldwe go along in this philosophy?When is it too much?’ That’s alsowhat DOG DAYS is about.”Martens’ message might be sternand critical, but, in person, he’sfriendly and generous. He answersmy questions passionately butthinks them over carefully. And hestays humble, although he admitsthat the success has changed him.“Now, it’s for real,” he says. “We arerunning a business. I used to haveone production after the other, butnow we are on tour with differentperformances at the same time.We have moved up a gear. Peopleneed to be paid; money has tocome in; playtime is over.”When I ask him if that gets in theway of the creative process, heassures me he still has plenty ofideas. “It’s the physical part I miss,”he says, though he adds that hehasn’t stopped dancing. “At times,I pick up a dancing part in THEDOG DAYS ARE OVER, and I’m ontour with my solo ODE TO THEATTEMPT. But, still, I do spend alot of time behind my computer.”But, he says, he tries not to openhis laptop before noon. That leaveshis mornings free for training andyoga. Or, to be more precise, hetries to block out his mornings forexercise – much like he strives forperfection in his shows.Martens is touring several of hischoreographies across Europeover the next few months. THEDOG DAYS ARE OVER is beingstaged as part of the eighth annualAntwerpse Kleppers festival. Withits showcase of Antwerp’s diverseperformance scene, this month-long festival, a project of Toneel-huis, has built a strong reputationfor itself by bringing together thecity’s finest stage artists.

ivanovtheater malpertuisThe Tielt-based Theater Malpertuis’ artis-tic director, Piet Afreuille, has given us hisunique interpretation of Shakespeare, Ovidand Greek drama, and now he’s movedon to Chekhov. His version of the four-actplay catapults the overworked, stressed-out Ivanov into the present day, where noone ever stops talking, but nothing is reallysaid. Is the problem with Ivanov, or witheveryone else? (In Dutch) 24 January, 20.30,Theater Malpertuis, Tielt; tours across Flan-ders thereafter

\ www.malPErtuis.BE

Horror festivalde warandeIf you’re into chainsaws, zombies and old-school horror, De Warande is the place tobe later this month. A proper Horror Festi-val offers fans of the genre a programmethat includes scary movies, bloody perfor-mances, dark workshops and risquécomedy. Until 1 February across Turnhout

\ www.warandE.BE

angelenacompagnie ceciliaMiekeDobbels isbestknownas theco-crea-tor of the stage play The Broken CircleBreakdown Featuring The Cover-Ups ofAlabama, which led to the award-winningmovie The Broken Circle Breakdown. Hernew solo show Angelena (pictured), whichshe also wrote, tells the story of a womanwho was interned for four years. Not know-ing when she will be released and withoutreceiving appropriate treatment, Angelenatries to cope through humour, making forboth an emotional and an amusing show.(In Dutch) Until 31 January across Flanders

\ www.comPagniE-cEcilia.BE

More perforMance thiS Month

débora votquenneMore articles by Débora \ flanderstoday.eu www.janmartEns.com

© Compagnie Cecilia

BourlaschouwburgKomedieplaats 18, Antwerp30 january, 20.00

© Piet Goethals

THe DOG Days are OVer addresses the increasing pressure on artists to entertain audiences

© renate Beense

jumping to keep up: jan Martens

\ 14

\ arTs

A reception to rememberkadir Balci’s new film examines culture clashes and youthful impulse

More than 20 years ago,Kadir Balci went on anErasmus exchange to

Bournemouth in the south ofEngland. He followed a two-yearcourse in filmmaking and workedas an assistant director beforeheading back home to finish hisdegree at Ghent’s art academyKASK.Aside from the tremendous learn-ing experience, what stayedwith the director was his iden-tity among his peers as “just a guyfrom Belgium”. For the first time inhis life, he wasn’t tagged as beingTurkish.For someone born in Belgium toimmigrant parents, this is a hugedistinction. “In the programme inBournemouth, most of them wereBritish,” Balci tells me. “Quite a lotof them had different roots, butnobody questions that they areBritish. And nobody questionedme; I was just Belgian.”Balci’s first film, Turquaze, took onthese complicated issues of iden-tity as a young mixed couple strug-gle to stay together in the face ofdisapproving families – on bothsides.He visits similar territory in hisnew film Trouw met mij! (MarryMe!), in which a young couple –he from a middle-class Flemishfamily, she from a working-classTurkish one – tie the knot. Nearlythe entire film takes place in andaround the reception hall, whereclass and cultural differences clash– sometimes amusingly, some-times angrily.

national identityBelgium, says Balci, who wasborn in Ghent to Turkish parents,doesn’t find itself in the same placeas the UK or the US when it comesto national identity. Belgians seehim as Turkish first and Belgiansecond – if at all. Throw in regionaldistinctions like Flemish, and itgets even more complicated.But it’s a two-way street, says Balci.Immigrants and their offspringneed to embrace national iden-tity as well. “In America, even thevery strict Italians will say ‘I’m anAmerican’ not ‘I’m Italian’,” he says.“I noticed that in America, every-one is an American. In the UK, itis similar. I think here, immigrantsneeds to say, ‘We are Belgian’. Theyshould be proud of it.”Balci, who, like his films’ protag-onists, is in a relationship witha non-Turkish Fleming, sees acertain resistance not only amongthe majority but among the Turk-ish communities to embrace sucha national identity.But, the 44-year-old admits, “it’shard todobecause you feel like youare betraying your home country. Ihave friends who still don’t have a

Belgian passport because they’llfeel disloyal to their countries. It’sa kind of fear. But if you just acceptthe situation you are living in now,then you help the next generationto get over that fear.”All of these issues – and more –inform Trouw met mij!, whichopens in cinemas this Wednesday.Jurgen (Dries De Sutter) and Sibel(Sirin Zahed) are young and madlyin love, but cracks in the relation-ship begin to show almost imme-diately.As we proceed to their weddingreception, we meet a colour-ful cast of characters, includingJurgen’s jolly father, his scowlinglyconcerned mother and Sibel’sroughneck brother, Kemal (BurakBalci, the director’s brother).The reception is certainly an even-ing to remember, as both bride andgroom find out the other’s secretsand both sets of guests do theirbest to avoid the other. The Turkswhisper disparaging things aboutthe catering; the Flems do thesame about, well, the Turks.But the biggest problem is Kemal.The oldest male in the family, hemakes ithisbusiness tomercilesslyharasshis sister andherbetrothed,ofwhom, it hardly needs to be said,he does not approve.But rather than sticking to a storyof cultural riffs, something inter-esting emerges: We discover thatJurgen and Sibel have known eachother for less than four months.Suddenly, many of the problemsencountered in this single roomcome into much sharper focus.More than about cultural differ-ences, Trouw met mij is aboutimpulsiveness and not allowingyour loved ones time to get usedto a situation many of them see asconfusing, at best.

“It’s a very selfish decision,”confirms Balci. “They haven’treally thought about it – the factthat their families have feelingsabout this.”Not that Balci is suggesting thatmixed marriages don’t work. “Butit’s naive to think that when youmarry someone, you only marrythem. You marry their wholefamily. My partner is Flemish, sothis subject is very close to us.She always says that in a Turk-ish family, you can’t get out of thehouse, while in a Flemish family,you can’t get into the house.”The central couple’s devil-may-care attitude, he says, “is actuallythe centre of the film for me. Youcan take decisions in your ownlife, that’s not a problem. But yourbackground comes with you, andyou have to deal with the conse-quences”.Critics, says Balci, are alwaysfocusing on “the Turkish thing,”but “I’m trying to tell stories thatare really universal. If you put onthe right glasses, and you look atthem just as people and not as aculture, you can see that it’s reallyabout people in general. If you seeit as being all about Turkish/Flem-ish relations, you are missing thepoint of the film.”Although Jurgen and Sibel are thebelles of the ball, it’s the charac-ter of the older brother, Kemal,that holds the film together. Balci’sbrother Burak played the sensi-tive, soft-spoken lead in Turquaze,and he’s unrecognisable here as amuscled, macho man, as heavilyweighed down by his gold chainsas he is by his family responsibil-ities.Formost of the film, he’s solidly thebad guy, but the events of the fate-ful reception affect himprofoundly

and, if anyone has made a jour-ney over this past 90 minutes, it’sKemal.“The weight they put on this guy,”says Balci. “Even without saying it,it’s instilled by the family culture.I know from my own experiencesthat it’s the older brother or sisterwho is the least understandingabout these kinds of relationships.Even more so than the parents.”Kemal, he says, is an archtypalcharacter,whotranslateshisworryand stress into violent behaviour.“Not only is he frustrated becauseof the things he can’t do, he is reallyworried about his sister becauseshe is so impulsive,” explains Balci.“I have friends who had brotherslike this, who were very aggres-sive towards their sisters becausethey couldn’t say ‘I love you and amworried about you’.”Ultimately, Kemal has to make adecision to watch a speeding trainhe has put into motion crash andburn – or put a spoke in its wheels.“That’s why I created this olderbrother,” says Balci. “He is comingto a point of essence.”

Cinematek tomove archivesBelgian film archive Cine-matek plans to move its onemillion reels of film from itscurrent storage premises inthe Brussels district of Elseneto the new Mediacity on theReyers site in Schaarbeek. Thearchive, the second-largest inthe world, is currently storedin less than optimal condi-tions. “None of the films havebeen lost so far, but when afilm is stored in less than opti-mal conditions, its life span isshortened,” said deputy direc-tor Kristel Vandenbrande.The archive will join VRT andRTBF on the new Mediacitysite, currently under develop-ment.

Opera housesnominated forinternational awardsBoth Opera Vlaanderen, Flan-ders’ regional opera, andBrus-sels opera house De Munthave been nominated by theInternational Opera Awardsin the coveted category of BestOpera House. The categoryfocuses on an opera compa-ny’s work over the last entireseason. The awards are organ-ised by London’s Opera maga-zine, and Opera Vlaanderenwas also nominated for thesame award last year. A first,however, is a nomination forOpera Vlaanderen’s choir forBest Choir.De Munt, meanwhile, wasalso nominated for BestRichard Strauss AnniversaryProduction with Daphne, forBest World Premiere with AuMonde and for Best OperaDVD with their productionof Lulu. The winners will beannounced on 26 April inLondon’s Savoy Hotel.

\ www.operaawards.co.uk

Fire causes damage toBrussels ConservatoryThe fire brigade was calledto the Royal Conservatory inBrussels’ Regentschapsstraatlast week. About 150 studentsand staff were evacuatedand the street closed to traf-fic. Emergency services wereparticularly vigilant becausethe conservatory is next doorto Brussels’s main synagogue.“The fire appears to havebroken out accidentally, butall avenues are being inves-tigated,” said the conserva-tory’s director, Peter Swin-nen. The fire, which broke outin an unoccupied part of thebuilding on the second floor,was quickly brought undercontrol. The school said thatthere was only minor damage.The conservatory is currentlyundergoing major renovationworks.

WeeK in artS& cUltUre

lisa BradshawMore articles by lisa \ flanderstoday.eu

Trouw met mij! opens across Flanders and Brussels on 21 january

© rudy Tollenaere/Het nieuwsblad

“you marry a whole family”: kadir Balci

january 21, 2015

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event

viSUal artS concert

perforMance

For decades, seminal Flemish chore-ographer AnneTeresaDeKeersmaekerhas explored the relationship betweencontemporary dance and analogousdevelopments in music. Her latestproduction takes this inquiry back intime, to the period when the avant-garde first met the masses. The perfor-mance is choreographed as a dialoguewith British musician Brian Eno’s1975 album Another Green World. Enowas among the first to introduce themid-century contemporary valuespioneered by ivory-tower compos-ers like Karlheinz Stockhausen intopop and rock music. According toDe Keersmaeker, this is the momentthat contemporary art could leave thegallery and take its place in the collec-tive consciousness. \ Georgio Valentino

Ghent has staged its Light Festi-val twice before, but it proved soexpensive and required so muchcrowd control that they skipped itlast year, much to the disappoint-ment of a community that appre-ciated so much creative, energeticbrightness during the long, greymonth of January. From bridgesmade of paisley light designs to

trees seemingly sprouting in thecathedral to projections thatmade buildings come to life ortold stories right on the sides of anhistoricmonuments, this parcoursof blazing designs and narrativefantasies was a delight. The citysays this year’s will be even bigger.\ Lisa Bradshaw

Royal Ballet Flanders begins2015 with Don Quixote,a Spanish-flavoured

confection billed as a classic balletfor the whole family. Famouslyaccessible thanks to its clearlydefined characters, continualaction and broad humour, DonQuixote also boasts acrobatic setpieces and a “white ballet”, whosehardly Hispanic tutus and pointework are smuggled in through adream sequence.The ballet covers only part ofCervantes’ monster novel, replac-ing epic sweep with a more

focused story of frustrated love.Kitri, the beautiful daughter of aninn-keeper, and Basilio the barberare devoted to one another, buttheir passion is thwarted whenKitri’s father promises her to a richnobleman. Everything seems lost,until Don Quixote turns up withhis deluded chivalry and proceedsto upset everyone’s plans.Don Quixote was created in 1869for Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet, withmusic by Ludwig Minkus. It waschoreographed by Marius Petipa, aFrenchman with a talent for spec-tacle who helped create classics

such as The Nutcracker and SwanLake. He also knew a thing or twoabout Spanish dance and was ableto blend the characteristic move-ments of the seguidilla, fandango,jotaandbolerowithclassicalballetsteps. More importantly, he usedthem to create character dancesthat advance the story rather thaninterludes that stop it dead.The ballet handed down to us alsoowes a lot to Aleksandr Gorsky,whose staging for the Bolshoi in

1900 addednewmusic anddances,including Kitri’s celebrated solodance with a fan.This production comes fromRussian choreographer AlexeiFadeechev, who first stagedDon Quixote while he was artis-tic director of the Bolshoi Balletbetween 1998 and 2000. The Flan-ders Symphony Orchestra will beunder the baton of musical direc-tor Benjamin Pope. \ Ian Mundell

The ’90s are backwith a vengeance.K’s Choice were among Belgium’schief alt-rock emissaries of thatgrunge-laden decade. Built aroundthe Antwerp-born sister-brotherteam of Sarah and Gert Bettens,the band scored an internationalhit (“Not an Addict”) and touredthe world with other period lumi-naries like Alanis Morrisette and

Indigo Girls. After a hiatus earlyin the 21st century, the Bettensesreturn with the new album Phan-tom Cowboy, recorded in theUS, where Sarah now lives, withwell-known rock producer AlainJohannes. A handful of springdates follow this premiere concertin Sint-Niklaas. \ GV

Chivalry gone wild

Don QuixoteconcertGhentCriolo: The Brazilian rapperand hip-hop artist performsfrom his second album, Nóna Orelha, which earnedhim the prize for best albumat the Brazilan Music VideoAwards. 28 January 20.00,Democrazy, Minnemeers 4

www.abconcerts.be

viSUal artSantwerpPapegaai (The Parrot):The parrot in 16th- and17th-century art, a sourceof inspiration for countlessartists, including Rubens,Savery, Fijt, Jordaens, deHeem, Dürer and Schon-gauer. Until 22 February,Rockoxhuis, Keizerstraat 12

www.rockoxhuis.be

Antwerp Art Weekend:First edition of the contem-porary art event that featurestwo nights of late openings,artists talks at M HKA andmore than 50 exhibitionswith works by hundreds ofartists spread over 40 galler-ies, museums and art spaces,culminating inapartyatHISK(31 January). 29 January to 1February, across Antwerp

www.antwerpart.be

feStivalGhentPINX 2015: Sphinx cine-ma’s annual LGBT film festi-val presents nine features,including four premieres andthe Flemish film Violette byMartin Provost. Every featureis preceeded by a short film

www.sphinx-cinema.be

faMilyGhentOff the wall portraits: Artworkshop for aspiring artistsof all ages to try their hand atpainting a portrait, or evenposing for portraits whiledressed in fun costumes.25 January 13.00-17.00,IN-Gent, Blekerijstraat(Registration via Kom-Pas)

www.facebook.com/komPasgent

talKBrusselsData Protection on theMove: Annual internationalconference in which a groupof experts from the IT indus-try, professors, jurists, policy-makers and representativesfrom various NGOs debatetopics around computers,privacy and data protectionin the digital age (in English).21-23 January, Hallen vanSchaarbeek, KoninklijkeSint-Mariastraat 22

www.cpdpconferences.org

Young French photographer Jean-LucFeixa’smethod is simple: travela lot, wander around a given citycentre and photograph anythingthat catches the eye. It turns outthe things that attract Feixa’s eyeare buildings and people, moreso in combination. The beautyand distinctive character of acity’s architecture provide theframe against which the organicarabesques of the human figuresspring to life. This solo exhibitionOver the Course of the Lines takesus around the world and shows usslices of life from the artist’s home-town Toulouse, his current baseBrussels and more exotic localeslike Manhattan and Madeira. \ GV

ghent light festival

jean-luc feixa

golden Hours

k’s choice

\ aGenDa

stadsschouwburg, antwerp25 january to 1 february

Opera Ghentwww.oPEraBallEt.BE

7-15 february

across Ghentwww.licHtfEstivalgEnt.BE

29 january to 2 februarykaaitheater, Brussels

www.kaaitHEatEr.BE23-31 january

Verhaeren Gallery, Brusselswww.galEriEvErHaErEn.BE

until 22 februaryDe Casino, sint-niklaas

www.dEcasino.BE21 may, 20.00

© Veerle Frissen

© Visit Gent © anne Van aerschot

© Frank Clauwers

get tickets now

january 21, 2015

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facebook.com/flanderstoday

You might have thought chickens belong on farms,but they could soon be running around backgardens in Brussels. The Etterbeek district has

launched a pilot project to encourage residents to keepa couple of chickens about, according to Brussel DezeWeek.Families are being encouraged to raise city chickens tocut down on household waste. Eén kip is in staat om elkjaar 50 kilo huisvuil te verwerken – A single chicken hasthe potential to dispose of 50 kilograms of householdwaste every year, the newspaper said.Etterbeek has become the first district in the capital toturn to chickens as part of its environmental policy. “Wijdoen al mee aan een gewestelijk pilootproject om orga-nisch afval te composteren” – “We are already involvedin a regional pilot project to turn organic waste intocompost,” explained Marie-Rose Geuten, the local coun-cillor responsible for sustainability.“Maar een deel van dat afval kunnen we ook aan kippengeven die in ruil eieren produceren” – “But we can feed apart of the waste to chickens, who will produce eggs inreturn.”In eerste instantie gaat de gemeente twintig Etterbeeksegezinnen twee kippen en een kippenhok geven – In thebeginning, the council is going to hand out two chick-ens and a hen house to 20 Etterbeek families.Butwhat if youdon’t haveagarden?Noproblem,accord-ing to the councillor. “Bij voldoende interesse plant degemeente ook een collectief kippenhok” – “If enoughpeople are interested, the council is planning to set up acollective chicken coop,” Geuten explained.“Daarnaast krijgen de vijf gemeentescholen het voorsteleen kippenhok te installeren” – “We are also asking our

five local schools if they want to install a hen house,” shecontinued, “om de kinderen vertrouwd te maken met dehoenderen” – “so that children can learn how to handlethe fowls.”The urban chicken plan is just one of a range of projectslaunched by Etterbeek to create a more sustainablemunicipality. Zo heeft de gemeente al sinds 2011 een‘Sociale vestiaire’, waar OCMW-klanten kledingstuk-ken voor een euro kunnen kopen – The council has beenrunning a “communal wardrobe” since 2011, where resi-dents on benefits can buy clothes for €1.De gemeenten lanceerde in juni ook een weggeefwebsite enfysieke weggeefboxen – The council is also launching adonations website in June, along with donation boxes –en in oktober een sociale kruidenier die producten uit deeigen volkstuintjes verkoopt aan leefloners – and in Octo-ber a community greengrocer will start selling vegeta-bles from allotment gardens to people on low incomes.It all adds up to an impressive series of initiatives –although you probably shouldn’t count your chickensbefore they hatch.

Talking Dutchcount your chickens

\ BaCkPaGe

the laSt Word

strange days“Clearly some people have trou-ble telling the difference betweenfiction and non-fiction.”Dilbeek mayor Willy Segers hasasked the producers of drama seriesDe Buurtpolitie (NeighbourhoodPolice) to stop location filming afteranxious reactions from members ofthe public

slippery slope“A few kilometres out of Kampen-hout, I had to stand up for asecond to push on the pedals,and that’s something I shouldn’thave done. All of a sudden thebike disappeared from under me,and the whole of my right side hitthe ground.”Weatherman Frank Deboosere camea cropper, shortly after warning TVviewers of the danger of icy roads

making everycent count“I can’t put a figure on the budget,but, by international standards,it’s quite modest. For what Ange-lina Jolie’s make-up costs, we canmake a feature film.”Flemish comedian Urbanus ismaking an animated film based onhis comic strip

display model“We’ve nothing against a bit of ashow, and it might even be a littlesexy. But this was too sexy. That’swhy we requested an aestheticintervention.”A spokesperson for auto indus-try federation Febiac, which askedSuzuki to cover up its models at theBrussels Motor Show

a.Why not? He has the right to end his suffering, just like anyone else

b. No. Prisoners are in no state to make that kind of decision

c. No. He gave up his rights when he killed someone. He should be forced to serve his life sentence

We see a pretty strong majorityof support from our readers thisweek on the subject of prisonersbeing afforded the right to eutha-nasia. The question was based ona story that dominated headlinesearlier this month when Frank Vanden Bleeken, who has served 30years of his life sentence for serial

rape and murder, received permis-sion to be euthanised. He had hadno mental health treatment inhis three decades in prison anddeserved to end his suffering if heso chose, he argued.Days before Van den Bleeken wasto be euthanised, federal justiceminister Koen Geens announced

that he would be transferred to aspecial prison facility in the Neth-erlands, where he would receivetreatment for his mental healthproblems, which Van den Bleekensaid, led him to commit his crimesin the first place.

Pollshould a convicted murderer have been afforded the right to euthanasia in orderto end his psychological suffering in prison?

\ next week's question:Soldiers have been deployed to the streets of Antwerp and Brussels amid fears of terrorist attacks. What do youthink?Log on to the Flanders Today website at www.flanderstoday.eu and click on VOTE!

CONNECT WITH US LIKE USTweet us your thoughts @FlandersToday

Michał Kwiatkowski @michalkwiatekHeor she? ;) Star from last night in #Ghent.@etixx_quick_step#kwiato http://instagram.com/p/x4fV08HwFO/

THE RIVER CARD @TheRiverCardUKBig thanks to everyone who came out to see us in Essen andAntwerp over the last 2 nights.

In response to: Commuting to Brussels takes longer than everbeforeMiranda MartinThe number one remedy is planning control. Permission tobuild a house is given with no thought for the transport conse-quences.

In response to: Teachers asked to be alert for signs of radicali-sationPatrick MoloneyStop marginalising certain groups of society and you will findthose groups are more likely to be peaceful.

In response to: Brussels Beer Project finds success, community– and criticismPer HeisterProud crowdfounder.... with Kajsa Wilhelmsson

voiceS offlanderS today

In response to: Talking Dutch, You’ve got a friend in meBrendan MulloolySurprised they didn’t end up in a “Pulp Fiction” situation.

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derek BlythMore articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

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