In FlandersFIeldsOttawa honours FirstWorld War soldier and poetwho made Flanders famous andpoppies a worldwide symbol

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Fifty years ago, Belgium approved the youth protectionlaw, which regulated for the first time support for minorsin problematic situations, as well as the policy for minorswho commit a criminal offence. Flanders recently acquiredthe political responsibility to deal with both situations andis working on a new decree.

It was a little more than a century ago, in 1912, thatBelgium approved a law to treat young offendersseparately from their adult counterparts. Since 1965,

youth judges have also had the power to find a propersolution for minors in problem situations: victims of abuseor neglect and thosewith personality disorders or sufferingfrom psychiatric issues.“Fifty years ago, youngsters were often taken from their

families and transferred to a more trustworthy familymember, foster home or specialised institution,” says KarelHenderickx, the former head of the Flemish Community’syouth support institutions dealing with such youth.Many specialised institutions of that time were formerorphanages, where youngsters received basic care but notthe personal attentionmany of them needed to reintegratein society, he explains. The length of their stay at the insti-tutions could be prolonged without much discussion andwithout consulting the youngster in question.“A person could spend their entire youth in an institutionwithout much evaluation of their condition,” says Hender-ickx, who retired from the post just last year.In the 1980s, critics increasingly began to question thevalue of taking young people away from their families and

placing them in institutions. Alternatives for long-termresidential stays were developed. “Young people could, forexample, receive guidance at a centre after school and thengo home in the evening,” explains Henderickx. “This way,they retained a strong link with society.”Support in the institutions improved, thanks to govern-ment subsidies for creating more modern institutions andthe increased professionalism of the youth support sector.Trained social workers and teachers were better able toprepare youngsters for life outside institution walls. Regu-lationswere introduced tomake sure youth judges couldn’ttake decisions without proper motivation, and youngpeople received help from specialist lawyers.Currently, much attention is being devoted to keepingthe stay at institutions as short as possible. “Experts are

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new buIldIng Forghent Int'l sChoolGhent’s international school is attractingso many students, it has outgrownits premises and has plans for a newbuilding

Cats onparadeYpres’ Kattenstoet onlyhappens every three years,so make plans now to see aprocession you’ll never forget

A new startflanders prepares new legislation for its young offenders and troubled youth

© Jelle Vermeersch/Jongeren welzijn

andy furnieremore articles by andy \ flanderstoday.eu

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\ CURRenT aFFaIRs

Koen Verlaeckt, secretary-general ofthe Flanders Department of ForeignAffairs, travelled to the Canadian

capital of Ottawa at the weekend for theunveiling of a statue in honour of theCanadian doctor and soldier John McCrae.McCrae served in the trenches near Ypresduring the First World War and composedthe famous poem “In Flanders Fields” whiletending soldiers at Essex Farm in May 1915.McCrae dedicated the poem to his friendAlex Helmer, who was killed by an explod-ing grenade during a German gas attack.Thepoem refers to poppies, which led to the redflower being adopted worldwide as a symbolof remembrance.“The horrors of the First World War on thewestern front are forever linked to the land-scape of Flanders Fields because of the poemby John McCrae,” said Verlaeckt. “It is our

duty to keep this memory alive and pass iton to future generations.”The larger-than-life-size bronze memorial,which shows a sitting McCrae, notebook inhand, is supported by the government ofFlanders. “The world-famous poem ‘In Flan-ders Fields’ and the poppy remind us of allthe fallen,” said minister-president GeertBourgeois. “We are unveiling a statue ofJohnMcCrae on the 100th anniversary of thepoem’s composition to commemorate himand all the victims of war.”The statue is located in front of the NationalArtillery Memorial on Sussex Drive, justeast of downtown Ottawa. A duplicate ofthe statue will be unveiled later this yearin McCrae’s hometown of Guelph, Ontario,about 500 kilometres southwest of Ottawa.McCrae died of pneumonia in Wimereux,northern France, on 28 January 1918.

Statue of “In Flanders Fields”poet unveiled in Ottawaflemish officials in canada to honour soldier John mccrae, who penned famous poem

The federal committee of the socialist tradeunionABVVhave voted not to strike again on 12May. The committee’s vote means the decisionneed no longer go to a vote of the membership.The federal committee is made up of represent-atives of all sector organisations and regionalbranches of the union. The vote went againstthe proposal 65% to 34%, with the ayes mainlyfrom French-speaking Belgium.The union last went on official strike on 22April, in protest at the plans of the centre-rightFlemish and federal governments to cut spend-ing, skip indexation of wages (but not rentincreases) and amend the rules on pensionages. That strike was supported by members ofthe Christian union ACV, although it was notofficially backed by ACV leadership.While rejecting another strike later this month,ABVV did say that it would intensify its actionson raising awareness of the problems of unem-ployment, pensions and European-wide cutsto public services. Protests will take place on12 May to publicise youth employment, and 28

May has been designated Tax Justice Day. Otheractions will take place throughout June.“We will continue to take a stand against thisgovernment and use whatever resources areavailable to do so,” said a federal committeespokesperson. “Striking will be done whenevernecessary. As long as this government’s money-saving policy is maintained, the workers haveno choice but to continue with social resist-ance.” \ Alan Hope

The number of tourists and businessvisitors to Flanders was up 6% in 2014,according to figures from ToerismeVlaanderen. The increase was spreadacross the various tourist destinations:the coast (overnight stays up 7.4%), theart cities (up 6.3%) and the regions suchas the Flemish Ardennes, Kempen andHaspengouw (up 6.5%).The fine weather last spring and autumnbrought many tourists to the coast andthe regions, Toerisme Vlaanderen said,but the biggest increase was seen inthe art cities – Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent,Leuven and Mechelen (pictured) – with720,000 more overnight stays. Antwerpalone welcomed 1,052,369 visitors,53,000 more than in 2013.The growth was split between foreigntourists and business visitors, account-ing for 710,000 extra overnights. Visitorsfrom the US were up 12%; those fromIndia and Brazil were up 26% each.

The figures are good news for the Flem-ish economy, said tourism minister BenWeyts. “These 11.9 million arrivals and26.6 million overnights, including over14 million foreign visitors, represent ahuge economic added value. Touristssupport our hospitality and trade indus-tries. I’d like to work in the coming yearswith the tourist industry to being evenmore visitors to Flanders.” \ AH

Record number of touristsvisit Flanders in 2014

complaints last year to the Flemishtenants’ union over rental depos-its, one in 10 of all complaints. TheFlemish housing minister said shewants to increase the deposit fromtwo months’ rent to three

chronically sick children whofollow their lessons online usingBednet pass their exams, theorganisation said. Bednet hasschooled some 1,200 children in its10 years of existence

members of the Muntpunt libraryin Brussels at the end of Decem-ber, a decrease of 1,233 in the threemonths from the library’s firstanniversary in September

increase in the amount of a traf-fic fine that has gone unpaid after30 days, under a proposal fromfederal mobility minister Jacque-line Galant

out of some 30,000 food and drinksservice establishments in Belgiumare equipped with the new smartcash register, which becamemandatory on 30 April.The systemis meant to combat fraud

Union votes against strike on 12May but pledges future action

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derek Blythmore articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

© yves Herman/Reuters/Corbis © stijn swinnen/Tourism mechelen

a protestor lights a flare in front of the prime minister’s office inBrussels last wednesday

may 6, 2015

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FaCe oF Flanders

He doesn’t look as if he’s aboutto turn 60 years old, until yourealise he has a bowl-cut hair-style and goes around in shorttrousers (not shorts) and propershoes (not trainers). His nameis Jommeke, and he’s only 60 inreal life: In his own world, he’s10 years and four months oldforever, according to his creatorJef Nys.The Jommeke cartoon strip firstsaw the light of day in Octo-ber 1955 in the monthly publi-cation Kerkelijk leven (ChurchLife). Later it appeared in HetVolk newspaper, which alsopublished the first 75 comicalbums of what would eventu-ally become a series of 250.It was one of the best-sellingof all Flemish comic series, butvirtually no-one outside of Flan-ders knows about Jommeke;Nys, who died in 2009, neverachieved the stature enjoyedby fellow cartoonists, like MarcSleen (Nero), Willy Vandersteen(Suske en Wiske) and, above all,Hergé (Tintin).Part of the reason is thatJommeke was always aimed atchildren. Like Tintin (knownas Kuifje in Dutch), Jommekeis rather a goody-two-shoeswithout much character; butwhereas Tintin has Haddockand gets into some seriously

dangerous situations, Jommekekeeps the company of children,like his loopy friend Filiberkeand identical twins Rosemiekeand Annemieke.Even as a child hero, Jommeke istame and remains so by explicitorder of Nys, who stopped beingthe sole author in 1972 but whomade it a condition of his willthat Jommeke should nevercome in contact with violence,weapons, sex, drugs or othersuch influences.The closest he ever came wasin the 1992 comic book Dertigvarkensstreken (Thirty Pig Jokes),part of the Urbanus comic seriesby the comedian of the samename and artist Willy Linth-out. Jommeke makes a cameoappearance, and the othercharacters swear like troop-ers to prevent the story beingswamped by his impeccablemorality.There’ll be none of that, obvi-ously, in the celebrationsplanned for this anniversaryyear by publisher Ballon Media.Alongside a project with theMake-a-Wish Foundation, therewill be a Jommeke presence atthe Pennenzakkenrock festivaland 50 summer camps. In Octo-ber, expect a special birthdaycollection at the Boekenbeurs inAntwerp. \ Alan Hope

Jommeke

The first of May is just behind us,the daywhenwemark the struggleof workers to obtain the rights wenow enjoy. The working man andwoman were constant sources ofinspiration to 19th-century Brus-sels sculptor Constantin Meunieras he worked during the last 10years of his life on his magnifi-cent Monument to Labour, whichstands in a small park in the Lakencommune of Brussels.It’s not possible to study Meunier’smasterpiece (pictured) up closebecause the park was enclosedseveral years ago by an iron fence,a reaction to an incident of vandal-ism. Now some local people have

started a protest action aimed athaving the fence removed and thepark opened up to the public.Last week they took the matterinto their own hands and tempo-rarily removed a section of thefence, brought in deck chairs anda barbecue and had themselves aparty.Lotte Stoops is one of themembersof the neighbourhood committeeAYAY, which headed up the picnic.People manage to climb over orthrough the fence, she pointed outto TV Brussel, and if they were ofa mind to vandalise the statues,nothing was stopping them. Sowhy not get rid of the fence?

“We’re sitting here on a real Brus-sels treasure,” she said. “The landbelongs to the region, the monu-mentbelongs to the city; the regionowns the fence but it’s maintainedby the city. Those barriers and thewall belong to the port. So it couldbe some time before we … geteveryone around the table.” \ AH

Power to the peopleoFFsIde

weeK In brIeFSporting Lokeren footballerGregory Mertens died lastweek in hospital in Genk aftercollapsing on the pitch duringa match against Racing Genk.Mertens, 24, suffered a cardiacarrest and underwent emer-gency surgery but did not regainconsciousness. Mertens hadbeen thoroughly screened at thestart of the season, the club said.Professor Marc Gewillig of theUniversity of Leuven said evenstate of the art screening wasonly able to detect 75% of prob-lems.

Mounted police officers willpatrol the coast this summer,West Flanders governor CarlDecaluwé has announced. Thedecision follows a successfulpilot project last year. Mountedofficers will police the beachesand the shoreline, while extraunits of the maritime policepatrol the waters from Het Zwinand Knokke-Heist to De Panne.

Federal foreign minister DidierReynders will address parlia-ment this week about Belgium’sB-Fast rapid reaction unit,which returned to Belgiumwithout being able to carry outits mission in Nepal. The teamleft on 26 April, the day afterthe devastating earthquakein the South Asian country,to help find and rescue survi-vors. The B-Fast plane could notland in Kathmandu, however,until Tuesday, and by the timethe 43-strong team arrived, theNepalese government’s missionhad changed to providing shel-ter and care for the survivors –a task for which B-Fast was notequipped.

The future of Neo, the shop-ping and leisure developmentplanned by the City of Brus-sels at Heizel, could be in jeop-ardy after the auditor of theCouncil of State issued an opin-ion that the amendment to theregional zoning plan that makesthe complex possible did not go

ahead according to regulations.The case was brought by a groupof residents and businessescurrently operating at Heizel.If the council follows the audi-tor’s reasoning, the complexwould not be allowed to includea shopping centre – the biggestdraw of the project from thepoint of view of investors.

Residents of Melle in East Flan-ders who last week refused toevacuate their homes for thedecommisioning of a SecondWorldWarbombcouldfacefinesof up to €250, police warned. The250-kilogram bomb was discov-ered next to the railway line, andpolice evacuated 2,900 peoplefrom the area. Twelve residentsrefused to leave, delaying theoperation.

A Delhaize store in Brussels’Elsene commune has removedpanels meant to discouragethe homeless from sitting onits windowsills, following publicoutcry. The company said thepanels had been installed toprevent begging, which it feltwas annoying to customers.The panels will be replaced bya removable system that willonly be used in cases of seriousnuisance, Delhaize said.

The Flemish agency for natureand woodlands (ANB) hasannounced plans to make the535 hectares of the Haller-bos permanently car-free.At present the wood, betweenthe Zenne river and the SonienForest and world-famous for itsspringtime carpet of bluebells,is only free of traffic on Sundaysand public holidays. Accord-ing to the ANB, the motor traf-fic is not only a noise nuisance,it is also responsible for thedeaths every year of thousandsof animals, from deer to sala-manders. The first phase beginson 1 July with the closure ofVlasmarktdreef and Eikendreefbetween Achtdreven junctionand Hallerbosstraat.

Colruyt is no longer thecompanywith thebest reputa-tion in Belgium, after an unbro-ken run of five years. First placehas been taken over by sugarrefiner Tiense Suikerraffinade-rij of Tienen in Flemish Brabant.Fourteen thousand Belgians arepolled for the ratings by the localreputation management bureauAkkanto.

National rail authority NMBShas contested the results of astudy by the Boston Consult-ing Group, which looked atthe performance of railwaycompanies in 25 Europeancountries. NMBS scored badlyin punctuality, speed and ticketprices, and came in second-to-last place for service ahead ofIreland. “The NMBS is surprisedat the lack of objectivity in themethodology used,” the author-ity said in a statement, claimingthe figures used are outdated.

The national telecommunica-tions regulator BIPT is carryingout an investigation of so-called“unlimited” formulas offeredby telecoms companies, whichoften turn out to be subjectto more limits than the nameimplies, minister for telecomsAlexander De Croo said. Compa-nies often offer unlimited down-loads, telephone minutes or textmessaging, but the small printin contracts also warns of possi-ble sanctions against “excessive”use.

The Scottish brewery BrewDogplans to open a pub in Brus-sels. The brewery, known forpushing the envelope with beersmade with extreme hopping andalcohol levels of up to 41%, isopening its outlet in the formerSabena building oppositeCentral Station some time thisyear, the company announced.BrewDog has more than 20bars across the UK as well as inBarcelona, Stockholm, Helsinkiand Sao Paolo.

www.ayay.org

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Belgium has an urgent need for a legal frame-work for surrogate motherhood that protectsthe interests of the child, the surrogate and theprospective parents, according to Kind&Gezin,the Flemish agency for the family and children.“Kind & Gezin is concerned that people witha desire to have children may find themselvescaught up in a commercial arrangement,”said spokesperson Leen Du Bois. “That wouldinvolve risks which do nothing to protect theinterests of all of those involved.”Du Bois was speaking as protesters gatheredoutside a building on Koningsplein in Brusselswhere the Men Having Babies fair was takingplace at the weekend. The event was organisedby a group of private clinics and agencies fromthe US to introduce the idea of surrogacy to gaycouples from across Europe.The agencies offer clients a list of surrogatemother candidates. The surrogate would beimpregnated with the sperm of one of the men,in return for financial compensation, andwouldcarry the baby to term. The process costs thecouple a minimum of €90,000.The event logged 140 requests for surrogatemothers from Belgium and abroad, includ-

ing the Netherlands, France, Bulgaria andIsrael. “What the Americans are doing is notthe model I would recommend,” said Petra DeSutter, a senator for Groen who is also head ofgynaecology at the University Hospital of Ghent(UZGent).“Our people can use their services, however,because commercial surrogacy is well regu-lated there. The Americans also have the rightto come here and hand out information. But ifthey’re here to recruit clients and make moneyout of it, that would trouble me. This motivatesme to work harder for a law on surrogacy, so

that people are not obliged to go abroad to findwhat they’re looking for.”UZGent organises surrogacies, but not forpayment. There have only been about 20 casesin recent years, according to Veronique VanAsch, a lawyer who specialises in the area.“Since demand is far greater, people obviouslyhave to turn to other countries,” she told DeStandaard. “Last year I even had a heterosexualcouple who went to the US for a surrogacy.Theywere allowed to put both their names on thebirth certificate and come home with their ownchild, without any problems. For gay couples, ofcourse, things are more difficult.”Belgian organisations were not present at thefair. Gay rights organisation Cavaria receivedan invitation but declined to attend. “We preferto stay away,” said spokesperson Jeroen Borghs.“We find it too commercial. Admittedly, ourmembership is split. Some consider surro-gacy to be exploitation of the woman. Othersconsider it their only chance of having a child oftheir own. As an organisation, we were unableto agree on a standpoint.” \ AH

The six parties in the Flemish parliament havevoted in favour of new parliamentary rulestabled by speaker Jan Peumans (N-VA). Therevised regulations include a shorter summerrecess to allow MPs more time to approvegovernment decisions during the summermonths.MPs will no longer be able to head off on holi-day around the Flemish national holiday on 11July. They will instead work two more weeks inJuly so that they “follow the same rhythm as theFlemish government,” said Peumans.But the parties rejected a proposal to return towork two weeks earlier, on 1 September. Theywill return to parliament in mid-September asusual.Meanwhile, theBrusselsparliamenthasvotedtoreturn to work on the third Monday of Septem-ber, a full month earlier than usual.\ Derek Blyth

The first of two hearings was held last weekin the Flemish parliament in a bid to cut theregion’s traffic and pollution by attracting morepeople to public transport.The Committee for Mobility and Public Worksbrought together representatives from trans-port companies and passenger lobby groups todiscuss the government’s proposed changes tothe public transport network based on a shiftin policy from “basic mobility” to “basic acces-sibility”.The government of Flanders’ goal is to addressthe region’s chronic traffic and pollution prob-lems by persuading people to abandon theircars and adopt public transport, despite cuts toservices announced this year and an end to freepublic transport for people over 65.The govern-mentaims tomakepublic transportmoreacces-sible and competitive and to focus on providingefficient transport for daily commuters, includ-ing students and workers.Among the participants were two expertsfrom Scandinavia who described new formsof sustainable public transport developed inDenmark and Sweden. Representatives from

unions, transport operators and lobby groupsSupporters van het Openbaar Vervoer andTreinTramBus were also present.A second meeting this week will bring togetherexperts from other organisations, includingthe Anti-Poverty Network, the Taxi Federationand the cycle hire organisation Blue-bike/BlueMobility. The talks are aimed at shaping a newoperating contract for the Flemish public trans-port company De Lijn, which is due to comeinto force on 1 January next year. \ DB

Mixed reactions to surrogate mother conference in Brussels

Flemish parliamentshortens summerrecess

Experts meet to discuss future of public transport

\ POlITICs

Party in paralysis1 May, Labour Day, is tradi-tionally a time for speechesby socialist leaders, on thebenefits of the welfare stateand potential threats to it.Lastweek, itwasalsoanocca-sion to look at the state of thesocialist party SP.A itself.The recent death of formerSP.A leader Steve Stevaertonly highlights the fact thatthe socialists have seenbetter times. While in 2003,under Stevaert’s leadership,the party received 24% of thevote, it stood at merely 14%last year. It was forced intoopposition by a centre-rightmajority, which, in spite ofall its squabbling, still enjoysbroad popular support.Finding an opposition voiceafter decades in power isnever easy, as the weight ofpast decisions still looms. Butthere is more to SP.A’s prob-lems than that. It is paralysedby the election of its newleader.Theoutcome,manybelieve, iscertain, as incumbent BrunoTobback seems isolated andchallenger John Crombez ismostly described as “sympa-thetic”. Still, the impact ofthe election is far-reaching,as the strong leadership theparty is accustomed to isabsent.In Antwerp, one of SP.A’sstrongholds, the crisis runseven deeper. Yasmine Kher-bache, destined to be formermayor Patrick Janssens’successor, resigned frommost of her local offices,leaving the party in an evengreater state of confusion.So what were the speechesabout on 1 May? Whatstood out was the call for “aleft-wing front”. That is theterm commonly used for aco-operation between SP.Aand Groen. One of the advo-cates is, not surprisingly,GhentmayorDaniëlTermont,whose city reflects a success-ful co-operation between thetwo parties.In Antwerp, too, there werepleas for a left-wing front. InFlanders’ largest city, a frontbetween SP.A and Groenwould be a force to be reck-oned with, a veritable coun-terweight to the popularity ofN-VA’s Bart De Wever. It does,however, take two to tango,as even the socialists pointedout last week.The greens findit hard to warm to the idea,fearing the dominance of thelarger socialists.And last week again, theold scenario repeated itself.Groen party leader MeyremAlmaci turned down SP.A’s“courting”, as did KristofCalvo, Groen’s speaker in thefederal parliament. “If cartelsare the main subject on 1May, there is a problem,” hetweeted. \ Anja Otte

5th ColuMn Klimaatzaak sues governmentsthousands join to subpoena four governments over climate policy

Almost 9,000 members of the public have joinedan initiative launched by a group of 11 promi-nent Flemings to take legal action to force thefederal and regional governments to improvetheir climate policies.Klimaatzaak (Climate Business) was formed atthe end of last year, with the statement that thefour governments – federal, Flemish, Walloonand Brussels – were in breach of their obliga-tions regarding climate change. The group isdemanding a reduction in carbon dioxide emis-sions of 87.5% based on 1990 levels, with a dead-line of 2050.The four governments issued a response to thedemands earlier this year andmet with Klimaat-zaak. “Despite this interesting and constructivediscussion, it soon became clear that the vari-

ous parties could not come to a consensus thatwould see the necessary commitments trans-lated into a climate policy,” said Klimaatzaak ina statement. “All parties were in agreement that

a global temperature increase of more than twodegrees Celsius must be avoided.”The group includes artists, scientists and conser-vationists, including film director Nic Balthazar,Ignace Schops of the Regionaal LandschapKempen and musician Stijn Meuris. They arenow joined by 9,000 members of the public whoadded their names to a subpoena bringing thefour governments to court and asking them toprovide a timetable for their compliancewith theCO2 demand and a division of responsibilities.The subpoena has gone out, and the groupexpects a preliminary hearing within two weeks.If the governments fail to meet the group’sdemands, and those are upheld by the court, thegroup is asking for an exemplary fine of €10,000a day to be levied.

alan hopemore articles by alan \ flanderstoday.eu

© Courtesy klimaatzaak

The founding members of klimaatzaak

© Corbis

© Courtesy TaRs631/wikimedia Commons

may 6, 2015

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A new startchildren’s rights commissioner among those trying to improve youth detention

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also increasingly trying to help youngstersin co-operation with their relatives andfriends,” explains Henderickx.Young offenders are increasingly obligedto do community work, like helping out atretirement homes, so they don’t becomemarginalised from society. Mediators bringsomeof them into contactwith their victimsto talk about what has happened – with thegoal of helping both parties deal with thesituation.Since 2014, organisations like family agencyKind & Gezin and pupil support agencieshave been working together intensively toprovide more personalised support, as partof the new Integral Youth Support system.There are still a lot of things that canbe improved, however, children’s rightscommissioner Bruno Vanobbergenconcluded after spending three days at DeZande in Ruiselede, West Flanders – one ofthe Flemish Community’s four specialisedyouth support institutions. Vanobbergenimmersed himself in the “closed” sectionof the institution that houses only youngoffenders. Security measures are more strictin these closed sections than in the opensections.Youth in both the open and closed depart-ment of each institution are divided intogroups of about eight people each, livingtogether as small communities. Ruiseledehouses only boys, as does a centre in Ever-berg. The facility in Mol houses both boysand girls, while the fourth institution inBeernem houses only girls. In total, the fourinstitutions provide about 300 places.Vanobbergen participated in daily activi-ties at the institution and talked to young-sters and staff about their concerns. He thenshared his findings via a blog and op-eds inthemedia.Theactionwasmeant tohighlight50 years of youth protection and the devel-opment of a new plan for youth support inFlanders.“Oneof the purposeswas to shift the percep-tion that all youngsters in these institutionsare typical ‘bad boys’ who will always be adanger to society,” explains Vanobbergen.“Several boys talked very calmly and sensi-bly to me, making me wonder how theycould have ended up there.”Only about one in 10 of the boys in theseinstitutions has actually committed a crimi-nal offence; the rest come from problematicbackgrounds.What struck Vanobbergen was how lifeat the institution is strictly regulated andmonitored. There are detailed schedules,and the residents have to ask permission togo to the toilet, for example. “Some of themappreciate the structure because the lackof it caused them trouble outside,” he says.“But for others, the restrictions are difficultto handle.”Vanobbergen tookpart in recreational activ-ities like mountain biking and joined inlessons. Teachers give six hours of lessonseachweekday to the youngsters, three hoursof theory and three with practical goals. OnWednesdays, they finish early, just like regu-lar schools in Flanders.“A big problem is that they cannot attain adiploma or certificate through the lessonsin the institution,” Vanobbergen points out.“This is very frustrating for those who arestaying there for a long time, as they haveto start again almost from zero when they

get out.”He has called on the government to adjustthis regulation as quickly as possible.One controversial aspect of the institutionsis the way residents are brought in by thepolice. “Many of the young people and stafffelt that in certain cases it was unnecessaryto handcuff youngsters because they werenot aggressive,” explains Vanobbergen. “Thehandcuffs made them feel like serious crim-inals when they are not.”

Before youngsters can go on to a “receptionliving group”, where they’re prepared for astay in the regular living groups, they haveto undergo a safety check in an isolation cell.They spend at least half an hour in the cellto calm down and swap their clothes for theinstitution’s uniform. In Ruiselede, all resi-dents have to undergo this check, but that isnot the case in all institutions.“Theproceduremaywork for certain young-sters, but for others it’s an unnecessary trau-matising experience,” says Vanobbergen.“They feel they’re being treated like crimi-nals, while they may be the victim of theirparents, for example.” He has called for amore personalised approach.According to Henderickx, the sector isaware that this is a sensitive issue. “Effortsare made to keep the procedure as short aspossible,” he says. If youngsters need to staylonger in the cell – for a maximum of fivedays and after thorough assessment fromstaff – they are let out for activities andlessons during that time.“It may seem harsh, but I have seen new

arrivals who had hidden guns, lead pipesand insulin syringes in their clothes,” saysHenderickx.Talks with the youths also showed that theyare not always satisfied with their lawyer.“There are already specific study coursesfor this, but universities should establish aseparate study discipline in youth law,” saysVanobbergen.Other priorities for Vanobbergen are toworkmorewith families, retain the linkwiththe outside world and shorten the stay ofyoungsters in closed departments – mean-ing security facilities. “I heard from staffmembers that, after a stay of six months,most youth don’t really benefit anymorefrom the care there,” he says. “Other solu-tions should be sought, like letting them liveindependently but with extensive guidance,or moving them to an open department.”Vanobbergen was happy to see that young-sters were involved in the regulation of dailylife at the institution through meetingswith staff. “They have a say in the practicalarrangements, but not on the actual contentof their care,” he says. “They should be ableto discuss the content of their educationprogrammes, for example.”He hopes that former residents of institu-tions will be involved in negotiations for anew Flemish government decree on youth

support law. This decree, set to be intro-duced in 2018, will cover the support forboth youth from problem situations andoffenders. Following recent state reforms,Flanders now has the authority to deal withthe latter, which used to be a federal respon-sibility.“Because of their experiences in institu-tions, former residents could provide a valu-able contribution to the development of thenew decree,” says a spokesperson for thecabinet of welfare minister Jo Vandeurzen.The welfare ministry is developing theexact strategy for this development. What’scertain is that working groups will focuson thematic topics, joining academics andrepresentatives from stakeholder organ-isations in the youth support sector. Theworking groups will work on the basis of aconcept note already approved by the Flem-ish government.“The new decree is a good opportunity tofurther personalise the guidance for theyoungsters and to update the legislationaccording to the newest insights in thesector,” says the spokesperson.An important topic on the agenda is theregulation of mediation between perpetra-tors and victims. The working groups willalso concentrate on programmes that takeinto account the youngsters’ personal situ-ation and provide more extensive psycho-logical assistance. Another issue is whathappens to youngsters when they reach theage of 21 and can no longer be helped by theyouth support sector.One recent decision by the government ofFlanders is the extension of the infrastruc-ture at the Flemish Community’s specialistyouth support institutions in Beernem andRuiselede – resulting in 36 extra places inthe short term.“The need for more space has been growingthroughout the decades,” says the welfareministry spokesperson. “We are takingaction to increase the capacity but always incombination with the development of alter-native methods.”

\ COVeR sTORy

www.JongErEnwElZiJn.BE

© JelleVermeersch/Jongeren welzijn

© Titus simoens

youngsters in Flanders’ youth support system attend class in their residential institution but cannot earn a diploma, a source of frustration

Children’s rights commissioner Bruno Vanobbergen spentseveral days in an institution to see the day-to-dayactivities and listen to the young residents’ concerns

Several boys talkedvery sensibly tome, making mewonder how theyended up there

\ 6

The West Flanders bakery company Jules Destrooper,famous for its butter waffles, has been taken over byGT&CO, the holding company of the Vandermarlierefamily best known as a cigar manufacturer.Vandermarliere was previously owner of Gryson, one ofthe last independent tobacco companies in Flanders,before selling to Japan Tobacco Company in 2012. Thefamily still owns the J Cortès cigar company. Since theGryson sale, which raised a reported €475 million, “thefamily has patiently and professionally waited for newmarket opportunities”, GT&CO said in a statement.Jules Destrooper first brought his waffles to market in1890 and the company has since grown into one of thecountry’s most recognisable brands with sales in 75countries. The company has facilities in Lo-Reninge andYpres, employing 160 people, and last year had sales of€36 million.“We are entrepreneurs,” said Guido Vandermarliere.“Money sitting in the bank is of no interest to us. Belgiumis a village, butwehave theworld at our feet.We’re buyingDestrooper not to hold on to what it is, but for its expan-sion potential.”The value of the takeover has not been revealed.In related news, another West Flanders entrepreneur,Philip Cracco, has taken over Montebi, the parentcompany of watchmaker Rodania, a brand that nowreturns into Flemish hands. The brand was sold eightyears ago to investment fund BV Capital Partners.Cracco is the investor behind temporary employ-ment agency Accent, and his plans for Rodania includedoubling sales (€15 million in 2014) over the next sixyears. “The company may well have potential, but itneeds to be managed better,” he said. Here, too, the take-over price was not revealed. \ Alan Hope

Leuven-based AB InBev, the larg-est brewer in the world, hasannounced a target of one-thirdof all boardroom posts to be filledby women before 2019, when thetarget becomes a legal quota inBelgium. Company chair KeesStormmade the announcement atthe annual generalmeeting (AGM)last week.For most companies, the quotacomes into force in 2017; forcompanies with a control-ling shareholder – AB InBev iscontrolled by Belgian and Brazil-

ian families – the quota becomeslaw two years later. “We will meetthat deadline, and most likely willachieve that figure even sooner,”Storm said in answer to a questionfrom the floor. “Above all, what wewant is a balanced board with theright people, irrespective of genderor nationality.”At present, AB InBev has 14 direc-tors, two of whom are women:Maria Asunción Aramburuzabalaof Mexico was the reference share-holder of Mexican market leaderGrupo Modelo, which was taken

over by AB InBev in 2012, and MMichele Burns of the US, formerCEO of human resources multi-national Mercer. Burns (pictured),who has sat on several boards,including Wal-Mart and GoldmanSachs, was appointed at the AGM.

InBevcouldfindadditionalwomendirectors within the ranks of itsshareholders, Trends magazinesuggested. Eugénie Patri Sébastienis a director of the Luxembourg-based holding company of InBev’sBelgian shareholders. ViscountessDiane de Spoelberch, the wife offormer Interbrew director CharlesAdriaenssen, became a director ofthe holding in 2013.“I cannot rule out that womenmight be nominated to the boardby controlling shareholders,”Storm said. \ AH

The call for temporary workers picked up again in 2014 after two difficult years, allowingthe industry to look forward this year to a return to levels similar to 2007, before the globaleconomic crisis, according to industry federation Federgon.Last year saw an increase of 9% in requests for temp staff in Belgium, for a total of just over177million hours billed.The increase is attributed to economic growth and the employmentof more than 200,000 job-students and more people over 55 than ever before.Thesector employed34,245over-55s,who together accounted for 9.3%of total tempemploy-ment. Another 55,294 over-45s accounted for 15% of the total.Sectors that saw themost growth include construction, despite falling levels of employmentoverall in the sector. Requests for temp services in management functions were up by 8.6%.The use of services cheques continued its downward trend, with a fall of 0.9%, althoughthe number of clients using the medium was up 2.6% and the number of people employedwas up by 0.9%.The explanation, according to Federgon, is that more people are employinghome help but for fewer hours. \ AH

The City of Ghent is investing €750,000 in a new building for the International Schoolof Ghent (ISG). The school was established in 2012 for the children of foreign staff inacademic institutions and technology companies fromWest and East Flanders.The school, currently located at the Leopold Barracks near Citadelpark, first opened itsdoors to 10 children between the ages of 2.5 and 12.This school year, ISG has 50 students.The new building, on De Pintelaan in the south of the city near the university hospital, willaccommodate 150 students and be ready by September of 2016.ISG was founded to ensure that foreign workers and firms would not discount East andWest Flanders because of a lack of an English-speaking primary and secondary school.“Ghent is one of the world’s top locations for biotechnology,” said Ghent’s alderwoman ofcivil affairs, Sofie Bracke. “International education is certainly one of the elements thatplay a role for companies or research centres considering setting up shop here.”\ Andy Furniere

Jules Destrooper takenover by cigar company

AB InBev to meet board of directors quota early, says CEO

Temp work back in vogue acrossBelgium after two hard years

City invests €750,000 inInternational School of Ghent

\ BUsIness

Brewing lindemansThe beer brewer, based inSint-Pieters-Leeuw, FlemishBrabant, and known for itskriek and gueuze, has inaugu-rated a €15 million productionunit, doubling capacity tomeetdemand.The company exportsto 45 countries worldwidewithexports representing 55% ofproduction.

Construction BesixThe country’s largest buildinggroup has earmarked Australiaas its development area for thenext five years. Besix, whichderives up to 50% of its turno-ver from projects in the MiddleEast, is seeking to diversifyits activities and has some €3billion worth of orders on itsbooks.

energy eDF luminusThe local affiliate of the FrenchEDF group has acquired theenergy automation servicescompany Advice, based inMerelbeke, East Flanders,which claims a 20% share inthe market, for an undisclosedamount.

mediaOutside Broadcast

The Leuven-based TV broad-caster and producer has beensold to the US NEP mediagroup, headquartered in Pitts-burgh, for an undisclosedamount. Outside BroadcastproducesThe Voice van Vlaan-deren programme and broad-casts Jupiler League footballmatches.

Packaging VPkThe Aalst-based packag-ing material and cardboardproducer is investing €6.5million in a new productionunit in Courcelles, Wallonia.Themove is part of the compa-ny’s €60 million investmentprogramme to increase capac-ity in Europe. VPK is one ofAmazon’s leading suppliers forpackaging products.

Ports antwerpThe port of Antwerp is seek-ing to build a second largecontainer dock on the Scheldt’sleft bank. Port authoritiesbelieve that container traf-fic will grow significantly overthe next few years, mirror-ing the increase in size of theships. Meanwhile, the recentlycompleted Deurganck dock,the world’s largest, has beenflooded.

Textiles sioenThetechnical textiles company,based in Bierbeek, Flem-ish Brabant, has acquired theBelgian tarpaulin reinforce-ments producer Dynatex tostrengthen its position on thetransport coverings market.

weeK InbusIness Bourgeois to promote “Flanders

Port Area” internationallyminister-president visits ghent port and historic ship pilots’ house

Flemish minister-president GeertBourgeois said he wanted to promoteFlanders ports internationally during a

visit to Ghent last week. The minister, whoseportfolio also includes foreign affairs andheritage, began with a tour of the Huis van deVrije Schippers, the historic headquarters ofGhent’s ship pilots.The 16th-century Gothic-style building onGraslei in the centre of Ghent, once used by theguild of inland shippers, is about to undergorestoration to create an exhibition area devotedto the port on the ground floor. Other floors willbe used for office space and reception areas.Thebuilding, due to reopen in 2018, will host events

linked to the port, including visits by foreigninvestors, ministers and ambassadors.

Bourgeois then visited the city’s port area withbusiness leaders and representatives of Flan-ders Investment and Trade. Among the CEOswere several representing international compa-nies based in the port of Ghent, including steelmultinational ArcelorMittal, vehicle manufac-turer Volvo and papermanufacturer Stora Enso.“I want to capitalise on our know-how inharbour management,” Bourgeois said. “Whenwe take part in trade missions abroad, we willmake a point of promoting the port of Ghent aswell as the other Flemish ports under the brandFlanders Port Area.”

derek Blythmore articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

Geert Bourgeois (third from right) visits Ghent’s Pilots’ Houselast week

may 6, 2015

\ 7

In Belgium, we like our coffee:Consumption averages overseven kilograms a year per

person. This love affair makes fora large amount of coffee grounds,but a new Brussels business hasdeveloped a project that gives thisplentiful by-product a second life.Two Martins – Martin Françoisand Martin Germeau – are thebrains behind Permafungi, aninnovative agricultural projectthat grows oyster mushrooms ina mixture of coffee grounds andstraw.Permafungi combines fungi, theLatin term for mushrooms, withperma, a contraction of permacul-ture. For those of us whose schoolscience has receded into thedistance, permaculture is aboutdeveloping agricultural systemsthat are sustainable and self-suffi-cient.Permafungi traces its origins toearly 2013 when Germeau, a bio-engineer by training, and at thetime volunteering at a permacul-ture project in Thailand, startedconsidering ways to make perma-culture a reality in his native Brus-sels.François, also far from home inMontreal, was searching for aproject with a social aspect. Bychance, the two met online andsubsequently developed the busi-ness.Another home-grown success,organic eatery chain Exki, seemeda natural place to source the rawmaterial. A cargo bike makes around of 10 Exki outlets to collectthe coffee grounds. “Oyster mush-rooms and coffee are the perfectmarriage,” says Germeau.Walking down into the cool,cavernous cellars of theTour&Taxis near the canal,Germeau explains why Brussels isthe perfect location for a projectlike Permafungi. “Mushroomcultivation needs dark, temper-ate conditions, and so lends itselfverywell to an urban environment– a warehouse or a basement, forexample,” he explains. “We arevery fortunate that Tour&Taxisagreed to rent us some of theirunderground space.”With similar ventures in the US,Berlin, Portugal and the Nether-lands, there is a small but commit-ted global community with whichto tease out teething problems.“There is healthy competitionbut also a lot of co-operation,”Germeau says.“We were in contact with a simi-lar start-up in Rotterdam thatwas attempting to use a combina-tion of straw and coffee groundswith little success. Permafungi atthe time was making no progressusing a mix of coffee bean husksand grounds. So we did a sort ofswap and found that the straw

technique was ideal for the condi-tions in Brussels, while in Rotter-dam their breakthrough camewhen they tried the coffee husks.”The final piece in the Brusselsproduction puzzle fell into placewhen the two founders borrowedthe process of sterilising the strawfrom a US operation.

Co-creationhas beenawatchwordfrom the outset, and, in two years,Permafungi has matured intoan urban permaculture successstory, with five staff, a multitudeof volunteers and a healthy doseof goodwill.But production is just one pillar;Permafungi is also committedto educating the public throughworkshops and tours, as well aspromoting domestic cultivation ofoyster mushrooms through their“ready-to-sprout kits”.“There are no secrets here, as canoften be the case with mushroomcultivation,” Germeau says. “Weare happy to share our knowhow.”After a walk along dark, flagstonecorridors, we arrive at the hubof production, where Germeauexplains the three-step process

involved in oyster mushroomcultivation. Over the mechani-cal hum of the ventilation systemsupplying purified air, he breaksdown the science behind theplanting, incubation and, finally,sprouting of the mushrooms.Because of thehighly sterile condi-tions, the closest we get to theplanting stage – where the mush-room seed is mixed with coffeeand straw – is a wave to the labtechnician in white overalls andmask. Incubation, equally inac-cessible, is the three-week periodduringwhich themixturematuresin complete darkness.The final stage, the “fruiting”, orsprouting of the mushrooms, ismore impressive to the casualeye. In a light, humid room, largesausage-shaped plastic bags aresuspended from the ceiling inrows. Sprouting out from the plas-tic at haphazard angles are floretsof oyster mushrooms. The youngsprouts are dark, but as they grow,they fade to an off-white – let’s justsay it – mushroomy colour.Permafungi’s mushrooms areharvested seven days a week.They work with a local distribu-tor specialised in permacultureand also sell direct to the Terrabioorganic shop on Huidvettersstraatand the two Brussels branchesof the co-operative supermarketFärm.You'll also find their shrooms atthe Tour&Taxis restaurant andat Brussels raw food eatery YAG.As the team have refined theirtechnique, mushroom produc-tion tripled between January andMarch of this year.Eachpackofmushroomsproduces

two or three yields, and the usedmix is thenpassedon to thenearbyurban farm in Maximiliaanpark,where it becomes fertiliser. Thus,production and sustainability arelargely in harmony at Permafungi.“Our one problem is the amountof plastic we use. Any biodegrad-able plastic would be destroyed bythe fungus, so we have no optionbut to use traditional plastic,” saysGermeau. “Developing a longer-lasting compostable plastic wouldbe interesting research, but, evenif it were viable, it would takesome years to develop.”Germeau acknowledges thatestablishing their start-up camewith some administrative chal-lenges. “As we’re unusual in carry-ing out agricultural production inan urban environment, it’s often acase of interpreting existing legis-lation that doesn’t correspondexactly and finding the best fit.”As a parting gift, Germeau twists astem of oyster mushrooms off andproffers it with the advice “choproughly and sauté in a little oil”.

Home-grown shroomsPermafungi has found a sustainable answer to a plentiful by-product

Researchers measurestress in fishResearchers from the Flem-ish Institute for Agricul-ture and Fisheries Research(Ilvo) and Ghent University(UGent) have found a wayto determine chronic stressin fish. The researchers, ledby Johan Aerts of Ilvo andUGent, found that measur-ing the amount of glucocor-ticoids in a fish’s scales canreveal the stress that fishexperienced during its life. Itopens a range of possibilities,such as exploring the rela-tionship between continuousstress in fish and the effectson their health, develop-ment and reproduction. Thatis important for the aquacul-ture sector and faor the careof fish in public aquariums,and can play an importantrole in monitoring the healthof fish in their natural envi-ronment.

study reveals why wepee when it’s coldIon channels in cell wallsare responsible for thesudden need to urinate whenconfronted by cold tempera-tures, according to a team ofscientists at the laboratoryfor ion channels researchand experimental urologyat the University of Leuven,led by researcher ThomasVoets. They say the findingopens new perspectives forthe treatment of overactivebladders or incontinence.The channels allow chargedparticles to stream in andout,a process that creates electricsignals, which are an impor-tant form of informationexchange in our bodies. Usinganimals under anaesthetic,the researchers showed thatthe channel called TRPM8 isresponsible for the urinationreflex. By disabling the chan-nel, researchers managed toblock the cold-induced reflex.

new treatment formuscular dystrophyAn international team ofresearchers led by professorGunnar Buyse of the Univer-sity of Leuven has developedthe drug Raxone/Catena,which stops the loss of respir-atory function in people withDuchenne muscular dystro-phy. Duchenne is an incura-ble, inherited neuromusculardisorder that affects one in3,500 youngsters worldwide.Until now, a steroid treat-ment was used to slow theweakening of muscles, butside effects meant patientscould not use it over the longterm. Raxone/Catena doesnot have such side effects.\ Andy Furniere

weeK InInnovatIon

\ InnOVaTIOn

www.PErmafungi.BE

Julie kavanaghmore articles by Julie \ flanderstoday.eu

Oystermushroomsand coffee arethe perfectmarriage

© Photos courtesy Permafungi

martin Germeau (left) is one of the founders of Permafungi, hidden in the cellars of Tour&Taxis

Pick up a kit to grow your own at home

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may 6, 2015

\ 9

The right to playyouth workers and vgc dispute future of flanders’ playgrounds start compulsory

school sooner,say liberalsThe Flemish liberal party,Open Vld, and its French-speaking counterpart, MR,have submitted a proposalto lower the age at whichcompulsory education beginsto five. The measure shouldprevent children from start-ing school with a lack ofknowledge that hinders themlater on. Current legislationstates that education muststart by six, the age at whichchildren begin the first yearof primary school. The liberalparties want to make it oblig-atory to start in the thirdyear of pre-school. They saythe earlier underprivilegedchildren get to know school,the better their chances of agood future. Although educa-tion is the responsibility ofthe communities, determin-ing the compulsory educationage is a federal matter.

more first aidcourses in schoolsEvery student in Flandersshould receive at least twohours of first aid training insecondary school, accordingto education minister HildeCrevits. First aid knowledgeis already part of the finalrequirements for second-ary school graduates, buthalf of Flemish schools donot offer the courses, allow-ing students to earn theirdiplomas without fulfillingthe requirements. Schoolscited an overloaded sched-ule and a lack of expertise asreasons. Crevits is setting upa collaboration between theeducation networks, the RedCross, municipalities and firebrigades, with the intention ofproviding a first aid course toall students in the fifth year ofsecondary education.

Thesis prizefor gender anddiversity researchGhent University will awardthe new DiverGent thesisprize for the most innovativeMaster’s thesis on the topicsof gender or diversity duringthe next academic year. TheCity of Ghent is collaboratingon the initiative.The prizewillchallenge students to develop“divergent” opinions, whichare necessary to contrib-ute to current debates andto propose solutions for poli-cymakers. “Looking from aperspective that puts genderand diversity central requiresyou to think beyond the statusquo,” the university said.\ Andy Furniere

weeK IneduCatIon

\ eDUCaTIOn

It’s July, and the kids are at theplayground. But instead ofrunning around or playing on

the swings, they’re working on anassignment given to them by theirteacher. There are no summerbreaks here, no holidays: only anendless cycle of study for all 12months of the year.“That’s what we’re afraid willhappen under the new regime,”says Bert Breugelmans fromVlaamse Dienst Speelpleinwerk(VDS), an organisation that trainsand advises playground workers inFlanders.The issue revolves around eightplaygrounds in Brussels. Untilrecently, they weremanaged by theFlemish Community Commission(VGC), the local representative ofthe government of Flanders. Since2005, youth workers trained bythe VDS have facilitated summerprogrammeson theseplaygrounds,including games and activities, andensured the children’s safety.From June, however, the VGC hasdecided to hand control over play-grounds to their adjoining schoolsand the role of facilitators to teach-ers. The change is part of an effortto improve the educational recordin the capital.By tying the playgrounds toschools, their focus will be on

“practising the Dutch languagein a playful but challenging envi-ronment”, according to the plan’sframework.The imitative also aimsto “create opportunities to developnon-academic skills, counter lossof knowledge during holiday peri-ods and reduce inequality, partic-ularly among children from lowersocio-economic and non-Flemishlanguage backgrounds.”For months, VDS has voiced itsconcerns over the plan, with aprotest march through Brusselsand a petition with 1,500 signa-tures. The basis of its criticism isArticle 31 of the United NationsConvention on the Rights of theChild, which recognises everychild’s right to play time.“The government has now madeeducation the primary goal ofthese playgrounds,” Breugelmanssays. “But you can’t solve the city’seducational problems by takingfrom children what little relaxa-tion time they have. Playgroundsshould be about having fun, notabout forcing children to learn newthings. Otherwise, it’s like having aschool year that’s 12 months long.”Like many of the youth workers,Roxanne Abels, who has worked atthe playgrounds since she was 16,is unhappy with the government’sdecision.

“I do believe VGC has good inten-tions and wants to tackle somepressing needs in Brussels’ educa-tion system,” she says. “But I don’tthink it’s handling it the right way.Children need places where theycan just be themselves withouthaving to answer to the expecta-tions schools might have of them.”VDS has told the governmentand the schools that it wantsto continue working with themon playground initiatives. “Wemight not agree on certain issues,”Breugelmans says, “but we can stilltry to give the children the bestchance to play.”Eighty or so youth workers nowface the prospect of having no jobthis summer. Despite their experi-

ence and commitment, Abels says,they feel left out of the decision-making process.With some fellow youth workers,she is trying to contact schools tosee if they would be interested inemploying them as volunteers.“We’re looking for a school with avision of playing and free time thatmatches ours,” she says. “We’vestrived to improve our playgroundsfor years andwere prettymuch freeto make our own decisions. Thisfreedom has allowed us to createthe best possible holiday for thechildren and volunteers.”If it does not find a suitable school,Abels says, the group has discussedstarting its own playground nextsummer.

This weekend, three dozen women and girls will learn to build theirfirst web application in just eight hours. This one-day workshop isorganised by Rails Girls Brussels, which is helmed by Leuven-basedsoftware developer Oana Sipos

What is Rails Girls?It’s aworkshoptargetedatgirls thatdoesn’t require any previous expe-rience and aims to introduce girlswith very different backgrounds tothe world of technology. We havementors who train the girls step bystep.The intent is to create an envi-ronment where they can feel confi-dent and safe.

How is it different from otherlocal coding initiatives?There’s nothing else I know of thatis targeted at girls in particular.There are general programmingcourses, but they’re not necessar-

ily web-oriented and there’s notnecessarily anything where youcan learn to code fromzero to hero,or let’s say, from zero to something.I think the format is unique amongmeet-ups in Belgium and Brussels.

What do you hope to achievewith this one-day event?A lot of girls have a lot of ideas, butthey just don’t know how to use thetech tools out there to realise them.So what we try to do is teach thema bit of prototyping and sketch-ing, and some technical terms. It’slike an introductory course in verybasic programming terms, but one

that can already open some doors.We also give them resources andinspirational talks to keep themgoing.

Are you meeting your ambi-tions?It’s difficult to measure the impactbecause it’s more over the longterm, but there is this open-mind-

edness that girls have after theworkshop.There are girlswhowentfurther into tech and are even help-ing out in the tech community now.There are other women who willnot necessarily do something withthis now but later on, in the sensethey will encourage the womenaround them to try this path.

What’s the biggest obstacle togetting women into tech?I think it’s this stereotype thattechnology is for men only andthat women should stay aside.Thistranslates into a lack of confidence,so then it’s somucheasier tochooseother fields like social sciencesor languages than to try to tackletechnology and, for instance, go fora computer science degree.\ Interview by Linda A Thompson

Q&a railsgirls.com/BrussEls

Eleven courses from Flemishuniversities have been included inthe top 50 for each discipline, partof this year’s QS World UniversityRankings. The university of Ghentprovides three of the courses, andtheuniversityofLeuventheremain-ing eight. Leuven, meanwhile, isonce again the only Belgian univer-sity in the top 100 universities list.The rankings looked at 36 disci-

plines in 894 universities in 60countries and rated them onacademic reputation, the impact oftheir research and their reputationas an employer. A top 50 was drawnup for each discipline and eachuniversity given an overall rating.Dentistry at Leuven won fifth placein the discipline, unprecedented fora Belgian university and Belgium’sonly top-10 rating. The university’s

other top 50 ratings went to philos-ophy (24), law (30), geography (34),statistics (38), cultural and devel-opment studies (39), materialsscience (40) and pharmacy (43).Leuven took 82nd place overall.The University of Ghent, at 129thplace overall, scored with veteri-nary science (27), psychology (30)and land and forestry management(48). \ Alan Hope

KU Leuven makes list of world’s top 100 universities

© layla aerts/Visit Flanders

© VDs

leuven’s university library

Bartosz Brzezinskimore articles by Bartosz \ flanderstoday.eu

www.sPEElPlEin.nEt

\ 10

\ lIVInG

“A bit rebellious”nationa(a)l pop-up shop pushes creative talent into the spotlight

For 10 days in May, the formerbuilding of the Vivaquawater authority in Brussels

will be transformed into one bigshowcase forBelgiancreativity.TheNationa(a)l pop-up store and eventvenue will spotlight emergingtalent from across the country innine disciplines. These 90 creativeminds were handpicked by a dozenNationa(a)l ambassadors andcreators in their own right.The impetus for the first editionof Nationa(a)l in 2012 was a studyabout the challenges facing thelocal creative industry. “There’s nolack of creativity in Belgium,” theresearchers concluded, “but thesector needs a boost in communi-cation and promotion.”Linda Van Waesberge, a Brussels-based stylist and fashion ambas-sador for this year’s edition ofNationa(al), couldn’t agree more.“The quality of the clothes andaccessories by Belgian design-ers is outstanding,” she says. “Butsomehow most people don’t knowanything about them.”She gives the example of Ghent-born handbag designer MarieMartens. “Although she makesgreat bags at a reasonable price,notmanywomenhaveheardof her,and they tend to choose a design byan international label. Putting herdesigns in the spotlight will hope-fully change this.”VanWaesberge chose eight design-ers for Nationa(a)l – all of themwomen. “Pure coincidence,” shesays with a laugh. “I wanted togroup new designers with tonsof creativity and ambition, whoweren’t being sold anywhere at themoment.They all have authenticityand quality; all they need now is a

good dose of publicity.”In addition to Van Waesberge, 15other ambassadors chose up-and-coming talent in their respectiveindustries. They include Brussels-based directors Adil El Arbi andBilal Fallah for cinema, artist PieterVermeersch for visual arts andcartoonist Herr Seele for publish-ing.Herr Seele, whose given name isPeter van Heirseele and who ismost famous for his irreverentCowboy Henk cartoons in Humomagazine, says an entire new

wave of Belgian illustrators hasemerged. “We’re famous for tradi-tional comic books such as Tintinand Guust Flater –what we call theFranco-Belgian school,” van Heir-seele explains. “But there are quitea few new, young illustrators in ourcountry.Theirwork is different andvery open towards other culturesand influences. Humour plays animportant role, and it often getstrashy. I love that. Art has to be a

bit rebellious.”For Nationa(a)l, van Heirseeleselected four young illustrators –Olivier Schrauwen, Brecht Vanden-broucke, Steve Michiels and GoeleDewanckel. “Whenever I’m abroadfor exhibitions, I notice how strongour Flemish illustrators are,” hesays. “Our pen is sharp, but we alsoconvey emotion. I feel there’s morepoetry in our drawings than in thework of our writers. As you can see,I’m quite proud of what we do.”Last year, Nationa(a)l drew 6,000visitors. Its atypical approach ofmixing multiple disciplines inevents, a shop and an exhibitionrecently earned the organisers theaward for Best New Concept fromthe city tourism agency Visit Brus-sels.“We’re hoping 10,000 peoplewill show up this year,” saysNationa(a)l artistic directorLeopoldo Profili. “We’ve workedhard on our communicationprogramme and developed post-ers with trilingual quotes such as‘Do you aime music’ and ‘Eat goeibouffe’. We want to go even moreinterdisciplinary than last year.”With a fashion show with danceperformances, a special lightchoreographyandanalbumreleaseby the Brussels-Parisian pop rockband Applause, the opening showon 8 May should set the tone.Both ambassadors and theirselected talents will be on hand forconcerts, movies, signing sessions,a rooftopbar andworkshops. Someevents are free; others require tick-ets and reservations.

Flanders is in the midst of an applecrisis, and it’s calling for your help.Last year, readers will recall, theRussian government imposed a banon certain agricultural exports fromthe EU. The measure hit Flemishexports hard, and pork, apple andpear producers in particular.Thanks to superhuman market-ing efforts, including a campaignto eat more pears, the pear grow-ers of Flanders are quite satisfied.“Sales of pears went up 30%; pricestoday are back at the level of Aprillast year, and our pear fridges areempty,” reports Philippe Appel-tans of the local VBT union of fruitauctioneers. Pears also found newmarkets in Canada, China and thecountries bordering Russia.Now the same sort of effort isneeded for apples, which are suffer-ing not only from the loss of a

Russianmarket that normally takes10% of production, but which havealso seen prices plunge as Poland –also a major client of Russia – hasdumped its surpluses on the EU

market.So below are our suggestions onhow to consume more applesduring this difficult time. And withprices hovering around €1 per kilo,these preparations have never beenso economical.Apple juice: The stuff that comes inboxes is a pale imitation of the realthing.Make your own andfilter it asmuch or as little as you like to keepthat pure apple goodness.Apple cider: Cider is fermentedapple juice: just add a pack of cham-pagne yeast and let those micro-organisms do their job. Much easierthan beer to make at home.Apple cider syrup: Spicy and sweet,great over pancakes, soaked intocake or as a basis for warm ciderwhen the cold months roll aroundagain (ie next week).Liège-type apple syrup:Keepboiling

the above syrup and it gets thickerand thicker until you have a dark,heavy paste that’s sweet on breadbut also gives great depth to soupsand stews.Apple cider vinegar: A differentsort of fermentation, allowing yourcider to turn to vinegar. Bottled andlabelled, give this out as gifts. Howdomesticated is that?Fermented apples: Lacto-fermen-tation is not for the faint of heart,but the results are to die for. Alittle whey, water and salt are all ittakes, together with some rigoroushygiene, and you get apple slicesto accompany ham and other coldcuts, with probacteria as a bonus.Apple chutney: An old favourite,either fiery hot or take as you like it.Recycle your empty spaghetti saucejars instead of carting them to thekerb. \ Alan Hope

bItean apple a day

amazing ThaiweekendColourful outdoor festi-val of Thai culture in thecentre of Antwerp with Thaifood, traditional dance, Thaimassage, kickboxing demosand the chance to win a freetrip to Thailand. 9-10 May10.00-18.00, Groenplaats,Antwerp; free

\ www.tinyurl.com/antwerp-thai-weekend

BeerveldeGarden DaysThe theme this year is Teain the Garden, with a tableset for 120 and decoratedwith floral displays. Alsoflower and plant market,contests, workshops andactivities for kids, all inthe beautiful setting of thehistoric Beervelde estate.8-10 May 10.00-18.00, Dorp75, Beervelde (East Flan-ders); €10

\ www.parkvanbeervelde.be

arts & crafts festivalAn outdoor arts fair in aunique location: a formerclay pit and brick factorythat’s been turned into arecreational park. Artists’stands will be set up nearthe old ring kiln and inthe gardens. Bike rentals,paddle boats, a brasserieand playground will alsobe available. 10 May 12.00-17.00, De Schorre ProvincialPark, Schommelei 1, Boom(Antwerp province); free

\ www.deschorre.be

Brussels FoodTruck FestivalMore than 80 food trucksfrom Belgium and abroadwill gather in the centre ofBrussels. New this year: anAirstream corner featuringiconic American trailers.8-10 May, Keizerinlaan andKunstberg, Brussels; free

\ www.brusselsfood-truckfestival.be

europe DayEuropean institutionsacross Brussels open theirdoors to the public on 9May to celebrate Europeanpeace and unity. There arealso guided walking toursin English of the EU quar-ter, including Berlaymont,parliament, Leopoldpark,Ariadne’s Bridge, plus theJourdanplein neighbour-hood. On 10 May, a festivalvillage will be located on thepedestrian plaza in front ofCentral Station. 9-10 May;free

\ www.tinyurl.com/Europe-day-15

weeK InaCtIvItIes

© wikimedia

katrien lindemansmore articles by katrien \ flanderstoday.eu

www.nationalstorE.BE

8-17 mayWolstraat 68, Brussels

8-17 may

© Courtesy nationa(a)l

nationa(a)l combines a 10-day pop-up shop with concerts, a fashion show and workshops

may 6, 2015

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The ultimate catwalkcats Parade in ypres takes family-friendly approach to gruesome medieval tradition

Just when you thought you hadexperienced all the wackiness thatFlanders could throw at you, along comesan event that raises the wacky bar anotch. It’s the Kattenstoet, or Cats Parade,in West Flanders, and as far as parades go,it’s truly one of a kind.

In spite of its innocuous name, theKattenstoet, or Cats Parade, organisedevery three years in the West Flemish

town of Ypres is no Crufts-style catwalkof feline’s finest. Instead, it’s a processionof local marching bands, carnival floatsrepresenting Ypres through the ages,singers, street theatre and dance troupes.Interspersed among them are thoseindispensable components of everyFlemish parade: giants.Weighingup to 225 kilogramsand standingfive, six or even seven metres high, theseconstructions are extremely colourful andhighly imposing. The Kattenstoet giantsinclude Kattenkoning Cieper (Cieper, Kingof the Cats); his wife Minneke Poes; soldierGodfried de Tempelier; the smoke-breath-ing Ypres devil Pietje Pek; and even a giantcalled … Goliath.Both onlookers and parade marchers alsodress up as cats, from ad-hocmake-up andfuzzy ears to full-on cat costumes.As if that isn’t enough excitement for aSunday afternoon, the parade culminateswith the town jester hurling plush toy catsfrom the Ypres belfry tower into the crowdbelow and some ritual witch-burning forgood measure.

Cat-throwing, really?Yes, you read that correctly. Cuddly toy catsare thrown from the 70-metre-high belfryin the middle of Ypres. It’s perhaps worthassuring younger children that they aretoys before the whole things starts. (Youmay also want to think about keeping theirfavourite cuddly toy chained to the buggy.)If you catch a plush cat, you are of courseits rightful owner and can take it on home.If throwing plush cats from a high towerseems a little politically incorrect, theorigins of this custom are even moredisturbing. The Kattenstoet replicatesevents during the middle ages whenlive cats were tortured and killed duringKattenfoors (Cat Fairs) in towns and citiesthroughout Europe.For example, take the visit of the Prince ofOrange and the Duke of Anjou to Bruges inthe summer of 1582. They were greeted bythe sight of a giant structure in the shapeof a ship in the market square. Strapped tothe mast were more than three dozen cats,along with cases of fireworks. This soundsbad, doesn’t it?Indeed, the shipwas set alight, and the catsbecame, well, history.According toa text from1871,oneonlookerreported: “The screams of the haplesscreatures on the ignition of each fireworkproduced further cheers and merrimentamong the happy throng.”

what’s wrong with cats?Why should cats be singled out for suchharsh treatment? The true reason might

never be known, but there are four theo-ries that have been suggested.The TooMany Cats in Ypres theory. Ypresowed its prosperity to the cloth industry.Wool was imported from England andstored in the local cloth halls. These werewarm, dry homes for rats and mice, whichbred profusely. To control them, a few catswere released into the cloth halls.The plan worked fine, and rodent numbersdecreased. Unfortunately, the cloth hallswere nowoverrun by cats. Howcould thesebe controlled? Catch them and hurl themfrom the tower, of course.The Cats Are the Devil’s Minions theory.We have 13th-century Pope Gregory IX tothank for this one. He claimed that a sect insouthern France had been caughtworship-ping the devil in the form of a black cat.Cats became the official symbol of heresy,and anyone showing affection for a catcame under the church’s suspicion.The Cats Are Witches’ Pets theory. Olderpeasantwomen living aloneoftenkept catsaspets for companions. Bad idea! If cats areincarnations of the devil, then this meansthat their owners must be … witches.Suspected witches were frequently burntat the stake along with their cats. (It’seasy to imagine that any cat jumping fromthe flames could be caught and hurledfrom a high tower instead.) Incidentally,this theory is believed to account for theshortage of cats in 14th-century Europe, acorresponding plague of black rats and theresulting plague.The If The Queen of England Can Do It,So Can We theory. Queen Elizabeth I hada cat burned alive during her coronationcelebration in 1558 to symbolise the releas-ing of demons. Five years later, England’sWitchcraft Act associated the keeping ofcats with “wickedness”, which led to theexecutions of many more cats and theirowners.In other words, the people and authoritiesof Ypres had plenty of reasons to partici-pate in and enjoy the barbaric entertain-ment of cat throwing. Thankfully, the lastlive cat met its fate this way in 1817, andwhen the idea of the first Ypres Katten-stoet was proposed in 1938, real cats werereplaced by the plush variety.During the Second World War the funstopped, but by the 1950s it had become aregular part of the town’s spring festivities.Indeed, until the 1980s, Ypres was betterknown for its Kattenstoet than for its wartourism.Festivities start on Saturday, with towncriers, fire-eaters, witches, soldiers, arch-ers, stilt-walkers, drummers, dancers andmusicians streaming through the streetsof Ypres announcing the 44th Kattenstoet.The parade itself takes place the follow-ing day at 15.00. It culminates with thecat throwing from the belfry tower in theGroteMarkt at 18.00, followed by the burn-ing of the witches at 19.00. Everything isfree, unless you want a seat in the coveredstands.

denzil waltonmore articles by Denzil \ flanderstoday.eu

www.kattEnstoEt.BE

across ypres

9-10 may© Photos courtesy City of ypres

after the parade featuring cat giants, you can catch your own cuddly cat toy as the rain down from the city’s belfry

Enjoy special discounts and free services for your whole family.Your family boards first and sits together on board.Kids under the age of 12 receive discounts* and everyoneis entitled to 12kg of hand baggage.

WE TAKE YOUR FAMILYAND YOUR BUDGETUNDER OUR WING.

brusselsairlines.com/familyor your travel agency.

*Con

ditio

ns:s

eew

ebsi

te.

may 6, 2015

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TheHitchcock operaPrivate view combines unlikely sources of inspiration, from digital voyeurism to murder

When someone says you aregoing to see a Hitchcock opera,what does that mean exactly?

Even in late April, just three weeks beforePrivate View has its world premiere in thebiennial Opera XXI festival in Antwerp,those closely involved in the project werestill waiting to find out.“We’ve never heard it played,” explainswriterGaea Schoeters, who has been working onthe opera’s structure and narrative. “The firstrehearsalwith themusicians is scheduled forthe week after next, so that will be the firsttime we’ll actually hear what it sounds like.”The reason for this suspense is that almosteveryone involved inPrivate View is basedin a different country. Schoeters andcomposer Annelies Van Parys are fromFlanders, librettist Jen Hadfield lives inthe Shetland Islands, off the north coastof Scotland, and director Tom Creed isfrom Ireland.

The singers are Die Neue Vocalsolistenof Stuttgart, in Germany, while the musicwill be played by the Asko-SchönbergEnsemble of Amsterdam. Then there arefound-footage interventions by the Dutchvideo group Collective 33⅓, from Zwolle.The whole production is coordinated byMuziektheater Transparant in Antwerp.Getting everyone together for a sustainedperiod of work was impossible, so theyworked in parallel, putting all the elementstogether bit by bit. “That was a fascinat-ing working process,” says Schoeters. “Evenfor the composer – although she can imag-ine most of the music – the point where itbecomes real is actually very late in theprocess.”Van Parys has composed vocal work before,but this will be her first full opera. She hadbeen looking for inspiration in classical

Greek drama, but when nothing caught herimagination she turned to the work of filmdirector Alfred Hitchcock. Here there wassuspenseandaquirkysenseofhumour,alongwith themes that shewanted to explore suchas voyeurism and social isolation.“Rear Window is Annelies’ favouriteHitchcock movie, so I think that triggeredher to do a Hitchcock opera,” says Schoe-ters. The 1954 film tells the story of a manconfined to a wheelchair who obsessivelywatches his neighbours from the back ofhis New York apartment building. Slowlyhe becomes convinced that he has seena murder.“The task that we set ourselves from thevery beginning was absolutely not toremake Rear Window,” Schoeters goes on.“But we have borrowed the apartmentblock idea to tell a story about the presentreality and how people have retreatedinto separate worlds within society.”Part of that contemporary reality involvesthe influence of social media, which tendto separate people from the communitiesaround them and encourage a kind of digitalvoyeurism. “We didn’t want to actually showFacebook or internet relationships, but totake these ideas and put them back into ananalogue world of an apartment block full ofpeople who are neighbours but hardly knoweach other.”

Another aspect of Rear Window that hasbeen retained is the notion of a murderthat may or may not have taken place.Schoeters was interested in exploringwhether something as negative and asfrightening as a killing might actuallybreak through this social isolation andbring people together.“The murder sets them into action tore-establish contact with each other andwith the world, in order to find out whatreally happened. The question is: When thisthreatdisappears, have they really changed?”Van Parys has avoided the music usuallyassociated with Hitchcock, whetherFranz Waxman’s score for Rear Windowor the work of his great musical collab-orator, Bernard Herrmann. She has alsochanged her own approach to composi-tion.“She deliberately stepped away from thekind of music that she usually makes, whichis based on colours and atmospheres,” saysSchoeters. “Here she set herself the task ofputting more narrative and more dialogueinto the music.”Each of the characters has a theme andparticular instrumentation. For example,one couplewho thinkof themselves as rather

racy have an electric guitar motif, while alittle old lady who stays in her apartmentwith her clocks is associated with preparedpiano and a set of music boxes. Alongsidethis are more conventional classical instru-ments such as strings, brass, woodwind andpercussion.Meanwhile, in place of classical opera’s habitof having people sing about how they feel,Hadfield’s libretto brings out action andhumour. “It’s very witty and tongue in cheek,with a lot of layers,” says Schoeters. “And theboys in Collective 33⅓ have done the samekind of thing with their visual language.There are a lot of visual jokes.”This should give Private View a broadappeal. “A lot of people have the ideathat opera is old-fashioned or a diffi-cult medium,” Schoeters admits. “Butby bringing suspense, humour and thislighter tone to it, I think it can be veryappealing to a wide range of people.”It’s fitting then that Private View shouldpremiere at Opera XXI, a forward-think-ing contemporary opera and musicaltheatre festival organised every two yearsthat has made experimenting its watch-word.Other highlights of Opera XXI includeThere is no why here, a project by Ital-ian composer Andrea Molino, directedby Wouter van Looy, also for Muziek-theater Transparant. Taking its titlefrom the writer and holocaust survivorPrimo Levi, it explores questions of goodand evil, presenting different and some-times contradictory points of view. Theperformance includes images recordedby cameras on stage and from externalwebcams, played like musical instru-ments.Then there is L’autre hiver (The OtherWinter) by composer DominiquePauwels and librettist Normand Chau-rette, which deals with the turbulent rela-tionship between 19th-century Frenchpoets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine.Through their story, this “phantasmago-rical opera” explores the tension betweeneveryday reality and the world of words.

ganesh versus thethird reichBack to BackGanesh,theHindugodwithanelephant’shead, travels to Nazi Germany to reclaimthe swastika, an ancient Indian symbol,from Hitler. Or at least that’s the story weare meant to see, if only the actors canovercome their objections to the rolesthey have to play and get to grips withthe material. Rule-bending, thought-provoking drama from Australian thea-tre group Back to Back, which special-ises in work with disabled actors. (InEnglish) 7-8 May, Vooruit, Ghent

\ www.vooruit.be

spiritsidi larbi cherkaoui &saburo teshigawaraSpirit brings together work by Antwerpchoreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui andJapanese choreographer Saburo Tesh-igawara, performed by the Göteborg-sOperans Danskompani. Cherkaoui’sNoetic explores the struggle between adesire for structure in our lives and theneed to break free from rules (pictured).Meanwhile, Teshigawara’s Metamorpho-sis takes its lead from Kafka, explor-ing bodily renewal and the desire forcontrol. 7-10 May, deSingel, Antwerp

\ www.desingel.be

revue ravage: deathof a Politiciantom lanoyeSold out in Brussels, Ghent and Turn-hout, the Kortrijk leg is your onlychance to see Tom Lanoye’s play aboutan ageing politician who is too fearfuland too vain to give up power. Josse dePauw directs and leads a stellar cast,including Els Dottermans, An Miller andNico Sturm. The music is composed byPeter Vermeersch and performed liveby Flat Earth Society. (In Dutch) Until 12May, across Flanders

\ www.kvs.be

More perForManCe thIs Month

© Bengt wanselius

ian mundellmore articles by Ian \ flanderstoday.eu

www.oPEraXXi.BE

Opera XXIAcross Antwerp and Ghent

13-24 may

The apartment blockis used to show howpeople have retreatedinto separate worlds

a multinational and multimedia opera, Private View is a highlight of the Opera XXI festival

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A fresh perspectiveafter 20 years, Brussels’ kunstenfestivaldesarts reflects on time

As the hybrid name suggests,Kunstenfestivaldesarts (KFDA) is abridge between Belgium’s two largest

linguistic communities, who tend – even inofficially bilingual Brussels – to explore theirrespective art worlds in splendid isolation.But it’s much more than a gesture of nationalamity. Artists from around the world are alsoinvited to participate in what has become oneof the capital’s biggest celebrations of contem-porary performance.More than anything, KFDAis a testament to Brussels’ standing in the inter-national arts scene.Indeed, the city owes some of its current cloutto this very festival. KFDA has been staking itsclaim for a full two decades now, and this 20thanniversary edition is bigger than ever, with 32projects spread out over 22 venues and threeweeks. Some 330 artists from 16 countries,participate in 134 performances andone exhibi-tion. And thousands of visitors will enjoy them.KFDA marks this milestone with a generalreflection on time – the way it structures artis-tic creation and the way art structures time in

its turn. The centrepiece of this meditation isa comprehensive catalogue of the festival’s 20years,The Time We Share.In the process of documenting KFDA’s history,the editors and contributors (often the artiststhemselves) link the performances of yesteryearto contemporaneous artistic and social devel-opments.This kind of work is normally the reserve of arthistorians theorising centuries after the fact,but the defining feature of contemporary art isits self-consciousness. Today’s artists and theirpublic demand the right to define themselves.So three evenings of discussions accompanythe publication and are spaced throughout thefestival.The theme also resonates in this year’s perfor-mances, which address the full spectrum of fluxfrom the ever-changing codes of performanceto the evolution of identity to the transforma-tion of public space (with a focus, of course, onBrussels).KFDA invites its audience to look into the futureif only to look back on the present from a fresh

perspective, to recognise the changes thatescape notice in real time. It’s a tall order, andsome artists will undoubtedly miss that partic-ular mark. Luckily, contemporary art allows forsuch shortcomings as long as one comes shortin style.

Rits arts schoolto change nameThe Brussels film and theatreschool Rits has been awardedthe right to the use of theword“Royal” in its name, the palaceinformed the institution’sdirector, Dieter Lesage. Theschool will now be known bythe English name Royal Insti-tute for Theatre, Cinema andSound (RITCS). The schoolon Dansaertstraat has 700students following Bachelor’sandMaster’s courses in audio-visual and performance arts.

\ www.rits.be

Plopsaland is bestamusement park

Plopsaland in De Panne haswon Best Amusement Parkin Belgium in the fifth editionof the Diamond Theme ParkAwards, which awards prizesin multiple categories cover-ing theme parks in Belgiumand the Netherlands. Plopsa-land De Panne also won MostKid Friendly Park and washome to the Best Attraction,which went to its Anubis ride.Antwerp Zoo, meanwhile,had the Most Beautiful Birthwith its baby Hamlynmonkey,while Best Event went toBobbejaanland in Antwerpprovince for its Halloweenbash.

\ www.diamondtheme-parkawards.com

De munt wins Bestworld Premiere atOpera awards

Brussels opera houseDeMunthas picked up the prize forBest World Premiere from theInternational Opera Awardsin London for its productionof AuMonde by Philippe Boes-mans. “De Munt goes to greattrouble every year to investin new creations, and no-onehas made a greater contribu-tion in recent decades thanPhilippe Boesmans,” De Muntsaid in a statement.The operahouse was nominated in fivecategories, including BestDVD, Best Opera House andBest Richard Strauss Anniver-sary Programme. Royal OperaFlanders, meanwhile, wasnominated for Best Companyand Best Chorus. “We werevery proud to be nominatedalongside the most renownedchoruses in the world,” thecompany said.

\ www.demunt.be

weeK In arts& Culture

Thegroup exhibitionVanitas Extended connectsthe war-time past of Ypres to present-day talentand timeless views. Curator Nathalie Vanheule,born in the city, came up with the idea for theexhibition after three family members died inthe space of two weeks, just before she gavebirth to her daughter. “Death overtakes us,” shesays. “We can never be prepared for it.”The multimedia art parcours, which takes thevisitor to indoor and outdoor locations acrossthe city, tries to shed new light on the classi-cal vanitas theme in art – depictions of objectssymbolic of the inevitability of death. You’llfind local and international artists, includingGerman sculptor Madeleine Boschan, Brusselspainter Stephan Balleux and Dutch artist OscarPeters,who contributes one of his uniquemove-able sculptures.“We venture off the path of fading flowers, skullsand fruit,” says Vanheule, referring to the vani-tas tradition. “We go far beyond it in an attemptto hold on to life.”In the city’s Sint-Maartens cathedral, you can

admire the work of Flemish painter CindyWright, whose impressive “Endless Road” isbased on the list of lost FirstWorldWar soldiersengraved on the Menin Gate.Wright’s work contrasts heavily with the play-ful installations of Flemish artist Tinka Pittoors,whoorganises “little explosionsof confetti outofeveryday life”, according to the exhibition cata-logue. But the vibrance hides a seed of vanitas.Ghent artist Marie Cloquet, meanwhile, hasmade a striking series of manipulated photo-

graphic prints, referring to the “scorched-earth”military strategy. It results in haunting land-scapes of monumental damage.One of the highlights of the exhibition is a videoby Flemish artist RubenBellinkx, in an ice cellar,not far from theMenin Gate. Slowly, the camerareveals 33 men in suits, solemnly holding fourtables above the ground with their mouths(pictured). Humans become a fragment of alarger whole. We lose our vanity, in Bellinkx’sview; we’re condemned to become part of eachother.Walking through the small city and the some-times unusual locations, you can’t help butthink of the words of artist Liesbet Waegemansin the catalogue, as she describes death intensi-fying life: “We cannot bring life back, and I thinklife does not ask for it. It wants to be released.”\ Dirk Leyman

Vanitas Extended: a haunting art route through Ypreswww.vanitasEXtEndEd.BE

across ypres

until 6 June

georgio valentinomore articles by Georgio \ flanderstoday.eu

My Breathing is my Dancing • Anne TeresaDe KeersmaekerWhile Kunstenfestivaldesarts trumpets itsdedication to up-and-coming artists (and it’strue that the programme is full of rising stars),the name at the top of its marquee is that ofBelgium’s pre-eminent contemporary choreog-rapher. Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s emotiveminimalism helped put Flanders on the dancemap in the 1980s. She continues to decon-struct the medium in her recent performance-cum-exhibition Work/Travail/Arbeid, whichwas launched at Wiels in March in the contextof another festival and yields midway throughKFDA to the world premiere of her latestcreation, My Breathing is My Dancing. 8-14May, Wiels, Van Volxemlaan 354

Les Marches de la Bourse • Anna RispoliAnnaRispoli has been tapped to turn in aKFDA-opening performance in the heart of the city.

The Italian-born, Brussels-based artist, whosework exists in the sweet spot between publicspace and private experience, chose a venue ofobvious significance: the Beurs. This relic fromthe 19th century is a monument to that period’simperial ambitions and so, naturally, it’s alsoone of Brussels’ go-to sites for protesters (andthe occasional reveller). Rispoli invites severalof these back to the stepswhere they oncemadetheir statement. Entry is free. 8 May, 18.00,Beursplein

Umbelina’s Cave • Leandro NerefuhAlthough contemporary art is all about “think-ing outside the box”, sometimes it feels likeformal experiment has reached the point ofdiminishing returns. So the truly transver-sal work of Brazilian artist and social theoristLeandro Nerefuh is a breath of fresh air. Return-ing to the avant-garde’s roots in criticism, Nere-fuh first astounds by having something to say.

He astounds once more in the way he deliversthemessage. His work is truly transdisciplinary,fusing not just artistic media but also academicdisciplines. Umbelina’s Cave explores post-colonial identity via lecture and performance.(In English) 10-12 May, Beursschouwburg,Auguste Ortsstraat 20-28

Our City •Maria TarantinoSince its host city is so central to KFDA, it’s nosurprise that the festival has invited directorMariaTarantino to screenherdocumentaryOurCity. The 2014 film is a report on the changingidentity of Brussels. Tarantino isn’t interested inthe city’s role as capital of Europe (or of Belgiumor of Flanders) but rather plunges into everydayBrussels. She interviews natives and newcom-ers from around the world and, in the process,discovers that Brussels is a true crossroads. (InDutch and French with English subtitles) 20-24May, Galeries Cinema, Koninginnegalerij 26

don’t MIss at KFda

across Brussels

8-30 may

maria Tarantino’s new film Our City explores the many sidesof Brussels

www.kfda.BE

may 6, 2015

\ 15

ClassICal

FestIval ConCert

perForManCe

Nineteenth-century Belgiansculptor Jef Lambeaux caused astir when he unveiled his monu-mental and, some say, porno-graphic marble relief “PassionsHumaines” (“Human Passions”).Flemish playwright Erwin Mort-ier and stage director Guy Cassiersuse this controversy as the pointof departure for their contempo-

rary production of the same name.Co-produced by Antwerp’s Toneel-huis, Brussels’ Théâtre Nationaland Walloon theatre Le Manegein the context of Mons 2015 (oneof this year’s European Capitalsof Culture), the piece emphasisesthe universality of the themesby featuring a bilingual cast andscript. \ GV

One of the world’s most prestig-ious classical music contests takesplace every spring in Brussels. TheQueen Elisabeth Competition hasbeen discovering promising youngperformers since 1937. Rotatingbetweenpiano,violin,voice,compo-sition and – from 2017 – cello, thisyear it’s violin. Hundreds entered,but the field is now narrowed downto 62 candidates, who go head-to-head this week in the competi-tion’s first round. By the end of themonth, a winner will be crowned.Flanders is rallying behind Ghent’s25-year-old Fien Van den Fonteyne(pictured), who studied at the RoyalConservatory of Brussels and regu-larly performs with the FlemishOpera. \ Georgio Valentino

Every summer, Brussels celebrates the16th-century figure who ruled over mostof Western Europe and made this Brabant

city the capital of the Low Countries. Cleverlycircumventing language differences, they call itthe Carolus V Festival, evoking the Latin name ofCharles V.Besides the Ommegang, a recreation of theprocession and pageant that was staged in 1549on the occasion of Charles V’s visit to Brussels,there are also exhibitions, guided walks, confer-ences, concerts and a Family Day at CoudenbergMuseum.There are four guided tours offered in English,all of them focused on Vesalius, the anatomistwho was also personal physician to the emperor.The first is a tour of an exhibition about Vesaliusand 16th-century medicine in the CoudenbergMuseum. On Sundays, the guide will be clad in

either the uniform of a crossbowman or the robesof a plague doctor.Another walk explores the Royal Quarter, start-ing at Coudenberg and ending in the Marollendistrict. Along the way, the guide brings Renais-sance medicine to life through the physicians,barber-surgeons, botanists and artists of Brussels.

The third tour takes visitors through the RoyalMuseums of Fine Arts, where a selection of Dutchand Flemish Renaissance works are discussed inthe context of medical, scientific, social and reli-gious developments of the time.The fourth walk takes place in the Kleine Zaveland Egmont Park, using the statues as well asplants and trees to tell the story of scientificprogress, great physicians and botanic discover-ies of the 16th century. There are special editionsof this tour offered for the visually impaired.Tours are organised by the heritage group CAP,which collaborates with cultural institutions inBrussels on educational projects. According toBernard Slachmuylder of CAP, “the tours are notonly about medicine but offer insights into dailylife, politics, religion and the culture of the time.”Reservations are recommended but not required.\ Diana Goodwin

Purists beware. LA-based duoThe Swords of Fatima offer theirown idiosyncratic take on tradi-tion, Western and otherwise.Comprised of Filipino-Americanguitarist Buko Pan Guerra anddrummer Nick Scott, the Swordsformed in 2007 and pioneered agenre they describe as “SoutheastAsian disco surf punk”. You have

every right to be sceptical; “fusion”is too often an abomination –the worst of both worlds. But theSwords’ blend of world music andDIY culture is a breath of fresh air.From the former, they borrow folkmythologies and exotic musicalmotifs; from the latter, a restlessenergy and an appreciation of theabsurd. \ GV

Brussels, circa 1549

Carolus V FestivalConCertBrusselsEuropeDayConcert:Follow-ing an afternoon of discussionand debate about Europeanculture, Ancienne Belgiquepartners with LiveEurope toput on an international concertwithBelgian bandBRNS, Polishgroup Bokka and French outfitForever Pavot. 9 May 19.00,Ancienne Belgique, Anspach-laan 110

\ www.abconcerts.be

Poly-Fannies: Brusselsgonzo-free-jazz percussionduo perform on the culturevessel Tenace, whose homeport is Antwerp but whichwanders throughout the coun-try spreading the gospel of left-fieldmusic. 9May 20.30, Aken-kaai

\ www.bootten-ace.wordpress.com

perForManCeantwerpRemote Antwerp: A multi-mediawalking tourofAntwerp,guided by artists from contem-porary German theatre collec-tive Rimini Protokoll. Groupsof 50 spectators/partici-pants depart from deSingelto discover the city’s hiddencorners. (InDutch andEnglish)Until 16 May, De Singel,Desguinlei 25

\ www.desingel.be

vIsual artsGhentFactories of Free Time:Micro Museum: Russian artsoutfit Gorod Ustinov inaugu-rate their summertime resi-dency in Flanders, in whichthey present their miniatureworks and organise work-shops for anyone interestedin creating their own modernfolk art. 11 May to 31 August,Museum of Fine Arts, FernandScribedreef 1

\ www.mskgent.be

Food&drInKGhentGent Smaakt!:Ghent city hallhosts the fifth edition of thecity’s foodie festival. Dozensof chefs from across Flan-ders convene to show off theirculinary skills. 13-17 May,Stadshal, Emile Braunplein

\ www.gentsmaakt.be

aCtIvItYBrusselsClean-UpDays: Several Brus-sels districts and NGOs partici-pate in this European initiativeto involve citizens in environ-mental action. Activities rangefrom tidying city streets toraising awareness about wastemanagement. 8-10 May

\ www.letscleanupeurope.eu

Brussels’ annual Iris Festivalincludes open-air concerts, streettheatre, arts and crafts and a smor-gasbord of street food. The eventcoincides with and encompassesSaturday’s Europe Day celebra-tions in the European quarter,where EU institutions invite uscitizens into their offices. Iris Festi-val also includes Welkom Brus-sel, a unique open-house duringwhich secret and private spacesare opened to the public for oneday only. The auction house Bergvan Barmhartigheid, the observa-tion deck at the top of the space-age Reyers Tower and the BelgianSenate are among the 30 destina-tions. \ GV

Queen Elisabeth competition

iris festival

Passions humaines

the swords of fatima

\ aGenDa

across Brusselswww.carolusfEstival.BE

until 30 august

Flagey & Bozar, Brusselswww.QEimc.BE

until 30 mayThéâtre national, Brussels

www.thEatrEnational.BEuntil 9 may

across Brusselswww.irisfEEst.BrussEls

9-10 mayCinéPalace, kortrijk

www.cinEPalacE.BE8 may, 20.00

a detail from Passions Humaines

may 6, 2015

\ 16

facebook.com/flanderstoday

I’ve done silence. I’ve survived without a car. NowI’m spending 30 days trying to nurse a dyingtomato plant. It’s all part of a Flemish government

campaign to persuade us to change the way we live.After long, silent walks and a car-free month, it’s nowtime for #30dagenmeergroen – 30 days of more green.Going greenwill help tomake the world a better place,insists the government office for the environment,nature and energy. Planten, bloemen en bomen in hetzicht doen een mens goed – You live a healthier lifewith plants, flowers and trees around you. Je wordt erblijer, rustiger en gelukkiger van – It makes you morecheerful, relaxed and happy.You don’t even have to have a garden.Heb je geen tuinof koertje? –No garden or courtyard?Dan heb je zekerwel een vensterbank of balkon waar je wat bloemenof kruiden kan plaatsen. – Then you must at leasthave a window ledge or balcony where you can putsome flowers or herbs. Zelfs de stoep voor je deur kanomgetoverd worden tot een eiland van groen – Youcan even turn your front doorstep into a little islandof green.The website includes a list of dos and don’ts to guidethe uncertain gardeners among us. Met deze 10geboden wordt jouw tuin een waar paradijs – Byfollowing these 10 commandments you can turn yourgarden into a genuine paradise.Some are easy to follow. Gij zult voor inheemseplanten kiezen – Thou shalt only buy native species.So no more of those exotic pink orchids. Some requirea bit more skill.Gij zult een egelhuisje bouwen –Thoushalt build a hedgehog house.Somemayleadtheneighbourstowonder ifyou’restart-

ing a zoo. Gij zult amfibieën in uw midden opnemen– Thou shalt introduce amphibians in your garden.Creëer een thuis voor padden, kikkers en salaman-ders in je tuin –Make a home for toads, frogs and sala-manders in your garden.Somemay require you to take a workshop.Gij zult eenbijenhotel maken – Thou shalt build a bee hotel. (Ormaybe a more modest bee B&B.)And some are too good to believe.Gij zult een nootjes-bar voor eekhoorns maken – Thou shalt build a nutbar for squirrels.Met een paar plankjes, wat spijkers,een glazen bokaal en een oude fietsbandmaak je zelfeen nootjesbar voor onze rosse compagnons – Youcan build a nut bar for our little red friends with justa few planks, some nails, a glass jar and an old bicy-cle tyre.But there’s one commandment they forgot tomention.Thou shalt not kill a tomato plant by forgetting towater it for three weeks.

Talking Dutchmy beautiful bee B&B

\ BaCkPaGe

the last word

it’s the movesthat matter“I’m always really happy whenI watch So You Think You CanDance on VTM, where it doesn’tmatter where a dancer comesfrom. As long as they can dance,that’s all that matters.”Alona Lyubayeva, Flemish diversityofficial, sees examples of good prac-tice in the most unlikely places

modest ambitions“Life is so short, I want to be ableto feel that I built somethingwithmine.”Rudi Pauwels is a pioneer in HIVresearch and the founder of fourthriving biotech companies, includ-ing Biocartis

sometime soon…“Until I was in my 40s, my parentswould always ask me, ‘Son whenare you going to get an ordinaryjob?’”Flemish artist Jan Fabre, interviewedinHet Nieuwsblad

the incredible hulk“I remember watching Rust andBone and thinking that I’d neverseen such a huge, hulking, hand-some realman on the screen. [Thecharacter] Gabriel Oak is some-one who tells you exactly what hethinks, and that’s the connection toMatthias. He’s got a fantastic abil-ity to show what he’s thinking justthrough the way he looks at you.”British actor Carey Mulligan on herco-star, Flemish actor Matthias Schoe-naerts, in the new adaptation ofThomasHardy’sFar from theMaddingCrowd, in Entertainment Weekly

a. Absolutely, and the idea should be extended to other Flemish cities so the kids can keep going wher-ever they are

b. Absolutely not. Why should taxpayer money go to education for travellers when no one knows wherethey will go next?

c. No, the right to education is guaranteed by EU law, so the children should enrol in regular school, notbe treated differently

Ghent started a programme lastautumn that saw a container class-roomarriveon thecity’sdesignatedcaravan site for travelling commu-nities such as Roma. In themonthssince, the project has provensuccessful, with children returningday after day to learn educationalbasics, like reading, counting andwriting their own names, before

heading off to another caravan site,often within Flanders.The system would work better,say the teachers, if it were imple-mented in other Flemish cities sothe kids could pick up where theyleft off. Our readers seems to agree– to an extent never before seen inone of our polls.That’s also thedrawbackof conven-

tional schools. These are travellerfamilies; they will not stay in oneplace long enough for children tobenefit from the school system.If we’re not to abandon them totheir lot – and nobody at all votedfor that option – we need to thinkcreatively: If the children can’tcome to the schools, we shouldtake the schools to them.

Pollshould the city of ghent be backing a project to educate roma children on theircaravan site?

\ next week's question:Local politicians and activities have called for laws to regulate surrogate motherhood. Do you think it should beallowed?Log on to the Flanders Today website at www.flanderstoday.eu and click on VOTE!

CONNECT WITH US LIKE USTweet us your thoughts @FlandersToday

In response to: Who wants to be a Belgian citizen?Nicholas Clifford15 years here but will never give up being British. Too patrioticto my home country.

In response to: Ghent project eases Roma children into classroomlearningIon ValentinWell done !!!

John Chapman @BelgoFootGenk and KV Mechelen both winning at HT – their Playoff 02group could be decided on goal difference.

Laureen Harper @LaureenHarperTouching to visit the bunker where John McCrae wrote theever powerful “In Flanders Fields” 100 yrs ago #LestWeForget

Katie Owens @ktowensAm hearing tonight’s speech by @JunckerEU on future ofEurope at @ku_leuven will be a must hear/read #EPP

voICes oFFlanders todaY

Jamie @dodgeronfireOn the train to Groezrock! Yeo. Brussels, here we come!!

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derek Blythmore articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

www.30dagEn.BE/mEEr-groEn