Deal sealeDPublic broadcaster VRT and the government of Flanders have agreed on a new management charter and budget

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DECEMBER 23, 2015 \ nEwswEEkly - € 0,75 \ rEad morE at www.flandErstoday.Eu

innovation \ P7BusinEss \ P6currEnt affairs \ P2 Education \ P9Politics \ P4 art & living \ P10

We look back at the major events that made the headlines in Flanders and Brussels this year in politics, the arts, religion and more.

The year in Flanders and Brussels was marked in its closing stages by terror lockdown, by radicalisation and by refugee issues. But it was also the year of

a world-beating football side, fresh air in the centre of Brussels and new faces in the arts. Join us as we look back on 2015.

Facebook vs BelgiumFacebook first made its appearance as a theme of the year

in June, when the Privacy Commission filed suit against the social network over the controversial datr cookie, which tracks your internet behaviour after you’ve visited a Facebook page – or any page with a Facebook Like or Share button. That’s all very well if, like more than a billion people, you’ve signed up to Facebook’s privacy conditions (which you do by having a profile). The Commission was complaining on behalf of non-members – those with-out Facebook accounts – who get the same cookie with-out having agreed to anything. Facebook cited security reasons, but in the end was forced to change its ways or face a fine. As the year ends, it’s closed its pages to non-members in Belgium, but the issue is not resolved yet.

Welcome to BrusselsIf one image represented the year in news, it was that of little Alan Kurdi, who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea as his family tried to escape the war in Syria and washed up on a beach in Turkey. Belgium had its own refugee problem to think of, with newcomers arriving in such numbers they could not be processed, leading to the spontaneous camp in Maximilianpark near North station, soon taken over by the Red Cross and a band of volunteers. Some saw the site as an embarrassment to the image of the Capital of Europe, but it actually functioned rather well. Eventually the refugees were moved to other locations or moved to the WTC building nearby, and the

continued on page 5

NeW Year or BustHaven’t found a place to celebrate New Year’s Eve yet? Check out our short but sweet list of spots still free in Flanders

seveNties shaNgri-laThe Atomium’s new museum features plastic art and design – in a riot of colours – from the 1960s to today

Oh, what a year it wasrefugees, radicalism and the red devils: flanders’ 2015 in review

alan HopeMore articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

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\ CURREnT AFFAIRs

Last week’s scheduled opening of the long-awaited tunnel linking Schuman railway station and the

Halle-Vilvoorde line 26 had to be postponed because of delays caused by the heightening of the terror alert in Brussels last month. The tunnel is now expected to open in April. Instead, federal mobility minister Jacqueline Galant, together with her Brussels counter-part Pascal Smet, were present for the open-

ing of two other new stations: Mouterij in Elsene and Tour & Taxis in Molenbeek, adjacent to the Pannenhuis metro station. Both stations form part of the rail authority NMBS’s new urban S-network, part of the planned Regional Express Network known as GEN.Mouterij station, at Kroonlaan and Brou-werijstraat, was built in 2007 but never before used; the Tour & Taxis station,

which is about a kilometre away from the Tour & Taxis site (and the MIVB stop of the same name) was built in 1983 and was used briefly for goods traffic before being closed in 1994.The entire S-network will be fully opera-tional once the Schuman tunnel is opened in April. The service will include direct links to Brussels Airport, Leuven, Mechelen and Liège.

New S-network stations openBrussels has two more stations in its new s-network, as schuman opening postponed

students in six cities took part in the recent Bloedserieus blood donation action by the Red Cross in Flanders. The campaign, in its 25th year, takes place twice annu-ally

budget for the renovation of the Leopold II tunnel in Brussels, which will start in 2018 and last a minimum of three years. The 2.5km tunnel will only close at night and during weekends

of business owners in Brussels are women, according to the newly published enterprise barome-ter from Women in Business. The number has, however, increased by one-third since 2004

for 100g of the new hop-shoot harvest, paid at auction last week in Roeselare. The shoots, consid-ered a delicacy, were bought by Tino’s Fruit, which supplies Antwerp restaurant The Jane

calls per hour to the information number 1771 set up by the home affairs ministry during the height-ened terror alert. Calls have since gone down to around 10 a day

alan HopeFollow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

8,682 3,29528%

Proximus, the state-owned telecommunications company, has lost an appeal to the European Court of Justice regarding a tax on mobile phone masts imposed by the Brussels municipality of Etterbeek and the city of Namur. The ruling that the tax is not in breach of EU law confirms a previous court ruling against mobile operator Base two months ago. The Court was responding to a judicial question from the court of first instance in Brussels, in a case filed by Proximus against the “pylon tax” in Etterbeek. In October, it dealt with a question from the court in Mons in the same manner in a case brought by Base. The decision came as a surprise at the time, as it went against the advice of the EU court’s advocate general, who argued that the tax was indeed in breach of EU law. The tax of up to €8,000 per mast was approved by the Walloon region last year, and it has now been introduced by about half of all Walloon municipalities. Brussels followed suit this year, at a lower rate of about €1,500 a mast. According to Proximus, the millions it pays in taxes represent a severe limit on the funding available for the improvement of communications infrastructure. The latest ruling, the company said, did not mean the end of its battle against the tax. \ AH

Proximus loses case against mobile phone mast tax

No change at the top, a slight shift in the middle, and 10 new arrivals on the ground floor. Michelin has announced its star ratings for its 2016 edition. The announcement in Ghent last week was postponed from November, following the terrorist attacks in Paris. Flanders’ three-star restaurants – the only three-Michelin-star restaurants in the country – remain the same: Peter Goossens’ Hof Van Cleve in Kruishoutem, Geert Van Hecke’s De Karmeliet in Bruges, and Gert De Mangeleer’s Hertog Jan in Zedelgem, West Flanders. The headline-grabbing news this year was the awarding of a second star for The Jane in Antwerp. The restaurant – owned by chefs Sergio Herman and Nick Bril, both of the former three-star Oud Sluis in the Netherlands – received its first star just seven months after opening last year. In Brussels, the restaurants Sea Grill, Comme Chez Soi, Bon-Bon and Le Chalet de la Fôret held on to their two stars and

are joined by La Villa in the Sky on the 25th floor of the IT Tower on Louizalaan, a spin-off from La Villa Lorraine and

chef Alexandre Dionisio. Elsewhere in Flanders, all two-star restaurants held on to their stars. All four of last year’s one-star restaurants in Ghent have kept their star: Vrijmoed, run by Peter Goossens’ former sous-chef; Horseele; Van den Bon; and Publiek, the latest venture from Flemish Foodie Olly Ceulenaere. Arriving on the star scene for the first time are Bistrot du Nord in Antwerp, Alexandre in Brussels, d’Essensi in Schilde, Alain Bianchin in Jezus-Eik and Danny in Maasmechelen. Two restaurants lost their star: Va Doux Vent in Brussels and Lijsterbes in Berlare, East Flanders. And in Hasselt, Giovanni Oosters of restaurant Vous Lé Vous lost his star as a result of the restaurant’s limited opening hours. West Flanders, meanwhile, has 32 stars spread over 23 restaurants – not only the most starred province in Belgium but one of most densely starred regions per capita world-wide. \ AH

Antwerp restaurant The Jane awarded second Michelin star

Football fans now know their oppo-nents for next year’s big clashes, with the Belgian national side facing Italy, Ireland and Sweden in the summer’s European Championships, while KAA Gent take on Wolfsburg in the Champions League in February.Gent’s stunning progression from the Champions League group stage has resulted in a second-round tie against German side Wolfsburg. They host the Bundesliga runners-up on 17 February and travel to the Volkswagen Arena for the return leg on 8 March. Although the Red Devils are currently ranked number one in the world by Fifa, they will still be wary against four-time World Cup winners Italy in Lyon on 13 June, scrappy underdogs Ireland in Bordeaux on 18 June and a sturdy Swedish side led by Zlatan

Ibrahimovic in Nice on 22 June.In the Europa League, Anderlecht have been drawn against Greek side Olympiakos, with the first

leg at the Constant Vanden Stock stadium on 18 February and the return leg in Athens on 25 February. \ Leo Cendrowicz

KAA Gent face Wolfsburg , Red Devils face Italy

Mobility ministers Pascal smet (centre) and Jacqueline Galant (right) attended the opening of Brussels’ two new train stations

sergio Herman (left) and nick Bril of The Jane

The Red Devils celebrate their win against Italy in a november friendly

© yves Herman/Reuters/CORBIs

DECEMBER 23, 2015

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Face oF FlaNDers

The first time he appeared on the celebrity quiz show De slim-ste mens ter wereld, Tom Waes survived for only two appear-ances before being eliminated. That season was won by the VRT journalist Linda De Win. Five years later, and Waes was in the final, the leading scorer to date with a record-equalling 11 appearances, and he was facing two VRT journalists – Kobe Ilsen of Volt and Danira Bouk-hriss Terkessidis of Koppen XL. And this time he was victorious, the first candidate in the show’s history to come back and win.Waes was born in Antwerp in 1968 and studied German languages before taking a diving course in Scotland and work-ing for seven years as a diver off North Sea oil platforms. It was an early sign of his taste for adventure. Waes is now famous for his derring-do: on the day after his Slimste mens win was broad-cast, he was already off filming a new series of his travel show Reizen Waes (Traveling Waes) in the jungle of Bangladesh. That spirit has also seen him take on the Marathon des Sables, a 250k race through

the desert of Morocco over six days. He holds the Belgian record for ski-jumping and for a time held the pizza-eating speed record. In 2014, he repre-sented VRT in the programme Wauters vs Waes, in challenges chosen by viewers against sing-ing star Koen Wauters (repre-senting VTM). There was sauna endurance, the Bordeaux-Paris cycle race on antique bikes, cliff diving and a modern pentathlon (in which he sustained bruised ribs, torn stomach muscles and two kicks from his horse). Waes is, you might not be surprised to learn, fiercely competitive. He turned up for the entire final week of De slim-ste mens to get back into the zone, even though he wasn’t scheduled to appear until the last episode. “Tom Waes has the willpower of a top athlete, with-out being one,” sports doctor Peter Hespel, who trained him for the Marathon des Sables, told De Standaard. “He could never get over the fact that he was out so early five years ago,” said his part-ner, Mieke Morel. “That was not going to happen twice.” \ Alan Hope

tom waes

If you were looking around in this season of goodwill for an act of self-less charity, you wouldn’t necessar-ily look towards the rail unions, who have announced five days of strikes in January. January is also exam time for universities and colleges, and some of those exams will take place on strike days. How are the students to get to school on time? Well, fellow students in Ghent, Leuven, Antwerp and Brussels who live in digs on or by the univer-sity have offered to open up their rooms for their classmates to crash. They’re members of Comac, the youth wing of the socialist workers’ party PVDA, who take “from each

according to his means” seriously.Some rail employees, meanwhile, have opened a Facebook page where strikers with cars will be available to transport stranded students to their exams. The page was set up, organ-isers explain, “because we’re not the scum that some people would have you believe us to be.” So noted. \ AH

Every little helpsoFFsiDe

WeeK iN BrieFRed Devils star Kevin De Bruyne was named Belgian Sportsman of the Year on Saturday, recog-nising his huge contribution to English Premier League champi-ons Manchester City following his €74 million transfer last August from Wolfsburg. World light-weight boxing champion Delfine Persoon took the women’s title. Cyclist Tiesj Benoot was named best new hope and, despite losing their Davis Cup final to Britain, the Belgian men’s tennis squad was named team of the year.

Flemish public transport author-ity De Lijn will operate night buses on 125 routes on New Year’s Eve, with free travel in some areas – including Bruges and Ghent – thanks to the contri-bution of municipalities. A special €3 ticket in other areas offers unlimited travel from 18.00 and all day on New Year’s Day. In Brus-sels, the metro will run until 2.00, while the Noctis night bus service runs until 5.30. Travel is free after midnight. Some bus lines will terminate at Central Station or Anneessens.

Rail unions and management have asked federal labour minis-ter Kris Peeters to bring in an arbitrator in the dispute between the two sides, which threatens to turn into five days of strikes next month. They have been unable to reach agreement over produc-tivity measures proposed by the NMBS, which involve additional hours but no additional pay. Peeters said he will first consult with the prime minister and the federal mobility minister.

Ghent mayor Daniël Termont has fully recovered from the colon cancer for which he underwent an operation in June, he announced at his weekly press conference last Friday. The cancer had not spread, but Termont still had to undergo a preventive course of chemother-apy lasting 24 weeks. He will now be tested every three months.

The federal government will in future advertise job vacancies not only for M/V but also for X, to make it clear the job is open to transgendered or non-gendered applicants. The X signifies, equal rights minister Elke Sleurs said, that posts are open to people of any gender or orientation or none. The government of Flan-ders earlier this year tackled the issue by removing any reference to gender whatsoever.

Buskers in Ghent will no longer have to pay a €15 tax for street performances, the city coun-cil has announced. They will still have to obtain a licence. Other conditions include groups of no more than 10 musicians, a maxi-mum of one hour at any location, battery-operated amplifiers only and a 21.00 curfew on all music.

Nadia Sminate, 34, has become the first mayor of Moroccan origin of a Flemish municipal-ity, succeeding Jozef De Borger as mayor of Londerzeel, Flem-ish Brabant. Sminate’s mother is Flemish and her father came to Belgium as a 19-year-old from Morocco. A member of N-VA, she has sat on the Londerzeel city council since 2006 and in the Flemish parliament since the 2014 elections. She replaces De Borger under an agreement made after the municipal elections in 2012.

Lotus Bakeries, based in Lembeke, East Flanders, has taken over the UK’s Urban Fresh Foods, which makes snacks based on fruit and natural ingredients. The company invested in Natural Balance Foods in the summer, and the Urban Fresh acquisition is in response to the growing trend for more healthy snack alternatives, CEO Jan Boone said.

The government of Flanders has cancelled a contract that allowed the Waterways and Sea Canal

agency to dump polluted silt in a former clay quarry, despite having no licence. The quarry, owned by the Vande Moortel brickworks in Oudenaarde, has been paid €1 million a year since 2010 to take the polluted silt. Public works minister Ben Weyts said that the contract was “a strange and unpleasant legacy of the past”. The government will investigate whether the fees paid to date can be recouped.

The dunnock, or hedge spar-row (Prunella modularis), has been named Bird of the Year for 2016 by a poll organised by the bird protection organisa-tion Vogelbescherming Vlaan-deren. The hedge sparrow takes its name from its propensity to stay in cover as it hunts insects in hedgerows and gardens. The organisation proposed a shortlist of 12 species for the poll, in which a total of 3,206 people voted. Prunella received 732 votes, far ahead of the lapwing or plover in second place.

The municipality of Dilbeek in Flemish Brabant has been choosen as Youth Municipal-ity of the year for 2015-2016, youth minister Sven Gatz has announced. The prize, with a cash value of €20,000, is intended to encourage existing municipal initiatives for young people, as well as inspire new programmes. The jury praised Dilbeek’s strong vision and effective communica-tion. Landen, Leuven and Wuust-wezel were also shortlisted.

A court in Antwerp has fined the two directors of United Busi-ness Schools of Belgium (UBSB) €1,650 each, after they were found issuing Bachelor and Master’s degrees to students despite not being accredited. UBSB has been active in Belgium since 2007, with campuses in Antwerp and Brus-sels, as well as operations in the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Switzer-land and Japan.

© Jokko/VRT

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

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

Editor Lisa BradshawdEPuty Editor Sally TippercontriButing Editor Alan HopesuB Editor Linda A ThompsonagEnda Robyn Boyle, Georgio Valentinoart dirEctor Paul Van Dooren PrEPrEss Mediahuis AdProcontriButors Rebecca Benoot, Bartosz Brzezinski, Derek Blyth, Leo Cendrowicz, Katy Desmond, Andy Furniere, Diana Goodwin, Catherine Kosters, Toon Lambrechts, Katrien Lindemans, Ian Mundell, Anja Otte, Tom Peeters, Senne Starckx, Christophe Verbiest, Denzil WaltongEnEral managEr Hans De LoorePuBlisHEr Mediahuis NV

Editorial addrEssGossetlaan 30 - 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden tel 02 467 23 06 editorial@flanderstoday.eu

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vErantwoordElijkE uitgEvEr Hans De Loore

Don’t be silly, of course there will be more Flan-ders Today! But for two

weeks, you won’t be seeing us in your postbox. Deliv-

ery resumes on 13 January.

In the meantime, you’ll find the latest headlines on our website and apps for phones and tablets.

Happy holidays from the staff at Flanders Today!

No more Flanders Today?

© Ingimage

\ 4

\ POlITICs

The price we payThree teenagers were killed last week, all of them on their bikes on their way home. All three were run over by a car or a truck. In two cases, the drivers fled the scene. One was found the next morn-ing after he had left for work, as if nothing happened. The other turned himself in. Both of them had been speeding when the accident happened, and both were intoxicated. The week before Christmas brings home a sad truth: Flanders has a poor record when it comes to road safety, with more than 300 road deaths annually. One reason is the popula-tion’s tolerance for unsafe driving. Drink driving is often seen as a minor offence. Rather than stop their friends from getting into a car after they have had one too many, party revellers often warn each other about police checks so that they can avoid them. Speeding, too, is almost like a birth right, with tickets seen as a violation, rather than a safeguard. Flemish politicians are aware of the problem, but they find it hard to fight this general status quo. Federal mobility minister Jacqueline Galant (MR) seemed to actu-ally admit that she was at her wits’ end when she invited the public to submit sugges-tions to improve road safety. A conference she held on the subject, in the very week the teenagers died on their bikes, has produced a list of 15 recommendations. They were greeted with scepticism. One of them, a zero alcohol tolerance for new drivers, was called age discrimination. It was noted that the worst drink-ing and driving offenders are between 30 and 50 years old.Tragically, almost every-one knows what needs to happen: Increase the chance of getting caught, and make the consequences more severe to avoid recidivism. The solution often proposed is the so-called “penalty points driving licence”: With every offence, points would be subtracted, repeat offences ultimately resulting in a total driving ban. This system is used by several European countries, includ-ing the UK, Germany the Netherlands, as well as in several US states. In Belgium, the idea was first introduced 25 years ago by former prime minister Jean-Luc Dehaene. It has yet to materialise. Three more teenagers’ lives cut short simply cycling home is the price we pay. \ Anja Otte

5th coluMN Geert Bourgeois meets with Scotland’s first ministerflemish minister-president discusses Eu membership with nicola sturgeon

Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois made a two-day visit to Scotland last week that included a

meeting with first minister Nicola Sturgeon as well as contacts with other important partners. The Flemish delegation visited Rosyth in Fife, at one end of an important goods sea route from Zeebrugge and subject of a €6 million invest-ment by shipping company DFDS Seaways and Forth Ports. The delegation also learned of test sites in the open sea off Orkney focused on developing technology to harness energy from waves. Ostend company Laminaria is also working on such technology. Flanders and Scotland have a relationship that goes back a millennium – as shown by the prev-

alence in Scotland of the surname Fleming – and next year an exhibition of the Flemish masters Rubens, Jordaens and Van Dyck in the Scottish National Gallery will be accompanied by an international conference on Scotland and the Flemish People. The general represen-tation of the government of Flanders in the UK is co-organising both events. Talks with Sturgeon touched on the upcom-ing referendum on the UK’s membership in the European Union; her party, the SNP, is in favour of membership. Sturgeon, whose party enjoyed a landslide victory in Scotland in the general election this year, will also be defend-ing her position in the Scottish parliament in May. Should she be re-elected as expected, she

promised to pay a return visit to Flanders next year.

alan HopeMore articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

© Dirk waem/BElGA

Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois and scotland’s first minister nicola sturgeon

Flemish mobility minister Ben Weyts has spoken out against federal mobility minister Jacqueline Galant’s proposal to lower the blood-alcohol limit for newly licensed driv-ers to 0.2mg, introducing an effective zero tolerance. Galant intends to introduce the new limit in mid-2016 in response to figures show-ing that drivers aged 18 to 25 are eight times more likely to have a serious accident than older drivers. They are also more susceptible to alco-hol in the blood. An age limit on alcohol levels could be in breach of discrimination laws, however, so the meas-ure would apply to anyone possessing a driving licence for less than three years. The current limit of 0.5mg allows the consumption of one or possibly two (depend-ing on the individual) beers with lower alcohol contents. A level of 0.2 would be exceeded by even one glass. Weyts argues that a driving licence with a penalty points system would be more effec-tive in combating drink-driv-ing. Galant’s proposal, he says, targets younger driv-ers, while the biggest risk group is those aged 35 to 50. The points system would be consistent: the same rules and penalties for all drivers for the same offence. “Tough but fair for everyone,” he said. \ AH

Concerns over zero tolerance blood-alcohol for young drivers

Federal interior minister Jan Jambon spoke to members of the British Chamber of Commerce last week as part of the Ambas-sador Hosts series of speeches in English. “Unfortunately, 2015 will be remembered in Belgium as a year of almost continuous threats of terrorism,” he said.Jambon (pictured) recalled how the year started, with the Char-lie Hebdo attacks in Paris and the break-up of an Islamist terror cell in Verviers in which radical-ised Belgians were plotting to kill police. Then last month came the attacks in Paris, which the French government said were commanded by the Islamic State in Syria but organised in Belgium. That last point, the accusation that Brussels’ Molenbeek neigh-bourhood is an incubator of radi-calism, is a view Jambon believes the government should have done

more to combat. “You can’t deny it, there is a link,” he acknowl-edged, but as for being the plan-ning hub for Paris, “up to now, we don’t have any proof of that.” Jambon noted that events have spurred numerous security upgrades this year, with both the Belgian government and the Euro-pean Union passing new meas-ures. He is working to see through a reorganisation of Brussels’ police zones, which will range from refo-cusing tasks to connecting the

zones through a communications system, something that does not currently exist. Belgium is already rolling out a passenger-name record system, and the EU is following, after years of deadlock on the matter. Jambon said that Belgium is planning to ban the use of anonymous pre-paid phone cards, as terrorists use them to avoid law-enforcement tracking. However, his “biggest challenge,” he said, was to ensure the safety of citizens and businesses, as “confi-dence is needed to work, to invest and to consume”. But he said that’s increasingly a shared responsibil-ity between governments, citizens and businesses. He asked the busi-nesspeople and diplomats present to help send out the message that “normal life can continue in this country and in Brussels”. \ Teri Schultz

Jambon asks crowd at BritCham to do business in Belgium “with confidence”

The government of Flanders has agreed to new management and labour terms for VRT for the period 2016 to 2020. The terms make up the document that sets out the public broadcaster’s goals and responsibilities. The agreement aims to make the VRT into a “future-oriented and leading” public broadcaster over the next five years. VRT’s main goal is a focus on information, culture and education, with a reinforcement of its digital prod-ucts. One notable point is the increased share of the budget – 15% rising to 18.25% – reserved for programmes made by outside production houses. “Negotiations with VRT over a new management agreement went very smoothly,” said media minister

Sven Gatz. “The Flemish govern-ment, management and the board of directors have decided to build the VRT into a modern, future-oriented public broadcaster that will work to strengthen the media sector by investing more in, and working more closely with, exter-nal production houses and media organisations.”Among the details of the agree-ment are an increased online presence, including the means to watch programmes online by 2017. Deredactie.be will make way for the news channel vrtnieuws.be, and the existing TV and radio channels will remain, with the move to digital radio accompa-nied by the maintenance of FM broadcasting. There will also be a ceiling of

€72.8 million on advertising and sponsoring income, €2 million more than at present. VRT will receive €270 million next year, rising to €275 million in 2020. That compares to the €317 million it would have received if the previous agreement had been prolonged. “The public broadcaster will be called on to make a serious budg-etary effort,” said VRT board chair Luc Van den Brande. “In return, it can count on a guaranteed multi-year financing. That stability is absolutely essential in a period in which the VRT has to implement the transformation to a new future strategy.”VRT, he said, has to carry on reaching all of Flanders, with the right selection of programming on all platforms. \ AH

VRT and government agree to new management terms

© Jonathan Raa/Demotix/Corbis

DECEMBER 23, 2015

\ 5

Oh, what a year it wasthe year in review: facebook, asylum-seekers and sidi larbi

continued from page 1

problem disappeared from view. At the end of the year, however, the people were still coming, and still camping out, this time in an empty office building.

all eyes on Molenbeek The discovery that three of the terrorists involved in the 13 November attacks on Paris came from Molenbeek, as pointed out by prime minister Charles Michel, was picked up by the interna-tional media, which immediately condemned the district and, by extension, Brussels. At the same time, the government set up a database of the names of Syria fighters, prepared legislation to deal with them on their return and reinforced programmes in vulnerable areas to identify those at risk and turn them off the path towards radicalisation. The work may never be over, but it’s under way.

three’s new companyK3 is no more – long live K3! The original singing trio, plucked from obscurity by media company Studio 100 and turned into a multimedia phenomenon with huge appeal to pre-pubescent girls, had been going for 17 years and decided it was time to retire. The group would disband, but the money train would continue down the track with the new K3, chosen via a televised talent competition, naturally. The three new members – Marthe, Hanne and Klaasje – are now on a joint farewell/inaugural tour with the original K3 in Flanders and the Netherlands.

all’s fair in love and warBlack, the film event of the year, is a Romeo and Juliet tale of teenagers from rival gangs in Brussels who fall in love – with dramatic consequences. The film was directed by Adil El Arbi – last year’s winner of the wildly popular TV quiz show De slim-ste mens ter wereld – and Bilall Fallah and was based on books by Flemish young adult author Dirk Bracke. Martha Canga Anto-nio, who plays the lead charac-ter Mavela, has attracted much attention, winning Best Actress at the Black Nights Film Festi-val in Tallinn last month, among other honours (see p13).

cultural saviourDancer and choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui has a long and distinguished record, not least the Olivier Award he won last year

and his appointment in Febru-ary as the new artistic director of the Royal Ballet of Flanders. The latter came as doubly good news: A contemporary choreog-rapher, he was a bold and excit-ing choice, and he was replacing Assis Carreiro, an administrator with no dance background who had lost the confidence of danc-ers and board alike. His first piece for the Royal Ballet, Fall, was part of a group of shorter works that made up the season premiere. Audiences and critics alike were delighted.

Walk this wayBrussels-City council ended last year with a hotly contested proposal to build an under-ground car park under the historic Vossenplein in the Marollen district, home of the famous flea market. The plan was scrapped in a wave of public protest. The council ends this year with another controversial proposal on its plate: the pedes-trian zone that took over the central avenues from De Brouck-ère to Fontainas in June for a test period of eight months. Residents have had a love/hate relationship

with the zone, which has been characterised by drunks, beggars and litter, particularly after dark. Businesses in the zone complain they’re on the brink of bank-ruptcy. The review is expected in February, but no-one seriously expects that the zone will disap-pear.

sacrificial rightsEvery year during the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha – Feast of the Sacrifice – many Muslims buy a sheep to be slaughtered in ritual fashion, by slitting the throat. In Flanders, however, it’s now illegal to slaughter an animal without first stunning it except in officially licensed slaughterhouses. Ritual slaughter does not allow stun-ning. This year, animal welfare minister Ben Weyts declared that halal slaughter would only be permitted in the licensed slaugh-terhouses and not in the tempo-rary facilities set up every year during Eid to handle demand. A group of Muslim organisations took the case to court to try to get the stunning ban lifted temporar-ily. They lost, so the Muslim advi-sory body the Council of Theo-logians told Muslims that they

could be excused from their duty of sacrifice this year, in the hope of finding a solution by next year.

red Devils rampantThe national football team, the Red Devils, had the best year of their lives, ending 2015 at the top of the Fifa rankings. The side attained the position in October, thanks to a complicated calcu-lus that involved Ireland beating Germany and Ecuador defeat-ing then-leaders Argentina. The side also qualified for Euro 2016 at the top of their group, but when the draw for that compe-tition was made last week, faces fell somewhat: Belgium were drawn against Ireland, Italy and Sweden. Belgium beat Italy in a friendly in November, and the Italian manager has said that Belgium are among the favour-ites to win the tournament, but Italy are world-beaters, and both Sweden and Ireland are capable of surprises.

spiritual leadershipJozef De Kesel was appointed by Rome as the new archbishop of Belgium to replace the retiring André Léonard. Moderate and soft-spoken, the former bishop of Bruges is unlikely to make the sort of controversial, socially conserv-ative statements for which Léonard was known, while being more moderate than the progres-sive Antwerp bishop Johan Bonny, who many thought would get the post. In other words, he is likely the perfect man for the job, under Pope Francis, who also speaks softly but carries a big doctrinal stick. De Kesel officiated at his first Mass as archbishop in the Brussels Cathedral last week. The Catholic church, he said, “must address the major challenges facing society”, referring to same-sex marriage, reproductive rights and divorce. Whether that means a shift of position on any of those subjects, God alone knows.

\ COVER sTORy

© Jasper Jacobs/BElGA

Clockwise from left: kAA Gent won their first national title this year and had another emotional night in December when they reached the knock-out round of the Champions league; sidi larbi Cherkaoui became the artistic director of Royal Ballet of Flanders, to everyone’s relief; the military base kwartier westakkers in sint-niklaas, a temporary home to asylum-seekers

© Vladimir Vyatkin/BElGA

© nicolas Maeterlinck/BElGA

Photo credits, cover: Refugees, Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/Corbis; French Embassy, Gong Bing/Xinhua Press/Corbis; Red Devils: Albert Gea/Reuters/Corbis; Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Patrick De Rool/ImageDesk; Eid, Sander de Wilde/Corbis; Pedestrian zone, Bruno Fahy/Belga

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\ BUsInEss

Distribution nikeThe US sportswear corpora-tion, with four distribution centres in Flanders, is seek-ing an additional 540 employ-ees to cope with demand. The company, which opened its first operation in Flanders in 1994 with some 200 work-ers, will employ more than 2,900 people in the region by next year.

Energy EnecoThe Dutch energy group has announced plans to start retailing the Tesla Power-wall home batteries on the Belgian market from early next year. The company expects to attract some of the 340,000 households equipped with solar panels to help them stock excess energy for use at night.

Fish farms InVE AquacultureThe Dendermonde-based producer of fish food and developer of fish and shrimp farms worldwide has been acquired by the UK’s Bench-mark Holding group, special-ised in animal feed, for €310 million. INVE was founded in the 1980s as a spin-off of Ghent University.

Investments GimvThe Flemish government’s regional development fund has acquired a leading stake in the Benedenti chain of dentistry practices.

Pharma GalapagosThe Mechelen producer of biotech drugs has signed a $725 million agree-ment with the US Gilead Sciences company to share its research into rheuma-tism and Crohn’s disease. The deal includes possible further payments that could push the total deal to some $2 billion.

Restaurants lunch GardenThe Brussels-based chain of 72 self-service restau-rants has been acquired by the UK-based Bregal Fresh-stream investment fund, related to the Dutch family that owns the C&A retail chain.

supermarkets Albert HeijnThe Dutch supermarket, part of the Ahold group, plans to open outlets in Wemmel and Zellik, just outside of Brus-sels. The move comes as a surprise as the new stores will be in direct competition with nearby Delhaize super-markets, which are also part of Ahold since last year’s merger.

WeeK iN BusiNess Picanol and Tessenderlo merge

flemish textile machines manufacturer and chemicals company join forces

The Brussels-based chemicals group Tessenderlo and weaving machine manufacturer Picanol of Ypres have

agreed to merge into a single industrial group operating in more than 100 countries. The new Picanol Tessenderlo Group will be active in four areas: Agro-industrial, bio-valorisation, industrial solutions and machines and technology. Tessenderlo has called an extraordinary general meeting to propose an issue of more than 25 million shares at €31.50 in exchange for Picanol shares, which puts a value on Picanol of €811.6 million. The new group will have sales of about €2 billion and employ 7,000 people worldwide.

The merger will not affect jobs, the two compa-nies said.

Picanol already owns 27.6% of Tessenderlo, a stake acquired in 2013. CEO Luc Tack helped turn Picanol around after taking over seven years ago, and he will carry on as CEO of the new group. Tack owns 90% of Picanol. Unusually, news of the merger was met with a statement from Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois. “Entrepreneurs like Luc Tack show that industry has a bright future in Flan-ders,” Bourgeois said. “The four sectors are clear choices for the future, and that’s thanks to a combination of strong enterprise, sustainable growth, a workforce of 7,000 and a great deal of investment in research and development and innovation.”

alan HopeMore articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

© Courtesy Picanol

“Bright future”: Picanol CEO luc Tack

Fitness centres will no longer be able to prolong a customer’s subscrip-tion without explicit permission, and a customer will be able to cancel a contract without penalty on the advice of a doctor, according to a new code of conduct. The code was approved by sector organisations and consumer affairs minister Kris Peeters. The new code also does away with the one-year minimum contract, leaving room for shorter-term or monthly contracts, as well as fixed-term contracts. It will be up to customers to decide whether to pay by bank transfer or stand-ing order, and centres must provide a detailed list of fees. The industry will set up a complaints commission to deal with disputes. “The consumer can only benefit from this,” Peeters said. “More transpar-ent contracts and prices and an easier way of ending a contract for medical reasons.” The code would also benefit fair competition and give a boost to the image of the industry, he said. \ AH

Code of conduct for fitness centres approved

The country’s three largest super-market chains – Colruyt, Delhaize and Carrefour – have agreed to pay a supplement to local farmers of 10 to 18 cents a kilo for pork, as a means of supporting the industry through tough times of low market prices. The promise is the outcome of a long series of talks following an agreement in August to pay farm-ers a supplement of €24 million. Delhaize will pay an extra 18 cents a kilo, or about €1 per pig, on top of the €2 extra the chain has been paying since July, a spokesperson said. “The extra payment will be made as long as prices remain at such a historically low level.” The full weight of the payment would not be passed on to customers, the spokesperson said.Carrefour will pay the equivalent of 10 cents a kilo more for a limited period. How much of that will be

passed on in prices depends on the market. Colruyt also pays 10 cents more, for a period of two months. “We have a system that allows us to trace which farmer the meat comes from, in what form, whether it’s fresh, processed or charcuterie,” said Colruyt spokesperson Jan Derom. “We will pay the farmer directly.” The chain would not pass the supplement on to the shopper, he said. Following the pledges made by the major supermarkets, farming organisations Boerenbond and ABS will now approach other sectors in the chain – slaughterhouses and meat processors – to lobby them to pay a contribution to the farmers’ support fund. They also intend to publish the results of their appeal: “The consumer has a right to know who is as sustainable as they claim to be,” said Boerenbond spokesper-son Pieter Verhelst. \ AH

Supermarkets promise price support for pig farmers

The Flemish fishing industry has said it is satisfied with the outcome of a meeting of EU fish-eries ministers that took place in Brussels last week. The industry in Flanders came away with an increase in the total allowable catch (TAC) of their main species. The TAC for sole in the North Sea is increased by 10%. However, the quota for the fishing grounds in the Channel west of the Dover-Calais line is cut by the same proportion. And Flanders’ small quota for the Irish Sea is cut in half. Sole accounts for the biggest catch for Flemish fishing boats, making up 40-50% of income. The TACs for cod go up 15% and for skate by 4.5%. “The positive result for us is the maintenance of the fishing stocks, now confirmed scientif-ically,” said Urbain Wintein of Rederscentrale, the fishing indus-try federation. “For the western sole stocks, there is still some difference between the official figures and what Flemish boats are experiencing at sea.” Rederscentrale has prepared a

proposal with colleagues from the UK and France to deal with the differences in evidence, but that was not taken into account by the ministers. Fishing quotas are dealt out on a national basis, but Belgium’s is entirely taken up by Flanders. The industry consists of 67 boats, operating out of Ostend, Zeebrugge and Nieuwpoort. \ AH

Flemish fishing industry satisfied with new quotas

The port of Antwerp will by the end of the year have handled more than 200 million tonnes of cargo for the first time in its history, the Port Authority has announced. The port will also have broken the record of nine million standard containers handled. Last week in the city’s MAS museum, port director Eddy Bruyninckx and port alderman Marc Van Peel presented details of the historic trad-ing milestone, together with a sketch of the future. Later in the week, employees in the port received a gift from the Port Authority to thank them for “their efforts in building the port into a world class platform”. Representatives of the port travelled to 40 locations in the wider port area, on both banks of the river. The Port Authority also announced the end of an alliance with Essar Port Limited (EOL), a subsidiary of the Indian Essar Group, with a substantial return for the Authority. The alliance dates back to 2012, when Port of Antwerp International (PAI), the Port Authority’s consulting and invest-ment agency, invested €25 million, including €5 million provided by the Flemish investment agency GIMV. The alliance is now terminated, with a return for PAI of €6.8 million on top of its initial investment. According to Van Peel, the partnership has also helped solidify relations between Antwerp and India. \ AH

Port of Antwerp celebrates record year in tonnes of cargo

© Courtesy Rederscentrale

DECEMBER 23, 2015

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The climate change agreement concluded in Paris earlier this month was headline news around the world. Much less will

be written about the construction of a small tower in the Hoge Kempen National Park in Limburg, but it is part of the same story.The tower belongs to a new research station designed to collect data on how the gases that cause climate change move between the atmos-phere and the plants and soil in the ecosystem. It is one of 35 such stations across Europe in the Integrated Carbon Observation System (Icos), which was formally launched in November. Icos will provide long-term data on how green-house gases such as carbon dioxide circulate in Europe’s environment. It will also assess exchanges with the oceans and the air over adjacent land masses, giving a picture for Europe as a whole. This information on the “carbon flux” in Europe will inform predictions about climate change and help governments check that efforts to control it, such as those agreed in Paris, are working.“These people need reliable data, and that is what we are going to provide,” says Reinhart Ceulemans, professor of ecology at Antwerp University (UAntwerp) and the national co-ordinator for Icos in Belgium. Icos is a European research project that brings together monitoring stations and scientists in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Nether-lands, Norway, Sweden and Finland, with Swit-zerland participating as an observer. Other countries are expected to join in due course.The system will operate for at least 20 years, long enough to pick up natural variations in the carbon flux. “An extremely hot and dry year will result in different fluxes than, for example, a wetter or more humid year,” Ceule-mans explains. “If you monitor over the longer term, you can see patterns in changes over this period.”It’s also important that everyone measure carbon flux in the same way. “We use the same instruments, the same technology, the same analysis.”The 35 monitoring stations have been selected so that all of Europe’s ecosystems are repre-sented. The new station in Hoge Kempen, for example, is being built to provide data on heathland, which otherwise would not have been covered.Care has been taken not to disturb the wild-life in the park. The monitoring equipment is housed in a cabin built partly underground, and the tower has been limited to two to three

metres in height. The station should be opera-tional by February. “We measure wind speed in three directions, we sample and analyse gases, and from these we calculate the flux,” Ceulemans explains. Meanwhile, the growth of vegetation near the station will be measured and plant and soil samples taken for laboratory analysis. There will also be a connection to the University of Hasselt’s Ecotron, an experimental facility

being built on the fringes of the park.Flanders has two other ecosystem monitor-ing stations in Icos, also run by UAntwerp. At Lochristi, near Ghent, the station monitors a short rotation plantation of poplars, with measurements going back to 2010. And at Brasschaat, near Antwerp, monitoring takes place in a Scots pine wood. “We started meas-

uring in 1996, so we have one of longest track records of flux measurements in Europe,” says Ceulemans.The university also plays a role in the thematic hub that collects and analyses data from all the Icos ecosystem monitoring stations. It takes charge of vegetation data, while flux data goes to the University of Tuscia in Viterbo, Italy, and samples for laboratory analysis go to the French National Institute for Agricultural Research in Bordeaux.Some 10 people are working on Icos at UAnt-werp, with another 20 people directly involved elsewhere in Flanders. This includes staff at the Flanders Marine Institute, who are taking part in the ocean monitoring side of the project, using the research ship Simon Stevin and a research buoy moored at the Thornton Bank offshore wind farm. Belgium has a further three ecosystem monitoring sites in Wallonia, run by the University of Liège at Gembloux.Being a founder member of Icos is important for the Antwerp group, both as a networking opportunity and for future research. “First of all, we have access to a huge database,” Ceule-mans says. “This opens a lot of new avenues for research. Secondly, we can rely on these long-term sites. We can have more PhD and Master’s students on them, and we can involve people that do other research because they will be complementing the flux measurements.”

Climate in fluxantwerp researchers measure “carbon flux” for European project

newborns show lower levels of toxins Newborn babies and over-50s in Flanders have lower levels of toxic substances, like cadmium, lead and PCBs, in their bodies than a decade ago, according to a study by the Flemish Policy Research Centre of Environ-ment and Health. In 2013 and 2014, researchers analysed the umbilical cord blood of 281 newborn babies and blood and urine samples of 209 over-50s. Concentrations of cadmium and lead have shown a sharp decrease from 2002 levels, probably because of stricter legislation and awareness campaigns. Thal-lium and arsenic continue to be found in babies, though the concentrations are low compared with foreign statis-tics.

More funds for unmet medical needsAt the request of public health minister Maggie De Block, the federal government has raised the annual budget for the Unmet Medical Need proce-dure from €7 million to €10 million. For certain disorders, like types of multiple sclerosis or pancreatic cancer, there are no efficient treatments availa-ble. In such cases, there is a procedure known as Unmet Medical Need, through which patients can get access to new drugs before they are officially available on the market. Eligi-ble treatments are selected on the basis of criteria includ-ing the rarity of the condition, therapeutic alternatives and the impact on quality of life or life expectancy. A successful request means up to €20,000 per year in drug costs can be reimbursed.

labels influence flavour perceptionResearchers at Ghent Univer-sity have shown that labels on food significantly influ-ence perception of flavour. The results of their study have been published in the science journal Nutrients. Research-ers from the Sensolab, part of the faculty of bioscience engi-neering, organised an exper-iment in which 130 people tasted young gouda cheese. Without being aware of it, the participants tasted the same cheese several times, each time with a different label – such as “light” or “reduced salt”. The results showed that the light label, associated with a lower fat content, received much lower scores than the standard variant. Cheese with a claim about reduced salt, however, was considered just as tasty as standard cheese. \ AF

WeeK iN iNNovatioN

\ InnOVATIOn

icos-BElgium.BE

The City of Antwerp is currently installing LoRa network technology, a huge step in its City of Things project. The project is set to become a frontrunner in the global Internet of Things system, in which objects interact with other objects through both wired and wireless connections. City of Things is a large-scale test environment in which Antwerpenaars will be able to commu-nicate and interact with intelligent devices and sensors. This kind of communication requires the presence of a network adjusted to the limi-tations of sensors such as the lifespan of batter-ies. LoRa, short for Long Range Low Power, takes

into account these limitations. It is currently being installed across Antwerp’s city centre by experts connected to Flanders’ digital research centre iMinds, Antwerp University and ICT specialist Digipolis.

“In the long term, thousands of devices and sensors will be connected through the inter-net,” said professor Steven Latré of iMinds in a statement. “This will form a unique labora-tory to test, evaluate and optimise the use of different communication technologies in a real Internet of Things environment.”By connecting certain city sensors with the LoRa network, researchers will be able to collect intelligent information on what happens in the city. It can, for example, be used to examine the relationship between traf-fic and air quality. “The information will help to improve life in Antwerp,” said the city’s mayor, Bart De Wever. \ Andy Furniere

Antwerp’s Internet of Things project takes big step forward iminds.BE

ian mundellMore articles by Ian \ flanderstoday.eu

© Courtesy Icos Belgium

Measuring the change as it happens: members of the local Icos team

We started in 1996, so we have one of longest track records of flux measurements in Europe

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DECEMBER 23, 2015

\ 9

Farmers, unitePrize-winning kortrijk students say co-sharing is future of agriculture kU leuven graduate

wins Thesis Prize Jan Fockedey, a graduate of the University of Leuven, has won the Flemish Thesis Prize with his Master’s thesis on purifying water with membranes made from plas-tic waste. The Thesis Prize highlights the academic work of young scientists. Fock-edey also won the Agoria Prize, given to the best tech-nology thesis in the competi-tion. Fockedey, who studied chemical engineering, used plastic waste to develop a membrane – with pores 1,000 times smaller than a human hair – that can extract viruses and bacteria from polluted water. His invention can be used in industrial applica-tions by both large companies and SMEs. His solution is 30% cheaper to use than existing membranes.

Places in Dutch-speaking schools for most pupils Of the 2,228 pupils in the Brussels-Capital Region who didn’t find a place at a Dutch-speaking primary school this year, 142 are not registered at any school in Belgium’s public education system. Only 18 of them are older than six and so required to go to school, and it is assumed that they either left the country, entered private education or are receiving lessons at home. The report also showed that 1,428 of the pupils eventu-ally did find a place in Dutch-speaking education, most of them in another school in Brussels and a minority in Flanders. The rest registered at French-speaking schools.

Crevits advises mediation to beat bullyingFlemish education minister Hilde Crevits has presented a new user-friendly publi-cation to support schools in dealing with bullying. Peer mediation is one of the main themes in the publication Working Towards a United School Climate. In peer medi-ation, students are trained to become “conflixers” who mediate conflicts between fellow pupils. The educa-tion ministry has signed an agreement with the Flem-ish secondary school student organisation VSK to encour-age youngsters to partici-pate and schools to use the peer mediation method. VSK plans to arrange meet-ings and organise workshops in schools. The publication also gives information on the causes of bullying , as well as tips on how to prevent bully-ing. \ Andy Furniere

WeeK iN eDucatioN

\ EDUCATIOn

Did you know that even a fallow acre is still a net producer of carbon dioxide? Combine this with the fact that meat

production is a major source of greenhouse gases, and it’s clear that agriculture has a huge responsibility when it comes to fighting global warming and saving the planet.So how can agriculture be decarbonised? That was the question posed in AgriClimat, a competition for Flanders’ students held during the huge international agriculture fair Agribex, which took place earlier this month at Brus-sels Expo.A jury of five specialists, including science journalist Dirk Draulans, meteorologist David Dehenauw and design engineer Serge de Ghel-dere, took a closer look at the 18 proposals submitted by student teams from schools all over Flanders. The winning proposal, called CollAgro, was the brainchild of three students from the Kortrijk campus of Vives University College. The three are doing their Bachelor’s in a new discipline, ecotechnology – one that fits perfectly with the prize question.“In this discipline, students learn to see the big picture regarding aspects like energy, agricul-ture, environment, climate, use of materials and recycling,” says Nele Pinket, head of the ecotechnology Bachelor’s degree. “You could compare our students, once they’ve graduated, with GPs. While individual issues in energy, agriculture and materials are dealt with by more specialised people – the brain and heart surgeons, you could say.”Pinket is convinced that it’s due to this wide range of knowledge that her students won the AgriClimat contest. “The CollAgro project delivers a solution to the various concerns of today’s farmers,” she says. “Waste manage-ment, for example, is always a costly business, especially here in Flanders where regulation is very stringent.”And the rising cost of energy is something every farmer worries about, she continues. “Not to mention the large investments in machinery they have to make to stay competitive on the global market.”The students came up with an idea that’s already well-established in business and, to a lesser extent, in accommodation: co-work-

ing and co-housing. In co-working, typically self-employed people share a working envi-ronment. This way they can share the costs of necessities like coffee, printers and an internet connection. Co-housing is a less well-known concept, in which people live in their own homes but share expensive items. “I was really struck by this concept when I first heard of it,” says Alan Cespedes Arkush, one of the students behind CollAgro. “Ten families buy one lawnmower collectively, or 10 families buy a lawnmower each. Look how much money can be saved on things we don’t use every day.”And does the concept apply to agricultural equipment, then? “We started our project by brainstorming around some principal climate-related issues in agriculture,” Cespedes Arkush explains, “and speculating how we could solve them separately. Soon we noticed that we could link most of the solutions to one central concept: a biogas plant.”A biogas plant, of course, isn’t quite the same as a lawnmower. Cespedes Arkush: “That’s true, but in existing plants there’s often insuf-ficient raw material to keep them running, and installing a plant is often too expensive for small farmers. So a collective acquisition

and a collective supply of manure and harvest remainders for the fermentation process seemed a logical solution to us.” Another advantage of collective acquisition, he says, “is that buyers can invest in more sustain-able products with a longer lifetime. That also lowers their carbon footprint”.Of course, the collective exploitation of a biogas installation is only possible in compact agri-cultural clusters, with short distances between the individual farms – otherwise the cost and energy required for transport would be too high. For these dense clusters, the students proposed a system of rotational cultivation. The fertility and productivity of soil increases sharply as alternating crops are used, instead of one monoculture for years. Because each of the farms in a CollAgro cluster has its own specialisation, they can swap their fields among each other.So what did the three students win? “Oh, that’s a bit of a sad story,” says Cespedes Arkush. “Normally Agribex would have arranged a trip for us to the climate conference in Paris. But due to the attacks and the severe security measures, they cancelled it. However, we were told that they’re planning a similar trip to a foreign destination next year instead.”

What is the situation like in Belgium?There is far from a gender balance in this sector, so we see an underrep-resentation of women. This is a big problem because most IT compa-nies are constantly understaffed and looking for new workers.

Why is this gender imbalance a problem?Academic studies have consistently shown that gender-balanced teams perform better. ICT and IT are now so integrated into other sectors, into

all aspects of our lives, that you can’t afford to work with underperform-ing teams. You need that talent; you need those different angles that men and women provide.

How does the study you conduct-ed help address this problem?In the discussion about the under-representation of women in ICT, the first thing you often hear is that there are too few girls in IT programmes, in maths and in the other STEM subjects [sciences, technology, engineering]. With this

survey, we wanted to examine if there was a danger of exit in addi-tion to the entry problem. What are women’s experiences of working in this sector?

And what did you find?If you look at the general results,

people are satisfied in this sector because it offers flexibility and opportunities. On the other hand, 25% of women compared to 16% of men say they are considering leaving the sector. Moreover, 80% of women feel they have to prove themselves more than their male colleagues, while only 22% of men agree with that statement. This is a blind spot; there is the illusion of equal opportunities, of a level play-ing field for them.So the message of this study is: Be aware of this. Listen to what women’s experiences are of work-ing in the company. Don’t dismiss it with “Oh, I’m sure it’s not that bad”, and “You shouldn't exagger-ate”. Because only by listening can you address this problem. \ Interview by Linda A Thompson

Q&aA new study puts local perspective to a staffing problem that dogs IT companies from Silicon Valley to Finland: a lack of diversity. Michèle Mees from the Centre for Balanced Leadership in Merchtem, Flemish Brabant, one of three organisations that conducted the Gender Gap analysis, explains what IT companies stand to gain from improving diversity.

cfBl.Eu

senne starckxMore articles by senne \ flanderstoday.eu

© Philipp schulze/dpa/CORBIs

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\ 10

\ lIVInG

Make veggies, not meatgraanmarkt 13 chef publishes cookbook with veggies in the starring role

Located on a quaint square next to Antwerp’s Stadsschouwburg is

Graanmarkt 13, a smart and contemporary restaurant with a casual atmosphere, and a twist. Since opening in 2010, it has been voted the best veggie restaurant in Flanders and one of the top three “vegetable restaurants” in the Benelux by the green version of legendary restaurant guide Gault&Millau.And yet Graanmarkt 13 is not a vegetarian restaurant. During previous stints in kitch-ens in Italy and France, Nobels mastered the classical restaurant tradition that favours a meat-centric menu, cheese carts, crys-tal glasses and white tablecloths. But that wasn’t the direction he wanted to go in with his own place. People go to upscale restaurants, he says, “to cele-brate birthdays or other special occasions, and I didn’t want to be that kind of restaurant that you associate with events and exclusivity. I want to make fine dining accessible to everyone. It has to be low key and affordable.” The key to combining fine dining with accessible prices, it turns out, is vegetables. This focus is what makes Graanmarkt 13 unique. Where other chefs take meat or fish as their starting point, Nobels adds meat or fish around the veggies. “Lots of people still have preju-dices about vegetarian food and see it as alternative or bland,” he says. “I want to show diners that vegetables can be as tasty as meat and the star of the dish. It all depends on how you prepare

them. We frequently grill vegeta-bles, put them on the barbecue or prepare them in a salt crust. These are techniques mostly used to prepare meat.”Nobels, 33, also hopes to mini-mise the restaurant’s ecological footprint by using seasonal, local and organic produce. On the roof, Nobels and his staff grow more than 100 types of herbs. They also keep two beehives here and another four on the roof of the Flemish Opera. The restaurant gets the rest of its fresh produce from producers in and around Antwerp. “By using locally sourced ingredients and working with the seasons, we can ensure quality produce and great taste.”Nobels recently released his first cookbook, with the intrigu-ing title Vegetables That Sparkle the Conversation. “Our starter is usually vegetarian and for the main courses, the table gets a big dish in the middle of the table that they can share,” the chef explains. “It becomes a conver-sation topic. And I also always give one more portion than the number of people in the party, so they have to discuss who gets the last piece.” Illustrated with mouth-watering photographs, the book centres on 17 vegetables that Nobels builds 68 glorious dishes around.As part of Studio Brussel’s char-ity event De Warmste Week, Graanmarkt 13 staff prepared and sold veggie dishes from a stall in front of the restaurant this past Saturday. For every dish sold, one meal will go to Dakant, a non-profit that works with the

homeless. “It’s a dinner from the locals for the locals,” says Nobels.

Vegetables That Sparkle the Conversation is published in Dutch by Lannoo Uitgeverij

Finding somewhere to eat on New Year’s Eve can be a struggle as many restaurants take a break over the festive period. But we’ve tracked down a handful of places across the region where you can celebrate in style and taste. But be quick to make a reservation; they expect to be fully booked by Christmas.

AntwerpAntwerp’s annual Millennium Nacht will see revellers feast and dance the old year away at three locations on the Scheldt. There are still places available in Stuurboord, where €130 gets you dinner, dancing, and a balcony view of the fireworks over the river at midnight. Vege-tarians are well catered for.The evening starts at 19.00 with a welcome glass of cava followed by a three-course dinner. At midnight, everyone enjoys a glass of cham-pagne to ring the New Year in, after which you can continue to dance the night away. For the serious partygoers, there will be soup around 3.00 to revive tired limbs.

\ oudjaar.com

BrusselsIn Brussels, the Grand Casino Viage is offering a five-course dinner in its Saffron restaurant. Menu highlights include pan-fried venison and a crumble of duck confit with marrow-roasted sweetbreads. After dinner, you can join the party in the casino’s Cinna-Bar to welcome the New Year as you enjoy a glass of bubbles. Cost is €115, which includes €15 of gambling chips so you can test out just how lucky you’ll be in 2016.

\ viage.beGhentAt Gent’s Pakhuis Brasserie, the focus is on organic and seasonal food. New Year’s Eve

begins with an aperitif, followed by a five-course menu. A highlight is the winter vegeta-ble amuses bouche, which include a variety of tasty offerings. There’s also a choice of mains, and at midnight, organic Piollot champagne will be served. Dinner at the Pakhuis will set you back €110, which includes entry to the Millie Vanillie night club after midnight and a welcome glass of prosecco.

\ pakhuis.be

HasseltIn Hasselt’s Hoog Huis, the six-course celebra-tion begins at 19.00 with an aperitif and nibbles. The menu focuses on seasonal produce and features deer as the main course. At midnight, everyone who has made a reservation receives a complimentary glass of champagne. At 00.30 the Hoog Huis opens its doors to the public, and the dancing continues until at least 5.00. Hoog Huis gives diners two price options – one including alcohol (€110) and one without (€90). \ Dan Smith

\ hooghuis-hasselt.be

Bitedining out on new year’s Eve

stella de DunisA medieval-themed family festival: sword-fighting, story-telling, fire-eaters, trouba-dours, puppet shows, face-painting, birds of prey. 26 December 14.00-18.00, Abdij-museum Ten Duinen, Konin-klijke Prinslaan 6-8, Koksi-jde; €7/free for kids 12 and under and anyone in medieval costume

\ bezoeker.koksijde.be

Magical winter walkA guided walk through a wintery Antwerp, with Christ-mas stories and a nip of Elixir d’Anvers to warm the way. Includes an authentic folk-loric poesjenellentheater show and a visit to the Neapolitan crèche in the Plantin-More-tus Museum. Until 30 Decem-ber, Antwerp, reservations required, €12

\ visitantwerpen.be

Café Jardin winter EditionA varied programme with storytelling, barbecue, live music, knitting workshop, market stalls and more. 27 December 15.00-23.00, CC Oratoriënhof, Mechelsestraat 111, Leuven, free

\ cafe-jardin.be

Christmas walkAnnual self-guided walk through fields and woods to four nativity scenes in the Kempen, with a choice of five routes between 8.5 and 20 km in length. Warm drinks and refreshments available along the way. Guided Christmas lights tour on 26 December (€3.50). Until 6 January, Tour-ism Merksplas, Markt 1, free

\ toerismemerksplas.be

Bruxella 1238Once a month, this archaeo-logical museum under the old Stock Exchange is open to the public. Purchase a ticket for a guided tour in English at the Museum of the City of Brus-sels on Grote Markt. 6 Janu-ary (and every first Wednes-day) 10.15-11.30, Bruxella 1238, Beursstraat, Brussels, €4

\ museedelavilledebruxelles.be

BommelsfeestenA traditional folk festival with roots in the Middle Ages, tied to pagan Yule celebrations. Two parades on Saturday and a children’s party on Sunday afternoon (€5/€3 for kids). Crazy Monday costume ball with live music (tickets €17 at the door). 9-11 January, Ronse city centre, free

\ ronse.be

WeeK iN activities

© Courtesy Pakhuis

rebecca BenootMore articles by Rebecca \ flanderstoday.eu graanmarkt13.BE

© Michaël Dehaspe/Visit Flanders

seppe nobels’ new cookbook proves that veggies can be just as exciting as meat

DECEMBER 23, 2015

\ 11

Plastic is dead, long live plasticBrussels welcomes adam, its first museum dedicated to both art and design

Culture lovers rejoice: Brussels has another new museum. Hot on the heels of

Schaarbeek’s Train World, opened back in September, comes the Art & Design Atomium Museum, known as Adam. It’s set up in a former wholesale market and furniture store in the north of the city, alongside the unmissable silver spheres of its parent cultural centre. Fittingly for a temple to art and design, it’s got distinctive features of its own that make it stand out on the Heizel plateau. The red and yellow scaffolding-style staircase at the front entrance, designed by French city planner and archi-tect Jean Nouvel, is reflected in the building’s windows, and some striking plastic statues stand watch in the gardens outside.

This eye-catching entrance contrasts with the low-key exte-rior of the resolutely functional Trade Mart building itself, and the understated design theme contin-ues inside, where industrial fittings allow the exhibits to speak for themselves.Lhoas & Lhoas, the Brussels-based architects charged with designing the museum in the former market space, said that their aim was to take a building that was previously practically invisible and make it just the opposite. The permanent exhibition is dedi-cated to the Plasticarium, the Atomium’s incredible collection

of plastic objects bought from collector Philippe Decelle, a local enthusiast who has lovingly gath-ered together thousands of objects since the 1980s. The collection – a riot of orange, yellow and red – encompasses items dating from the golden age of plastic in the early 1960s via pop art to the postmodern era, with every-thing from chairs and radios to tableware and telephones. Before the Atomium bought it, the collec-tion was only available to view on appointment at Decelle’s own home.Though many of the objects scream 1970s, and the feel is decidedly retro, organisers are keen to point out that plastic as a medium isn’t dead and continues to evolve, with new developments in more ecolog-ical plastics happening all the time.

Many of these objects remain resolutely functional beneath the surface: the curved desk, the child’s table that flips over to become a chair, the hot-lips telephone, the green pineapple water jug and glasses. Freddy Thielemans, former mayor of Brussels-City and now the honorary mayor, spoke at the opening ceremony. “We’re so proud of this museum we’ve built here,” he said, “because this place is part of our history.”“It’s important for us that visi-tors make the link between this museum and the Atomium,” adds museum spokesperson Inge Van

Eycken. “It’s really the Atomium’s art and design museum.”Until now there’s been no dedicated art and design museum in Brus-sels, she points out. “Adam offers visi-tors a collection of 2,000 items in plas-tic, from art objects via design to every-day utility objects. Nowhere in Belgium is there a similar collection or museum, or even anywhere in Europe.”How does it complement the work of the Atom-ium, that symbol of progress and moder-nity at the heart of Expo 58, and still a major city landmark? “It offers us extra space, so some of our temporary exhibitions on design and contem-porary art will move to the Adam,” she says. “Together, the Atomium and Adam provide a rich cultural offer: design, archi-tecture, art and subjects like space and water.”The plastic collection is too big to be displayed all at once, so exhibits will be rotated each year. Temporary exhibitions will also run alongside the Plasticarium, with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century art and design. They include Eames and Hollywood, coming in March,

which will use photos to reveal a lesser-known aspect in the work of Ray and Charles Eames. Armed with a camera, these two American designers immortalised life behind the scenes of Billy Wilder’s Holly-wood film sets. “This new museum’s primary aim is to display an exceptional collection by specialists from all over the world, the Plasticarium,” said Karine Lalieux, Brussels-City alderwoman for culture. “It also invites the broader discovery of the art and design of the 20th and 21st centuries. It preserves this

unique collection, keeps it in Brussels and makes it

accessible to a wide audience.”

The museum cost €800,000,

split between the City of Brus-sels and

the Atom-ium. It also

includes a children’s lab

where workshops will take place, a

lecture programme, film and documentary screenings,

guided tours, event rooms for hire, a shop and cafe.

Flanders Today has launched an e-book with ideas for how to spend a year’s worth of week-ends. Visit our website to get your free copy of 50 Weekends in Flanders. We’ll also print one of our suggestions every week here, too.

A weekend really isn’t long enough to explore Antwerp, but even on a short break you can discover hidden renaissance gardens, sweep-ing waterfront views and cool cafes run by fashion department graduates.

\ antwerpen.be/visit

Look at MAS ROOFTOP PANORAMAThe MAS museum’s 10th-floor roof terrace is the place to be for a spectacular view of Antwerp. It lets you see the bend in the river where one of the world’s great ports is situ-ated. You don’t have to pay to visit the terrace,

which is normally open late. The best time to go is just before sunset.

\ mas.be

Shop at HELDERThe city’s Vrijdagmarkt is famous for a market where they sell off old furniture and ghastly ornaments. So you might be surprised to find a studio selling cool contemporary design. The two owners met while working with Antwerp designer Ann Demeulemeester. They create their own pieces, as well as sell-ing work by Sort of Coal, Chevalier Masson and Marijke de Cock.

\ studiohelder.be

Eat at VRIJDAG VISDAGPhilippe Hawinkel’s unconventional seafood restaurant is hidden away in a garage in a dull

residential street. It’s a cool, relaxed place with tables made from recycled planks and fishing nets hung from the ceiling. You come here for the delicious seafood served on big platters and the unique feel of the place. Be sure to book before you make the trip.

\ vrijdagvisdag.be

Drink at DE PELGRIMThe old De Koninck brewery stables were totally transformed in 2014 to create a bicy-cle concept store. A few months later, the owners brought in a local design team to renovate the old cafe De Pelgrim (pictured). They have kept the tiled floors and the wooden furniture, but added innovative touches to create the perfect spot to sit down with a bolleke.

\ brasseriedepelgrim.be

Stay at ABONDANCE LOGIESAnn van Ouytsel has sensitively restored a belle époque mansion in the Cogels Osylei quarter to create a four-room guest house. She provides a friendly place to stay in a fasci-nating district of Art Nouveau architecture and small neighbourhood cafes. \ Derek Blyth

\ abondance-logies.be

50 weekends in Flanders: City tripping in Antwerp tinyurl.com/50wEEkEnds

© Courtesy De Pelgrim

sally tipperMore articles by sally \ flanderstoday.eu

adamusEum.BE

Nowhere in Belgium is there a similar collection or museum, or even anywhere in Europe

© Photos: Elie leon/ADAM

Plastic fantastic: P Ghyczy’s 1968 “Garden Egg” and Valentine E sottsass’ 1969 typewriter

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DECEMBER 23, 2015

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\ ARTs

On the recordPunk micro-label oddie records is doing music the old-school way

Dennis Van Hoof is punk rock. There’s no Mohican hairdo or safety pins, but he’s definitely punk rock. The ethos of Oddie,

his one-man record label, is rooted in the self-reliance, artistic freedom and anti-corporatism of the American underground and British New Wave of the 1970s and ’80s.“I try to approach things with a punk, DIY ethic,” Van Hoof, 25, says. “I love meeting people, getting introduced as you go along, just build-ing something with others who are passionate about music and want to create something cool together. And that you can only do with an inde-pendent label.”He’s been building his network from Zoersel, in the Kempen region east of Antwerp, since the first Oddie release, Sketchy Kids Volume One. Released in the summer of 2014, it’s a compila-tion of 10 songs by 10 bands including Mountain Bike, The Future Dead, YAWNS, Tubelight and Alpha Whale.Sketchy Kids was actually Van Hoof ’s graduation project for his Bachelor’s in music management from PXL University College in Hasselt. “I chose to put out a vinyl rock record,” he says. “I paid for the production of everything, and the bands just had to contribute a song.”Since then, Oddie has put out more music by The Glücks, Double Veterans, Mind Rays, Teen Creeps, Equal Idiots, Tin Fingers, Dead High Wire and The Mary Hart Attack. “The first record was all done officially, but for all the others, it’s a handshake deal.” These bands are the core of Van Hoof ’s network, but distribution is also key. “I had some talks with companies, but if I have 300 records and there are, like, five cool independent record shops in Belgium, I can just take the records there,” he says. Among those cool shops are Fatkat Records and Me and My Monkey in Antwerp, Consouling Sounds, Music Mania and Vynilla in Ghent and 72 Records in Brussels.Because Oddie is vinyl and cassette only, there are the factories, too. “Sketchy Kids was pressed in the Netherlands at a place that’s gone bankrupt,” he says. “Since then, I’ve used MPO in France, Ameise in Germany, who only do seven-inches – I think they are extreme left-wing punks – and

XVINYLX in the Czech Republic. It’s a break-even story most of the time, but the records will sell out, so you get your money back.”Wait, cassette tapes? They never truly went away, Van Hoof insists: just underground. He gets them made at Duplicate in the Netherlands. “Tape is much cheaper than vinyl, and fast,” he says. “Vinyl takes at least 10 weeks, tapes they can do in three days.”Another Oddie throwback to the days of 1970s punk is the fanzine – also called Sketchy Kids – that Van Hoof publishes with Siebe Le Duc, a graphic designer, and his brother Kobe, a photographer. There are limits to being a one-man micro-label, of course. “The bands are growing faster than Oddie Records, but I’m happy to see them go to the next level – even if it’s without me.”That might be the case with The Mary Hart Attack. Though bass player Wil Mathijs says that “Oddie is a cool label, and Dennis is a lovely bloke,” they’ve just finished recording an album and are looking for a label that can handle iTunes and Spotify for them. The band still stick to Oddie’s ethos of independ-

ence, though. “We record DIY in our rehearsal studio, a disused restaurant in Lovendegem,” says guitarist Kristof Souvagie. To Van Hoof, there’s a right way and wrong way for bands to grow. “Tubelight and Double Veter-ans are on the next level, but they are also very much aware of what they don’t want to do: get to the final of Humo’s Rock Rally, get a nice review in Knack, spam everyone on Facebook to get the likes up, be sent by the label to do promo… You can do all that, but it’s just not going to be effec-tive as it once was. The punk rock way is the future.”To illustrate, Mary Hart Attack drummer Kris Vlaeminck recalls a show at the Vooruit in Ghent that was “nowhere near sold out, by a band who have way more airplay than we do. But if you go to a gig from the underground scene, like Mind Rays, it’s always full. People who are really inter-ested in music are looking for gigs like that”.Van Hoof: “The routes outside Studio Brussel and the Rock Rally are becoming easier for bands to see. The old-school approach is coming back. Go to Germany playing shitty places on a real tour. That’s where the magic happens!”

mark andrews More articles by Marc \ flanderstoday.eu oddiErEcords.BE

Wintervuur (Winter Fire) is a multidisciplinary festival that aims to get us out of doors during those lazy days between Christmas and New Year. Featuring premieres of local and international theatre companies as well as intricate circus acts and plenty of music, it will turn the Bist square in Wilrijk into a seasonal circus village.Based on the principle of old-school travelling circuses and carnivals, this biennial nomadic festival sets up in a different district of Antwerp each time, giving locals and passers-by the chance to discover hidden places in the city. The nostalgic atmosphere and setting contrast with contemporary theatre, music and performances, adding a familiar yet innovative vibe to the mix.Highlights this year are the French circus company Circa Tsuica with their production Maintenant ou Jamais (Now or Never, pictured), where humour and music are intertwined with breathtaking acrobatics. Local theatre company Comp.Marius and the Dutch company ’t Barre Land premiere their new co-production Voor niks

umsonst (Roughly: Without Gain), based on the work of Austrian author JP Nestroy, who loved to parody the bourgeoisie in the 19th century.Annelies Van Hullebusch and Compagnie Frieda have created a special production for Wintervuur called TAK. This dynamic performance is set in a small animation studio in Wilrijk’s oldest theatre and will feature music, memories and puppets. “By focusing on the relationship and friend-ship between a grandparent and grandchild, we

wanted to look at a specific life as well as life in general,” explains Van Hullebusch. “We zoom in on these two figures, literally and figuratively.”And then there’s Poolnacht (Night at the Pole), a production by five artists who travelled to the northernmost part of Europe where the sun doesn’t rise in winter. They wanted to explore what happens if you lose your concept of time and become one with nature. “We wanted to see how urban dwellers would cope with a situation devoid of all provocations, where even time becomes irrelevant,” explains co-creator Liesbeth Grupping.Wintervuur also features short films screened in a repurposed campervan and free music in The Barn – a huge seasonal construction on the Bist – with concerts by local bands. \ Rebecca Benoot

Wintervuur lights up the holidays with nomadic programme

On and near BistWilrijk (Antwerp)

26 december to 2 january

© Courtesy wintervuur

wintErvuur.BE

© Courtesy vi.be

“The punk rock way is the future”: Mary Hart Attack practise in an abandoned restaurant

Composer luc Brewaeys dies at 56Flemish composer Luc Brewaeys has died of cancer at the age of 56. Born in Mortsel in Antwerp province, Brewaeys studied composition in Brus-sels, Siena and Darmstadt. In the 1980s he was closely associated with the Greek composer Iannis Xenakis, and his works were regularly performed by De Munt, deFil-harmonie and the National Orchestra of Belgium, as well as smaller ensembles like Champ d’Action and Ictus. Arguably Flanders’ greatest composer, the work he wrote for the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition a few years ago was described by the jury as too difficult for the contest-ants to play.

\ lucbrewaeys.com

lead actor in Black named European shooting starThe Berlin International Film Festival has named Mechelen-born Martha Canga Anto-nio as one of its 10 European Shooting Stars for 2016, a designation that has helped launch the international careers of many young actors. “In Black, a story about gang violence in Brussels,” said the jury, “Martha gives an extraor-dinary debut as a modern Juliet. In her very first role, she already shows great timing, courage and determination – and a natural acting ability.” The directors of Black, in cine-mas now, chose Canga Anto-nio out of 450 young women who auditioned for a part in the film. Although she did not study acting and had no prior experience, she won the lead, playing 15-year-old Mavela so convincingly that she has earned rave reviews around the globe. The 20-year-old was named “one of nine up-and-coming actors to watch” by movie site Indiewire after the film’s world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. (See related story, p5)

star wars breaks 2015 recordThe new Star Wars film The Force Awakens has broken the record for the most tick-ets sold on an opening day in Belgium this year. Some 80,000 people went to see the movie on its opening day last week, for sales of €746,000. That’s an all-time record for a Disney studios film, but not for any film: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 attracted 103,000 people to the cinema in 2011, for an income of more than €1 million on its first day.

WeeK iN arts & culture

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\ ARTs

Island storiesflemish writer tells of life and loss on curaçao

Stefan Brijs’ new novel is a family saga that follows three generations of men against the backdrop of Curaçao’s fight for independence from the Netherlands.

With De engelenmaker (The Angel Maker) and Post voor Mevrouw Bromley (Mail for Ms Bromley),

Stefan Brijs gave us period novels about very specific topics, namely human cloning and the First World War. But in his latest novel, his most contemporary, the writer offers a slow-burning account of the lives of three generations of men on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao.Maan en zon (Moon and Sun) begins in 1961. Macho cab driver Roy Tromp is more interested in chasing women than being a good father to his son, Max, a bright boy who wants to become a teacher. With the help of Father Daniel, Max tries to achieve a better life for himself, free from crime and poverty.

Forty years later, having been unable to realise his dream on Curaçao and with a son of his own, Max decides to move to the Netherlands – a decision that will forever change his life. Brijs’ interest in Curaçao was sparked by his wife, who was born on the island. “It’s a very beautiful and alluring place,” the Genk-born writer says, “but at the same time, a lot of very tangible tensions and problems bubble beneath the surface such as crime and racism. My in-laws only lived there for 12 years, but it was

an experience that changed them, shaped them even. It is an island with extremi-ties that leaves its mark.” The novel unfolds like a documentary, making it Brijs’ most real-istic novel to date. “Although these three men are fiction, I don’t doubt that there are actu-ally people out there living those lives. The situ-ations, descrip-tions, even the reac-tion of certain charac-ters, is very accu-rate.” In fact, the narrative was prompted by a newspaper clip-ping Brijs held onto for many years (and which he added at the end of the novel). “When I stumbled upon it again, I decided that it was time to tell this story,” he says. “I wanted to know what happened to the man in that clipping, and to do so you have to tell a 40-year history of Curaçao. Only that can explain how he got to where he is today, as well as how the island got to where it is – how did things get so bad in certain areas?” Brijs uses these three gener-ations to explain the changes that Curaçao has undergone

over the past decades; he focuses on labourers, unions and big oil companies. “Roy is a typi-cal 1960s black Antillean; his son isn’t sure which direction to take his life because he is scared by the absence of his father. And then there’s Max’s son, Sonny, who is very mate-rialistic, like many young-sters today. Your genes are vital in determining who you’re going to be, in addi-tion to your surroundings.” The life stories of the three are set against the turbulent period of Curaçao’s fight for independence from the Netherlands as well as a harrowing backdrop of poverty, deception and crime. Father Daniel does most of the reminiscing in the novel, focusing on key moments when the Tromp men found themselves at a crossroads. He often remembers flashes of conversations, which has the effect of creating a whirlwind of dialogue that adds to novel’s already elec-trifying pace. Maan en zon is a rich novel that recounts a little-known history of emancipation using flesh-

and-blood protagonists filled with determination.

“I wanted to write a story that captivates readers and that is hard to put down,” Brijs says. “The story

has to unlock certain emotions, entertain and educate, that’s what

makes a good story great.”

Maan en zon ( ) is published in Dutch by Atlas Contact

wild vlees (wild flesh)

Celia Ledoux • Uitgeverij Vrijdag Columnist Celia Ledoux’s debut novel tells the story of three women: a rich heiress with a penchant for swinger clubs, a stay-at-home mum who can’t help but think the grass must be greener elsewhere and her sister, a financial big shot who disappears into the wilderness. Wild vlees is a dark novel that calls into question a modern society’s obsession with materialism, sex and deception. These daring topics make Ledoux’s first venture into literature a fasci-nating one.

Bloedboek (Blood Book)

Dimitri Verhulst • Atlas ContactOne of Flanders’ most controversial and critically acclaimed authors, Dimitri Verhulst pulls another stunt with Bloed-

book, a rewriting of the Bible. The novel is based on the first five parts of the Old Testa-ment, which become a cluttered and far-fetched flight of fancy. His aim, he has said, was to show what God and his apostles were really like; in other words, that they don’t practice what they preach. Bloedbook is vintage Verhulst: cynical and clever.

verman je (Pull it together)

Filip Rogiers • Polis After winning the 2012 Debut Prize with his Nauwelijks lichaam (Barely Body), journalist Filip Rogiers is back with a novel about a man who wants to take control of his life. Six months after he is fired from his job as a burnout coach, Hofman gets the perfect job interview. After a tough negotiation with his new employer about his salary and benefits, he feels on top of the world. He

prides himself on his logical thinking and self-control, but when he meets Anita, the tables start to turn. Verman je is an intrigu-ing read.

vallen in liefde (falling in love)

Philippe Diepvents • ManteauPhilippe Diepvents’ second novel centres on Holly, a woman in the waiting room between life and death. To pass the time, she tells the reader how she ended up there. She intro-duces us to four people who all played a crucial role in her demise: her best friend, a bystander who isn’t as innocent as he claims; the man with the gun; and Erwin, who was at the right place at the right time. Vallen in liefde is a story about love, pain and ultimately death, but in spite of its heavy subject matter, it’s an entertaining novel packed with puns and plot twists.

More NeW BooKs this MoNth

Your genes are vital in determining who you’re going to be

© Annaleen louwes

stefan Brijs’ interest in Curaçao was sparked by his wife, who was born on the island

rebecca BenootMore articles by Rebecca \ flanderstoday.eu

DECEMBER 23, 2015

\ 15

oPera

FaMilY coNcert

staND-uP

The popular Brussels English Comedy Night celebrates its first show of 2016 with a knee-slapping double feature. Headliner Tom Wrigglesworth hails from Shef-field, where his quirky appearance (he’s a dead ringer for Frank Zappa) and observational humour have earned him work as a stand-up

comedian and radio personal-ity. He has toured the UK, New Zealand and Canada. Dutch-Greek comedian Soula Notos, a member of Utrecht collective Comedy-huis and co-founder of Comedy Kitchen, is also performing. Irish comedian David Hayden hosts the evening. \ GV

While modern composers like Philip Glass have given classical music a contemporary facelift, the image of opera remains resolutely old school. But under the surface, there’s much more to 21st-century opera than fat ladies singing. This festival show-cases the adventurous work of fresh, young European opera compos-

ers like Péter Eötvös, Luca Franc-esconi, Balázs Horváth and András Almási-Tóth – all of whom collabo-rate on an adaptation of Polish play-wright Slawomir Mrozek’s absurd one-act play Out at Sea. Also on the programme is French composer Pascal Dusapin’s pioneering 1992 opera To Be Sung. \ Georgio Valentino

“God exists. And he lives in Brussels.” One of the opening lines from Jaco Van Dormael’s Le tout Nouveau

Testament (The Brand New Testament) got the country’s biggest collective laugh this year. The film that has made the shortlist for consideration for a foreign-language Oscar nomination can be relived all over again – or seen for the first time – at the BE Film Festival in Brussels this month.Every December, locals get the chance to see all the Belgian films they’ve missed over the last 12 months – and a few premieres, which sweetens the deal. Next to Le tout, the year’s other big releases can be found here, includ-ing newcomer Robin Pront’s most excellent D’Ardennen – a violent game of cat-and-mouse between two brothers – and Paradise Trips, Raf Reyntjens’ comedy drama that sees a tour

bus driver (Gene Bervoets) pushed beyond his limits by a bunch of hippy travellers en route to a music festival in Croatia (pictured).But you’ll find lesser-known gems at BE, too, such as Olivier and Yves Ringer’s Les oiseaux

de passage (Birds of Passage), which won best children’s film in Montreal this year for its simple story of two girls – one in a wheelchair – who embark on a road trip to save a duck-ling. Then there’s Cafard, a beautifully realised animated feature by Jan Bultheel about Ostendenaars fighting in a special unit in the First World War. The story is bleak, but the fantastical colours and heartfelt denouement breathe new life into the current war memo-rial climate.Among the most exciting premieres is Flemish filmmaker Manu Riche’s first fiction feature, Problemski Hotel, a curious mix of national-ities and languages as residents come into contact with new arrivals at a refugee centre in Brussels. The film opens in cinemas next month. \ Lisa Bradshaw

It’s been three years since Rihanna, pop princess and provo-cateur, released a new album, but it might as well have been three decades. Since her breakout dancehall-inflected smash “Pon de Replay” in 2005, the artist has churned out seven albums in just eight years. No release date has been set for her highly antici-pated new album, but the wait, it seems, is almost over as she has announced a huge, 70-date world tour. At Werchter Boutique, she’ll be joined on stage by Big Sean, of the couldn’t-care less “I Don’t Fuck with You” anthem, and The Weeknd, of the dark, high-stakes “Can’t Feel My Face”. \ Linda A Thompson

There’s no place like home

BE Film FestivalcoNcertEast FlandersWillem Vermandere: Solo performance by the West Flemish folk legend, featur-ing songs in his local dialect, such as “Blanche en zijn peird” en “Ik plantte ne keer patat-ten”. 26 December 20.00, Sint-Pauluskerk, Oostkouterlaan 5, Deinze; 27 December 20.15, OLV van de Rozenkranskerk, Floraplein, Merelbeke

\ willem-vermandere.be

visual artsBrusselsHannes Coudeyns: Ugly Belgian Houses: Exhibition around the new book by the photographer from Kortrijk, based on his popular blog and Facebook page of the same name, filled with the coun-try’s biggest “architectural flaws”, accompanied by wry captions. 4-26 January, Recy-clart, Ursulinenstraat 25

\ recyclart.be

GenkBeyond Food and Design: Exhibition in the framework of 20 years of Toegepast, a mentored talent development trajectory for young design-ers, featuring new works with one common theme: how food shapes our landscape. Until 31 January, C-mine Designcen-trum, C-mine 10

\ beyondfood.be

FestivalBrusselsRiver Jazz Festival: Second edition of the festival with 14 concerts spread over three stages across the city, featur-ing Bai Kamara Jr, Tutu Puoane and Laurent Blondiau and many more. 8-23 January, Jazz Station, Espace Senghor & Theatre Marni

\ riverjazz.wix.com

PerForMaNceBrusselsDick Whittington and His Magical Cat: The English Comedy Club presents a humorous, energetic version of the well-loved British tale based on the legend of the 15th-century Lord Mayor of London (in English). 8-10 January, Oudergem Cultural Centre, Vorstlaan 183

\ thelittleboxoffice.com/ecc

FilMBrusselsBozar Cinema Days: 25 films in five days, featuring new independent and avant-garde cinema, low- and no-budget films, art house, animations, biopics and documentaries. 6-10 January, Bozar, Raven-steinstraat 23

\ bozar.be

This multi-venue circus festi-val returns for a week of family-friendly performances in and around Ghent. The event is the fruit of a collaboration between one of the city’s chief performance spaces, Vooruit, and the Flem-ish Centre for Circus Arts. Venues include a theatre, a cultural centre and a church. There’s even an interactive puppet-show instal-

lation in public space. Perfor-mances at Vooruit include Bert & Fred’s slapstick autobiography 8 Years, 5 Months, 4 Weeks, 2 Days, choreographer Rachid Ouram-dane’s humanist dance/acrobat-ics production Tordre and the closing night extravaganza Cirque Mélangé, led by veteran Flemish street theatre performer Stefaan De Winter. \ GV

very alive composers: rethinking opera

smells like circus

tom wrigglesworth

rihanna

\ AGEnDA

Bozar & Cinematek, Brussels Bozar & cinEmatEk, BrussEls

26-31 december

Flagey, Brussels flagEy.BE

6-10 januaryBlack sheep, Brussels EnglisHcomEdyBrussEls.com

5 january, 20.00

Vooruit, Ghent vooruit.BE

13-17 januarywerchter Festivalpark wErcHtErBoutiquE.BE

21 july

get tickets now

© Hofmann/De Munt

DECEMBER 23, 2015

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Every year, Flemings get to pick the one word they would like to ban from their dictionaries. According to De Standaard, Weg met dat woord

gaat ook dit jaar weer op zoek – “Throw out that Word” is searching again this year, naar precies dát woord uit onze Nederlandse taal – for that one word in our Dutch language, dat de meeste gebruikers koude rillingen bezorgt – that sends most people into a cold sweat. Eind november – At the end of November, riep het Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie alle Nederland-ers en Vlamingen op – the Institute for Dutch Lexicology called on all Dutch and Flemish people, om hun ervarin-gen rond het meest gruwelijke woord uit ons Nederlandse taalgebied met de wereld te delen – to share with the world their experiences with the ghastliest word in our language. The 10 most hated words were published a couple of weeks ago. It included some based on English slang, like chillen – to chill. And selfie – which needs no explanation.Other irritating words were meaningless compounds such as dagdagelijks – daily. And participatiesamenleving – participation society. Then you have trendy new terms that reflect modern lifestyles, like diervriendelijk vlees – animal-friendly meat. (Bestaat niet – It doesn’t exist, said one irritated respondent. Doodmaken is nooit vriendelijk – Killing is never friendly.) You might have been tempted to vote for papadag: dag waarop vader voor de kinderen zorgt – dad day, the day when the father takes care of the children. Or possibly you agree with the people who want to see the back of plezierjacht – a pleasure yacht. Then again, if you can’t stand bad grammar, you might want to put an end to the use of me when the correct

word is mijn – mine. Welke van die tien het tot absolute ‘winnaar’ zal schoppen – Which of the 10 is chosen as the absolute “winner”, dat mag u zelf mee helpen bepalen – is something you can help to decide.Some 25,000 people responded to the challenge. And the winner was that annoying little word me – as in me moeder – my mother. Deelnemers aan de verkiez-ing – People who sent in their votes, kunnen het foutieve gebruik van ‘me’ niet meer aanhoren – couldn’t stand the wrong use of me any longer. ‘Me’ kreeg 30% van de stemmen – “Me” received 30% of the votes, en is daarmee de overtuigende verliezer van dit jaar – making it this year’s undisputed loser. In second place, with 20%, was diervriendelijk vlees, while the third least popular word of 2015 was plezierjacht, with 12%.Surprisingly, voters this year were less annoyed about English slang. Chillen and selfie turned out to be the least hated words, each scoring just 4%. So we can still chill – just not in a pleasure yacht.

Talking Dutchthe pleasure yacht has to go

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the last WorD

free to be… you and me“I don’t want to be a girl. I’m happy being a boy. Albeit a boy who likes experimenting with makeup.” University student Joppe De Campeneere of Deinze, aged 18, is using the internet to break down the taboo against men and makeup

tunes for saloons“Every time I go shopping or to a restaurant, I do the same exercise: What music would go best here? The answer is never muzak.”Piet De Loof is Flanders’ first music consultant for shops, restaurants and cafes

spineless speeders“A couple of minutes can make all the difference and save a life. So stop. Call emergency services, help if you can; at least find out how the victim is.”Families, like Dirk Van Damme and Soetkin Geerinck’s, who have lost a loved one to hit-and-run drivers are speaking out, as the number of incidents has rocketed in recent weeks (see related story, p4)

talk of the town“I’ve never really thought about my background. I feel like a Fleming among the Flemish. But it doesn’t bother me to be considered a role model.”Nadia Sminate is Flanders’ first mayor with Moroccan roots (see news, p3)

a. No, better too much security than not enough. What would people be saying if a bomb had gone off?

b. Yes. Increased security patrols made sense, but closing down all the bars and sports centres was just silly

And so we reach the year 2016 in perfect disagreement: 50% of you think the government’s reaction to the terrorist threat in November was not exagger-ated, if only because it would have been terribly embarrass-ing to have done too little and have something seriously awful happen.

The other half thinks the lock-down was going too far, and prime minister Charles Michel cautiously agrees, saying recently that some of the responses – shutting down recreation and shopping centres, for instance, might have been a bit exagger-ated. In the end, the arrests of serious suspects took place after

the threat level was brought back down to 3, proving all those security “lockdown” measures unnecessary. However you look at it, not much harm was done: a couple of foot-ball matches cancelled, the metro shut down for a few days, less shopping at the weekend. It could have been worse.

Polldo you think that Brussels went too far with its security measures during the level 4 terrorism alert last month?

\ next week's question: The government has proposed lowering the blood-alcohol limit for new drivers, who are more likely to be involved in an accident. What do you think?Log on to the Flanders Today website at www.flanderstoday.eu and click on VOTE!

CONNECT WITH US LIKE USTweet us your thoughts @FlandersToday

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In response to: Cycle highways pay for themselves, say researchersThomas Coleman: Now we need one from Mechelen to Brus-sels!!

In response to: Wintervuur lights up the holidays with nomadic programmePeter O'Reilly: Hope it works on January exam blues.

In response to: Two new stations join Brussels city rail networkHowie Tiernan: Gonna be great

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In response to: Education minister advises peer mediation to address bullyingGloria Rinderman: I was a teacher for 20 years. Kids could learn kindness and tolerance from songs, like “Be a Buddy, Not a Bully,” which could help combat bullying.

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derek BlythMore articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

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