A smile And AteArThe legendary TootsThielemans, one of the world’smost gifted jazz harmonicaplayers, dies aged 94

\ 3 \ 7 \ 13

#44

4Erkenn

ingsnu

mmer

P708

816 AUGUST 24, 2016 \ newSweekly - € 0,75 \ rEad morE at www.flandErstoday.Eu

innovation \ P7BusinEss \ P6currEnt affairs \ P2 Education \ P10Politics \ P4 art & living \ P11

Food ForthoughtAn experimental food lab in EastFlanders has pro cooks andhobbyists alike trying high-techtools to create new tastes

Finding FAmilyA filmmaker has made botha documentary about theKakuma refugee camp and anapp to help residents find eachother

• Most medals won since 1996• Best men’s hockey performance ever• Surprise gold in athletics’ most gruelling sport

See p11

Medal mania

\ 2

\ CURRenT AFFAIRS

Surveillance cameras were installed onthe approach roads to Brussels Airportlast week, the office of federal home

affairs minister Jan Jambon announced. Theuse of cameras means that traffic checksand inspections carried out by securitypersonnel will become less frequent.Checkpoints and armed personnel havebeen present at the airport in Zaventemsince the 22 March terrorist attacks, butairportmanagement has been lobbying for amore discreet approach, as armedpolice and

military can lead passengers to actually feelless secure. The presence of reinforced secu-rity personnel is also expensive to maintain.The cameras will present a real-timepicture of traffic conditions and use auto-matic number plate recognition. They willbe ready in a few days, said a spokespersonfrom Jambon’s office. “All approach roadswill thenbe covered.Only at particular timeswill police carry out extra checks. A rapidresponse team will still be on stand-by.”Police unions, meanwhile, have commented

that security is being scaled down, withcameras being brought in to replace policerather than support them. “It was decidedthat cameraswould be brought in to supportstaff,” said Eric Picqueur of ACOD Politie.“That agreement has now been changed,which comes as a total surprise to us.”VSOA chair Vincent Gilles noted that “ifanother attack were to happen, the govern-ment and police chiefs would still be heldresponsible”.

Surveillance cameras installedat approaches to airportMove will lighten up traffic checks and inspections by security personnel

Flemish public transport authority De Lijnhas carried out its first test run of the newtrambus on its planned route from Jette toBrussels Airport. The aim was to find outwhat infrastructure changes will be neededalong the route.The trambus can use existing tram lines,such as on pre-metro sections of the routeand on sections where trams ride in theirown reserved bedding, while having theflexibility of buses in other sections, makingway at certain times for events such asweekly markets.The test run through the Brussels peripherywas a success, said Flemish mobility minis-ter Ben Weyts. “We will be investing in thecoming years in new road infrastructure aswell as alternatives for the car, includingcycle infrastructure and public transport,”he said.The Brabant network with the Ring tramis part of that, he added. The Ring tramwill travel from Heizel via Koningslo andthe centre of Vilvoorde to Machelen andDiegem viaWoluwelaan to Brussels Airport.Laying down tramlines, Weyts said, costsa lot of money. The trambus allows afaster and cheaper alternative, though it isintended to be only a temporary replace-ment, with a full tram service intended forthe future. The trambus is due to come intoservice in 2019. / AH

The government of the Brussels-Capi-tal Region will set up a temporary slaugh-terhouse in the Vroegmarkt wholesalefood market along the canal to cope withincreased demand during the Muslim feastEid al-Adha next month. The installationreplaces the slaughtering facilities used lastyear at municipal level.Brussels’ minister for animal welfare hastaken over the responsibility for slaughter-ing facilities from the municipalities. Lastyear Schaarbeek, Molenbeek, Anderlechtand Brussels-City set up temporary slaugh-terhouses on local authority property.During Eid, Muslims are supposed to take

part in ritual slaughter of an animal –usually a sheep. But the sudden surge indemand has grown too much for regularslaughterhouses to handle.In Flanders, the government has bannedritual slaughter outside of licensed slaugh-terhouses. Ritual slaughter requires theanimal to be conscious, while local regula-tions require animals to be stunned beforeslaughter unless the slaughter takes placeat a licensed, permanent facility.As permanent slaughterhouses are notable to keep up with demand during Eid,the Muslim community has been lobby-ing to get the ban lifted during Eid. Flem-

ish animal welfare minister Ben Weyts,however, has said hewould like to ban ritualslaughter altogether.In Brussels next month, Muslims will needto register to have an animal slaughtered,and the procedure will be carried out in thenew temporary facility. The carcases will betransported to pick-up points in the fourmunicipalities. Customers themselves willnot be permitted to take part in the slaugh-ter.It is expected that some 2,500 animals inBelgium will be slaughtered during thefeast, which runs from 11 to 13 September./ AH

The use of opioid painkillers in Belgium hasmore than doubled since 2005, according toFlemish science magazine Eos, using figuresprovided by medical insurance agency Riziv.The number of doses prescribed increasedfrom 31million in 2005 to 65million in 2014.Opioid painkillers, which include morphineand codeine, are very efficient in battling painbutalsoaddictive.Theuseof themisnotwith-out risk, noted the magazine: The prescrip-tion-only painkillers cause more deaths inthe US than heroin and cocaine combined. Inone of the most prominent cases, an autopsyshowed that pop star Prince died from theuse

of opioid painkillers.The drugs, which are marketed in Belgiumunder the names fentanyl and tramadol,among others, can be extremely useful forcancer patients or thosewith severe joint andbone pain, according to Bart Morlion, painspecialist at theUniversityHospital of Leuven.But they are also being prescribed for head-aches and back pain.Pharmaceutical company campaigns “haveled doctors to more easily prescribe strongerdrugs,” explained Morlion. “Opioids wereunderused for a long time, but now the oppo-site has become true.”

His colleague, Catharina Matheï of KULeuven’s Academic Centre for Family Medi-cine, said that part of the problem was howmodern society dealswith pain. “We refuse toaccept pain anymore and want a quick solu-tion,” she said. “But we need to be careful thatwe don’t add to the problem by immediatelyturning to strong painkillers.”Statistics from Flanders’ drug rehabilita-tion centres don’t indicate that more peopleare addicted to opioids than before. But thatdoesn’t necessarily mean there’s no problem,it said, as many people with an addiction topainkillers don’t seek help. \ Andy Furniere

passengers carried to and fromthe coast by rail on the longAssumption weekend, more thanhalf of them to Ostend. The coastwelcomed more than 400,000 visi-tors

average temperature in Belgium inJuly, just 0.1 degree lower than theseasonal average, according to theRoyal Meteorological Institute. Itrained for 10 days, compared to anaverage of 14.3

cost of a student pass for Brus-sels public transport MIVB for thenew school year, down from €120last year.The price is now the sameas for a second child, while subse-quent children ride free

ice creams handed out from 16vans touring the grounds of Brus-sels Airport, a gift from airportmanagement to thank staff fortheir efforts during a busy holidayseason

fall in the number of books soldin Flanders in the first half ofthis year, compared to last year.The best-sellers were Pieter Aspein fiction and cookbook authorPascale Naessens in non-fiction

Trambus takes to streetsfor test run in Brussels

Brussels to install temporary slaughterhouse for Eid

Use of addictive opioid painkillers doubles in decade

150,000 6.2%€50

Alan HopeFollow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

© Anadolu Agency/BelGA

august 24, 2016

\ 3

FAce oF FlAnders

Toots Thielemans, one of theworld’s most famous jazzharmonica players, has died atthe age of 94, hismanager, VeerleVan de Poel, announced. Tootswas being cared for in hospitalafter suffering a fall last monthand died in his sleep.“He simply died of old age,” Vande Poel said. “His body wastired out. His family was by thebedside.”Jean-Baptiste Frédéric IsidorThielemans was born in 1922in the Marollen neighbourhoodof Brussels, the capital’s mostworking-class area. He was aself-taught guitar player andjoined in Paris sessions withSidney Bechet, Charlie Parkerand Miles Davis, later touringwith Benny Goodman.He eventually establishedhimself as one of the world’sbest harmonica players – harderto comeby than a guitarist – andrecorded with everyone fromElla Fitzgerald to Billy Joel. Hewas also known – like Bobbe-jaan Schoepen, with whom healso played – as a whistler, andhis biggest solo hit “Bluesette”,first recorded in 1962, features

him doing both.His harmonica playing featuredon numerous film soundtracks,most notably Midnight Cowboyand an uncredited turn in theclosing credits of Sesame Street.For all the fame, Thielemansremained close to his commu-nity – referring to himself as aketje, born-and-bred Brusselsfolk. He was given honorarydoctorates by both city universi-ties and was named a baron byAlbert II.Thielemans was the public faceof the only Brussels regionalproduct recognised by the Flem-ish government, the bloem-panch blood pudding. He wasvoted 44th in a list of the great-est Belgians of all time and hasa street named after him in theBrussels municipality of Vorst,TootsThielemansstraat.His last public performance wasat Antwerp’s Jazz Middelheim in2014; he had been a patron of thefestival since 1981. \ Alan Hope

“I feel best in that little spacebetween a smile and a tear”– Toots Thielemans

Toots Thielemans

Are you a young person who’s worried about look-ing bad when your friends pass you a joint and youdon’t want any? Are you a parent worried about whatyour kidsmay be getting up to when the reefer is goinground? Don’t worry, none of you are alone.That’s the message of a pair of videos just releasedby De DrugLijn with the aim, according to Flemishwelfare minister Jo Vandeurzen, of making it easier totalk about pot. Cannabis is by far the most used illegaldrug in Flanders, and, according to a poll of school-aged youths, most users take their first steps at 15 or16.But the message of the video is based on the data that11% percent of young people aged 12-18 have used thedrug in the past year. That means that 89% have not.“Although it’s the most-used drug, we mustn’t losesight of the fact that the vast majority of young peoplearen’t doing it,” DrugLijn co-ordinator Tom Evenpoel

told Bruzz. It’s the environment they move in – theirown peers – that is most likely to have an effect onyoung people’s behaviour, he said.The message for adults is similar: Drug use amongyoung people in Flanders is not nearly as prevalent asyou might think. The videos will be spread on socialmedia and can be viewed at the DrugLijn website,alongwith other facts, figures and contact details. \ AH

Just say not only meoFFside

WeeK in brieFA man who was shot in the legby police in Ghent last weekafter he refused to drop hisweapon is still in hospital butnot in critical condition, author-ities said. In a video of the inci-dent in Vlaanderenstraat, filmedby an onlooker, the man can beseen holding what looks like afirearm as police demand severaltimes in Dutch and English thathe drop it.

Mobility minister Ben Weytshas officially launched a majoroperation to clean up Flan-ders’ cycle paths, organised bythe roads and traffic agency toprepare for the start of the newschool year. Cleaning trucks andagency personnel will clear thepaths of rubbish. “I want cyclingto school to be safe and appeal-ing,” Weyts said, armed with atrash-grabber and rubbish bag.

A serious fire in a buildingbelonging to brewers ABInBevin Leuven spread to the adjacentOrshovenMills, a 19th-centurylisted monument. About one-quarter of the complex wasdamaged, the fire service said.The cause of the blaze is beinginvestigated. The complex onVaartkom was about to be takenover by the city to be turned intoa centre for start-ups and smallbusinesses in the creative, artis-tic and cultural sectors.

Police have issued a warningabout a new phishing email,meaning a fraudulent attempt toobtain money from email recipi-ents.Themail is designed to lookas if it comes from the Dutchpolice and demands paymentof a traffic fine. Most peoplewill ignore the mail, but thosewho have been in the Nether-lands recentlymay be fooled intopaying, police said. Complaintsof online fraud in general, includ-ing phishing attempts, can bemade to police or to the specialtip-line of the economy ministry.\ meldpunt.belgie.be

Two brothers who head an inter-national transport company inZaventem have been arrestedand detained on suspicion ofbeing part of an internationaldrug trafficking ring cover-ing several countries, includingAlbania, Greece and the Nether-lands. Neither the men nor thecompany were identified. Thetraffic is suspected of involv-ing cocaine and cannabis worthmillions of euros.

Sea Life Blankenberge last weekwelcomed a very unusual visitor:an albino seal, brought in fortreatment to injuries. The femaleseal washed up on the beach atLombardsijde and was admittedto the Sea Life clinic. Only aboutthree albino seals are born everyyear, an expert at the centre said.When the seal is healed, she willbe released back into the sea.

Starting next month, employeesof supermarket chain Colruytwill be able to commute to workin the company’s headquartersin Halle in an “office on wheels”– a coach fittedwith office equip-ment, allowing employees toturn their commuting time intowork hours. The six-month pilotproject is being sponsored by thecoach industry federation BAAVand the Flemish mobility insti-tute VIM.

Festival-goers at last week’sPukkelpop in Hasselt marked thefifth anniversary of the stormthat killed five people at thefestival by displaying images ofbutterflies throughout the festi-val sight. Organisers said theyhad opted for a more subtle andunobtrusive memorial.

The number of transmigrants– migrants passing throughBelgium on their way to the UK– caught in the first six monthsof this year is already higherthan the figure for the wholeof 2015, the federal Office for

Foreigners said. Already thisyear, nearly 5,300 migrants havebeen stopped, compared to 3,915in the whole of last year. Mostmigrants are picked up atmotor-way car parks in West Flandersand in the port of Zeebrugge.In the latest incident, a Britishcouple were caught trying tosmuggle six migrants hidden intheir caravan onto a ferry.

A young giraffe died at Planck-endael animal park in Mechelenrecently after becoming entan-gled in a wire fence surround-ing the enclosure. Qalimba wasa one-year-old female and oneof nine giraffes in the park. Thepark authorities said they wouldinvestigate the accident.

The first Christmas decora-tionsoftheyearwentonsale lastFridayatdecorandgardencentreFloralux in Moorslede, WestFlanders. Christine Mattheuws,chair of the union for the self-employed NSZ, said the timingwas “dubious”, but stressed thata code of conduct for advertis-ing leading up to holidays wasnot binding. Over at Unizo, theorganisation that representsthe self-employed, West Flan-ders director Frederik Serruyspointed out that local authori-ties, restaurants and other busi-nesses are already making plansfor their Christmas decorations.

Flemish mobility minister BenWeyts has called for a ban onradar detectors in vehicles,which alert drivers of the pres-ence of speed-traps. The callscomes as Coyote, one of themostpopular systems used to detectradar, announced it had passedone million users. Belgian lawforbids automatic radar detec-tors, but Coyote’s system isbased on user-generated warn-ings of any sort of hindrance onthe roads, including accidents,foreign objects or speed-traps.

© Jos knaepen/tootsthielemans.com

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

The logo and the name Flanders Today belong to the Flemish Region (Benelux Beeldmerk nr815.088). The editorial team of Flanders Today has full editorial autonomy regarding the contentof the newspaper and is responsible for all content, as stipulated in the agreement betweenCorelio Publishing and the Flemish authorities.

Editor Lisa BradshawdEPuty Editor Sally TippercontriButing EditorAlanHopesuB EditorBartosz BrzezinskiagEnda Robyn Boyle, Georgio Valentinoart dirEctor Paul VanDoorenPrEPrEssMediahuis AdProcontriButorsRebecca Benoot, DerekBlyth, Leo Cendrowicz, Paula Dear, AndyFurniere, Lee Gillette, DianaGoodwin,ClodaghKinsella, Catherine Kosters,Toon Lambrechts, IanMundell, Anja Otte,TomPeeters, Senne Starckx, ChristopheVerbiest, DenzilWaltongEnEral managErHansDe LoorePuBliSHERMediahuis NV

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

suBscriPtionstel 03 560 17 49subscriptions@flanderstoday.euor order online at www.flanderstoday.eu

advErtising02 467 24 37advertising@flanderstoday.eu

vErantwoordElijkE uitgEvErHansDe Loore

druglijn.BE/cannaBiscamPagnE

© Courtesy Druglijn

\ 4

Because of a reform of the woon-bonus, or mortgage tax relief,some Flemish students risk losingtheir study grant, according tomember of the Flemish parlia-ment Michèle Hostekint (SP.A).The woonbonus was formerlya federal tax deduction whichreduced taxable income.Now thattheresponsibility forthemortgagetax relief has been transferred tothe regions, it has become a taxreduction, not decreasing taxableincome. Study grants are calcu-lated on the basis of a family’staxable income.SP.A’s position is that somestudents will no longer be eligi-ble for a grant or will be eligi-ble for less. “The regulation forstudy grants has to be adjusted,”

Hostekint told VRT. “We have tolook into the calculation usedso that nothing changes forstudents.”Flemish education minister HildeCrevits, however, said that sheis not planning to change thesystem. She pointed out that itwas the previous federal govern-ment, of which SP.A was a coali-tion partner, that carried out thereform of mortgage tax relief.“The current federal governmenthastakendecisionsthathaveposi-tive effects on the income limits ofstudy grants, like a higher flat-ratededuction,” said Crevits. “It is alsodifficult to change the calculationsystem for study grants after eachgovernment decision.”\ Andy Furniere

The government of the Brussels-Capital Region is working on anapp that shows the region’s cycleroutes, mobility minister PascalSmet has announced. In themean-time, Smet plans to place new infosigns at the start of each routeand at major crossroads to allowcyclists a better overview of theirjourney.A network of cycle routes was firstplannedin1993,butfewerthanhalfof the routes have been completed.The routes are intended to allowcyclists to take the quietest, safestand fastest routes between keylocations.Last year, the Cyclehack in Brus-

sels project saw cycling organisa-tions mapping the difficulties withcycling in the city and propos-ing improvements. “I’m a ferventcyclist, but I also didn’t use theroutes, even though they’re oftenthe best options,” said Eric Gijssenof Bike Brussels Better. “Brusselscyclists often have their own fixedroutes between work and home,and they often include some seri-ous climbs and descents.”Smet now plans to ask volun-teers from groups such as Fiet-sersbond to adopt sections of theroute network and report backany dangerous situations or lackof signage. / AH

A large-scale search operationcarried out in Brussels earlier thismonth did not lead to the arrest ofOussama Atar, the man thought tobe behind the terrorist attacks of22 March at Brussels Airport andMaalbeek metro station, it wasreported last week.Atar is a cousin of the El Bakraouibrothers, who were involved in thetwo suicide bombings. He is beingsought in connection with his rolein the attacks. As the search contin-ued, it was revealed that represent-atives of the Belgian governmentlobbied for Atar’s release from anIraqi prison in 2010.Atar was one of the first jihad fight-ers to travel from Belgium to theMiddle East. He was in Iraq duringthe fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.Arrested for arms trafficking, hesharedacell fornine yearswithAbuBakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of IS,who now has a $10million price onhis head from the US government.Atonepoint,Atarwasonthewatch-list compiled by Belgium’s federaloffice for threat assessment OCAD,but his name was later removedfrom the list. In 2010, a demonstra-tion tookplace inBrusselsdemand-ing his release, on the grounds thathe was severely ill.A spokesperson for the federal

foreign affairs ministry at the timesaidhisillnesshadbeen“confirmed”and revealed that the governmenthad made several approaches tothe Iraqis for his repatriation “onhumanitarian grounds”.The appeal for Atar’s release wasnot supported by Amnesty Inter-national, despite reports in themedia that it was, Amnesty said ina statement. The organisation hadexpressedconcernover themedicaltreatment available to Atar in Iraq,but had not joined in with calls forhis release, it said.Hans Bonte, mayor of Vilvoorde,fromwheremany local jihadi fight-ers originate, criticised the lack ofinformation exchange betweenpolice zones, local authorities andstate security, which led to Atar’sname appearing on and then disap-pearing fromtheOCAD list, he said.Security forces in Brussels adherestrictly to the list, he said, whilelocal authorities in Vilvoorde keeptabs on a wider range of suspects.“That someone with such a profilecan remain undercover is a funda-mental problem,” Bonte said. “Andonce again, Brussels is involved.”The capital’s lack of resources, hesaid, was the “Achilles’ heel” of thecountry’s security policy.\ AH

Mortgage tax reform could affectstudy grants, says MP

New app to help cyclists navigateBrussels

Search operation fails to turn upleader of 22 March attacks

\ POlITICS

Burqini beachSecurity, migration and reli-gion again dominate the polit-ical debate and divide parties– in the coalition governmentbut also from within.SP.A party president JohnCrombez was the first to noticeafter he stated that “people onthe left are sick and tired ofthe tone by which very youngMuslims tell us what should bethe norm”. Crombez pleadedfor a flinks policy. The neol-ogism flinks is derived fromlinks – left – and flink – strictor tough. It is used to denoteleftists who believe in law andorder.Not everyone in Crombez’ SP.Awelcomed his words. Somerejected his “ethnic view onsociety,” others had more stra-tegic objections. They pointedout what happened to formerAntwerp mayor Patrick Jans-sens, after he banned the head-scarf for city workers in publicfunctions. The large Muslimelectorate turned its back onthe socialists, which is believedto have contributed to Bart DeWever and N-VA taking overcity hall.N-VA, too, has found out howdivisive discussions aboutsecurity, migration and reli-gion can be. The party hasnever kept quiet about theseissues, with one proposal afterthe other. The most recent isa ban of the “burqini” fromFlemish beaches, such as thoserecently enacted by Frenchresort towns.This idea has caused a commo-tion on social media: Burqinisare rarely, if ever, seen at ourcoast. It’s the idea, not thepractice, that causes offense.Maybe we should also banwhite socks in sandals, somejoked, asmanyfind themoffen-sive, too.N-VA MP Hendrik Vuye’s objec-tions weremore serious. “Curb-ing freedom should … answerpressing needs”, he stated. Vuyealso objected to another N-VAproposal concerning a ban onspeech that defended terror-ism. “It is a common miscon-ception that fighting terrorismwarrants curbing freedom ofspeech,” he wrote in an op-ed.Vuye’s move was notable, asN-VA is a very disciplined partyshowing very little dissent.Within N-VA, Vuye was charac-terised as a “professor, ratherthan a politician,” who may befrustrated. Some observers,however, see a divide between“legalists”, who may eveninclude minister-presidentGeert Bourgeois, and hardlin-ers.Others believe that all thisinternal upset would neverhadhappened if BartDeWeverhad not been away on holiday.By Monday he was back, signi-fying which side he was on byreferring to burqinis as weara-ble “tents”. \ Anja Otte

5th column Lucerna parents face threatsMinister-president addresses political pressure put on Turkish parents

Flemish minister-president GeertBourgeois has expressed concern atreports of intimidation of Turkish parents

who send their children to schools in Flandersrun by the opposition Gülen movement. Theintimidation is alleged to come from supportersof Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.According to reports, parents have been threat-ened if they do not remove their childrenfrom the Lucerna schools, run by the move-ment behind exiled opposition leader Fethul-lah Gülen.Themovement was blamed for beingbehind last month’s failed coup in Turkey.Shortly after the coup attempt, Bourgeois

reacted strongly to a suggestion from a spokes-person of the Turkish embassy that the Gülenmovement should be investigated. He empha-sised again last week that Turkey’s conflictshould not be imported to Flanders.“But this has indeed happened; parents arebeing threatened and put under pressure, withthe result that some of them have taken theirchildren out of the Lucerna schools,” said Bour-geois. “Obviously, this cannot be allowed.”He called on the justice system to investigatewhether criminal acts had taken place. “Theseare the rules that apply here, and we cannottolerate for them not to be respected,” he said.

Alan HopeMore articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

© Courtesy lucerna College Brussels

Bourgeois visits the lucerna school in Anderlecht last year

Flemish media minister Sven Gatzhas announced available fund-ing of €200,000 for projects thatoffer creative digital approachesto news reporting. The financingwill go to proposals that “renew,extend anddiversify themedia andtake multiple forms”.Funding is particularly aimed atstart-ups and small media compa-nies, Gatz said. It will contrib-ute up to 80% of the budget of thechosen projects, to a maximum of€50,000.“Things are moving fast in themedia, and the digital revolution

presents its own challenges,” saidGatz. “That’s why I want to lendsupport to initiatives that offer asustainable and future-orientedapproach to journalism, for thegood not only of the media itself,but also the public.”Media companies and organisa-tions have until 26 September tosubmit proposals for one-yearplans in fields such as production,storytelling, data research andincome models, as well as crowd-sourcing, development of start-ups and public participation in themedia. / AH

© Ingimage

Government approves funding fordigital journalism projects

august 24, 2016

\ 5

Crossing continentsit’s all change for Flanders’ diplomatic faces in southern Africa

One of the top diplomats involvedin development co-operation inSouth Africa is returning home,to be replaced by her counterpartin Mozambique. They discuss thechallenges of the sector and whatthe future holds.

This month the Flandersrepresentation in SouthAfrica saw the arrival

of a new deputy general fordevelopment co-operation.Katrien Vandepladutse comes toPretoria from the office inMaputoin Mozambique, and replacesKatrien Dejongh, who returns toBrussels. Flanders Today spoketo both women as their pathscrossed.The General Representation ofthe Government of Flanders inSouthern Africa is based in Preto-ria. The office covers seven coun-tries: the Republic of South Africa,Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi,Mozambique, Namibia andSwaziland.The representation handles allelements that come under theresponsibility of the Flemishgovernment: culture, develop-ment co-operation, education,science and technology, youthpolicy, economyand foreign trade.

How did you come to representFlanders in South Africa?Katrien Vandepladutse: I’m alinguist and studied French andSpanish at Ghent University. Iworked in Brazil for seven years,

first as a volunteer and afterwardsas what they call a co-operant,someone who works with localorganisations on capacity build-ing. In 2009, I started to work forthe government of Flanders, as adeskofficer forMozambique. Fouryears ago I was selected to repre-sent the government in Maputo,Mozambique.Katrien Dejongh: I’m an agricul-tural engineer. I’d been workingin the development co-operationsector since forever, in civil soci-ety organisations, mainly in SouthAmerica. In 2004, I came back toBelgium to work in non-profitorganisations, andstarted toworkwith the Flemish government in afew years later as desk officer forthe development co-operationprogramme with South Africahere in Brussels. So I was respon-sible for the follow-up of the bilat-eral programme between thegovernment of Flanders and thegovernment of South Africa. Andthen two years ago I left to headthe programme in Pretoria.

South Africa is an importantpartner for Flanders, isn’t it?KD: Yes, Flanders has alwaysbeen interested in South Africa. Ithink it was the first country theyinteracted with for developmentco-operation, in 1994.There’s alsothe language connection.KV: Flanders’ main interest inMozambique is improving thehealth status of the Mozambicanpopulation, especially sexualand reproductive health. This

year we have also focused on theadolescent population. Flemish-Mozambican relations are quiteimportant, both for Flanders andfor Mozambique. Mozambiqueis one of our three partner coun-tries for development co-oper-ation, and we invest about €5million a year in it. Although wedon’t have big budgets, Mozam-bique has a good relationshipwith Flanders, probably becausewe are flexible, patient and nottoo bureaucratic. President Nyusiwent to see minister-presidentGeert Bourgeois this spring, andthe visit was very well covered inthe Mozambican press.

How easy is it adapting to lifethere?KV: I haven’t found it too difficultto adapt to Mozambique, as wealready spoke Portuguese, and Ihad already lived abroad for someyears. We will see what SouthAfrica will bring us, but we arelooking forward to the challenge.KD: I’d lived in South Americafor a long time, so South Africawasn’t such a big culture shock.That was one of the main reasonswe agreed to go to South Africa,because for my husband it washis first time living abroad. Whenwe’re in SouthAfricawe fall underdiplomatic rules, so partners arenot allowed to work. He alsoworks for the Flemish govern-ment, and he took a sabbati-cal. In South Africa he workedas a volunteer, and he ended upmaking furniture.

Can you explain a little abouthowtherepresentationworks?KV: In Mozambique I was theonly expat at the Flanders office,taking care of everything, withsupport from one local financialofficer, the headquarters in Brus-sels and Geraldine Reymenants,the general representative. InMozambique, we work withinthe Belgian consulate building;in South Africa we have our ownoffice.In South Africa I will be workingin an officewith three expats andthree localpeople,whichmakesahugedifference. Ihaveabosswhois in the office, and fields of workare also organised differently: inMozambique, we support health,and in South Africa we currentlysupport social entrepreneurshipand innovation and will movetowards climate change from2017.KD: When I was appointed in2013, I was head of develop-ment co-operation and headof the Flemish InternationalCo-operation Agency (Fica).There were only two of us inthe office, myself and a localemployee. But then in 2014, Ficawasmerged into the departmentof foreign affairs, so we joinedthe colleagues who were thereunder the general representativeof Flanders, bringing the totalup to five. So it’s quite a smalloffice. My particular task wasfor South Africa, but the officecovers seven countries in south-ern Africa.

Katrien Vandepladutse takesover in Pretoria.What’s up nextfor Katrien Dejongh?KD: I’m back in the departmentof foreign affairs, in the policyunit of the division of global chal-lenges. The whole dynamics ofdevelopment co-operation arebeing questioned and all actors indevelopment co-operation haveto reposition themselves andbasically investigate what theirnew role can be in the new globalcontext.One of the things I will do hereis focus on that transition, andspecifically look at what otheractors are involved in develop-ment co-operation and how canwe work together, in particular inthe private sector.

Do you have any advice for yoursuccessor?KD:On the one hand, she will stillbe working on the programme wehave now in South Africa, but atthe same time she will also haveto develop a new programme forthe coming five years. The newprogramme will be geared moretowards climate challenges. Ihope she can find the smart andstrategic linkwith the social inno-vation and social entrepreneur-ship programme that we havenow so that it can fit and flow intothe new programme. I wish her allthe best, of course, because it willbe quite challenging.

\ POlITICS

Alan HopeMore articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

katrien Vandepladutse (left) comes to Pretoria from the office in Maputo in Mozambique and replaces katrien Dejongh, who is returning to Flanders

\ 6

Flemish company Agfa-Gevaert,the creator and manufacturerof imaging products, has beenawarded a multi-million-dollarcontract by the American minis-try of defence. The company hasbeen contracted to provide anetwork communications systemwitharchiving formedical imagesfor the Pentagon’s health-caredivision. The contract is worth$768 million (€688 million).There were seven candidatesfor the contract, among themAgfa-Gevaert’s US division inGreendale, South Carolina. The

contract is for five years with thepossibility of renewal.The systemcreated by Agfa, based in Mort-sel, Antwerp province, will beused by land, sea and air forces,as well as the Marine Corps andcivilian employees of the DefenseDepartment. / AH

Direct support from the govern-ment of Flanders to busi-ness increased over the fiveyears leading up to 2015 from€94 million to €151 million.The figures were provided in aparliamentary answer by econ-omy minister Philippe Muyters.At the same time, the share ofavailable government subsidiespaid to small and medium-sizedenterprises (SMEs) rose from35% to 42%, Muyters said.Since 1 April this year, the proce-dure allowing SMEs to apply forsubsidy from the governmenthas been simplified. That is oneof the factors benefiting SMEs,commented CD&V parliamentmember Robrecht Bothuyne(pictured).Others factors include effectiveco-operation with organisationslike Unizo, which represents theself-employed, and Voka, Flan-ders’ chamber of commerce,as well as the education sector,

Bothuyne said.“We are a small business econ-omy,” he said. “Small businessesare our growth engine. If theemployment rate is improvingin Flanders, it’s largely thanks tothem.” Some 70% of jobs in theregion are provided by SMEs, hepointed out.But there is still room forimprovement, said Bothuyne:The share of the innovationbudget for SMEs should beincreased to 50%, he proposed,and a promise by Muyters tomerge the five provincial inno-vation centres by 2019 shouldhappen sooner. / AH

Antwerp imaging companywins Pentagon contract

Flemish governmentsubsidies for businesssee dramatic increase

\ BUSIneSS

Transport Van HoolThe Lier-based bus and coachmanufacturer is building twoadditional assembling units,one of them in the UnitedStates. The move follows thecompany’s strategy to seeknew markets, specificallyfuture contracts from USpublic transport authorities.

Food AlproThe Ghent-based producer ofsoya-based food and drinkshas been acquired by France’sDanone group as part of the€10 billion acquisition of theUS WhiteWave Foods, Alpro’sparent company.

events ArtexisThe Brussels-based eventsand exhibitions organiser hasacquired the Dutch Evene-menthal, organiser of some 80events in the Netherlands andoperator of three exhibitionvenues. Artexis already oper-ates the Ghent and AntwerpExpo centres and has exten-sive activities in Sweden.

Clothing SioenThe manufacturer of protec-tive and technical gear, basedin Aardooie, West Flan-ders, has signed a contractto supply 25,000 jackets andtrousers to French firefight-ers over the next four years.The fire brigades of Paris andMarseille, for instance, will beusing Sioen-made equipment.

SupermarketsColruytThe discount supermarketchain, based in Halle, has soldits French Pro à Pro affiliate tothe German Metro group. Proà Pro is specialised in suppliesto professional users suchas canteens and much of theHoreca sector in France.

Transportlorry driversLorry drivers who passthrough town centres in Flan-ders to avoid road tolls willsoon face an increased fine,mobility minister Ben Weytssaid. The current fine of €55will go up to €165. Lorriesmayonly enter town centres if theyhave business there loading orunloading.

Metals CorialisThe designer and producer ofaluminium profiles systems,based in Lokeren, East Flan-ders, has acquired SouthAfrica’s Hinges & Hardwarecompany to expand its activ-ities in the area.

WeeK inbusiness Ford Genk Masterplan

to create 2,500 jobsPlan for former Ford factory will bring business to limburg

The proposed Masterplan for the former Fordfactory in Genk has been approved by thegovernment of Flanders, the city and otherparticipants. Genk can look forward to 2,500new jobs coming to the site of the former plant,which closed in 2014.Under the Masterplan, the site will become anew industrial zone for manufacturing compa-nies, as well as waterway logistics. The campusis located on the Albert Canal and also has roadand rail connections.The plan divides the site (pictured) into threeparts. The first will be reserved for nature andpublic green spaces, with five hectares for socialfunctions such as events and sports.The second

zone reserves 40 hectares for the manufactur-ing industry. And the third zone, alongside

the canal, is for logistics companies and otherwater-related activities.Operators PMV will now start looking for suit-able companies for the first two zones, makingsure that they offer both activities comple-mentary to other businesses in the region andemployment opportunities. The users of thethird site will be selected by NVDe Scheepvaart,the Flemish government’s waterways manage-ment company.Ford Genk closed down in December 2014 withthe loss of some 6,000 jobs in the plant and incompanies supplying the factory. One in three ofthose put out of work are still seeking employ-ment.

Alan HopeFollow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

© kristof Van Accom/BelGA

© Courtesy Agfa-Gevaert

The salaries of CEOs of govern-ment enterprises should be basedon performance, and the govern-ment should have no prior limitson how much bosses earn, accord-ing to N-VA, party member PeterDedecker said. The federal govern-ment is currently seeking a replace-ment for Jo Cornu, head of the railauthority NMBS.Two years ago the salary of state-run enterprises was set at €650,000a year, though it later emerged thatDominique Leroy of Proximus andKoen Van Gerven of Bpost bothmade more when other benefitswere considered.Dedecker called for the ceiling tobe abolished altogether. “These

companies are working in a liber-alised and commercial context,” hesaid. “Top people have to be paid onthe basis of results and customersatisfaction.” His party, he said,wouldworkwithin the governmentto make the pay limit more flexible.Theminister for government enter-prises, Alexander De Croo of OpenVLD, however, made it clear he hasno intention of changing the limits.Opposition SP.A also opposedDedecker’s proposal. According tofraction leader Meryame Kitir, theemployees who provide successfulservice and customer satisfactionhave seen their salaries held downwith the loss of indexation, whenthey should have risen by 2%. / AH

N-VA wants an end to CEOsalary cap in state-ownedenterprises

Companies in Belgium’s car sectorare having trouble filling vacan-cies, according to the technol-ogy federation Agoria. CEO MarcLambotte said that the problem isstructural.In normal circumstances,Lambotte said, job vacancies forsemi-skilled workers are filledwithin a month, and managementvacancies within three months.But technical vacancies are takingtwice as long, with some provingimpossible to fill with the rightapplicants.Lambotte pointed to the 500 jobvacancies advertised during theMotor Show in Brussels last Janu-ary, only half of which have beenfilled, and to Punch Powertrain,which manufactures automatictransmissions in Sint-Truiden. InJanuary, the company was adver-

tising 150 vacancies; 80 have nowbeen filled. In the meantime, 100new vacancies have been added,bringing the number of availablejobs to 170.There is a light at the end of thetunnel, Lambotte said, but it’ssome distance away. Efforts toencourage young people to studymechanical technology are show-ing some success, with increasesin enrolments in both Flemish andFrench-speaking schools. / AH

Manufacturers unable to fillhigh-tech job vacancies

august 24, 2016

\ 7

\ InnOVATIOn

Appetite for innovationExperimental food lab adds extra flavour to the Flemish culinary scene

Andy FurniereMore articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.eu

Maxime Willems gave up a postat Ghent University to develop anexperimental food lab that bringstogether top chefs, cooking novicesand aspiring entrepreneurs to testout new recipes and discoverthe ins and outs of the culinarybusiness.

Maxime Willems had apromising career asa biologist at Ghent

University (UGent). “But I felt myheart wasn’t in it anymore,” hesays. “I wanted to indulge my truepassion, which is gastronomy.”So when he heard about the NordicFood Lab, created by renownedDanish restaurant Noma, hedecided to bring the concept of aculinary lab to Flanders.Last November, Willems left Ghentfor Schellebelle, East Flanders,where he opened the Proef ! foodlab on the site of a former cateringcompany. The Innovation Centreof East Flanders, a government-funded advisory body, lent a help-ing hand.The lab’s name is a no-brainer:proef means both tasting andexperimenting in Dutch. Willems’ambition is to revamp the Flem-ish culinary scene through scien-tific insights and multidisciplinarycollaboration, with the use of tech-nology usually reserved for morerigorous research.

open to anyoneChefs from top restaurants canuse the lab to think up their nextmasterpiece. Thanks to tailoredsubscriptions, however, the kitchenis open to anyone, from cook-ing enthusiasts hoping to impressguests at their next dinner party toentrepreneurs looking to launch anew product or company.Apart from the typical kitchenequipment, there are alsohigh-techtools like the ultra-sonic probe,used in chemistry labs to breakdown cells and bacteria, whichcan extract flavours in a matter ofseconds – no cooking required.Proef ! regularly hosts workshopson a variety of topics. In April,Scottish chef Ben Reade, formerlyof Noma, gave a workshop on theculinary art of fermentation. Aspart of a special series, participantscan also cook alongside promisingchefs, includingKevinGijsembergt,who used to work for the Luzinerestaurant in Leuven but has sincestarted his own culinary eveningsbusiness called Fringale.Many of the workshops focus onsustainability. Brussels organi-sation Forest to Plate, for exam-ple, teaches participants to makedishes with wild plants they pickon their own, while the challengeof the trash cooking workshop is to

create a tasty dish from ingredientsthat would normally end up in therubbish bin, like cauliflower andbroccoli stems.Food surplus is also at the centreof an ambitious project that Proef !started with Hertog Jan, the three-Michelin-star restaurant in Bruges.The goal of the project, whichreceived funding from the Flem-ish government’s innovation andentrepreneurship agency Vlaio, isto turn Hertog Jan’s unused foodinto new products. One of therooms at Proef ! already showcasessweets and vinegars created fromthe surplus ingredients.

Proef ! also offers help to aspiringcooks looking to create their ownfood start-ups and the entrepre-neurs can even set up their officesonsite. In the future,Willemshopesto bring his concept to other prov-inces and create amobile service toassist chefs in their own kitchens.One of the first supported start-ups is Monsieur Boudin, whichsells witte pens, or white sausages,a barbecue staple in Flanders. Theman behind it is Jeroen Tavernier,whodivides his timebetween cook-ing and working as a communica-tion officer at the Vooruit culturalcentre in Ghent.

At Proef !, Tavernier developed fournew versions of witte pens: in Ital-ian, Flemish, Moroccan and Thaistyles. “The kitchen at Proef ! waslike a playground for me, with allthe tools and expertise I needed tocome up with new flavours,” saysTavernier.The food lab also organised a tast-ing, where participants gave feed-back on their favourite recipes.“This helped me with commer-cialising the product,” he says.Packaged sausages can already beordered online, but the supply islimited.For all the success, Proef ! is still

a work-in-progress. For now,Willems is the only person in thelab with technical know-how. Thatcould soon change, as the lab islaunching a collaboration withFood2Know, the agri-food exper-tise centre at UGent.“Our scientists can provide essen-tial know-how concerning foodsafety and technology,” explainsprofessor Benedikt Sas, the centre’schief business officer. “We alsohave extensive expertise on legis-lation, including the use of insectsin food, which could prove useful.”Sas is certain that the co-operationwill benefit Proef !. Among other

things, Food2Know’s research alsofocuses on reducing food waste,through innovative packaging thatshows how fresh the food is in realtime.But the expertise centre couldalso benefit from the collabora-tion. “Bringing together academicexpertise and the chefs’ creativ-ity would undoubtedly lead to newideas and innovations on bothsides,” says Sas. Proef !, for example,could serve as an experimentingground for UGent students work-ing on related research.On the regional level, the food labalso fits into the Flemish govern-ment’s new project, Flanders FoodFaculty, which stimulates culi-nary innovation. This networkingorganisation, part of the tourismagency Visit Flanders, was estab-lished at the end of 2015 by minis-ter Ben Weyts to promote Flemishgastronomy abroad and supportchefs participating in internationalcompetitions.Flanders Food Faculty also aimsto establish an online platform toimprove the visibility of projectslike Proef !These include, for exam-ple, the Food Pilots organisa-tion, which helps the food indus-try to optimise their products andprocesses by providing test facili-ties, laboratory analyses and scien-tific advice. The organisation ispart of the Flanders’ FOOD inno-vation platform and the FlemishInstitute for Agriculture and Fish-eries Research.“There are already many projectslike Proef ! and Food Pilots, but thelandscape is still very fragmented,”

saysSofieVanDenBossche,co-ordi-nator of the Flanders Food Faculty.“We want to, for example, show allinterested individuals and organi-sations how to create a kitchen thatcan be used for testing new prod-ucts or organising brainstormingsessions, on both the national andinternational level.”The supported projects, Van DenBossche says, will cater to allactors in the food sector, “from theowner of a frituur to the chef of atop restaurant”. Special attentionwill also be devoted to supportingstart-ups, but more on that won’tbe known until October.In the meantime, the Antwerp-based innovation consultancyCo-Create is also preparing a simi-larly ambitious project. Inspired bythe success of the Start-up Week-end, an event inGhent that broughttogether professionals from differ-ent disciplines to pitch ideas fornewstart-upcompanies, Co-Createdecided to make food innovation apriority in Flanders.The company envisions a large foodinnovation hub that includes anexperience centre, research facil-ities, a food lab and an incubatorfor start-up companies. “Central-ising expertise and facilities in oneplace would help put Flanders’food culture on the global map,”says Askim Kintziger, Co-Create’sproject co-ordinator.The company is currently negotiat-ing with various cities and enter-prises and will release more infor-mation by the end of the year. Thehub is expected to launch in 2018.

ProEf.cluB

The kitchen at Proef! was like aplayground for me, with all thetools and expertise I needed

© Courtesy Proef!

Proef! is more than just a kitchen. Celebrity chefs teach the art of cooking, while culinary start-ups and entrepreneurs can use the lab for office space

august 24, 2016

\ 9

The difference a day makesPrize-winning Antwerp app brings volunteers and organisations together

\ InnOVATIOn

A thousand years ago, salmon was still acommon fish in the waters of the Low Coun-tries. Just like they do in Scotland, Ireland andNorway today, salmon once swam upstreamfrom the North Sea in Flanders’ rivers, brooksand creeks to spawn in the river beds. The riverMaas, for example, was a “salmon highway”,which gave the fish access to the oxygen-richwater of the Ardennes.But somewhere around 1300, the salmon stockstarted to drop, both in Flanders and the Neth-erlands. How do we know that? By consultinghistorical documents, like leases, fish permitsand reports from fish auctions – in short, everypiece of paper that mentioned salmon numbersand prices. And by analysing archaeologicalremains like old fish bones.Rob Lenders, an assistant professor in historicalecology at RadboudUniversity Nijmegen, did allthat. That’s how he established a clear pattern:from the middle ages, Flanders’ salmon stocksuddenly started to drop.

And the decline didn’t stop until the bitter end.By 1900, the salmon population in Flemish andDutch watercourses was zero.Sowhatdrovesalmontoextinction?Overfishingand water pollution are both obvious reasons,but on closer inspection, they don’t satisfy. “TheScots fished asmuch as the Flemish for salmon,”says Lenders. “And serious water pollution onlystarted much later, during the industrial revo-lution.”According to his research, a totally unexpected

factorfinished thesalmonoff:watermills. “Fromthe year 1000, we see watermills arise at everypossible location in Flanders,” he explains. “Atone point the total number of mills must haveexceeded 10,000.”Flemish-designed watermills were particularlyproblematic for salmon, as they were gener-ally accompanied by a little dam, to increasethe water fall. “Obviously those dams formed abarrier for salmon needing to swim upstream,”says Lenders.But aren’t salmon known for their ability to goagainst the flow and jump over obstacles? “Theyare,” Lenders admits, “and the stronger oneswillindeed have succeeded in travelling all the wayto their spawning grounds. But the dams didn’tonly stop the weaker specimens, they also tookthe current out of the water. As a consequence,the beds of ballast in the upstream parts of therivers and creekswere coveredwith a thick layerof sand and silt, which made them unsuitablefor spawning.” \ Senne Starckx

An app that matchmakesbetween volunteers andorganisations that need

their help is being developed inAntwerp. Called Give A Day, theproject received the most votesin June’s Apps from Antwerpcompetition, winning €20,000 tohelp make the idea a reality.The app has its origins in last year’sCalais refugee crisis. “There wasan organisation here in Antwerpthat had collected donations andneeded volunteers to go to thecamp and help the people overthere,” explains Bart Wolput,founder of Give A Day. “So weproposed making a website forthem, matching the volunteerswith the right project team andthings like that.”In the process, he realised thatconnecting with volunteers andco-ordinating themwasa commonproblem. “So the idea started thatwe could make something moregeneral that would be availablefor all non-profit and volunteeringorganisations.”The first step was to talk to non-profits about problems they facefinding volunteers. “We saw thatthere really is a need for a platformthat matches volunteers with theright organisation for them, basedon their interests, location and soon,” Wolput says.The idea of Give A Day is thatpotential volunteers will be ableto register with the app, settingout their skills, interests and avail-ability. They may decide to volun-teer alone, or with a group of like-minded friends. These peoplewould then be matched withvolunteering opportunities regis-tered by non-profit organisations.In May, Give A Day won a competi-tion run by Qmusic, worth €5,750,to which the team can now add the€20,000 from Apps from Antwerp.

The new money comes with acatch, however: the app must bebuilt by the beginning of October.“It’s going to be tough, but we areon the right track,” says Wolput.

After beginning with just twopeople, there is now a team of 10working on the project.While there are technical hurdlesahead, such as getting the appto mesh with the popular diaryprogrammes, the main challengeis to build the community of volun-teers and non-profits. “When welaunch, there should already be asupply and demand.”And while it is beginning in

Antwerp, the aim is to cover thewholeregion. “Wearenowcontact-ing other cities and we want todeploy it immediately over thewhole of Flanders,” Wolput says.

Charities that want to be involvedare welcome to get in touch.The Apps from Antwerp compe-tition involved 26 projects, allintended to improve life in the city.The public ballot in June attractedmore than 5,000 votes.Second place, worth €15,000, wentto Gifts by Sir. This app finds origi-nal but appropriate gifts in nearbyshops and has them delivered,if necessary. The idea is to help

people with no time to shop orwho have trouble thinking beyonda bottle of wine when faced with ahouse-warming party.The idea also supports local busi-nesses by connecting them withnew customers, and helps deliveryservices develop.Third place, worth €10,000, went toStreetArtAntwerp, which will helppeople discover street art aroundthe city, at their own pace or byfollowing guided tours betweenthe works. It will also provide aspace for local artists to showwhat they can do.All the winners, plus five runners-up, will get help in the form ofmarketing, legal and logisticsadvice, if they need it.The runners-up include apps to help peopleget out of their digital bubble, todiscover historic Antwerp, to formlocal jogging groups, and to mobi-lise medical help for people havingheart attacks.

Watermills spelt the end for Flanders’ salmon, says researcher

Bacteria removesmethane from airA bio-engineer from GhentUniversity has developed atechnique to remove the green-house gas methane more effi-ciently from the air and poten-tially make it a usable resource.There are various techniquesto remove methane from theatmosphere, but they arenot yet efficient and are thusexpensive. Frederiek-MaartenKerckhof has now discoveredthat the bacterial communi-ties found around methane areof crucial importance, as theynot only remove methane butcan collaborate with bacte-ria that have other assets, likethe ability to remove pollutingsubstances from ground water.This way, methane is removedmore efficiently and the bacte-rial community can be used forwater treatment or improvingsoil quality, for example. Kerck-hof is now working on the prac-tical implementation of thetechnique.

Breakthrough in fightagainst cancerA lack of oxygen in tumourcells contributes to the growthof cancer, professor DietherLambrechts and researcherBernard Thienpont, who areconnected to Flanders’ lifesciences research institute VIBand the University of Leuven,have found. A study of 3,000tumours revealed that a lackof oxygen plays a crucial role inthe hypermethylation process,which stimulates the excessivegrowth of cancer cells. Hyper-methylation is what’s called a“epigenetic change” that canstrongly interrupt the functionof genes, to the benefit of cancercells. The scientists examinedif an improved oxygen supplycould halt the hypermethyla-tion process and thus combatthe development of cancer,which turned out to work.

letters disappearfrom company logosLast week, 95 Belgian compa-nies andorganisations removedthe letters A, B and O from theirlogos. It’s part of the Red Crosscampaign “Missing Type”,launched to encourage morepeople to donate blood. Theletters refer to the differentblood types. Among the partic-ipating companies are BrusselsAirport, Proximus, Coca-Cola,Belfius and Colruyt. Publictransport authority De Lijn isalso taking part, as are politi-cal parties, local and provincialmunicipalities and hospitals.Several newspapers removedthe letters A, B and O from themastheads on their front pages.Red Cross Flanders is still look-ing for 38,000 new donors tomaintain this year’s supply ofblood. \ Andy Furniere

WeeK ininnovAtion

ian Mundellfollow Ian on Twitter \ @IanMundell givEaday.BE

© Courtesy Red Cross Flanders

Give A Day will help volunteers find non-profits nearby that need their help

We saw that there really is a needfor a platform that matches volunteerswith the right organisation for them

\ 10

\ eDUCATIOn

Heading southWhy do so many Dutch students come to Flanders to study?

You’ve probably seen theheadlines of late: Dutchstudents are “invading”

Flemishuniversities anduniversitycolleges. It’s a well-knownfact among Dutch students,particularly those who live in thesouthern half of their country: Auniversity or college degree is a lotmore expensive in the Netherlandsthan it is in Flanders.Although registration fees haverisen in Flanders since the startof the last academic year, the €890students pay is still half of what’srequired in Delft, Leiden, Utre-cht or Amsterdam. Moreover, theDutch government has recentlyscrapped the basic scholarship.So a university and college “inva-sion” of our northern neighboursseems a logical consequence –considering the lack of languagebarrier and that the quality ofeducation between the Nether-lands and Flanders is more or lessthe same.Statistics indicate that there areindeed more and more Dutchstudents enrolling in Flanders’institutions of higher education.Last year 4,224 students domiciledin the Netherlands were registeredat a Flemish university or college.That’s about 1,000 more than threeyears ago.The steep rise puts the share of theDutch in Flanders’ student popu-lation up to nearly 2%. But thatDutch legion isn’t spread evenlyamong the institutions. The closerto the border, the more popular aschool is.That’s why more than 7% of allthe students at Antwerp Univer-

sity (UAntwerp) are Dutch, whilethe city’s AP University College hasthe largest Dutch cohort amongFlemish university colleges (4%).Hasselt University and the Univer-sity of Leuven (KU Leuven) are therunners-up.Sohowareuniversities anduniver-sity colleges, all strong support-ers of more internationalisation,reacting to this ever-increasinginflow of the Dutch? “Not so longago, we were a bit worried,” PeterDe Meyer, an Antwerp Univer-sity spokesperson, tells me. “Wecouldn’t really estimate how manyextra Dutch students would comehere. Would it result in a fewpercentages more, or would it bea tsunami?”The latterwouldhave causedprob-lems, says De Meyer, like over-crowded auditoria and less inter-action between students and

their professors. “Fortunately, theincrease we saw a year ago wasmanageable.”If you had to mention one charac-teristic by which Flemish studentsdiffer from their Dutch counter-parts, you could probably say thatthe latter speak up more, says DeMeyer. “Somebody who asks a crit-ical question can get a discussiongoing.”At Ghent University, the number ofDutch students has also increasedsignificantly, but, according tospokesperson Stephanie Lenoir,this isalsopartofabroaderpicture.“We saw an increase from 2 to2.5%, but the total number of non-Belgian students also increased,from 11.5 to 14%. The Dutch storyis thus also – partly – an elementof the success of our internation-alisation efforts.”Lenoir also emphasises another

important reason why manyDutch students come to Flanders.“Several educational programmesin the Netherlands, like veteri-nary medicine, for example, arerestricted by a so-called numerusclausus – only a limited numberof students are allowed to enrol.So those who didn’t get into theirprogramme of choice – and it’smore a lottery than an exam –come to Flanders.”But for Lisa De Haardt, whoenrolled in her bachelor in socialand economic sciences at UAnt-werp a decade ago, none of theabove reasons applied. De Haardtgrew up in Nijmegen, which hasits own university, but crossedthe border because she couldn’tfind an equally interesting studyprogramme in the Netherlands.“I just decided based on theprogramme,” she says. Shewent onto earn amaster’s in public admin-istration at KU Leuven and nowlives in Antwerp.“In my circle of friends back in theday, I was the only one who choseto come to Flanders,” De Haardtrecalls. “But from what I heardfrom my friends, several aspectsof student life are just better here.Finding a student apartment ismuch easier and cheaper, and thecities in Flanders or not so over-crowded as in the Netherlands.”But her decision to leave her coun-try wasn’t entirely inspired by thecurriculum, De Haardt eventuallyreveals. “I also chose to study inAntwerp because it was just some-thing out of the ordinary. It evenseemed a bit exotic.”

UGent is topBenelux universityGhent University (UGent) isthe highest-ranking Bene-lux educational institu-tion in the Academic Rank-ing of World Universities,compiled annually by the JiaTong University in Shanghai.UGent reached 62nd place –up nine spots from last year,when it was also the top rank-ing in Belgium.The Universityof Leuven (KU Leuven) is theonly other Belgian universityin the top 100 of the “Shang-hai ranking”, which lists500 universities in total andfocuses on research perfor-mance. KULeuvenwas ranked93rd, down three spots fromlast year. Antwerp Univer-sity and the Free University ofBrussels (VUB) were ranked201 and 300 respectively.

Most teachers payfor own suppliesNine in 10 teachers in Flan-ders’ pre- and primary schoolsspend their own money onschool materials, includingcraft supplies, books and classdecorations, according to asurvey by Christian educationunion COV.The survey showedthat teachers invest an aver-age of €260 in school mate-rials over the course of anacademic year, €93 of it in thefirst month. “The operationalresources for primary educa-tion are no longer indexed,and it is becoming increasinglydifficult for schools to makeends meet,” said COV generalsecretary Marianne Coopman.“So teachers invest themselvesto provide quality materials.”COV has called on the govern-ment to stop budget cuts andinvest more in the quality ofprimary education.

Record number ofFlemish students abroadA record 5,325 Flemishstudents enrolled in highereducation spent part of theirstudy year or completed aninternship abroad via the EU’sErasmusexchangeprogrammeduring the 2015-16 academicyear. That is 4.6% more thanthe year before, according tofigures compiled by the educa-tionministry. FranceandSpainare the most popular Eras-mus exchange destinations forFlemish students, attractingnearly 1,300. The Netherlandsis the most favoured countryfor internships, with 240 Flem-ish youngsters travelling there.Spain is the second-favour-ite for internships, with 178.During the last academic year,students could go via Erasmusto countries outside of the EUfor the first time, with 16 trave-ling to, among others, the US,Hong Kong, Australia andPalestine. \ Andy Furniere

WeeK ineducAtion

Is Pokémon Go just anotherhype?This is the first game withaugmented reality that has beenplayed on such a massive scale. It’sso successful because of a combi-nation of factors: a strong brandlike Pokémon, a sophisticatedalgorithm and nostalgia for Poké-mon from the former Game Boygame and trading cards.

Prohibiting its use at schoolwould seem to be the easiestsolution for teachers…Banning it during school at alltimes is one option. But that’s notwhat I would recommend. Pupilshave a powerful instrument intheir pockets – a mobile phone.And that can be taken advantageof. Adults do it: during a discus-sion, wemight quickly do a Googlesearch or pull out the calculator.

Teachers could use PokémonGo atschool as a hook to discuss mobilephone policies.

So do you think it’s better tocreate rules around the use ofPokémon Go at school?Mobile phones, Facebook andgames distract pupils in class. Sowith respect to that, you have toset clear boundaries.Mobilesmustbe handed over at the beginning oflessons or used only on the play-ground, for example. But you canalso look for away to use a game aspart of a lesson or an exercise. Justmake it very clear that the lessonis about mathematics and thatPokémon Go is a tool to learn theconcepts.

Are games in the class a magicpotion for making difficultmaterial easier to understand?

They are no magic potions formotivating students. In a classof 20 students, you’ve got about15 who occasionally game. Someplay shooting games, others Ageof Empires and so forth. So you’renot going to reach every pupilwith Pokémon Go. The same is true

of students who like to read: Onelikes comics, the other thrillers. Soit’s essential to create a dynamiclearning environment that reflectsthe lives and interests of pupils.That could be books, hobbies,Facebook or a game.

What if the teacherdoesn’tknowanything about games?If you yourself game, you canexamine how you could use thegame in a lesson. Teachers oftenuse their own interests, passionsand real-life situations to enrichtheir lessons and explain certainconcepts. Mostly I would recom-mend that teachers be them-selves. So if you’re not interested ingames, you don’t necessarily haveto incorporate every gaming fad.It’s exactly the diversity of teach-ing staff that provides pupils witha variety of learning methods.\ Interview by Sara Frederix

This article was first published inKlasse and is used with permission

Q&AJeroen Bourgonjon is a gaming researcher at Ghent University whosays that rather than banning the latest digital crazes – like PokémonGo – teachers should consider using them in lessons

© Ingimage

lower tuition fees, cheaper rent and no numerus clausus: It’s not surprising that more andmore Dutch co-eds are heading to Flanders

Senne StarckxMore articles by Senne \ flanderstoday.eu

august 24, 2016

\ 11

If yougodownto thebeach inKoksi-jde on the last Sunday of August,you’re sure of a big surprise. That’sthe occasion of the fourth Flem-ish Food Bash, an event that hasrapidly become a highlight of thelocal foodie calendar.Themastermindbehind the event ischef Vincent Florizoone (pictured).Formerly chef-proprietor of GrandCabaret in Nieuwpoort, he hasnow returned to the family nestat Brasserie Edison in Koksijde, insemi-retirement from his legend-ary rock’n’roll lifetyle. “Edison ismy mother’s place,” he explains. “Istarted here when I was 12, takingmyfirst steps in the restaurant busi-ness.”In addition to the 12 chefs and 12bartenders, the Flemish Food Bashalso features barbers, tattoo artists,

special acts and six DJs. The list ofnames includes chefs from RougeTomate in Brussels, Carcasse in

Koksijde, Bistro Bruut in Brugesand Va et Vient in Kortrijk.In charge of the cocktails are mixol-ogy masters like Jurgen Nobels andSofie Ketels, while the wine selec-tionwas put together by none otherthan sommelier Sepideh Sedaghat-nia, known from VTM’s secondseason ofMy Pop-Up Restaurant.And last but not least, there is thebeer, which Florizoone has alwaysgiven pride of place in his restau-rants. “With the Flemish FoodBash,I intend to give beer a more prom-inent place in Belgian restaurants,”he says. “In the first editions I didn’thave wine, so guests had to drinkbeer or cocktails.”This time around, half of the cock-

tails are beertails, made by mixingbeer with hard alcohol. “I still thinkwe’re themost famous beer countryin the world, and everybody knowsit except for us,” Florizoone says.The beer menu was put together byStruise Brouwers, Hedonis, Totem,Vrijstaat Vanmol, Het Geuzege-nootschap and In de Verzekeringtegen de Grote Dorst. The last one,Florizoone swears, is the “best cafein the world”, of particular interestto those who love the lambic beersof Pajottenland.The Flemish Food Bash takes placeon the beach in front of the Sofie’sSunset bar. Entry is free, but regis-tration is required. \ Alan Hope

biteTop chefs descend on coast for food and drink extravaganza

Olympic effortsBelgium’s athletes clock up personal bests and a handful of medals in Rio

Belgium’s athletes are cominghome from the Rio Olympicswith a haul of six medals,

including two golds. The countrysent 110 athletes to Brazil tocompete in 24 sports.Greg Van Avermaet won thecycling road race in Rio, triumph-ing after six hours and 237 kilome-tres aroundwinding, cobbled hills.He is Belgium’s first gold medallistin anOlympic road race since 1952.“It was a hectic finale, but in theend, everythingwentwell,” he said.Nafissatou Thiam won a dramaticvictory in the heptathlon. The21-year-old geography studentjust edged out defending cham-pion Jessica Ennis-Hill in the final800m race.The heptathlon combines seventrack and field events, includinghurdles, high jump and the 800m.Thiam was not a favourite, onlyhoping, she said, to finish in thetopeight. “I still can’t believe it,” shesaid. “I didn’t come here expectinga medal; that didn’t occur to me atall. It’s crazy.”Themen’shockeyside, rankedsixthin the world, lost 4-2 to Argentinain the final to leave with the silvermedal. While this was the RedLions’ best finish at the Gamessince they took home bronze inAntwerp in 1920, it felt like a blowfor a side that had enjoyed such afairy-tale run.“We had so many opportunitiestoday, we should have done better,”said captain John-John Dohmen.“If you don’t score on your oppor-tunities, you cannot win. It’s thatsimple.”Swimmer Pieter Timmers wonsilver in the 100m freestyle, with atime of 47.80, breaking his nationalrecord and becoming the firstBelgian to win an Olympic medal

for swimming since 1996.Timmers, 28, is a seven-timeBelgian champion and holder ofseveral records in long- and short-course freestyle, but his perfor-mance still surprised him. “I knewIhadabit of a chance tomedal, andtoday everything came together,”he told Sporza after the race. “But Icouldn’t quite believe it when I sawthat ‘2’ next to my name.”Dirk Van Tichelt – the 2008 Euro-pean champion and a formerworld number one – secured abronze medal in lightweight judo.“I’m carrying on with my career,”the 32-year-old said. “I don’t knowif I’ll be in Tokyo in 2020, but I’mstill having a lot of fun.”Cyclist Jolien D’hoore won bronzein the omnium, earning 199 pointsover the six disciplines in indoorcycling’s flagship event. “The last

two laps I was absolutely shat-tered. I was dying,” she said. “I haveso often been fourth. This feels sogood.”Several tense showdowns sawBelgium just missing a medal.There were two fourth-placefinishes in taekwondo: RahelehAsemani in the women’s under-57kg and Jaouad Achab in themen’s under-68kg.The men’s 4x400 relay team camewithin three-hundredths of asecond of winning bronze, with atime of 2:58.52, a new record forBelgium. Three of the four-manteamwasmade up of Borlée broth-ers – Jonathan, Kevin and Dylan –with Julien Watrin the fourth.Evi Van Acker also just missedout on a medal, finishing fourthin Laser Radial class sailing. Shehad fought a serious intestinal

infection in July during training– largely believed to have beencaused by Rio’s polluted waters –andwas penalised by the jury earlyin the race, which meant she hadto start last.Finally, Belgium have won anothergold medal – eight years after thefact. After a re-analysis of 2008blood samples, Russia’s YuliyaChermoshanskaya was found tohave tested positive for bannedsubstances, meaning the entireRussian goldmedal-winning 100mrelay team has been disquali-fied. The gold will now go to theBelgians,whowon silver inBeijing.

Photos on cover, clockwise from top left:Road racer Greg Van Avermaet, photo byyuzuru Sundada/BelGA; Omnium cyclistJolien D’hoore, photo by yuzuru Sundada/BelGA; Red Panthers hockey team, photo byDirk waem/BelGA

Best of west FlandersFour days of cycling throughthe countryside and villagesaround Roeselaere with stopsat points of interest along theway. Choose your distancefrom road bike, mountainbike or family routes. Addi-tional sports activities forseniors and kids. Register forone day or all four, with thepossibility of camping over-night. 25-28 August, acrossWest Flanders; €3.50-€15\ westvlaanderensmooiste.be

Dahlia GardenOpen HouseThe dahlia garden in Mechel-en’s Vrijbroekpark is burst-ing with colour at this timeof year. Over the weekend,gardeners and dahlia expertswill be on hand to answeryour questions as you strollbetween the flowers. 27-28August 10.00-17.00, Provin-ciaal Groendomein Vrijbroek-park, Ridder Dessainlaan 65,Mechelen; free\ tinyurl.com/dahlia-garden

wilderen wheeland walk weekendOn Saturday, cheer on theserious cyclists as theycompete in a race startingand ending atWilderen brew-ery and distillery. On Sunday,it’s a fun day for the family,with several bike and walkingroutes, plus entertainmentand a bouncy castle. Adultscan enjoy Wilderen’s ownbeers, whiskeys and otherspirits on the terrace. 27-28August, Wilderenlaan 8, Sint-Truiden; €1 \ tinyurl.com/Wilderen-weekend

european nightof the BatGet to know the bat duringthis annual event of natureactivities across Flanders.Take a night walk with aguide and a bat detector, andlearn all about the only flyingmammal and its nocturnalhabits. Most activities arefamily-friendly. 26-27 August,across Flanders; free\ natuurpunt.be

Sand Day for kidsLommel has a long history ofglass manufacturing, thanksto a ready supply of naturalsand. For one day, the citycentre becomes one giantsandbox where kids can play,learn and get creative. Every-one will enjoy street thea-tre and other entertainment,including a closing concertby K3. 28 August 13.30-17.00,Marktplein, Lommel; free\ toerismelommel.be

WeeK inActivities

\ lIVInG

FlEMiSHFOODBASH.COM

Zeedijk, koksijde28 August© Michaël Dehaspe/Jong keukengeweld

leo CendrowiczMore articles by leo \ flanderstoday.eu

© Dirk waem/BelGA

Flemish swimmer Pieter Timmers couldn’t quite believe he’d won the silver medal

40 i best of belgium 2016

BuSineSSIf you plan to

set up

your own business in

Belgium, allthe rules

and regulations can be

off-putting.Here we

list the contact details

of organisations who

can advise you in your

new venture. We also

provide information on

EU institution offices,

relocation agencies, bank

s

and accountants

business.indd 40

2/06/16 12:15

12 i best of belgium 2016

Culture can be had for a song too. Most Brussels

museums – including the Royal Museums of Fine

Arts and family favourite the Museum of Natural

History – waive admission on certain days.

The first Wednesday and Sunday of the month

is a popular choice. A further 32 museums are

free all year round. These include some niche

institutions like the Museum of the National

Bank of Belgium and the Confederate Museum.

brusselsmuseums.be

Brussels and its communes sponsor free

concerts and festivals varying in scope from

neighbourhood block party to national holiday.

Individual communes host their own events,

there’s the annual Iris Fest, the biannual Zinneke

parade, and the European institutions’ free

Europe Day open house featuring information

and entertainment. Other free activities include

Fête de la Musique in June and Heritage Days

in September. The biggest free event of the

year, however, is National Day, 21 July, when

tens of thousands of Belgians celebrate their

independence at open-air venues across the city.

For those keen to get out of the crowd, Brussels

Greeters offers a more personalised city

experience. The free service matches visitors

with amateur local guides who can take their

guests off the beaten path. The concept was born

decades ago in New York but has since spread

around the world. Several other Belgian cities

(Antwerp, Liège, Charleroi, Mons and Namur)

are also part of the Global Greeter Network.

greeters.be

The local community can be tapped for goods

as well as know-how. The Freecycle Network is

another concept that originated in the US before

plugging into communities around the world,

and is a forum for recycling unwanted products.

The only criteria: all posted items must be free,

legal and appropriate for all ages. You’ll find

books, clothes, appliances and furniture – all free

and ready for local pickup.

freecycle.org

europe day

blow hairdressing

2/06/16 11:58

56 i best of belgium 2016

educationBelgium has a host of

excellent schools, with

many international schools

in and around Brussels.

Here we provide you wit

h

information on some of the

popular schools for expat

s,

along with language

courses, universities,

colleges andbusiness

schools

2/06/16 12:19 best of belgium 2016 i 27

mim

While many tourists flock to Brussels’ Museum

of Musical Instruments (MIM) to peruse its

7,000 instruments stacked over five floors of

a neoclassical complex, a significant majority

of sightseers instead take the elevator straight

to the top of ‘Old England’ to experience the

museum’s renowned sixth floor: its restaurant

and cafe (above). Tourists can take in the

breathtaking views of the capital as well as the

elegance of the Art Nouveau building from the

terrace around the dome. There’s no need to pay

an entrance fee to access the top floor, but you

might be coaxed into ordering some carbonnade

flamande to take in the view a little longer. KH

mim.be

BeLvue

Occupying the interior courtyard of this elegant

18th-century townhouse, the Green Kitchen

restaurant (below) is a garden sanctuary in

the busy museum quarter of Place des Palais.

While the museum is devoted to Belgium’s

national history, the restaurant menu features

a self-service salad bar (priced according to

weight), soups, sandwiches and hot dishes.

Favouring fresh seasonal produce, it’s perfect for

vegetarians and healthy eaters. At weekends and

holidays, there’s a brunch menu and if you’re

visiting the museum, show your entrance ticket

and benefit from a meal package for breakfast,

lunch or tea. Sc

belvue.be

2/06/16 12:06

At newsstands or at www.thebulletin.be

best of belgium 2016 i 27

Lvue

Occupying the interior courtyard of this elegant

18th-century townhouse, the Green Kitchen

restaurant (below) is a garden sanctuary in

the busy museum quarter of Place des Palais.

While the museum is devoted to Belgium’s

national history, the restaurant menu features

a self-service salad bar (priced according to

weight), soups, sandwiches and hot dishes.

Favouring fresh seasonal produce, it’s perfect for

vegetarians and healthy eaters. At weekends and

holidays, there’s a brunch menu and if you’re

visiting the museum, show your entrance ticket

and benefit from a meal package for breakfast,

lunch or tea. Sc

belvue.be

ALSO INSIDE: YOUR ESSENTIAL 45-PAGE eXPat diRectoRY

DePot bRuXelles X

best of belgium2016 • €4,95

Best of BelgiumtHe iNsiDeR’s guiDe to touRism AND lifestYle

BELGIQUEC’EST CHICFashion, food and family fun:Belgium delivers with style

Find the funniest comedy gigs 8 top free events & attractions Dive into open-water sports Eurovision highs & lows

001_001_BB16_cover_.indd 3

Best of BelgiumPlus expat Directory 2016

The insider’s guide to lifestyle,tourism and culture

What’s the weirdest thingyou’ve ever done in Flanders?

If you can’t think of anything at all,you’d better check out our new e-book

Quirky Flanders offers 20 unexpected– or downright odd – activities or sights across theregion you can get busy taking part in right now

Visit the Flanders Today websiteto download the e-book now! For free!

www.flanderstoday.eu

august 24, 2016

\ 13

\ ARTS

You’ve got a matchFlemish filmmaker helps reconnect refugees in Kenya with their families

Ashort downpour has turnedthe streets of Kakumainto a muddy pool. This is

only a minor nuisance to LievenCorthouts, who had just returnedto this refugee camp in Kenya.The Brussels-born filmmaker’slatest documentary, The Invisi-ble City [Kakuma], is the result ofhis four-year stay here, and he hascome back to show it to its mainprotagonists.Corthouts, who made two previ-ous documentaries set in Ethi-opia, initially planned to live inKakuma for a couple of years. “Butafter a while, I realised that I wouldneed more time to tell the story,”he explains. “At first sight, thingsseemed quite all right in the camp,but, over time, it became clear tome that most young people haveset theirmind on leaving. I’ve heardstories about going to Europe or theUnited States, but only later did Irealise the full scope of these aspi-rations.”In the end, it would take Corth-outs four years to finish the storyof Kakuma, the sprawling refugeecamp that is home to some 200,000people. The name of the campmeans “nowhere” in Swahili, and itcame into existence 20 years ago toshelter people displaced by the civilwar in neighbouring Sudan. Now,Kakuma is also home to a largenumber of refugees from Ethiopia,Eritrea and Somalia.“I set out to tell the story of a refu-gee camp that looks like any other,but in reality, Kakuma has all thefeatures of a normal African city,”Corthouts says. “Still, the more Igot involved, the more I realisedthat young people look at Kakumaas a stepping-stone to a better life.”Many youngsters from South

Sudan, he continues, “come here toget a decent education, somethingthey lack in their owncountry.Thenthey move on. Or at least try to.”Their struggle became the focus ofthe documentary. Corthouts’ previ-ous stays in Ethiopia helped himintegrate in Kakuma, and – to gaintrust from the different commu-nities – he taught in a school andworked in one of the camp’s manyphone shops.It was there that a new idea crossedhis mind. “There are three maincharacters in the documentary,” heexplains. “One of them is a younggirl whose mother still lives inSouth Sudan. If the mother were toever come toKakuma, it would takeher a lot of time and effort to findher daughter.”This is not a unique case, saysCorthouts. “Many youngsters wholive in the camp have been sepa-

rated from their families. I startedthinking of a way to reconnectpeople who had lost track of eachother.Most people here have smart-phones, and Kakuma has reasona-ble internet coverage, so an appseemed do-able.”The UN refugee agency, whichmanages Kakuma, restricts thecamp’s residents from sharinginformation about their relatives.With the mobile app, people canindicate where they are and whothey’re looking for.If there is a match, both partiesreceive each other’s phonenumbers. For security reasons, ittakes a few steps to register, butthere are already more than 3,000users and several matches.The Find Me app was developed incollaboration with the camp’s resi-dents. “That it was made with thelocals is one of its main advan-

tages,” explains Corthouts. “Thestaff from the phone shop whereI worked helped me map out theconcept.”Corthouts has returned to Kakumato screen his documentary and tofine-tune the app. Several organisa-tions, including the Red Cross, haveexpressed interest in the project. “Itwould be great if a big NGO backedthe app, especially financially, butit is crucial that it remains in thehands of the refugees. This is thekey to its success.”The Invisible City [Kakuma] hasscreened at film festivals and inschools in Belgium and Nairobi.“It’s been well received by young-sters in both places,” says Corth-outs. “After all, the film speaksabout the dreams and aspirationsof the young residents of Kakuma,and that is something youngstersanywhere can relate to.”

First youTube eventin AntwerpAntwerp’s Waagnatie is host-ing Tube Days this week,Belgium’s first event dedi-cated to YouTube enthusiasts.The event will feature morethan 140 popular YouTube“vloggers”, including Frenchbeauty products guru AudreyMarshmaloo, Dutch gamingcommentatorTheKing 77 andDutch school teacher MeesterHoefnagels, who uploadsvideos of his more colour-ful moments in charge of 12-to 16-year-olds. There will bebeauty workshops, gamingactivities and crafts for chil-dren as well as a special Poke-mon Challenge.

\ belgiantubedays.beworld SoundtracknominationsannouncedThe nominations have beenannounced for the WorldSoundtrack Awards, whichtakes place in Ghent on 19October. The awards are partof the Ghent Film Festivaland sees world-famous filmcomposers attending theceremony. Among the fivenominees for Film Composerof the Year are AmericanCarter Burwell, who workedon several titles over the lastyear, including Anomalisa andHail, Caesar!, and the legend-ary Italian Ennio Morricone,whose recent work includesthe French film Come WhatMay, the Italian film Corre-spondence and the blood-filled western The Hate-ful Eight. Other categoriesinclude Best TV Composerand Best Original Song. A Life-time Achievement award willbe given to Ryuichi Sakamoto,whose long list of film scoresincludesThe Last Emperor andThe Revenant. The BrusselsPhilharmonic and VlaamsRadio Koor will perform aselection of Sakamoto’sworks.

watou festivalto crowdfundArts Festival Watou hasdecided to crowdfund its nextfestival instead of calling it aday, as it had announced lastmonth. Just before the latestedition of the summer festi-val that mixes poetry and artskicked off in July, it learnedit had lost its subsidy fromthe government of Flanders.Organisers are crowdfund-ing the festival’s 2017 edition,which will be its 37th, hopingto raise €40,000 of a totalbudget of €400,000. Organis-ers said they were encouragedby the public’s response to thecurrent edition, with visitornumbers up 15% on last year.It runs until 4 September.\ kunstenfestivalwatou.be

WeeK in Arts& culture

One of the summer’s most intrigu-ing art events is happening atC-Mine, the re-purposed coalminesite in Genk. For the exhibitionWow – Writings on Walls, a dozenlocal and international graphicartists have contributed originalworks,most of whichwere painteddirectly onto the walls.Like the recently opened Millen-nium Iconoclast Museum of Artin Brussels, the show at C-Minefocuses on a new breed of contem-porary artist whose roots are innon-traditional media like graffiti,tattoos, comics and street culture.Many of them are creative multi-taskers who have found commer-cial success designing for advertis-ing and product packaging.The wall-size paintings showcasea veritable who’s-who of interna-tional graphic design, includingBrooklyn-based Mike Perry, Brit-ish artist Kate Moross, The Dudes

Factory from Berlin and Brosmindfrom Spain. Despite the similarityin their approach to art-making,each has a distinct graphic style.For these artists, their style is theirsignature, lending cachet to theirwork for commercial brands likeNike or Land Rover.The first mural to greet viewersentering the C-Mine gallery is byFrench artist Tyrsa, who started

out in graffiti and then studiedtypography at Gobelins Schoolof the Image in Paris. The workconsists of three words spray-painted onto the wall in a trompe-l’oeil ribbon style: “Walls Can Talk.”This message sets the tone for therest of the exhibition.Jean Julien, who drew the “Prayfor Paris” logo that became aninstant internet sensation lastyear, contributed a cartoon-likepainting of a man reaching forhis smartphone but held back bya tangle of electrical cords. MikePerry’s piece shows a rainbow-coloured crowd coming togetherto form a peace symbol against abackground of flowers.Yet other works seem to commu-nicate nothing more than a love of

colour, line and shapes. And in thenearby compressor hall, against abackdrop of old industrialmachin-ery, a giant pink inflatable poopemoji by Barcelona-based duoHungry Castle seems to argueagainst the need for art to sayanything significant at all.The exhibition continues in thefirst-floor design centre with theartists’ applied designs in deco-rative arts and commercial prod-ucts. Among the variety of itemson display are packaging for alimited-edition Duvel beer byGhent design studio Toykyo andclothing with prints by Brussels-based duo Hell’O. Visitors can pickup books, t-shirts and other artist-designed items in the C-Mine giftshop. \ Diana Goodwin

If walls could talk: Graffiti and poop emoji on show at C-Mine

© kristof Vrancken

C-MineEvence Coppéelaan 91, Genk

until 11 September

C-MiNEZOMER.BE

Toon lambrechtsMore articles by Toon \ flanderstoday.eu THEiNviSiBlECiTyKAKuMA.COM

© Cassette for Timescapes

looking for family: Children in the kakuma camp search for relatives with the Find Me app

\ 14

\ ARTS

Thewoman behind the manFamous painter’s muse gets long-awaited recognition from unlikely source

Peter Theunynck and Lies Van Gasse haveteamed up to create a graphic novel onthe life of Hélène Duerinckx, the wife ofcelebrated painter Rik Wouters, who had ahuge influence on his work.

The title of the mesmerising graphicnovel by Peter Theunynck and LiesVan Gasse is a reference to the famous

sculpture by Rik Wouters, known as “Hetzotte geweld” (the wild thing), modelledon his beloved wife and muse Hélène “Nel”Duerinckx.The authors of Nel, een zot geweld are bothpoets. Theunynck previously wrote the biog-raphy of the turn-of-the-20th-century Flem-ish author Karel van de Woestijne, and vanGasse was an illustrator, making them theperfect duo to create a graphic novel aboutDuerinckx, an exuberant woman who left avisible mark on art history.Herhusband, aworld-famousFauvist painterand sculptor from the same period as vande Woestijne, lived a life scarred by poverty

and the First World War. But he was equallyconsumed by the determination to make artand by his love for Duerinckx, who was theinspiration for most of his work. She was thewoman behind the man, his muse and hislife. Nel, een zot geweld tells their tale.“When I read Eric Min’s biography of Wout-ers, I was enthralled by Nel,”Theunynck says.“She was such a strong woman, who played a

vital role in her husband’s life and, therefore,in the art scene.”In theFlanders of those days, “women tendedto be quiet Catholic girls,” he continues, “butNelwas awomanwhowanted tomake some-thing of her life”.Theunynck initially wanted to make a movieabout her life, so he started working on ascript. Realising that the odds of actuallyturning it into a film were slim, he contactedVan Gasse, who had previously worked withhim on the graphic poemWaterdicht (Water-tight), for which he wrote the poem and shecreated the illustrations.Van Gasse, who has a personal affection forWouters’ sketches, did a lot of research. “I’vealways been drawn to his style and the fact

that he was able to create such an intimateworld with so little,” she says. “I was alsointrigued by Nel. She wasn’t a demure wall-flower, but she wasn’t exactly an independ-ent woman.”Duerinckx supported her husband uncon-ditionally, Van Gasse adds, but she was alsoopportunistic. “Wouters idealised her in hiswork, but in our book, I was able to showthe other side of this woman who means somuch to art history.”The fluent and playful story is brought to lifeby Van Gasse’s evocative illustrations, whichseem to be taken from the 19th century.Reminiscent of Wouters himself, the imagesare often dark, emphasising the subjects’despair and intensity. They portray Duer-

inckx as a survivor, awomanwhose emotionsand sacrifice burst from the pages.“I wanted to reflect Wouters’ works in myown images,” Van Gasse explains. “I tried tocreate a style that evokes himbut at the sametime stays true to myself. Referring to exist-ingwork is fun, but, on the other hand,Wout-ers is such a legend to me that it was daunt-ing to create this book, because it also feelslike an homage of sorts.”It took VanGasse two years to finish the illus-trations for the book. “It’s a creative dialoguebetween her work and that of Wouters,”Theunynck adds. “What’s interesting about itis that certain important events that weren’tchronicled by Wouters have now beenbrought to life. Where we lack certainty andfacts, the imagination of the artist can helpfill in the missing elements.”Nel, een zot geweld is not a biography ofDuerinckx, he continues, “but rather literaryfiction in search of the truth. EricMin,Wout-ers’ official biographer says that much in thepreface to the graphic novel: ‘When the biog-rapher keeps silent, the artist must speak’.”Theunynck appreciated that kind of freedomwhen creating the story. “Myprevious biogra-phy is anacademicdocumentbasedon facts,”he says. “With Nel, I was able to provide myown interpretation when it came to certainaspects of her life that weren’t documented.It’s a mix of creative fiction and non-fiction.”The authors are now considering more illus-trated biographies. “I’ve always been fasci-nated with painters and sculptors,” Theu-nynck says, “and ever since I was a child, I’vebeen frustrated that I couldn’tdo those thingsmyself. I’m a bit like Nel, who was fascinatedwith the art world but lacked the talent.”Until she met Wouters, he adds. “He becameher hands and eyes. It is very similar to myrelationship with Lies. I wrote the text, andLies has wonderfully captured the imagesthat were in my head.”

Nel, een zot geweld ( ) is published inDutch by Wereldbibliotheek

Rebecca BenootMore articles by Rebecca \ flanderstoday.eu

PETERTHEuNyNCK.WORDPRESS.COMliEsvangassE.wordPrEss.com

De triomf van het tekenen(The Triumph of Drawing) •Mark Smeets (Scratch Books)At the time of Mark Smeets’ death fromleukaemia in 1999, he was considered one ofthe greatest artists in the LowCountries. Hisgraphic novels were never complete stories,with easily distinguishable main characters,but rather poetic fragments filled withabsurd images, plot twists and lovinglyexecuted ideas that resulted in a unique andinventive oeuvre. His style is reminiscent ofhis greatest influence, Hergé. De triomf vanhet tekenen is a beautiful collection of workby Smeets and includes previously unpub-lished work. A work of art.

Black Clouds Rolling in: One Sketcha Day • liesbeth De Stercke (Bries)Setting her story in the American south ofthe 1930s, Liesbeth De Stercke has createdan unusual epic about people who fallvictim to the Great Depression and must

helplesslywatch as their farmand livelihoodis swept away by dust storms. Every day in2013, De Stercke made a sketch based onphotographs, postcards and her ownexperiences, creating a visual diarychronicling a generation ravaged by natureand politics.There is no chronology in BlackClouds Rolling In; the book is solelycomprised of powerful black-and-whiteimages that exude hope and despair.

De gouden lijst (The GoldenFrame) • Rindert Kromhout &Gerda Dendooven (leopold)Rindert Kromhout was long inspired by theBloomsbury Group, and this is his attemptto share it with young readers. A marriedcouple, who have everything they desire, aska painter to create a piece that wouldperfectly fit their newly acquired goldenframe. The painter, however, didn’t feelrestricted by the frame when creating the

masterpiece, forcing everyone in the houseto look at art and possessions very differ-ently. The story is a bit preachy, but GerdaDendooven’s vibrant and characteristicillustrations add an extra layer of depth.

De roaap van Rubbes (Rubens’turnip) • Willy vandersteen(Standaard uitgeverij)Published originally as De raap van Rubensin 1977, this is a special edition of the comicstrip album. The story was created to cele-brate the 400th anniversary of the birth ofRubens and was originally released inseveral languages – but not the dialect of itshometown. Until now. Film director Robbede Hert and screenwriter Eric Kloeck trans-lated this wacky, best-selling tale, in whichLambik goes back in time to work alongsideRubens. The result is a limited collector’sitem filled with humour and nostalgia.

more neW grAphic novels this summer

© Peter Theunynck & lies van Gasse

Through evocative illustrations and playful writing, Hélène “nel” Duerinckx finally takes centre stageNel wasn’t a demurewallflower, butshe wasn’t exactlyan independentwoman either

august 24, 2016

\ 15

visuAl Arts

event stAnd-up

music FestivAl

Maanrock turns 20 this year,and Mechelen is honouring itsmassively successful summermusic festival in grand fashion.The free three-day party occupiesthe city centrewith four stages anddozens of (mostly) Flemish acts,ranging from rock to pop to jazz.Headliners include Antwerp rock

luminary Admiral Freebee andveteran blues singer Paul Michiels.This anniversary edition featuresa mini-expo documenting Maan-rock’s evolution from humbleblock party to blockbuster event.And the Kinderstraat gives theyoung ones plenty to dowhile theirparents enjoy the show(s). \ GV

The shift from film to digitalphotography was a watershedmoment for artists around theworld. It was especially signif-icant in China, where it coin-cided with the economic reformsand social transformations of the1980s. This exhibition, presentedby the Shanghai Center of Photog-

raphy, showcases 40 works by thecountry’s leading contemporaryphotographers and spans over30 years. The period begins withartists coming to grips with newmeans of expression and endswith a mature art form reflectingthe nuances of Chinese society inthe 21st century. \ Georgio Valentino

The farmland and gentlyrolling hills of Pajottenlandand the Zenne valley are

the picturesque decor of Weg VanKlassiek, a festival that combinessoothing piano sounds with localflora and fauna. The headlinersof this fourth edition are Brusselspianist Julien Libeer and a bunchof bats.The latter are hunting insects atthe ponds of Gaasbeek Castle.Thanks to so-called bat detectors,their ultrasonic hunting soundscan be heard by humans. Thissoundtrack is the apotheosis of anevening walk through the castledomain during the Night of the

Bat. It also appears to be the idealopening act for a Saturday nightrecital by Libeer (pictured) andcellist CamilleThomas.Right after the walk, the duo willtacklemusic by Robert Schumann,Gabriel Fauré and César Franck. Atthe end, there’s “good luck tea” foreveryone, referring to the Chinesesymbol that means both means“good luck” and “bat”.During other weekend walks, youcan stroll around De Wolfsput-ten in Dilbeek and the fields inOudenaken, offering contempla-tion in the green belt west of Brus-sels ahead of more piano concerts.The evening solo show by Libeer

in Dilbeek appropriately includesFrederic Chopin’s “Nocturnes”, incontrast to his Sunday morningset in the church of Sint-Laureins-Berchem, a duo performance withBrussels-based pianist ElodieVignon, with works by Ravel,Debussy and Bizet.For nature loversWeg van Klassiekoffers a great opportunity to getacquainted with a talented young(he has yet to turn 30) chambermusician with a keen ear for melo-dies. For urbanites, it’s a chanceto discover a lesser-known part ofFlanders at near walking distancefrom the capital. \ Tom Peeters

Richard Ruben has been a fixtureon the francophone stand-upcircuit for over 20 years. Now thecelebrated Belgian comedian istackling a new language: English.It’s not entirely foreign to the Brus-sels-born funny man. His fatherwas British, and he’s travelled theEnglish-speaking world exten-sively. Mind the Gap finds Rubenreflecting on the people he’s metalong the way and in his rapidlychanging hometown. The show isco-written by fellowBelgian come-dian Christy Evenepoel. The even-ing’s opening act is Greco-Dutchperformer Soula Notos, memberof Utrecht-based comedy collec-tive Het Comedyhuis. \ GV

In the key of green

Weg van KlassiekFestivAlAntwerpVillanova Festival: Thislaunching pad for youngartists features theatre, docu-mentaries, installations andmore, accompanied by livingroom concerts and a closingparty. 25-27 August, De Studio,Maarschalk Gerardstraat 4

\ villanovafestival.be

BrusselsBrussels Games Festival:Thirty-two hours of non-stopfree board gaming for all agesand levels, with a diverserange of games: party games,family, strategic, card, role-playing. 27-28 August, Museumof the Armed Forces, Jubelpark\ brusselsgamesfestival.be

music FestivAlBrusselsFiesta Latina: Samba- andLatino rhythms from Cuba tothe Bahamas and from Vene-zuela to Mexico, fuelled withplenty of southern-inspireddishes and cocktails. 26-28August, Ter Kamerenbos

\ facebook.com/Fiesta-latinabrussels

outdoorsAntwerpCultuurmarkt: Info marketin preparation for anotherpacked season of culturalactivities across Flanders,with 170 stands offering uptheir agendas and entertain-ment including music, thea-tre, comedy, circus and liter-ature. 28 August 11.00-18.00,across city centre

\ cultuurmarkt.be

MaldegemGenieten van Maldegem:Get to know this East Flemishmunicipality and its pictur-esque countryside duringa mountain bike, cycling orwalking route, with finish inthe leafy Sint-Annaparkwherea culinary village, concertsand entertainment await. 28August

\ maldegem.be/genieten

concertBrusselsGarbage: After the success-ful 20th anniversary tour oftheir legendary debut album,the iconic 1990s band startsa new chapter in their careerwith the launch of a new tourto promote the new album,Strange Little Birds. 11 Novem-ber 20.00, Koninklijk Circus,Onderrichtstraat 81

\ proximusgoformusic.be

The coastal Blankenberge boastssandy beaches, an art deco pierand this unique end-of-seasonprocession. On the last Sunday ofAugust the city organises a FlowerParade completewith large, ornatefloats as well as marching bands,orchestras, dance groups and, ofcourse, loads of locally cultivatedflora. The tradition goes back overa century and draws some 100,000spectators. This year’s theme ischildren’s toys. Visitors are invitedto come early for a behind-the-scenes look at float preparationthe day before the main event andto stick around the day after for afinal exhibition before the floatsare dismantled. \ GV

China: Grain to Pixel

Flower Parade

Maanrock

Richard Ruben: Mind the Gap

\ AGenDA

Across Flemish BrabantwEgvanklassiEk.BE

26-28 August

China Cultural Center, BrusselscccBrussEls.BE

until 10 September Grote Markt, Mechelenmaanrock.BE

26-28 August

Across BlankenbergeBlOEMENCORSO-BlankEnBErgE.BE

28 August, 14.30 Black Sheep, BrusselsENGliSHCOMEDyBRuSSElS.COM30 August, 20.00

get tickets now

august 24, 2016

\ 16

facebook.com/flanderstoday

Since the terrorist attacks inMarch, tourist offices havebeen struggling to persuade

people to come to Flanders. Butit seems there is one sure way ofgetting tourists back to your town.Just look at what happened a fewdays ago in one tiny town.Nog nooitzoveel volk gezien in Lillo – Neverseen so many people in Lillo, ranthe headline in Het Laatste Nieuws.No one knew what was happen-ing at first. It was a rainy Mondaymorning, when suddenly mobsof young people arrived wavingaround their smartphones.Weer ofgeen weer –Weather or no weatherniemand kan de Pokémonvangersuit Lillo houden–noone could keepthe Pokémon hunters out of Lillo.So what is this Pokémon craze allabout? Pokémon Go is een spel opde smartphone – Pokémon Go isa game you play on your smart-phone, the newspaper explained,geïnspireerd op de razend populairetekenfilmreeks uit 1996 – inspiredby the insanely popular animatedfilm series from 1996, waarbijenkele jongeren jacht maakten opPokémon – which involves groupsof young people hunting for Poké-mon. De bedoeling is dat je er zoveelmogelijk vangt –The aim is to catch

as many of them as you can.Although the Pokémon charactersappear only on your phone, you“find” them in real-life places. Thehunt for Pokémon characters likeRattata and Wartortle has alreadytaken fans to some strange placesin Flanders, like the abandonedand forgotten Lillo, one of thevillages eaten up by the expansionof the port of Antwerp.Het piepklein havendorpje Lillowerd de afgelopen weken overspoeld– The tiny harbour town of Lillohas been mobbed for the past fewweeks omdat daar veel Pokémonsgesignaleerd worden – because anumber of Pokémons have shownup there.Normaal is het dorpje van zevenstraten en 35 inwoners uitgestor-ven – Normally this village of sevenstreets and 35 residents is deadmaar nu is het aanschuiven voor

een parkeerplekje – but now peopleare queuing up for a parking place.Not that local businesses arecomplaining. En gelukkig maar– And a good thing, too, want dehoreca krijgt er alvast een boost door– because food and drink estab-lishments are definitely feeling thebenefit.Duizenden mensen per dag passerenhier tegenwoordig – Thousands ofpeople are now passing this wayevery day, one happy pub ownertold the newspaper. We zijn welwat toeristen gewoon – We’re usedto getting some tourists maar dithebben we toch nog nooit gezien– but we’ve never seen anythinglike this. We kunnen het amperbolwerken – we can hardly cope.Al heel de dag regent het pijpen-stelen – It was torrential rain thewhole day, geen denken aan dat ernu iemand buitenkomt – no onethought anyone would leave thehouse, maar toch – but no, overalstaan Pokémonjagers onder hunparaplu’s verscholen – Pokémonhunters were everywhere tuckedunder their umbrellas.Those little characters with funnynames might have arrived at theright time to save the Flemish tour-ist industry.

Talking DutchDesperately seeking Pikachu

\ BACkPAGe

the lAst Word

Pokémon Stop“Hopefully the problem willsolve itself in September, whenstudents are back at school andthe weather is a bit worse.”KoenVanHeddeghemof the associa-tion of Flemishmunicipalities on theplague of Pokémon Go hunters

Star quality“You come for a whole day to afestival, sleep in a tent and thenyou have to wait hours for some-one to play a CD in front of you.That’s not why you come here.”Fans of Rihanna, like 23-year-oldKatia, complain the hip-hop starwas late and failed to perform live atPukkelpop

Spamming Mathilde“The Belgian queen Mathilde hasrevealed her unbelievable secretin the hope of changing people’slives!”Queen Mathilde was the victim ofa fake advertisement in which herimage appeared to endorse diet pills

Bounty of bunnies“Jordy, Shanti, Daisy, Sandy,Fauwny, Lucky, Looni, Bailey,Kylie, Naomi, Trixie, Gracy,Beauty, Dusty, Nikey and Snowy.Have I got everyone? Ah! Chelseyof course. How could I forget?”ProprietorMarnickCroes nowhas 17rabbits in the garden of the Serpen-tarium in Blankenberge

LIKE US

Bart De Roeck @deroeckieHappy to be back in #leuven #lunchbreak

Viki Bell @VikiibellExploring Ghent festival on our Europe trip

Hannah @winewordsloversI had such a great time there! Thank you @pukkelpop, the 6hour car journey from Paris to Hasselt was so worth it.

In response to New app to help cyclists navigate BrusselsEric Flanders: Someday, I will return to the land ofmy people,and ride these paths.

In response to Letters disappear from logos as part of Red CrosscampaignEugene Kasko:That’s why.

voices oFFlAnders todAy

In response to Quirky Flanders: Walk through a forest that wasonce a battlefieldGriet Vanhoucke: I can only confirm, nice place!

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

the bright stuFF Some of the 5,000 participants at Saturday’s Color Run in Brussels, a night-timeevent at the Tours & Taxi site in which runners are pelted with luminous powders throughout the5km circuit.

Derek BlythMore articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

© Courtesy polderke.com

[N\E

© Courtesy The Color Run Belgium