Is there anybody out there?

16 Pages·2017·1.69 MB·English

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January 18, 2017 \ newsweekly - € 0,75 \ rEad morE at www.flandErstoday.Eu
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ni In a shocking report released by the When a young man from Antwerp An exhibition at Museum Dr Guislain
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ke consumer affairs ministry, 90% of had to start using a wheelchair, looks at the history of adoptions and
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tanning salons do not conform to he discovered that trousers were abandonment, where truth is often
regulations, including concerning a bit of a problem. So now he’s stranger than fiction
radiation levels designed better ones
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Is there anybody out there?
west flanders is home to the region’s ufo hotline, looking into claims of alien sightings
leo cendrowicz
More articles by leo \ flanderstoday.eu
A man in West Flanders runs a service that investigates UFO Meldpunt, a hotline for sightings of unidentified flying deal with UFOs, they usually assume I’m a believer,” he says.
reports of suspected UFO sightings – but he thinks the objects. It’s a website that collects reports on UFOs from “It’s important to be cautious. When you’re a believer, you
chances of extra-terrestrial visitors to Earth are minimal. Flanders, and attempts to make sense of claims about can believe anything. My mission is to explain things.”
strange flashing lights in the sky. Delaere makes it clear that, despite the common assump-
Frederick Delaere’s office has all the trappings of an Since 2007, it has been the main Flemish resource for other- tion that UFOs are synonymous with alien craft, most UFO
alien obsessive: Some 700 books fill the shelves, mostly worldly sightings, or at least sightings that seem to be from reports can be explained through known phenomena such
about UFOs, though some are about the paranormal. outside our Earthly experience. So, are there UFOs out there? as planets, meteors, satellites, aircraft lights, balloons or
Telescopes are stacked on the floor, next to a life-size plastic “Yes, there are things out there that we can’t explain,” the light shows. They can even be cars moving up a hillside road
model of ET. 35-year-old admits. “Or can’t explain yet. But that doesn’t in the dark.
Framed covers of 1960s comics like Weird Science decorate mean they are aliens. UFOs are unidentified flying objects, And he is adamant that the only way to assess the viability
the walls, and on one shelf there’s a sculpture of a cow being and the key is the first letter. People usually ignore the U of claims is by using rigorous scientific methods. “I have not
beamed off the ground by a flying saucer. But Delaere is part.” seen anything that I can’t explain,” he says.
quick to shatter any illusions about Martians among us. “I Claims about UFOs are often bracketed with ghosts, zombies Nonetheless, alien visitations continue to fascinate us and
don’t think we have been visited by aliens,” he says. “There is and Elvis Presley sightings on the scale of eye-rolling believ- have long been staples of fiction. The comic books and pulp
just no hard proof to show it.” ability, and Delaere says most people who contact him are novels in Delaere’s library testify to it.
From his base in Meulebeke, West Flanders, Delaere runs surprised to hear how sceptical he is. “When I tell people I But it’s in movies and television that perhaps the most vivid
continued on page 5
\ CurrenT aFFaIrs
Nine-hour wait in Leuven A&E
Emergency departments overworked, especially in winter, says uZ leuven
andy furniere
More articles by andy \ flanderstoday.eu
Patients at the accident and emergency department tal bed.
(A&E) of the University Hospital of Leuven (UZ The problem puts patients’ health at risk, claimed Verelst.
Leuven) had to wait up to nine hours for assistance, “If someone has a bacterial infection, you cannot see that
Sandra Verelst, head of the department, has told Het immediately, but that bacteria can end up in the blood
Laatste Nieuws. stream in nine hours,” she said. “Then patients can weaken
At peak moments last week, the department had 90 quickly.”
patients waiting at a time. “The situation is sustainable According to the Belgian Association of Emergency
as long as there are fewer than 60 patients,” said Verelst. Doctors (BeCEP), there is increased pressure on emergency
“Then we can help everyone within two hours.” services across the country, but the situation in Leuven is
Typical winter illnesses such as respiratory infections are exceptional. BeCEP president Jan Stroobants said that a
one of the main causes of A&E overload in January, but new system should be introduced wherein the number
there is also a structural problem, she said: There are no of hospital beds is decreased in the summer to avoid a
hospital beds available. As a result, patients cannot make surplus and increased in the winter to prevent a shortage.
a smooth transition from the emergency room to a hospi-
© Courtesy uZ leuven
€4 million tourism campaign to polish Voka blasts Brussels traffic tunnels as ‘medieval’
capital’s image
The Brussels-based Flemish chamber of commerce
(Voka) has soundly criticised the traffic situation in
Rudi Vervoort, minister-president of the Brussels-Capital Region, has Brussels caused by the condition of the tunnels. The
announced a new campaign to polish the image of the capital and attract organisation described the tunnels as “medieval”.
more tourists. The campaign has a budget of €4 million and will be run by ad “It’s time the Brussels [regional] government
agency Wunderman Brussels. stepped in,” Voka managing director Hans Maertens
Tourism in the capital is slowly on the mend following the terrorist attacks said. “It’s not enough just to have a plan for renova-
of March last year and the Brussels links to the attacks in Paris the previous tion. Plans being carried out quickly and efficiently
November. However, Vervoort said, there is still a need for investment to give is crucial.”
the sector “an extra boost”. The latest incident saw the Rogier tunnel closed
“Tourism is without a doubt of critical importance to the economy of the in both directions one morning last week after fire
region,” he said. “The most recent figures show that the efforts of the govern- broke out in a maintenance area. The tunnel is an
© Philippe Francois/BelGa
ment, which took action soon after the attacks, are beginning to bear fruit. important section of the inner ring road, and the
But we can’t stop there.” closure had a serious knock-on effect on the rest of Leopold II had to be closed for the same reason.
Recent successes include the Winter Wonders Christmas market and an the ring. Voka also criticised the “total lack of communica-
increase in hotel occupancy on New Year’s Eve by 20% compared to 2015, Later in the morning the Leopold II tunnel was shut tion” on the morning in question. “It’s just not possi-
reaching 85% occupancy. down on the city-bound side after drivers faced with ble in this digital age that people drive uninformed
The campaign includes a European road show, taking the attractions of Brus- delays caused by the Rogier tunnel turned their vehi- into tunnels that are completely blocked,” Maertens
sels to potential visitors in France, the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, Spain, cles around to drive against the flow of traffic. “That said. “We are calling on the Brussels region to finally
Italy and across Belgium. Later, a similar publicity campaign could take in the led to hazardous situations,” said a spokesperson draw up and implement a modern communications
US and Japan, as well as countries like India and Brazil. \ Alan Hope for Brussel Mobiliteit. Twice more later in the day policy.” \ AH
Former deacon to be tried on 10 murder charges
A court in Ghent has ruled that Catholic deacon Ivo Poppe announced that Poppe had carried out more murders
will be tried by jury in Ghent later this year. A deacon in than he had admitted to, between 1978 and 2011. Poppe
Wevelgem and a former nurse in Menen, Poppe is accused has told his psychiatrist he was responsible for more than
of 10 counts of murder for euthanising patients in terminal 100 deaths – a figure he later revised to 48, and then once
stages of illness without authorisation or patient consent. again to between 10 and 20.
Poppe was arrested in early 2014 and confessed to ending The prosecution claims that the six main victims will
the lives of his mother, father-in-law, godfather, great- be enough to ensure that Poppe receives a life sentence
uncle and two other elderly women. He was a charge nurse should he be found guilty. A date for his trial will be set
in the Sint-Joris Hospital, now part of AZ Delta. later.
Poppe confessed to ending the lives of the victims by suffo- In 2010, a nurse in a Ghent rest home was found guilty of
cation with a pillow or by lethal injection. He said seeing killing four elderly patients using insulin injections. Unlike
them suffer had been unbearable. Poppe, he never explained his motive and was sentenced
Following an investigation, the prosecutor’s office to life in prison. \ AH
© Courtesy De standaard
1707 €10 million
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is the new free telephone number incidents involving a “crash alarm” for the restoration and renovation buses a day cancelled in Antwerp kilos of TNT contained in an unex-
to call regarding suspicious behav- last year at Brussels Airport – of cultural centre Vooruit in Ghent province in December as a result of ploded bomb found in the centre of
iour on Brussels public transport where an aircraft approaching the over the course of 20 years. The a shortage of drivers, public trans- Kortrijk. Part of the city centre was
network MIVB. The number is airport is in difficulties. May and 103-year-old building is in need of port authority De Lijn said closed off and 200 residents evacu-
operational 24 hours a day July saw the most, with six inci- repairs to the roof and the wood- ated while experts dismantled the
dents. All 10 aircraft landed safely work on its facade bomb
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january 18, 2017
Week in bRief face of flandeRS
Flemish tennis pro Elise Mertens The Flemish parliament has unani- The situation came to light during
won her first WTA title this week mously approved a resolution call- an internal audit of the Popula-
and broke into the WTA’s top 100 ing for a ban on beauty pageants tion section of the administration,
ranking for the first time. Her victory for children and young people. Last and the prosecutor’s office was
over Romanian Monica Niculescu year, federal labour minister Kris informed. A spokesperson for Alain
(32) at the Hobart International in Peeters banned the election of Mini Courtois, councillor for population
Australia has put her at number Miss Belgium after social inspec- matters, declined to give further
82 in the women’s singles. She is in tors described it as “child labour”. information while the case is ongo-
third place among Flemish women, The new ban would cover contests ing.
behind Yanina Wickmayer (60) and where children are judged mainly
Kirsten Flipkens (70). Wickmayer on their appearance.
and Flipkens are currently compet- A 32-year-old Cameroonian woman
ing at the Australian Open. gave birth to a baby on board
Bart De Smet, CEO of insurance a United Airlines flight from
company Ageas, has been voted Chicago to Brussels last week, two
Only 82% of trains arrived on time, Manager of the Year by the readers weeks before her due date. She was
meaning up to six minutes late, in of Trends magazine and a profes- attended by a doctor and a nurse,
November, according to figures from sional jury. De Smet, 59, becomes who were among the passengers,
rail authority NMBS. It’s the worst the 32nd recipient of the award, and the delivery went without inci- © kris Van exel/ID photo agency
robbe de Hert
result since November 2014 and on his third nomination. The jury dent. The baby boy was greeted by
down from nearly 87% in Novem- praised “the way in which he was a round of applause from the other
ber 2015. A spokesperson blamed able to raise an insurance company passengers. In the 1980s, he was one of the group of young people on a jour-
a number of incidents involving with a strong identity and a robust young upstarts intent on giving ney through the country.
people on the tracks and signalling balance-sheet from the ashes of Belgian cinema a social dimen- Later, he became known for
faults that coincided with morning Fortis”. Fruit growers in the Haspengouw sion. More recently, he’s been unconventional, often political,
and evening peaks. area of Flemish Brabant and living in a social apartment in movies like De witte van Sichem
Limburg have planted 1.7 kilo- Antwerp, heavily in debt and (Whitey), an adaptation of the
The musical department of the metres of hedgerows in an effort unable to carry on with his film 1920 novel by Ernest Claes that
The construction of the Oosterweel Royal Library of Belgium has been to attract more bees to pollinate history project Hollywood aan criticises severe punishments
connection on Antwerp’s ring road is bequeathed the Toots Thielemans the trees. The planting was subsi- de Schelde (Hollywood on the handed out to children. He also
likely to cause traffic chaos unless as Fund, an extraordinary collection dised by the cross-border Interreg Scheldt). made the award-winning Blue-
many as 30,000 vehicles are taken of documents, music recordings, programme of the EU’s regional Robbe De Hert is in hospital berry Hill and the sequel Bryl-
out of traffic at peak hours, accord- photos, scores and personal letters. development fund and the prov- suffering from an infection in creem Boulevard.
ing to a study ordered by the govern- Thielemans had discussed the ince of Limburg. A similar planting his foot aggravated by diabetes. He made his last fiction feature
ment of Flanders. Oosterweel is a bequest before he died in August project is planned for this year. A group of friends from the film Lijmen/Het Been in 2001, based
colossal project on one of the coun- last year. and arts industries are working on the novels by Willem Elss-
try’s busiest roads, and construc- to raise money for his project chot. Since then, he has made
tion is due to last for seven years. In Flemish education minister Hilde and have topped €30,000. But only documentary shorts.
related news, enclosing the ring road, A statement by the European food Crevits found herself caring for a a lawyer has warned that that The money raised by his friends
creating tunnels, will only reduce industry to stop aiming advertise- nine-day old baby at the weekend effort may have been in vain, if and colleagues may not be there
emissions by some 30%, according ments for fast food and sweets when she witnessed a car accident the sponsors of the crowdfund- for long, according to Wim
to consultant Alexander D’Hooghe. at children is “an empty promise,” on the Antwerp ring road. While ing initiatives don’t take urgent Smits, a lawyer specialising in
That’s because only 60-70% of emis- according to a report from the Insti- her chaffeur, who is also a volun- action. debt arbitration. “If the money
sions will come within reach of the tute for Media Studies at the Univer- teer firefighter, assisted the woman Robin François De Hert, later raised is deposited in Robbe
ventilators used to clean the air. sity of Leuven. In the EU Pledge who was driving the car, Crevits known as Robbe, was born in De Hert’s bank account, it’s
Of that portion, only 60% can be from 2007, the industry promised held the baby in her own vehicle Hampshire, England, in 1942, perfectly possible that one of his
cleaned effectively, giving an overall to stop marketing certain products until an emergency team arrived. where his Flemish parents creditors will apply for it to be
success rate of 30%. “Better technol- to children under 12. However, says Both driver and baby are fine. were exiled during the German sequestered to pay off his debts,”
ogy just isn’t available for the time the report, the guidelines “leave occupation. In 1966, back in Smits told Gazet van Antwerpen.
being,” D’Hooghe told MPs. many loopholes open”. One exam- Belgium, he became part of the Organisers of the crowdfund-
ple: advertising sweets and Happy Police in Brussels last week raided Fugitive Cinema Collective and ing campaign can avoid that,
Meals during prime time is allowed the home of a man suspected of he is credited with nine short he continued, “by setting up a
Flemish public broadcaster VRT is because the under-12s make up less receiving stolen goods and discov- films. non-profit specifically aimed
launching a free online video plat- than 35% of viewers. ered a cache of scarves, jack- In 1973, he made his feature at producing Hollywood aan de
form called VRT NU on 30 Janu- ets, shoes and vacuum cleaner film debut with Camera Sutra, Schelde. It’s important that this
ary. The service will carry all VRT- parts worth €100,000. The man was which combines documentary money be kept strictly sepa-
produced programmes for a month The city of Brussels has confirmed advertising his wares on Facebook, footage of various public events rated from Robbe De Hert’s
after broadcast, as well as archive that an investigation is taking place and the ad was spotted by someone in Belgium with the story of a private assets.” \ Alan Hope
video. VRT NU will begin as a into the trafficking of false pass- from the fashion industry whose
website, with apps following later in ports that involves a city official goods had been stolen.
the year. who has since been dismissed.
flanders today, a weekly English-language newspaper, is an initiative of the flemish
offSide
region and is financially supported by the flemish authorities.
the mystery of the raw chicken
The logo and the name Flanders Today belong to the Flemish Region (Benelux Beeldmerk nr
815.088). The editorial team of Flanders Today has full editorial autonomy regarding the content
It was a mystery no-one could quite get their heads him,” he said, which convinced him that the fox was of the newspaper and is responsible for all content, as stipulated in the agreement between
Corelio Publishing and the Flemish authorities.
around. Every so often since last May, passengers an intelligent animal.
using the Mouterij train station in Brussels, halfway Foxes, in Brussels as elsewhere, often use railway lines
Editor Lisa Bradshaw Editorial addrEss
between Luxemburg and Etterbeek, would see pieces to penetrate cities from the countryside without quite
dEPuty Editor Sally Tipper Gossetlaan 30 - 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden
of raw chicken lying around on the as much risk as the roads. They haunt cities in search
contriButing Editor Alan Hope tel [phone]
platform. No-one could imagine why, of food, often from garbage bins. suB Editor Bartosz Brzezi´nski [email protected]
or how they got there. The man, who would not provide his agEnda Robyn Boyle, Georgio Valentino
Until, by chance, Bruzz reporter name, started putting out chicken art dirEctor Paul Van Dooren suBscriPtions
Sam De Ryck spotted an elderly for the foxes coming in on the PrEPrEss Mediahuis AdPro tel [phone]
contriButors Rebecca Benoot, Derek
man dropping morsels of fresh line from the Sonian Forest. “I [email protected]
Blyth, Leo Cendrowicz, Sarah Crew, Emma
chicken around the station. Like love all animals,” he told De or order online at www.flanderstoday.org
Davis, Paula Dear, Andy Furniere, Lee
any intrepid reporter would, De Ryck Ryck. “Even flies. I wouldn’t Gillette, Diana Goodwin, Clodagh Kinsella,
approached the man, and this is what he kill a fly. I let them live.” Catherine Kosters, Toon Lambrechts, Ian advErtising
found out. Chickens, as one Mundell, Anja Otte, Tom Peeters, Arthur 02 467 24 37
The chicken-dropper is 81 years old and once reader of the paper Rubinstein, Senne Starckx, Christophe
Verbiest, Denzil Walton
came face to face with a fox, he explained. pointed out, are
gEnEral managEr Hans De Loore vErantwoordElijkE uitgEvEr
They looked each other in the eye. “He evidently another
PuBlisHEr Mediahuis NV Hans De Loore
looked at me the way I was looking at matter. \ AH
\ 3
\ POlITICs
5tH colUMn Honorary doctorate for Merkel
The education battle
The government of Flanders
has reached an agreement german chancellor’s award given by universities of ghent and leuven
on the redesign of secondary
education, an issue that has
lisa Bradshaw
been on the table for 10 years.
Follow lisa on Twitter \ @lmbsie
Education minister Hilde
Crevits (CD&V) has pledged to
see the reform implemented in The universities of Ghent and Leuven particularly significant to her to receive such
schools as soon as 2018. joined together in awarding German academic recognition as she herself has been a
It is the result of a bitter polit- chancellor Angela Merkel an honorary researcher, with a doctorate in physical chem-
ical fight, though, which N-VA doctorate last week, in the Egg event venue in istry.
seems to have won. Anderlecht in Brussels. It was the first time, the She went on to talk about the relations between
Although education in Flan- chancellor said, that she had received a double Belgium and Germany, both past and present,
ders is considered excellent, honour such as this “from two of Europe’s most emphasising Belgium’s co-operation following
international studies point out prestigious universities”. the Second World War when rebuilding diplo-
several problems, such as the Belgian prime minister Charles Michel opened matic ties would have seemed impossible. She
wide gap between the perfor- the ceremony with comments on how Germa- continued with her insistence that the EU be
mances of the strongest and ny’s past shaped Merkel’s future. “As a young © Jasper Jacobs/BelGa able to defend its interests without the help
German chancellor angela Merkel (centre) receives an honorary
weakest pupils. Too many also woman,” he said, “you witnessed the construc- of other “world powers”, who may not always
doctorate from Ghent university rector anne De Paepe and
drop out. And no-one is happy tion of the Berlin Wall. That must have made university of leuven rector rik Torfs share those interests.
about the cascading system, you feel very powerless. After two horrific wars, With clear references to the United States, she
where pupils start out in the your freedom – and that of so many others – was German heads of state meeting in “more relaxed said: “I am convinced that Europe and the EU
general track and drop down again being limited.” circumstances” than Merkel’s usual trips to must learn to take more responsibility in the
to technical and professional He went on to say – in words that echoed the Brussels. “World-famous Flemish universities world in the future. Let’s not fool ourselves:
tracks as their scores fall. general theme of the speeches at the hour-long are co-operating to award you with an honorary From the viewpoint of some of our traditional
The two previous ministers ceremony – that Europe must stand together doctorate in recognition of your diplomatic and partners, and I’m thinking of transatlantic ties,
for education, Frank Vanden- “to defend our freedoms tooth and nail. Because political efforts in the development of Europe. there is no guarantee of perpetuity for close
broucke and Pascal Smet (both only in a free Europe can there be peace and On behalf of the Flemish government, I offer my co-operation with us Europeans.”
socialists), held consultations prosperity.” sincere congratulations.” She ended by telling the students to continue
involving parents, schools, Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois, On accepting the doctorate from Ghent Univer- their quest for knowledge and creativity long
education networks and other who spoke in both Dutch and German, noted sity rector Anne De Paepe and University of after they leave university, as they are the future
experts. These partners agreed that he was happy to see the Belgian and Leuven rector Rik Torfs, Merkel said that it was of Europe.
on a redesign with no strict
partition between general,
Government of Flanders can now Media minister to investigate
technical and professional
education tracks, a broad
launch own prosecutions targeted TV ads
curriculum for the first two
years and postponing tracking
to the age of 14. The government of Flanders has Flemish media minister Sven Gatz
Little of that has materialised decided to take steps to be able is consulting with federal minis-
in the final plan, as N-VA has to exercise its right to injunction, ters regarding the protection of
always opposed these reforms. which it has had since the start of the privacy of TV viewers. The
Party president Bart De Wever this legislature, in 2014, but has decision follows a report by the
has spoken out on this debate never used. The right, introduced Flemish media regulator VRM last
several times. in the sixth round of state reforms, week which stated that digital TV
De Wever’s main concern was allows the regions to require the companies are increasingly gath-
© Ingimage
with the stronger pupils. He federal justice minister to instruct ering information about viewing
© Courtesy n-Va
did not want the general track, the prosecutor’s office to investi- habits in order to provide targeted Gatz intends to take that warning
preparing pupils for higher gate or prosecute a matter where injunction, which would allow an ads. to the federal ministers responsible
education, meddled with. Let’s regional governments have respon- investigation or prosecution to be The phenomenon is familiar to for privacy matters. “I want to see
not change what is good about sibility. stopped, and it only concerns indi- internet users: You search Google how we can proceed,” he said. In
our education, has always been The right may be invoked for a vidual cases and cannot be used to for gardening equipment, and for Flanders, meanwhile, VRM could
his philosophy. number of purposes: to ask for implement a general action. days after you’re presented with be given new responsibilities.
His views conflict with the an investigation into a particular “The Flemish government contin- ads for gardening equipment on Earlier in the week, the Euro-
general consensus in the matter, to provide information rele- ues to support the existing reluc- websites you visit. That ability on pean Commission presented a
education field, but the nation- vant to an ongoing investigation, to tance to make use of its right to the part of online media compa- proposal for new laws regarding
alist feels he is supported by a have a sentence carried out or to injunction, so as not to threaten nies is now spreading to digital TV, online advertising. Companies that
silent majority of parents and appeal against a ruling delivered by the functional independence of explained Peggy Valcke of VRM. gather users’ information, among
teachers. N-VA has been a a court. Flemish government minis- the prosecutors service,” Bourgeois “By using new technologies, the them Google, WhatsApp and Face-
thorn in the side of the Catholic ters have agreed to pass requests for commented. He also stressed that consumer is, whether they realise book, will no longer be able to use
education network, in charge injunctions through minister-pres- the government would only invoke it or not, giving away a great deal that information for custom ads.
of managing a majority of Flan- ident Geert Bourgeois (pictured) the right when there was a major of personal information that is The ban would cover not only the
ders’ schools. before an official submission to the public interest, or where the lack potentially of great value,” she said. content of messages, but also what
The network has drifted away justice minister. of action on the part of the federal “The government needs to be vigi- is known as meta-data, including
from its original mission, De The right contains certain limits. government clashed with the inter- lant on the way that information is the time and place of a message.
Wever believes. He has fiercely There is no option of negative ests of the region. \ Alan Hope being used.” \ AH
criticised its director, Lieven
Boeve, who stated last year
Open VLD president quits parliament to go on pre-election tour
that Catholic schools should
be more welcoming to Muslim
pupils. Gwendolyn Rutten, president of liberal party jeugd, who is also the youngest mayor in Flan-
Giving schools more freedom Open VLD, has given up her seat in the Flemish ders and a member of the Flemish parliament
to organise themselves, as the parliament to begin a tour of all 308 munici- for Rutten’s party. She even pitched in, wash-
new agreement does, eases palities in Flanders due to last until the munic- ing a client’s hair.
them away from the education ipal elections in 2018. Her tour kicked off in “This is the essence of politics,” she said. “By
networks - networks that have Staden, West Flanders. visiting the 308 municipalities I’ll see a perfect
also never sat well with N-VA. “It would not be possible for me to visit 308 cross-section of Flanders and its society. Some-
The new agreement has municipalities while holding on to my seat,” times the barriers to approaching me are too
angered many in the educa- she said. “In the coming months I want to high. I’m doing this as Gwendolyn, not in the
tion sector. De Wever has meet and talk to the people, with both feet on name of the party.”
called the criticism “egalitarian the ground,” she said. “It’s a two-way street. I © sandro Delaere/BelGa Her seat in the parliament will be taken over by
nonsense” and has mocked the want to hear what’s going on. I want to step staden mayor and hairdresser Francesco Vanderjeugd shows Danielle Vanwesenbeeck, the award-winning
Open VlD party president Gwendolyn rutten the ropes
broad “math/hair care/Latin/ outside of my comfort zone, because all too CEO of Leuven-based direct mailing company
carpentry” track. \ Anja Otte often you only come into contact with like- At her first port of call, Rutten visited the hair Mastermail. \ AH
minded people and party colleagues.” salon in Staden run by Francesco Vander-
\ 4
\ COVer sTOry
january 18, 2017
Is there anybody out there?
alien invasions have long been a source of cultural fascination
continued from page 1 ufomEldPunt.BE
stories play out, from ET and Mars unusual lights moving across the
Attacks, through series like The sky. Delaere then investigates,
X-Files, to more serious tales like gathering details from the witness
Contact and the currently showing about the location, date and time
Arrival. Delaere says all these could of observation so he can verify
help fuel the claims he hears, some contextual information like the
of which bear striking resemblance weather, astronomical data, traffic
to descriptions seen on the screen. and satellites.
And they tie in with beliefs about He tries to conduct the interview at
aliens leaving messages through the spot where the observation was
crop circles or through ancient made, so he can look for a circum-
sites like the Nazca Lines in stantial explanation; for example,
Peru. “People often really want to if it’s near a military base or close
believe there’s something there,” to where a party was being held.
he says. “The Nazca carvings are At the end of the investigation,
seen as alien landing strips, but he tries to draw a conclusion. “If
really they’re just for the gods. In possible, we try to give a reasoned
the same way, people look at the explanation for the phenomenon,”
pyramids in Egypt and see alien Delaere says. “And if we suggest
messages in the hieroglyphs.” that it’s not a UFO but something
The Fermi paradox, named like an aeroplane, they are often
after the Italian Nobel-prize- unhappy!”
winning physicist, is the apparent While most of the reports seem
mismatch between the high-prob- to come from sober, well-mean-
ability estimates of the existence ing witnesses, Delaere says some
of extra-terrestrial civilisations (of could have been embellished by
the billions of stars in the galaxy, stimulants. “Drugs are things that
many have Earth-like planets) and we always keep in mind, just like
the lack of evidence. alcohol.”
There are things out there we can’t
explain. Or can’t explain yet.
But that doesn’t mean they are aliens
But Delaere says the chance of Unsurprisingly, planes are some
us somehow missing a visit from of the most common explanations
another world is highly unlikely. for UFO sightings, and they can
“With all the resources we have usually be confirmed by checking
on Earth, we would know if aliens flight paths or contacting a local
were anywhere near us,” he says. airport. More recently, Delaere’s
“People say that if aliens are already reports have been dominated by
here, the government would have what turn out to be sky lanterns,
hidden it, but I don’t believe that. Chinese hot air balloons made of
It would be too big to hide.” paper with a small fire inside. Now
In the past decade, Delaere has easily available in Europe, they Frederick Delaere says people are surprised to learn he’s sceptical about the existence of aliens
dealt with almost 2,000 sightings. have become popular at events and
The rate varies – last year there parties, often replacing fireworks. erratic flight behaviour. never explained what was hover- was widely caught on tape by car
were 143 sightings, while in 2011 Though they are banned, sky A more unusual incident was a ing in the skies – despite radar dashcams.
there were a record 311 – but his lanterns are still common – and recent report of a fiery light in the contacts and sightings by an esti- Delaere spends six hours every
response is usually the same. “We easily confused with UFOs. Indeed, sky, which was eventually iden- mated 13,500 witnesses. day on UFO research. His regu-
write to everyone who reports a from the ground, sky lanterns tified as a reflection of 10-metre- Delaere admits that he doesn’t lar job is on the production line
sighting,” he says. match almost perfectly the tradi- high flames spewed from the chim- have a conclusive explanation for at the local Libeco-Lagae textile
The website contains the original tional UFO description: yellow- ney of an Antwerp industrial plant. what it was. “It could have been factory, where he works long
witness reports, which tend to use orange lights that usually follow a The flames were reflected against US aeroplane tests. Local planes weekends and holiday shifts. Three
the same language about seeing linear path but sometimes exhibit icy clouds high above and were were told not to fly in the region,” years ago, he wrote a book about
visible up to 50 kilometres away. he says. UFOs in Belgium and the Nether-
Delaere says the closest he has But he notes that the most used lands, published by Lannoo, and is
come to seeing a UFO was when picture from that time was faked: currently writing another, specifi-
he was 14. “I saw three lights in the an April 1990 photo of a triangu- cally aimed at children.
shape of a triangle,” he says. “I kept lar object on which four lights are “Kids see a movie on the internet,
looking, and I saw the lights flick- visible, which was later revealed to and they think it’s real,” he says. “I
ering, and realised that it was just be the work of a teenager who fixed hope this book will help them be a
an aeroplane. And I understood torches to a lump of polystyrene. bit more sceptical.”
then that when you want to see It is hard to make unsubstanti- Married with two sons, aged eight
strange things, you will.” ated claims today, with everything and 13, Delaere notes that his
That was a heyday for UFOs: aficio- being photographed or filmed with own children aren’t interested in
nados talk in hushed tones about smartphones. “It makes it much UFOs and laughs at his inability
the five months from November easier on us,” Delaere says. “Now to engage them in a subject that
1989 to April 1990 when thou- we have visual evidence. And all should be tailor-made for them.
sands of sightings were made in the films and videos we have seen, “But they are into Star Wars,” he
Belgium. Jet fighters were scram- we can explain.” He gives as an says. As for his wife, he says diplo-
bled to investigate reports of UFOs example the unexpected meteor matically: “She doesn’t have an
© robert Mikaelyan/fotoarena.nl in Belgian airspace, but authorities shower over Russia in 2013 that opinion on it.”
a night-time sighting captured in the netherlands
\ 5
\ BusIness
Week in Tanning salons breaking rules
bUSineSS
Data – swan Insights
‘shocking’ number of tanning beds in breach of radiation limits
The Brussels-based business
information solutions start-
alan Hope
up, launched in 2013, has been
Follow alan on Twitter \ @alanHopeFT
acquired by Sweden’s Bisnode
data and analytics group.
Federal consumer affairs minister Kris as use by minors or by anyone with skin-type 1 –
Hygiene Drylock
Peeters has issued a warning to the tanning people with blond or red hair who are sensitive
The specialist in incontinence salon sector to expect tighter inspections, to sunlight and more vulnerable to skin cancer.
products and thin diapers, after a report showed that 185 out of 197 salons Until now, tanning salons were registered under
based in Zele, East Flanders inspected in 2016 were not conforming to a general activities code that also covered other
and with plants in Russia and regulations. businesses involving personal care, such as nails
the Czech Republic, is taking “In other words, 94% of these businesses were not and make-up. That made it difficult for inspectors
over the US company Presto in order,” Peeters told VRT radio. “A shocking and to identify the salons in the group.
Absorbent for €68 million. sorry discovery.” According to the report, half of In future, Peeters said, any business offering
the salons ignored radiation intensity limits, sunbeds – and not only dedicated tanning salons
air which is “a worrying number as we know that – will have to register under a new code. He also

misuse of sunbeds carries health risks,” he said. ordered inspectors to carry out more checks and
yangtze river express
Inspectors found that certain conditions apply- to shut down businesses that do not comply after
The Chinese air cargo and ing to sunbeds are being routinely ignored, such receiving warnings.
© Ingimage
freight company is pulling
out of Brussels Airport at
Windmills in North Sea Rail company Infrabel plans
the end of this month, citing
Brussels’ new noise restric-
over-subsidised, says regulator 4,000 job cuts by 2020
tion regulations, which come
into effect on 1 March. Other
freight carriers, including Belgium paid about €2 billion too Energy experts said the difference Rail infrastructure company Infra-
Saudia Cargo, have expressed much for the wind turbines off lies in the way the two govern- bel plans to cut 4,000 jobs by 2020,
concern that the implemen- the coast, according to a study ments structure their contracts. or 27% of its workforce. The cuts
tation of the new rules may produced for the electricity and Belgium issues a concession to are a result of the merger of the
force them to move their gas regulator Creg. The study companies for part of the project, company’s subsidiaries, according
operations to Amsterdam, compared the cost of Belgian and and the companies then have to to Infrabel’s business plan.
Maastricht or Frankfurt. Dutch turbines. take care of all permits and make The merger concerns Tuc Rail,
It had already been reported last a connection to the electricity Infrabel’s study bureau for railway
Fruit summer that the Danish company network. technology, and IT service provider © Courtesy Infrabel

Dong Energy had agreed to build In the Netherlands, the govern- Ixilio. Both will be swallowed up fears at the consequences of such
Belgische Fruitveiling
a windmill park in the North Sea ment arranges all of the paper- by the parent company, leading to a deep cut in staff. “It’s going to be
The Sint-Truiden fruit off the coast of the Netherlands at work, then puts the project up a reduction in the total required difficult for Infrabel to ensure the
auctions co-operative is a much lower cost than that paid for auction. That makes a conces- workforce as duplicate functions performance of certain functions,”
taking over its competitor by the Belgian government to two sion more attractive to companies, are eliminated. warned Marianne Lerouge of ACV
Veiling Haspengouw as part local consortiums for its windmill increases competition and pushes According to the latest available Transcom. She joined with socialist
of the sector’s consolidation park. down price offers. Some of the public figures from the end of 2014, union ACOD in concern that only
in the face of the Russian While the Dutch energy minis- Belgian contracts were issued 10 Infrabel had 14,073 full-time staff, a employment had been targeted in
boycott of Belgian fruit. ter Henk Kamp had a budget of years ago. figure that the business plan indi- Infrabel’s plans.
Although some firms export 12.4 cents per kilowatt hour, the “This demonstrates that our meth- cated should drop to 10,299 by 2020. “Today there is a shortage of tech-
through Belarus to bypass the company promised the park would ods have not taken sufficient “Nobody will be fired,” the company nicians and engineers, a situa-
regulation, international sales be profitable at only 7.27 cents. account of technological evolu- said in a statement. “The numbers tion that will also develop in other
of local fruit have dropped For two new parks off the Belgian tions,” said Peter Claes of Febe- will be made up by those taking personnel categories,” said Michel
significantly. coast, on the other hand, the liec, an association of large-scale voluntary redundancy and by those Abdissi of ACOD. “How are people
Belgian government was paying electricity consumers, speaking who retire without being replaced.” going to make the trains run tomor-
subsidy of 13 cents and 12.4 cents to VRT. “Belgium has a system Rail unions, meanwhile, expressed row?” \ AH
Cars Carglass
respectively. The Dutch park is 22 in place that cannot produce
The Brussels-based specialist kilometres off the coast of Zeeland, price reductions as technology
Knack online articles now closed to
in repair and replacement of directly adjoining the two Belgian advances. That’s a pity.” \ AH
auto glass is taking over the parks concerned.
reader comments
Care chain of body shops to
offer full auto repair service to
Year-end made up quarter of annual
customers. Readers of web articles published by magazines belonging to the Roularta
Media Group will no longer be able to post comments online, the company
e-commerce returns
has announced. The group publishes news magazine Knack, business
Textiles sioen
magazine Trends and a number of other lifestyle, technology and health-
The producer of safety vests Income for e-commerce busi- related titles, including Nest and Data News.
and other protective cloth- nesses in Belgium during the busy “I refuse to take on the job of teaching people how to behave online,” said
ing, based in Aardooie, West shopping period at the end of the Knack’s online editor Jago Kosolosky. He blamed “the often disrespectful
Flanders, is buying Finland’s year was €2.2 billion, according to nature of reader reactions, which makes constructive dialogue impossible”
Verseidag Ballistic Protection, sector federation BeCommerce. for the decision.
specialised in bullet-proof That represents more than 24% of Three years ago, he said, the site eliminated anonymous posts, requiring
vests and equipment, for €18 the sector’s total annual earnings. readers to register in order to post comments. Some readers then created
million. BeCommerce surveyed 720 online accounts using fictitious names. “The constructive comments – and
shops, which represent 82% of there were plenty – were overwhelmed by reactions where any attempt at
Construction the country’s online business. The © Jason Howie/Flickr dialogue was absent,” Kosolosky said.

figures cover the period from 11 The group’s decision continues a trend among the Flemish press of remov-
Vandersanden
November to 31 December. drink (30%) and clothing and ing comments sections. Daily newspaper De Morgen, published by De Pers-
The producer of bricks and The result is a major advance on accessories (24.5%). groep, also scrapped online comments recently. “The reaction function
building materials, based the same period in 2015, when BeCommerce also reported an provided very little added value to the debate,” said opinion editor Bart
in Bilzen, Limburg, and sales accounted for only 14% of increase in sales via second-hand Eeckhout.
Europe’s largest family-owned annual income. New initiatives like websites such as 2dehands.be and De Standaard, published by Mediahuis, has not had a comments section for
company in the sector, is Black Friday and Cyber Monday, ebay.be in the period following years, citing similar reasons. And Het Nieuwsblad allows reader reactions
acquiring three production imported from the US, have helped Christmas. More and more people only on certain articles, where they are monitored. De Persgroep’s Het Laat-
units in the Netherlands and boost online sales. are selling unwanted presents on ste Nieuws still allows comments, but they are also moderated.
one in Germany from the Irish The most popular products for the sites, resulting in an increase Daily financial newspaper De Tijd, published by Mediafin, remains open for
CRH Group. Belgians to buy online are personal in sales of 17-20%, the federation comments, which are monitored closely. However, most of the articles on
care products (35%), food and said. \ AH the paper’s website are only open to subscribers. \ AH
\ 6
\ InnOVaTIOn
january 18, 2017
Age of disqovery Week in
innovation
VuB professor wins
search engine from ghent helps patients navigate oceans of medical data
Tibbetts award
Flemish professor Clement
ian mundell Hiel of the Free University of
More articles by Ian \ flanderstoday.eu Brussels (VUB) has received
ontoforcE.com
America’s prestigious Tibbetts
Award at a ceremony at the
Ad igital platform that helps ical and biological research that it White House. The prize is
medical researchers navigate could find. awarded by the US govern-
vast amounts of data is “We took all of that data – about ment’s Small Business Admin-
making a name for Ontoforce, a eight billion entities – and we istration in recognition of
start-up company headquartered merged it together into a very scal- innovative projects or organ-
in Ghent. Its Disqover software, able and easy-to-use platform,” isations with a clear techno-
launched commercially at the Constandt explains. Since the data logical and socio-economic
beginning of 2016, is already selling is connected, users can also make impact. The 64-year-old
well to the pharmaceutical industry. connections, moving from clinical professor, born in Melsele,
“We envisioned having four big studies, for example, to the under- East Flanders, won the award
pharma or biotech companies as lying biology or to the chemis- for a radar tower made from
customers, and right now we have try of the drugs involved. Informa- composite materials devel-
12,” says founder and chief executive tion can also be found about the oped for the country’s air
Hans Constandt. Earnings are also researchers, such as their publica- force. The tower can be assem-
ahead of predictions. “Next year we tion records and other interests. bled up to eight times faster
will break even, I think, and then we Since October, Disqover has been than a normal tower, and the
will grow.” free to use under a community whole system can be clicked
Disqover is also picking up acco- © Facebook licence, with around 1,100 people together with Lego-like cubes.
lades. In November, it won first But the spur to act on this insight and we said: We are going to make currently signed up. Where Onto-
study to monitor
prize in the digital health category was his young son, who appeared a limousine out of this. It has to force makes money is adding func-
environmental hazards
at a summit organised by the Euro- to have a learning disability. be industry-ready, scalable and tionality – for instance allowing
pean Institute of Innovation and Constandt started to investigate sustainable. So we started coding it people to save and export all their Flemish public health minis-
Technology, the EU’s flagship for what this might mean and looked from scratch.” searches – and by licensing the ter Jo Vandeurzen is invest-
new technology and entrepreneur- into options for specialist school- The key to the system is seman- system to pharmaceutical compa- ing €2.84 million in initiatives
ship. ing. tic searching, a way of sifting data nies. to monitor the impact of the
Big data is a fashionable area for “It took me such a long time, and that allows users to be specific Under this arrangement, commer- environment on our health.
new companies at present, but I’m a so-called expert!” he recalls. about what they are looking for. cial databases can be added to the The two initiatives will study
Constandt’s interest goes further “So I took a sabbatical and started The example Constandt uses is system alongside internal data, the damaging effects of envi-
back. He’s trained in medicine and coding a platform myself to inte- someone looking for a place to stay allowing employees to factor in ronmental factors, with the
biotechnology, but was also a bit of grate all of that data.” in France who types “Paris Hilton” company research and resources. goal of setting up preventive
a computer geek, so he combined The result was schoolKID, a non- into a search engine, only to get Ontoforce now has a staff of 14, action. The purpose of the
these interests by pursuing a career profit platform that pulls together pages of celebrity gossip. mixing people with entrepreneur- three-year investment is to
in bioinformatics. data on schools in Flanders and Adding “hotel” to the search gives a ial expertise with those skilled in apply scientific insights and
After working at Ghent University, makes it easier to access. The better result, but that’s only because IT and bioinformatics. In June last educate citizens, doctors and
he moved over to the multinational response to this work was so posi- the person knows what they want. year it raised an additional €2.1 municipalities. One initia-
pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, tive that Constandt decided to “You need to know your keywords,” million from the Life Science Inno- tive will focus on the impact
where he worked on the informa- apply the same approach to the he says, “and in pharma or other vation Fund in the US and its exist- of mobility issues, includ-
tion and technology demands of more commercial world of drug complex areas where you may not ing investors, such as iMinds and ing exposure to traffic pollu-
drug discovery. development. be an expert, you don’t always know Flemish investment companies Sofi tion. The other initiative will
Over time he saw that the challenge He set up Ontoforce in 2011, with the keywords.” and LRM. look for a link between envi-
was not so much devising new ways backing from Flemish technol- For this to work well, data from There is a strong interest from the ronment and health in elec-
of manipulating data, but connect- ogy agency IWT and public sector different sources has to be US, but Constandt will keep the tronic medical patient files. It
ing data created by different people research institute iMinds. The connected up, so that searches can company’s research and develop- will, for example, study causes
– biologists, chemists, clinicians, company’s first task was to convert see through differences in termi- ment in Flanders. “We are very behind large concentration of
toxicologists. “When you are the software built to sift school data nology when it comes to diseases, happy here. The talent is here, and cardiovascular diseases in
making a drug, everybody needs to into something more marketable. drugs, genes and so on. Ontoforce we can find the money we need. particular areas.
understand each other’s data, and “The engine I had made was built did this for the most significant It’s only sales that are going much
€12 million for green
it all has to work together,” he says. from open source components, public databases of medical, chem- faster in the US.”
heating projects
Flemish energy minister Bart
Q&a
Tommelein has put out a call
for projects concerning the
Kristof Rubens of the Flemish government’s environment, nature and Was there a difference between production of green energy,
energy department recently completed a project on consumer behav- the company canteen and the with €12 million set aside in
iour to find ways to promote environmentally conscious choices in supermarket? subsidies. Half of the total
supermarkets and canteens The effects on supermarket shop- will go to projects concern-
per were much higher. I think in the ing waste heat – the heat
retail context it is much easier to produced by other processes
What was the objective of the because those are two crucial say “sell less meat” or “buy seasonal such as machinery –which
project? food consumption patterns. vegetables” – which is what we want is either used for heating
I looked into how you can guide to achieve – but in a company restau- purposes within the company
the consumer to a more sustaina- What did you find? rant it’s quite different to choose the or injected into networks for
ble consumption pattern. The first At Colruyt, smaller portions of more environmentally sound dish. use by other companies or
focus is food, because this causes sausages were offered in addi- And it adds to the complexity if you private homes. Earmarked for
a lot of environmental impact. The tion to the existing range. Using combine the environmental with the geothermal energy is €4
classic approach is to inform the proven psychological influences, the health side of things. million, while €1 million each
consumer and run campaigns. like the option in the middle is the goes to small biomass plants
But shoppers make decisions very most popular, we managed to get What’s next? and to the production of bio-
fast – in a matter of seconds. This a shift in the consumer behaviour. Now that we know which interven- methane – gas produced
means that we have to try a differ- People bought 18% fewer kilo- season” in a central location, sales tions work, we want to implement from organic materials that
ent, complementary approach. grams of sausage, and they didn’t went up by 20 to 30%. And adding them for environmental purposes. has been cleaned and can be
So this brings us to the field compensate with other meat the suggestion “tasty in puree” We have to contact other retailers injected into the natural gas
of behavioural economics. We products. increased sales of celery root by and canteens. We will also start a network. Applications for
wanted to test the potential of It’s a very encouraging message one-quarter. These are very useful follow-up project that will investi- project subsidy are accepted
interventions like nudging in a and one that can also be used to applications because they don’t gate the long-term effects of these from 1 February to 15 March.
retail context, such as a supermar- sell seasonal vegetables. With involve a lot of thinking on the interventions. \ Andy Furniere
ket, and in a company canteen, the sign “Fruits and vegetables in part of the consumer. \ Interview by Hywel Jones
\ 7

\ eDuCaTIOn
january 18, 2017
Think global, act local Week in
edUcation
More students
organisations look for solutions to world’s development challenges
studying abroad
The number of Flemish
sofia christensen students travelling abroad to
More articles by sofia \ flanderstoday.eu study has increased by 80%
since 2006, according to Flem-
ish MP Jos De Meyer (CD&V) on
The government of Flanders next year-and-a-half. the basis of statistics provided
has awarded subsidies to “We really work from the bottom by education minister and
six projects that help solve up, starting with the asylum seek- party colleague Hilde Crevits.
some of the biggest development ers’ personal stories and sharing The figures were requested
challenges facing both Flanders them with other youngsters in a on the occasion of the 30th
and cities across the globe. Set creative way,” says Vervaele. “We anniversary of Erasmus+,
to begin this month and ranging wanted to do more than just create the EU’s student exchange
from sustainable school lunches another book on the challenges of programme. Many students
to interactive theatre, the projects migration, and thanks to the grant travel via Erasmus+, with the
are the winners of a call for we will now be able to operate on a most popular countries being
projects issued by the department wider and more professional level.” France and Spain. The major-
of foreign affairs last April. The four other proposals selected ity of students choosing to do
The Call for Global Challenges for government funding include part of their studies abroad
is the latest in a series of grants Maakbaar, a manufacturing design are enrolled in studies in the
announced by the government project by conservation organi- social sciences, business and
in 2005 for educational initia- sation Bos+ that aims to incor- law. The number of foreign
tives that “promote the creation of © Courtesy Vredeseilanden porate sustainable solutions into students coming to study in
support for international co-oper- Citizens for the Foodture, one of the six winning projects, brought consumers and retailers products, and GoodFood@School, Flanders also increased, from
together to find ways of promoting more sustainable food consumption
ation within the Flemish Commu- a counselling platform set up by 4,590 in 2012 to 7,702 last year.
nity and foster the development of for the Leuven-based non-profit real impact.” GoodPlanet Belgium for schools
an attitude of international soli- Vredeseilanden, which presented She also believes the Citizens for wishing to educate their pupils on ‘scrap newcomer
darity”. Subsidies were awarded one of the winning projects, Citi- the Foodture project stood out sustainable food choices.
fees for students’
annually until 2014, after which zens for the Foodture. because few initiatives provide The local chapter of the Food
budget constraints obliged the “We had already brought various accessible, on-the-ground Surplus Entrepreneurs Network Christian-democrats CD&V
government to shift the grant call agri-food chain actors together,” approaches to global challenges submitted a winning proposal for have suggested that Flanders
to a biannual basis. she continues, “when we realised – a feature shared by Peace Craft: an integrated platform of activities should exempt international
This latest call drew 33 applica- that consumers – the very people Play to Change, another winning that raises awareness and stim- students coming to the region
tions. Each was evaluated by a jury whose consumption patterns project presented by the Flemish ulates action against food waste, to attend college or university
of five from various departments determine what food ends up on chapter of the international peace while the youth organisation from the newcomer fee, which
and minister-president Geert the shelves – were being completely movement Pax Christi, in collabo- Globelink was selected for its initi- all foreigners from outside
Bourgeois. “Almost all the propos- excluded from these processes.” ration with the social innovation ative linking Flemish youth to civil the EU must pay to cover the
als were of very high quality,” said This realisation led to four sessions lab iDrops. society organisations to encourage administrative costs of their
the foreign affairs department in with consumers and retail- “We have been working with young their involvement in the sustaina- visa applications since last
a statement. “We had about €1 ers to think about how they can asylum seekers in Antwerp for ble development goals. year. Currently, only students
million to spend, so the selection contribute to the mainstream- several years and have collected Underlying all six proposals is the with a scholarship are
was not easy.” ing of sustainable food consump- many testimonies,” says Hanne concept of education as key to exempted from paying the fee.
Applications were mainly assessed tion. Together they came up with Vervaele, who runs U Move 4 Peace, developing a more inclusive and Last October, state secretary
on their ability to think outside the seven concrete ideas to be set up in the artistic department of Pax sustainable global society. for migration Theo Francken
box and their response to the prin- supermarkets across Flanders over Christi Vlaanderen. “We know that citizens are (N-VA) announced that the
ciple of “think global, act local”. the next two years. “Our idea is to use these stories concerned about the challenges fees would be raised. Accord-
Other selection criteria included “These ideas are meant to trigger a for two things,” she continues. facing our planet,” says Van ing to CD&V member of the
the quality of partnership – ideally shift in the consumption patterns “The first is to create a virtual real- Meulder. “They draw a link to food Flemish parliament Katrien
with some form of co-operation of mainstream consumers,” says ity game about life in the asylum consumption, but they don’t neces- Schyvers, students shouldn’t
with the private sector – target Van Meulder. “We are not targeting seekers’ country of origin and their sarily know what to do about it. have to pay any fee at all as it
group participation, implemen- ‘green consumers’ who are already journey to Europe. The second is This is where Citizens for the Food- hinders the internationalisa-
tation strategy and long-term convinced. If you consider the fact to hire professional actors for a ture steps in, providing concrete tion of higher education.
sustainability. that 70 to 80% of Belgians buy their participatory theatre play on the solutions and making it easier to
The winning proposals are highly groceries in supermarkets, that is struggles asylum seekers face here act responsibly.” Teaching vacancies
diverse but all promote active citi- where the leverage is.” in Belgium.” Vervaele builds on this idea, claim-
double to 1,000
zenship and provide an innovative, Van Meulder points out that her Both will be offered to high schools ing that educational projects such
local solution to a global challenge. organisation already works with and cultural centres as a package, as Play to Change help young The number of vacancies for
“Our goal is to promote sustainable the five largest supermarket chains where the game will be played in people relate to the images of refu- teachers in Flemish schools
food consumption in supermar- in the country: Lidl, Carrefour, preparation for a theatre work- gees they see on TV. “It gives a face more than doubled in one
kets by linking retailers directly Aldi, Delhaize and Cora. “If we can shop. Demand is high, with 60 to the story, creates mutual under- year’s time, from 450 in Octo-
with consumers,” says Liesbeth change their food offer to a more performances to be scheduled in standing and provides a rehearsal ber 2015 to more than 1,016
Van Meulder, programme advisor sustainable one, then we have a schools across Flanders over the for life.” a year later. The number of
job-seeking teachers in the
same period decreased by
Agreement reached on reform of secondary education 14%, from 4,672 to just under
4,100. Experts have predicted
that by 2024 about 10% more
The government of Flanders has reached an should make it easier for students to change teachers will be needed than
agreement on secondary education reform. from a practice-oriented programme to a more in 2014, or 6,000 more teach-
The current 29 study areas in the second grade theoretical one if they choose. ers per school year. Educa-
(third and fourth years) and the third grade Each stream of study will have a “curriculum tion minister Crevits said that
(fifth and sixth years) will be replaced by eight dossier” stating its goals, which education this evolution is being caused
study domains, including “art & creation”. The networks will create together. As a result, the by a combination of more
division between general (ASO), technical (TSO) programme content should be more aligned in students and retiring teach-
and professional education (BSO) remains in different networks, making it easier for students ers. There is still a surplus of
place. to change networks. The government hopes to some 3,000 qualified teachers
One of the main goals of the reform is to make © rob stevens/ku leuven introduce the new system on 1 September 2018. seeking work; while there is a
the range of options more transparent for pupils education minister Hilde Crevits Lieven Boeve, head of the Catholic education shortage of teachers for maths
and parents, with study programmes that have been removed. network, has stated that he is dissatisfied with and technical courses, for
prepare students for higher education or the In the first grade, students will receive a the lack of reduction of programmes in ASO. instance, there are too many
labour market, or keep both options open. One broader general education. They will choose a Raymonda Verdyck, head of the GO! network, for physical education and
in four of the study programmes in the second study domain in the second grade and refine said that students still have to make important history. \ AF
grade and one in 10 of those in the third grade their choice in the third grade. The new system study choices too early. \ Andy Furniere
\ 9
\ lIVInG
Week in Building blocks
activitieS
VeloFollies
lunch with an architect discusses quality of architecture in Brussels
No matter what kind of bike
you ride, you won’t want to
miss the biggest cycling expo laurens Bouckaert
in the Benelux. Meet the big More articles by laurens \ flanderstoday.eu luncHwitHanarcHitEct.BE
names in person, like Sven
Nys, Greg van Avermaet and
Fabian Cancellara. Try out a Despite its name, Lunch with an Architect
new bike, get the latest gear has little to do with the conventional
and learn from the experts. midday meal. The series, which began
There’s even an MTB ride in 2015 in Brussels, is actually a two-hour
on Saturday. 20-22 January, conference by a renowned architect, organised
Kortrijk Expo, Doorniksesteen- around noon. (But don’t worry: a meal, albeit a
weg 216, Kortrijk; €14 small one, is provided.)
\ velofollies.be Taking place three times a year, the series is
targeted at real estate professionals, archi-
tects and academics and aims to be a forum
for reflection and discussion on improving the
MTB ride in Damme
quality of architecture in Brussels. According
For the 22nd annual Damse to its mission statement, it serves as a “window
Smokkeltocht, there are three on the major contemporary events in the world
routes to choose from, suit- of architecture, the more specifically Belgian
able for both beginners and issues, and the emblematic projects under way”.
experienced mountain bikers. “Through these conferences,” explains series
The routes take you through founder Kathleen Iweins, “we try to influence
the polders and along the both society’s and policymakers’ views on archi-
canals, right up to the Dutch tecture.” By working closely with the arts centre
border. 21 January 8.30-14.00, Flagey, the architecture faculty at La Cambre
Sportpark Meuleweg, Visser- Horta and the City of Brussels, she continues,
straat 2A, Damme; €3 “we can arrange meetings between architects
\ sintritatrappers.be and future policymakers”.
Before last year’s conference with the Norwe- © Courtesy lunch with an architect
gian collaborative workshop Snøhetta, for Xaveer De Geyter of the Brussels-based XDGa architecture firm leads a previous session of lunch with an architectw
example, Iweins organised a meeting between
winter walk & Tipple
the Norwegian architects and the cabinet of Like Aires Mateus, the previous guests are all Who else is the series hoping to profile? “That
This annual walk takes you Brussels minister-president Rudi Vervoort. The internationally renowned. “The whole concept has got to be the Paris-based Lacaton & Vassal,”
to the top of the Bolder- group visited the empty Citroën garage, which is is based around international architects who says Iweins. “They have a brilliant concept for
berg hill in Limburg, with its going to be repurposed as a museum of modern design buildings all over the world, fitting with social housing, one that is actually attainable
panoramic view over Terlae- arts. a global profile” of the project, explains Iweins. in Brussels. They always reuse existing build-
men Castle. From there, step Iweins, who studied economics at the University ings and constructions, and in most cases add
into the ancient stone chapel of Leuven, previously worked for De Tijd and the gardens. That would be great for the social
for a choral performance of Boston Consulting Group, before transitioning housing blocks in the Brussels-Capital Region.”
hymns and psalms. Outside, to real estate. With her business partner, Nath- In Bordeaux, for example, the studio refur-
treat yourself to a mulled alie Saverys, she started the public relations bished 530 apartment units, equipping the
We try to influence
wine or local spirits, hot choc- agency Forum Press & Communication in 2006. tower blocks with winter gardens and generous
olate and hot dogs. 22 Janu- The agency’s first series of lectures, called Buil- balconies.
both society’s and
ary, starting at 14.00, Toerisme dreen, focused on sustainable construction and That choice demonstrates the social spirit
Heusden-Zolder, Vrunstraat 6; ran from 2007 to 2014. behind the Lunch with an Architect. If anything,
policymakers’ views
free Lunch with an Architect’s next guest speaker is says Iweins, architecture has an important
\ vzw-toerisme-heus- the expressive-minimalist Manuel Aires Mateus, on architecture social role to play in cities of the future, and it
den-zolder.be one of the two brothers behind the Lisbon- could prove to be a solution to many of Brus-
based Aires Mateus studio. In Belgium, the sels’ problems.
Portuguese architect is best known for design-
Bright Brussels winter ing the University of Architecture in Tournai. In addition to Snøhetta, represented by Jenny
He is also behind the Olivier-Debré contempo- Osuldsen, previous speakers include Japanese 23 january 12.00-14.00
During the winter months, rary arts centre in Tours, France. “His studio has architect (and prolific writer) Kengo Kuma,
the capital’s inner ring is illu- its own distinct style and places high value on Xaveer De Geyter of the Brussels-based XDGA Flagey
minated with colourful light simplicity and purity,” says Iweins. and Winy Maas of the Dutch studio MVRDV. Heilig-Kruisplein, Brussels
installations at all of the main
squares and junctions: giant
bite
desk lamps on Luxemburg-
plein, a disco ball at Poelaert-
momo brings tibetan dumplings to Brussels
plein. Check online for mo-mo.Eu
descriptions of all the loca-
tions, or just start exploring. The name says it all: the menu at Momo revolves and continuously try to adapt to the taste of my
Until 5 February, across Brus- completely around one signature dish – momos, clients, but wheat flour dough is the one thing
sels; free the Tibetan take on dumplings. Opened three that’s obligatory.”
\ visit.brussels years ago, the unassuming but friendly Brussels This is also the reason why momos are a bit more
eatery has become a bit of an institution as one filling and heavier than other Asian dumplings –
of Elsene’s major lunch bars, attracting an inter- a sort of healthy comfort food, if you will. Char-
Family skating national crowd that appreciates the healthy, acteristic for the Tibetan dish is also a certain
authentic and vegetarian-friendly dish. restraint when it comes to spices: onions, ginger
On Sunday mornings, parents The place is run by Lhamo, a 39-year-old daugh- and salt suffice.
can go ice skating with their ter of Tibetan exiles. A former political scientist, While in Tibet momos are generally filled with
kids for a special family price she left office life behind to open her own busi- © Courtesy Momo meat, Lhamo also serves vegetarian and vegan
that includes skate rental. ness without any prior experience in the restau- they are not easy to make and it takes quite interpretations, following local demand. “This is
Sleds are allowed on the ice, rant industry. some time to prepare them, we only make them probably the biggest adjustment I had to make,”
too! Afterwards, enjoy a free About to open a second branch in Sint-Gillis, on special occasions, and then the whole family she explains. “It’s a bit of a fusion between Tibetan
drink in the cafeteria. Until 21 Lhamo is driven by the idea to introduce Brussels participates and cooks together. It’s an important and Western cuisine.”
May, Sport Vlaanderen Liede- to the delicious speciality from her home country, tradition.” At lunch, there’s only one option: steamed momos,
kerke, Sportlaan 1, Liedekerke; which she prepares just the way her family taught But how are Tibetan dumplings different from, locally grown organic vegetables and a soup, but
€17 her growing up. say, a Chinese dumpling? According to Lhamo, the evening menu allows you to discover different
\ tinyurl.com/familyskating “I don’t think there’s a single Tibetan who doesn’t the dough is key. “Momos need to be made from variations, from fried dumplings to momo salads,
know how to make momos”, she says. “Because wheat flour,” she says. “I test a lot of new things soups and even a dessert version. \ Sarah Schug
\ 10