Good news for VorstGerman car manufacturer Audi has announced that it will build its new electric car in its Brussels factory\ 6 \ 7 \ 11

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january 27, 2016 \ newsweekly - € 0,75 \ rEad morE at www.flandErstoday.Eu

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A new, large-scale project is wiring up much of Antwerp so that researchers, companies and policymakers can test digital products and services in real-life conditions

You might not notice it happening, but Antwerp is turning into a laboratory. The fabric of the city is being wired up so that new ideas for digital products

and services can be tested in real-life conditions. People are also participating, becoming voluntary guinea pigs in experiments that aim to improve urban life.The project is called the City of Things, a reference to the Internet of Things, the idea that everyday objects can be made to communicate across digital networks. For instance, cars will be able to communicate with each other and with traffic management systems about the congestion they are experiencing. Public waste bins will be smart enough to phone home when they need emptying, and smart pill cases will warn an elderly person’s caregiver when they have forgotten to take their medicine.

The idea behind the City of Things is to offer Antwerp as a testing ground for these kinds of ideas, whether they come from academic researchers, start-up companies or more established businesses. “We want to explore, together with the city, how you can use this data generated by smart objects to improve the city, and how we can open it up to start-ups and citizens,” says Davor Meersman, strategic leader of the City of Things project. The smart objects he is talking about might be machines, like cars, or sensors distributed around town recording things like air quality and temperature. But they can also be people, thanks to the smartphones in almost everyone’s pockets. The way people move through the city, and the information they supply about what they’re doing, can also become part of the system.Meersman is part of iMinds, the digital research centre that brings together digitally minded academics from the universities of Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Hasselt and Leuven. Some 20 of its people are currently working directly

on the City of Things project. Experts from Antwerp University are working on the hard-ware necessary to get the project up and running, while researchers from Ghent University are overseeing data handling. The Free University of Brussels (VUB) is covering public participation in the project and also looking at busi-ness models for the internet of things.The first priority has been to establish the networks that allow objects to communicate. Rather than pick one stand-ard, such as wi-fi, Bluetooth or the networks used by smart-phones, the researchers decided to combine all of these protocols (and more) in a single Internet of Things gateway connected to the city’s fibre optic network. Getting these different systems to work side by side, without interfering with each other or tripping each other up, was not easy. For a while, the project held its breath. “But now we have installed our very first gateway, it is oper-ational, and we have validated the architecture,” says Bart Braem, technology lead for the project. “Now we are certain

continued on page 5

diGi-what?Flemish research centre iMinds has released its annual survey and claims we’re suffering from “digibesity”

the deVil’s BellDid you know that there is a bell cast by the devil in Leuven? And a haunted tower in Zichem? Don’t miss our new series on Mysterious Flanders

Smart and the citynew project transforms antwerp into massive digital laboratory

© Courtesy iMinds

ian mundellfollow Ian on Twitter \ @IanMundell

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\ CurrenT aFFaIrs

People in Flanders are buying fewer diesel cars, according to car registrations during the first 20 days of the year. Since 1 January, the Flemish government’s

fiscal system concerning the sale of cars has changed in support of more environmentally friendly alternatives. Buyers must now pay higher taxes for a car running on diesel, less for a car that runs on petrol and no taxes on electric cars or those that run on natural gas, which also attract a subsidy of up to €5,000.In the first 20 days of 2016, individuals and companies regis-tered 3,679 new diesel cars, not including lease vehicles,

compared to 6,247 in the same period last year. The total number of registrations also decreased by 15% on last year. Motor industry federation Febiac suspects the fiscal meas-ures encouraged many people to buy a diesel before the new legislation was introduced. Figures from the lease car market, which traditionally favours diesel cars, are not yet known. Lease cars are not eligible for the subsidy on electric cars. Support for electric cars is having a positive, if still limited, effect. The number of electric cars registered in the first 20 days of January has more than doubled, from 38 last year to 90 this year.

Diesel cars out of favour after tax changes, sales on cars that run on diesel down by 41% in flanders

sightings of deer in the Sonien Forest in 2015, down from 108 in 2014 and 154 in 2013. According to researchers, the growing density of groundcover is a hindrance for the deer population

trains went through a red light in 2015, up from 66 in 2014 and the worst result in five years, accord-ing to rail company Infrabel, which stressed that the total number of journeys is 1.3 million

of hotels in the capital suffered a serious loss of business during the terrorist lockdown in November. Half of all businesses suffered a loss of more than 20% of income.

abandoned cars found in the waterways of Flanders managed by De Scheepvaart in 2015, up from 33 in 2014. The company manages 316km of canals in Antwerp and Limburg provinces

minutes to raise €1 million in financing by Brussels-based MyMi-croinvest, a crowd-funding plat-form, which held a live event to raise money for its own operations. The final total came to €1.6 million

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Bruges city council has approved a proposal to close the main streets in the city centre to traffic on Saturdays and on each first Sunday of the month. The plan takes force on 1 February. The main shopping streets have been bus-free since 1 January, after routes were amended in agreement with De Lijn.The first weekend affected is 6 and 7 Febru-ary, which will see the city centre's main streets – Steenstraat, Geldmuntstraat, Noordzandstraat and Zuidzandstraat – closed to motorised traffic from 10.00 to 18.00. The ban also applies to the familiar horse-drawn carriages carrying tourists.The streets affected lead directly to the city's historic centre. Tourists lodging in the centre can obtain a permit to drive to and

from their hotels. Permits are also avail-able for persons of limited mobility, and residents can obtain a temporary permit to use the streets when necessary. “With these measures we hope to make the new pedestrian zone in the city centre a safe and peaceful place for everyone,” said mobility alderwoman Annick Lambrecht.The car-free weekends are part of a larger pedestrian plan in the city, which will also see a complete reconstruction of the major square ’t Zand, located next to the Concert-gebouw. A mosaic will be created on the square, which will be completely open, with the central fountain being moved to another location. Once the Zand project is complete, cars will no longer be able to drive around the square. \ Alan Hope

Bruges bans traffic from main shopping streets on weekends

Thirty years after he founded the Troubleyn theatre and dance company, Jan Fabre, one of Flanders’ most famous living artists, is celebrating with a year of events. Many will be held in the former Ring Theatre in Antwerp’s Seefhoek neighbourhood, which Fabre acquired in 2007. The building, now called Troubleyn/Laboratorium, houses a team of 20 performers and provides Fabre with the space he needs for his multidisciplinary work.First up is the launch of The Box – a set of 17 CDs containing five documentaries about the artist and 12 performances, all filmed since 2000. Next month comes the publication of Trou-bleyn/Laboratorium. Illustrated with numerous photos, the book provides a glimpse into the company’s operations over the past decade.In September, Fabre will become the first living artist to hold a solo show at the famous Hermitage Museum in Saint Peters-burg, Russia. The installation will occupy 30 rooms and was

personally commissioned by the museum’s director, Mikhail Piotrovsky. The exhibition will be curated by Dimitri Ozerkov, who was in charge of the recent renovation of the Hermitage’s contemporary art wing.

In November and December, attention turns back to Trou-bleyn/Laboratorium with two events: Fabre meets Kantor and Nachtschrijver (Night Writer). The first is a homage to Tade-usz Kantor (1915-1990), Fabre’s teacher and an internation-ally renowned artist. It will include an exhibition of Kantor’s paintings and drawings, a film evening, workshop and a symposium.Nachtschrijver will see three actors bring Fabre’s idea-universe to life. The performance is based around Nachtboek I (1978-84) and Nachtboek II (1985-91) in which Fabre collected his ideas, inventions, discoveries and confessions as his imagi-nation kept him awake at night. Fabre’s monumental 24-hour performance piece, Mount Olympus: To Glorify the Cult of Tragedy (pictured), also contin-ues its tour of major cities this year. Performances are sched-uled in Antwerp this month and Brussels in September, and both are already sold out. \ Dan Smith

Jan Fabre’s company Troubleyn celebrates 30th anniversary

andy furniereMore articles by andy \ flanderstoday.eu

© Ingimage

Police in Sint-Gillis in Brussels are plan-ning to file a complaint against a Brit-ish student who reported he had been violently assaulted by local officers. Elliot Meredith, 21, wrote on Facebook last week: “After a work night out whilst ordering food in a take-away on Sunday morning, I was violently arrested, taken to a police station and systematically physically and mentally abused over a two-hour period before being released without even being questioned or charged with a crime.” He went on to describe how he was beaten and humil-iated while handcuffed. He also posted photos showing facial injuries. The story was picked up by the media, by which time Meredith had

returned to the UK and left the case in the hands of his lawyer. “We are becom-ing more and more convinced that he is exaggerating,” said Charles Picqué, mayor of Sint-Gillis. “It looks as if the young man started the violence himself, so we’re planning to file a complaint.” Meredith hit one of the officers, said Picqué, to the extent that he had to take several days off work.Brussels MP Johan Van den Driessche said: “The allegations have to be inves-tigated to the fullest, and if they appear to be accurate, we must also see how a climate is able to be created within the police force where this sort of inhuman behaviour is allowed to exist.” \ AH

Police to file complaint against British student who alleged assault

january 27, 2016

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face of flanders

Every year, the Flemish Associa-tion for Management and Policy gives out a prize for the govern-ment manager of the year to recognise the work of a senior civil servant. This year’s prize goes, rather unusually, to an offi-cial of the European Union.

Jos Delbeke has been direc-tor-general for climate action since 2010. The title somewhat disguises the fact that, as the main negotiator in all of the EU’s talks with other countries within the United Nations’ climate conferences, he’s a strong contender as the most impor-tant civil servant in the world. Not bad for a Leuven graduate in economics who, when he joined the commission in 1986, never gave much of a second thought to the environment. His first job was in social affairs. “When I switched to environ-ment it was a new chapter that had just been added to the Treaty of Rome,” he told the University of Leuven’s newspaper back in 2012. “Now everyone takes it for

granted that all EU states need to work together.” The award praises him for his management qualities, his scien-tific approach – he was among the first to apply cost-bene-fit analysis to environmental policy – and the drive he applies

to his work. He’s also an innova-tor, who more or less created the system of trade in carbon diox-ide emissions rights, which has been shown to provide bene-fits where it is applied correctly. (There have also been abuses.)In a recent interview with De Standaard, he turned his view from the wider world to Flan-ders and the government’s envi-ronmental performance. “It’s a pity we’re not front-runners because some Flemish busi-nesses certainly are,” he said. “Imec is a leader in the technol-ogy of solar panels, and Hansen Transmissions are in the same position with wind turbines. An ambitious climate policy abso-lutely doesn’t work against a healthy economy.” \ Alan Hope

Jos delbeke

It’s been said that the annual cele-bration of Carnival, for the people of the East Flanders city of Aalst, is as serious as a religion. In fact, it’s much more important than that. Take the case of Christophe Corthals, known as Cali, who entered the competition to be named this year’s Prins Carnaval – the master of ceremonies for the gigantic celebration Aalst puts on. Cali took the contest so seriously he gave up his job as a bricklayer to devote himself full time, and by his own estimation spent €20,000 on lost income and expenses. It came right down to the wire, like in a movie, but he was pipped

at the post and lost to the favour-ite, Dennis De Wolf, by only four points. It was the smallest winning margin in the contest’s history. But Cali was so unwilling to admit defeat that he applied to consult the written test paper which had been his downfall. Accompa-nied by a bailiff, he discovered one question had been marked as wrong, when in fact, he says, his answer was correct. What is a new carnival event referred to? “Eerste Nacht van de Toezichters” (First Night of the Supervisors) or simply “Nacht van de Toezichters”. Cali wrote the former. The jury said the latter.

Cali says that he deserves the five points the question was worth, which would put him one point ahead of Dennis. He is currently seeking legal advice and then will decide whether to file an official complaint. \ AH

carnivalesque offside

weeK in BriefThe government of Flanders has made €11 million available for urban renewal projects across the region. Applicant municipali-ties are asked to consider sustain-ability and architectural quality in their proposals.

Iodine pills, which help prevent thyroid cancer, should be distrib-uted to everyone in Belgium in the event of a nuclear accident, and the area around the plant in which residents should stay indoors needs to be extended from a radius of 10 to 20 kilometres, according to the scientific committee of the federal nuclear safety regulator, Fanc. The regulator stressed that the advice is not related to recent events in the nuclear industry.

Goonawarra, one of the two koalas in Antwerp Zoo, has died following a brief illness. The 11-year-old male became ill and refused to eat. Goon-awarra transferred to the zoo from Planckendael last summer, together with partner Guwara, leaving their son Oobi Ooobi behind to be mated when a suitable female arrives. Koalas in captivity mate with diffi-culty, but Planckendael has had nine healthy births since 1998.

Vilvoorde mayor Hans Bonte has threatened to boycott the anti-terror plan announced by home affairs minister Jan Jambon unless his city receives extra police and resources. Jambon’s Canal Plan covers seven Brussels districts, including Sint-Gillis, Anderlecht and Molenbeek as well as Vilvoorde. The plan involves carrying out house checks and a campaign to rein back the black economy. Bonte warned his city would withhold the expertise it has built up over the years on radicalised youth and Syria-fighters unless his demands were met.

A 34-year-old American woman who became known as the Horror Nanny has been sentenced to four years in prison, three of them

suspended, for breaking the wrists of two children she was employed to look after during a family holiday in Knokke. Aubrey Alta Anderson, was originally convicted in absen-tia and sentenced to four years without suspension. The case was reheard by a Bruges court after she voluntarily returned to Belgium.

Shipping police last week detained four men suspected of transport-ing cocaine using a sports fish-ing boat off the coast of Nieuw-poort. Traces of cocaine were found on €10,000 in cash discovered on the boat after it ran aground. Less than a week before, another four anglers were rescued off Zeebrugge during a storm, when more than 100kg of cocaine was discovered. Police are investigating a possible link between the two cases.

Ten shopping areas in Brussels will receive their own promotional campaign, in the ongoing effort by Brussels tourism agency Visit Brus-sels to improve the city’s image following last year’s links to terror attacks. The agency will spend €400,000 on ideas voted on by the public for promotional efforts in shopping streets in the city centre. The first ideas will be up for a vote in March.

Taxi unions, employers and govern-ment inspectors have reached what one union representative called “a historic agreement” to combat social and fiscal fraud and create a “level playing field” in the taxi sector. The agreement was arrived at after news that inspectors found that 27% of taxi drivers had not paid proper social security taxes in 2014. Uber was not represented in the agreement; according to secretary of state for fighting social fraud, Bart Tommelein, his office will begin talks with the alternative taxi service.

Prime minister Charles Michel has announced the birth of a daugh-ter, Jeanne, born on Thursday to his

partner Amelie Derbaudrenghien. Michel, who has a teenage son from a previous relationship, is the first serving prime minister to become a father while in office. Michel, who is also the country’s young-est prime minister ever, cancelled a visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos for the birth.

Queen Mathilde has been officially installed as a UN ambassador for sustainable development. The ceremony was carried out by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week. Others given the title were Argentinean footballer Lionel Messi, Colombian pop singer Shakira and American actor Forest Whitaker.

Home affairs minister Jan Jambon has confirmed an investigation into the contract for the construc-tion of a new prison in Brussels-City. The contract was awarded to the consortium Cafasso by the federal buildings agency, but when an MP asked to see the papers, he was told no written contract exists. The plans for the prison have been heavily criticised by locals and envi-ronmental organisations. The deal was made in 2013, before Jambon and his party took office. “We have nothing to hide,” he said last week. “We are co-operating with full transparency.”

Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois is looking into chang-ing the formula of the Flemish Community Day celebrations, according to a letter from parlia-ment chair Jan Peumans leaked to the news agency Belga. According to the letter, Bourgeois would like to change the venue from Brus-sels city hall to somewhere more Flemish, such as the Royal Flemish Theatre (KVS). At present, the 11 July ceremony in city hall involves a speech by Peumans and a reply from one of the aldermen of the city. The idea will be examined by the Flemish parliament’s steering committee.

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© Cali (left) and the ultimate winner, Dennis De wolf

An ambitious climate policy doesn’t work against a healthy economy

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\ POlITICs

never let me goFlanders’ minister-president Geert Bourgeois (N-VA) would like the official reception on 11 July, Flemish Community Day, to move out of Brussels’ city hall to a different location. The building has become too small, he said. Bourgeois’ idea was rejected by all other parties, though. The location, they argued, is symbolic. Flanders’ relationship with Brussels – the capital not just of Belgium but also of Flanders – is rather complex. The offi-cial, political line has always been that Flanders “will not let go of Brussels”. This oft-used phrase does not refer to split-ting up the country, but rather to a protectiveness towards the Flemish minority in the capital. The multicultural and multi-lingual capital was originally a Flemish city, with a Dutch dialect as its language. Like in many European capitals, French became en vogue as it was the language used at court. In the 19th and 20th centu-ries, switching to French was a means to social promotion. Those Flemish that held on to their language were viewed as uneducated and backwards, and they suffered unequal treatment at the hands of the authorities. An emancipation struggle, in which Flanders “would not let go of Brussels”, has changed all that. Now, some would say, the tables have turned, with the Dutch speakers being among the city’s most trendsetting. Brussels is a region unto itself, but its Dutch speakers are very much part of the official Flemish Community, which has its own schools, cultural and welfare institutions in the capital. The rights of the Flem-ish political minority are firmly protected – and the annual reception at city hall proves it. Enjoying the fruits of a struggle they did not have to fight them-selves, the Flemish in Brussels have begun to relax about their identity and the use of Dutch. They are urban dwellers first and foremost, using whatever language suits the situation. This sets them off from the rest of the Flemish. People from the capital often consider themselves great cosmopolitans and tend to look down on other Flemings’ presumed narrow-minded-ness. To many people in Flan-ders, Brusselaars are like crea-tures from another planet, and they are stunned at the ease with which the people that once needed protection drop their native tongue. In this respect, there is a lot they can learn from each other. Maybe that is the best reason for Flanders to not let go of Brussels. \ Anja Otte

5th colUMn Harsh audit for NMBSgovernment’s court of auditors takes rail authority to task

The federal government’s Court of Auditors, which scrutinises all expenditures, is about to produce a report severely criticising the national rail authority NMBS and the rail infra-structure company Infrabel, according to an advance copy obtained by the daily newspaper Le Soir. The audit was requested by the federal parlia-ment’s infrastructure committee in order to examine the various obligations of the two government enterprises in return for the subsi-dies they receive.

The court of auditors found “dozens” of areas where the two enterprises failed to meet their obligations, including quality of service. The NMBS failed, the audit said, to take account of complaints from the committee of rail users. The NMBS was also lax in providing information to the government’s mobility ministry under claims that the information was confidential or commercially sensitive. The report also cites a failure of the rail authori-ties to keep up checks on infrastructure and roll-ing stock as a result of shortages of manpower.

Brussels Airport should scan the faces of all passengers travelling to or from a country outside the Schengen zone, according to home affairs minister Jan Jambon. Jambon’s proposal, which he was due to present to his EU counterparts as Flanders Today went to press, aims to tighten up security against criminals and those travelling to fight in Syria. Every day, about 46,000 passengers pass through the six automatic secu-rity gates equipped with facial recognition scanners. These compare the photo on a passenger’s passport with a scan of their face. The equipment is also able to compare the scan to a database of photos of wanted criminals, including those returning from having fought in Syria. “Criminals seek the line of least resistance,” a spokesperson for Jambon said. “That forces us to close every gap we can find. At airports, that’s rela-tively easy, compared, for example, to land borders.”In March, another 18 scanners will be installed, a development welcomed by unions representing security personnel, which are also demanding additional personnel. If more criminals are detected by the scanners, union representative Kurt Callaert said, more staff will be required to deal with them. Jambon’s proposal also requires the approval of the EU, as a policy of systematic checks on EU citizens is not in keeping with rules on free movement. According to Jambon’s office, there is already a consensus in favour among other interior ministers. \ AH

Jambon asks EU for more facial screening at Brussels Airport

Flemish culture minister Sven Gatz has announced the latest round of project subsidies granted by his office. Project subsidies – distinct from structural subsidies, which keep cultural companies alive with longer-term support – consist in this round of 74 grants to organisations or indi-vidual artists, for a total value of €2.27 million. The department known as stage arts, which includes theatre and caba-ret, expressed its disappointed with the grants. Gatz had said he would be tough on that sector, to allow more room to finance other fields such as visual arts, which have historically received lower subsidies. Only projects that were rated by the culture ministry’s committees as “very good” on an artistic and business basis received a grant, in each case equivalent to the lowest amount in a range suggested by the committees. Only four organisations received more than €100,000: music house Silence Fini, prose, poetry and theatre festival Feel Estate and music festi-val Boomtown, all in Ghent, and a project at the Free University of Brus-sels (VUB). Theatre director Miet Warlop receives €99,000. Other highly regarded companies have not been granted anything. The current round concerns only companies that receive no structural subsidy, and according to Bart Caron (Groen), chair in the Flemish parlia-ment of the culture committee, Gatz’s subsidy policy is missing its target. “Project subsidies are a long way from providing the innovation the arts sector needs,” he said. “Young artists are being left out in the cold. If there is no drastic change to the relationship between structural and project subsidies, then we are on our way to creating an extremely conservative sector,” he said. \ AH

Culture sector unhappy with latest subsidies

The Flemish Council for Animal Welfare, an advisory body to the government of Flanders, has held its first session. The Council was established last year, after animal welfare became the responsibil-ity of the regions rather than the state. According to a statement, all stakeholders are represented in the new council, including veterinarians, industry, consum-ers and animal rights workers. Two changes from the previous federal council are representa-tives from animal shelters and the retail sector.The council includes animal shel-ter representatives from each province as they often have differ-ent priorities. Limburg, for exam-ple, has trouble with neglect of horses, while cattle are a huge industry in West Flanders.The retail sector is also repre-sented for the first time, through the trade federation Comeos. This sector can play an impor-tant role, according to Flem-

ish animal welfare minister Ben Weyts. “Think, for example, of supermarket chains that don’t sell battery eggs or meat from castrated pigs,” he said.Chair of the council is science and ethics professor Dirk Lips of the University of Leuven, who previ-ously chaired the federal council. Together with four other scien-tists, his task is to ensure that the advice of the body is scientifically founded.Weyts is expecting that the council will make help make Flanders a European frontrun-ner in animal welfare issues. \ AF

First Flemish Council for Animal Welfare launched

Flemish education minis-ter Hilde Crevits is preparing a major action plan to reduce red tape in education. Teachers and school directors are devoting too much of their time to administra-tion, leaving too little time for the business of teaching and guid-ance, she said.About a year ago, the minis-ter launched Operation Tarra to investigate the problem. The government asked the educa-tion sector to submit ideas for improvement, which resulted in about 700 proposals and remarks. Education staff complained about the vagueness and exces-sive number of eindtermen – the final requirements for students to graduate – and frequently chang-ing regulations, such as those on internships and safety measures.All the proposals have been collected under seven themes, including curricula, digitali-sation, career trajectories and inspections. This will lead to a concrete action plan by this summer, Crevits said.The government of Flanders will also take schools into account

when amending or implement-ing new regulations outside of education, Crevits said. Making regulations “school-proof ” means that the impact on schools will be considered when taking decisions. The government also wants to make sure that educa-tion staff don’t have to report to multiple government depart-ments. Crevits pointed to several meas-ures to reduce red tape that have already been taken. The govern-ment recently digitised wage slips and abolished the require-ment of doctor’s notes to battle “luxury truancy” – the custom of children being absent from the last day or days before a school holiday because of family trips. \ Andy Furniere

Crevits preparing action plan to reduce red tape in education

alan hopeMore articles by alan \ flanderstoday.eu

© yves Herman/reuters/Corbis

© Hero Images/Corbis

© Courtesy Ingimage

january 27, 2016

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Getting smart in the citycity of things asks residents of antwerp to act as guinea pigs in digital project

continued from page 1

we can move ahead.” The goal is to deploy 100 of these gateways, allowing information to pass in and out of the system anywhere in the city.The gateways will also evolve as new standards become availa-ble and ideas change about which protocol is the best for smart city applications such as these. “It might not even have been invented yet,” says Braem. “And in that respect we’re trying to be as flex-ible as possible and to make sure we can include the newest tech-nologies and enable experimen-tation.”Meanwhile, the City of Things is also installing its own LoRa network, a kind that can cover a wide area but demands very little energy from the devices that connect with it. As such, it is ideal for picking up signals from small sensors, able to run off a simple battery for months or even years.“I always compare it to a cellular network,” says Braem. “It allows us to have a better coverage of the city for all kinds of things at these very low-power consumption rates.” The LoRa network will eventually cover an area of 80 square kilome-tres.People are another important element of the City of Things, turn-ing it into a “living lab” by agree-ing to participate in tests of new digital products and services. One source of these people is the tele-phone company Mobile Vikings, which is a partner in the City of Things project. It encourages its users to volunteer as guinea pigs to try out new apps or partici-pate in projects, such as agreeing to have their locations tracked as they cross the city.Even though such people are involved on a voluntary basis, close attention is payed to privacy in the project. A team of experts from the universities of Ghent, Brus-sels and Leuven have prepared a privacy impact assessment, and their recommendations have been passed on to the engineers so that privacy protection is designed into the system.“I really wanted to get that right,” says Meersman. “All the informa-tion will be anonymous. It will be impossible to infer who somebody is based on, for example, putting different data sources together.” Similarly, if someone who partic-ipates in the living lab wants to stop, they can either bank their data for future use, or take it away. “It’s going to be a very transpar-ent and user-friendly approach to privacy.”Companies interested in testing their ideas in the City of Things will start to get involved from this summer. The project is open to suggestions, but it also has EU funding to spend on commission-

ing companies, and in particu-lar start-ups, to address strategic priorities related to mobility and the city’s port. This is part of a wider EU initia-tive called Select for Cities, which involves Antwerp, Copenhagen and Helsinki. Over the next three years, the cities have a total of €5.6 million to spend.Meanwhile, some early test cases are shaping up. The first comes from Rombit, a local start-up that won the Apps for Antwerp compe-tition in 2015 with A*Sign, which

wants to improve temporary park-ing restrictions in the city.At present, if someone wants the parking suspended in front of their house to accommodate a moving van, for example, they are given a pair of metal signboards to mark off the space. These often disap-pear in the course of their service, sometimes reappearing later in less formal attempts to manipu-late parking. This costs the city money, and confuses the public.Rombit’s idea is to computer-ise the whole system and make it

possible to book parking suspen-sions online and to check where they are in force. The signboards themselves will be equipped with screens to show the period that the parking is restricted and a location device to ensure that it is

in the right place. This device will also help track down wandering signs.The City of Things will help test the system in several ways. Partic-ipants in the living lab will give their feedback on the website and apps, while prototype signs can be tested using digital networks that are already deployed in the city for water metering. If it works as planned, Rombit hopes to offer the system to other Belgian cities as well.Another project that is just getting under way involves equip-ping Bpost delivery vehicles with sensors to measure air quality in real time as they pass through the city. This is being developed with Brussels start-up Communithings.“The idea would be to deploy that

on a larger scale so that you would have vehicles driving around the city measuring air quality on a continual basis,” Meersman explains. “Then policymakers, researchers and companies can use this data to make decisions, to

develop new products, to suggest improvements and so on.”Meanwhile, in the port there is a plan to design drones – light, unmanned flying machines – that can offer assistance during emer-gencies. “Let’s say there is an explosion in a chemical installa-tion,” Meersman says. “The drone can fly there and with its camera start informing the emergency services that are on their way.” Each drone will also have one of the City of Things gateways on board. “Through the gateway, it can pick up signals from sensors on the ground regarding the type of gas cloud emanating from the site.” This project, which is already under way, is being developed by Rombit and telecoms company Mobistar.

\ COVer sTOry

iminds.BE

Policymakers, researchers and companies can use this data to make decisions

© Courtesy stamp Media

© Benoit Vermeeren/Take Off antwerp

residents are involved in The City of Things on a voluntary basis, and all the information gathered will be anonymous

From left: jorik rombouts, Olivier Deckers and ramses Zeulevoet of apps for antwerp contest winner rombit

\ 6

Flanders attracted 227 new inward investment projects in 2015, almost 25% more than in 2014. The figures were announced by minister-presi-dent Geert Bourgeois, whose portfolio also includes overseas trade, on VRT Radio. Bourgeois described 2015 as “an outstanding year” for attracting foreign inward investment to Flanders. “The most important aspect is the jobs we are able to create, and the revival of confidence in our industry,” he said. The total investment came to €2.7 billion, with the creation of 4,352 jobs. The United States remains Flanders’ main investor, accounting for 53 projects, followed by the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, China and France. Bourgeois then left for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzer-land with the goal of attracting more new investment to Flanders. “I’ll be seeing top people from across the world,” he said. “Nowhere else is it possible in such a short time to make so many contacts. I’ll be sketching out the attractions Flanders has to offer, in the hope of bringing in even more jobs and wealth.” The number of inward investment projects rose from 184 in 2014 to 227 in 2015. The total investment was slightly down from €2.77 billion to €2.70 billion, but the number of jobs created increased from 4,164 to 4,352, according to Flanders Investment & Trade. \ AH

25% rise in investment projects in Flanders

\ BusIness

Banking MobistarThe French Orange group, parent company of the local telecoms operator, has plans to launch a mobile banking affiliate in 2017. The new operation will be rolled out on the Belgian market soon after.

Brewing aB InBevThe world’s largest brewer, based in Leuven, is invest-ing €50 million to increase bottling capacity in its Liège unit to produce a further 120,000 bottles an hour of Leffe. The company is also considering an investment in its Sint-Pieters-Leeuw unit, specialised in the production of the Belle Vue Gueuze.

Flooring IVCThe producer of floor cover-ings, based in Avelgem, West Flanders, is investing €185 million to double capacity of its vinyl parquets produc-tion units worldwide.

lighting OptionThe Leuven-based micro-processors and technology firm has acquired the Neth-erlands’ Lemnis and Inno-lumis, specialised in LED lighting used in smart public lighting. Option is confident it can develop the activities by integrating its own tech-nologies in the equipment, such as identifying free parking spaces, recognising registration plates and CO2 measurements.

retail VeritasThe accessories and textiles chain, based in Kontich, Antwerp province, will soon open its first shop in France, near Paris. Veritas has 126 outlets in Belgium, Luxem-bourg and Germany.

shipping euronavThe Antwerp-based tanker shipping group has sold one of its oldest tankers for $38 million, capitalising on the strong maritime transport and storage demand.

Tourism westoerThe West Flanders tourism authority has announced that 17 million people visited the Flemish coast last year.

Transport VDlThe Roeselaere-based bus manufacturer has signed a contract to supply 40 elec-tric buses to the Dutch city of Eindhoven, which has decided to operate all its public transport with elec-tricity-powered vehicles by 2020.

weeK in BUsiness Brussels gets Audi’s new SUV

vorst factory to produce german manufacturer’s new electric vehicle

German car manufacturer Audi has announced that it will build its new electric SUV at its factory in Vorst

in Brussels from 2018. The factory will also produce batteries for other models. The news has been expected for some time, since production of the A1 vehicle was moved from Vorst to a factory in Spain. In October, unions claimed to have inside knowledge that the new model (pictured) would come to Vorst, but the company has only now confirmed the decision. Also in October, the federal government announced a subsidy of €100 million to allow the construction of a new electric vehicle in Vorst, on top of a package of €35 million from the three regions. Audi’s total investment in the new line comes to around €600 million.

“This is outstanding news for Belgium and for employment,” said prime minister Charles Michel. “Audi will keep its Vorst factory open and invest in its future with a high-technology product. That makes us very happy.”“We are proud that our plant will build the new model,” said Patrick Danau, director of

Audi Brussels. “We’ve already shared the good news with the workers. We got this model because we are a high-performance factory, but also thanks to the various measures taken by regional and federal governments. We’d like to thank the prime minister,” he said. The three regions have also put together a package of three lots of €9 million to pay for retraining existing Audi workers and training a new generation to allow them to make the new electric vehicle. The training centre will open in Brussels in 2017. “The focus will not only be on car technology, and the centre will target schools, young people and those who are already employed,” said Brussels minister-president Rudi Vervoort. “We are of course proud that Audi has chosen Brussels.”

alan hopeMore articles by alan \ flanderstoday.eu

The creative and cultural sector in Flanders contributes €7.2 billion to the economy, or 2.7% of GDP, according to a study carried out by Antwerp Management School for Flanders DC, the Leuven-based knowledge centre. The entire creative sector provides employment for nearly 70,000 people, as well as just under 53,500 self-employed. Some 13% of all self-employed people in Flanders work in the creative industries, which includes the audio-visual industry, the entertainment and culture sectors and media.The number of self-employed in the creative industry has increased since the previous study in 2013, particularly in the arts and heritage sector, which includes visual arts, stage arts, music and cultural herit-age. The number of people employed on contracts and the companies who employ them, however, has decreased. In the media and entertainment sector, which includes the audio-visual industry, gaming and both print and digital media, the number of those employed has decreased by about 7%, but the number of independents is up 2.8%. The added value of the sector is also increasing by about the same amount. In the sector of creative services, the picture is also mixed: employees down and independents and added value up. “The research shows how important the creative sector is to Flanders these days,” said Pascal Cools, director-general of Flanders DC. “That the sector is holding its own and moving forward in some areas shows how it helps strengthen the regional economy.”“The Flemish government is well aware of the economic potential of the Flemish creative sector,” commented the region’s labour minis-ter, Philippe Muyters. “Bundling our support for the sector in the new Flanders DC will give the creative sector more power to realise their economic potential.” \ AH

Creative sector in Flanders is worth €7.2 billion

Rik Torfs, CEO of the Flemish shoe chain Schoenen Torfs, is joining other retail partners to take over Brantano, which has declared bankruptcy. The other partners are Miss Etam and FNG Group, owners of clothing chains CKA and Fred & Ginger. Shoe store chain Brantano, with 75 outlets in Flanders, came up for sale when Dutch owner Macintosh declared bankruptcy. In such cases, the administra-tor seeks potential buyers for a company’s properties. Unions representing some 1,100 Brantano staff reacted with “cautious optimism” to the take-

over news. “We are happy that someone has been found to take over,” a spokesperson said. The Brantano brand, according to the acquisition agreement, will continue to exist, and invest-ments will be made in 100 of the chain’s 129 stores over the next three years. \ AH

Flemish shoe giant Torfs to take over Brantano

The Flemish Institute for Techno-logical Research (Vito) has signed a co-operation agreement with the United Arab Emirates’ economy ministry. The signing took place last week during the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. Vito has successfully completed projects in neighbouring Qatar. The region is in a state of transi-tion as growth – mainly supported by the export of oil and gas – comes under pressure. The Emirates have historically made less income from oil and gas than Qatar and Saudi Arabia, so its economy is further along the road to diversification. The co-operation will allow Vito to provide the Emirates with its exper-tise in a number of fields, including sustainable energy, smart cities, materials management and circu-lar economies. Vito will be able to carry out its own projects but also help Flemish companies break into

the region via the Flanders Clean-tech Association. “The agreement with the United Arab Emirates is a direct result of contacts we made during last year’s economic mission,” said science and innovation minister Philippe Muyters. “It shows once again that Flemish know-how from strategic research centres like Vito is appreciated worldwide. The agreement will doubtless provide many opportunities for Flemish businesses.” \ AH

Vito signs co-operation agreement with United Arab Emirates

© Courtesy audi

© Foster + Partners

an architectural rendering of Masdar City, a smart city to be constructed from scratch in the desert near abu Dhabi

© Courtesy Macintosh

january 27, 2016

\ 7

People in Flanders are increasingly glued to their screens, a survey has found, with activities such as streaming movies

and chatting on smartphones adding to other digital habits rather than replacing them. And since time is not limitless, there are signs that people are starting to feel the strain, producing a state characterised by researchers as “digital obesity”.The findings come from the latest edition of the digiMeter, an annual survey of the digital habits of more than 2,000 people living in Flan-ders. This is carried out by iMinds, a virtual research centre that brings together academics from universities in Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels, Hasselt and Leuven.In the past two to three years the survey has seen mobile communication devices, such as tablets and smartphones, become increasingly popu-lar. This changed slightly in 2015, with smart-phone use continuing to rise, while ownership and use of tablets levelled off. This is partly about the technology itself, with increasing screen size making the smartphone experience closer to that of using a tablet. But it also relates to what people do online. Tablets are often shared, particularly within families, yet much of what people want to do online, such as using social media, is personal. “More and more people prefer to have instant access to their own profile on their own device,” explains Lieven De Marez, the professor at the University of Ghent who is behind the survey.Similarly, a lot of online services are based on personal preferences. “For example, if your six-year-old son is messing around in your Netflix profile, the whole recommendation algorithm behind it is messed up.”The survey also shows that new online habits are not replacing old ones, but adding to them. For example, the number of people who watch regular television broadcasts on regular TV sets is stable, yet the number of people watch-ing streaming services such as Netflix is rising. “There is hardly any cannibalisation,” says De Marez.Similarly, the increasing popularity of messag-ing on Facebook and with apps such as What-sApp and Snapchat appears not to be reduc-ing the number of SMS messages people send.

This is because they represent different kinds of communication: an SMS might require a reply, but generally the exchanges are short, while messaging usually results in a conversation.But messaging also has knock-on effects, which De Marez and his colleagues have been study-ing with logging devices on the phones of volun-teers. “One notification on WhatsApp triggers a whole chain of distraction behaviour,” he says. Someone’s attention is captured by an incom-ing message. They reply and then wait for a response, but instead of putting down their phones, they may check social media, play a game for a few minutes or look at the news. “For some types of people, one notification trig-gers a continuous distraction of five or some-times 10 minutes. If that happens several times a day, then you soon end up with half an hour or an hour’s worth of distraction.”Hence the problem of digital obesity, the multi-plication of screens and media so that people are increasingly stuffed with digital distractions. A small number of people take drastic steps to regain control, such as the 2.5% of people in the survey who reported giving up Facebook, or the 1.5% who abandoned smartphones for more basic mobiles.“This is only the extreme,” De Marez observes. “But you can see that 69% of Flemings report

that they think they spend too much time on all these new media. At the same time, they don’t do anything about it.”He sees the challenge of digital obesity as partic-ularly acute for people aged 25 to 35. “Below 25 they have plenty of time, and they are the people who are most digitally skilled. Between 25 and 35, they have the skills and the digital habits, but time has become precious, because they work or they have children.”Some of the pressure can be handled by multi-tasking, and it’s clear from the survey that many people have no problem watching TV, sending messages and using social media at the same time. Yet this will only go so far, and De Marez has been fascinated to see attempts at self-regu-lation among his own students. “Now we are in the period where students have to study for exams, and we see that even when they have a room here in Ghent they start to gather in libraries and other public spaces where they don’t have their laptop or other screens to distract them.”Alternatively they devise strategies to limit their distraction. “When they go to a restau-rant or are in a social environment, some try to invent rules,” he says. “For instance, they stack their phones in the middle of the table and the first one who really can’t resist using the phone treats the others to a drink.”

Time for a screen breaksurvey reveals the shape of our digital addictions

Brussels gets €575,000 for smart cities The Brussels-Capital Region has been selected to take part in the EU’s Smart City project bIoTope, in which a range of sensors are linked to create a “smart city”. Three Brussels projects will share €575,000 in grants, said Bianca Debaets and Pascal Smet, minis-ters for digitalisation and mobility respectively. One project concerns the neigh-bourhoods around schools and how motorists and chil-dren behave in the areas, using information from wi-fi connections, smartphone traffic and road traffic flows. The information will supply data that will inform traf-fic control around schools. Another project concerns cyclists, making it possible, for instance, to allow them priority at traffic lights.

new magazine for environment issuesThe first issue of Mblad, which focuses on the environment, sustainability and innovation, is out this month. The maga-zine, produced by Pantarein Publishing in Haacht, targets professionals in the sustaina-bility sector and general read-ers interested in environmen-tal topics. Mblad is, according to the publisher, the first Flem-ish magazine that explores in detail subjects like the circu-lar economy, smart energy networks and socially respon-sible entrepreneurship. The magazine, which will be published in Dutch six times a year, will feature background stories, interviews and anal-ysis.

€3 million for biodiversity on factory landThe European Commission has agreed to provide more than €3 million for the inter-regional 2B Connect project, which brings together 19 partners in the Flemish-Dutch border area to improve biodiversity on 70 tracts of industrial land. Cleaning up industrial sites to encour-age biodiversity benefits both nature and business: the planting of trees allows for better air quality, less noise nuisance and a pleasanter atmosphere for outdoor activ-ities. Until the end of 2018, 2B Connect will bring together companies to clean up 70 plots of land. Companies will be taught, for example, how to scan their land to make an inventory of the foliage already present, and there is a tool to help businesses calcu-late the real financial benefits of green infrastructure.

weeK in innoVation

\ InnOVaTIOn

According to recent figures, one in 10 investments made by Euro-pean pharmaceutical compa-nies is in Belgium. Why are we so strong in pharma research?There are several reasons behind the success of our pharmaceuti-cal sector. We have an economic ecosystem that relies heavily on open innovation. A wide range of large multinationals, SMEs, start-ups, spin-offs and biotech companies make up a very rich landscape. This means, for exam-ple, that very small companies can work closely with very large players. That’s quite rare in other countries in Europe.

What’s the role of the govern-ment? Does it attract compa-nies with fiscal benefits, for example?Our strong position in Europe is indeed also a consequence of a series of supporting fiscal meas-ures for employees in pharma-ceutical R&D departments. But having to pay less tax alone won’t convince a big company to move its research department to Belgium. The strong collaboration between the academic world and the phar-maceutical industry is, tradition-ally, another trump card. In both worlds we have experts who can

find each other and collaborate on innovative projects. And, last but not least, we are also the leader in Europe when it comes to thorough clinical research. New drugs are tested first in clinical trials on healthy volunteers. Only in the second phase are patients who really need the treatment enrolled. Every year more than 170,000 Belgian patients take part in a clinical trial.

How can we safeguard our lead-ing position?Last summer the industry signed a pact for the future with federal health minister Maggie De Block. In this agreement, which runs until 2019, both the industry and the government engage them-selves to keep pharmaceutical innovation in Belgium world class.

We’re well aware that other coun-tries want to create a similar land-scape to attract pharmaceutical companies. That’s why this pact entails the foundation of an obser-vatory that will continuously moni-tor how our industry performs in comparison with the rest of the world. The results of the monitor-ing process will also allow us to identify which extra measures are needed to support our industry further. \ Interview by Senne Starckx

Q&a

iminds.BE

Catherine Rutten is CEO of Pharma.be, the Belgian federation of the innovative pharmaceutical industries. She explains why the country is so strong in the sector.

ian mundellMore articles by Ian \ flanderstoday.eu

© Ingimage

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\ 9

Technology meets talent Plans for a new technology campus in genk are getting closer to reality

uGent to research contemporary Islam Ghent University (UGent) is launching research into contemporary Islam. The Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL), which is beginning the same research, is working with UGent on the project. In the next three years, two researchers from UGent’s Middle East and North Africa research group and two colleagues from UCL will work on better research and education about Islam. They will study the topics from an interdisciplinary perspec-tive and take into account the various ways of being Muslim today. The research should help to understand inter-national conflicts, and the researchers will also focus on debates and collaboration among Muslims and between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Flemish archive for education launched The Flemish Institute for Archiving last week launched the Archive for Education platform. The archive provides free access to public broad-caster VRT’s audio-visual collections for use by teach-ers in primary and second-ary education. In the future, it will also include items from regional broadcasters and cultural and heritage organi-sations in Flanders. The plat-form currently features 6,000 video and audio clips on about 100 themes, to encourage the use of audio and video mate-rial in classrooms and ensure that teachers have easy access to digital resources. It was developed to be user-friendly and provides ready-made collections as well as inspir-ing news items.

Ministers strengthen stem strategy Flemish education minister Hilde Crevits and innovation minister Philippe Muyters have provided €160,000 more in funding to extend the Stem action plan, which is meant to encourage students’ inter-est in science, technology, engineering and mathemat-ics. Flanders’ goal for 2016 is to reach 31,000 students in half of all municipalities. The region’s Stem Academy – a network that unites all extra-curricular Stem activities and is co-ordinated by the educa-tional science museum Tech-nopolis – is responsible for co-ordinating the action plan. In the academic year 2014-15, the academy helped 74 organ-isations to organise 421 activ-ities in 37% of Flemish cities and towns. The extra fund-ing will allow it to hire more mentors. \ Andy Furniere

weeK in edUcation

\ eDuCaTIOn

Work on a new technology campus in Limburg is a big step closer, after an EU subsidy was approved for the

centre that aims to train graduates in areas that make them immediately employable locally.The Technology & Talent (T2) campus in Genk will be a state-of-the-art education hub for the province. T2, which will encompass the entire educational ladder – from elementary school via higher education to extra training for indi-viduals and companies – will be dedicated to technology and located in the city’s Thor science park.The three core partners are Syntra Limburg, Flemish employment agency VDAB and the province’s education department. “They will work closely together in the development of technical and technological talent,” says Stef Vermeulen, the campus’ process manager. “That’s the talent that we need to get Limburg’s economy growing.”Two weeks ago, the European Regional Develop-ment Fund approved a subsidy of €12.5 million for the project, which involves a total invest-ment of €57 million. Syntra Limburg, VDAB, the city of Genk and the government of Flanders (as part of the Salk provincial recovery programme) will contribute the rest.T2’s curriculum will focus on four pillars, all with a strong technological basis: electronics, ICT, new energy and new materials. “We will develop this curriculum in close collaboration with companies, research and knowledge insti-tutions and other teaching bodies,” explains Vermeulen. “For the collaboration, we will use a

common learning platform. The ultimate goal is that our graduates will be immediately employ-able in industry – preferably in companies in Limburg.”So is the T2 campus set to become a true Stem factory – focusing entirely on science, technol-ogy, engineering and mathematics, all profiles that Flemish industry is begging for? “That’s a little too narrow,” says Vermeulen. “Please don’t consider us a technical institute or a secondary school. We want to couple diversity with synergy. Diversity means that we’re open for people from industry for refresher courses, for entire companies who want to use our facil-

ities, for entrepreneurs who want to collaborate with us and for students from other schools who want to re-orientate themselves. The synergy aspect implies that we will host a culture of open innovation.”The showpiece of the campus, which will break ground in 2017, is a 450 square-metre laboratory that will foster everyone’s interest in technology. Vermeulen: “Children and teenagers will experi-ence technology here in an accessible way. They will learn that technology can be exciting and challenging. Hopefully they will want to pursue this experience, resulting in lots and lots of Stem graduates.”

What was the purpose of your study?Every year we conduct research on the labour market in Flanders. This year’s theme was lifelong learn-ing. What we found is that work-ers with higher education get more continued training than work-ers without. We also found that low-skilled women don’t get any training at all. And finally, a large percentage of workers aren’t even aware that they’re entitled by law to be trained every year.

Why is that?Small and medium-sized compa-nies don’t like to invest in too

much training. They might provide opportunities for hands-on prac-tice, but only so that their employ-ees can get better at their jobs, not so they can grow as a person. But in big multinational companies, we see the opposite. It’s not that the smaller enterprises don’t want to invest in their employees. It’s more that there isn’t a long-term strategy to train workers. And that’s a pity.

How could that change?A lot of companies think they should invest in new machines and infrastructure, but they don’t consider investing in workers.

But learning is part of innovation. You can’t innovate if you don’t continue to learn. The companies need to be persuaded that it’s not a cost but an opportunity. It would help if there was better commu-nication between businesses and

the government. Human resource departments should also have more say during board meetings.

What are the main benefits of continued training?According to our study, only 5% of people want to work until they’re 67. When we ask the rest what could help them change their perspective, they immediately respond: “continued learning and training”. If you work at a job for 30 years, you’re fed up and want to stop, but continued training makes them feel motivated, and they remain ambitious. By provid-ing courses and training, the companies are giving a message to their employees: “We think you’re important, and we want you to stick with us.” \ Interview by Bartosz Brzezinski

Q&aEmployees in Flanders are entitled to at least one day a year of contin-uing education or training. According to a recent study, only half of Flemings know this. Nathalie Bekx from the research agency Trend-huis explains why it’s so important.

About half of Flanders’ teachers would prefer a system with contracts of indefinite duration rather than the current tenure system in educa-tion. That’s according to a survey by Flemish MP Ann Brusseel among 3,513 teachers from all provinces and all education networks. In the current system, tenured – meaning permanently appointed – teachers benefit from a flexible leave system and can be fired only in very specific circumstances. Newly qualified teachers often see their temporary assignments

end abruptly when tenured teachers return from a long sick leave or absence. Teachers are only eligible to become permanently appointed after at least three years of “temporary jobs.”In the survey, about half of the teachers preferred a contract, while 31% chose the tenure system., despite the fact that about 70% of the surveyed teachers were tenured.About 63% of teachers in their 20s want to abol-ish the tenure system, as do 42% of those aged between 40 and 54.

According to Brusseel, with the existing system it will be difficult to find enough new teachers in the coming years. By 2023, Flanders would need 10% more teaching staff than now.The heads of the community (GO!) and Catho-lic education network, Raymonda Verdyck and Lieven Boeve, indicated that they were open to changes in the system but that it wasn’t a prior-ity. The topic is still very sensitive among teach-ers’ unions. \ Andy Furniere

Half of Flanders’ teachers want an end to tenure

senne starckxMore articles by senne \ flanderstoday.eu

© Courtesy atelier kempe Thill/Osar architecten

The T2 campus in Genk will cater for students, employees and entrepreneurs

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\ 10

\ lIVInG

Bygone memoriesheritage can help people with dementia remember the past, say experts

To say that the Flemish population is ageing is a bit of a truism, but it’s one that

is worth repeating since this trend has significant implications for society. One of the consequences that can already be seen is the growing number of people who have dementia, a trend that will become even more manifest in the future. Approximately 116,000 people in Flanders are living with demen-tia, a figure that will increase by 30% by 2020, according to recent estimates. Herlinde Dely, research co-ordinator of the caregiver knowledge centre at West Flan-ders University College, explains why memories from the past are so important to people with demen-tia.

“With dementia, the memory slowly fades away, but not arbitrar-ily,” she says, adding that the most recent memories are the first to fade, such as what people had for breakfast or who they saw yester-day. “Memories from a person’s childhood and youth remain intact the longest.”That is why talking about or listen-ing to music from the past, she says, has an important value. “That process of reminiscence offers

reassurance to people with demen-tia and puts them on the same level as caregivers in a conversation.”Together with Bart De Nil from Faro, the government agency for the support of Flemish cultural heritage, Dely wrote the book Erfgoed en dementie (Heritage and Dementia), released at the end of last year. The book targets staff at cultural and heritage organi-sations as well as caregivers; the authors hope to bring the two sectors closer together. Both sectors, they argue, work around reminiscence, but they do so separately, which is unfortunate as heritage organisations have such a wealth of old objects and information about the distant – and more recent – past. “Therefore, they need to co-operate, which we want to encourage with our book,” says De Nil.Some projects are already under-way. A handful of heritage organ-isations have put together remi-niscence kits with resources and stories that caregivers can use as tools to make the past tangi-ble again for patients. “The nature of dementia centres on the issue of the past, something we, as the heritage sector, work around constantly,” says De Nil. “That is why the link between heritage and dementia is so strong. To illus-trate that link, we wrote the book but are also organising a series of trainings.”The Ghent museum of social history, House of Alijn, also arranges special tours for people with dementia and their caregiv-ers. They aim to not only bring the past back using the museum’s collection of everyday objects, but to incorporate all five senses to evoke a complete experience of

the past. Leuven’s M Museum also offers a dedicated tour for visitors with dementia, as do several other museums across the region.Heritage as preserved collective memory can play a major role in caring for people with dementia, says Dely, by helping them talk about and remember the past. Research has shown that this has a strong, positive influence on the well-being of people with demen-tia, and that it helps keep them going. But Dely also sees other advan-tages. “Such initiatives help create a more dementia-friendly society, an important point in the official policy on dementia.”It’s a myth, she continues, that most people with dementia are cared for in nursing homes and care centres. “In Flanders, 65% of all people with dementia are cared for at home by family members. The problem is that this care often takes place behind closed doors and thus becomes invisible. This

often leads to situations of social isolation – not only for the elderly people with dementia, but also for the person who is caring for them.”Over the past few years, there has been much talk in both health-care and political circles on an inclusive and caring society, “but that soci-ety must adapt in order to fulfil these resolutions, especially when it comes to such a large group of people,” says Dely. “So the impor-tance of something like museum tours for people with demen-tia and those who care for them becomes clear; they help people to remember and to break the social isolation.”That is why the authors argue for increased awareness of the bene-ficial effect of heritage projects on people with dementia. Dely: “The health-care sector – professional or not – must be made aware of this so we can work on creating a society where both people with dementia and those who care for them really belong.”

When Flemish tourism minister Ben Weyts proposed that Flemish food products needed to be intro-duced to the outside world back in December, he probably didn’t imag-ine that there was an organisation standing by, ready to do just that. That organisation is called BE Delicious, and while its focus is national, of the seven artisanal producers signed up for the launch, six are from West Flanders, and the seventh is from Moeskroen, a facil-ity municipality on the border of Hainaut and West Flanders. BE Delicious helps promote Belgian speciality products overseas, beyond the well-known triad of beer, chocolate and waffles. The products selected for the launch include arti-sanal shrimp croquettes, made by Antarctic Foodies of Roeselare with

the grijze garnalen (grey shrimp) harvested at Oostduinkerke. These shrimps are a product of culinary excellence unique to Belgium, and they deserve to stand beside anything the world has to bring to the table. Also included are shrimp bisque from Delices Malysse of Deerlijk, also using the grey shrimp; potjes-vlees by Hendrijk Dierendonck (pictured) of Sint-Isebald, butcher to starred restaurants; and Flan-drien cheese by Triporteur of Wervik. Finally, there are the Brus-sels-style waffles of Dely Wafels of Moeskroen, pralines by Chocolat-ier Dumon of Torhout, and cider by Ruwet, also of Roeselare. For consumer affairs and overseas trade minister Kris Peeters, the creation of BE Delicious is a “fantas-

tic idea” to bring a new dynamic to traditional products. The food industry in Belgium, he pointed out, employs 95,000 people in 7,400 companies, with a total value to the economy of €48 billion. “I get the feeling we’re too reserved sometimes,” he said. “Maybe we should boast a bit more about what we have.” The BE Delicious initiative “shows how many hidden pearls there are in Belgian gastronomy that need to be brought out into the open – not only for the whole world, but also for people here in Belgium.” BE Delicious will now set out to recruit new members, as well as “ambassadors” to represent the project in other countries. The aim is to promote Belgian regional products wherever the opportunity presents itself. \ Alan Hope

Bitenew organisation spreads gospel of local food specialities

Is This Molenbeek?The Brussels commune of Molenbeek has been in the news a lot lately, and not in a good way. Take a guided tour of this vibrant district and learn how immigration is helping build a new future for an old industrial area (in English). Registration required. 30 January 14.00-16.30, €10

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Genk Mine walkA guided walk through the old Winterslag mine district, starting at C-Mine, contin-uing through the residen-tial neighbourhood built for mine workers and ending on the multicultural Vennestraat with an aperitif. (In Dutch) 31 January 14.30-16.30, Genk, €15

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Big Birding eventIf you missed the national Big Birding Weekend, you can still take part in a day of bird-centric activities at De Liere-man nature reserve. Guided bird-watching walks and a special bird market at the visitors’ centre. 31 January 9.00-17.00, Schuurhovenberg 43, Oud-Turnhout, free

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shiver & swimFeel like taking a dip in an ice-cold lake? Then register for this annual group swim. You get a rubber duck to prove you really did it, and there will be food and drink stands for you and your (dry) supporters. Registra-tion recommended. 31 Janu-ary, 14.30, Blaarmeersen park, Strandlaan 24, Ghent, free

\ tinyurl.com/blaarm

Free scuba initiationInterested in scuba diving? Then maybe an initial “test dive” is something for you. Experienced instructors introduce the equipment, explain the basics and help you try it out in a controlled underwater environment. 31 January 15.00-17.00, S&R Dommelslag, Weidestraat 12, Overpelt (Limburg), free with pool entry

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walking with writers and PhilosophersA guided walk on Concern for the Earth focused on Brussels-born poet Margue-rite Yourcenar and Ameri-can naturalist Henry David Thoreau. Discover new insights and surprising loca-tions. Registration required. 31 January 14.00-17.00, Poelaertplein 1, Brussels, €5

\ tinyurl.com/poelaert

weeK in actiVities

BEdElicious.BE

© Be Delicious

toon lambrechtsMore articles by Toon \ flanderstoday.eu

Such initiatives help create a more dementia-friendly society

© andy Merregaert

leuven’s M Museum offers a dedicated tour for visitors with dementia, as does the Ghent museum House of alijn

january 27, 2016

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Devil’s Bell and daughter’s downfallmementoes of local myths live on in flemish Brabant

In a new five-part series, Flanders Today goes looking for the region’s dark past, starting in Flemish Brabant, where a strange church bell is exiled, and a tower tells a tragic story.

Today, Flanders is a pretty peaceful place. But in the past, the region has witnessed many troubled events that live on in folk stories. Among them are legends

about notorious robbers, fairy tales about witches and fables of haunted houses. Flanders Today went looking for the region’s hidden history, starting in Flemish Brabant, where a suspect church bell is kept outside the church and a tower tells a tragic story.The square around Sint-Jacobs Church is one of Leuven’s many hidden green spaces. And though most passers-by don’t notice, there’s something odd about the church tower: one of the bells hangs outside the spire. It’s quite unusual, and is that way because – at least it’s said – it was the devil who cast the bell. Such devilish craft obviously has no place inside the church, and so the bell was exiled.In reality, of course, it wasn’t the devil who cast the bell, but a mere man, Henricus Walgheven. He made it in 1478, but it never saw the inside of the church because the way the tower was built didn’t allow it to support the bell. The shape is too pointed, and it wasn’t possible to make the special openings necessary for the sound of the bells to be heard outside. The bell’s unusual location led to speculation. The story of the devil is one of them, another says that it has not been baptised, as is the custom with church bells. Not being baptised means no access to the church. Yet another story claims that the bell was a gift from the socialists. The Devil’s Bell is one of the so-called Seven Wonders of Leuven. In the 17th century, the time of the Renaissance, anything to do with antiquity became popular again, like the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. So in Leuven they went in search of their own wonders. Only three survived the ravages of time: the Devil’s Bell and the churches of Saint Michael and Saint Gertrude.

sins of the fatherNo, it’s not a UFO that’s landed on top of the Maiden Tower in the Demerbroeken nature reserve in Zichem, but the result of the recent restoration of the imposing monument. The tower was protected in the 1960s, but was so stunted that in 2006 a part of it collapsed. After this, it was finally decided to renovate the Maiden Tower, though not in its original state, which was no longer possible. Now it looks as if the tower has been cut in half.

The tower dates from the 14th century, but it’s not clear whether it was residential or a defence structure. But it’s the legend that gave the tower its name that appeals most to the imagination. A dramatic story took place here, at least according to local lore.Apparently at one point – exactly when is not specified – a nobleman and his daughter, Rosita, lived in the tower. No man was good enough for Rosita, according to her strict father. When the young woman came home one day with a lowly soldier, her father was furious. To try to make his daughter change her mind, he called two

nuns and locked all three under the roof of the tower. But the nuns could not convince Rosita to give up her love, making her father even more angry. In his rage, he tied the girl and the two nuns together and dragged them to the river, where he pushed them into the water and drowned them.When he realised what he had done, the father went mad from guilt and grief. He claimed to hear the screams of his daughter at night, and one day he was found dead at the foot of the tower. Legend has it that sometimes, in the darkness of night, the cries of the victims can still be heard along the river Demer.

toon lambrechtsMore articles by Toon \ flanderstoday.eu

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

Bruges was once an important brewing town. All but one of the breweries have closed, but Bruges still has some distinctive bars hidden down narrow lanes. They are run by dedicated owners who take the trouble to track down some of the best beers in the country.

CAFÉ VLISSINGHEFounded in 1515, this is the oldest tavern in Bruges. It still has most of its original furnish-ings, including a wooden counter carved in the 16th century and a chair next to the iron stove that “may” have belonged to the artist Anthony van Dyck. Vlissinghe is no secret hideaway; it’s full of tourists in the summer. But in the winter, when the old iron stove is burning and the locals are hunched over their

Trappists, this can seem like the perfect old Flemish tavern.

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CRAENENBURGThis is an old-fashioned place with heavy wooden tables, stained-glass windows and gleaming brass chandeliers. It’s popular with locals who come here to read the newspaper or drink a Belgian beer, but also with tour-ists looking for somewhere with an authentic Bruges atmosphere.

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L’ESTAMINETIn this comfortable old brown cafe dating from 1900, you’ll find hops hung from wooden beams and jazz murmuring in the background. Opposite a small park in a quiet area, it’s popular with locals and students. The beer list has some interesting selections, and the kitchen produces snacks like shrimp croquettes and spaghetti bolognaise. Park 5

BRUGS BEERTJEJan de Bruyne and his wife, Daisy, have run this specialist beer cafe since the 1980s. They have about 300 beers in stock at any time as well as seasonals that quickly disappear. This is where you can learn the difference between a Trappist and an abbey and why you should never ask for just “a beer”.

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STAMINEE DE GARREIt’s right in the centre of Bruges but hidden down a tiny cobbled alley between two lace shops, so not everyone knows about this place (pictured), which occupies a 16th-century house with bare brick walls and wood beams. The bar has an appealing Bruges atmosphere and offers a choice of 130 beers.

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CAFÉ ROSE REDIn a narrow street almost no-one ventures into, this is a friendly, hidden place. “We’re open when we’re not closed,” it says on the blackboard outside. Right, so that’s clear. The interior is decorated with old signs adver-tising vanished Belgian beers and red roses hanging from the ceiling. They stock about 180 brews, including Sint-Bernardus Abt 12 and Saison Dupont on tap. In summer, the back garden is a wonderful spot to sit with a beer as the sun goes down. \ Derek Blyth

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50 weekends in Flanders: Beer hunting in Bruges tinyurl.com/50wEEkEnds

© Toon lambrechts

The Devil’s Bell must hang outside the church in leuven, while a terrible tale is attached to the Maiden Tower

The autumn issue ofThe Bulletin Newcomeris your guide tomaking the most oflife in Belgium. It mixespractical informationwith features on thenew cultural season,accessibility for peoplewith reduced mobility,parenting, finance andlifestyle topics.

Pick up your copy at newsstands or at www.thebulletin.be

DEPOT BRUXELLES X

AUTUMN 2015€4,95

NewcomerTHE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SETTLING IN BELGIUM

PLUS HEALTH GUIDE: INTERVIEWS, ADVICE & ESSENTIAL ADDRESSES

Curtain up on the new arts seasonHow handicap-friendly is Belgium?The challenges of parenting abroadYour hands-on guide to expat life

COME IN...and make

yourselfat homein Belgium

001_001_NC1502_cover_P.indd 2

Plus our new HealthGuide – 25 pages ofinterviews, articles andessential addresses, inresponse to the massivedemand by Belgium’sinternational communityfor information on thecountry’s medical sector.

The autumn issue ofThe Bulletin Newcomeris your guide tomaking the most oflife in Belgium. It mixespractical informationwith features on thenew cultural season,accessibility for peoplewith reduced mobility,parenting, finance andlifestyle topics.

Pick up your copy at newsstands or at www.thebulletin.be

DEPOT BRUXELLES X

AUTUMN 2015€4,95

NewcomerTHE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SETTLING IN BELGIUM

PLUS HEALTH GUIDE: INTERVIEWS, ADVICE & ESSENTIAL ADDRESSES

Curtain up on the new arts seasonHow handicap-friendly is Belgium?The challenges of parenting abroadYour hands-on guide to expat life

COME IN...and make

yourselfat homein Belgium

001_001_NC1502_cover_P.indd 2 OUTSOON

Your guide to life in BelgiumPlus our new HealthGuide – 25 pages ofinterviews, articles andessential addresses, inresponse to the massivedemand by Belgium’sinternational communityfor information on thecountry’s medical sector.

Hey you.Yes, you, with the smartphone.

There is an app for Flanders Today, you know, which makes it super easyto keep up with daily news and features anywhere at any time on yoursmartphone or tablet

There are 2 easy ways to download the app: visit www.flanderstoday.euand click on “Download the Flanders Today app” or go straight to your appstore – Android or iOS, makes no difference

CHECK OUT OUR COOL-LOOKING,EASY TO MANOEUVRE APP HOMEPAGE

If you download the pdf, it looks just like the paper you’re holdingin your hand (but your fingers won’t get all black)

Did we mention that the Flanders Today app is free?

It’s free.

easy ways to download the app: visit www.fl anderstoday.euand click on “Download the Flanders Today app” or go straight to your app

Android or iOS, makes no diff erence

THE LEFT SIDE TAKES YOU DIRECTLY TO THE SECTION YOU’RE INTERESTED IN

If you download the pdf, it looks just like the paper you’re holdingin your hand (but your fi ngers won’t get all black)

IF YOU GO DIRECTLY TO A SECTION, ARTICLES LOOK LIKE THIS

CHECK OUT OUR COOL-LOOKING,EASY TO MANOEUVRE APP HOMEPAGE CHECK OUT OUR COOL-LOOKING,EASY TO MANOEUVRE APP HOMEPAGE

THE LLEEFFTT SSIIDDEE TAKES YOU DIRECTLY TO THE SECTION YOU’RE INTERE

DIRECTLY TO A

THE RIGHT SIDE IS A PDF OF OUR WEEKLY PRINT ISSUE THAT YOU CAN DOWNLOAD

january 27, 2016

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Happy Valleylavallée co-working space unites artists in former molenbeek laundry

The LaVallée building in Brussels provides workspaces to artists and creative entrepreneurs, with the aim of fostering lasting and fruitful relationships.

While Molenbeek in Brussels has had its share of the international

press’ worst headlines lately, it’s also an area that’s become fashionable among the capital’s Flemish community for its old industrial buildings, which can be transformed into working spaces or trendy residential lofts at low rents. This is the case for LaVallée, an artist co-op that opened 18 months ago in a former laundry in the commune. LaVallée (pictured) consists of open work spaces, indi-vidual studios, conventional offices and two big exhibition halls. Eighty artists from a variety of disciplines have taken up residency.“The idea is to gather as many crea-tive entrepreneurs as possible in the same space,” explains Lieza Dessein from SMart, a non-profit organisa-tion that supports artists and self-employed workers in the cultural sector. “The residents range from visual artists to filmmakers to stage designers to journalists.” SMart was created in 1998 in Brus-sels and is developing in eight Euro-pean countries. LaVallée is one of its creative spots, as is the Brus-sels Art Factory in the commune of Sint-Gillis. These co-working spaces, run or supported by SMart, offer cheaper studio spaces and cater to the specific needs of their residents. “The LaVallée project is still very young, and for now we are using the space as it is,” says Dessein, “but we will eventually continue to adapt it to the needs of the artists.” She shows me around two exhi-bition spaces on the ground floor,

then walks me through two studios. There are various working spaces at LaVallée, and the artists occupy-ing them include Bonom, the street artist known for his dinosaur draw-ings in public spaces. Large bones and animal skele-tons hang in Bonom’s studio, and Dessein explains that he wouldn’t be able to create his work in the street without access to a large indoor workspace. Next we walk into a scenographer’s space. “In this case, we made sure that the studio had access to the street, as this is often very impor-tant for people who work with theatre scenery.”The floors above are an open co-working space. “It’s very diffi-cult to find the right people to work next to each other, since all the artists come from such different backgrounds,” Dessein explains. Artists share the space, with the aim of fostering interaction and collaboration, as well as encourag-ing productivity. The animation company Square Fish rents one space with the film collective Full Tunes. Another co-working area is shared by paint-ers, graphic designers, dressmakers and jewellery designers. “It’s super working here,” says Marie Artamonoff, co-founder

and designer at Especes, a jewel-lery company that’s been resident at LaVallée since last summer. “It’s comfortable, and you have inter-esting encounters. You feed off the energy of other artists, even if you’re not working directly with them.”

It is indeed important for LaVallée to create this interaction, Dessein says. “Due to high rents, a lot of freelancers end up working at home. We’d like to create a commu-nity so they don’t become isolated.”Since opening, resident artists have organised a series of events to promote LaVallée and invite the public to visit. Throughout the summer, the artists organised weekly themed drinks evenings, with DJ sets and live silk screen

printing both inside and outside. Dessein is also eager to work with other organisations and insti-tutions. LaVallée has been host-ing Fuckup Nights, an event in which entrepreneurs share stories of failed business ventures and projects. It has also recently collab-orated with one of its neighbours, the VK music club. For its latest event, LaVallée’s resident artists created a night full of DJ sets, visu-als and performances hosted by the concert venue. “We don’t want to become insular,” notes Dessein. “It’s better when there are a lot of different players, and that’s why we build bridges with spaces like VK. They’ve been in the neighbourhood for ages, and they’re doing a fantastic job. We can learn from them and offer our own contributions as well. It was good for the VK to have our audi-ence visit their space, and we’re looking forward to hosting their event next year.”Apart from hosting events such as conferences, exhibitions and work-shops, LaVallée hopes to be able to benefit more from the network of art spaces that SMart has devel-oped not only here but elsewhere in Europe. LaVallée has already offered residencies to artists from France and Italy. Dessein explains that, after having focused on the individual spaces themselves, SMart would like to strengthen its international network so they can have a form of exchange between countries and facilitate artist movement. LaVallée aims to increase its number of resident artists to 100, and, as I leave, two artists are drop-ping off their applications. Mean-while, builders upstairs are work-ing away on a new common room in which the artists will be able to socialise as well as host their clients.

Balthazar big winners at Music Industry awardsPop group Balthazar won three MIAs at last week’s Music Industry Awards, which cele-brates the best of Flanders’ year in music. The band picked up awards for best album, best alternative band and best over-all band. Hip-hop singer Stro-mae won best solo male artist and best video clip, while Antwerp hip-hop artist Tourist LeMC, nominated in five cate-gories, won two, for best break-through act and best Dutch-language recording artist. Selah Sue won best solo female artist, and Will Tura, who released a new album on the day of the awards, was given a Lifetime Achievement award.

Flemish TV series follows routes of refugeesTelevision journalist Martin Heylen will direct the new series Terug naar eigen land (Go Back to Where You Came From), in which Flemish politi-cians and celebrities will walk in the footsteps of six refugees to Belgium. The series is based on the award-winning Austral-ian series. To be broadcast on Vier, Terug naar eigen land features six people with outspo-ken views on immigration: poli-tician Jean-Marie Dedecker; Veroniek Dewinter, daughter of Vlaams Belang leader Filip Dewinter; lawyer and N-VA poli-tician Zuhal Demir; comedian Bert Gabriels; singer turned Open VLD politician Margriet Hermans; and choreographer Ish Ait Hamou, a second-gener-ation immigrant from Morocco. Three of the group will start in Iraq, while the other three will start in Belgium and head to the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Fast Forward releases single from Gelukkig zijnTo close out its incredibly successful tour of Gelukkig zijn (Being Happy), the Fast Forward theatre company, which produces shows star-ring those who speak Dutch as a second language, is releasing a single of the 1995 Flemish tune “Ik hou van u” by Noordkaap. The song is, like all the clas-sic Flemish songs in Gelukkig zijn, sung by a group of immi-grants to Belgium. The musi-cal’s popularity surprised even the company, which had to increase the number of shows from 20 to 60 to keep up with demand. “Ik hou van u” is avail-able on iTunes and other music download sites. Gelukkig zijn’s last two performances take place next month in Deurne and Vilvoorde.

weeK in arts & cUltUre

© Photos courtesy sMart

crEativEsPot.BE/sPots/lavallEE

You feed off the energy of other artists, even if you’re not working directly with them

miriam galea More articles by Miriam \ flanderstoday.eu

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The ties that bindcrime writer luc deflo sheds light on mechelen’s armenian community in latest novel

Flemish author Luc Deflo’s latest psychological thriller is set in Mechelen’s close-knit Armenian community and offers a haunting tale about sisterhood, age-old traditions and unconditional love.

Luc Deflo, one of Flanders’ most prolific authors, has been writing psychological thrillers for nearly

17 years. In 2008, he won the prestigious Hercule Poirot prize for crime fiction with Pitbull, and several of his other novels have also been nominated. Deflo, however, never intended to become a writer. Rather, he was looking for a creative outlet, which led him to the theatre. “I was shocked by how badly some plays were writ-ten,” he says, “so I decided to also give writ-ing a try.”

He gave up acting a long time ago but says it was a valuable experience. “I guess my love of dialogue is due to my past in the theatre. It’s also one of my favourite things to write, and it comes to me quite easily.” His first novel was autobiographical, simi-lar to Dimitri Verhulst’s De Helaasheid der dingen (The Misfortunates). He never managed to get it published. “Publishing is a very commercial business, and they told me they weren’t in the market for that kind of novel at that time.”That taught him a valuable lesson about the difference between writing plays and writ-ing literature. “When you write a play, you usually get the chance to bring it to the stage, but an unpublished novel is just a waste of time. So I started thinking about what would sell.” His own love of thrillers helped him decide. “I believe that you can only write something you love yourself,” Deflo says. His first novel, Naakte zielen (Naked Souls), published in

1999, “actually wrote itself. And after a few weeks, publishers were contacting me. It’s all about timing, basically.”Deflo quickly became one of Flanders’ best-selling crime writers, following up Naakte zielen with 26 more books. It was a conscious decision to firmly stick to the genre; he believes that writers shouldn’t switch

between genres. “The fans won’t know what to expect next, and you’ll end up alienating them.” Interestingly, all his novels make clear who the perpetrator is right from the start. “I don’t like whodunits,” he says. “For me, the killer is the most interesting character, and I can’t create depth without giving his identity

away. I like giving the readers a look inside the mind of the killer.” Deflo is most famous for his series of novels starring detectives Bosmans and Deleu. “My publisher loved the characters from my first novel and asked me to write a sequel, and that’s how the series got started. I was just glad I got the chance to write a second novel,” he laughs. The series became a huge success, but Deflo didn’t want it to devolve into a soap. “People were just reading the novels to see how the characters evolved, while the cases are what really matters,” he explains. “That’s why I began writing stand-alone novels, like Donk-ere maan (Dark Moon).”Deflo’s 27th novel, Donkere maan is a haunt-ing tale about sisterhood, set against the background of Armenian culture.It focuses on Esra Shabo, who turned her back on her parents and strict religious upbringing so she could find her own place in the world. Her younger sister Nalan, however, still lives with her parents in Mechelen’s traditional Armenian commu-nity. After Nalan is raped by the husband her father arranged for her, she goes knocking at Esra’s door for help. Her sister is determined to do everything she can to help Nalan, even if that means serving as bait to extort a famous politician.Deflo now lives in Brussels, but he is origi-nally from Mechelen. “There was a big Arme-nian community that I was in touch with, and I always wanted to do something with religion in one of my novels, so I talked to a lot of people,” he says. “Research is always something I do face to face. I prefer conver-sations to the internet.” After hours of such conversations, Deflo set out to shine a light on some of the traditions upheld by this close-knit community. The result is a page-turner about unconditional love, tradition and the human condition. Deflo creates real depth by presenting well-developed characters – both to root for and to despise. With its rough and realistic dialogue, the novel moves at a rapid pace. A well-written psychological thriller with signs of Deflo’s trademark directness and ingenu-ity, Donkere maan makes for a suspenseful and satisfying read.

Donkere maan ( ) is published in Dutch by Borgerhoff & Lamberigts

de testamenten (the Testaments) • Frank wouters (lannoo) Notary Elsbeth is used to handling last wills and testaments, but the one for Lucas, a fellow villager and hopeless romantic, gets under her skin. He was a kind man who tried to make ends meet, but, now that he’s gone, beneficiaries start popping up left and right. His will is filled with poetic references and myste-rious clues, which are almost as baffling as his sudden death. Things get even more confusing when more wills start to emerge.

Is it a game, a trick or a message from beyond the grave? De testa-menten is a playful, enjoyable novel.

Cinderella • Michael Bijnens (atlas)

Young Flemish playwright Michael Bijnens was the son of an Antwerp prostitute, and the title of his critically hailed autobiographical fiction debut is the name of a brothel. It’s run by a traumatised woman and her son, who is studying to become a theatre director. Each chapter

focuses on a new episode in the lives of the prostitutes: initiation, demons, resistance, flight and sacrifice. It’s a dark and often shocking tale that sheds some light on a normally hidden world. Cinderella is fast-paced to the point of being occasionally chaotic, but an impressive debut nonetheless.

Machiavella • Serge simonart (houtekiet) Written as a series of journal entries, journalist and music critic Serge Simonart’s second novel is set in 2051 and relates the

views and secrets of the first female president of foreign descent of the European Council. She keeps a journal about her associates to stay on top of the political goings-on. But the diarist herself has a secret, and if anyone ever found out, it would mean the end of her career. But Simonart, it seems, isn’t the only one with a diary. Machiavella is clever, realistic and amusing account of the corridors of power from a woman who wants to rule the world.

More new BooKs this Month

rebecca BenootMore articles by rebecca \ flanderstoday.eu

I always do research face to face. I prefer conversations to the internet

luc Deflo’s Donkere maan explores the conflicts between tradition and free will in a local community of armenians

january 27, 2016

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classical

PerforMance concert

faMilY

Hasselt’s Krokus Festival has been bringing the arts to children and families for a full 20 years now. From humble beginnings as a regional theatre festival, the event has grown into a nine-day multi-disciplinary arts extravaganza of international stature. Still, the focus remains squarely on young audiences, from Brussels-based company Nyash’s Stoel (Chair, 3+, pictured) to Flemish theatre collec-tive Villanella’s Mieren slapen nooit (Ants Never Sleep, 8+) to Scottish dance company Curious Seed’s collaborative work-in-progress Teenage Trilogy (14+). This last is part of a three-year project that will culminate at the 2018 edition of Krokus. \ GV

Flemish classical music radio station Klara takes over deSingel for the fifth edition of this annual all-day event. Klara’s radio person-alities colonise every available space in the building and preside over dozens of performances – and it’s all broadcast live. The compo-sitions encompass centuries of musical history, from the Baroque to the contemporary. Highlights include a jazz-fuelled monologue by Flemish actor Josse De Pauw and a romp through the Parisian cabaret songbook by the Flemish Radio Choir under the direction of French conductor Hervé Niquet (pictured). \ Georgio Valentino

When producer and director Jef Cornelis started working for

the Arts Division at the Dutch-language public broadcaster BRT (now VRT), television in Flanders was a 10-year-old brat still getting acquainted with its new-found toys while enthusiastically propagating the will to educate general audiences. By the time his final programme aired in 1998, commercial networks had entered the landscape and public television had lived through

profound changes. Some of them seemed to have left television perpetually infantile. During four decades of shapeshift-ing and altering policies, Cornelis continued to explore the medium, and its relation to the art world and cultural debates. In a vari-ety of short reportages, documen-taries, talk shows and live broad-casts, he approached television as an integral part of the intellec-tual and cultural space his subjects belonged to. Like any medium, television should

be experimented with, Cornelis seemed to say, while tackling ques-tions about urban development in Flanders, contemporary artists or 1990s trance music. In his early programme James Lee Byars: World Question Center (1969) – part of an exhibition at Argos and also scheduled in a retrospec-tive at Cinematek – Cornelis made the television studio into a stage where sculptor and performance artist Byars could interact with people in the studio (Marcel Broodthaers and others) or on the phone (John Cage). The live broadcast, enabled by means only television at the time possessed, is a performance in and of itself. Cornelis, like his colleague at BRT Stefaan Decostere years later, became one of the most intriguing Flemish docu-

mentary essayists and audiovisual artists from within the confining structures of public television. Some of his works continue to pop up in discussions on what a public broadcast should (or abso-lutely shouldn’t, according to some) strive for. His prematurely cancelled talk show Container (1989) has become a symbol in debates about hermetic intellectu-alism versus vulgar banality.

As many of the disputants, then and now, have never seen an episode of Container, they

might want to catch up on one at Argos. Or revisit

some of Cornelis’ reflec-tions on Flem-

ish urbanism (The Street, 1972

or Vlaanderen in vogelvlucht/A

Bird’s Eye View of Flanders, 1976) at

Cinematek. \ Bjorn Gabriels

With their 2012 album The Heist, the Seattle duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis proved it is possi-ble to conquer both hearts and hit charts without the support of a record label. Their infectious, silly raps (“Thrift Shop”), bizarro videos (“Can’t Hold Us”), soaring, stadium-style choruses (“Down-

town”) and pluckiness to call out the hip-hop community on its homophobia (“Same Love”) have won them fans across the globe as well as two Grammies. Hip-hop purists had best abstain, but if you like a good party, these two have got you covered. \ Linda A Thompson

Hero of the small screen

Jef Cornelis concertacross FlandersAnne Niepold & Gwen Cresens: Monochromatic: The unique combination of two distinct personali-ties performing two different accordions, one diatonic and the other chromatic. 28 Janu-ary to 18 February, Antwerp, Brussels, Kortrijk, Sint-Niklaas and Ghent

\ anneniepold.be

BrusselsThe Rhythm Junks: The Flemish big beat, blues and funk combo present their new album, It Takes a While, a demonstration of the trio’s typical fiery style that melds together jazz, pop, rock, soul and blues. 5 February 20.00, Ancienne Belgique, Anspach-laan 110

\ abconcerts.be

filMBrusselsDames Draaien: Festival screening international films by women, including features, shorts and documentaries, plus special guests, discus-sions and master classes. 28 January to 1 February, Cinema Aventure, Kleerkopersstraat 87

\ damesdraaien.be

eVentBrusselsBal & Basta: Folk ball series, this month featuring Portu-guese-Ukranian duo Parap-ente700 and Belgium’s Duo Pilartz Gielen, plus optional dinner. 31 January 16.00, De Pianofabriek, Fortstraat 35

\ frissefolk.be

literatUreantwerpThe New Romantic: The Swiss-born, British-based philosopher Alain de Botton gives a reading from his new novel about modern rela-tionships, The Course of Love, 20 years after his bestsell-ing debut, Essays on Love (in English). 14 April 19.00, Amuz, Kammenstraat 81

\ theschooloflife.com

BrusselsVladimir Sorokin: Meet the “bad boy” of Russian litera-ture, whose work has been lauded, censored and banned for parodying life in Soviet Russia. (In Russian with simultaneous translation in English). 4 February 20.00, Passa Porta, Antoine Dansaert-straat 46

\ passaporta.be

Gisèle Vienne dives deep into the world of dummies with her latest production. The Franco-Austrian choreographer, stage designer and puppeteer has built a reputation on genre-blurring, dreamlike spec-tacles, often with little dialogue. With The Ventriloquists Convention, however, she and American author Dennis Cooper go to the opposite extreme. The production presents a gathering of professional ventril-oquists all too literally. The end result is a paranoid cacophony of dialogue and a visual over-load of doppelganger dummies. Vienne employs nine puppeteers to perform a total of more than 30 voices. (In English) \ GV

klara in desingel

the ventriloquists convention

krokus festival

macklemore & ryan lewis

\ aGenDa

inside the white tubeargos, Brussels argosarts.org

30 January to 27 march

retrospectiveCinematek, Brussels cinEmatEk.BE

30 January to 25 february

desingel, antwerp dEsingEl.BE

30 January, from 11.45across Hasselt krokusfEstival.BE

3-11 february

kaaitheater, Brussels kaaithEatEr.BE

29-30 January, 20.30sportpaleis, antwerp sPortPalEis.BE

1 march, from 18.30

© eric Manas

© estelle Hanania

get tickets now

get tickets now

© VrT, Courtesy argos Centre for art & Media, Brussels

january 27, 2016

\ 16

facebook.com/flanderstoday

Oh no, I thought, when I saw the headline in De Standaard. Vlaming wordt bedreigt – Flemings are under threat. What would it be this time?

Hospital superbugs? Kamikaze drivers? Dutch beavers?It was none of those things, but an unexpected new danger: Digibesitas – Digital obesity. Now, you might need this explained, in which case the person to turn to is professor Lieven De Marez of Ghent University, who has just completed a study on the dangers of digital over-load.Smartphone, tv, tablet, laptop en pc: we zijn er almaar meer mee bezig – Smartphones, TVs, tablets, laptops and PCs: We’re all using these more and more. Maar voor sommigen is al dat digitaal mediagebruik te veel geworden – But for some people all that digital media has become too much: zij haken af van Facebook – they shut their Facebook account, en ruilen hun smartphone voor een ouderwetse gsm – and exchange their smartphone for an old-fashioned mobile phone. The figures speak for themselves. In 2015 heeft de smart-phone zijn veroveringstocht voortgezet – In 2015, the smartphone continued to take over our lives. 68,5 procent van de Vlamingen heeft er nu al een op zak – 68.5% of Flemings now have one in their pockets, een jaar eerder was dat 57,3 procent – whereas one year ago the figure was 57.3%, according to the annual digi-Meter survey.The smartphone is the biggest threat. Eén op de drie van de ondervraagden zegt er meer dan drie uur per dag aan te besteden – One in three people surveyed reported that they used it for more than three hours every day. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, according to De Marez. We hebben ook nog al die andere schermen: tele-visie, laptop, desktop, tablet – We have all these other screens as well: television, laptop, desktop, tablet. In een

kwart van de Vlaamse gezinnen – In a quarter of Flemish households, zijn die vijf verschillende schermen allemaal aanwezig – you can find every one of these five types of screens. Now we are reaching a tipping point, De Marez warns. We zien dat een sterk stijgend aantal Vlamingen aang-eeft – We are finding an increasing number of Flemings who are saying, dat deze activiteiten heel erg tijdrovend – that these activities are taking up too much of their time, en soms zelfs verslavend zijn – and are sometimes even addictive.Hoe krijg je dat allemaal in 24 uur gecomprimeerd? – How do you manage to do everything in 24 hours? Door te ‘multitasken’ – By multitasking. Bijvoorbeeld tv-kijken en Facebooken tegelijk – For example, by watching TV and checking Facebook at the same time. Erg rustgevend is dat niet – But that’s not really very relaxing. So digital detoxing is likely to become the next big trend. And you can bet people will be chatting about it on Whats- App while binge-watching Netflix. (See related story p7)

Talking Dutchafter the diet comes the digital detox

\ BaCkPaGe

the last word

daring dip“Ghastly. The water was much colder than expected.”Bart De Wever, mayor of Antwerp, took his traditional New Year dip in 3.3 degree water last week

happy valley“You have a real village mentality here. In the summer, people sit outside in front of their houses. And it takes me an hour to get to the supermarket round the corner because I have to stop and chat with everyone.”Tania Wens, a shopkeeper in Vorselaar, Antwerp province, whose residents voted it the most agreeable municipality in Flanders, with a score of 9.2 out of 10 in a Nieuwsblad poll

Portion control“The best idea is not to eat those things. If you do, enjoy them. But don’t go thinking they’re healthy just because they dropped below the 250-calorie mark.”Food expert Patrick Mullie of the Free University of Brussels (VUB) on a plan by Unilever to reduce the size of Magnum, Cornetto and Ben & Jerry’s to make them less fattening

good cause“I think it’s a wonderful gesture. We’re so happy when people at that level put their trust in us, because we need all the attention and support we can get.”Hilde Boeykens of children’s charity SOS Kinderdorpen, after prime minister Charles Michel said well-wishers should make a donation to them instead of sending gifts for the birth of his new daughter (see news briefs, p3)

a. Schools should provide pupils with water bottles that they can fill up at lunchtime and drink through-out the day

b. Kids arrive at school dehydrated, so it starts with the parents. Kids should come to school with water bottles already filled

c. Constant drinking and going to the toilet is disruptive. But schools should be legally required to provide drinking fountains

According to a study released by Ghent University – commissioned by the Spa water group – primary school students in Belgium are not sufficiently hydrated throughout the day. They come to school under- hydrated – essentially having drunk too little water – and remain that way.So who needs to deal with this?

we asked our readers. Parents, the schools? The latter, the majority of you figure. Schools should provide pupils with water bottles and let them fill them up at school. Teach-ers could motivate them to fill them up and drink it up before the end of the day. Spa would no doubt be happy to provide the bottles. Where the kids fill up the bottles

is up for debate, though compa-nies might be convinced to provide free water coolers should they be allowed to also install a vending machine of healthy snacks right next to it. Or Flemish schools could do what schools in some other countries do: install water fountains. Kids can drink straight from them or fill up bottles.

Polla study has shown that schoolchildren are insufficiently hydrated throughout the day. what should be done about it?

\ next week's question: Researchers have revealed the existence of a new phenomenon: digibesity, or an obsession with digital technol-ogy (see p7). What’s the extent of your addiction? Log on to the Flanders Today website at www.flanderstoday.eu and click on VOTE!

CONNECT WITH US LIKE USTweet us your thoughts @FlandersToday

nigel williams @nigelstwitsWomen on high heels in the streets of Antwerp doing the ‘Wobbly Cobbly-stone dance’

davidMbyrne.com @ByrneDavidMArriving today in #Ghent #Belgium. Places like this remind me why #ILoveEurope. @VisitGent #Gent

In response to: When is a cranberry not a cranberry?Irma B Claeys: Why can’t food be what is supposed to be?? Is that so difficult?

In response to: Bruges bans traffic from main streets on weekendsPatrick Moynihan: This should make visiting the town with it’s narrow streets much more comfortable.Peter O’Reilly It will do wonders in enhancing the historic centre

Voices of flanders todaY

In response to: International organisations provide 121,000 jobs in BrusselsPhilip Meersman: Best Place To Work!

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