n°17 expat time - ing.be · ing belgium [email protected] ... corina comes from romania and lives...

Spring 2017 • n°17Spring 2017 • n°17

expat time

Essential lifestyle and business insights for foreign nationals in Belgium

INTERVIEW

“ Kids need to understand things that transcend disciplines and subjects”

LEE FErtig Director, international School of Brussels

IN ThIs IssuEMastering business education

How green is your garden?

Exhibitions and events around the country

SheerDriving Pleasure

Environmental information (RD 19/03/04): www.bmw.be

1.9-7.4 L/100 KM • 44-164 G/KM CO2

BMW BrusselsBranch of BMW BeluxChaussée de Louvain 8641140 BrusselsTel. 02 730 49 11www.bmwbrussels.be

Jean-Michel Martin EastRue François Desmedt 961150 BrusselsTel. 02 772 08 20www.jmmartin.bmw.be

Jean-Michel Martin WestBoulevard Industriel 1251070 BrusselsTel. 02 521 17 17www.jmmartin.bmw.be

Ginion WaterlooChaussée de Bruxelles 541410 WaterlooTel. 02 352 03 30www.ginion.bmw.be

Ginion OverijseBrusselsesteenweg 4033090 OverijseTel. 02 687 91 40www.ginion.bmw.be

Davo Tongeren bvbaMaastrichtersteenweg 529Exit 32 - E3133700 Tongeren Tel. 012 23 71 55www.davo.bmw.be

Bilia-Emond ArlonRoute de Bastogne 3946700 ArlonTel. 063 23 05 60www.emond.bmw.be

Louyet MonsRue des Sandrinettes 487033 Mons-CuesmesTel. 065 40 02 00www.louyet.bmw.be

THE ALL-NEW BMW 5 SERIES.

A DIPLOMAT.EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO PERFORMANCE.

BMN1700054 - Diplomatic sales_2017 - Serie 5_275x198_UK.indd 1 3/03/17 17:35

expat time • spring • 2017 3

Green shoots

We are welcoming spring with a timely look at urban gardening and making the most of our outdoor space, whatever its size. Our main theme for this issue, though, is education. First,

we talk to American Lee Fertig, head of the International School of Brussels. One of his challenges is equipping pupils representing 70 nationalities with the skills for an evolving world. MBA students face similar demands, and we hear from teachers and students at Brussels business schools on perfecting work skills, innovation and entrepreneurship. In our business pages, you can read about the management buzz word ‘agile’, and how this can affect workforce skills.

Elsewhere, a Latvian expat tells us how he and his business partner launched a high-tech messenger service for travel-lers. They are proof that, despite uncertain times, Belgium is continuing to attract entrepreneurs.

Also defiantly looking towards the future is the city of Charleroi, which is undergoing a facelift as it celebrates the opening of a long-awaited regeneration project. In our agenda, you’ll discover events that are brightening up the season, while Derek Blyth muses on the lighter side of life in Belgium.

Dave DeruytterHead of expatriates and non-residents ING [email protected]/expatING Expat is also on Facebook: facebook.com/ingexpats

DL AD0043 198x275x5 The Bulletin Expat Time Final.indd 1 16.02.17 18:01


IN ThIs IssuE

6 PROFILEs

Meet four expats living in Belgium

8 INTERVIEW

ISB director Lee Fertig on educating kids for the modern world

14 BusINEss

Demystifying the buzzword ‘agile’

16 EDuCATION

Business schools in Brussels discuss the value of an executive MBA

20 ENTREPRENEuR

The men behind Guideweiser, a helping hand for travellers

22 TRAVEL

Explore Charleroi, the capital of Belgium’s black country

24 LIFEsTYLE

Size doesn’t matter when it comes to spring gardening

28 TEChNOLOGY

Gadgets for the great outdoors

29 AGENDA

Cultural highlights in Brussels, Belgium and further afield

33 WhAT’s NEW

Belgian fashion, gastronomy and grooming

34 LAsT WORD

Derek Blyth muses on life in Belgium

Editor • Sarah Crew

Deputy editor • Sally Tipper

Art director • Patricia Brossel

Project coordinator • Thomas

Buytaert

Contributors • Derek Blyth • Bartosz

Brzezinski • Paula Dear • Ronald

Meeus • Georgio Valentino

Sales executive • Helena

Vreedenburgh

Expat Time is a publication of

ING BELGIUM SA/NV,

Marnixlaan 24,

1000 Brussel, RPR Brussel

VAT BE 403.200.393 and

Ackroyd Publications SA/NV

Editorial • Content Connections

(department of Ackroyd) and

ING BELGIUM

Publisher • Hans De Loore,

Gossetlaan 30

1702 Groot-Bijgaarden

Photo credits

P5 Top © Bart Dewaele;

centre, Musée des Beaux Arts

© Charleroi Tourisme Gina

Santin; bottom © Robert

Rauschenberg Foundation, New

York, photo: Nathan Keay

© MCA Chicago

P8-12 Bart Dewaele

P14 CSP Bakhtiarzein/Belga

P22 2016 Asymetrie

P25 Bartosz Brzezinski

P26 Top, courtesy ParckFarm;

bottom, Bartosz Brzezinski

P29 Pierre et Gilles

P30 Iris Festival, Visitbrussels; Balkan

Trafik, Gaye Su Akyol

P31 Nendo Thin Black Lines Bowl,

Masayuki Hayashi; Sweating for

Europe, Dida Zende; BSFF, Mike

Meysmans & Sarah Ghem;

QEMC, Bruno Vessiez

P32 Floralia Brussels; Robert

Rauschenberg, Stop Side

Early Winter Glut, 1987,

MoMA, New York. © Robert

Rauschenberg Foundation, New

York. Photo © 2016. MoMA,

New York – Scala, Firenze.

Courtesy Tate; Fur & Feathers,

I love The World ! Rabbit 2006

Diasec © Marie-Jo Lafontaine

22

29

8

22

29

6 expat time • spring • 2017

William Paterson “We’ve really got to know the surrounding countries, and their cultures and cuisines”“I’ve been in Belgium for three years. My wife’s work brought our family here and I took a career break to look after our young daughter and study. I have a law de-gree and a master’s in counter-fraud and counter-corruption studies. We live on the outskirts of Brussels – close enough for commuting and to enjoy the city, but we can be in the countryside in a few minutes. This isn’t my first time living abroad. Some time ago I completed an Erasmus year in Spain, in Granada. It was a fantastic experience and one that I would recom-mend to everyone – I had never really considered it before, but it gave me the confidence and curiosity to want to do it again in later life. I enjoy doing sport (both playing and watching), travel and cooking. Belgium is a great hub for all of these pastimes – we’ve really got to know the surrounding countries, and their cultures and cuisines.”

William is British and lives in Tervuren with his wife and daughter

Lynn Wei“I’m in love with Belgium’s Art Nouveau architecture and its Belgitude”“I came to Brussels three years ago to study an advanced master’s degree at VUB in gerontological science, which is a programme that looks at progressive aging in society. I already had a bachelor’s degree in traditional Chinese medicine from Shanghai University. Since my studies, I have been working at the China Cultural Centre, teaching tai chi and self-healing massage and as an acu-puncturist at La Cambre Medical Centre and Aspria Arts-Loi. I specialise in curative medical acu-puncture, treating stress, digestive problems, musculoskeletal disorders, arthritis, pain, sciatica and smoking cessation. I also provide treatment specifically for elderly people, women and children. In the future, I may do a PhD in paediatric research. I’m quite involved in the Chinese community, interacting with Chinese researchers and artists. In my spare time I like to read, do sport, tango and listen to opera. I’m in love with Belgium’s Art Nouveau architecture and its Belgitude.”

Lynn comes from China and lives in Ixelles

Profiles •

Get connectedFour expats tell us about their lives in Belgium


Corina comes from Romania and lives in Overijse with her Albanian husband and young son

Corina Anamali “In the beginning, I felt like a tourist, eager to

discover the city and the country”

“Six years ago, I was at crossroads where I had to choose between an important career opportunity and starting a family. I graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business administration and had the chance to work in an important company in my home town, in Romania. I chose to follow my heart and husband to Brussels instead. It wasn’t easy to leave everything and come to another country, knowing there is no cure for homesickness. In the beginning, I felt like a tourist, eager to discover the city and the country. Then I started looking for a job, but realised that Dutch is a must. I got a job in administration and reception in a European committee while I went back to school to take Dutch courses. This way I came across people with different mentalities and I felt like I did in the US, where I lived for about four months as a student. At the same time, with my hus-band, we developed a coffee and coffee machines business – Horeca Anamali. Our goal is to have our own coffee brand and roaster, named after our son, who we hope will eventually take over this business. Brussels gives you the chance to grow!”

Annette Sloth“Ceramic art has become very trendy and I have clients from around the world”“I came to Brussels for love in 1998. In Denmark I had graduated from the Danish Design School

as a ceramicist, so when I came to Brussels I enrolled in La Cambre school of art and design. After graduation I realised there was nowhere to show our work, so in 2000 I started a

gallery on Place Châtelain where I was living at the time. For my first show I invited my teachers from Denmark who were all well-known artists. It was an instant success. I have been building the gallery ever since and I am proud to say Puls (pulsceramics.com) is one of the very few galleries in Europe to only show contemporary ceramics. Over the years we have had some of the best-known artists in the field, often from the Nordic countries but also from Belgium, France, Korea and Japan. Collecting ceramic

art has become very trendy and I have clients from around the world. I really enjoy life in Brussels, the great food and the art scene.

There is so much to do. And the international character means you constantly meet new people. After our two sons

reached school age, we moved from Ixelles to Tervuren but the gallery is still at the heart of Châtelain, a stone’s throw from where I started 16 years ago.”

Annette is Danish and lives in Tervuren with her family


This will probably be the easier of the two interviews he’s taken part in today, says Lee Fertig as he settles in to his office in ISB’s 19th-

century reception building, called the chateau. Earlier he was cross-examined by some of the school’s sixth-graders for a video project, who were asking some “very difficult questions”. “So I feel warmed up,” he says with a laugh. This kind of interaction with the students is typical of his attitude to education, which he vehemently believes should be something in which children actively participate. A New Yorker at heart, Fertig landed his first international school job in Ethiopia nearly 30 years ago, sparking a passion

It’s the journeyInternational School of Brussels director Lee Fertig on involving students in their education and preparing them for what lies ahead, socially, politically and technologically

✶ By Paula Dear Photos by Bart Dewaele

Interview •


that’s taken him, his wife and three children to Brazil, the US, Spain and now Belgium. At the school’s wooded campus in Watermael-Boitsfort, he spoke to ING’s head of expatriates, Dave Deruytter, about savvy students, five-year-old bloggers and equipping kids from 70 countries with the skills to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

What drew you to international schools?

I grew up outside New York City, then went to a liberal arts college in Ohio that was quite socially aware and politically active. That, as well as my home life, shaped me a lot. After college I worked as a maths teacher in a private school and I loved it. But I was young and free… I heard about these international


Interview •

schools and went to a recruitment fair. I left with a contract for a job in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I’m drawn to places that enjoy the challenge of facilitating inter-culturalism.

The kids at international schools are incredibly savvy about what’s going on around them and how to navigate different perspectives. They have resilience, grit and are internationally minded. They can bring in different views and ways of thinking without getting antagonistic, which is what adults in the world sometimes do, especially now. I’m a big believer that these international schools – and ISB is a prime example – are important. I feel that if all pre-teens had at least one semester in one of these schools, the world would be a different place. I really believe that.

Where has your career taken you?

I started in Ethiopia in 1988, which was then a Soviet-backed Marxist state. There were soldiers, there was a midnight curfew… but I absolutely loved it. I got into school administration and I met my wife there. I thought I was crazy to go, yet here was this single young woman from Minnesota.

Fast-forward to 1991, and we moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where I spent five years as a high school principal. We loved it there too – Rio is a striking city. But we wanted to start a family, and our parents were in the US, so we moved to Minneapolis. As a New Yorker, that was one of the more difficult cultural adjustments!

I did some work at the University of Minnesota, and I was the director of a fascinating school in downtown

Minneapolis. It was an experiment in voluntary integration, taking kids from Minneapolis, which is a urban school district with lots of students of colour, and brought them together with children from whiter, wealthier suburban districts. My time there was a learning curve; it was phenomenal, and challenging.

But we knew we’d head back overseas because we wanted to give the gift of that lifestyle to our kids. We ended up going to another dream city, Barcelona, where I was director of the American school for four years. We were happy, but then another opportunity came up back in Brazil, at Graded, an American school in São Paulo, which is known as one of the better schools in South America. So we returned with our kids for another six years. In all, my wife and I lived in Brazil for 11 years. We speak Portuguese and are permanent residents. And then we came here, because another opportunity came up. I heard

wonderful things about ISB and about expats living in Brussels. We’ve been here for 18 months and our younger two kids, aged 14 and 18, are with us.

how have you dealt with the transition between countries?

One of the things that has served our family well is we’ve always been happy where we are, so we aren’t leaving due to unhappiness. When that happens, people can put too many expectations on the new place. We leave only for a new opportunity, challenge and adventure. Our kids are incredibly streetwise as a result. I feel like they can navigate pretty much any city in the world.

Language learning really helps. I confess that French is presenting some difficulties! It’s going a little bit slower than the Portuguese and Spanish.

“the kids at international schools are incredibly savvy about what’s going on around them”


Learning the local language opens doors to culture, to travel opportunities, to meeting new people. We’ve always embraced that concept of ‘when in Rome…’.

how does IsB prepare students for adult life?

The curriculum here combines conceptual learning, competency learning, and character learning – in other words, the knowledge, skills, and dispositions like grit and resilience that are necessary for deep, sustainable learning. I think ISB is a leader in proactively thinking about how things are changing so fast and which knowledge, skills and dispositions are needed.

Kids need to understand things that transcend disciplines and subjects. Increasingly, as they approach an

authentic challenge, they can pull from their knowledge systems, from all of those disciplines at the same time, making bridges between fields of knowledge. That’s the kind of stuff I believe employers and universities want.

The skills are about giving and creating, much more than they are about consuming knowledge. When we went to school, teachers would pour information into our heads. We were a receptacle. That still happens in many schools and I think they’re doing a disservice to the kids. We believe kids have to be active participants in knowledge and skills construction. Our kids are blogging and producing their own portfolio of student work from as young as five or six years old.

We teach them digital citizenship: how to be good, active, engaged, appropriate global citizens, using social media. We recently partnered with a French NGO,

e-Nable, whose medical engineers came to the school and taught the 14- and 15-year-olds how to design and engineer a prosthetic hand using the school’s 3D printers. We identified families with young kids who needed them and they had a ceremony where they fitted them with these hands. Everybody was crying; it was amazing.

Our students will also be directly involved in an international education conference we’re hosting in March, which includes futurist, innovative educators and masters of emerging technology.

The world is increasingly characterised by open knowledge systems and rapid social change, and we’re not going to change the track that train is going down. What’s best is to teach the knowledge and skills and disposition to navigate it. If they make mistakes, if they get into trouble, they’ll learn from it. There’s no safer place to do that than in a school setting.


Interview •

“We knew we’d head back overseas because we wanted to give the gift of that lifestyle to our kids”

Is technology changing the role of the teacher?

I think this revolution in the learning landscape makes the teacher’s role even more important. People get nervous, they say the teacher’s job doesn’t exist anymore, we can have a robot teach the kids! But we are raising the bar on kids and what we expect of them. We are asking them to navigate very complex issues, sometimes contentious, politically or socially sensitive issues. They need adults, they need trained educators, and excellence in the faculty, to make sure they approach that navigation safely and with integrity. So we very deliberately recruit teachers who are comfortable working in that environment.

Talking of politics, it’s been quite a year. how do you discuss it in school?

We talk a lot about the international values of the ISB community; we talk about how this is a safe place for those dialogues, even if we make mistakes. I’ll be honest: recent world events have been quite disturbing, especially for an educator. Success in the future depends on our ability to navigate different perspectives. We firmly believe the future is in the hands of the young people, so we’ve got to get it right – and we will.

how is Brussels treating you?

We love it here. People say, “After São Paulo, Brussels must seem small and boring”. But São Paulo can be a complicated city. We have a 14-year-old daughter; over there it’s not like she was getting on the bus and going to meet friends, whereas she can do that here.

I find Brussels pretty easy to live in. I have trouble understanding why people wouldn’t find it easy. There is a bureaucracy that some find difficult to navigate, but to be honest, for us it hasn’t been that frustrating because when you live in Brazil you learn patience.

What do you do in your free time?

I try to spend as much time with family as I can. That involves a lot of walking – sometimes running – with our dog, and we like to go out to eat as a family and with friends. When I have long breaks I read something fictional. My wife’s an English teacher so she’s always suggesting things. During the year, when I’m so busy, I’ll read to stay on top of education and international issues. I want to know my landscape.

I don’t necessarily have the best balance. I try. I do work a lot. I’ll just leave it at that!

WANT TO GET MORE OUT OF DIGITAL?You’re not alone. It’s an ever-evolving fi eld that has the power to completely transform your business and results… so long as you really know how to get the most from it.

Our 3-6 day digital transformation programmes have been designed to help you leverage the full potential of digital in your organisation.

You can choose from:• Digital strategy• Data-driven marketing• Digital leadership

Register for a programme today at:

WWW.VLERICK.COM/EXPAT-TIMEOr contact Lyuba Byessonova: T: + 32 9 210 92 62 E: [email protected]

20170223_ExpatTimeMagazine.indd 1 24/02/17 09:50


Agility testThe Agile method could transform how your company thinks and works

✶ By Dave Deruytter

Business •

The current buzzword in certain business circles is ‘agile’. But what does it mean, and how can you apply it to your workforce?

The Agile way of working is aimed at developing software, products or service management in a flexible, interactive way. It’s based on multifunctional teams working in short cycles with incremental advances. After each cycle there is a review before the next iteration begins, and bit by bit, the process approaches a flexible, longer-term goal.

The method starts from the idea that speed is of the essence. In other project-management approaches, it takes too long to get the documentation or the project description right before employees can start to program and develop, test and deliver. Much better

to start as soon as possible, learn by doing and keep improving as you work towards the ultimate goal – which itself can change over time.

The focus is on small, intermediate, practical achievements in very short cycles. Every week, every month, there are outcomes to be delivered. The process relies on teamwork, in large and small groups, where practical communication between stakeholders is more important than procedures and tools.

It helps organisations to refine their long-term goals. In classical sequential project management, it is impossible to accurately predict the strategy three years in the future, as there are so many unknowns and changes to be expected on the way. The Agile method


HoW To be Agile

The Agile manifesto of software development from 2001 states four key principles. The system favours:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

• Working software over comprehensive documentation

• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

• Responding to change over following a plan

gives week-by-week, month-by-month insights through small advancements, all leading towards the medium- or long-term goals.

Putting an Agile coach at the head of a team helps staff stick to the spirit of the process while they advance on the practical short-term implementation goal. To better control and avoid surprises, teams are grouped in larger divisions with a common denominator: retail sales, wholesale sales, etc. Members with diverse expertise are grouped by competence and experience, allowing them to develop their capabilities as they focus on the company’s overall targets.

The method is not only iterative but also incremental. Requirements and solutions evolve within the team

throughout the process, meaning members need to maintain a high degree of adaptability without losing sight of the aim. Constant iterations and small advances are key, with all stakeholders regularly updated. Resources and costs are under control and can be checked or adapted after each cycle.

To make the system work, the employees you need may be very different from those who thrive in typical sequential medium-term project management. Team members need entrepreneurial capacity, to be self-starters who keep developing their own competences. Selection and training of staff is something that should be carefully planned if a business is to benefit from the Agile method.


Master classBusiness school directors explain how an executive MBA can open minds and doors

✶ By Ian Mundell

Education •

in a rapidly changing world we need to learn all the time. Doing an executive master’s in business administration – an executive MBA – is a great way

to do that without taking a break from your career.

“In the past, when you finished school you would apply most of your learning to your work,” explains John Metse-laar, academic director of the MBA at Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management. “Today, things are changing so fast that you need to both contribute and learn at the same time, so that learning is continuous. And when you do an MBA you make a step-change in that learning; you get a whole breadth of new skills.”

Executive MBAs are designed for people who already have a few years’ business experience, but want to change direction or develop in a par-ticular way. They might want to move from a specific function in a company to a more general management position, or to update their skills and broaden their career options. Then there are entrepreneurs who dream of setting up companies, or have done

so and need to know more in order to grow.

But these categories are not hard and fast. “We have people who start the MBA with the ambition of getting higher on the corporate ladder, but ultimately decide to do something for themselves,” says Koen Dewet-tinck, director of the executive MBA at Vlerick Business School, a joint venture between Ghent University and KU Leuven, which also operates in Brussels.

Executive MBA programmes are typi-cally followed intensively for a year, or over 18 months. Participants gather once or twice a month for two days of classes, while carrying out assign-ments in between. They have to be committed, but an executive MBA should fit in with a full-time job.

The programmes at Solvay and Vlerick both emphasise the fundamentals of business education, from finance and accounting to general management and marketing. But they also prepare participants for a rapidly changing economy, driven by digital technolo-gies.


MBA students at Solvay Brussels

School


Education •

“Companies used to set up strategies for three, five or ten years, but today the market changes so fast that you need to act and react much faster,” says Metselaar. “So we want to get our students ready for that, and mak-ing them versed in the core elements of innovation in this new digital world is a big part of the programme.”

Listening to the market is essential. “Today you need to teach students the agility to go out and to test things, to figure out what they really need to do in the future,” he goes on.

There are useful techniques to learn here, such as the lean start-up and the business pivot, but the right mind-set is just as important. One way Vlerick approaches this is through improvisa-tion techniques, where performers must respond quickly to new situa-tions. “It’s about letting go of control sometimes, it’s about really listening to other people and building on their ideas rather than saying ‘Yes, but…’.

find Your plAce in A cHAnging World

It’s increasingly common to find people from the public sector or non-governmental organisations enrolled on MBAs alongside aspiring executives and entrepreneurs. One example is Paola Garcia Isaak, who is doing the executive MBA at Solvay Brussels School.

She works as a communications adviser at EASME, the European Commission’s agency for small and medium-sized enterprises. “Frankly speaking, the MBA is not specifically a prerequisite for my career advancement,” she says, referring to the rules for promotion within EU institutions. Instead, she enrolled to deepen her knowl-edge of the way business and society are changing, and to think about career opportunities that might present themselves in the future. “It’s about seeing what your place is in this changing world.”

With a recent master’s degree in digital communication she is well-versed in the digital world, but has discovered more traditional business skills. “I would never have thought that understanding a profit-and-loss statement was going to be so useful; the nuances of what you have to look into and what that tells you about a company.”

The MBA has also been enlightening on customer-cen-tred service, which she has already applied in her work, and the mind-set necessary for effective innovation. Just when business is booming, that’s when you need to plan your next move.

“You can also apply that to the MBA,” she says. “It’s just when your career is fine, and you are successful, that you need to acquire new skills and invest in yourself.”

In class at Vlerick Business School


And our participants like this a lot,” says Dewettinck.

The schools also teach a different kind of business leadership, which is less about command and more about engaging staff. “What you need to do as a leader is lift up everybody in the organisation,” says Metselaar. Where there is trust, for example, staff are more likely to propose the far-out ideas that may turn into in-novative new businesses.

As for the digital economy, it’s impor-tant not to get hung up on hardware and software. “The technology is developed by individuals who have a focused expertise,” says Metselaar, “but the biggest challenge is what you do with that technology. How do you combine all the opportunities these new technologies offer into your lead-ership, culture, structure and systems such that it allows you to identify that attractive innovation that will ultimate-ly translate into new business?”

MBA participants learn this through case studies, in class and in the field. Vlerick, for instance, takes its partici-pants to Dublin to look into big data and digital transformation, and to Silicon Valley to think about scaling up a business. “That is also part of the new world,” says Dewettinck. “Scaling up now typically has the connotation of going global, while a few years ago that wasn’t the case.”

But the international dimension is never far away if you’re doing an MBA in Brussels. “We see a huge variety of cultures and countries represented,” says Dewettinck, “and that makes it a special and an interesting place to go for an MBA.”

solvay.eduvlerick.com/emba

STep ouT of WHAT You knoW To keep up

Lutz Walter’s motivation for enrolling in the executive MBA at Vlerick was to update the business management degree he completed in Germany two decades ago. “Knowledge, technology, and business and market de-velopments are going so fast that you can’t say: I learned something fifteen to twenty years ago and I’ll just keep applying it. That doesn’t cut it any more.”

He currently works with the European Apparel and Textile Federation, a trade association based in Brussels, where he deals every day with research and innova-tion. But the breadth of knowledge he wants cannot be picked up on the job or through self-study. “You have to step out and be prepared to go more deeply than you could by simply reading or taking a quick course.”

He is particularly interested in learning about entrepre-neurship, with an eye to helping people with innovative business ideas in the textile sector to start their own companies, and to grow his own business, which he cre-ated four years ago. “I have a lot of specific knowledge, so it’s more the generic skills needed to run your own company.”

While only a few months into the 18-month programme, he is already impressed that the group work is produc-ing ideas with real business potential. “It’s fascinating that these things pop up, just like that, when you give a group of four or five people a task, ask them to be creative about it, and present something to the class an hour later.”

Entrepreneur •

i travelled a lot in Europe, working for an IT company in Latvia that did work for hotels and travel agencies. I was disappointed that

valuable information about things such as good restaurants or upcoming events wasn’t well communicated by hosts or receptionists.

That’s why we created Guidewiser, a cross-platform messenger-based tool that helps hotels and short-term rent-als provide a better travel experience to their guests. By automating busi-ness processes before, during and after a trip, it reduces costs and saves time.

I met my partner Yuriy, a web develop-er, during a startup weekend in Brussels in 2016. We set up our business here because of the opportunities: dynamic start-up community, business incuba-tors and support from the state. Brus-sels is well-located, too, and close to all the major target markets. We liked the possibility of working in more than one language; testing this approach from a marketing, sales and product development perspective was challeng-ing. While we use English at work, we

both learnt French and Dutch to better understand our customers.

Our team is international – from Latvia, Russia, France and Belgium. Currently we work in a co-working space, which lets us concentrate on our core business and avoids wasting time on office management. It also provides a great opportunity to meet other startups, share knowledge and find contacts, partners and customers.

Before you set up a company, you need to test your business idea, put numbers on paper, speak with experts and, most importantly, get feedback from potential customers. Think big, but start small. One challenge we faced when setting up was the requirement to prove knowledge of business man-agement. I eventually passed a basic business management exam in Belgium to prove my education and experi-ence, which was a long and expensive process. We financed the venture from personal savings and are working closely with ING to increase investments to help scale up our business and break into markets outside Belgium.

If you want to maintain a work-life balance, you need to have an open dialogue with your family and your team or partner. I’m preparing for my first marathon, so I run three to four mornings a week. It’s a great way to lower stress levels and get the feeling that you’re capable of taking things on and getting them done.

guidewiser.com

start me upGuidewiser is an award-winning messenger service for travellers set up in Brussels by Latvian Karlis Skuja his partner Yuriy Perminov from Russia

“Using a co-working space lets us concentrate on our core business”


On 20 and 21 May 2017, you can exclusively enjoy*:

20% saving on the outlet price† in participating boutiques.

Access to the unique Expats VIP Lounge, where you’ll enjoy free refreshments

Free travel from Brussels to Maasmechelen Village with the Shopping Express® coach service: Book your ticket using the promotional code ‘EXPAT17’ at MaasmechelenVillage.com/shoppingexpress

Visit MaasmechelenVillage.com/expats for more information and to register for this exclusive VIP Shopping Weekend.

* Offer only valid during the Expats VIP Shopping Weekend on 20 and 21 May 2017 in Maasmechelen Village for those who registered at MaasmechelenVillage.com/expats †Outlet price offers a year-round reduction of up to 60% on the recommended retail price. © Maasmechelen Village 2017 03/17

20–21 MAY 2017

EXCLUSIVE EXPATSVIP SHOPPING WEEKEND

On 20 and 21 May 2017, you can exclusively enjoy*:

20% saving on the outlet price† in participating boutiques.

Access to the unique Expats VIP Lounge, where you’ll enjoy free refreshments

Free travel from Brussels to Maasmechelen Village with the Shopping Express® coach service: Book your ticket using the promotional code ‘EXPAT17’ at MaasmechelenVillage.com/shoppingexpress

Visit MaasmechelenVillage.com/expats for more information and to register for this exclusive VIP Shopping Weekend.

* Offer only valid during the Expats VIP Shopping Weekend on 20 and 21 May 2017 in Maasmechelen Village for those who registered at MaasmechelenVillage.com/expats †Outlet price offers a year-round reduction of up to 60% on the recommended retail price. © Maasmechelen Village 2017 03/17

20–21 MAY 2017

EXCLUSIVE EXPATSVIP SHOPPING WEEKEND


Travel •

Escape to…

ChARLEROICharleroi is never going to top any lists of tourism hotspots. Belgium’s poster child for postwar urban depression has struggled to reinvent itself after the decline in the coal and steel industries. Yet there’s optimism in the air around its city centre regeneration, and, thanks to its airport, most people can pinpoint Charleroi on a map. The brand-new Rive Gauche complex (above) is reigniting the centre with a shopping mall, hotel, apartments and cafes. Locals, known as Carolos, remain positive and loyally defensive of their city, which is full of artistic grit. Welcome to Belgium’s black country.paysdecharleroi.be

sEE

It’s a city of highs and lows, divided as it is into a lower and upper town. Charleroi South railway station is close to the former; as you cross the Sambre, admire The Miner and The Metallurgist, two sculptures by Belgian artist Constantin Meunier. You can’t miss the new Rive Gauche shopping mall, carefully inte-grated into the urban fabric of the lower town. It has seven entrances, bay windows and skylights and incorporates the listed Neoclassic Passage de la Bourse. The 90-store complex opens on to the new Place Verte. From here, follow the sloping shopping drag Rue de la Montagne to Place Charles II, the belfry and the upper town. Nearby cultural hot-spots include the arts complex Palais des Beaux-Arts and the recently renovated contempo-rary arts space BPS22. Statues of the Marcinelle school characters Marsupilami, Lucky Luke and Spirou & Fanta-sio, dotted around the city, celebrate Charleroi’s history as a comic capital. For a chal-lenging walk, climb one of the nearby slag heaps and admire the view, or scale the slopes on a mountain bike.

DO

Take a tour to admire Art Nouveau and Art Deco architecture and offbeat sites. Film buffs are well served at Quai10, a new cinema complex on the banks of the Sambre. As well as a varied programme of films in their original version, it offers a gaming area and brasserie. The city specialises in bijou theatres, among them La Ruche, Petit Théâtre de la Ruelle and Le Poche. Away from the city centre, Charleroi Adventure proposes urban safaris in which you can discover where Magritte’s mother committed suicide, visit an abandoned metal factory and experience other authentic ‘blights’. Rockerill Production, a former indus-trial factory, has been trans-formed into an alternative urban cultural centre in Mar-chienne-au-Pont serving as a platform for local musicians. At Mont-sur-Marchienne, the Charleroi Photo Museum was once a Carmelite convent but now shows major interna-tional exhibitions. One of the most important local heritage sites is Bois du Cazier at Marcinelle, commemorating the 1956 mining disaster in which 262 men lost their lives. In summer, head out to the countryside between the Sambre and Meuse rivers for Unesco-recognised folkloric walks.

EAT

Charleroi is one of the few towns where you can still find horsemeat on the menu. If that doesn’t ap-peal, there are numerous Italian and Greek eateries thanks to the postwar influx of immigrants. La Cantine des Bouchons is a bras-serie serving regional fare; for gastronomic dining, try L’Eveil des sens in Montigny-le-Tilleul. In Marchienne-au-Pont, you’ll find the Saka 20 wine bar (pictured), where larger-than-life host and au-thor Philippe Genion can fill you in on local life. The bon vivant has just published his latest book, L’Encylopédie du baraki – a Walloon term that originally meant a travel-ler or caravan dweller and is now a stereotype for an ill-mannered, badly dressed person.


Business • Lifestyle •

A balcony, a terrace, a windowsill – urban gar-dening comes in many shapes and sizes. Across Brussels, city dwellers

of all ages and backgrounds are pushing the limits of ingenuity and innovation, making the most of restricted and unu-sual spaces to grow herbs, vegetables, flowers and even small trees.

Take Allan Howard, who’s convinced you can grow vegetables no matter where you live. Before settling in Brus-sels in 1998, Howard, from Scotland, spent six years in the Middle East, set-ting up permaculture projects in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

“Palestinians have so much apprecia-tion for what they grow,” he says.

The green cityTake inspiration on turning the smallest spaces into flourishing urban gardens

✶ By Bartosz Brzezinski


“They’re very proud of it. And despite everything that’s going on there, it’s the perfect place to grow plants be-cause of the wonderful sunshine.”

The weather in Brussels, he adds, is much less forgiving. “The soil is wet, the climate humid, and we also have a problem with slugs and snails. It’s get-ting worse every year.” Still, he doesn’t let that deter him from cultivating the plot of land behind his house.

Tucked away in a sleepy street near Flagey, the garden is surrounded by tall townhouses, so it doesn’t see much sun. For the past 10 years, Howard has been growing tomatoes and cucumbers, alongside beans, courgettes and peppers. This year, he’s also trying out onions and leeks.


“I’ve always been interested in what you can grow in very limited spaces,” he says. “People assume that a garden lies flat on the ground, but in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Tomatoes, cucum-bers and beans – they grow upwards, so I installed beams with frames on them, meaning I can have three sepa-rate layers of food. The top level is for beans, below that I’ll have tomatoes and cucumbers, and on the raised bed on the ground, peppers and salads.”

In the far corner of the yard sits a compost bin filled with food leftovers that Howard uses to replenish the soil. He gets his seeds in the post from an organic supplier in the UK and a nursery in the north of Belgium, and spends about an hour each day tend-ing the plants.

His first job in Belgium was for a landscape architect, who specialised in designing gardens for wealthy people all around Europe, but Ingenito found it frustrating. “I thought to myself, why can’t an average person have a nice and affordable garden, even if they lack the space? That’s why I started my own thing.”

To get to his first project, he rented a car and borrowed some tools. Word of mouth spread fast and soon there was enough interest in his work that Ingenito could set up his own business. Today, the vast majority of his clients are expats. It’s a niche, he says, that no one else seems to have tapped into. In the gardens he creates, he goes for what he calls a layering effect. “Mixing larger plants with

American landscape architect

Joseph Ingenito

“The hardest thing is to take the first step from never having done any gardening, to just doing it,” he says. “It’s especially true with children. Give them beans to grow in a plastic box – when they see them sprout-ing, they actually want to nurture them and protect them. It’s amazing when that happens. And suddenly you realise that gardening is not that difficult. All you need is some seeds, a container, and a balcony or even a windowsill.”

Elsewhere in the city, Joseph Ingenito is getting ready to visit one of his clients. The American moved to Brus-sels with his partner in 2006, having previously worked for a San Francisco non-profit that converted empty spaces into community gardens.

Lifestyle •


smaller ones in different-sized pots to create this sort of mini landscape,” he explains. “That’s the most effec-tive way to use small spaces.”

Among his most challenging designs was a garden for a small windowsill. “I realised that you really don’t need a lot of space,” he says. “I planted vines on both sides of the window and put some plants on the sill. The whole thing looks like a vignette of a forest.”

He gets his plants from the Sunday market at Midi station and from nurseries around Brussels. One of his favourites is the multi-stemmed amelanchier, a tree that flowers in the spring, has green leaves through the summer and colourful ones in the autumn. For a year-round display, he recommends investing in an ever-

Scottish gardener Allan Howard

ParckFarm community garden in the north of

Brussels


green shrub, like the Japanese pieris, or, if space is an issue, grasses like liriope.

“A garden creates that connection with nature, which we often lack in cities,” he says. “When it starts to blossom, you know spring is just around the corner. Even just one plant can attract all types of birds, bees and butterflies. People tell me this makes a huge difference in their lives.”

As a trained landscape architect, Ingenito knows the ins and outs of even the most elaborate designs, but he believes anyone can become a gardener, even those lacking the space in their own house. “In San Francisco, we created small gardens in these tiny vacant lots throughout the city. The whole community would get together to divide the plots among themselves – 25 people in a lot the size of a small house, and that was enough. You got to know the people in your neighbourhood, and the space created a sense of owner-ship and community.”

Compared to San Francisco, he adds, Brussels still has room to grow. “A lot more is happening compared to when I moved here, but community gardening still seems like a new thing. There is a lot of learning to be done on community and policy level, but we’re heading in the right direction.”

The capital has at least one or two community gardens in each of its 19 municipalities. They vary in size, but among the biggest is ParckFarm, be-neath an overpass connecting Laeken with Molenbeek. The site comprises a vegetable garden, a chicken shed, a wood-fired oven and a greenhouse that becomes a cafe in the summer. The latter is the heart of the place, serving as a community space with free agricultural workshops and a weekly fresh produce market.

Gabriele Annicchiarico, who helps run it, moved to Brussels from Italy three years ago. “ParckFarm was founded in 2014 to show that grow-ing food in an urban environment is possible, and to exchange knowledge on sustainable food,” he says, but the site attracts people of all walks of life. “We have groups of friends who come here just to have a drink, children who play games while their parents take part in the workshops, and families looking to bake a pizza in the oven.”

As an archaeologist who specialises in urban agriculture, Annicchiarico sees ParckFarm as more than just an urban garden. “This is a very mixed neighbourhood, with people who are Flemish, Muslim, francophone, Italian, Chinese and Spanish. Instead of living apart, we’re creating a space where we can meet and stay together. People respect this place. It’s fantastic.”

“A garden creates that connection with nature, which we often lack in cities”

Technology •

Digital world New high-tech gadgets and accessories


Varta Indestructible PowerPack 6000

And what do you do when you’re in the middle of nowhere and your devices are running out of juice? That’s the moment you wish you had a device like Varta’s PowerPack with you: a rugged power bank the German battery manufacturer considers indestructible. It contains a 6000mAh lithium ion battery, with the capacity to recharge your mobile phone three times, and can charge two devices at a time. It also holds its charge for up to six months. But the real advantage of this device over other power banks is, of course, its ruggedness. Its casing is built in durable ABS plastic and aluminium, meaning it can survive the toughest situations in terms of dust, water and other abuse. €60varta.com

DJI Mavic Pro

Putting a drone in the air and making it follow you to record your outdoor activities is becoming a trend, with French company Parrot and China’s DJI leading this segment. The latter has just released its most spectacular drone to date with the DJI Mavic Pro, a quadcopter that can stay in the air for up to 27 minutes on a single charge, and records 4K video feeds and 12-megapixel stills. It also remembers the exact GPS coordinates of where it took off, so it can return to that point when you stop its flight. It can gain speeds of up to 65km/h and withstand wind speeds of up to 40km/h. Plus, it’s foldable. €1,199dji.com

Nikon KeyMission 170

GoPro is still king of the action-cam sector, but Japanese competitors Sony and Nikon are taking the market by

storm. A very interesting device in that regard is Nikon’s KeyMission 170, with an 8.3-megapixel camera with wide-angle lens (the 170 in its name stands for the degrees of its camera angle). It shoots video in 4K resolution and stabilises its images electronically. It’s a

sturdy device, which offers high resistance against water, dust, freezing and shock without an extra case. It also connects wirelessly to your other devices through wifi and Bluetooth. €400nikon.com


What’shappening

PIERRE ET GILLEs: CLAIR-OBsCuRPop Art is not dead, as evidenced by this new exhibition. In a fresh collection of portraits, the controversial French couple and artistic duo continue their decades-long fusion of photography, painting, religious iconography and pulp (often queer) eroticism. Subjects of their latest work include ordinary folks, subcultural types and celebrities like Belgian singer Stromae (pictured). The artists are also set to discuss their 40-year career in person, with a one-off event at Flagey on 18 April.Until 14 May, Museum of Ixelles, Brussels, museedixelles.be

Agenda •


RIK WOuTERs

Belgium celebrates one of its pioneering Modernists with a career-spanning exhibition of Fauvist painter Rik Wouters. In a few short years – he died in 1916, aged 33 – the Mechelen-born artist produced a rich and influential body of work. His vivid colours and impressionistic brushstrokes earned Wouters comparisons to fellow Belgian James Ensor as well as French Impressionists Cézanne and Renoir. This major exhibition brings together works from the Royal Museums in Brussels and Antwerp as well as international institutions and private collections.Until 2 July Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Brussels fine-arts-museum.be

IRIs FEsTIVAL

Every year Brussels inaugurates its festival season with an epic open-air party. Iris Festival occupies nearly the entire city centre for two days. Public squares and green spaces are hubs of cultural activity. Event tents, open-air stages and food trucks are everywhere, as are local artists strutting their stuff. The event is also a celebration of the Brussels-Capital Region, which was granted its political autonomy 28 years ago. Entry is free and everyone is invited.6&7 May irisfestival.brussels

CuLTuREs: ThE WORLD ARTs FAIR

Brussels’ Sablon district cements its reputation for collectible non-European art and antiques with Cultures: The World Arts Fair. The event is the super-group of art fairs, combining the energies (and rolodexes) of three already established events: Asian Art in Brussels, the Brussels Ancient Art Fair and the Brussels Non-European Art Fair. Dozens of professionally vetted galleries form a walking circuit through the streets of the Sablon. The programme also includes lectures by international experts on ethnic art.7-11 June Sablon, Brussels cultures.brussels

BALKAN TRAFIK

The 11th edition of the Balkan Trafik festival promises its customary smorgasbord of cultural offerings from southeastern Europe. The festival, conceived by Belgian filmmaker Nicolas Wieërs after an eye-opening journey to Kosovo, presents a cross-section of music and film from a notoriously diverse, sometimes fractious region. The objective is to entertain the home audience while providing guest artists the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience on neutral ground. The festival has proven such a success that this year it’s expanding to Paris in June.20-23 April Bozar, Brussels balkantrafik.com

eVenTS WiTH ing

•Listen Festival Music workshop and pop-up bar, 30 March-1 April, 18.00, ING Art Center, 5 Place Royale, Brussels, listenfestival.eu

•Expat Pensions seminar, 11 May, 18.00, ING Marnix Auditorium, 24 Avenue Marnix, Brussels

• Expat Financial Planning seminar, 11 May, 18.00, ING Marnix Auditorium, 24 Avenue Marnix, Brussels

•Start Your Own Business workshop, 30 May, 14.00-17.30, ING Art Center, 5 Place Royale, Brussels

NENDO: INVIsIBLE OuTLINEs

Led by young architect Oki Sato, Japanese design studio Nendo splashed on to the international scene in 2003 and quickly earned a reputation for imagination and minimalism. Sato recently took top honours at prestigious Paris design fair Maison & Objet. The site-specific exhibition Invisible Outlines is the fruit of an invitation to re-imagine one of Wallonia’s repurposed post-industrial spaces, namely the Grand-Hornu mining complex currently occupied by the Centre of Innovation and Design. Sato and co will transform various interior and exterior spaces.21 May-1 October CID, Grand-Hornu cid-grand-hornu.be

sWEATING FOR EuROPE

Finland is observing the centenary of its independence with a wide-ranging programme of diplomatic and cultural events around the world. The contemporary art happening-cum-town hall debate Sweating for Europe puts the heat on Brussels. The action takes place in and around Dida Zende’s converted fire truck, in which the German concept artist has installed a Finnish-style sauna. MEPs are invited in to sweat out a discussion on the day’s hot political topics while citizens enjoy a festive atmosphere, complete with live Finnish folk music, outside. 24-26 April European Parliament Brussels finncult.be


BRussELs shORT FILM FEsTIVAL

The Brussels Short Film Festival is one of the capital’s major cinematic events, featuring some 300 screenings in spaces across Brussels and drawing 25,000 cinephiles annually. This 20th edition boasts the usual national and international competitions as well as special programmes dedicated to up-and-coming talent, cult cinema and other themes. And, since it’s a special anniversary, festival organisers are convening guest filmmakers from previous editions, many of whom – like Oscar-winning Belgian director Michaël R Roskam – have since become world-class celebrities.27 April-7 May Across Brussels bsff.be

QuEEN ELIsABETh COMPETITION

The Queen Elisabeth Competition is one of Europe’s most prestigious classical music contests. Each year the competition focuses on a different instrument. This year it’s the cello. The early rounds take place at Flagey while the finals unfold at Bozar, with the assistance of the Brussels Philharmonic and conductor Stéphane Denève. Laureates are announced just hours after the last note is struck. The victors will go on to perform a series of concerts in Brussels and throughout Belgium in June.8 May-3 June Flagey and Bozar Brussels qeimc.be

communiTY eVenTS

•The Real Inspector Hound & Gosforth’s Fete 5-14 May, Belfry Little Theatre, Paardenmarkt 111, Antwerp, batsantwerp.be

•A Wilde Night Out 16-20 May, Warehouse Studio Theatre, 69A Rue Waelhem, Brussels, ecc.theatreinbrussels.com

•Theatrical quiz 17 June, Warehouse Studio Theatre, 69A Rue Waelhem, Brussels, ecc.theatreinbrussels.com

•HMS Pinafore 1-4 June, De Bosuil cultural centre, Overijse, bloc-brussels.com

•Irish Universities Alumni Annual Dinner 20 June, venue tbc, facebook.com/belgiumirishalumni

Agenda •


GARDEN FAIRs

Spring has sprung, or is soon to spring. Alas, one never knows exactly when. One thing is certain, though: it will spring eventually. And when it does, Brussels hosts a panoply of plant and garden fairs at which to savour the regenerative properties of the season. The 14th edition of Floralia Brussels (7 April-7 May) transforms the castle of Groot-Bijgaarden, on the outskirts of the city, into a verdant paradise. The annual public opening of the Royal Greenhouses (14 April-5 May) is another chance to get reacquainted with greenery. For those who like their plants pesticide-free, Liège-based association Adalia celebrates the 10th edition of its Printemps Sans Pesticides (until 20 June) with open houses, markets, workshops, conferences and other events across Wallonia.floralia-brussels.beopen.monarchie.beadalia.be

AMERICAN ART

The ‘special relationship’ is on display this year in London, where three leading arts institutions present major exhibitions devoted to American art. Tate Modern’s Robert Rauschenberg (until 2 April), organised with New York’s MoMA, is the first posthumous retrospective of the late American Pop artist. The Royal Academy of Arts explores Depression-era culture in America After the Fall: Painting in the 1930s (until 4 June). And the British Museum takes visitors from mid-century to the present day with The American Dream: Pop to the Present (until 18 June).tate.org.uk royalacademy.org.uk britishmuseum.org

FuR & FEAThERs

Just a stone’s throw from the Belgian border, France’s Musée de Flandre is dedicated to showcasing Flemish art through the ages. Its previous exhibition, Odyssey of the Animals, focused on the representation of animals in 17th-century Flemish painting. Its sequel, Fur & Feathers, fast-forwards to the present day. A new generation of multimedia artists is continuing the work begun by the Golden Age painters but the new school expands the scope of this meditation on the animal world to take in new media and new technologies. The exhibition features works by Jan Fabre, Wim Delvoye, Berlinde de Bruyckere and Koen Vanmechelen.Until 9 July Musée de Flandre Cassel (France)museedeflandre.lenord.fr

FAshIONT-shirt

Wouter Hoste graduated from Antwerp’s renowned Fashion Academy in 1987, before moving to Paris where he worked with Jean-Paul Gaultier. He returned to Belgium in the 1990s to work for local labels, and set up his men’s fashion label Antwrp 10 years ago. Pictured is a T-shirt from his summer collection. €40antwrp.be

REsTAuRANTFrites Atelier

Building on the success of three branches in the Netherlands, Dutch chef Sergio Herman has brought his gourmet chip shop to Antwerp. Herman uses Zeeland potatoes for his fries, which are cooked in a blend of 100% natural oils, then fried and flavoured with samphire. fritesatelieramsterdam.com

What’s newThe latest openings, launches and gift ideas


GROOMINGGaleria Inno

German shaving products company Golddachs has opened a barber shop inside the Galeria Inno department store on Brussels’ Avenue Louise, offering haircuts, shaves, beard styling and beauty treatments. €15 to €70.

When I heard the President of the United States announce that he wanted to “make America great again”, my first thought was that you would never hear a Belgian

politician say something like that.

It’s hard to imagine anyone around here shouting out “Belgium first”, though they might, possibly, if they were feeling bold, say something like “Belgium fourteenth”.

What’s the matter with this country? Whenever you read a survey of the world’s best countries, Belgium always seems to come somewhere in the middle; in, let’s say, an EU survey of pollution levels, Belgium will fall roughly in the middle of the European Union, a little behind the Netherlands, a little ahead of Italy.

Sadly, it seems Belgium has no desire to be number one in the world. It’s happy to be average. But that’s maybe not such a bad thing, when you think about it. It means you don’t have to listen to Belgians telling you all the time that their country is the greatest. In fact, if you ever try to convince a local that Belgium is actually quite a decent little country, he or she will quickly tell you that it’s not.

There is maybe one thing Belgium does better than any other country – and that’s boredom. Everyone seems to agree that Belgium is the most boring country in Europe, and that Brussels is as dull as it gets.

Which explains why the Oscar-winning best film of 2017 was written in a quiet cafe in central Brussels.

It goes back to the summer of 2013, when American film director Barry Jenkins was looking for somewhere quiet to work on his gay coming-of-age screenplay set in inner-city Miami. “Friends told me Brussels was the most boring place in Europe in the summer and I would have no distractions,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

Perfect, he thought. He found an apartment to rent in Rue des Chartreux and settled down each morning at a window table in the Lord Byron cafe. Just 10 days later, he had completed the screenplay for Moonlight.

It’s not the first time a foreign writer has produced a great work in Brussels. Dutch novelist Multatuli wrote his classic Max Havelaar in a rented room above a Brussels cafe and Charlotte Brontë based her great romantic novel Villette on a two-year stay in Brussels.

Jenkins later admitted that people were wrong about Brussels. It wasn’t at all the most boring city in Europe, he said in an interview with Knack magazine. “The long walks in Brussels were a huge inspiration,” he said. “Please tell your fellow Belgians that Barry Jenkins really loves Brussels.”

But maybe that would send out the wrong message. Most Belgians would prefer to let people think that nothing ever happens here, a boring city in the world’s most boring country.

✶ By Derek Blyth

And the award for most boring city goes to…


Last word •

Everyone seems to agree that Belgium is the most boring country in Europe

SPRING 2017 I 31

Protected since the 15th century as

ducal hunting grounds, the forest

retains a primeval feel, and wild

boar and deer still roam. � e terrain

underfoot is well suited for runners,

with hard paths that don’t wreck the

legs. Most intersections are marked,

and maps are posted at each trailhead.

“But you have to respect the forest,

and not go off piste, or go on the paths

reserved for cyclists or horseriders,”

Watson points out.

Outside Brussels, there are the

Ardennes for more hilly climbs and

cobbled streets, while Flanders offers

fl atter trails, often alongside fi elds,

canals and bicycle routes.

� ere are two expat fun run groups

in the capital, both part of the Hash

House Harriers movement, where the

group follows a trail laid on the ground

with blobs of fl our. � e Brussels Hash

House Harriers have been around for

almost 40 years and run on Saturdays

afternoons; the Brussels Manneken Pis

Hash House Harriers, set up 27 years

ago, meet on Sunday afternoons or

Monday evenings in July and August.

� e location of each run is always

posted on their websites. More serious

runners can join the Wednesday and

Friday night workouts at the Free

University of Brussels (VUB) track or

the Tuesday night Royal Racing Club

de Bruxelles speed workout at the Parc

Sportif des Trois Tilleuls in Boitsfort.

� ere are many races of all distances

and types in Belgium. � e dominant

event is the Brussels 20km at the end of

May, which attracts 40,000 runners.

� ere’s also the Brussels marathon

and half marathon in October, while

the Argenta Running Tour and the

Challenge du Brabant Wallon are a

series of races in other cities around the

country. Websites like running.be list

all races.

Belgium has also caught on to the

new wave of running events that

take it in new directions. Mud runs

have taken on in a big way, with

two series, Gladiator and Spartacus,

leading participants through a

series of military-style obstacles

while caking them in thick mud.

The Urban Trail in eight cities

takes runners through classic city

locations: the Brussels edition, in

June, takes them into the library,

the beautiful Grand Eldorado

cinema and the Saint-Hubert

galleries. And in the summer, the

Color Run is a 5km route where

runners are pelted with powder as

they jog around the canal zone.

Leo Cendrowicz

For more details about running

clubs and other sports groups, see

the Leisure section at the back of

this magazine

30 I SPRING 2017

RUN FOR ITWith such varied terrain in easy reach,

Belgium is a great place to be a runner. So

say goodbye to the treadmill and hit the trails

Whether

you’re a

beginner or

veteran, a

fair weather

fun runner

or a dedicated marathoner, Belgium

is a great place to do it. It has easy

access to parks, hills, forests, fi elds

and trails, as well as a wide range

of races and events for all levels of

runners.

As one of Europe’s greener capitals –

over 8,000 hectares of green spaces

– with parks and gardens around the

city, Brussels offers a lot of options for

runners. “Brussels is a great location

for running because the terrain is

so varied. You’re right on the edge

of the woods,” says Rory Watson, a

Scottish journalist, marathon runner

and longtime Brussels resident. “I’ve

been running for almost 36 years, and

haven’t covered all the spaces here.

It’s got great variety and you can get

to places easily, by car or by public

transport.”

Inside Brussels, the Woluwe and

Laeken parks are usually scattered with

runners, while most lunchtimes there

is a parade of people jogging around

Cinquentenaire, Leopold park, the

Bois de la Cambre and the city-centre

Warande park.

But Watson singles out the Forêt

de Soignes for its lush scenery. “I

can’t think of anywhere else with

such a wide range of forest so close.

It’s just 10 minutes from my home

in Montgomery,” he says. Located

mainly in the Flemish space between

the Brussels Capital region and

Wallonia, the forest extends from

Tervuren in the north-east, through

Boitsfort, Uccle and Hoeilaart, down

to La Hulpe and Waterloo in the

south.

Sign up today at thebulletin.be

Check out our new-look quarterly magazine!

� e Spring issue is full of lifestyle features, practical guides and a focus on education

SPECIAL OFFER

� e Bulletin Subscribe now for €14.95

and get 4 magazines for the price of 3

RUN FOR ITWith such varied terrain in easy reach,

Belgium is a great place to be a runner. So

say goodbye to the treadmill and hit the trails

hether

you’re a

beginner or

veteran, a

fair weather

fun runner

or a dedicated marathoner, Belgium

is a great place to do it. It has easy

access to parks, hills, forests, fi elds

and trails, as well as a wide range

of races and events for all levels of

As one of Europe’s greener capitals –

over 8,000 hectares of green spaces

– with parks and gardens around the

city, Brussels offers a lot of options for

runners. “Brussels is a great location

for running because the terrain is

so varied. You’re right on the edge

of the woods,” says Rory Watson, a

Scottish journalist, marathon runner

and longtime Brussels resident. “I’ve

been running for almost 36 years, and

haven’t covered all the spaces here.

RUN FOR ITHe’s right: despite its many qualities,

Brussels lags behind the major

metropolises when it comes to

institutionalised art. But that’s not

necessarily such a bad thing. On the

contrary, according to Xavier Hufkens,

who opened his fi rst gallery in Brussels

about 30 years ago. “When it comes

to museums and grand collections like

the Louvre, the situation is scarce in

Brussels,” he says. “So the citizens take

it upon themselves to do things, which

makes for a very dynamic and friendly

environment.”

� is do-it-yourself mentality is

striking. While Middlemarch sets

up exhibitions at home in a private

apartment, the Rectangle collective

show art on a large billboard above

their studio roof in Saint-Gilles, and art

students organise their own exhibitions

instead of waiting for a gallery to

represent them. One of them is Lisa

Lapierre, who launched her exhibition

project Foreseen a couple of years ago.

“Here, anyone can give it a try, and

it’s much easier to gather people and

fi nd followers than in other cities. � e

Brussels art scene encourages honesty

and determination.”

� e future looks bright, too. If all

goes according to plan, Brussels

will fi nally get its own modern art

museum. Last autumn, Paris’s Centre

Pompidou and the Brussels-Capital

Region signed a memorandum that

envisages its opening in the city’s

former Citroën building in 2020. And

though some are already damning the

rising gentrifi cation, Brussels remains

a hotbed for artists of all shapes and

forms, from anywhere in the world.

Levey: “It’s so hard to be an artist, and

rightfully so. � at said, there aren’t

many cities where it’s easier to harbour

dreams of becoming one than it is in

Brussels.” Sarah Schug

ART FAIR TIPS FOR NEWBIES

� e fi rst steps of buying contemporary

art can be daunting for the

inexperienced collector. Liv Vaisberg –

art adviser, co-founder of Poppositions,

founder of design fair Collectible, former

director of Independent and founder of

Complex, which off ers tailor-made tours

through Brussels’ art scene – shares

her tips on how to navigate the art fair

jungle.

• DO ask galleries in advance to be

invited to the VIP preview, or go on

the Friday, when it’s quiet. Quickly

scan the fair before going more in-

depth in booths that have caught

your eye

• DON’T be scared to ask gallerists

about the works or prices.

You won’t understand a lot of

contemporary art by just looking at

it – you need background

• DO buy artists on whom you have

a crush, but go home fi rst to learn

more about them

• DON’T buy with your ears, just

because you’ve heard a certain

artist is hot

• DO use art advisers or join art

groups. Some specialise in

accompanying budding collectors

to help them choose

• DON’T hesitate to focus on young

galleries. If they’ve been selected,

it’s a token of quality

SPRING 2017 I 27

EUROPE DAY

24 I SPRING 2017

ART AND SOUL

With the highlight of the Belgian art year around the

corner, we examine what’s turned Brussels into such a

hotspot for contemporary art

EUROPE DAY

He’s right: despite its many qualities,

Brussels lags behind the major

metropolises when it comes to

institutionalised art. But that’s not

necessarily such a bad thing. On the

contrary, according to Xavier Hufkens,


� e fi rst steps of buying contemporary

art can be daunting for the

inexperienced collector. Liv Vaisberg –

art adviser, co-founder of Poppositions,

founder of design fair Collectible, former


ART AND SOUL


about 30 years ago. “When it comes

to museums and grand collections like

the Louvre, the situation is scarce in

Brussels,” he says. “So the citizens take

it upon themselves to do things, which

makes for a very dynamic and friendly

environment.”

� is do-it-yourself mentality is

striking. While Middlemarch sets

up exhibitions at home in a private

apartment, the Rectangle collective

show art on a large billboard above

their studio roof in Saint-Gilles, and art

students organise their own exhibitions

instead of waiting for a gallery to

represent them. One of them is Lisa

Lapierre, who launched her exhibition

project Foreseen a couple of years ago.

“Here, anyone can give it a try, and

it’s much easier to gather people and

fi nd followers than in other cities. � e

Brussels art scene encourages honesty

and determination.”

� e future looks bright, too. If all

goes according to plan, Brussels

will fi nally get its own modern art

museum. Last autumn, Paris’s Centre

Pompidou and the Brussels-Capital

Region signed a memorandum that

envisages its opening in the city’s

former Citroën building in 2020. And

though some are already damning the

rising gentrifi cation, Brussels remains

a hotbed for artists of all shapes and

forms, from anywhere in the world.

Levey: “It’s so hard to be an artist, and

rightfully so. � at said, there aren’t

many cities where it’s easier to harbour

dreams of becoming one than it is in

Brussels.” Sarah Schug


Complex, which off ers tailor-made tours

through Brussels’ art scene – shares

her tips on how to navigate the art fair

jungle.

• DO ask galleries in advance to be

invited to the VIP preview, or go on

the Friday, when it’s quiet. Quickly

scan the fair before going more in-

depth in booths that have caught

your eye

• DON’T be scared to ask gallerists

about the works or prices.

You won’t understand a lot of

contemporary art by just looking at

it – you need background

• DO buy artists on whom you have

a crush, but go home fi rst to learn

more about them

• DON’T buy with your ears, just

because you’ve heard a certain

artist is hot

• DO use art advisers or join art

groups. Some specialise in

accompanying budding collectors

to help them choose

• DON’T hesitate to focus on young

galleries. If they’ve been selected,

it’s a token of quality

SPRING 2017 I 27

EUROPE DAY

EUROPE DAY

SOULWith the highlight of the Belgian art year around the

what’s turned Brussels into such a

for contemporary art

EUROPE DAY

EUROPE DAY

With the highlight of the Belgian art year around the

corner, we examine hotspot for contemporary art hotspot for contemporary art hotspot



SOULWith the highlight of the Belgian art year around the

what’s turned Brussels into such a

for contemporary art

SPRING 2017 I 9

LEARNING DIFFERENTLY

� ere is support available for children who fi nd

mainstream schooling diffi cult, and parents shouldn’t shy

away from seeking an assessment, says Dr Kwan Bruhl

SPRING 2017 I 35

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY

EDUCATION

The school system in

Belgium is structured on

three levels – pre-school,

primary and secondary –

and includes children from the age

of two up to 18. Education is split

along language lines, so each of the

three communities runs its own

system. Education is compulsory in

Belgium from the age of six to 18, but

children are not obliged to attend

classes at school – they can also

follow individual or collective home

education.

in Dutch-speaking Flanders and

Brussels), the term ‘basisonderwijs’

(basic education) refers to the

combination of pre-school and

primary school. In many cases,

schools combine both. It’s

EDUCATION

THE BELGIAN SYSTEM

Inspiring the international community since 1962

Investment and/or insurance of fer subject to acceptance by ING Belgium (or, where appropriate, the relevant insurance company) and to mutual agreement. Terms and conditions (regulations, rates, key information documents for investors or savers and other supplementary information) available from any ING branch or on www.ing.be. ING Belgium SA/nv –Bank –avenue Marnix 24, B-1000 Brussels –Brussels RPM/RPR –VAT: BE 0403.200.393 –BIC: BBRUBEBB –IBAN: BE45 3109 1560 2789. Insurance broker registered with the FSMA under the number 12381A. Publisher: Inge Ampe –Cours Saint-Michel 60, B-1040 Brussels.

O� er lifelong memories to my family

O� er a better future to other families

My assets. My choices.

Whatever your choices, ING Private Banking does everything to make them possible.

Your privileged relationship with your ING Private Banker enables you to benefi t from all his or her expertise to optimise your assets. In this way, you can make the right choices and realise your most cherished projects

ing.be/privatebanking

A4_ING_PM_PRIVATEBANKING_SAFARI_2016_UK.indd 1 13/05/16 12:07

n°17 expat time - ing.be · ing belgium [email protected] ... corina comes from romania and lives...

Documents