rabble-rouser

David Van Reybrouck In the beginning of 2011, when Belgium was in the midst of its deepest political crisis ever, many felt a sparkle of hope in the birth of the G1000. The initiative, in which 1,000 ordinary citizens gathered to discuss the future of the country, was the idea of Flemish writer and historian David Van Reybrouck. Over the past few years, Van Reybrouck has become a well-known voice in the media as a opinion maker on topics like the gap between politics and ordinary people and the inefficiency of the democratic system. But his biggest achievement was the huge tome that he published about the history of Congo. It not only won several literary awards but was, quite surprisingly, a bestseller. (Senne Sterckx)  www.davidvanreybrouck.com

young sherlocks

Neveneffecten Comic foursome Neveneffecten (Side Effects) shook Flanders to its core this year with Basta, a television series mixing investigative journalism with satire. In the legendary first episode, Jelle De Beule, Jonas Geirnaert, Lieven Scheire and Koen De Poorter hid themselves in a container blocking the parking lot of mobile phone operators Mobistar to protest against the terrible service at Mobistar’s call centres. The YouTube version of the sketch with English subtitles has been viewed more than one million times. Neveneffecten went on to uncover the scams in call-in TV quizzes, putting them effectively out of business. The format was sold to American network Fox but, despite the desperate calls of fans, Geirnaert recently declared there will not be a second series in Flanders. (Daan Bauwens)

star power

Matthias Schoenaerts Flemish actor Matthias Schoenaerts went global in 2011. Well-known at home thanks to TV series De smaak van De Keyser and films such as Loft and My Queen Karo, he began the year with a career-defining role in Rundskop. This dark thriller had its international premiere at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival and went on to win around 20 prizes in festivals around the world. It was also selected as Belgium’s candidate for the 2012 foreign-language Oscar. Meanwhile Schoenaerts claimed his first substantial English-language role the US remake of Loft, due in cinemas next year, and was chosen by fashionable French director Jacques Audiard for a leading role in his next film. (Ian Mundell)

stage presence

Thomas Blondelle Flanders cheered last spring as 29-year-old tenor Thomas Blondelle strode up the Bozar stage to receive the Queen Elisabeth Competition’s second prize. A towering figure with a radiant voice and consummate acting skills, Blondelle studied musicology in Leuven and singing in his hometown Bruges. He made his De Munt debut in the role of Hans Scholl in Udo Zimmermann’s opera Die Weisse Rose and has since been heard in a wide range of styles from Mozart to Kurt Weill. Expect to hear more of him, as a singer but not only: He also dabbles with composition and libretto writing. (MD)  www.thomasblondelle.com

local heroes

Jan Van Doorn & Rudi Blockx Jan Van Doorn and Rudi Blockx win the prize for most indomitable spirit of 2011. Last summer, these 40-somethings left their home port of rural Arendonk in their trusted – if small – sailboat The Flying Arrow. Their destination? Amsterdam. Their route? Rivers and canals of Flanders and the Netherlands. Their ambition? Keep afloat. That was something they failed to do two years ago on a similar expedition, when a capsize in the Eastern Scheldt sent the helmsmen swimming. This year, Dutch police openly questioned the 4.77-metre Arrow’s seaworthiness, but the duo powered through and cruised into the Amsterdam canals paragons of Flemish enterprise. (Joris Verdonck)

social observer

Chika Unigwe Chika Unigwe was born and raised in Nigeria but married a Fleming and moved to Turnhout in the mid-1990s, where she has lived ever since. One of Flanders’ major literary talents, the translations of her books in Dutch often appear before being published in their original English. Writing largely about the social problems of migration, her 2011 novel On Black Sisters’ Street “marks the arrival of a latter-day Thackeray, an Afro-Belgian writer who probes with passion, grace and comic verve the underbelly of our globalized new world economy,” wrote The New York Times. Her novel Night Dancer, published in Dutch last year, is scheduled for publication in English next year. (Toon Horsten)

roadrunner

Kevin Borlée There is not much difference between 400m runners Kevin and Jonathan Borlée, the fastest twins in the world. But it’s Kevin who’s hauling in the medals for the moment. After becoming European champion in Barcelona last year, the 23-year-old Brusselaar took the bronze medal at the world championships in South Korea this year. The brothers are trained in the US by father Jacques, a former sprinter, and have a sister, Olivia, who is fast on the 100m. Let’s say it runs in the family. (Andy Furniere)

truth-teller

Jan Geuns This was a year of sweet victory for Pr o f e s s or Jan Geuns, head of the University of Leuven’s laborator y of functional biology and co-founder of the European Stevia Association (Eustas). Fifteen years ago, he was already convinced that his prime research subject, the sweetener stevia, would be a valuable alternative for sugar since it is calorie-free and could help combat the spread of diabetes and obesity. Still, until this year, the use of stevia was prohibited in the EU, reputedly on grounds of negative side effects. But Geuns points the finger at the so-called “sugar lobby”. Read more about the controversy in his book Stevia en steviolglycosiden: De naakte waarheid over Stevia of de politiek in zijn blootje (The Naked Truth About Stevia, or the Politics Exposed). (AF)

songbird

Selah Sue That Sanne Putseys, the young singer-songwriter from Leuven, won three awards at the Flemish Music Industry Awards (MIAs) earlier this month didn’t surprise anyone. Since she was discovered five years ago at the age of 17 by fellow Flemish singer Milow, the musical prodigy gradually conquered the music scenes of Belgium and its neighbours. In 2011, the mixture of soul, jazz, reggae and even Jamaican rhymes on her self-titled debut album was in heavy rotation on all Flemish radio stations, and she was invited to all the big (and small) festivals. Also famous for her extravagant bird’s nest hairstyle, an imitation of her was a star act on the comedy sketch TV show Tegen de sterren op. Now that’s success. (AF)

tiny dancer

Nina Plantefève Nina Plantefève is like the little engine that could. The 19-year-old from Gook, Flemish Brabant, auditioned for the Dutch-Flemish television show So You Think You Can Dance with ballet. That already made her an underdog. But as the show continued to whittle down its contestants, Plantefève passed muster every time – performing hip-hop, modern, rumba or jazz all equally well. She studied ballet in Antwerp but, despite having the talent and then some, is too short, at 1m52, to become a ballerina. But the jury and then finally the voting public found her quite big enough to win the prestigious title. One local newspaper dubbed her “Grote Nina”. Grote in Dutch means both great and tall. (Lisa Bradshaw)