In memory of 1913

Ghent’s celebration reminds Flemings of the World’s Fair that happened right before the war

One hundred years ago this month, the World’s Fair opened in Ghent. Yet most residents aren’t aware of it. That’s because nine months after it closed, a war broke out, and Ghent was occupied by the Germans for the next four years. This year, the city and its cultural centres are hosting events and activities to recognise the historical event that’s been all but wiped out of local memory.

“Every time you think about 1913, you immediately think about 1914,” says Joost Vandommele. Indeed. The start of the First World War not only wiped out the immediate memories of the events in Ghent in 1913, it wiped them out of the collective historical consciousness. “There are people in Ghent now who’ve never even heard of the World’s Fair,” says Vandommele.

Lisa Bradshaw
(April 3, 2013)

Smet announces school reforms

Government considers incentives for schools that group together

More professional management teams, schools working co-operatively and teachers employed by more than one school at a time are three of the main elements in a new policy agreed by the government of Flanders for a reform of the primary and secondary school system.

School groupings will begin to take shape in 2017. Each group will be made up of several schools, with a total student body of at least 2,000 and an average of 6,000. The creation of co-operative groups will not be obligatory, but Flemish education minister Pascal Smet held out the possibility of offering financial incentives to move to a group system. Management staff might be eligible for more pay if they work at a group level, while teachers would move towards being employed by a group rather than a single school.

Alan Hope
(April 3, 2013)