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Ghent University elects Anne De Paepe rector

The election marks the first woman rector of a university in Flanders

For the first time in its history, Ghent University has elected a woman as rector. Anne De Paepe, 57, was selected by the university board from the two candidates – herself and Thierry Mortier – who led in the elections.

De Paepe is a physician and heads the university’s centre for medical genetics. Her election comes as a surprise as her opponent, now vice-rector, was the favourite throughout the race.

Alan Hope
(May 22, 2013)

Train carriages hauled away from Wetteren

School reopens, and most residents have returned home in aftermath of crash

The town of Wetteren in East Flanders was gradually returning to normal this week, following the rail accident two weekends ago that led to a fire, toxic chemicals entering the sewer system and chaos for the rail network in the area. One elderly man died in his home from exposure to the fumes.

This Monday saw the start of the operation to remove the damaged tanks from the scene of the accident, 10 days after the derailment of the train carrying the chemical acrylonitrile. The six rearmost carriages, which were not derailed, were hosed down and attached to a locomotive to be towed to Dendermonde, about 15km away.

Alan Hope
(May 15, 2013)

Toxic freight explodes in East Flanders

One man dies and 33 are hospitalised after weekend derailment

An elderly man died, 33 people were taken to hospital and a 550-metre perimeter was evacuated when a freight train carrying toxic substances derailed near Wetteren in East Flanders at the weekend. The train exploded and caught fire, sending clouds of toxic vapour into the atmosphere.

Two people were still in intensive care as Flanders Today went to press due to the accident.

A 550-metre area surrounding Wetteren, Serskamp and Schellebelle was evacuated, and people living within a one-kilometre radius were advised to keep doors and windows closed. More homes were later evacuated when it was reported that toxic substances had been washed by fire service hoses into the sewers, from where the vapours could enter houses.

Alan Hope
(May 8, 2013)

Syria appeal a “success”, say organisers

Celebrities and citizens joined together to raise funds for Syria 12-12

An appeal for funds for the people affected by the civil war in Syria held last weekend has been declared a success by the Belgian Consortium for Emergency Aid Situations, commonly known as 12-12. The consortium is made up of several aid organisations, including Doctors of the World, Handicap International and Oxfam Solidarity. In its first week of campaigning, 12-12 managed to raise barely €100,000, as potential donors were distracted by the news about radical Islamist youths leaving Belgium to fight in Syria.

While a final figure had not yet been announced as Flanders Today went to press, Friday’s pledges alone topped the half-million mark, with more money flowing in over the weekend.

Among those taking part were crooner Helmut Lotti, who made a video explaining why donations were required and hosted a tea party. Drinking tea was the theme of the event, as the offering of tea to guests in Syria is an important ritual. Ghent city council also organised a tea party and made a donation of €18,000.

Alan Hope
(May 1, 2013)

All is fair in war

Antwerp’s long-running Sinksenfoor struggles to find a new spot

Residents of Antwerp’s Scheldekaaien – the streets overlooking the wharfs of the river – have picked up the baton from their neighbours in the southern docklands in protesting against the Sinksenfoor taking place in their neighbourhood.

The Sinksenfoor is Antwerp’s annual fair held in the weeks following Pentecost. Last week a judge in the city issued a decision to ban the carnival from taking place in the southern docklands in response to a complaint brought by local residents concerning the noise caused by the 150 fairground attractions and crowds.

Alan Hope
(April 24, 2013)

One giant leap

Antwerp University’s Brainleap project is helping decipher secret communications of the mind

The organ that enables us to think is also the most difficult to understand: the brain. The project Brainleap, co-ordinated by the University of Antwerp, is using a new method to gain insight into the mind-boggling processes that take place in the minds of living things. This visionary research could lead to innovations that will improve the lives of the blind, deaf and paralysed.

The Brainleap project is an initiative of professor Michele Giugliano, who leads the Laboratory of Theoretical Neurobiology and Neuroengineering at the University of Antwerp (UA). Giugliano also co-ordinates the activity of participating researchers from the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Israel. Together, they want to find out how brain cells – also known as nerve cells or neurons – interact to determine the behaviour of animals and humans.

Andy Furniere
(April 24, 2013)

Action sought on jihad fighters

Muslim youth from Flanders and Brussels are feeling the pressure to go and fight in Syria

Two parents from Flanders are in Syria, hoping they can find and convince their sons, who have gone to fight on the side of rebels, to come home. Meanwhile, politicians have come up with a remarkable selection of proposals for what to do about the problem of growing numbers of youths being recruited to travel to foreign war zones to take part in jihad.

Last week, Dimitri Bontinck from Antwerp was in Syria looking for his 16-year-old son, Jejoen, while another father from Vilvoorde was reported to have departed on the same mission. As Flanders Today went to press, neither had made contact with his son.

Alan Hope
(April 17, 2013)

Peeters visits Malawi and Botswana

Flemish government provides €25 million for agricultural development

Development and diamonds were on the agenda of Flemish minister-president Kris Peeters during a week-long visit last week to southern Africa. The first port of call was Malawi, where Peeters was met by president Joyce Banda, who visited Brussels last October at Peeters’ invitation.

Peeters signed a memorandum of understanding between the governments of Flanders and Malawi, including a pledge for funding worth €25 million in support of Malawi’s agriculture over the next five years. “We believe that president Joyce Banda is making the right decisions, and we have agreed that this money should be used in agriculture, which is the top priority area in our agreement,” Peeters told the country’s Daily Times.

Alan Hope
(April 10, 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)

De Gelder found guilty and responsible for his actions

The 24-year-old has been sentenced by a jury to life in prison
© POOL/Reuters/Corbis

A jury in Ghent last week took just over four hours of deliberation to find Kim De Gelder guilty of four murders and 25 charges of attempted murder. De Gelder, who stabbed two babies and a caregiver to death in a crèche in Dendermonde in 2009, was given four life sentences and 25 sentences of 20 years.

During the month-long trial, De Gelder never denied that he entered the crèche armed with a knife and an axe, striking out at anyone within reach. One week earlier, De Gelder had murdered an elderly woman in her home in Vrasene in order, he said, to still the voices in his head urging him to kill.

Alan Hope
(March 27, 2013)