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OPEN FLANDERS Contents Snapshot Vibrant welfare state Creative talent in the art cities Investing in the knowledge-based economy Colophon More information
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Snapshot 6,016,024 inhabitants in an area of 13,522 square kilometres: with 444 inhabitants per square kilometre, the region is one of the most densely populated in the world.
Brussel (Brussels) is not only the capital of Europe and Belgium, but also of Flanders.
On summer days, people go to the wide, sandy beaches of the North Sea in large numbers.
Flanders is a federated entity of the federal state of Belgium, with its own government and its own parliament.
On the Human Development Index of the United Nations, Flanders has one of the highest scores in the world.
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The economy is very open: the Flemish part in Belgian exports amounted to 81.1% in 2003.
Tourists love the vibrant art cities: Brugge (Bruges) (photo), Antwerpen (Antwerp) and Gent (Ghent) are the most famous, but Brussel, Leuven (Louvain) and Mechelen (Malines) also have a splendid heritage.
The visual arts in Flanders are world famous, with contemporary artists such as Jan Fabre, Panamarenko (photo) and Luc Tuymans, as well as old masters such as Jan Van Eyck and Pieter Paul Rubens.
On average, the quality of the restaurants is very high, and the cuisine covers dishes from all over the world. In most Flemish cities, you can easily find places to eat and dance until the early hours.
PANAMARENKO: COCO TAXI AND BOELA MATARI
Antwerpen sparkles as the world centre of the diamond trade and is one of the greatest avant-garde fashion cities in the world.
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PROFILE FLANDERS LANGUAGE :
Dutch federated entity of the federal state
FORM OF STATE :
of Belgium CAPITAL (*) :
Brussel (999.899 inhabitants) PROVINCIAL CAPITALS (*) : Antwerpen (455,148 inhabitants), Gent (229,344 inhabitants), Brugge (117,025 inhabitants), Leuven (89,777 inhabitants), Hasselt (69,127 inhabitants) TIME : GMT +1 hour (summer time from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October: GMT +2 hours) CURRENCY : Euro AREA (*) : 13.522 km2 NUMBER OF INHABITANTS (*) : 6,016,024 POPULATION DENSITY (*) : 444 inhabitants / km2 POPULATION PROGNOSIS FOR 31/12/2020 : 6,141,421 LIFE EXPECTANCY IN 2002 : 79 years (M: 76 years – F: 82 years) HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX 2002 : 0.946 (Germany, 0.925 - France, 0.932 – the Netherlands, 0.942 – US, 0.939 – Belgium, 0.942 – Norway, 0.956) GDP PER CAPITA 2003 : 26,900 euro purchasing power parity (France, 24,200 – Germany, 23,000 – Belgium, 24,800 the Netherlands, 25,600 – US, 32,700) DISTRIBUTION OF GROSS ADDED VALUE 2002 : services 67.8%, industry 30.6%, agriculture 1.5% IN 2003, THE FLEMISH SHARE IN BELGIAN EXPORTS AMOUNTED TO :
81,1% temperate maritime climate TEMPERATURE : average maximum daytime temperature between 5° C (January) and 21° C (August) GEOGRAPHY : flat land bordered by the sea SOIL : fertile clay, sand and loam CLIMATE :
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figures on 1/1/2004
LIFE
Vibrant welfare state T
he small region of Flanders near the North Sea is a prosperous area with close links with its neighbouring countries, the Netherlands, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The region turns its open character into its trademark and is nowadays successfully carrying out a pivotal role in Europe. As the plane circles over the airport at Brussel, you see the typical flat landscape sliding below you: black and white cows grazing in the patchwork of fields and meadows, the countless villages with their pointed church spires, the compact network of roads with a busy line of traffic crawling along and in the distance, the glittering skyline of the capital city. Flanders borders on the North Sea, with a sandy beach 65 kilometres long. The warm Gulf Stream passing here, ensures a temperate maritime climate with grey winter days around 5 degrees Centigrade and pleasant summers when the temperature rises to an average of 21 degrees Centigrade.
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Productivity ince the Middle Ages, Flanders has been a very dynamic region with busy commerce and trade in the cities and active agriculture in the countryside, working the fertile soil of clay, sand and loam. The Flemish people still enjoy being described as hard workers, and quite rightly: in terms of productivity per employee, the region still scored 21,7% higher than average for the EU-15 in 2002.
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Flemish agriculture continues to perform well, but now produces only 1.5% of GDP. The region has evolved to become a pronounced service economy with a service sector accounting for 67.8% of the GDP and strong industrial sector contributing 30.6% to the GDP. Its central position in Europe, with well-developed ports and a compact infrastructure of roads, has always been the greatest asset for Flanders. Together with the high educational level and the social stability, this means that the region has a strong basis for the continued development of a high quality knowledgebased economy, which is the key to the future. In 2003, Flanders was one of the most prosperous areas in the world, with a per capita GDP of 26,900 euros purchasing power parity, and the region enjoys life
VIBRANT WELFARE STATE
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THE NETWORK of waterways, railways and roads in Flanders is one of the densest and best integrated in the world.
to the full. The inhabitants have cleaned up their historic art cities and enjoy strolling through their car-free city centres. Although the international chains predominate in the main shopping streets, the local economy is still strongly based on a colourful fabric of small, high quality traders. Every district still has its local butcher and baker who bakes his own bread, and every day there will be an open-air market somewhere in the city where traders can sell their produce.
CAFÉS. The cities are overflowing with cafés and bistros which often stay open until the early hours.
Above all, the Flemish people love good food. The cities are teeming with cafés and bistros which often stay open until the early hours and where you can sample the hundreds of different Flemish beers. The quality of restaurants is generally very high, and in most cities they cover the cuisine of every part of the world. The Flemish cuisine itself parallels French cuisine and in recent years has incorporated Mediterranean and Asian touches.
Many foreign influences t is a small country, with many foreign influences: the Flemish people live at the crossroads of the Germanic North and the Latin South in Europe, and have traditionally always been in close contact with other languages and cultures. Like their neighbours to the north, their mother tongue is Dutch and with 21 million people speaking this language it is one of the medium-sized languages of the continent. At school, the Flemish people learn to speak French and English to a high standard from a very early age. They have a reputation for being excellent at languages, and most Flemish people actually do speak a second or even a third language fairly fluently.
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NEWSPAPER SHOPS have all the major European titles on their shelves.
The open attitude to other cultures is also striking in the media. Newspaper shops in the cities all include the main European papers on their shelves, cinemas put on their films in the original version with Dutch subtitles, and the programmes on TV – 87% of people have cable television – comprise more than thirty channels, including all the main European and a selection of American channels. The theatres, concert halls and cultural centres also often have a decidedly international programme.
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VIBRANT WELFARE STATE
Meanwhile, the number of immigrants in the largest cities is increasing to 10 or 20% of the population. As elsewhere in Europe, their presence sometimes leads to social tension, but also brings about a multicultural enrichment in a global society, including lively communities of Jews in Antwerpen, Italians in Limburg, Turks in Gent, Moroccans, Africans and the enormous group of EU officials from all over the European Union in Brussel. In recent years, there has also been an increase in the number of people coming in from the neighbouring countries.
BRUSSEL hosts most of the institutions of the EUROPEAN UNION. The headquarters of NATO are also established there.
Brussel not only hosts most of the institutions of the European Union, but the headquarters of NATO and many other international institutions are also established there. Flemish people themselves regularly take on international jobs – perhaps partly because of their multilingualism and diplomatic talents.
Home ownership n recent years, the price of land has increased significantly, but is still low compared with those in the neighbouring countries. Since the 1950s, the Government has provided tax incentives for people who build or buy a house. This also explains why Flemish people are, as they quote themselves, born with a strong sense of home ownership: in 2001, 72% of people owned their home compared with 52% in the Netherlands, for example.
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The BUILDING MANIA WHICH LASTED FOR DECADES in Flanders was good for prosperity, but disastrous for open spaces, which became highly fragmented.
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The infrastructure of the CENTRAL TRAIN STATION in Antwerpen and its surrounding area is being renovated.
SOCIAL SECURITY in Flanders also comprises a well-developed system of childcare, so that more women are able to go to work full time than in the neighbouring countries.
The building mania of the Flemish people went on for decades and was good for prosperity, but disastrous for open spaces, which became thoroughly fragmented. It is only since the 1990s that town and country planning has been more strictly supervised. Every level of Government is drawing up structural plans for town and country planning, many city centres are being renovated, the use of public transport is encouraged and safety is increased on the roads with infrastructural work, speed control and higher traffic fines. This policy is already starting to bear fruit: the use of trains and particularly buses is rapidly increasing, the number of traffic fatalities is falling, and after years of urban exodus, the cities are once again attracting new inhabitants. In the field of the environment, the region has also been catching up with the neighbouring countries in recent years. Remarkable improvements have been achieved since the 1990s, particularly in industry and agriculture. Families are starting to produce less waste and can now be considered as European champions in sorting different types of waste.
Strong social security he Flemish people are supported by one of the best-developed systems of social security in the world. There is an excellent system of healthcare, extensive support for jobseekers and also, for example, a well-developed system of childcare, so that more women are able to go out to work full time than in the neighbouring countries.
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Pensions are also strongly developed, although the federal Government now considers it necessary to create an additional savings fund so that it can guarantee a sufficient pension for the baby-boom generation from 2015. The model seems to be performing very well: Flanders achieves one of the highest scores in the world on the Human Development Index drawn up by the United Nations.
A culture of dialogue any of the social achievements are due to the systematic dialogue between the social partners. Flanders has a strong tradition of social dialogue and is supported in this by a deep-rooted culture of compromise.
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This readiness to enter into a dialogue also characterises the political parties, which are forced to always form coalition Governments in Flanders and Belgium because of the strongly representative electoral system. Flanders has four large parties: the Social Democrats, the Liberal Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the far right nationalists which emerged in the 1990s and are strongly mistrusted by the other parties. In addition, there is an active, smaller Green party, amongst others. Pluralism and openness also characterise the rich and highly diversified social life in Flanders. The predominantly Catholic Flanders of the past has become greatly secularised. The legislator allows for marriage between homosexuals, permits abortion and euthanasia in particular circumstances, and has simplified the legislation for divorce.
Working on sport landers integrates relatively few sports at school, but does have a very well developed sports infrastructure and an extensive network of sports clubs. Nevertheless, half of the Flemish people never practise sports, and the fitness of
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VIBRANT WELFARE STATE
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The FLEMISH GOVERNMENT in 2004.
TENNIS CLUBS are becoming more popular since the Flemish Kim Clijsters and Walloon Justine Henin-Hardenne have become world players.
young people is deteriorating. The Flemish Government is systematically campaigning to encourage more people to go to sports clubs. The most popular sports are still football, cycling and athletics. Tennis is also becoming much more popular since the Flemish Kim Clijsters and the Walloon Justine Henin-Hardenne have made it to the top world level in tennis. In the last ten years, Flanders has had exceptionally strong generations of cyclists, judoists and swimmers. In order to supervise this sports talent in a much more structural way than in the past, and consolidate it over the generations, the Flemish Government has established eight Top Sports Schools and a Flemish Trainer School.
High quality education
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he region does not have its own natural resources and is therefore basically reliant on its knowledge and creativity. Education is crucial for this.
Even in the very smallest villages, pupils and students can choose between education organised by the Government and education provided by – mainly Catholic – private organisations. Because of the Government subsidies, both education networks are virtually free.
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The level of education in Flanders steadily continues to improve. In the group of 25-34-year-olds, 80% have at least a certificate of higher secondary education. The quality of the education stands out internationally. In tests on 15-year-olds from 41 countries in 2003, Flemish young people performed extremely well in every field. For reading and mathematics, they were amongst the best in the world; for sciences, the scores were just below the top scores. Meanwhile, there have been rapid evolutions in higher education. Universities and institutes of higher education are grouped in associations, and from 2004-2005 they will operate in a uniform European framework of studies, with bachelors’ and masters’ degrees. There are six universities in Flanders. The two largest are the Catholic University of Leuven and the University of Gent. In addition, there are universities in Antwerpen, Brussel (2) and Diepenbeek. Consultation between the universities is gradually leading to an increasing division of tasks and specialisation in education and research. Bibliometric research confirms that the universities and their researchers continue to perform at world level, and that in terms of visibility, Flemish research is amongst the top research in Europe.
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STRONG SCORES. Internationally the quality of education is remarkable: in tests on 15-year-olds in 41 countries in 2003, Flemish youngsters performed extremely well in every field.
Flanders in Belgium ince the 1970s, Belgium has been peacefully transformed from a unitary into a federal state form. The current structure is full of subtle balances and appears to be complex. Its most specific characteristic is Belgium’s twofold division into: - three regions which should be seen as territories: the Flemish Region, the Walloon Region and the Brussels Capital Region. - three communities, which should be seen as population groups: the Flemish Community, the French Community and the German-speaking Community.
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THREE COMMUNITIES
THREE REGIONS
the Flemish Community (the inhabitants of the Flemish Region and the Dutch-speaking of the Brussels Capital Region)
Flemish Region
the French Community (the inhabitants of the Walloon Region, with the exception of the Germanspeaking, and the French-speaking of the Brussels Capital Region)
the German-speaking Community
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the Walloon Region
the Brussels Capital Region
Flanders is the umbrella term for the Flemish Region – roughly the northern half of Belgium – and the Flemish Community – the inhabitants of the Flemish Region, as well as the Dutchspeaking inhabitants of Brussel. The Flemish Region and the Flemish Community are governed together as a parliamentary democracy by the Flemish Parliament and Flemish Government, supported in its tasks by the Flemish administration. Unlike many other federal states, there is no hierarchical difference in Belgium between the federal and regional Governments : they each decide autonomously on the competences allocated to them. Town and country planning, housing, road infrastructure, culture, education and tourism, for example, are exclusively regional competences. Defence and justice, for example, are exclusively federal competences.
VIBRANT WELFARE STATE
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The FLEMISH PARLIAMENT in Brussel.
C U LT U R E
Creative talent in the art cities G
lamorous magazines have discovered Antwerpen as one of the ten hippest cities in the world. Tourists are visiting the Flemish art cities en masse and the cultural public from New York to Tokyo is astonished by and infatuated with the fashion, dance, visual arts and music from Flanders. Perhaps Flanders simply had too many cultural advantages and the policy makers thought these spoke for themselves. It was only in the 1980s and 1990s that the art cities were thoroughly renovated and museums were modernized so that the artistic treasures could once again come into their own. First there was Brugge, then Antwerpen and Gent, and now Brussel, Leuven and Mechelen are also once again brightly shining pearls in the rich heritage of Flanders.
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The Venice of the North he main tourist attraction is still the medieval port town of Brugge, which continues to attract millions of tourists every year. They can go on a canal tour through the Venice of the North, look at the impressive Flemish Primitives in the Groeninge Museum, and then walk over the market place with its gigantic belfry to the old square of De Burg. In the evening they sit at one of the hundreds of pavement cafés in the inner city and enjoy a beer, a glass of wine or a delicious dinner with a view over the canals by night.
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GASTRONOMY. The combination of a rich past and a refined cuisine is one of the greatest attractions of the Flemish art cities.
BRUGGE. A visit to the wonderful old city is still an unforgettable experience.
photo: Tony Le Duc
The combination of the unique historical framework and the refined gastronomic delights is probably one of the greatest attractions of the Flemish art cities. In recent years, a great deal of work has also been done to confront the quiet past and the sometimes isolated art in the museums with the vibrant life of today’s world. This leads to amazing events where artists are inspired to create works of art in dozens of places in the city and in the environment (Over the Edges, Gent, 2000), or when people on the beaches and in the dunes are confronted all summer with monumental works of art scattered along the 65 kilometres of sandy beaches in Flanders (2003 Beaufort).
Summer festivals very summer it is not only the tourists, but also the inhabitants of Belgian cities who trek to the countryside in large numbers to enjoy one of the many free open-air concerts and then join in the festivities until the
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PARTY TIME! The Flemish people still live up to their Burgundian reputation. At the ‘Gentse Feesten’ (Ghent Festivities), hundreds of thousands of people come out onto the street for ten days to enjoy free open-air concerts and entertainment at night.
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early hours. The ten-day ‘Gentse Feesten’ (Ghent Festivities) are particularly well known far across the borders, but also the quieter ‘Zomer van Antwerpen’ (Summer of Antwerp) and the celebrations and festivals in many other cities show that the Flemish people are still living up to their Burgundian reputation. The Flanders Day is still celebrated in more and more villages and towns on 11 July, with communal barbecues, performances and other entertainment on the market square.
Antwerpen, city of fashion he exuberant cultural life in Flanders has proved to be fertile ground for new artistic talent. In the last twenty years, Flanders has experienced an unparalleled artistic boom, which also appears to be much appreciated at an international level.
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The MODENATIE offers a forum for study, debate and reflection, and is a platform for fashion students and designers. ‘Het Modepaleis’ (The Palace of Fashion), DRIES VAN NOTEN’s exclusive shop in the centre of Antwerpen.
Probably the most pronounced aspect of this is the international success in the world of fashion, where collections of mainly Antwerp designers have been admired all over the world. The fact that Antwerpen has developed to become one of the most well known cities of fashion in the world is certainly also due to the celebrated Antwerp Fashion Academy, which now attracts students from all over the world. The first generation of designers was successful on the catwalks back in the 1980s with Martin Margiela and the so-called Antwerp Six: Walter Van Beirendonck, Marina Yee, Dirk Bikkembergs, Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Van Saene and Dries Van Noten. In the mid-1990s they were joined by a second generation, in which Raf Simons, Veronique Branquinho, and A.F. Vandevorst are probably the best known. Today there is a third generation ready to make a breakthrough. Although the designers are all very strong personalities individually, with their own unique collections, they are often praised together
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in the international press for their underlying avant garde vision and their unobtrusive but excellent expertise. The Fashion Academy and the recent MoMu or Fashion Museum are located in joint premises in the heart of Antwerp, the ModeNatie. The Flanders Fashion Institute organises Vitrine here every year, a ten-day event where both young talent and the big names are able to present their creations in a number of shop windows.
Architectural renaissance ore than half a century after Flanders’ best known twentieth-century architect Henry Van de Velde built the famous Book Tower in Gent, the region is experiencing a remarkable architectural renaissance. This started in the mid-1980s and was supported by architects such as Stéphane Beel, Willem-Jan Neutelings, Christian Kieckens, and Xaveer De Geyter. They were responsible for a climate in which even more talented architects were able to make their mark, with names such as Bob van Reeth, Georges Baines, Jo Crepain, Christine Conix, Paul Robbrecht and Hilde Daem.
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THE BOOK TOWER in Gent is one of the most famous achievements of the architect Henry Van de Velde.
The controversial CONCERT BUILDING (2002) by the architects Robbrecht & Daem in Brugge is a beautiful example of contemporary Flemish architectural design.
Although the Flemish architects work mainly internationally nowadays, they have also produced an impressive heritage of office buildings, and – perhaps
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above all – contemporary housing in their own country. In order to encourage innovation in the creation of Government buildings, the Flemish Government appointed a Flemish Government Architect at the end of the 1990s.
Pictorial tradition The BAROQUE MASTER Pieter Paul Rubens paints human passion on overwhelmingly large canvases. PIETER PAUL RUBENS: VENUS FRIGIDA
JAN FABRE has developed as an artistic centipede, and produces video art and extremely innovative theatre, as well as Bic Art and blood drawings. JAN FABRE: video still from TIVOLI, 1990
landers has had an extremely strong tradition in visual arts for centuries, with world-famous masters such as Jan Van Eyck, and the Flemish Primitives, Pieter Bruegel, the Baroque painter, Pieter Paul Rubens, Antoon Van Dyck and Jacob Jordaens. Approaching the twentieth century, we come across James Ensor, the symbolist Leon Spilliaert, expressionists such as Constant Permeke, Gustaaf De Smet, and Frits van den Berghe, and from the 1960s, Octave Landuyt, Pol Mara, who can almost be described as a pop artist, and artists who are still creative today, such as Roger Raveel, Raoul De Keyser and Panamarenko.
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The most popular contemporary visual artists in Flanders include Luc Tuymans with his mysteriously vague paintings, Thierry De Cordier with his impressive installations, Wim Delvoye, who provokes the public with tattooed pigs or faecal cloaca machines, and Jan Fabre who started in the late 1970s with physically very confrontational performances, and developed into an artistic centipede, producing video art and extremely innovative international theatre, as well as his Bic Art and blood drawings.
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The black and white photographs of Dirk Braeckman are almost like paintings, with their usually dark and sometimes striped interiors and portraits, which always have a rather surprising effect. Equally impressive, but more immediately accessible, is the work of the Flemish Magnum photographer, Carl De Keyzer, who produces strong dramatic images with an almost anthropological sensitivity in a series of photographs on religion in the United States or prisons in Siberia.
CARL DE KEYZER produces strong dramatic images with an almost anthropological sensitivity.
Meanwhile, Flemish film only sporadically breaks through abroad. Probably best known are a number of celebrated studios in Flanders producing animated films, which build on the achievements of the animator Raoul Servais from the 1960s. More recently, the film Iedereen Beroemd (Everyone is Famous) by the director Dominiqe Deruddere and Daens by the director Stijn Coninx received Oscar nominations, while Pauline and Paulette, by the director Lieven Debrauwer, won an audience award at Cannes. The police thriller De Zaak Alzheimer (Erik Van Looy) was also highly praised all over the world.
A breakthrough in dance landers has been putting on internationally praised productions in the performing arts for more than twenty years. In the early 1980s, the young Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker broke through internationally with her dance performance Fase, four movements to the music of Steve Reich. She founded her own company, Rosas, with which she created, amongst other things, the celebrated Rosas danst Rosas, received the Bessie Award in New York and in 1995, started an international school for contemporary dance, PARTS – Performing Arts Research & Training Studios.
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CARL DE KEYZER / KAREL DE STOUTE: parade, Leuven
The visual artist and choreographer Jan Fabre surprised his audience in 1984 at the Venice Biennale with De Macht der Theaterlijke Dwaasheden (The Power of Theatrical Madness). By now, he has staged dozens of theatrical productions, dance productions – such as the controversial “Je suis sang” which was first performed in Avignon in 2001 – and various operas, and is known all over the world as one of the most innovative contemporary theatre producers. Wim Vandekeybus has danced with Jan Fabre for several years and founded his own company Ultima Vez in the mid-1980s. The first performance, What the Body Does Not Remember, was immediately seen in New York as a ‘dangerous combative confrontation of dance and music’, and received the Bessie Award. Meanwhile, Ultima Vez has put on many more performances on international stages.
WIM VANDEKEYBUS started his career with Jan Fabre. His performances show a dangerous combative confrontation of dance and music. JAN FABRE: video stills from LICHAAMPJE, LICHAAMPJE AAN DE WAND..., 1990
From 1984, Alain Platel has confronted the Flemish “New Wave” with Les Ballets Contemporains de la Belgique – later abbreviated into Les Ballets C. de la B., and created a theatre of dance based on childlike, almost dilettante inspiration. He had an international breakthrough in the 1990s and is extremely successful with works such as Allemaal Indiaan and Wolf. The development of dance is also followed and stimulated by the international dance festival Klapstuk, which has been organised in Leuven every two years since the mid-1980s.
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Classical repertoire n Flanders, dance theatre has created creative crossroads where many different artistic disciplines come together. Thus the companies have often collaborated with a new generation of composers in Flanders, including Wim Mertens (Wim Mertens Ensemble), Thierry De Mey (Ictus Ensemble), Peter Vermeersch (Flat Earth Society) and Luc Brewaeys.
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In the classical repertoire the Flemings also have a strong reputation as performers today, with the popular classical composer and conductor, Dirk BrossĂŠ, the baroque interpretations of the Collegium Vocale Gent (Phillippe Herreweghe), the mediaeval polyphony of the Huelgas Ensemble (Paul Van Nevel), the choral music of Currende (Erik Van Nevel), the ancient music of the vocal instrumental ensemble Capilla Flamenca, and ensembles such as La Petite Bande (Sigiswald and Wieland Kuyken) and Anima Eterna (Jos van Immerseel). Fans of classical music and world music have enjoyed The Festival of Flanders every year since the 1970s. With hundreds of concerts, this takes place in all the larger towns and cities, and is the largest festival in Flanders.
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The ensemble ANIMA ETERNA and Jos van Immerseel. photo: Dirk Vervaet
Literature he interest of Flemish authors in theatre has been striking since the 1980s. The best known writer in Flanders today, Tom Lanoye, started as a poet-performer, and in addition to novels he writes screenplays and puts on his own performances. Several other well-known writers such as the lyrical Peter Verhelst and the cerebral poetic Stefan Hertmans, are commissioned to write plays for companies, as well as writing prose, poetry and essays. This also applies for Arne Sierens, who works on the basis of his own popular inspiration and for Eric De Volder, who has his own company.
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TOM LANOYE: poet, performer, writer, screenplayer. photo: Koen Broos
One of the best known writers is the poet, novelist and dramatist, HUGO CLAUS. He outlines penetrating pictures of the Flemish people in novels, such as Het Verdriet van BelgiĂŤ. (The Sorrow of Belgium) photo: Patrick De Spiegelaere
Apart from theatre, Flemish literature also comprises many other fascinating authors, including Hugo Claus and Louis Paul Boon as the most celebrated writers in postwar Flanders, and amongst the contemporary generations, poets such as Leonard Nolens and Herman De Coninck who died at a young age, essayists such as Geert Van Istendael, writers of prose such as Kristien Hemmerechts and Erwin Mortier, rebellious authors such as Herman Brusselmans, suspense writers such as Jef Geeraerts and Pieter Aspe, youth writers such as Marc de Bel and Bart Moeyaert, and promising new authors such as Jeroen Olyslaeghers and Dimitri Verhulst.
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Sexy pop hat happened in dance theatre in the 1980s, happened to Flemish pop music in the 1990s. The singer and bohemian Arno was very successful in Europe with his raw combinations of rock and chanson, and Praga Khan sold more than a million CDs in the US with his techno band Lords of Acid. Groups such as dEUS, Zita Swoon, K’s Choice, Ozark Henry and Hooverphonic acquired international fame, and the crooner Helmut Lotti attracted sell-out audiences in Canada and the United States with a popular classical repertoire, while Buscemi had worldwide hits with his dance music. The Dewaele Brothers first went on stage with Soulwax, and then became famous on the rave scene with the eclectic and catchy 2 Many DJ’s, while Vive La Fête started a jet-set adventure on the fashion circuit with sexy French language retro songs.
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In Flanders itself the summer festival Rock Werchter has grown since the 1970s to become one of the largest annual rock festivals in Europe. Every year it attracts more than 100,000 visitors, and in 2004 it was awarded the international Arthur Award for “Most Favourite Festival in the world” by the managers and production people.
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VIVE LA FÊTE started a jet-set adventure on the fashion circuit with sexy French language retro songs. photo: Tom van der Leij
ECONOMY
Investing in the knowledgebased economy B
ecause of its central position, excellent infrastructure and highly educated labour force, Flanders has been extremely strong economically for decades. In order to guarantee the success of the region in the future as well, it will be necessary to confront some important challenges. Developing the knowledge-based economy will be a central aspect of this. The fact that Flanders today is one of the most prosperous areas in the world is to a significant extent due to foreign companies. They have established production branches in Flanders, particularly since the 1960s, and helped to develop the region to become one of the most important entrance points to Europe. Many companies also established their European head office in the region, probably also in view of the proximity of Brussel as capital of Europe. In 2003, foreign companies invested 1.278 billons Euros in Flanders.
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The economy is not only based on foreign businesses, but is also supported by a strong network of local businesses. In addition to a number of world players, an enormous number of smaller businesses are active in Flanders: SMEs with less than 50 employees still create 52% of employment.
Open economy landers has an extremely open economy: in 2003, the export of goods or the export rate increased to 107,3%(*) of the GDP which is high in comparison with the Netherlands (58%), Germany (31%) and France (22%). The majority of Flemish exports – 73% in 2003 – go to the EU-15, in particular to Germany (20% of exports), France (15%), the Netherlands (12%) and the United Kingdom (10%). Even after the enlargement of the European Union into the EU-25, Flanders remains one of the most important logistic hubs of the continent.
F
107,3%(*)
Flemish export: 73% goes to the eu-15
F
GDP
15%
N
(figures: 2003)
12%
G UK
FL = F = N = G = UK =
20%
10%
58%
Flanders France The Netherlands Germany United Kingdom
3 1% 22%
Flemish export rate (figures: 2003)
FL
F
N
The strongest economic motor in the region is the international Port of Antwerpen, which of all ports on the North Sea is closest to the large production and distribution areas of the continent. The port of Antwerpen still continues to grow without interruption: even in the economically difficult year 2003, the volume of freight that passed through increased by 8.5% compared with 2002, to almost 143 million tonnes. Other Flemish ports, such as Zeebrugge, Gent and Oostende also continue to do extremely well, (*) data based on the community concept
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G
EXTREMELY OPEN. Flanders has an extremely open economy. In 2003, the export rate amounted to 107,3% (*) of GDP.
MOTOR. With its international port, Antwerpen is one of the most important motors of the economy in the region.
with respectively 31, 24 and 7 million tonnes of volume of freight passing through in 2002. This uninterrupted growth is also due to the Flemish network of roads, railways and waterways, one of the densest and most integrated networks in the world. It guarantees efficient connections with neighbouring countries, such as the Netherlands, Germany and France, and has good connections with the high-speed train and the international airport of Brussel.
Sectors t is no coincidence that Antwerpen is the home base of the most important industrial sector in Flanders: the chemical industry. After Houston, Texas, the port area is the largest petrochemical cluster in the world. A second extremely internationally-oriented sector flourishes in the inner city of Antwerpen. Because of the strong Jewish and Indian communities in Antwerpen, the city is the largest diamond centre in the world, and 80% of all rough diamonds and half of all cut diamonds are traded there.
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MORE THAN ONE MILLION CARS PER YEAR: Flanders achieves one of the highest manufacturing concentrations in the world.
Antwerpen is the largest DIAMOND CENTRE in the world. (“specialised in diamond”)
As Flanders has virtually no natural resources, the industrial emphasis is wholly on the processing industry. In addition to the chemical industry, the building industry and the food and drink industry are particularly important in Flanders. The metal sector and car manufacturing also create a lot of employment and added value: with more than one million cars per year, the region achieves one of the highest manufacturing concentrations in the world. In addition, the textile industry – including important carpet factories and manufacturers of weaving machines – have maintained strong market positions. Growth sectors include the manufacture of computers, metal products, electrical machines,
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medical equipment, and precision and optical instruments. A large service sector accompanies industry in Flanders which creates 31% of the GDP. This service sector provides 68% of the GDP and is still growing more strongly than the secondary sector. After the state sector and the social profit sector – together accounting for about 20% of the GDP – the most important service sectors are the wholesale and retail trade as well as business services. This last sector is growing significantly, as are information technology, the financial institutions, and telecommunications. As in many other European countries, the agricultural sector in Flanders accounts for only a small proportion of GDP: 1.5%. In the EU-25, Flanders, with 1.4%, even has the lowest percentage of agriculturalists. However, the remaining farmers have extremely productive businesses accounting for one of the highest added values per hectare in Europe. Flemish agriculture focuses entirely on high quality production and prides itself on highly developed systems for food safety, tracing techniques and comprehensive quality control.
Challenges he Flemish people achieve a very high degree of productivity and work in an extremely capital-intensive industry. However, because of their high level of education, they only start their careers at a late stage and stop earlier than in the neighbouring countries: the federal and Flemish Governments have made a priority of increasing this employment rate from 62.9% in 2003 to the EU norm of 70%.
T
Gradually, measures are also being taken to reduce the high tax pressure in Belgium and to further reduce the national debt of the Belgian state. This was
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QUALITY AGRICULTURE. Flemish agriculture focuses on producing quality with strongly developed systems for food safety, tracing techniques and comprehensive quality control.
reduced from 135% in 1993 to 100% of the GDP in 2003, and will have to be reduced further until the EU norm of 60% of the GDP has been achieved. The Belgian Government has kept a larger proportion of the service sector in its own hands than was the case in most neighbouring countries. Because the capital-intensive - and therefore strongly computerised - industry created relatively less growth in employment, the Government retained more jobs in these services in order to keep some control over unemployment. Partly encouraged by the European Government, these services are now gradually being liberalised. First, it was the turn of the telecommunications and energy sector, and this is now being followed by the railway and postal services.
Knowledge-based economy o keep up with the top European regions in the next few years as well, Flanders is undertaking big investments in the knowledge-based economy which corresponds to the existing knowhow in the region.
T
GROWTH IN R&D. Flanders performs very well with regard to R&D and will continue to increase its efforts in the next few years.
As a first step, the Flemish Government significantly increased its support for Research and Development already from 1995 onwards. In 2003, the region spent 2.4% of its GDP on R&D, which is considerably above the average of the EU-15. By 2010, the Flemish Government aims to increase this share even further, together with companies, to meet the EU target of 3%. Meanwhile, Flanders is one of the highest performing European regions with regard to innovation, as revealed, for example, by the number of patents applied for per million inhabitants. Nevertheless, it must continue to make further efforts, for example, with regard to converting technological advances into commercial applications more quickly.
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It is precisely to build the bridge between innovation and economic practice that Flanders is developing several clusters, as well as centres of excellence, in the knowledgebased economy. These should also help to reorient the knowledge-based economy in the region from the current price-related competition to quality-related competition. Extremely innovative steps have been taken in virtually every branch of the life sciences. Flanders has a flourishing pharmaceutical industry, is a world leader in medical imaging and has made several breakthroughs in biotechnology in the last fifteen years. The sector can count on the more than sixty research groups in the Flemish Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) for support for research. Risk capital is not only provided by the private sector, but also by government. Digital Signal Processing – DSP or the digital processing of sounds or images – has resulted in extremely innovative work with more than 2,000 DSP experts, for example, in navigation and communication technology. Here too, there is a close collaboration with the universities and with the university spin-outs such as the IMEC, the largest independent research centre in Europe for micro-electronics and nanotechnology. The same clustering and support of research centres takes place in numerous other sectors, such as logistics (Flemish Institute for Logistics), graphic communication (Flemish Innovation Centre for Graphic Communication), the multimedia sector (Expertise Centre for Digital Media), the food sector (Research Centre Food for the Future), the chemical industry, telecommunications (including strong know-how in data protection) and the automobile sector (Flanders Drive research centre).
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THE LIFE SCIENCES are one of the strongest future-oriented sectors in Flanders: the region produces work of a world standard in biotechnology and has a flourishing pharmaceutical industry.
THE LOGISTICS, MULTIMEDIA, AND AUTOMOBILE SECTOR and other clusters in the knowledgebased economy combine research in research centres supported by the Government.
The Governments are also renewing their internal management and legislation in order to provide enough oxygen for the economy in the future. The Flemish Government is implementing a permanent policy of improvement in its administration, encouraging entrepreneurship at schools and in universities, making it easier to establish companies, and stimulating companies with incentive cheques to organise amongst others more training and ask for more advice. The Flemish Government also wishes to integrate innovation and the creative economy in an international network, and therefore organised an exchange forum of ten creative regions from all over the world. With this project it hopes to promote creativity in Flanders.
Open for the future eanwhile, the people themselves continue to be the greatest economic strength of Flanders. The region provides a concentrated potential of employees who achieve one of the highest rates of productivity in the world, are often multilingual and also highly educated. The culture of dialogue in industry ensures that there is a high degree of social contentment with few serious industrial conflicts.
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This human strength forms the core of the open attitude in Flanders. Flanders will continue to build on this attitude in order to remain a strong focal point in the future in an increasingly integrated European and global economy.
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colophon This publication is also available in Dutch, French, German and Spanish. Publisher Diane Verstraeten, Director-general, Administration of Foreign Affairs of Flanders, Boudewijnlaan 30, B-1000 Brussel. Editors Jansen & Janssen www.jaja.be Registration number D/2004/3241/186 Design Griffo, Gent Printed Imschoot, Gent Photographs Marc Sourbron, unless otherwise indicated Texts may be used, provided the source is indicated.
MORE INFORMATION internet www.flanders.be General portal site for anyone who wants to get to know Flanders. www.vlaanderen.be Portal site of the Flemish Government in Dutch. www.innovatie.vlaanderen.be/en/ Information site on Flanders’ Research Area and the Science, Technology and Innovation policy. www.visitflanders.be Portal site for anyone who wishes to visit Flanders as a tourist. www.ffio.be Orientation site for anyone who wants to invest in Flanders. The site was established by Flanders Foreign Investment Office. www.export.vlaanderen.be Advisory site for Flemish export companies. www.ond.vlaanderen.be/english/ Orientation site for anyone who wants to study in Flanders. www.vlam.be Information site of the international Flemish agricultural promotion office. Flemish representatives in the world If you wish to make political, economic or cultural contacts with Flanders, you can contact the representatives of Flanders in your country or region, without any obligation. You will find their details on www.flanders.be –> representatives.
Contact Administration of Foreign Affairs of Flanders Boudewijnlaan 30 B-1000 Brussel T +32 2 553 60 40 F +32 2 553 60 37 pr@flanders.be www.flanders.be
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