56
INTERLINKING POLITICS, DIPLOMACY, BUSINESS & FINANCE
ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY, CULTURAL DIPLOMACY & HEALTH
H.E.
ZHANG MING
Ambassador
of China to the
European Union
HERMAN
DE CROO
Minister
of State
Former President
of the Chamber
H.E.
LEO D'AESE
Ambassador
of Belgium
to Serbia
H.E.
ABDULRAHMAN
BIN SULEIMAN
AL AHMED
Ambassador of
Saudi Arabia
H.E.
PATRICK
VAN GHEEL
Ambassador
of Belgium
to Cuba
H.E.
ELENA BASILE
Ambassador
of Italy
H.E.
ELEFTHERIA
GALATHIANAKI
Ambassador
of Greece
SOPHIE
WILMÈS
Federal Minister
of Budget
of Belgium
H.E.
ERKINKHON
RAHMATULLOZODA
Ambassador
of Tajikistan
PHILIPPE
DE BACKER
Secretary
of State
Belgian Federal
Government
Spring 2018 www.diplomatic-world.com Quarterly edition
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THE NATURE OF VALUE
INTERLINKING POLITICS, DIPLOMACY, BUSINESS & FINANCE
ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY, CULTURAL DIPLOMACY & HEALTH
DIPLOMATIC WORLD IS A QUARTERLY EDITION
OF PUNCH MEDIA GROUP
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Barbara Dietrich
barbara.dietrich@diplomatic-world.com
PRESIDENT
ir. Marc Kintaert
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Barbara Dietrich
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Bruno Devos I Philippe Billiet I Marc Kintaert
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Alexander Alles I Jan Cornelis I Els Merckx
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The texts were written in English or Dutch and translated in the other
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been maintained as much as possible. The editorial staff has done its utmost
to identify and mention sources and beneficiaries of the text and images used.
The publisher has made every effort to secure permission to reproduce the
listed material, illustrations and photographs. We apologize for any inadvert
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©2018 Diplomatic World Magazine
As the Europe 2025 strategy makes clear, to overcome the current crisis
we need to stimulate a more creative and smarter Europe, a greener
economy, where our prosperity will come from research, innovation,
creativity and a better (mental) health. Science is a basis for a better
future and the bedrock of a knowledge-based society and a strong
economy, but if we talk about science we must also talk about art simply
because art predates science (i.e. the prehistoric cave drawings in
Lascaux). Both science and art propose models of the world that, when
refracted through the medium of technology, can reveal amazing new
vistas. We are now entering a new world where art, science and technology
collide. This new vista will be an open door to the unimaginable.
Knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Types of values include ethical and moral values, doctrinal and
ideological (religious, political) values, social values, aesthetic values,
cultural and economic values, the value of time, et.al.
Thinking about the “Nature of Value” raises more questions than
answers. Is value solely based on the relationship between satisfying
needs and expectations and the resources required to achieve? Maybe all
forms of value are socially constructed?
Value seems to be a hybrid, something hovering between the real and
the virtual, the actual and potential, it’s objective and subjective at the
same time. Value and economy, and the role that art can play therein, is
the nexus of the exhibition proposition. In the aftermath of the global
economic crisis increasingly urgent questions arise that are related
to neoliberal values seeping into almost every aspect of our lives. In
addition to the known financial and economic criteria, can we articulate
different ideas about the concept of value? What are other possible
forms of (economic) exchange? And what do these alternatives mean for
how value manifests itself?
Art and Culture
Art and culture reinforce divergent thinking, playfulness, taking risk,
tolerating ambiguity, art surprises us, it tells us something about ourself
and what we are/where doing at a particular time. Art has the ability
to provoke us, poke us, to say things that a normal citizen or politician
can’t say and it helps us not to be afraid to fail, if you try to think outof-the-box.
The arts help us to converse across countries, political lines,
language barriers; it unifies. Nevertheless, the public value of the arts
has been a topic of debate since the culture wars of the early 1990s.
Today’s prevailing view is that the arts have public value because they
promote broad social and economic goals, such as economic growth and
better academic performance. These benefits are called “instrumental”
because the arts are seen as an instrument for achieving them.
The intrinsic benefits of the arts experience, such as aesthetic pleasure
and captivation, are viewed as having strictly private — some of them
also contribute to the public welfare — and personal value. They are
primarily qualitative and thus less amenable than the instrumental
benefits to the increasingly results-oriented, quantitative approach that
characterizes public policy analysis.
As individuals we mainly participate in the arts for the intrinsic benefits
of the art or cultural experience, not to improve our test scores or to
stimulate our economy but rather to create meaning, to be stimulated,
to be surprised or inspired. On the other hand; the value derived from
an appreciation of intrinsic characteristics of art is not to be deemed as
strictly individual, as they can indeed contribute to the creation of social
bonds and the expression of communal meaning.
Barbara Dietrich
1
INDEX DIPLOMATIC WORLD 56
KINGDOM OF
SAUDI ARABIA
PHILIPPE
DE BACKER
SECRETARY
OF STATE
BELGIAN FEDERAL
4
VISION 2030
42
GOVERNMENT
72
SOCIAL AND
ECONOMIC
PROSPECTS
OF BLOCKCHAIN
APPLICATIONS
Prince Michael
of Liechtenstein
CHINA-EU
TOURISM YEAR
18
HERMAN DE CROO
MINISTER OF STATE
FORMER PRESIDENT
OF THE CHAMBER
46
FÉLIX ANTOINE
TSHILOMBO
TSHISEKEDI
74
DIALOGUE WITH
EMPEROR QIN:
H.E. LEO D’AESE
AMBASSADOR
OF BELGIUM
20
CHINA – EU
54
TO SERBIA
80
MARTIN PALMER
SECRETARY
GENERAL ARC
H.E. ELENA BASILE
AMBASSADOR
OF ITALY
28
ECSA NEW YEAR’S
SECURITY
CONFERENCE
58
EUROPEANS AND
THE CHINESE
NEW SILK ROAD
INITIATIVE
Dr Pierre-Emmanuel
Thomann
84
H.E. ELEFTHERIA
GALATHIANAKI
AMBASSADOR
OF THE REPUBLIC
THE NEXT CHAPTER
OF WESTERN
ECONOMY STARTS
IN BRUSSELS
32
OF GREECE
60
Michel de Kemmeter
90
A BELGIAN
ENTREPRENEUR IN
LITHUANIA
CHINA’S SILK ROAD
ENTREPRENEUR
Freddy Opsomer
H.E. ERKINKHON
RAHMATULLOZODA
AMBASSADOR
OF THE REPUBLIC
OF TA JIKISTAN
36
DECENTRALIZED
DAVOS AND
DECENTRALISTES
TRANSFORM DAVOS
Alexander Shulgin
64
THE PROMISE
OF THE 2018
EU-CHINA
TOURISM YEAR
Alexander Alles
Irma Orlandi
94
2
40
SOPHIE WILMÈS
WORLD ECONOMIC
FEDERAL MINISTER
FORUM DAVOS
OF BUDGET BELGIUM
70
Dorin Deelen
98
THE BELT AND
ROAD INITIATIVE.
A SOLUTION FOR
BREXIT?
Billiet & Co Lawyers
21
katerns Margins of Excess 192x246_01.indd 21 08/01/2018 16:33
Sheba
International
Sheba
International
Sheba
International
Sheba
International
Sheba
International
Sheba
International
Sheba
International
Sheba
International
Sheba
International
Sheba
International
SPRING 2018
EU/CHINA/USA
THE ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
104
(R)EVOLUTION
148
THE HEART OF
BRUSSELS BEATS
AT THE MUSIC
CONSERVATORY
168
DIPLOMATIC
DINNER
AT THE CERCLE
GAULOIS
Sheba International
Impacting healthcare worldwide
Russia
Ukraine
Kazakhstan
CULTURAL NOMAD
CONNECTING
PEOPLE,
CHANGING MINDS
Hans Maria De Wolf
THE EUROPEAN INSTITUTE
FOR ASIAN STUDIES
NEGOTIATION
STRATEGIES FOR
ACHIEVING
OUTCOMES
THAT WORK
Tim Cullen
118
108
120
UNDERSTANDING
BETWEEN THE
EUROPEAN UNION
AND ASIA
GLOBAL MEDIA
INNOVATOR
GABRIELE MÜNTER
PAINTING TO
THE POINT
154
152
156
TOGETHER IN
LIGHT @ DARK 2.0
ART EXPO
PRESENTED BY
LIVING TOMORROW
& PSYCART
SHEBA
INTERNATIONAL
IMPACTING
HEALTHCARE
WORLDWIDE
SHEBA MEDICAL
CENTER’S
70th ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATION
170
Ghana
Equatorial
Guinea
Congo
177
178
Zambia
Georgia
Israel
International Consultation Division
International Training Center
ROLF SACHS
FOR DIPLOMATIC
WORLD
China
128
DIPLOMATIC WORLD
GLOBAL ART FORUM
MAX PINCKERS
MARGINS OF EXCESS
160
IMAGINATION
OIL PAINTING
STUDIES
BY RUBENS AND
VAN DYCK
182
THE FABULOUS
HISTORY OF THE
ORDER OF SAINT
STANISLAS
DIPLOMATIC WORLD
GLOBAL ART FORUM
JEROEN R. KRAMER
UNE FEMME
142
141
INSPIRED BY
PLANTIN-MORETUS
STOCKMANS
ART BOOKS
Bruno Devos
H.E. PATRICK
VAN GHEEL
BELGIAN CULTURAL
WEEK IN HAVANA
166
162
CIDIC
THE EUROPEAN
CENTRE FOR
ECONOMIC,
ACADEMIC AND
CULTURAL
DIPLOMACY &
DIPLOMATIC WORLD
IDEOLOGY AND
ARTISTIC
FREEDOM IN CHINA
Prof. Dr. Jan De Maere
186
3
INTERVIEW WITH HIS EXCELLENCY THE AMBASSADOR
ABDULRAHMAN BIN SULEIMAN AL AHMED,
AMBASSADOR OF THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO
HOLY MOSQUES TO THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM AND
THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG
KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA’S
VISION 2030
Any developed economy that wants to remain
dynamic and vibrant must be flexible and innovative
to adapt to the ever-changing conditions of the
global economy. Vision 2030 is Saudi Arabia’s
ambitious agenda, which will diversify and
restructure the Kingdom’s economy, improve the
governance of Saudi resources, and improve quality
of life for all Saudi citizens. This socio-economic
roadmap, master-minded by the Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud and approved
by the Saudi government and King Salman bin
Abdulaziz, is already under implementation.
In April 2016, the Saudi Cabinet, led by Custodian of the
Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, approved
the country’s Vision 2030, an economic roadmap which will
end the Kingdom’s dependence on oil revenue.
The historic vision was developed by the Council of
Economic and Development Affairs, which is chaired by
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. It includes
a number of goals and reform strategies for the Kingdom’s
long-term economic success, including reductions in
subsidies, the creation of a sovereign wealth fund, opening
4
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud:
© Embassy of Saudi Arabia
“Our country is rich in its natural resources. We are not dependent solely on oil for our
energy needs. Gold, phosphate, uranium, and many other valuable minerals are found beneath
our land. But our real wealth lies in the ambition of our people and the potential of our
younger generation. They are our nation’s pride and the architects of our future ... Our people
will amaze the world again.”
Saudi Aramco to private investment through a partial IPO,
and reforms to several industries including tourism and
defence.
“We are determined to reinforce and diversify the
capabilities of our economy, turning our key strengths into
enabling tools for a fully diversified future,” said Prince
Mohammed. “We are determined to build a thriving country
in which all citizens can fulfill their dreams, hopes and
ambitions.”
The vision is built around three primary themes: a vibrant
society, a thriving economy and an ambitious nation.
In order to achieve a vibrant society, Saudi Arabia will focus
on its people and the Islamic faith. This will happen through
a series of commitments, including:
• Increasing the number of Umrah visitors from 8 million to
30 million annually.
We have been given the privilege to serve the Two Holy
Mosques, the pilgrims and all visitors to the blessed holy
sites. In the last decade, the number of Umrah visitors
entering the country from abroad has tripled, reaching
8 million people. This is a noble responsibility. It requires
us to spare no effort in seeking to offer pilgrims with all
they need, so we fulfil our duty to provide good hospitality
to our brothers and sisters. In this context, we have
begun a third expansion to the Two Holy Mosques, as
well as modernizing and increasing the capacities of our
airports. We have launched the Makkah Metro project
to complement the railroad and train projects that will
serve visitors to the Holy Mosques and holy sites. We have
reinforced the network of our transport system to facilitate
access and help pilgrims perform their visits with greater
ease and convenience. At the same time, we will enrich
pilgrims’ spiritual journeys and cultural experiences while
in the Kingdom. We will establish more museums, prepare
new tourist and historical sites and cultural venues, and
improve the pilgrimage experience within the Kingdom.
5
6
By increasing the capacity and by improving the quality
of the services offered to Umrah visitors, we will, by
2020, make it possible for over 15 million Muslims per
year to perform Umrah and be completely satisfied with
their pilgrimage experience. We will achieve this by
improving visa application procedures which will smooth
the visa process with the aim of full automation. We
will also further integrate e-services into the pilgrims’
journey, which will enrich the religious and cultural
experience. Both the public and private sectors will
play a crucial role in this project as we work to upgrade
accommodation, improve hospitality and launch new
services for pilgrims.
• Establishing the largest Islamic museum in the world.
We have always taken — and will continue to take — great
pride in our heritage. Mohammad, the Last of Prophets,
Peace Be Upon Him, was from Makkah, the birthplace
of Islam. Medina is where the first Islamic society was
born. We will build an Islamic museum in accordance
with the highest global standards, equipped with the
latest methods in collection, preservation, presentation
and documentation. It will be a major landmark for
our citizens and visitors, where they will learn about
the history of Islam, enjoy interactive experiences and
participate in cultural events. Using modern technology,
visitors to the museum will take an immersive journey
through the different ages of Islamic civilization, as well
as its science, scholars and culture. It will also be an
international hub for erudition and include a world-class
library and research center.
• Doubling the number of Saudi heritage sites registered
with UNESCO.
• Promoting the growth of cultural and entertainment
opportunities within the Kingdom.
Vision 2030 is not a tactical quick-win for Saudi Arabia
to boost its economy in the short-term; it goes beyond
the question of oil. It is an ambitious long-term strategy
that is set to bring about important lasting change to
our country and a positive future for the population.
Culture and entertainment are indispensable to a
high quality of life. We shall acknowledge that the
cultural opportunities currently available in the
kingdom do not reflect the rising aspirations of our
citizens and residents. To reflect this aspiration,
government funds and partnerships with local and
international investors will be harnessed to make land
available for cultural and entertainment projects, and
talented writers, authors and directors will be better
supported. Ultimately, this too will also contribute
to our economy and will result in the creation of
many job opportunities. To ensure that the richness
of Saudi history and culture is recognized, we aim to
double the number of Saudi heritage sites registered
with UNESCO — process has already begun with the
recognition by UNESCO of ancient rock art in the
Hail region. Most recently, the Kingdom has allocated
around €0.9 billion to preserving its cultural heritage
and is investing in tourism, aiming to increase spending
by Saudis at home.
• Encouraging healthy lifestyles so that the number of
citizens who exercise once a week increases from 13
to 40 percent.
A healthy nation needs a healthy population and so
the Saudi government has committed to encouraging
healthier lifestyles so that the number of citizens who
exercise once a week increases from 13 to 40 percent,
through widespread and regular participation in sports
and athletic activities, working in partnership with the
private sector to establish additional dedicated facilities
and programs.
7
8
• Developing Saudi cities so that three are recognized in the
100 top-ranked cities in the world.
Our cities already enjoy high levels of security and
development. Despite the current turmoil in the region
and the wide expanse of our territories, our country and
citizens are safe and secure. Our cities are among the
safest in the world with annual crime rates that are less
than 0.8 per 100.000 people, far below the international
rate of 7.6. We will maintain our safety and security
by supporting ongoing efforts to fight drugs abuse, as
well as by adopting further measures to ensure traffic
safety, reduce traffic accidents and minimize their tragic
consequences.
Our cities have grown significantly in recent decades;
a growth which has been accompanied by the steady
development of their infrastructure. To ensure we can
continue to enhance the quality of life for all and meet
the needs and requirements of our citizens, we will
continue to ensure high quality services such as water,
electricity, public transport and roads are properly
provided. Open and landscaped areas will also be
developed further, to meet the recreational needs of
individuals and families.
• Diversifying the Kingdom’s economy through the ongoing
privatization of state-owned assets, including establishing
a sovereign wealth fund that will be financed through the
partial IPO of Saudi Aramco.
The ongoing privatization of state-owned assets, including
leading companies, property and other assets, will bring in
new and more diverse revenues for the Saudi government.
This will further enhance our financial resources and
economic stability, which will be reinvested for long-term
impact. We will develop further the sophistication of our
investment vehicles, particularly after transferring the
ownership of Aramco to the Public Investment Fund,
which will become the largest sovereign wealth fund in
the world. We will increase the efficiency of the fund’s
management and improve its return on investment,
with the aim of diversifying our government resources
and our economy. The Public Investment Fund will not
compete with the private sector, but instead help unlock
strategic sectors requiring intensive capital inputs. This
will contribute towards developing entirely new economic
sectors and establishing durable national corporations.
• Unlocking underdeveloped industries such as
manufacturing, renewable energy and tourism.
In order to achieve a thriving economy, Saudi Arabia will
diversify its economy and create dynamic job opportunities
for its citizens. This will happen through commitments to
education, entrepreneurship and innovation, including:
We will support promising sectors and foster their
success so that they become new pillars of our economy.
In the manufacturing sector, we will work towards
localizing renewable energy and industrial equipment
Aqua desert of Saudi Arabia
© Shutterstock
9
sectors. In the tourism and leisure sectors, we will create
attractions that are of the highest international standards,
improve visa issuance procedures for visitors, and
prepare and develop our historical and heritage sites. In
technology, we will increase our investments in, and lead,
the digital economy. In mining, we will furnish incentives
for and benefit from the exploration of the Kingdom’s
mineral resources. At the same time as diversifying
our economy, we will continue to localize the oil and
gas sector. As well as creating a new city dedicated to
energy, we will double our gas production, and construct
a national gas distribution network. We will also make
use of our global leadership and expertise in oil and
petrochemicals to invest in the development of adjacent
and supporting sectors.
• Modernising the curriculum and standards of Saudi
educational institutions from childhood to higher learning.
We will close the gap between the outputs of higher
education and the requirements of the job market. We
will also help our students make careful career decisions,
while at the same time training them and facilitating their
transition between different educational pathways. In the
year 2030, we aim to have at least five Saudi universities
among the top 200 universities in international rankings.
We shall help our students achieve results above
international averages in global education indicators.
To this end, we will prepare a modern curriculum
focused on rigorous standards in literacy, numeracy,
skills and character development. We will track
progress and publish a sophisticated range of education
outcomes, showing year-on-year improvements. We will
work closely with the private sector to ensure higher
education outcomes are in line with the requirements
of job market. We will invest in strategic partnerships
with apprenticeship providers, new skills councils from
industry, and large private companies. We will also
work towards developing the job specifications of every
education field. Furthermore, we will build a centralized
student database tracking students from early childhood
through to K-12 and beyond into tertiary education
(higher and vocational) in order to improve education
planning, monitoring, evaluation, and outcomes. We will
also expand vocational training in order to drive forward
economic development. Our scholarship opportunities
will be steered towards prestigious international
universities and be awarded in the fields that serve our
national priorities. We will also focus on innovation in
advanced technologies and entrepreneurship.
10
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Outside distance skyline view on Riyadh Kingdom tower, Al Faisaliah and other business skyscrapers, full wide panorama
© Shutterstock
© Shutterstock
11
• Refocusing on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
by encouraging financial assistance. Increasing the
contribution of SMEs to GDP from 20 to 35 percent by
2030.
To make the country less dependent on its oil reserves
and secure a thriving economy, Saudi Arabia will
diversify to create more dynamic job opportunities for
its citizens. This will happen through commitments to
entrepreneurship, innovation and education. Concretely
we are striving to lower the rate of unemployment from
11.6% to 7%; increase SME contribution to GDP from
20% to 35%, and increase women’s participation in the
workforce from 22% to 30%. By privatising state-owned
assets such as Saudi Aramco and also refocusing on small
and medium-sized enterprises through enhanced financial
assistance, the kingdom will unlock underdeveloped
industries such as manufacturing, renewable energy
and tourism and make our economy more robust.
Furthermore, by modernising the curriculum and
standards of Saudi educational institutions, the aim is to
propel at least five Saudi universities into the top 200 in
the world, delivering a well-equipped workforce. Beyond
these reforms, achieving our desired rate of economic
growth will require an environment that attracts the
necessary skills and capabilities from beyond our national
borders. To attract and retain the finest foreign minds,
the government plans to improve living and working
conditions for non-Saudis by extending their ability to
own property in certain areas, improving the quality of
life, permitting the establishment of more private schools
and adopting an effective and simple system for issuing
visas and residence permits.
Opening up the kingdom in this way will contribute to
economic development and attract foreign investors who
can be confident in the resilience and potential of our
national economy. By easing restrictions on ownership
and foreign investment and creating a smoother flow of
goods, people and capital, we aim to increase foreign
direct investment from 3.8% to the international level
of 5.7% of GDP. This is of course a great opportunity
12
Kaaba in Masjid Al Haram in Mecca Saudi Arabia
© Shutterstock
Makkah Clock Tower
© Shutterstock
for European entrepreneurs eager to benefit from Saudi
Arabia’s potential as a strategic location that links
Europe to Asia and Africa.
In order to be an ambitious nation, Saudi Arabia will focus on
accountability, transparency and effectiveness in its governing
strategy. Sustainable success can only be achieved with solid
foundations. In order to realize this potential, the Kingdom
will:
• Boost transparency by expanding online services and
improving governance standards.
In order to sharpen the ambition of our nation, Saudi
Arabia will focus on accountability, transparency and
effectiveness in its governing strategy. We shall have
zero tolerance for all levels of corruption, whether
administrative or financial. We will adopt leading
international standards and administrative practices,
helping us reach the highest levels of transparency
and governance in all sectors. We will set and uphold
high standards of accountability. Our goals, plans and
performance indicators will be published so that progress
and delivery can be publicly monitored. Transparency
will be boosted and delays reduced by expanding online
services and improving their governance standards, with
the aim of becoming a global leader in e-government.
• Establish the King Salman Program for Human Capital
Development in order to train more than 500.000
government employees in best practices.
We have yet to identify and put into effect the best
practices that would ensure that public sector employees
have the right skills for the future. However, by 2020, we
aim to have trained, through distance learning, 500.000
government employees. All ministries and government
institutions will be required to adopt best practices in
human capital development. We will continue to hire
individuals according to merit and work towards building
a broad talent base, so they may become leaders of the
future. The King Salman Program for Human Capital
13
Development will establish HR centers of excellence in
every government agency, and provide training. We will
work to raise the productivity of employees to the highest
levels possible, by implementing proper performance
management standards, providing continuous training for
professional development, and sharing knowledge. We
will develop targeted policies to identify and empower
future leaders, and will furnish a stimulating environment
that provides equal opportunities and rewards for
excellence.
careers. We will encourage the businesses that follow
through on this commitment to participate in our
country and to address national challenges.
• Being responsible to society
The values of giving, compassion, cooperation and
empathy are firmly entrenched in our society. We have
already played an influential role in providing social aid
locally, regionally and globally.
• Bolster the non-profit sector through increased efficiency
and impact.
We aspire to have businesses that contribute to
developing our society and our country, not be geared
solely towards generating profits. We expect our
companies to observe their social responsibilities and
contribute to creating a sustainable economy, including
by creating the stimulating opportunities for young men
and women that can help them build their professional
In the future, we will formalize and strengthen the
organization of our social and compassionate work
so that our efforts have the maximum results and
impact. Today, we have fewer than 1.000 non-profit
foundations and associations. In order to increase the
resilience and impact of this sector, we will continue
to develop regulations necessary to empower nonprofit
organizations. We will review our regulations to
encourage endowments to sustainably fund the sector and
to encourage corporations and high net worth families to
14
Saudi Arabia, Sakaka, sunset on the Qasr Za’abel fortress
© Shutterstock
His Excellency Ambassador Abdulrahman bin Suleiman Al Ahmed and Barbara Dietrich
© Embassy of Saudi Arabia
establish non-profit organizations. Government support
will be directed to the programs with highest social
impact and we will support training workers to encourage
volunteering and careers in the non-profit sector.
Enabling non-profit organizations to attract the best
talents in order to ensure best management practices and
the transfer of knowledge, which will strengthen these
institutions over the long term. This will ensure that the
non-profit sector plays an enhanced and more efficient
role in critical sectors such as health care, education,
housing, research, and cultural and social programs.
lives of citizens. But it’s an important departure to overhaul
its all-oil economic model and open the kingdom to bolder
investment flows and international cooperation.
Our commitment to achieving the goals of these pivotal
programs and our collective contribution shall be the first
step towards achieving Saudi Arabia’s vision for 2030. We
will continue to launch new programs in the upcoming years
as required, and we will continuously review and assess our
performance in achieving this vision.
The Vision 2030 plan is the first step towards achieving
Saudi Arabia’s economic aspirations and transforming the
For more details on Vision 2030, please visit the official
website www.vision2030.gov.sa
15
16 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, KSA, New buildings being constructed in the new King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh © Shutterstock
17
H.E. AMBASSADOR
ZHANG MING
GALA SHOW STAGED IN
BRUSSELS IN CELEBRATION OF THE
CHINA-EU TOURISM YEAR AND THE
CHINESE SPRING FESTIVAL
On 15 February 2018, the Chinese New Year’s Eve, arts
performances were staged at BOZAR, Center for Fine
Arts in Brussels, to celebrate the 2018 China-EU Tourism
Year and the Chinese Spring Festival. The event was cohosted
by the Chinese Mission to the EU and the Chinese
Embassy to Belgium with the support of the Chinese
Ministry of Culture and the Shenzhen Municipal People’s
Government. Nearly 2.000 people attended the event,
including Chinese Ambassador to the EU Mr. Zhang
Ming, Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Mr. Qu Xing,
Commissioner Tibor Navracsics for Education, Culture,
Youth and Sport of the European Commission, General
Mikhail Kostarakos, President of the EU Military
Committee, other EU and Belgian representatives,
diplomats to the EU and Belgium, Chinese entrepreneurs,
the Chinese community in Belgium, as well as Chinese
and foreign journalists.
18
H.E. Ambassador Zhang Ming
Ambassador Zhang sent his New Year’s greetings and
said to the guests that it is of special significance to
ring in the Chinese New Year with them like a family.
Ambassador Zhang pointed out that throughout the
2018 China-EU Tourism Year, the two sides will hold
various activities to enhance mutual understanding,
strengthen existing cooperation and look for new areas of
cooperation that benefit people of both sides, and bring
more certainty to the world. The year 2018 is the Year
of Dog. Like President Juncker, Ambassador Zhang also
hopes that this year will be a year of loyalty, sincerity
and harmonious relationship between China and the EU,
and looks forward to greater prosperity in China-EU
relations.
Commissioner Navracsics said that spring is the time to
plan for the whole year and that it is a great delight to
get together with Chinese and European friends on the
eve of the Chinese New Year. The year 2018 is the EU-
China Tourism Year and the European Year of Cultural
Heritage. This will be a good opportunity for both
China and the EU to showcase their cultural treasures.
Commissioner Navracsics hopes that the EU and China
will continue growing their relations in the coming year
and bring cooperation and friendship to a new level.
After the reception, guests watched the gala show
themed “China Impression” presented by an art troupe
from Shenzhen. The show, featuring traditional Chinese
folk music, dances, fascinating acrobatics and martial
arts, brought out the beauty of traditional Chinese
culture, the vigor of Chinese young people, as well as
the openness and diversity of Shenzhen as a frontrunner
in China’s reform and opening-up. The show resonated
strongly with the audience and left with them a deep
impression.
© Mission of China to the EU
19
DIALOGUE WITH EMPEROR QIN: CHINA - EU
A STORY OF AN INTERNATIONAL
EXHIBITION, A PRIVATE
PHILANTHROPIC INITIATIVE
BRIDGING DIFFERENT CULTURES
ANTWERP, THE “WORLD DIAMOND CAPITAL”
FOR THE DIALOGUE BETWEEN CHINA AND
EUROPE
the staging of the exhibition at the Diamond Vessel of Zaha
Hadid, Head Quarters of The Antwerp Port Authority.
We feel blessed by their great support.
We were happy to present Dialogue with Emperor Qin:
China-EU, an ambitious and philanthropic exhibition. It aims
at generating exchanges and conversations around the theme
of international cultural dialogue. Dedicated to all art lovers
and to all those who want to build peace through cultural
exchange; this event answers a long-lasting need and raises an
artistic bridge between China and Europe.
We arrived at the end of our epic journey with Dialogue with
Emperor Qin and we were able to truly close the circle with
Antwerp has a long and outstanding tradition regarding
the ancient Silk Road. In 1722 the company “Generale
Keizerlijke Indische Compagnie” also called the Oostendse
Compagnie was founded. This company was owned by
several famous shareholders and due to the influence of
Emperor Charles VI had a monopoly of the commerce
between Southern Netherlands and Asia. Today Antwerp
is, in addition to this maritime tradition, very active on the
new rail land-bridge that connects the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans.
20
5 warriors like a troop of Alexander the Great when he conquered his Empire © Inspiring Culture
Marc Van Peel (Chairman Antwerp Port Authority) giving his speech at opening
© Inspiring Culture
In 2010, as we were creating this China-EU sculpture
exhibition, the Port of Antwerp, the second largest port in
Europe, was embarking on establishing further links with
China through the twinning of its port with the port of
Guangzhou. Guangzhou, one of the most important ports
along the historic Maritime Silk Road also boasts of having
China’s largest repeat-flowering rose garden.
In Summer 2011, a container was shipped from Antwerp
port to Tianjin, filled with 27 sculptures from European
artists (one from each European country). From there they
were transported to Xi’an, home of the original Terracotta
Warriors and starting point of the ancient Silk Road, where
3 sculptures from 3 Chinese artists were waiting. The 30
soldiers, each almost two metres high, represent an army
that neither threatens, nor looks to conquer. It erases
frontiers and cherishes freedom. It embraces the universal
theme of “Messengers of Peace and Generosity”.
With this exhibition, our ambition is to present and to
demonstrate the many cultures which form a collective
humanity.
Tsinandali (Georgia), Lisbon, Bucharest, Sofia, London,
Edinburgh, Brussels and now Antwerp. A sculpture was
added when Croatia joined the EU and we were happy to
finish this long journey in two Kingdoms, with both the UK
and Belgium each staging the exhibition in two cities.
The army that accompanied the Emperor in his everlasting
sleep has come to life again in Antwerp, “The Diamond
Capital,” of the world! The city and Antwerp Port continue
to build upon their historic links with China through
contemporary trade relations and through sustained
diplomatic projects with recent highlights including the visit
of China’s former vice-president now President Xi Jinping
in 2009 and the establishment of the “One Belt One Road
taskforce”. Dialogue With Emperor Qin, with its focus
on international collaboration is uniquely positioned to
compliment and to build upon these diplomatic projects.
The exhibition, a physical manifestation of the continued and
sustained relationship between Antwerp, the rest of Europe
and China must therefore be seen amongst these other forms
of diplomacy.
In 2012, the exhibition was awarded the “EU-China
Intercultural Dialogue” label by the European Union and
after touring in eight Chinese museums between 2011 and
early 2013, it entered its European phase travelling to Tallinn,
A NOTE ABOUT THE “MILITARY” CURATION
In the very pristine Zaha Hadid designed Port House,
the curation using “hard power” and “soft power” gently
21
introduces the shock of two civilisations allowing the general
public to familiarize themselves and to value both of the two
worlds which inspired the curation of the works in Antwerp.
It is noticeable in the scenography of the exhibition that
the Founder of Inspiring Culture and International Curator
of the exhibition Dr Pick Keobandith, wishes to invoke the
rich past of two Empires; the Imperium Romanum and the
ancient Chinese Empire of the Qin and Han dynasty who
were in contemporary existence. As leading world powers,
the two empires controlled half of the entire population of
the world. But they had minimal interaction and developed
independently of each other.
It would be 100 years later, after Alexander’s conquest
that the unification of China under its first Emperor Qin
Shihuang laid the development of long distance trade routes
commonly known as the “Silk Road”. The curation which
combines elements from both civilisations is an original way
to make the parallel between the two worlds in this exhibition
“Dialogue with Emperor Qin”.
For Keobandith: “The idea for the placement and curation
of the works at The Port House came from my studies. In
order to improve my French, I studied Latin at the end of
secondary school for which I had to translate lots of texts
about the Roman army and their leadership. It was very
strange for me, someone who loves Proust and Musil.
I very much enjoyed reading about their strategy and tactics
however the vocabulary was very poor concerning the army.
It was also interesting to note that in the Emperor Qin’s army
and the Roman Army there were no female soldiers.
I discovered the word strategist has its origins in the Greek
“stratgos” meaning “Chief of Army”. A closer look at the
definition of strategist included the word Victori - Strategy &
Tactics. Victori is the Latin word for “The conquerors”.
With all of this in mind, I based my scenography on the
formation of the Roman Army as if they were preparing
their troops to fight. They were the best army at that time
and most of the soldiers in the Roman Empire came from
countries outside Italy: from Africa, France, Germany, the
Balkans, Spain and the Middle East.
The structure of the Roman Army before the battle had
the ambition focusing and keeping its troops in order. They
believed that one could fight more effectively and generally in
a staggered arrangement (en quinconce in French), from the
Latin quincunx, by five.
And so, placed in rows each consisting of five sculptures,
the works in the exhibition prepare for their mission. Their
ambition however is not to conquer but instead to bring a
message of peace, to effectively and strategically bring their
unique dialogue of cultural exchange to as many different
audiences as possible.
22
‘Veteran’ — Shao Jun Wang — One of 3 artists representing China
‘Amazone en Armes’ — Félix Roulin — Artist representing Belgium
H.E. Zhang Ming (Head of China Mission to EU) giving his speech at the opening of the exhibition
© Inspiring Culture
Let’s say I am a Fine Strategist. Leading my troupe of 31
artists of Peace Builders and their sculptures through China
and Europe with a stop in Tsinandali helped by the Silk Road
Group in Georgia.”
AN EXAMPLE OF CULTURAL DIPLOMACY
The exhibition “Dialogue with Emperor Qin” seeks to
redefine and to shape the image of China and the EU in a
different way. It is an initiative which allows for and actively
encourages a positive dialogue between the two powers as
well as providing a rewarding project for the private sector
actors to be a part of and to help to strengthen cultural
diplomacy.
This travelling exhibition instigated in 2011 by Dr Pick
Keobandith has taken a long and complex route before
arriving at its final destination in the Port of Antwerp. This
inter-cultural exchange is of particular relevance in today’s
shifting and often dangerous political landscape, helping as it
does to promote understanding and debate through the arts.
Art is often described as a unique language and like all
languages, it has its own rhythms, its own depths and
of course its own complexities. Sometimes art is easy to
understand, instantly readable, accessible for all. At other
times it takes multiple viewings and dedicated attention
to allow for its message to be fully understood. Inspiring
Culture believes that only through art and the use of art’s
distinctive language it is possible to speak to the world about
the collective issues that we face today. Inspiring Culture
is extremely proud to support this touring exhibition and
continue to encourage people to look, listen and learn about
other cultures. It is inspiring to find others who want to
dedicate their energies to focus on the positive aspects of
what makes each of us different from the other.
ART UNITING ALL PEOPLE UNDER ONE LANGUAGE.
THIS IS TRULY A CELEBRATION OF DIVERSITY AND
OF THE MIX OF HERITAGE THAT WE ALL SHARE
AND SHOULD ALWAYS BE PROUD OF.
International cultural exchanges are part of our DNA, as we
are convinced that Art only reaches its full potential when it
travels across political and cultural borders. When the core of
the artistic creation, the very personal and unique expression
of the artist becomes universal and speaks to the humanity.
As a private organization, Inspiring Culture balances
philanthropic initiatives like the “Dialogue with Emperor Qin”
exhibition with more commercial missions, always focusing
on international cultural initiatives.
23
H.E. Natalie Sabanadze (Georgia’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxemburg
and the EU), Dr. Pick Keobandith (Inspiring Culture), Marc Van Peel
(Chairman Antwerp Port Authority) and Jacques Vandermeiren (CEO
Antwerp Port Authority)
H.E. Natalie Sabanadze (Georgia’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxemburg
and the EU), H.E. Zhang Ming (Head of China Mission to EU),
Dr. Pick Keobandith (Inspiring Culture), Marc Van Peel (Chairman
Antwerp Port Authority) and Tom Monballiu (Deputy Port Ambassador)
Cathy Berx (Governor of Province of Antwerp), H.E. Zhang Ming (Head
of China Mission to EU), Marc Van Peel (Chairman Antwerp Port
Authority) and Jacques Vandermeiren (CEO Antwerp Port Authority)
Director, Founder Inspiring Culture Dr. Pick Keobandith showing guests
works in the exhibition at the opening
24
Mrs Cai Xiaolin wife of H.E. Zhang Ming (Head of China Mission to EU), Linda Brunker (Artist Ireland), Tom Monballiu (Deputy Port Ambassador),
H.E. Zhang Ming (Head of China Mission to EU), Jacques Vandermeiren (CEO Antwerp Port Authority), Hanneke Beaumont (Artist the Netherlands),
Marc Van Peel (Chairman Antwerp Port Authority), Félix Roulin (Artist Belgium), John Atkin (Artist UK), Zhivko Sedlarski (Artist Bulgaria), Cathy Berx
(Governor of Province of Antwerp), Anne Khayat-Benoist (Director France Inspiring Culture), Anton Grech (Artist Malta), Dr. Pick Keobandith (Founder and
International Director), Sabrina Tacca-Pandolfo (Director Italy), Alessandro Filippini (Artist Italy), José de Guimarães (Artist Portugal), Ed Liddle
(Project Manager), Tamas Eros (Artist Representative Hungary) and Freddy Opsomer (Counsellor New Silk Road)
Pictured left to right, Marc Van Peel (Chairman Antwerp Port Authority), Cathy Berx (Governor of Province of Antwerp), H.E. Zhang Ming (Head of China
Mission to EU), Dr Pick Keobandith (Inspiring Culture) and Freddy Opsomer (Counsellor New Silk Road)
We contribute to the “Cultural Diplomacy” policy of
our clients or we generate our own and modest “Cultural
Diplomacy” where the only interests we serve are those of
humanism.
The deep understanding of these diplomatic objectives is
essential for the success of our initiatives. Through multiple
elements, sometimes unnoticed by most visitors, we work on
the alignment of the exhibition and its associated events with
the objectives of our partners.
George Ramishvili (Chairman of Silk Road Group)
Is it morally acceptable to use the work of artists to serve
diplomatic, and often ultimately economical interests of
organizations or countries? We are regularly faced with this
question.
Our position is that competition will always exist between
groups of human beings on this planet and that using
cultural exchange to influence is certainly progressive if
compared to much more aggressive strategies. We cannot
control all possible hidden agendas of our partners. What we
control is the sincerity of the cultural initiatives we manage
and the fact that they enable thousands of citizens from
various countries to be exposed to a large variety of artistic
propositions. That alone, is making our planet a better place.
25
TESTIMONY OF MARC VAN PEEL,
CHAIRMAN — ANTWERP PORT AUTHORITIES
The Port of Antwerp is Europe’s second largest port and acts
as a bridge between Europe and all other continents. With
a volume of over 223 million handled goods in 2017, the
companies within the port area are serving over 60 percent
of the European population, living in a range of 500 km from
Antwerp. The port connects the wider European hinterland
with the world by sea going vessel, train, barge and road.
From a more symbolic point of view, this introduction
also tells that the Port of Antwerp is a crossroad of goods
and cultures, connecting people and ideas, and a source
of inspiration for entrepreneurs and artists. The latter is
demonstrated in the high number of artworks in which the
port plays a role. And again, this role is very diverse. The port
acts as the background, is in the center of the art piece or
inspired the artist. This connecting idea is what struck me in
the “Dialogue with the Warriors of Emperor Qin” exhibition
as the sculptures reflect the dialogue between ancient and
modern art and connect the rich Chinese culture with the
European views. In an ever globalizing world the intercultural
dialogue contributes to a better mutual understanding and
respect. In this regard I am grateful that this exhibition is a
result of the cooperation between the Mission of the People’s
Republic of China to the EU and the Antwerp Port Authority.
Another demonstration of connecting cultures.
Marc Van Peel
Chairman
GEORGIA, CHINA AND EUROPE
FOR SILK ROAD
Silk Road Group (SRG), a privately held investment
company, owned and run by Georgian and European
partners, is active in Energy, Transportation, Hospitality,
Entertainment, Real Estate and Telecommunications.
Every SRG business has been established with the vision
that Georgia is an integral part of the historic Silk Road
trading route, the ancient geopolitical axis connecting Asia
with Europe, where currents from the East link to those
from the West, diverse ideas are exchanged and differences
bridged by common values.
In a push to rediscover Georgian heritage through the
revival of the country’s wine making traditions, SRG
invested in a project to restore and promote the famous
Tsinandali estate and gardens in the Kakheti region, the
19th Century Chavchavadze family manor house, its
landscaped garden, a historic winery, wine cellar, hotel,
museum and café, operating as a cultural and educational
center. Tsinandali hosts numerous events and exhibitions,
including an international classical music festival of
growing importance.
George Ramishvili, a Chairman of Silk Road Group:
“We are grateful for the opportunity of being a part of this
project. We believe that modern business is a part of the
world’s social and cultural community and we are proud
to contribute by sponsoring the sea transportation of the
Army of Peace and Dialogue.”
ABOUT DR. PICK KEOBANDITH
After Ecole du Louvre, Dr. Pick Keobandith received her
Doctorate in Art History from Rennes II. A distinguished
career in Paris followed where amongst other roles, she
was an advisor to Sydney Picasso, was an exhibition
commissioner with Galerie Piltzer and Galerie Anne de
Villepoix. Later she worked at Gallery Templon and taught
Contemporary Art Market at Christie’s Education. After
Paris, Dr. Keobandith chose Brussels to be the platform
to share her vision of International Art. She founded
Inspiring Culture in August 2016.
Working internationally, Inspiring Culture specialises in
contemporary and modern sculpture. The main activities
include: Exhibition conception and production, Public
and private sculpture commissions, Academic research,
Writing and lecture presentation, Critical Writing, and
Artist & Art Institution development.
26
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27
H.E. ELENA BASILE, AMBASSADOR OF
ITALY TO THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM,
SHARES HER VIEWS ON RELATIONS
BETWEEN ITALY AND BELGIUM
Relations between Italy and Belgium are rooted in
the past. The Italian Residence where I have the
privilege to dwell, a beautiful neo-classic palace
where the engagement between Marie-José and
Umberto II was celebrated, is the symbol of the
common history between the Belgian Royal house
and the House of Savoy. As it is well known,
King Philippe of Belgium is the son of Paola Ruffo
di Calabria. Italy and Belgium can count on an
excellent relationship in all fields, from political
to economic one, from cultural to scientific
cooperation, moving on through consolidated and
automatic patterns.
In the European framework, as founding Members of the
European Union, Italy and Belgium are both committed
to re-launch the European Union as a more integrated,
united and effective organization on the international
scene. It is paramount to bring the EU Institutions closer
to the citizens in order to reverse the on-going trend of
estrangement and disillusionment, which has indeed
contributed to the (re-)emergence of populism in many
Countries of Europe.
28
Italy, together with like-minded EU partners, is
contributing to set in motion the reform of the European
Union in order to provide collective answers to the threats
and challenges of our days, from economic crisis to
terrorism, from migration to climate change. We would like
to realize, with our like-minded partners, a Eurozone based
on a more accentuated equilibrium between responsibility
and solidarity. It is also important to realise the
completion of the Banking Union and to have a European
Union budget able to ensure adequately financed policies
in sectors where Europe can bring its added value, such as
H.E. Elena Basile and Barbara Dietrich
H.E. Elena Basile, Ambassador at the opening of the exhibition ‘’Spanish Still Life’’ at Bozar. After Brussels, the exhibition will be shown at Musei Reali in Turin
security and defense, migration, research and development,
the so-called “European goods”.
Italy’s efforts to tackle the on-going migration crisis in
the Mediterranean were widely acknowledged. Thanks to
the EU “Surveillance & Rescue” missions, along with the
daily work of the Italian “Guardia Costiera”, many lives
are saved every day. However many continue to be lost and
unfortunately the obstacles that the reform of the Dublin
mechanism (the obligation for the Country of first entry to
examine the asylum application) is encountering, it is an
indication that there is still a long way to go. A common
EU migration and asylum policy, the goal established
already at the 1999 European Council in Tampere, has not
yet been reached.
From an economic perspective, Italy’s presence in Belgium
is solid and long-standing. Companies such as Ferrero,
Burgo, Vitrociset and Mapei have important operations
in the Walloon Region, while CNH Industrial and Saviola
Group have concentrated their activities in the Flemish
Region. Many liaison offices are present in Belgium and
represent the most important Italian enterprises and trade
associations like Confindustria, ENI, ENEL, FCA and
Leonardo.
The “Made in Italy” is wide-spread and appreciated in
Belgium, from food to fashion, from furniture to cars. With
a trade exchange of about 30 Bn Euro in 2017, the two
countries are closely linked, ranking in each other’s top ten
list of economic partners. Next to traditional export areas
such as agri-food, textile and machinery, Italy-Belgium
trade relations are growing, in particular, thanks to the
exchange of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, medical devices
and bio-tech. Both Countries share the same industrial
backbone, composed primarily by Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs). In Italy, SMEs have developed a very
strong expertise in high-tech sectors (for instance robotics,
mechatronics, nanotechnologies and bio-science) which
are particularly complementary to Belgium’s flagship
enterprises.
Despite the historical and excellent relations existing
between the two Countries, there are still many
29
potentialities to explore: From the innovation of the
traditional “Made in Italy” to the attention to high-tech
cooperation in sectors such as ICT, bio-technologies and
space, with a particular regard to the start-up world.
With reference to scientific cooperation, last November we
have organized the first meeting of the Italian researchers
in Belgium, in the presence of Philippe Busquin, former
Belgian European Commissioner for Research from 1999
to 2004, and Massimo Inguscio, President of the Italian
National Council for Research (Consiglio Nazionale della
Ricerche, CNR). We have mapped out a very high number
of professors, senior and junior researchers, who are a
great asset for our work and represent natural bridges
between the two Countries.
Italian language is wide-spread in Belgium. It is taught
in all the schools which are covered by the Partnership
Charter signed between Italy and the Wallonia-Brussels
Federation, but also by the courses organized by the
Italian Institute of Culture in Brussels, along with other
associations.
The historical and cultural links between Italy and Belgium
are well known. The reciprocal influence of Italian and
Flemish Renaissance is one of the many examples that we
can take into consideration. The exhibition “Spanish Still
Life”, which is currently at Bozar, shows how the Flemish
and Italian models of “still life” had a great influence on
the wider development of painting in Europe.
We have a very active Italian Institute of Culture and
our goal is to organize as many cultural events as we
can in cooperation with Belgian cultural institutions.
For instance, we are working together with the Vrije
Universiteit Brussels (VUB) to present the legacy of Rocco
Chinnici, the Italian judge who set up the judiciary and
investigative mechanisms which are still used today in the
fight against organized crime. The event will include a
panel discussion between Italian and Belgian experts and
the screening of the movie on Rocco Chinnici, interpreted
by famous Italian actor Sergio Castellitto.
This year, we would also like to bring to Belgium a theatre
piece called “Italiens. Quand les émigrés c’etait nous”,
which will be shown in Brussels and Liège. The show,
by telling the stories of many Italian migrants that have
crossed the oceans and seas in the last centuries, has also
an educational value by reminding us the never-ending
30
Venice, Italy, gondolas with snow in front of the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore
© Shutterstock
Rome, Saint Peter’s Basilica after snowfall © Shutterstock
importance of solidarity and respect for human rights.
My mission is of course influenced by the extremely
high number of second or third generation-Italians who
are still living in the Country. Italians were traditionally
concentrated in the Walloon Region, primarily Liège
and Charleroi, to be employed in the coal mines. The
catastrophe that occurred in Marcinelle on August 8, 1956,
where 262 miners, of which 136 Italians, lost their lives
is commemorated every year as the saddest page of the
history of Italians in Belgium.
Community in the Belgian society. Italians are active in
every sector, from construction to catering, from academia
to politics. Our aim is to map out the Italians currently
working in the Belgian institutions, convinced as we are
that the community of Italians in Belgium is a powerful
network of contacts and a crucial tool for the promotion of
our Country.
Italian migration to Belgium is a story of suffering, but also
of great success. Former Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo is
the symbol of the well-succeeded integration of the Italian
DISCLAIMER
This interview took place before the elections of 4 March 2018.
31
INTERVIEW WITH
H.E. ELEFTHERIA GALATHIANAKI
AMBASSADOR OF THE REPUBLIC
OF GREECE
2018 is the European Year of Cultural Heritage
which invites us to celebrate our cultural diversity
and, at the same time, to encourage our peoples
to discover and engage with Europe’s cultural
heritage, in order to reinforce a sense of belonging
to a common European space.
As ambassador of Greece, what are the main
focus points for you today in Brussels? Bilateral
agreements, Economic diplomacy, cultural
diplomacy, education. Depending on the focus
points, could you highlight these with specific
cases.
I strongly believe that the Greek culture, no matter where
it comes from, belongs to all humanity. It enriches us in a
unique way, thanks to its anthropocentric approach, which
was absolutely novelty back then, but also vital and highly
I would say that, given the fact that our principle aim
is the strengthening of bilateral cooperation in various
fields, a combination of political, economic and cultural
diplomacy is what we are looking for. It is a known fact
that Greece is quickly recovering after many years of
fiscal difficulties and is back on the growth track. In this
context, the Greek Embassy is focusing on establishing
mutually beneficial relations with the Belgian business
sector, hoping both to attract Belgian investments in
Greece and to promote Greek investments in Belgium.
As far as cultural diplomacy is concerned, our Embassy
seeks to promote the Greek language and Greek culture
in Belgium through various initiatives and by supporting a
number of cultural events.
32
Without any doubt Greece and its cultural heritage
are the fundaments of Western civilisation and
relate to all cultural developments that have
defined our cultural history until today. How do
you look back to this phenomenon, and how would
you contextualize the history and heritage as a
bridge to our contemporary life and culture in the
context of a European and even global culture?
H.E. Eleftheria Galathianaki
© Diplomatic World
H.E. Eleftheria Galathianaki
© Diplomatic World
important for our consumption-oriented society, today. Its
pan-anthropic values can correspond to the spiritual needs
of all of us. This is why classical Greek literary production
has been followed, studied and translated not only by
modern Greek scholars, but also by brilliant minds all
over the world. I also believe that Greek culture, because
of its universality, is a quintessential tool for approaching
peoples. It is the connective tissue in the quest for
common origins and historical ties with other countries.
Modern Greece attributes a great importance to the
dialogue of cultures and cultural diplomacy. In 2017,
on the initiative of Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs
M. Nikos Kotzias, The Ancient Civilizations Forum took
place in Athens with the participation of Bolivia, China,
Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Peru and our country. Its aim is to
serve as a platform for dialogue and cultural cooperation
among the participating States.
The diversity in Europe today, defined by a continuous
diaspora for millennia, is dying to find a common
cultural ground for the European Union. With
everything mentioned above, could you create and
propose a cultural framework that nurtures this longing
for connection in between Europe?
2018 is the European Year of Cultural Heritage and we
are all invited to celebrate our cultural diversity and,
at the same time, to encourage our peoples to discover
and engage with Europe’s cultural heritage, in order to
reinforce a sense of belonging to a common European
space. It is an ideal opportunity for all of us to strengthen
the dialogue with the cultural heritage stakeholders, to
identify and implement coordinated policies and actions
for the sustainable management and development of
cultural heritage and to raise public awareness on the
potential of cultural heritage.
33
© Diplomatic World
Let us be guided by the successful Greek-inspired initiative
“European Capitals of Culture”, an integral part of the
Creative Europe programme 2014-20, whose ambition is to
promote Europe’s cultural diversity and cultural heritage
and to reinforce the competitiveness of our cultural and
creative sectors.
Brussels is at the heart of international economic
diplomacy, which is a growing area in diplomacy.
What particular role do you see for diplomats in
relation to the facilitation of future economic deals?
34
© Diplomatic World
If we think of economic relations as links interconnecting
people, organizations, regions and countries, then Brussels
is the right place for a diplomat. Economic diplomacy
is, perhaps, the most important long-term instrument for
achieving international cooperation. Here, in Brussels we
have the most obvious example and one of the greatest
success stories of our recent history: The creation and the
function of the EU. In this context, I can not think of a
better place for establishing strong economic partnerships
than in the actual capital of Europe.
H.E. Eleftheria Galathianaki and Barbara Dietrich
© Diplomatic World
How and to what extend may Chinese investments
have helped Greece to deal with the crisis?
After years of financial troubles, Greece is returning
to a growth path which opens up remarkable
opportunities for investment and trade. Our dynamic,
comprehensive and strategic partnership with
China sets a solid basis for expanding our role as
an important regional hub in the fields of trade,
transport, energy. telecommunica-tions, logistics,
culture and tourism. My country is once again taking
full advantage of its unique geopolitical position as a
country of Europe, the Mediterranean, the Balkans,
but also, as a maritime country with great potential
for advancing relations; far beyond its
neighborhood.
Specialists provide guidance to Chinese investors
in Europe. Think for instance of the guidance that
KA Legal frequently provides to foreign investors
in Greece. How important is such specialist
intervention to achieve the intended transactions?
Greece is aware of the important role of specialists’
intervention in achieving foreign investments. Therefore,
we are trying to inform them on the major recent
reforms in Greece, the positive economic climate and the
hospitable environment which is being created for investors
and businesses that can contribute towards growth and job
creation.
Which new opportunities may lay ahead for
Chinese investors in Europe and vice versa?
As a leading maritime country, looking for new trade
routes, we see new great opportunities in the 21st Century
Maritime Silk Road. An increasing number of Greek
shipowners build their ships in China, while our biggest port
— the port of Piraeus where a very important investment by
COSCO has been made — is becoming a global gateway to
Europe for products coming from Chinese and other Asian
ports, including through the Suez Canal. From Piraeus port,
the merchandise can easily be transported by rail to many
destinations in the Balkans and in Central Europe.
35
INTERVIEW WITH
H.E. ERKINKHON RAHMATULLOZODA
AMBASSADOR OF THE REPUBLIC
OF TA JIKISTAN
The realization of the New Silk Road project could
foster a role model that has been played by the
ancient Silk Road, where people were involved not
only in trade but also in cultural, intellectual,
educational, and religious exchanges.
Mr. Ambassador, On November 10, 2017, the
EU High Representative and foreign ministers
of Central Asian countries, including Tajikistan
gathered in Samarkand (Uzbekistan) for a new
regional rapprochement. What is the importance
of this event for your country?
Well, I would like to begin by reminding that a quarter
century ago the countries of Central Asia and the European
Union embarked on the formation and development of their
relations based on the principles of mutual respect and trust
to each other.
of Tajikistan, to improve the well-being of the people of
the country. This document identifies the role of foreign
partners’ significance in the implementation of the NDS.
Tajikistan expects that foreign partners will increase their
contribution to the priority areas of the Strategy.
Therefore, Tajikistan considers strong regional and
international ties as the main factor to impact the socioeconomic
development of our region as whole, and each
country individually.
Since then, the countries of Central Asia and the EU have
experienced different stages of cooperation, however, the
Samarkand meeting expressed the sides’ intention to jumpstart
their relations and give them the attention they deserve.
The Central Asian countries’ vision to leverage their potential
for drastic transformation and the EU’s strong interest in
stable and economically prosperous regions are the factors
that drive both sides towards the completion of common tasks.
The importance of this event for Tajikistan was the
affirmation of a strong willingness of all participants to pursue
and enhance further regional and bilateral cooperation. We
consider this political development as an important element
in our relations and believe that a comprehensive and
enhanced partnership between the EU and the countries of
Central Asia will positively impact the regional prosperity.
36
My Government has developed the National Development
Strategy-2030, which covers all aspects of the development
H.E. Erkinkhon Rahmatullozoda
© Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan
This platform is supposed to assist Central Asian
countries in gaining better benefits from China’s
New Silk Road initiative. What does Tajikistan
expect from the New Silk Road?
You know well that more than 2.000 years ago the Silk
Road was established to link China to the Middle East and
Europe through Central Asia. The New Silk Road initiative
is supposed to be a modern equivalent, aiming to create a
network of economic, trade and policy cooperation.
Thus, Central Asia has preserved its historical importance
as a bridge between China and Europe. Moreover, in the
recent years, the region has been a zone of close attention
of the world community and business structures, which
undoubtedly is a positive thing.
Several megaprojects have been launched from China to
Europe with the involvement of Central Asian states, which
include new roads, railroads and pipelines. Taking into
account the above mentioned points, cooperation between
the countries of the region and the EU on this platform can
help make the development of Central Asia more effective.
Our leadership attaches great importance to the modern
economic integration processes, therefore, comprehensive
cooperation with the countries of Central Asia, the EU and
China is a strategic goal of my Government.
Tajikistan regards the New Silk Road as a promising
initiative for mutually beneficial cooperation in various
fields. The introduced projects will facilitate economic
transformation, offering multiple benefits to our societies.
Tajikistan can serve as a transit nation in China’s projects
and benefit from it. The construction of the Tajik section of
the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline is a vivid example.
China has already started, and completed a number of the
New Silk Road projects in Tajikistan and we expect significant
Chinese investment into our infrastructure projects.
Can it again help flourish not only commerce,
but also culture and dialogue of civilizations in
Eurasia?
History, culture, and spiritual values as well as centuries-old
traditions are the basic principles of nations, and they play a
vital role in development of countries.
Such a role has been played by the ancient Silk Road,
where people were involved not only in trade but also
in cultural, intellectual, educational, and religious
exchanges. The Central Asian intellectuals had played
a key role in the development of world nations.
The great poet Abu Abdullah Rudaki, philosopher
and mathematician Al-Farabi, the greatest scholar
37
Abualli Ibn Sino (Avicenna) and many others had
considerably contributed to the development of world’s
civilizations. Today, globalization processes, in particular
technical and economic development progresses, rapidly
impact on cultural interchange and facilitate global
communications.
Thus, economic and social development of the regions will
significantly expand the possibilities for promoting cultural
and intellectual ties. The realization of the Silk Road
projects, which aim to connect Asia and Europe, will foster
intercultural exchanges and strengthen the relationship
between the nations.
Will this initiative promote stability in the region
and ensure prosperity?
It is noted that Central Asia is in close proximity to unstable
zones, and therefore, ensuring security and stability in the
region is a primary task of the local governments.
Central Asians recognize that socio-economic development
of societies is the most important factor of peace and
stability in the region. Hence, national strategies of the
countries of the region are directed towards the socioeconomic
development to improve the living conditions of
the people of the region.
In Tajikistan, we are confident that strengthening security,
further positive and progressive development, continuation
of the reform of the various sectors of economy, raising the
living standards and a gradual transition to the formation
of the middle class are the main driving factors of stability.
In this regards, the Government is making every effort to
ensure the stable development of the economy, based on the
needs of its population.
To this end, implementation of the One Belt One
Road projects with the involvement of Central Asia
and neighboring regions can open up new possibilities
for promotion of national economies and creation of
employment. This will improve the living conditions of
all societies and contribute to strengthening of peace and
stability in the area.
Barbara Dietrich and H.E. Mr. Erkinkhon Rahmatullozoda
Indeed, we have to recognize that in today’s interdependent
world and globalised challenges a country will not be able
to ensure its security and economic development on its
own. Joint coordination and consensuses will aid in creating
a better environment for addressing regional and global
challenges.
I am of the opinion that a joint action could bring more
benefits for Central Asia. The common history, culture,
traditions, and spiritual values will greatly contribute to
the processes of our development. The regional economic
integration can be a key factor for stable development.
Central Asia has enormous potential, and could act as an
economic bridge between Asia and Europe and provide
opportunities for our prosperity. That would contribute to
Afghanistan’s development as well.
In view of the recent positive developments in the area,
I believe that a joint approach to our regional priorities,
which is in line with the policy and aims of our European
partners, would considerably benefit the countries of
Central Asia.
38
In Europe, some experts think Tajikistan like other
Central Asian countries will gain more benefits
from Europe if there are better relations and
cooperation between the countries of the region.
What is your opinion on this topic?
President Emomali Rahmon has declared 2018 as
the Year of Tourism in Tajikistan. What is the aim
of this initiative?
Thanks to consistent efforts of President Emomali Rahmon,
Tajikistan has made remarkable achievements in its
domestic and foreign affairs. It is of particular importance
to the Government to enhance economic growth through
prioritizing each sector of the national economy.
To that end, the President has signed a decree on declaring
2018 as the Year of Tourism and Folk Crafts in Tajikistan to
promote development of tourism in the country.
In fact, Tajikistan has a fabulous and beautiful landscape
and nature and is one of the best tourist destinations in
the world. The hospitability, climate, weather, landscape,
sky-high mountains, delicious fruits, wonderful glaciers,
healing waters, lakes and springs with pure water, flora and
fauna make the country one of the fastest-growing tourist
destinations. Therefore, it would be appropriate to mention
that the BBC News Agency placed Tajikistan among 10 top
tourist destinations in the field of adventure tourism.
The Government has been making a lot of efforts to develop
tourism infrastructure by constructing new terminals and
hotels. It has adopted the National Tourism Development
Program and created Tourism Development Zones. One of
the practical steps that the Government has taken was the
launch of the electronic visa system “e-Visa” to increase the
number of tourists visiting Tajikistan. This system will allow
foreign citizens to receive Tajikistan visa online, relieving
them from unnecessary arrangements in the Tajikistan
consulates or at the borders.
Tajikistan has the opportunity to develop different types
of tourism, however, since the country has one of the
highest peaks in the world, which is about 7.000 meters
above sea level, the focus is given to mountaineering and
hunting.
The Pamirs — a big node almost in the center of the Asian
continent — is situated among the biggest mountain systems:
Tien Shan, Hindu Kush, Kunlin, and Karakorum. Almost
the entire territory of the Western Pamir is occupied with
ridges of latitudinal directions. A wide high mountain desert
has stretched from the southern slopes of the Zaalay ridge
in the north to the banks of the river Pyanj in the south as
well. The Tajik National Park, which is an UNESCO World
Heritage Site, is one of the largest mountainous terrains in
the world. Also, the longest and the most powerful glaciers
of Central Asia are nested here.
The country is rich with wonderful lakes that have various
origins. There are many unique areas in Tajikistan such as
the Seven Lakes, which reflect different colors.
The ancient Penjikent City, also known as the Pompeii
of Central Asia, which was once an important historical
town on the Great Silk Road, the Hissar Fortress and other
historical places are the best archeological sites to visit.
Tajikistan has a collection of mineral waters, which
consist of 72 cold, warm, and hot springs of different
chemical composition, saturated with carbon and nitrogen
gases. The temperature in warm and hot springs, such as
Garmchashma, varies from 35° to 62°C. Tourists visit these
and many other balneological resorts to get cured.
Also, tourists can enjoy the beauty of Dushanbe, the capital
of Tajikistan, which is known for its full-grown tree lined
avenues, public parks, museums, and the traditional tea
houses. Kokhi Navruz, the grandest and largest tea house in
Central Asia, is in Dushanbe.
It should be noted that mainly tourists from the European
Union and the USA have visited the country during the last
years. It is gratifying to see the increase in the number of
European tourists coming to Tajikistan.
In March we celebrate Navruz, one of the most important
and beautiful holidays in Tajikistan. You may know that
on these days the people go to the squares to watch shows,
serve guests with traditional dishes, and finally the Tajik
mountains can be seen in their glory.
Well, I invite everyone to visit Tajikistan during the Navruz
Holidays and discover the incredible beauty of my country.
It should be noted that there are about 1450 lakes in the
territory of Tajikistan. Some of them are located at the
height of more than four thousand meters above sea level.
© Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan
39
INTERVIEW WITH
SOPHIE WILMÈS,
FEDERAL MINISTER
OF BUDGET BELGIUM
As a Minister of Budget, Sophie Wilmès is coming
to the EU-Budget table with one wish: bringing
Europe and the people closer.
40
What are the main challenges you are facing today
as Minister of Budget in Belgium?
The main challenge that I had to face since I am federal
Minister of Budget is to find the right balance between
the budgetary consolidation and policies supporting the
economic recovery. When this federal government took
power in 2014, our deficit was over 3% and our debt
was increasing endlessly. Now, I’m proud to see that our
deficit was divided by three in only three years. Meanwhile
our debt will be going down close to the line of 100%
of our GDP in the end of this legislature. This is an
accomplishment when we know that we took also a series of
measures whose primary objective was to help our economy.
I, with the government, simply applied my motto: it’s the
economy which supports the budget and not the other way
around.
How is your role impacted as Minister being
member of the European Union?
As member of the EU, I have to work in a specific budgetary
framework. There are two main rules to this framework: the
deficit cannot go over 3% of the GDP and the debt cannot
be higher than 60% of the GDP, without processing to a
reduction of it at a sustained pace. Those rules have a huge
impact on the political decisions we could take on a national
level. But I understand completely their reasons of being.
We need to have clear guidelines to keep everybody on the
same track. However, I’m in favour of a “smart application”
of the European budgetary rules. The budgetary framework
should be flexible enough to allow Member States to answer
to the unpredictable. If we had followed the rules by the
letter in 2016 for example, it would have been impossible for
this Government to make funds available in response of the
terrorist attacks in Brussels. This is proof of necessity to be
rigorous but flexible. In the meantime, ESA2010 codes can
be an obstacle to investments but we know how a country
investing in strategic fields is important to the economy.
We are discussing at the moment with the European
Commission to see how we can make budgetary imperatives
and needs for investment coexist.
Which are the tools for a federal Minister of
Budget to be involved & support cultural &
economic diplomacy in Europe & beyond ?
I am directly involved in the discussions around the
European multiannual framework programme 2021-2027.
Those negotiations are crucial, knowing that, at that time,
the UK will have left the EU. We are talking about a budget
at least 10 billion euros short. This forces us to reconsider
the way we make the EU-Budget, by focusing first on the real
needs of the EU and the policies we have to implement. In
this case, I am coming to the table with one wish: bringing
Europe and the people closer. It demands to look at every
single policy with a fresh eye, determining which has an
added value and which doesn’t anymore. It is absolutely
imperative because, if the EU budget cannot go higher
and higher without any control, we have to be ready to face
new challenges for the next coming years; security
and immigration being both topics extremely important as
well.
Can you tell us the important milestones in your
professional career & what values inspired you to
join the public cause ?
Deep down, I’ve always had the sense of commitment to
the common good. Of course, becoming a Federal Minister
was the main milestone in my political career because you
are the centre of the decision-making process. You take
Sophie Wilmès and Barbara Dietrich
decisions that have a positive impact on the largest possible
number of co-citizens. That might sound scary first but it
is very fulfilling. To be honest, I also have to mention the
first time I was elected in the local council of Uccle. This
is an important milestone because it is the beginning of
everything. This is the first-ever realization of my political
engagement. At that time, I was driven by the wish to
improve people’s lives and making the society a better place
to this generation but, above all, for the next generations.
I guess those commitments still drive me nowadays, as a
Minister.
As Belgian citizen, born in Brussels, married to
an Australian citizen, being a mother with 4
children, how has openness to other (regional)
cultures & languages influenced both your family
and professional life
And you forgot to mention that I’m a French-speaking
Belgian living in the Flemish-part ! Being in contact with
different cultures is always a learning experience. It breaks
every paradigm you might have on things. Reality is never
an one-side story. Living in a country where different
communities live is an asset. On another level, to live
peacefully together, communities have to be able to talk
to each other. Communication is the key. It allows to
find a common ground. That is why I find language skills
particularly important. This is no coincidence if my children
talk to me in French, speak with their father in English and
go to school in Dutch.
41
INTERVIEW WITH PHILIPPE DE BACKER
STATE SECRETARY FOR THE FIGHT
AGAINST SOCIAL FRAUD, PRIVACY
AND NORTH SEA, ATTACHED TO
THE MINISTER OF SOCIAL AFFAIRS
AND PUBLIC HEALTH
42
As Secretary of State you are confronted with many
challenges related to online privacy and to different
audiences. 2018 will be the year of personal data
privacy. Our future generations grow up immersed
in a cloud of data. How to make young people
aware of the importance of online privacy ?
Digital is the new normal and even more the future. And
that is excellent. Daily technological innovation pushes our
society forward. Every new application improves our quality
of life a bit more. The digital sector creates enormous
economic prosperity and social well-being. But above all it
connects people and ideas worldwide.
Younger generations are the canary in the coal mine in this
digital world. They are always the first to follow the latest
trends. This has always been the case. This poses, of course,
a huge challenge for parents, teachers and youth counselors.
How do we protect our young people when they often get
the new technology faster and better? This is one of my
main concerns.
There is also a downside to the medal. The less attractive
side of our society is also making its way to the online
world. Specifically for young people it concerns for example:
bullying, sexually transgressive behavior or strangers with
unsavory intentions that anonymously ask for your personal
details. This is one of my main concerns. I want to make the
youth more aware of underlying dangers.
In this changing context, the new European privacy
regulation must be considered. It wants to give European
citizens more control and protection of their personal data
and focuses emphatically on the better protection of young
people. It is now up to the Member States to determine
when young people get free access to the worldwide web
between thirteen and sixteen years.
As the competent Secretary of State for privacy, I will do
everything in my power to get this age at thirteen years.
First, because raising the minimum age would be evidence
of unworldliness. The illusion that we would be able to shut
youth off in times which every device is connected to the
worldwide web would be naive. The rebellious youngster
does not care about a digital prohibition sign. Secondly,
because we simply do not want to. It also offers added value
to their lives. Social media are an undeniably important part
in the world of young people where they meet peers and
family and celebrate their creativity online.
The fact that we offer young people free access to social
media from the age of thirteen means that we have to
invest in media literacy. I myself am making a tour around
different highschools to educate youngsters about the
possibilities that the internet has to offer but also educate
them about the hidden dangers with regards to their privacy.
We have to teach them the right reflexes so that they can
react appropriately when they are confronted with the
dangers of the anonymous web or the demand for release
of personal information. We need to make them resilient by
Philippe De Backer
consciously learning how to deal with everything they
share online, by requiring them to think about the impact
of messages they post and make them master of their own
data. Just like in the real world, we also support our young
people in the digital world.
In parallel, our oceans are polluted by plastics and
other trash; for Belgium this is also the fact for the
North Sea. With your Sea Trash Plan you make the
first scientifically supported start of a campaign to
prevent and counterattack these pollutions. How will
you coordinate, execute and make this plan work ?
Worldwide the call to take care of our environment sounds
increasingly louder. It shows a concern for the generations
who come after us. That is why I am proud that, as
Secretary of State for the North Sea, I can contribute to this
with my Action Plan for Maritime Litter which registers in
the realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The scientific, well-founded action plan is a 360° plan
based on international, national and regional cooperation.
It guarantees the strength that is needed to get rid of the
cleaning up of our North Sea, but above all to tackle the
problem at the source. This by focusing on prevention
through communication and awareness-raising, but also
by strictly supervising compliance with legislation. It is
a necessary part of a comprehensive plan if we want to
prevent that we continue to fight a running battle.
A final part of the plan focuses on scientific research. As
a biologist, the well-being of the North Sea is close to my
heart. Plastic is an invention of man. The solution for
the plastic soup in our North Sea and, by extension, the
merging of economics and ecology into a circular economy
will also have to be the result of human creativity.
China is building new economic roads. China’s
Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is not a threat to the
global economic or political order, and could turn
out to become a significant vision that generates
enormous benefits for the world. Which new
opportunities may lay ahead via these new roads for
Chinese investors in Europe, Belgium and Antwerp
and vice versa ?
I always welcome trade. It is unquestionably the historical
engine to which we owe our present-day prosperity. It is
incomprehensible to me that people on the international
stage are raving about mercantilist recipes today.
International trade is not a zero-sum game.
It will not surprise you that I encourage additional trade
routes. World trade can only benefit from this. The crucial
condition here is that everyone follows the same rules. The
Chinese “Belt and Road Initiative” seems at first sight to
contribute to the better alignment of policy, infrastructure
works and customs controls. The objectives are therefore
suspiciously similar to those of the European Union.
43
Philippe De Backer
44
More specific with regard to the port of Antwerp, there
are voices that fear that the “Belt and Road Initiative” will
cause competition. I will not participate in the ballyhoo. We
must consider this new development as a challenge and an
opportunity. China is already investing a huge amount of
money in the port of Antwerp today, via COSCO, its largest
shipping company. As long as we continue to play the trump
cards of our port city and offer space for entrepreneurship, I
don’t see how increased trade could harm our port. On the
contrary.
Antwerp has been a historic crossroads for people
from all over the world. How to use this diversity
today to make Antwerp a successful area and
laboratory for the respectful cohabitation of
different people, cultures and experiences, that
could leverage the City towards an economic,
tolerant and innovative metropolitan area ?
The cross-fertilization and clash of ideas leads to innovation
and eventually to progress. We should therefore also
embrace the presence of many nationalities in Antwerp.
Diversity is an asset that we must use to our advantage. To
achieve this, it is necessary that every inhabitant of Antwerp
also feels as a member of the city. Regardless of your social,
cultural, economic or religious background, you must feel
that you are part of the great Antwerp society. To achieve
this, two conditions must be met.
First, we must make clear to every resident and community
that everyone adheres to the same rules. The principles
of enlightenment must be recognized by everyone as the
directional indicators for social life. They contribute to
a framework in which every Antwerp citizen can freely
believe, speak, work, start up businesses and move around.
Secondly, discrimination should definitely belong to the
past. A diverse city in which a we-side discourse takes
the upper hand inevitably leads to an explosive cocktail.
If distrust and intolerance take the upper hand, there is
no longer any question of cooperation and this harms
innovation, prosperity and growth.
The fight against discrimination cannot be stopped. Every
inhabitant of the city must feel as a part of Antwerp. And
enforcing compliance with the principles of enlightenment,
can make Antwerp one big, warm community. In which
every resident can celebrate his creativity and look for
collaborations. It would make the progress of our city
unstoppable.
From cultural point of view, Antwerp highlights
the Baroque Year and is finishing its Diamond
Year in 2018. How would you relate the cultural
and economic history of the City towards a
future orientation where culture and economics
could thrive again on a European and global
level?
The Golden Age of Antwerp shows us the way to progress.
500 years ago Antwerp was the centre of the world with
unprecedented economic and cultural progress. Antwerp
was the international trade centre. There can be found
several reasons for the Antwerp miracle. Off course it has
something to do with our location along the Scheldt. But
the most important reason was that the Golden Age was an
era of religious tolerance, liberty and free enterprise. If we
want to enjoy another golden age on a European and global
level, we have to embrace the diversity we have and cut red
tapes and taxes for entrepreneurs.
You have just launched the presentation of the
book, ‘Klank van de Stad’, a book for and by
inspiring people from Antwerp. These 22 witnesses
have in common a strong love for and great pride
for Antwerp. In the book, they propose ambitious
ideas and engage in an open dialogue with you.
Through the selection of these conversations, you
are drawing elements that could be entered into a
blueprint for a future city. Can you highlight some
of these ideas that coincide with your vision on the
City of Antwerp.
My book “Klank van de Stad” is first and foremost a
symbolic rendering of the way how I want to do politics.
I refuse to be locked up in a party cocoon to where I am
shielded from opinions and influences from outside. That
would be at odds with every liberal fiber in my body. From
the conflict of ideas, progress develops as I said earlier.
It goes without saying that I myself honor this principle.
The book that I published are the sounds from my city, the
city that I love so dearly. The opinions and influences from
outside that is what I look for. They are often innovative,
they inspire me and consequently feed my political views.
That often becomes very concrete. How do we tackle the
mobility issue? What should the education of the future look
like? How can we play out the diversity that characterizes
Antwerp as an asset?
In the selection process for the themes in the book “Klank
van de Stad” I always started from one question: what is
essential for our children? As a father, of children who will
grow up in this beautiful city, I’m mostly thinking about the
future of our next generations. What are the challenges we
need to tackle now and what are the opportunities that we
need to take on so that our children can be proud of us.
As a politician and secretary of state, you are
playing on multiple fields, both from territory
point of view (Belgium / Antwerp) but also from a
multidisciplinary point of view. It will be difficult
to predict where you will turn up next in the near
future. In general, as a ‘civil servant’, where would
you like that your career brings you and how would
you like to grow in this role.
It’s not a secret that to me becoming the mayor of Antwerp
would be the most beautiful job. On the 14th of October
the Antwerp citizen will choose his new city council and
mayor. I will throw myself in the mix. First of all with a
strong campaign that focuses on fresh, liberal ideas. With
the conscious choice for a substantive debate even though
we live in times of fleeting social media. With attention to
the problems of the city and its inhabitants instead of the
development of strategies in a search for power. Then it is
up to the voter to decide if I will serve in the office of my
dreams.
The Port House “Havenhuis”, Antwerp, with new extension by Zaha Hadid Architects
© Inspiring Culture
45
HERMAN DE CROO
ON THE CULTURE AND HISTORY
OF BELGIUM FOR
DIPLOMATIC WORLD
BELGIUM: AN EXCEPTIONAL
WAY OF BEING A STATE …
Belgium has been economically, culturally and
scientifically strong throughout the years. We
developed from an industrialized nation with stone,
coal and steel into a service nation. Seven world
expositions took place in Belgium: quite amazing for
a ridiculously small piece of territory. The greatest
number of embassies can be found in Brussels,
which is a third more than in Washington, the
‘capital of the world’. Belgium’s discrete presence
and the sheer activity happening on its ground is
often underestimated.
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Prof. dr. em. Herman De Croo
Minister of State
M.P. and former Speaker of the House
Related to Belgium, there is a ‘golden mediocrity’, ‘a
golden mean’ that makes us never exaggerate and never
do foolish things, also in politics. Our manner is one
of saying enough but not too much and in that way we
metaphorically avoid spilling blood. I often say that in
the north of Belgium they work too much, in the south
of Belgium they enjoy things too much and in the centre
we have found the perfect balance between working and
having fun. Every weekend I am able to attend events at
between ten or fifteen places. The sheer number is quite
unbelievable to notice and is typically Belgian. There is a
Burgundian way of living here, with people fully enjoying
life and taking the small downsides in stride. Belgium has
no hard sides on which you can hurt yourself.
OCCUPIED BUT NEVER BEATEN
The Belgian need for a freedom of choice, perhaps
comes from the fact that we have always been occupied
throughout history. Occupied, though never beaten.
During the treaty of Verdun in 843, the empire of
Charlemagne was split amongst his three grandsons. The
division was applied the same way you would split up a
piece of farm land: one strip to the West, one strip to
the East, and one strip in the middle of Europe. When
you look at this story and the further history of Europe,
there has always been a ‘squeezing’ of this middle part of
Europe. The West expanded east and the East expanded
west, causing the middle section to constantly change.
On the left side of that map you can see France, Italy,
Spain and also Great Britain; the east is made up of
the Austrian-German empire, with the Russians at the
outside. The fluctuating middle part is what we are.
Belgium has always been the place of encounter where
Barbara Dietrich and Prof. dr. em. Herman De Croo
the major battles happened; the place to get a hold of, to
get under your power and to occupy. In a certain sense,
historically speaking, the territory of Belgium was the
Grand Place where different people would meet and enjoy
life but also the place where they would kill each other.
We were occupied all the time though not always through
war. There were occupants by marriage or bound by war.
I believe that today we are still occupied: by the Flemish
government, by the Walloon government, by the Brussels
government, by the German speaking government and a
few years ago by the Federal government.
A Belgian has the unbearable but understandable reflex
to feel occupied, which means he does not like power,
he does not like the government, he does not like police,
does not like tax controllers, and most of all does not
like rules. That distaste of being controlled is in our
DNA. Elected leaders are considered occupants in a way
and without an understanding of a Belgian’s DNA, there
is no way to understand Belgian society. Belgians are
not cheating taxes, they just do not like to give too much
money to the occupant. They know the money will be
utilized but they have to give away their control in how it
is used.
A LIBERAL AND NEUTRAL NATION
Why do people come to Belgium? What made big names
like Metternich, Victor Hugo and Karl Marx settle here
for a while? We are small, not nationalistic and
unpretentious; all pleasant characteristics but there is
much more to it. A good way to look at the attraction is
in diplomatic terms.
Our constitution, written in 1831, was the most liberal
one in Europe. So much so that the Vatican put it on the
index because we included freedom of religion in a time
where Protestants and Catholics were killing each other in
Europe. We also decided on freedom of schools, since the
Jesuits were very influential in the middle class and they
could train the teachers of the future. Finally, freedom of
which language you could speak was also included.
By 1845/1846, just before the revolt in France in 1848
against Napoleon, a great number of revolutionary people
were living in Belgium, making newspapers and leaflets
and then carrying them in secret to Paris. Things were so
extreme, there came a law in Belgium to punish insults to
foreign heads of state — one that was abolished only a few
years ago. This law was passed to ensure Belgium could
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still negotiate with France and do business with other
countries, despite their revolutionaries residing in our
cities.
This liberal attitude and constitution made it difficult for
Belgium to find a king. The Congress of Vienna had taken
place and we had to be careful not to offend any countries.
For instance, Britain was not on board with us selecting
the son of the French king. In addition, the influential
Belgian families could not agree on who to pick out of
their own crowd. Eventually, we decided on a Germanspeaking
British widower, king Leopold I, who saved our
young country thanks to the neutrality of that choice. Our
independence has always been born from our neutrality,
a unique position in Europe, and one that was hard to
maintain. This enabled Belgium to escape the troubles of
1848 and the war between Germany and France in 1870.
Despite all of this, we were brutally attacked in 1914 and
were not respected in our declaration of independence.
The neutrality that has been maintained for almost a
century, has turned Belgium into a kind of international
meeting place. It made us prosperous and it was the
reason Leopold II had enough prestige to get a Belgian
colony in 1909. Every country with ambition wanted a
colony. Belgium got a piece of Africa that was 80 times
the size of Belgium and 5 times the size of France. It
was extravagant, even in the spirit of the time. A colonial
past is no point of pride, but I want to indicate how
extraordinary it is for a small country like Belgium to
acquire such a large and rich colony.
THE IMPACT OF THE WORLD WARS
During the liberal age, Belgium became a place where you
could feel safe and where the food was good. A place with
no tensions with a French-speaking intelligentsia — even
the schools in Flanders were French-speaking —, painters,
writers, anything you could ask for. We became something
special fostered by the great powers, a small territory that
was industrialized with the great harbour of Antwerp and
culturally rich. Then finally after the two brutal world
wars, almost everything was taken away with a horrible
occupation. Tiny Belgium incited the British government
to join at the frontier, to defend Belgium. The USA joined
in 1917, to help Belgium in a sense and to win the war.
Now, over a 100 years later, among the many graves in
Western Flanders a relatively limited number of Belgians
were killed. The battlefield was located in our country and
many died, but a great number of them were British and
French. We have the biggest cemeteries of allied forces
from the First World War and for British people — quite
strange or reverse how the world works — it is a touristic
destination to visit the cemeteries with tombs of tens of
thousands of people killed during the Great War in the
West of Flanders.
After the First World War, Leopold III tried to negotiate
with Sweden to create an axis of neutral countries to avoid
the Second World War, as the Dutch had avoided the First
World War. We were special in our geopolitical situation
and in 1921 we created the international non-profit
associations, of which there are thousands in Belgium.
This was a technique to attract seats of railways, unions,
and other associations here. It was already in the DNA of
the country to try and attract others to this free, openminded
setting with all the liberties, without nationalism,
avoiding any dictatorship. We have always been a little bit
complicated to rule but this is without danger to anybody.
Leopold III and his advisors were aware that only by
attracting people to settle their headquarters in Belgium,
we would be put on the map.
When Brussels and Antwerp were liberated during the
Second World War, the Germans tried to destroy the
harbour of Antwerp to avoid procurement for the 5 to 6
million allied soldiers. Germany was surrendering, so for 4
to 6 years Belgium was booming with supplying the allied
troops in Western Europe. After the Second World War,
American firms came to Belgium, knowing that we were
the only way into Europe. Despite the political hazard,
this was one of the things that increased our development
and put Belgium back on the map, very soon after the
Second World War.
A FREE HOUSING MARKET
After the world wars, most countries decided to
nationalize houses or apply very strict building
regulations. People had to live with two or three families
in the same house from 1944 until 1947/1949. After
that period, the new regimes tried to build state houses.
Belgium did not do any of that. We let the house building
market run free by subsidizing it. This created a booming
construction industry, which is still one of the strong
economic elements in its diversity today. In small firms,
there is flexibility, ingenuity and a lot of other things that
were practically invented by the Belgians.
Prof. dr. em. Herman De Croo
When astronauts are turning around the world and they
see an illuminated point, they say: that must be Belgium.
This extraordinary fact is because since the Roman times,
we have been living in one house next to the other until
you meet the houses of the next village. This pattern of
house building is linked to commuting and to putting
industries next to cities.
Belgians are more free and prosperous than ever before,
with 80 to 90 % of the Belgians as the owners of their own
house; something that does not exist anywhere else. The
downside of this is that everyone wants a house that is
different from the others. We have as many different styles
of houses as there are families in Belgium. When your
plane takes off from London, Heathrow, you see millions
of people living in the same type of house. If you want to
find something similar in Belgium, you have to look for
social housing neighbourhoods and even there you can
still see small differences in style.
A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO EDUCATION
A third point that made us prosper, next to keeping
safe the harbour of Antwerp and not nationalizing the
housing but instead leaving it free, was that we decided
to create very good technical schools. We did not focus
on universities like France, but also paid attention to the
A4, A3, A2 and A1 technical engineers. With the A1 law
(1937) we have created a lot of skilled workers, middlemen,
team leaders and sea mine engineers. The combination of
freedom of building and free possession of property, the
expansion of the harbour of Antwerp with the arrival of
hundreds of American firms, and the addition of skilled
Belgian workers, all created the golden fifties and sixties.
Even without a planned economy and theoretical approach
we were utilizing the reverse of the handicaps the two wars
had given us in 1914-1918 and 1940-1945.
SOCIAL SECURITY AND FREEDOM OF CHOICE
A final point that worked to our advantage was the period
of exile to London that the Belgian government went
through. During this episode, Lord Beveridge created
our social security and it was implemented when the
government came back to Belgium. We do not have
waiting lists for hospitals, which is an unusual situation in
Europe. In the UK, people have to wait for years before a
certain surgery can be performed.
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This has caused an influx of over 100.000 foreign
patients a year at our hospitals. The principle that the
choice is free does imply that every service becomes
more expensive. Our federation of Belgian industries has
a department for importing people into Belgium to be
treated and have them pay their bills afterwards.
The Belgian freedom also creates competition in strange
things. Belgium is one of the few countries where you
can freely choose your doctor, hospital, school or notary.
In many of Western countries, your living address
determines the schools, doctors and hospitals that are
available to you. In the UK, for instance, this can be
a giant handicap: when you live on the left side of the
street you can have a good school for your children,
whilst the other side of the street can mean you have to
send them to a ‘bad’ school. People are then motivated
to move or work far away from the place they live, just in
order to have a better school. In Belgium, the freedom
of choice creates a certain competition in these different
areas, which can elevate the quality overall. When your
schools and universities are in competition, all of them
try to be the best at what they do in order to attract
people.
INDUSTRIALIZED POWER AND COMMUTING
Belgium is a small country but it has been through all
regimes and possibilities. What few people know is that
Belgium was the second industrialized power in the
world in the course of the 19th century. The UK was
first, Belgium second, the USA third and France only
seventh. It was only in 1914, that Belgium went from
the second to the third place: an unbelievable industrial
development.
Belgium is therefore a child of its history. From 1835 to
1865, we have filled Belgium with 5.000 km of railway
lines for trains and 5.000 km of tram lines. People went
to work in the coal mines in the Borinage, in Brussels
and other cities but they did not have to find a home
there. In 1865, the season ticket was introduced by a
liberal government who had decided it was best for
the workers to go home to their village in the evening,
where they were taking care of by the village priest (the
spiritual cement of the village) and/or the mayor of the
village. People went to work in cities, travelled home in
the evening and thus commuting was invented by the
Belgians.
Belgium is still a country of commuters, causing a
major problem of mobility. The railway department in
Belgium, a department I was in charge of for eight years
as minister of transport and communication, can be a bit
provocatively summarized as one big commuting train
full of civil servants on their way to Brussels. 170 years
later this has not changed. In addition, we have about
four times more roads per square kilometre than the
Netherlands and sixteen times more roads per square
kilometre than France. Roads mean cars and many
cars mean congestion. With this we avoided the huge
concentrations of people like in the suburbs of Liverpool,
Manchester, Lille or Paris. The consequence, however, is
that due to congestion people now try to move to the place
where the work takes place. There is a policy of making
so-called ‘industrial zones’, well thought-out areas in every
town and village where small firms are located. The zones
are an alternative to commuting to work in Belgium’s main
cities and enable people to work near their homes.
TRANSPORT IN BRUSSELS
Brussels is a very strange collection of 19 communes. In
Brussels, the capital of Europe, most ‘slums’ are located
in the centre while the nice quarters are outside of the
city centre. Compared to Paris, London or even Berlin
this is the opposite. They have beautiful city centres
to display but their large suburbs can feel like slums in
Africa, India or Pakistan. Tourists and visitors do not
go further than the centre and are amazed by the place,
whereas in Brussels any troublemaking will happen in the
centre and in the public eye. So people like to flee the city,
increasingly seeking homes in nice and ever expanding
suburbs.
Even when the city of Brussels was building beautiful
town houses at Rue Quatre Bras (the former seat of
Foreign Affairs) in 1880 to rent to the people working in
the city, everyone still commuted to their home outside
of Brussels. Since then nothing has changed, but now the
19 communes of Brussels sometimes try to make it more
difficult to the commuters (over half a million) to get to
their jobs by car or train. In a way, they are trying to force
them to live in Brussels.
During my eight years as minister of Transport, I was
building 20 metro stations. I knew very well what the
railway stations meant to Brussels. In other big cities it is
normal to take the taxi or metro between train stations,
Prof. dr. em. Herman De Croo
like for instance in Paris between Gare du Nord and Gare
de l’Est. Brussels has three train stations: Gare Centrale
(the biggest one), Gare du Nord et Gare du Midi. Midi is
the only place where there is a junction between them.
I decided to build metro stations inside the railway
stations to avoid huge traffic jams in the city. If we did
not build the metro stations, in 10 years no one would
be able to reach Brussels anymore. Putting the metro
stations in dry environments near the stations would
encourage people to take the train without disrupting the
local traveling inside the city. It seems simple and it is
the most logical option but still there was a revolt by the
19 mayors of the communes of Brussels.
Their reason for protesting was that these measures were
advantageous to commuters, who are of no use to the
communes. Commuters are not citizens who vote and
pay taxes. The mayors would much rather we invest in
roads and car travel, for their voters are the people who
use cars in the city. Those eight years were a permanent
fight but we did create a period of calm through the
metro and railway stations. Unfortunately, we started
investing in constructing car infrastructure and now
10 years later Brussels is completely blocked by cars,
as I predicted.
POLITICALLY INTERWOVEN
Recently, I was in Congo for 14 days, where I tried to
explain the following issue: for 541 days Belgium had no
full-fledged government. Which other country — in the
turmoil of the Libyan War and with all the problems we all
have — other than Belgium, could survive almost two years
without a new government and avoid major problems,
revolts, and press scandals? I could not name you another
one.
When you look at the 28 European states today, there
are very few who can look back at their governments and
see that they were stable for over 5 years, with only small
tensions interrupting. In my opinion, Belgium passes this
test thanks to an interwovenness that is incomprehensible
to outsiders. For a long time I was mayor and speaker
of the Federal Chamber of Representatives and during
that time the first government was formed by a Socialist-
Liberal coalition and the next one by a Liberal-Christian
Democratic coalition. In my communal council the
opposition was Christian Democratic and my coalition
partner was Socialist, while in the province the three
parties together had formed a coalition. Nationally
versus regionally, everything was different even though
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sometimes the same people were involved. Someone can
be your alderman in the commune but your opponent in
the parliament, which is something very hard to explain to
anyone who is not in the field. So the logic by which we let
ourselves be seduced in politics is completely strange to
Belgium.
Belgium is richer than ever in terms of medicine and
science. The state, however, is poor and has to stay poor:
it has to have a lot of debts, otherwise it does foolish
things. There is no model for Europe and no one knows
what it will be like in the future. Perhaps Belgium is
somehow a forecast of what Europe could be: a not too
dominant state, where there is room and freedom for
people to go about their business as they see fit. A place to
do business without the accusatory finger that is custom
with some of our Northern neighbours, and without the
class struggles that are present with some of our Southern
neighbours. Many things happen in Belgium that many
Belgians are totally indifferent about: every day over a 130
international meetings take place in Brussels, but they are
of no immediate concern to the average Belgian.
After the elections (note of the editor: in 2019), I intend
to create a forum of all CEO’s in private world companies
that are Belgian together with Herman Daems. The
proportion per square kilometre will amaze everyone. We
have two out of three of the biggest dredging companies in
the world: DEME and Jan De Nul. One of them is a close
friend of mine and when asked which kind of personnel he
is looking for, his response was Belgian engineers. In his
opinion, they are the ones with sufficient feeling with both
the top and the bottom of the enterprise; something other
nationalities lack.
CENTRAL OF THE NEWS
Belgium is a very special piece of this planet, tortured
by history, having resisted again and again, having a very
great view on the world. Yet it also has its handicaps. One
of those is that our national and regional stories easily
become world news because over 1.500 international
journalists are stationed in Brussels. The story of Marc
Dutroux (a convicted criminal who kidnapped and raped
several young girls before he was caught) is known all
over the world, from Belgium to Japan. The events were
of course horrific, but that worldwide attention is in part
due to the presence of international press agencies in
Brussels. When nothing happens at the European level
or with NATO, these journalists look for different stories
and they write about things happening in the countries
they are staying at. That is also part of the explanation
why the Puigdemont story in Catalonia became as big as
Puigdemont wanted it to become. He was at the centre of
attention thanks to his location. Because of the presence
of the press, Belgium is always, despite its small size,
under the scrutiny of the entire world.
BELGIUM AS A CONCEPT
In his self-promotion book on the war in Gaulle/De Bello
Gallico, Julius Caesar wrote ‘fortissimi sunt Belgae’ or
‘the strongest are the Belgians’. They were brave, they
were dangerous and fighting the Romans and won a
battle against them. From that moment onwards, the
word ‘Belgian’ is in a certain sense not always linked to a
geographical location but it is rather a concept. I believe
‘Brussels’ is still doing that, more so than Belgium. As a
trademark, one of the best-known names in the world is
‘Brussels’, which has a lot of consequences. Politically, a
great many things happen in Brussels and people often
speak in terms of ‘Brussels has decided…’. In addition,
Brussels is well-known thanks to its connectivity to the
rest of the world. My son-in-law is a leading engineer at
Goodyear and he lived and worked in Paris for 4 years.
He told me it is more difficult to reach middle sized cities
in Europe from Paris than from Brussels. He came back
to live in Brussels, 15 minutes from the airport and now
he can reach Manchester, Liverpool, Toulouse, Bordeaux,
Tallin, any place in Europe which he couldn’t reach as
easily from Paris or any other city. The best way to reach
European cities is via Brussels.
That is my explanation for the extraordinary position
of Belgium. Of course, every country is unique but I
believe this one takes it to the next level. There is only
one country where you can go to Place de Luxembourg
and meet the whole world. Through a combination of
coincidences and hard work, Brussels and Belgium have
become a kind of safe place where everyone feels at home.
A place where a lot of action takes place; politically,
economically and culturally. Through that combination
and perhaps also because there is something undefinable
in the air in Belgium; something that is present all the
time.
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BELHOSPICE
FAITH, HOPE, LOVE
BE THERE FOR THOSE WHO NEED HELP
LEO D‘AES - BELGIAN AMBASSADOR IN SERBIA
I arrived in Belgrade in the beginning of 2014 and after
a couple of months, in May or June, I went to a classical
concert in the City hall of Belgrade, organized for the
benefit of what I then started to know as BELhospice. I
started being interested in this specific case and a little while
afterwards I was contacted by the fundraiser of BELhospice.
She said: ‘We saw you were there. We understand that you
are the Belgian Ambassador. Would you like to help us
with our work, f.i. by giving a fundraising concert in your
residence?’ So I said: ‘Of course, happily. I am most willing
to do that.’ So we did a fundraising concert in the Belgian
residence in Belgrade. It was not a big thing: we were about
50 or 60 people but it was a lovely event, full of solidarity,
with very good Serbian artists. Serbia has a lot of musical
talent, pianists and violinists, it was a splendid evening.
And then it continued, because I was then approached
by Mr Graham Perolls, the Director of the organization
‘Hospices of Hope’: a British charity organisation that funds
Hospices where terminally ill people are being given hope,
not of getting cured but of passing the last days or weeks
or months of their years in dignity. And this is the whole
concept of Hospices: you are welcome, we know you are
fighting but losing a battle against a terminal illness, but you
count for us, and we know that every day counts for you.
And that is the spirit behind it.
BELhospice, now directed by Vera Madzgalj, was founded
in 2006 by Dr. Natasha Milicevic. As a doctor she saw that
there was an enormous need to help the people in Serbia
who have this critical illness. She started by organizing
the home care service, that means going to these people’s
homes where they are completely lost. A very important
aspect is not only caring for these patients but also caring
for the family members. And that is the unique feature of
BELhospice: they have a global approach by which they
not only take care of the pain which needs to be taken away
with palliative care, they also take care of the psychology
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Leo D‘aes - Belgian Ambassador in Serbia and Barbara Dietrich
© Dieter Paternoster, Living Tomorrow
Leo D‘aes - Belgian Ambassador in Serbia
© Dieter Paternoster, Living Tomorrow
of knowing that you are dying and also of the helplessness
of the family who all of a sudden learn that ‘my mother, my
father, my brother, my sister’ will live for only six weeks or
months or one year more.
That approach (caring for the patients and their family)
has the active support of the UK ‘Hospices of Hope’,
which has already established a major Hospice in Romania,
where I served as ambassador in 2008-2011. I was active
then in another initiative, together with my wife, helping to
establish a school inside a children’s hospital, working with
an Irish NGO, with a sister Miriam, and with Belgians from
Ghent.
Also in Belgrade, it is a joint effort: we act as a team. The
‘Hospices of Hope’ are a team, they work together with
the BELhospice team. The Honorary Patrons Committee
which I chair is a team of 14 people, doing this together.
How ? How do you maintain a drive, an enthusiasm? You
try to reach out to people who not only have sympathy,
but also have good will in terms of ‘yes, we want to join
in a case in which we believe’. So the importance of
the fundraising cannot be underestimated, but not just
by organizing lotteries or whatever… It is by going to
businesses which believe in this effort. Because some causes
are incredible, because they are amateurish, or because
they are not standing on a sound financial or managerial
basis. BELhospice is now a very sound and well-managed
organization that has earned confidence for what it is
doing and for how it is going about it. Genuine sympathy is
translated into fundraising, from people of goodwill, being
business or private persons, and — very importantly — is
more and more supported by the authorities. You can be
as noble as you want, in the case of such a fundamental
problem you need the active support of the authorities.
The authorities are very interested in this initiative because
they know that it responds to a clear need. But in order to
translate the support into practical cooperation, we need to
go through a number of legalistic and bureaucratic phases,
because we need to legalize the concept of BELhospice into
the medical system. To be sure, such bureaucracy is not
unique for Serbia, this is a process we have to go through
because we are innovating here. Dame Cecile in England,
and sister Leontine in Belgium also had to fight their way
through. So once we have incorporated the idea of Hospice
into the legal system, there is huge potential for active
governmental support. Because taking care of patients
outside a hospital, which is the case for the moment, that
means sending out into the many homes doctors, nurses,
social workers, every day, day-in day-out, requires (at the
present level) around 250.000 € per year.
What is now the aim? The home care is established. The
next stage which we will try to reach in summer, which we
55
want now to establish legally and in the field, is the day care.
That means building a day care center: we have a house,
which needs to be transformed into office and into day care
center where helpless people who are suffering at home, can
be brought to, for at least the long day. And as you might
have understood: that idea, concept and realization of a
day care is then the precursor for phase 2: the in-patient
unit where you can receive 12 to 14 patients for a longer
time. That is phase 2 on which we are working and which
would require about 500.000 €, just to put it there. And
once it is there we need to make sure that what we have put
there will be sustainable. With my wife we firmly believe
in this project, because it helps people who are desperate,
it helps the family members who are desperate because
they don’t know how to deal with this desperation, it
responds to a need because there are very few palliative care
units in the Serbian hospitals and if there are, they are not
free of charge and very often the people cannot afford it.
As I said, we are certainly not alone. There is the major
force behind this, the idea behind the funds: ‘Hospices of
Hope’ from the United Kingdom and I hope one day you
can meet its Director Graham Perolls. We have generous
help from Norway, which covers quite a lot of money for the
functioning costs of day care, which is not evident because
not many people, countries or organizations want to give
money for running costs. We have obtained, thanks to the
sound management of BELhospice’s CEO Vera Madzgalj a
funding from the European Union, for the amount of nearly
200.000 €, to help us to build Phase 1. That really gives us a
strength, a certainty that we will continue to be there.
But we should never relax, never sit back, never say: ‘we
are there’ or ‘the money is there’. No, it is a continuing
effort. Hence the awareness-campaigns which I explained
to you, the necessity of keeping up the efforts for public
dissemination. There is the yearly marathon: I think every
major capital has a marathon and Belgrade also has its
marathon. In this marathon, thanks to the support of the
mayor and other authorities, there are at least 100/150
volunteers running for BELhospice with a T-shirt of
BELhospice, and by doing so they raise a lot of money.
And this is something that I want to stress: the great
importance of the volunteers. If BELhospice, with the staff
they have, would need to do it alone, it would be impossible.
They have a staff of in total between 10-15 people, with
whom it is impossible to do the daily visits to all patients.
They have around 160 trained volunteers and half of this
group is actively operational and the others can be called
upon. These volunteers are no doctors or nurses, but they
go to the patient to help: they are trained to help with
little daily tasks, to help in the household. If the patients
ask: ‘Can we go out for some fresh air?’, the volunteers go
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Leo D‘aes - Belgian Ambassador in Serbia and Barbara Dietrich in The Bistronomy
© Dieter Paternoster, Living Tomorrow
Leo D‘aes - Belgian Ambassador in Serbia
© Dieter Paternoster, Living Tomorrow
out with them in a wheelchair. So they are very engaged,
but keeping volunteers engaged takes also effort. So it is a
permanent struggle, as I said, waged on a daily basis by a
very engaged, small management team of BELhospice which
I really admire and in this whole operation the Honorary
Patrons Committee which I chair, plays just a modest
contribution to help this effort of building a Hospice getting
realized. But the main actors are BELhospice, ‘Hospices of
Hope’, the main funders and private sponsors.
We also have collection boxes, notably in the Delhaize
mega-centers in Serbia, called Tempo. Collection boxes are
also in a number of petrol stations, they are in all BENU
pharmacies.
So it is a great mobilization, but as I said, we cannot just
sit back and say: ‘it is running’. It is a constant effort. Every
year there is a charity ball by which around 100.000 € is
collected — a truly great amount for BELhospice — but vital
for its daily operations. It’s a popular event, always sold out,
which is very heartening of course.
What is very beautiful and moving is how this BELHospice
idea came to Vilvoorde (thanks to my wife), how Living
Tomorrow immediately picked it up, showed active interest,
translating sympathy into concrete action, allowing me to
tell this little story in the Bistronomy in Living Tomorrow.
Living Tomorrow, an association with a lot of business
contacts, is hosting the fantastic and unique works of art
called HOOOP: wooden Pinocchio’s next to which we
are sitting for this interview. Each of them is unique and
translates really the beauty of engagement, I would say. I am
very grateful and I want to take this opportunity to thank
profoundly Director Patrick Aertsen and culinary master
Marc Clément, and PR Chief Kaat Van Rentergem and her
team, and Living Tomorrow Arts Curator Barbara Dietrich,
for everything they did and want to do, like the intention of
hosting a fundraising evening for BELhospice, and planning
for a sustained cooperation for the benefit of people in need
of care. I am truly grateful for such a magnificent support,
built on trust and sympathy and a warm solidarity which
touches me deeply.
VILVOORDE
Indringingsweg 1 - 1800 Vilvoorde-Koningslo - Tel: +32 2 263 01 31 - E-mail: info@thebistronomy.com
57
ECSA NEW YEAR'S
SECURITY CONFERENCE
On January 29th, the European Corporate Security
Association — ECSA — invited the Security Community at
the Egmont Palace in Brussels for its yearly conference on
the evolving security threats. After a warm welcome by ECSA
Secretary general ir. Yvan De Mesmaeker, Mr. Adam Meyers
— Vice President Intelligence at CrowdStrike and
the Honorable Andrew C. Weber — former Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological
Defense Programs, lectured on the threat and on the
expected developments. Mr. Paul Van Tigchelt — Director of
the BE Coordination Unit for the Threat Analysis, provided
additional comments. After the presentations, all participants
had the opportunity to talk to the speakers and to liaise with
their counterparts during the ECSA New Year’s Reception.
This yearly event was organised with the kind support of:
Adam Meyers - Vice President Intelligence at CrowdStrike
ir. Yvan De Mesmaeker - Secretary general of the European Corporate
Security Association - ECSA, Honorable Andrew C. Weber - former Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs
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Chris Bombeke - Director Internal Security BELUX - Securitas, Chief
Commissioner Eddy Baelemans - Office of the Minister of Interior & Security
Chief Commissioner Michel Goovaerts - Chief of Police of Brussels Capital
Mr. Paul Van Tigchelt - Director of the BE Coordination Unit for the Threat
Analysis, prof. dr. Willy Bruggeman - Chairman of the BE Federal Police
Council ir. Yvan De Mesmaeker - Secretary general of the European Corporate
Security Association - ECSA
Honorable Andrew C. Weber - former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear,
Chemical and Biological Defense Programs, Ms. Barbara Dietrich - CEO of
Diplomatic World, Mr. Peter Tulkens - CEO Politics Matters, Mr. Chris Frech -
Senior Vice President Government Affairs of Emergent Biosolutions
Maj. Gen. ir. Albert Husniaux - Chairman Royal High Institute for Defense
Mr. Wayne J. Bush - Assistant Secretary General NATO, H.E. Ambassador
Peter Martin - Chairman Interministerial Committee for Host Nation Policy
Mr. Gilles de Kerchove - EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, Mr. Frédéric
Van Leeuw - Federal Prosecutor, Mr. Guy Rapaille - Chairman Standing
Intelligence Agencies Review Committee
Mr. Rony Dresselaers - Director for Security and Transport of the Federal
Agency for Nuclear Control, ir. Yvan De Mesmaeker - Secretary general of
the European Corporate Security Association - ECSA, Ms. Wendy Bashnan
- Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Security and Director of the NATO
Office of Security
Mr. Chris Frech - Senior Vice President Government Affairs of Emergent
Biosolutions, Mr. Wayne J. Bush - Assistant Secretary General NATO
Maj. Gen. ir. Albert Husniaux - Chairman Royal High Institute for Defense
59
THE NEXT CHAPTER OF WESTERN
ECONOMY STARTS IN BRUSSELS
By 2025, 1/3 of the jobs are going to disappear, and
another 1/3 will completely change. It is the biggest
shift in the history of economy since the industrial
revolution. One difference: the speed. In 5-7 years,
world economy will be unrecognizeable. Most
companies and governments have no idea what to
do, nor where to go. In the best case, they focus
on digitalisation. With the vulnerability to hacking
today, building whole businesses exclusively on
robots, AI, IoT, and digital revolutions is very risky.
On the other hand, numerous new approaches to
value creation are emerging everywhere — mostly
under the radar. From Brussels, we have been
gathering all these tendencies, mapping, clustering,
analyzing and extrapolating them horizon 2025.
WHY BRUSSELS ?
A FUTURISTIC SANDBOX
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It is the geographic center of Europe, the HQ of most
lobbies, federations, Nato, European Union, and
multinational companies. But above all, Belgium has a skill
to deal with multicultural issues and multiple agendas,
through a blend of germanic culture, latin and Anglo-
Saxon, and 140 others — combined with a culture of
humble hard work and global engineering (Belgium was
the world’s second economic power till 100 years ago).
Belgians are welcome anywhere in the world, unlike some
other nationalities. Embassies in Brussels are staffed by
the best diplomats on the planet, with open lines with their
heads of state. Moreover, all the good ideas pass through
Brussels sooner or later. It is ideal to export new economic
visions and models. The sandbox of those economic models
will find their markets mostly abroad, as Belgium is quite
conservative. Especially emerging economies with young
populations, eager to learn and empower the next generation
of humanist entrepreneurship serving global challenges.
We need to experiment and empower collaboration between
the players who have the most resources to create change:
large corporations. They start to realize, little by little, that
Michel de Kemmeter
they cannot innovate on their own. They will not be able to
shift drastically before 2025. So, in short, they are big ships,
aware of the iceberg, its size and position, but unable to
turn the wheel in time. Two things should be done: (1) trim
the ship for impact, get down to the basics, and (2) prepare
the lifeboats. The lifeboats are new businesses, based on the
new paradigms (collaborative, serving multiple challenges),
and they will be able to swim in between the icebergs.
These new businesses should be crisis-proof, bringing new
coherence between people and economic activities. They
will thus be able to tackle historical challenges in systemic,
instead of linear ways. A few examples: sustainable rental
housing, waste recycling, next generation education systems,
senior population and sustainable pension funds, illness
prevention, sustainable agriculture and food, greening
deserts, etc…
This experiment was started in Brussels. Half a dozen
companies, twenty extrapreneurs of multiple backgrounds
and generations, were trained on the next economic
paradigms (24 days of action-training), hands-on creating
the next generation businesses. In four months, they came
up with new businesses, validated by stakeholders and
market, all of them fully scalable. In combination with
new systemic thinking and a top-down vision on the next
generation macro-economic models, we have the DNA of
transition.
We have to mobilize the early adopters of new ways of
creating value — those who did try internal innovation,
incubators, without substantial success. Those large
companies are now ready to open the box and share
their resources with others to create the next generation
businesses. We exfiltrate them in a dedicated space, and
train their managers — together with a next generation
entrepreneurs — to a new economic philosophy with brandnew
tools. The first experiment of Extrapreneurs in Brussels
is now ready to be franchised and scaled up.
A NEW SCHOOL OF ECONOMIC THINKING —
CLUB OF BRUSSELS
The next chapter of economic thinking is now being written
all over the world. Thousands of experiments and studies
are done and in process. We are compiling them with the
“Club of Brussels”, and projecting economic vision on
5-10 years. We qualify and quantify job destructions and
creations, and prepare a road book for governments to help
their economies resist global recession, and facilitate the
emergence of new economic spaces. Social economy, digital
economy, sharing- and collaborative economy, green and
circular economies are the big winners. Public authorities,
services, trade, industry are the big losers (studies to be
found in “Shifting Economy”, Brussels 2017, by
Mossay-de Kemmeter).
Thousands of studies have been made on economic
transition, but only very partially. It is now time to put all of
them together to create a new holistic vision on economy.
Following the paradigm shifts going on as we speak, it looks
like public services will be made more efficient with digital
tools, thus cheaper. Healthcare cost will go down, thanks
to more prevention and education. Education will move to
more peer-to-peer learning; it will be much more hands-on,
efficient and cheaper. Mobility will be more shared and thus
cheaper and with lower impact.
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That culture will create much more societal value and
rely less on public finances. We should quantify all these
systemic shifts to make the figures work. Our taxes should
lower, the value created should be higher, and thus global
progress can be triggered.
But we should not be naive. Such majors shift will take
time. We can — at best — stimulate the creation of “islands
of resilience”, interconnect them, and inspire others to shift
also. This global shift follows the logic of organic mutation.
We will not wake up some morning, in a new world. Shift
happens one by one, company after company, community
after community, city after city. The beauty of it is that
everyone of us can be part of it — nothing will be decided
for us by some higher power.
Another good news is that there will be probably as many
new jobs created in the new economic spaces, than jobs
destructed in the old ones. Boring jobs will be replaced
by empowering ones — much more in tune with peoples’
excellences. Over 75% of the people working do jobs they
don’t like. Burnout and depression rise exponentially. No
surprise. This is just a sign that we do something wrong …
A new coherence is expected to empower people. On micro/
personal level, on company level, on national levels and on
global levels. This is what Club of Brussels will map and
calculate. Create an efficient tool to pilot our economies
through this giant mutation.
PARADIGM SHIFTS AND COLLECTIVE
CONSCIOUSNESS
The economic challenges are only the top of the iceberg.
The true challenge is the shift in global consciousness.
People start to realize they are one, on a planet which is
their common “mother”. That they cannot go on killing
each other day after day, and destroying their mother earth.
Big words. But what does it mean? It is multidimensional.
We are mutating as humanity. (1) From patriarchal
societies to a combination of patriarchal and matriarchal,
integrating as such, both polarities. Masculine and
feminine. (2) Shifting from dependance models, based on
fear, to autonomy models, based on personal power and
love. (3) From hierarchies to ecosystems. (4) From linear
models (exhausting people and planet) to systemic models
(nourishing people and planet). (5) From formatting and
automation to individual and unique empowerment.
(6) From ownership models to shared and collaborative
models. We can go on and on. Everything is shifting. The
only way we can follow these, understand them and act
coherently, is a personal choice of consciousness. Decide
to go beyond appearances, and use your talents to serve
common good. Beyond ego and possession. It is — in a way
— to be individually and collectively reborn as a fully grown
human being. Humanity is little by little leaving behind
childish behavior.
In economy, it has fundamental impacts, and the first
movers, enlightened leaders, are economically very
successful. They all will tell you the same kind of stories …
THE NEXT MODEL — SYSTEMIC, HOLISTIC AND
PEOPLE-CENTERED
Humanity starts to realize it is a part of the (whole) specter
of life. Humanity has the possibility to act consciously,
unlike animal, vegetal and mineral reigns. As such, it has
the capacity to connect reigns and to fulfill itself at its best
potential. In its more mature behavior, humanity can inspire
from the logic of nature, and implement optimal natural
value creation. Studies show that collaboration on existing
resources allow 4 to 5 times better (economic) results. Like
in nature, with 100% efficiency and 0% waste. Those models
have a new intelligence: systemics. It shows and empowers
3D connexions between stakeholders — answering needs
and sharing resources on multiple levels. Economy, in its
basic etymology, “managing household”, has multiple value
creation loops. Monetary transactions only account for a
small part of the economic domain. Systemics allow to map
and empower those connexions. It also takes into account
the positive or negative collateral effects of economic
exchanges.
Systemic human intelligence is located in the prefrontal
brain. Its neurons are 3-dimensional, it has a creative
interconnecting function — there where in the conditioned/
structured brain, the neurons are linear. Human beings only
use around 10% of its brain capacity. Shifting to higher
potential is key here, as a priority, before using Artificial
Intelligence. The risk is that our IQ and discernment lowers
by using more technology, without personal development
and consciousness enhancement. Moreover, relying on
too much technology will create a very new unexpected
vulnerability of our businesses to unreliable and fragile
technology. Hacking, fake news, electricity blackouts,
or hyper complexity could cost entire companies. Very
dangerous.
The next model will ask to develop the capacity of holistic
view. Like walking up the stairs to the first floor, whilst
water and mud is rising at the ground floor and everybody
there struggles to survive. We need to develop the skill
to see things from higher, as well as dive into concrete
matters and make new systemic models work with natural
intelligence.
A FEW SECRET INGREDIENTS
Of course, the whole operation has a series of ingredients
for success. Constant humble personal development,
constant research on new philosophies of value creation,
learn from the most diverse horizons, search for
coherence and alignment, be aware of emerging potential,
understandable vocabulary and semantics, sense of
timing, empowering systemic links, a strong and coherent
validated methodology … in other words, a new enlightened
leadership based as much on common sense than on sense
of purpose serving common good. I know those people are
there, sometimes under the radar. Maybe you too. Dare to
come up with your deeper intuitions and fulfill your teams.
It is the time to show and mobilize the best.
A STRONG VISION
The big “country” winners will be the countries with
creativity, with young population, with a willpower to serve
common good, cultures who are able to collaborate openly.
The big employment winners in “economic models” will be,
horizon 2025 : social business (will double), green economy
(more than double), circular economy (also more than
double), digital economy and robotisation will only gain +/-
50%, knowledge economy will also gain around 50%, agroecology
will tenfold. Sharing and collaborative economy will
twentyfold — with the open question of employment and
taxes …
The big losers in employment will be services and trade
(-50%), industrial agriculture (-60%), industry, energy and
extraction will lose around 40%. Public services will lose
between 10 and 70%, depending on the political choices
made by their governments.
The next chapter of world economy could be written from
Brussels, in collective intelligence with the best global
visionaries and experts. Eclectic, we need sociologues,
psychologues, scientists, next generation leaders, and even
artists and spiritual leaders, to assist our expert economists.
The outcome will be a true “Growth Explorer” to help
governments to pilot the mutation of their economies.
Coaching the emergence of the new. But let us not be naive,
it will take decennia till the whole economy is tuned into a
new and strong coherence. It will happen in stages, through
the emergence of “islands of resilience”. Those can be cities,
companies, communities, based on new vision, autonomy
and personal leadership. The rest will be more and more
based on fear, stress and dependance. Little by little, people
will diverge from a system they cannot survive inside, and
do their personal coming out, connecting purpose, passion
and new expected competences — to participate in the most
fascinating adventure in human history.
Michel de Kemmeter
extrapreneurs.org - www.wiseholding.net - michel@uhdr.net
63
DECENTRALIZED DAVOS AND
DECENTRALISTS TRANSFORM DAVOS
INTO A DECENTRALIZED EVENT
“Upper classes can’t, lower classes don’t want to.
Only when the ’lower classes’ do not want to live
in the old way and when the ’upper classes’
cannot carry on in the old way – only then can
revolution triumph.”
V.I. Lenin
A 100 years ago, there was a Revolution throughout the
World/in Europe/in Russia. Or as modern innovators would
say: there was a Transformation; a change of a regime,
management and consciousness.
A 100 years ago, revolutionaries of that time met in
apartments and at special events in Switzerland, where
they discussed a new Life in new forms of its manifestation.
Their eyes sparkled, and those sparks could burst to flames.
The things they were uncomfortable with were inequality,
complete political lawlessness, police and legal mayhem.
At the same time of the traditional annual meeting of the
upper classes, in those years, other young people gathered,
very similar to those pioneers.
The upper classes cannot carry on in the old way. Problems
are everywhere and there are no solutions.
A year ago there was a postulate that Capitalism was dead and
technology would save all and everyone.
This year they say that in general everything is bad and that
technology will save no one. Technology is evil, while gender
equality and humanism are the world’s bases.
They wanted issues and problems to be solved collectively, by
everyone, by agreement, and for everyone to be involved in a
new society of equality that would allow even “a lady-cook to
administer the affairs of the state (states)”. As today’s MVP
starters would say, they conducted pre-ICO, a kind of PCO of
that time (Private Coin Offering).
In order to make everything work as it should, they needed
one more thing: the appropriate technological solutions. Like
all pioneers, the first movers had to die for the glory of future
generations (who are often the second movers). After all, the
results have been achieved by those who follow the pioneers’
traces, walk over their bodies, learn from mistakes and have
the latest technology in their hands. Google was not the first
search engine and iTunes was not the first online music store.
That is the pioneers’ fate.
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100 years on.
The same Switzerland. Davos.
Alexander Shulgin with Joe Lubin (Co-founder of Etherium and
ConsenSys)
Alexander Shulgin with Chinese crypto moguls at the Crypto Chappel in Davos
“It is not enough for a successful revolution that the lower
classes do not want to live as before. Another requirement is that
upper classes cannot manage and run things as they did before.”
On day one of Davos, Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi listed his three most significant challenges to
civilization, as we know it: climate change, terrorism and
the backlash against globalization. He also spoke about the
opportunities and dangers of technology:
“Many societies and countries are becoming more and
more focused on themselves. It feels like the opposite of
globalization is happening. Everyone is talking about an
interconnected world, but we will have to accept the fact that
globalization is slowly losing its lustre.”
(Narendra Modi PM India)
Now look at what technology leaders, who grew up in their
place and are semi-pioneers in part, answer to politicians:
“We are very lucky because the world is in a big
transformation because of technology. New technology will
create interesting careers and a lot of successful people, but
at the same time every new technology will create social
problems.”
“Artificial intelligence is seen as a threat to human beings.
I think AI should support human beings. Technology should
always do something that enables people and not disable
them. The computer will always be smarter than you are;
they never forget and they never get angry. But computers can
never be as wise as humans. The AI and robots are going to
make a lot of jobs obsolete, because in the future they will be
done by machines. Service industries offer hope in this regard
but they must be unique.”
“If we do not align together, human beings are going to fight
each other, because each technology revolution makes the
world unbalanced.” (Jack Ma, Alibaba)
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Google chief, Sundar Pichai, repeated a line he first delivered
at an MSNBC event last week, about how artificial intelligence
is more important to humanity than fire or electricity. He said
that despite concerns about AI, the potential benefits cannot
and should not be ignored. “The risks are substantial, but
the way you solve it is by looking ahead and thinking about
AI safety from day one, and by being transparent and open
about how we pursue it,” he said. “We must ensure the Fourth
Industrial Revolution unfolds with humanity at its centre, not
technology.”
Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the
World Economic Forum, even criticized crypto-currency at
the forum in Davos as a landmark phenomenon. When the
head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, talked about the damage
to the world energetics from the crypto-currency mining,
Governor of the Bank of Canada, Stephen Poloz, compared
bitcoin with gambling, and George Soros claimed that cryptocurrencies
are a nest for dictators. These commentaries show
how large-scale the use of blockchain has become, if decisions
on its basis attract the attention of such major figures in the
financial world.
Alexander Shulgin with Valery Vavilov, founder and CEO of Bitfury
group, leading Bitcoin Blockchain company
66
With over 400 sessions on the official programme in Davos,
many contradicting things are said. The upper classes do not
know what to do next, or they know, but they are unable to
declare such knowledge.
The lower classes do not want to. 187 blockchain events were
held, when at the same time double that amount of ‘upper
class’ events was being held in Davos during the World
Economic Forum.
Although the statistics of the ‘upper class’ are impressive, as
you can see below, new revolutionaries do not pay attention to
what they are saying. They are probably following the famous
paraphrasing of Che Guevara: “Give me 30 likeminded people
and I will make a revolution in any country”.
• 6 million individual unique visitors to the World Economic
Forum’s website during the week of Davos
• The world’s most influential people shared World
Economic Forum content on their social media channels –
including French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime
Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel,
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Canadian Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau, and US President Donald Trump.
The combined potential reach of all the accounts who
shared Forum content is over 1 billion.
• Over 150 Davos participants answered a direct question
from the global public, posted to Instagram using the
#sharedfutures tag
• During the week of Davos, more than 33 million minutes
of Forum-produced video were watched by members of the
global public, over 50 million individual video streams.
• 21 million views of over 200 sessions streamed from the
WEF website, on Facebook, and Twitter in 6 languages
• 225.000 stories about the World Economic Forum
appeared in the global press during January 2018, over
25% more than 2017
At the same time one of the leaders of decentralized
technologies, the Consensys company, declared that they
are ready to Transform not a country or a continent, but the
whole world.
This was written in Davos in their Pavilion and online media:
“CONSENSYS IS A GLOBAL FORMATION OF
TECHNOLOGISTS AND ENTREPRENEURS
BUILDING THE INFRASTRUCTURE,
APPLICATIONS, AND PRACTICES ON THE
ETHEREUM PLATFORM THAT ENABLE
A DECENTRALIZED WORLD.”
Now take a look at what they and their colleagues discussed
in Davos, while the ‘upper classes’ lamented that this was
impossible and there were a lot of dangers around.
The post-pioneers were methodically discussing how to save
the World. And the more the ‘upper classes’ lamented, the
more clearly the new future leaders found solutions, while
sitting in the Pavilion:
- Blockchain Beyond Earth
- The Future of Government
- The Future of Education
- The Future of Infrastructure and Transportation
- Simply Vital Health
- Blockchain for Climate Action and Climate Finance
‘We, the People of Blockchain’. Yes, they say that they are a
new nation/race: they are CryptoNation. Let me introduce
a new term that is more mainstream than a capitalist or a
socialist: ‘decentralist’.
At the same time, many relevant issues were discussed in the
large and modern Blockchain Central Pavilion, hosted by the
Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC):
- Blockchain for Governments and Regulators
- Blockchain in the Developing World
- Blockchain for the Environment
- Identity (Friday)
Alexander Shulgin with Bill Tai, active investor in CryptoWorld
If most people think that a new blockchain-based industry is
just crypto-currency, I think that the issues discussed at this
parallel Davos by the leaders of the crypto industry speak for
themselves. And if most people still think that the leaders
are just boys, students, speculating in the market of cryptocurrencies,
then not only relevant issues that they discussed
point the seriousness of these young revolutionaries, but also
those guests and partners who were with them all the time to
learn new things.
ATTENDEE HIGHLIGHTS:
Participants in GBBC events include, but are not limited to:
• The Hon. Carl Bildt — Former Prime Minister of Sweden
• Peteris Zilgalvis — EU Commission
• Matthew Harrington — Edelman
• Alex Petland — MIT Media Lab
• Yorke Rhodes — Microsoft
• Dr. Wang Wei — China Mergers & Acquisitions
• Joel Tepner — Sullivan & Worcester
• Valery Vavilov — The Bitfury Group
• The Hon. Eva Kaili — EU Parliament
• The Hon. Taavi Rovias — Former Prime Minister of
Estonia
• The Hon. Laurent Lamothe — Former Prime Minister of
Haiti
• Jamie Smith — GBBC/Bitfury/WEF Blockchain Council
Co-Chair
• Sandra Ro — UWINCorp
• Elizabeth Rosiello — BitPesa
• Roya Mahboob — Digital Citizen Fund
• Jennifer Zhu Scott — Radian Blockchain Ventures
• Yew Phang Kiat — Chong Sing Holdings Fintech
• Brian Behlendorf — HyperLedger
• Daniel Gasteiger — Procivis
• Xu Ming Xing — OKlink
• Albert Isola — Minister of Commerce, Govt. of Gibraltar
• Tomicah Tillemann — New America/GBBC
• Jim Newsome — Former Chairman of the CFTC
• Meltem Demirors — Digital Currency Group
• Julius Akinyemi — MIT/UWINCorp
• Alan Cohn — Steptoe/Georgetown Law
• Sebastian Vos — Covington
• Mariana Dahan — World Identity Network
• Dakota Gruener — ID2020
• Jemma Green — Power Ledger/City of Perth
• Leanne Kempe — Everledger/WEF
• Michael Casey — MIT/CoinDesk
• Ruth Wandhofer — Citi
67
• Harris Fricker — GMP
• Dante Disparte — Risk Cooperative
• Bill Tai — ACTAI Global
• Nick Cowan — Gibraltar Stock Exchange
• Saruul Ganbataar — Bogd Bank
• Guo Yuhang — Dianrong
• Deng Di — Beijing Tai Cloud
• Catrina Luchsinger Gaehwiler — FRORIEP
• Heinrich Zetlmeyer — Lykke Corp
How very true the Forbes magazine titled their final article
published after the Forum in Davos:
“One Thing Is Clear From Davos, Blockchain Is Out Of Beta”.
I would say more, but I think the genie is out of the bottle.
After all, revolutions may be very quiet.
© Alexander Shulgin
ABOUT THE GBBC — WWW.GBBCOUNCIL.ORG:
The Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC) brings
together founding members from over 30 countries to
advance global understanding of Blockchain technology.
Conceived on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island by a
group of innovators, the GBBC launched formally during
the 2017 Annual World Economic Forum Meeting in
Davos, Switzerland. The organization is dedicated to
furthering adoption of Blockchain technology through
engaging and educating business leaders, regulators,
and global change makers on how to harness this
groundbreaking tool to create more secure, equitable, and
functional societies.
Just as the internet enabled the frictionless peer-to-peer
exchange of information, blockchain has the potential to
usher in the frictionless exchange of assets. Blockchain
technology is the most secure way to transfer digitized
assets and information peer-to-peer or organizationto-organization
through the use of distributed ledgers.
The adoption of Blockchain technology will enable
businesses, governments, and organizations to ensure
data integrity and create records, transactions, and
systems that are highly secure, transparent and
significantly more resilient against manipulation and
corruption. The GBBC helps maximize the benefits of
Blockchain for industry and society.
The GBBC educates business leaders on blockchain
technology, provides a forum for businesses and
technology experts to collaborate on blockchain-based
business solutions, supports businesses interested
in implementing blockchain technology in their
operations and advocates for the global adoption of this
transformative technology.
In providing a global survey of blockchain projects
and regulation, the GBBC is establishing a baseline
to evaluate future policy actions, and a framework for
assessing progress in what will be a generational effort
to deploy blockchain solutions. As an organization, we
look forward to working with partners around the world
to share the benefits of this powerful new technology
and to replenish the reservoir of trust that irrigates our
collective endeavors.
“Education is a core component of our mission, as
education leads to meaningful action in every space
including the regulatory and corporate world,” said Jamie
Smith, CEO of the Global Blockchain Business Council.
“We are so grateful to our partners for sharing their
incredible expertise and insight in this annual report.”
68
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69
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM DAVOS
From 23th till 26th of January 2018, the 48th Global
Economic Forum in Davos took place and suffered the
heaviest snowfall in the meeting’s 48-year history. But this
year, even more government leaders from all over the world
braved the snow and were present in the Swiss mountains,
than the year before. This year’s forum carried the theme
“Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World”. This
Global event wants to “unite” every year more and more
intensively, because all country leaders claim to be globalists,
no protectionists, even Trump? We will find out how strong
Trumps words were at the closing speech of the WEF.
70
After Trump started his Presidency in January 2017, the
US Dollar weakened significantly during his first year of his
leadership and gave the US export sector a boost. According
to European Central Bank President Mario Draghi this
drop of the USD was not driven by the economy, but a
consequence of “public” statements. And this is “not” in
line with the G-20 Commitment to refrain from competitive
devaluations. Trump told CNBC at the WEF that he
“ultimately would like to see a stronger dollar”.
The message in his closing speech was clear; “when America
grows, so does the world”. The drive for excellence, creativity
and innovation in the US has led to important discoveries
and help people everywhere to live more prosperous and
healthier lives. This should be the lesson for all political
leaders. Governments have to stimulate growth and countries
have to work together. Prosper words, but how is the real
praxis? Trump’s tax reform appears to be good for business,
as companies will invest more and increase wages. The tax
cuts are presenting European countries with a dilemma: Do
they follow the U.S. and cut their own corporate tax rates,
risking a race to the bottom? Or do they stay back and risk
losing business to the U.S.? German Chancellor Angela
Merkel talked about Europe taking some responsibility for
its own future and French President Emmanuel Macron
has made a pitch to investors on France’s behalf. But there
doesn’t seem to be a clear European consensus on what to
do going forward. Trump’s move into the White house a year
ago with his “America First” agenda pushed EU policymakers
to keep markets open worldwide. The EU continued building
on existing European free-trade pacts with partners like
Singapore, Vietnam and South Korea and the Mercosur
group of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. “America
first does not mean America alone”.
At Davos this year we saw a clash of visions, or even
ideologies. Europe’s message is that social democracy doesn’t
only deliver lower levels of inequality, but also delivers
growth and stable politics. America First is about higher
walls and lower taxes and a state that is looking mainly after
the corporate sector. Can the two coexist comfortably?
The move to work strongly together and create a sustainable
growth is one of the important lessons we read in Marga
Hoek’s book “The Trillion Dollar Shift” launched at the WEF.
Marga Hoek is working her whole life, helping and creating
a more sustainable growth, because in the end only a
sustainable business model is profitable for all of us. We
constantly have to work on “awareness” of this sustainable
business model and the politicians have to create the context,
not “against” each other but “cooperating” with each other.
There is no Plan B, because we do not have a Planet B.
The Trillion Dollar Shift by Marga Hoek (2018) documents
the contributions of the various businesses to the 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) as created by
the United Nations. It also shows the opportunities for all
businesses to impact those SDG’s on a Global scale. The
book is a call to action for both business and capital to reach
the SDG’s by 2030.
The Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) drive change and offer a
narrative and an opportunity to all to speak in one language
on sustainability. They provide us with a clear set of targets
for 2030. Through following the SDGs, opportunities
abound for business and capital to unlock markets which
offer endless potential for profit, while at the same time
working towards the Sustainable Development Goals. This
book illustrates for business how to make the much-needed
“Trillion Dollar Shift”.
Human Rights, Labor, Environment and Anti-Corruption are
important achors in this story. The SDG’s focus on a strong
reduction of poverty and hunger, good health, a responsible
consumption and production, gender equality, climate action
and strong justice and institutions. This book sets out how
business and capital now have a real opportunity to help
resolve these problems.
In 50 case studies, concrete business examples, the book
vividly describes the impacts on and contributions to the
various SDG’s.
The first example Unilever is proving that there is no
contradiction between sustainable and profitable growth.
IKEA measures their sustainability Impact by tracking the
sales of products that are categorised as enabling a more
sustainable life at home. Another case study shows that
many solar energy entrepreneurs in devloping countries are
waiting to be able to scale their businesses with fair loans
at reasonable prices. The Sanivation case emphasises that
innovative ideas not only provide safe, affordable and clean
energy, they also unlock a whole new market. The GAP
example shows how gender equality can pay dividends both
for core business as well as for society at large.
© Shutterstock
Technology is a very important driving force behind
innovation, connectivity, productivity and efficiency in nearly
every sector. Financial institutions and large enterprises
have been working on blockchain-based solutions, or so
called distributed ledger technology, for some years, but
most activity has been in the development and testing
stages. 2018 will be the start of many starting the tests in
production and this will facilitate secure and transparent
financial transactions and has the potential to rock economic
foundations. In the short term, such blockchain applications
will reduce costs and increase quality of outcomes, primarily
for the enterprises themselves.
But in the long term the same applications will connect
manufacturer-creator-provider and consumer and end user
directly, removing the need for additional participants
in the supply chain. The blockchain technology is for
example already used for energy transactions in smart grids
providing a means to keep track of electricity consumed and
delivered. Huawei believes investment in technology is a key
accelerating factor to help nations achieve the SDG’s and
Siemens smart grid solutions make it possible to modernise
and adapt existing power grids to future expectations. And
finally Thermo-Systems developed a system to process the
sludge in an environmentally safe way using automated robots
to “do the dirty work”.
This highly readable book is a must-read for businesses (large
and small) that wish to genuinely support the delivery of the
SDGs.
Dorin Deelen
Owner Merit Capital AG/Swiss Family office
71
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROSPECTS
OF BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONS
BY PRINCE MICHAEL OF LIECHTENSTEIN
“A blockchain is a digital and distributed ledger of
transactions, recorded and replicated in real time
across a network of computers or nodes. Every
transaction must be cryptographically validated
via a consensus mechanism executed by the nodes
before being permanently added as a new “block”
at the end of the “chain”. There is no need for a
central authority to approve the transaction, which
is why blockchain is sometimes referred to as a
peer-to-peer trustless mechanism.” (Deloitte;
February 06, 2018 in Blockchain: A technical
primer).
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Blockchain revolutionizes the way we store and exchange
values. Will it be a major game changer? Will the
combination of internet and blockchain have similar
effects on society, political structures and economy as the
invention of book printing had in the 16th century? The
following essay is going to point out arguments in advantage
or against the use of blockchain.
Blockchain is in the perception enormously linked to
cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, there is a debate arising
whether the cryptocurrencies will become a real currency
in the economy. The role of money is to be a means of
exchange in transactions of goods and services and giving
them a price. It has as well the function to store values
between two transactions. The big question will be whether
cryptocurrencies could replace fiat money, which is created
by the central banks and the credit business of commercial
banks. This debate started and became also emotional, but
there are no clear results yet.
One of the raised arguments is the lack of regulation of
cryptocurrencies. We can be sure that bank supervisors
and financial service authorities will try to regulate it.
What effect it will have on cryptocurrencies is still open.
On the one hand, it can give credibility, on the other
hand, it can frustrate innovation, flexibility, efficiency and
competitiveness. A major advantage of cryptocurrencies is
the increasingly new competition created for fiat money.
Today’s monetary system is enormously based on
institutions and as well the government. The only reason
that there has not happened a larger crisis yet, is that the
society still trusts in institutions. Cryptocurrencies can
certainly not heal these huge dependencies, but they can
support in creating competition and due to that forcing
solutions. Ironically, the expansion of fiat money to cover
financial deficits are also creating bubbles which could again
lead to crisis. The low to zero interest rates in this context
is destroying savings and pension reserves. Irrelevant
of the development of the present monetary system,
cryptocurrencies will be part of the future economy.
Blockchain and its revolutionary transaction system is
the basis. But financial services only part of the possible
users of blockchain technology. Blockchain will cause an
elimination of intermediaries which leads to reducing costs,
increasing efficiency and speed. You can use smart contracts
which would mean, that not only the contract is confirmed
and is stored, but it can also trigger consequences of the
contract immediately, such as payment. In case of a lease
contract — for instance for an apartment — no lawyers, no
notaries would be needed any more. It could be directly
agreed, in an undeletable way between the person renting
and the landlord.
But it is even more efficient for centralized business models,
which are important in a world of a sharing economy.
These models need large aggregators at present that control
systems and information and which risk to unequally or
even arbitrary redistribute value among all contributors.
Blockchain can easily replace these aggregators and the
value chain in a shared economy becomes a lot more
efficient. Some other examples could be improvements in
the supply chain management. Products can be traced from
manufacturing (including raw material, semi-finished goods,
manufacturing process) to the final usage by consumers or
customers. In the energy sector, the different participants
in the value chain can speed up the processes. In trade,
blockchain can link all different participants but it can
also offer platforms to improve, accelerate and enforce the
security of the financing of international trade. Especially
here blockchain will facilitate verification and confirmation.
There are also a lot of applications in the health care area
and as mentioned before in the public sector.
All sectors of business are now suffering from a high density
of red tape, excessive regulatory framework and as well
lots of controls. Furthermore, legal costs are skyrocketing.
Blockchain can help a lot to facilitate and will make several
regulations and controls obsolete.
However, there are not only advantages but also risks and
today’s society is still suspicious of new technologies,
especially the anonymity of blockchain which increases
criminal misuse. Even though, there is an enormous and
fast development. We should acknowledge one thing,
that any system can be misused by criminals. However,
the undeletable inscriptions can also help prosecution.
Regulations and restrictions of the government can reduce
the risk but allow an undue violation of the right to privacy
by authorities. The most important part to secure yourself
is your digital key. The skill will be how to store and protect
this key, so that nobody else can misuse it. In the balancing
mechanism, damaging and corrupt monopolies can
theoretically be created, with the objective to manipulate
blockchain in favor of some third party.
In our society one of the biggest drivers of progress
and common good were the property rights. In theory,
blockchain should have the capacity to strengthen property
rights and to reduce the costs of owning and exchanging
property. During transactions, legal costs can be reduced
drastically, legal security increased and in consequence
there should be much less room for litigation. Excessive
litigation has become a basic problem for property rights,
but it also adds unnecessary costs and lack of planning
security for the economy.
As it is a good incorruptible system to record transactions
and values, it will also reduce corruption in public life.
People will become a lot less dependent of public agencies
for registration and other public services. The less public
agencies are needed in the economic life, the less corruption
exists.
Prince Michael of Liechtenstein, Founder and Chairman of
Geopolitical Intelligence Services AG, Vaduz
Blockchain as well as other technological development,
e.g. robotics and artificial intelligence, will not replace the
human factor in the economic value chain. It will certainly
change jobs, but it will also make jobs a lot more productive
and a lot more efficient.
GEOPOLITICAL
INTELLIGENCE
SERVICES
73
FÉLIX ANTOINE TSHILOMBO
TSHISEKEDI FOR DIPLOMATIC WORLD
Congo is a country of contradictions. It calls to
mind words like corruption, poverty and unrest
but at the same time it is rich with resources and
has a vast array of tribal cultures. It has everything
it needs to succeed in becoming a leading force in
lifting the African continent to new heights.
Félix Antoine Tshilombo explains what he believes
needs to be done to make Congo a success story.
CONGO’S PROBLEMS
Congo has many problems that started with Mobutu and
towards the end of Mobutu’s reign, and became even worse
with Kabila. There will be a lot of work to cleanse the system.
Congo has a school system but a fragmented and unravelled
one. People graduate from university but their competence
level is simply not good enough, which is an incredible
shame. French is Congo’s official language but the graduates
hardly know how to speak, write or even align three correct
sentences. In addition, the system is corrupt at every level.
The teachers are not paid or very poorly paid, so they pass
the students according to the principle of “those who pay,
pass”.
put in place, will never work. Our country is messed up
at this point. First, we have to install structures again,
something that has been demolished for over 30 years
now. Today, the country works without structure and is
in a non-state situation. Second, there needs to be a fight
to restore morality and install an honest administration.
That brings me to another big problem: everything goes
wrong when you do not pay people for their services.
Especially in the administration, which is where taxes come
in. When the people working there are not compensated
for their services, they start serving themselves. In the end,
there is nothing left and there is no way to make a decent
budget. In a system like this health, education and security
are the first elements to suffer.
74
A major project will be to change the mentality. There are
many anti-values that have become integrated in our society.
People live in corruption and have come to see it as a
normal thing. We are afraid of everyone and we doubt each
other because everyone is in competition and wants to win.
The Congo should not be regarded as a traditional country.
We cannot apply readymade programs, which is why
all the therapies that the IMF and similar organisations
Félix Antoine Tshilombo Tshisekedi
Barbara Dietrich and Félix Antoine Tshilombo Tshisekedi
Only when we have restored a rule of law, we can work on
policies to straighten the economy so that we can increase
purchasing power because the people need it. The Congo is
a rich country so it is possible to give people a decent and
prosperous life.
Once we reinstall good values and create a secure climate,
investors can come in and see that their interests are
safe and guaranteed. This will create an influx of new
investments and an economic revival that will lift the
revenue. New investments will create jobs and at the same
give the government the necessary funding to improve
health, education, etc.
THE FAMILY UNIT
The family unit is another very important factor we have
to consider. The family unit, which is the very core of our
nation, no longer matters in the Congo today. Fathers are
often not paid and neglect their children. More and more
women today work to feed the children, but they do not
always find honest work. Girls as young as nine years old
are prostituting themselves to feed the family. Traditionally,
things should be reversed and it is the father’s task to
provide for his family. These situations are often seen in
military families, for example. In the army, the soldier does
not have the right to work, they can only settle for their
wages. Wages are meagre and sometimes not even paid so it
falls to the women who are working to feed the family.
It is necessary to rethink the family unit and to restore the
purchasing power. By giving value to employment, by giving
the people work will in turn help them find their dignity and
automatically restore the traditional Congolese values of the
close family unit.
SECURITY
Of course, installing security is the most important and
a priority. We must secure our borders and secure our
citizens. All this traffic of gold and coltan by the border is
a shortfall for our country. The way to stop it is to explain
to the people living or working there that they have an
interest in selling the products to their own country. By
paying taxes on the items they sell, they can help the
country become prosperous again and help us. Of course,
they need to be reassured that we restored a rule of law.
Now their idea is that since people at government level are
stealing, then so do we. To them this is perfectly normal.
Once the corruption is gone, we can give back a sense of
patriotism. People need to understand that it is pointless
to cross the border and sell Congolese gold in Uganda,
coltan in Rwanda, etc. Our country and our people will not
75
Vegetable and fruit market at the outskirts of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
© Shutterstock
76
win anything. Now there is only a short win for a limited
amount of people that quickly evaporates. If we can process
the coltan in Congo, we can start rebuilding the country
with roads and decent housing. We need to fix and renew
the power system, install electricity and provide clean water
in every village.
We need not only revive construction but concentrate on
agriculture as well. Congo is a very fertile land. We need to
build partnerships in developing agriculture in our country.
Not only will this solve the problem of starvation in our
country, but we will even be able to export. We have the
land and we have the products but now lack the means to
sell them to the rest of the world.
DEMOCRATIC DEBATE AND CULTURAL REVIVAL
It is vital that future leadership is responsible leadership.
That is what we want to accomplish after all those years of
misfortune that we experienced after independence. It is
time for the Congolese to invest in responsible leadership
that will be able to show the right direction and ensure
democracy. We do not want one single conviction ruling
and imposing its ideas. We need a democratic debate.
Without democratic debate we will never find out what
the people’s needs are. Congo has more than 400 tribes,
which means there are over 400 customs and different
ways of living. Congo’s official language is French now, but
each tribe has its dialect. Those dialects have been divided
into 4 linguistic families so we can choose 4 additional
national languages. You have to take all 400 tribes into
consideration if you want to improve this country; a thing
we already know by tradition because we have a culture of
debate. Traditionally, we had the African ‘palabre’ or talk.
Unfortunately, it has not evolved and was not modernized.
It remained at the village level. Nowadays, with society
broken into pieces, even these values are lost. There is a
way to bring them back but for that we need a leader who
accepts these traditions and who tackles these problems
seriously.
Once peace is restored, it is necessary to create a cultural
revival. To obtain peace between the tribes and the cultural
resourcing of people, we need to solve the problem of
poverty and education. When we achieve that, people
will be interested in getting to know each other and
exchange culture. It is an effective way of bringing people
together. Artists today are among the poorest and most
deprived people, especially artists who make art objects like
sculptors and painters.
The cultural value of Congo deserves to be known all
over the world. We can achieve this but it will have to
be implemented at a later stage. Today some cultural
exchange already exists within our country. There are a lot
of intercultural marriages which brings people together
in some ways. Simply by intertribal weddings, things are
evolving well. For example, my wife and I, we are not from
the same tribe. She is from the east, from Bukavu, while I
am from the Kasai.
POVERTY
Before we can proceed to cultural interchange, we have
to fight poverty. Poverty is one of the main causes of the
escape of our young people. They flee to countries like
Libya where we see massacres being done. People leave their
country for different reasons but the most important one is
no hope to end poverty. It is human nature to go elsewhere
seeking to survive. When something is not going well when
in one place, we try to go somewhere else.
At times we see tribal quarrels over poverty. There can
be jealousy of those that are richer and that is what kills
solidarity. It happens even in the countries where people
are generally better off. You can live in a country with a
democratic tradition for centuries and generations but
as soon as there is a crisis the first instinct is to protect
oneself. They will say ‘the migrant’ is the problem and that
immigration has to stop. It is the human reflex to say ‘us
first’, to withdraw into oneself.
HEART OF AFRICA
Once security is handled, tourism will thrive. We have a
beautiful country, well worth visiting and it can bring lots
of tourists. The success of this endeavour depends on one
thing: installing the rule of law. We must restore a rule
of law, an honest administration, secure the citizens, and
reinstall the traditional values that are now totally upside
down. Those must be restored so that Congo will again be
the engine and the heart of Africa.
Congo is sick today. Germany’s neighbours benefit
from the magnitude and greatness of Germany, but our
neighbours take advantage of Congo’s weakness. I have
already mentioned the coltan that travels across the river.
In Rwanda there is a refinery to treat coltan while they are
not producers. The coltan comes from Congo and leaves
the country without taxes. The same happens with the gold
coming out of Ituri that goes to Uganda and the copper that
goes to Zambia. Copper, cobalt, coltan and gold leave the
country almost for free nowadays.
If the Congo succeeds in changing all this, the country will
win and everyone can benefit. It is the beginning of peace,
for if everyone benefits there will be no reason for war or
tribal warfare. Today everything is based on poverty or lack
of prosperity. Still, there is opportunity to be seen in our
bad luck. We have seen how some countries have advanced
and how others have made mistakes. We have learned those
lessons and can now move forward and avoid the mistakes
others have made.
Unfortunately, I wonder whether our neighbours really
want the same thing as we do. I am convinced that if Congo
prospers, everyone will benefit. We are trying to explain to
our neighbours that they have an interest in Congo doing
well, because then we can create a vast free trade area, much
like the model of the Benelux or even the European Union.
It can be done at the scale of Central Africa with all its
countries and all countries will benefit from this force that
will also revive Congo. Eventually, they will get the message
because in most of these countries, there are problems as
well. Most of the Central African countries are dictatorial in
nature, with the exception of Zambia. Rwanda, Burundi and
Brazzaville are in a similar situation as we are.
A NEED FOR CHANGE
The first step is a mindset towards change but implementing
change also takes purchasing power. When people can live
in peace, they can keep the peace. When you remove their
means to live, people become corrupt and start to steal,
forcing the government to impose security. There is a lot
of work to be done but it is possible to achieve it in a short
amount of time.
First, the leadership itself has to be severe and demanding
with itself and require the same from its subjects. Once this
is implemented, it will work because people will quickly
understand that seriousness has arrived. Unfortunately, we
have seen this happen before in Congo. At first, Laurent
Désiré Kabilla looked like he meant serious business. He
came and enforced the law, a bit brutal, a little violent,
but the people kept quiet. But then we started to see the
corruption and came to see he is just like all the others,
which is similar to what happened with Mobutu. People
understood that, again, it was not a serious try.
At this moment we have a power that is dictatorial, which
suppresses every move towards change. When we have
demonstrations, we are bullied and arrested each time. On
77
November 30h, for example, I wanted to go to the protest
and was prevented from leaving my house by police officers.
The police officers stayed in front of my house to prevent
me and the demonstrators who were outside waiting for me
from demonstrating. They were scattered rapidly and some
were wounded. Most of the media support Kabila and are
paid by him. Free journalists who try to oppose this and
report freely and truly, are often punished. They are falsely
accused with fabricated stories.
A journalist I know was arrested and tortured on November
29th. He was abducted and tortured for two days, whilst
I had met him only hours before. Afterwards he was
presented to the media and was forced to say that he had
not been threatened or tortured. Some journalists and
human rights defenders have it even worse and are killed;
the best known is Floribert Chebeya who was killed in June
2010. This is everyday life in Congo.
In this context there is no point in talking about elections
because they seem impossible. How are we supposed to go
to elections with a government that forbids us from making
peaceful demonstrations? They forbid us to go to our bases
and militants to speak to them and discuss with them. We
do not even have the right to do that since they banned all
political gatherings. Any gatherings. There is no way to fully
function like this.
To have legal and honest elections, we must expel the
current leaders from power and hope that things will evolve.
We have two ways to achieve this. The first is with the
population, through endless demonstrations asking for his
departure. The second way is a call to the International
Community. We hope that the world will finally understand
that it is not possible to have elections with Kabila. He does
not want elections in Congo because he does not want to
leave power.
HOPE
Angola is a very good example of how things can change.
Angola had 25 years of war which produced a generation
of young people who did not have the chance to go to
school. The country set up a group of executives that
function in a company’s framework during the day and
that teaches young people at night, organizing courses to
help them upgrade. I think there is a way to find solutions
similar to this. Congo could also benefit from foreign
experience and we are no longer excluding this, since we
saw this approach was successful in Rwanda. The Rwandese
population was decimated so a lot of foreign experts came
to help put an administration back together. What works for
Congo can be judged when the time comes.
Congo’s greatest treasure are the youth, that I know for
sure. We have roughly 60% to 70% of the population that
is made up of young people, which is a real plus for the
future. Young people are eager to learn and they learn very
quickly. There will be a way to set up remittance programs
to try to make up for the delay we are living through now.
But as I said before, the trick is to have the right framework
to make all of this happen. If the framework is serious,
everyone will move in the same direction, but if we continue
in the same way as today, it will not work.
A government’s focus should not be on how everyone can
fill their pockets. The challenge for the next President is
to bring change for the better. For us it is an honour to
be there and witness the first steps of a new Congo. I am
certain that many teachers, schoolteachers, technicians,
engineers, farmers, etc. will want to work in Congo, even
if only for weeks or months to teach. For this country has
everything it needs to succeed!
78
The Constitution is clear: a president can stay for a
maximum of 2 terms and then it is over. A first mandate
can be renewed one time, no more. Therefore, we ask the
International Community to help us make Kabila leave by
sanctions. In our view, we must sanction him and his family
because they are the ones stealing from our country. It will
take targeted sanctions against him, his brothers and his
sisters. We think that the pressure we put on him internally
and pressure from the International Community will make
him leave power. Nobody doubts that we need change but it
takes more than thinking or believing.
FÉLIX ANTOINE TSHILOMBO TSHISEKEDI
• Son of celebrated opposition leader Etienne
Tshisekedi, who defied Presidents Mobutu and
Kabila.
• Has described as “Stalinesque” the government
attempts to muzzle the opposition.
• Relative political newcomer, criticised by some for
inexperience.
• Lived in Belgium for many years before entering
politics at home.
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79
INTERVIEW WITH MR. MARTIN PALMER,
SECRETARY GENERAL ARC
Highlighted in Diplomatic World 55, the Impact Investment
Summit 2017 in Zug, co-hosted by the Swiss Impact
Investment Association (SIIA) and the Alliance of Religions
and Conservation (ARC), set a new standard for faith and
value based investing. The signing of the Zug Guidelines
to Faith-Consistent Investment and the Zug Declaration
represents official commitments of faith-based investors and
philanthropies to invest their assets in environmentally and
socially sound projects. At their parallel event, ARC worked
closely with representatives of eight major global religions
to write the Zug Guidelines that are to serve the faiths as
principles for investing their assets, and furthermore, serve
as a platform to publicise these principles. Founded in
1995 by HRH The Prince Philip, ARC engages the faiths in
dialogue and helps them develop environmental programs
based upon their beliefs. For over 20 years, they havwe
linked religions to environmental organisations, creating
powerful, effective alliances. Diplomatic World had the
chance to interview Martin Palmer, Secretary General of
ARC, following the SIIA Investment Summit.
80
Please describe the process leading up to the Zug
Guidelines and the goal of the faiths’ pledge in
impactful investment. Did the idea emerge from
a momentary, incendiary thought or ripen over a
longer time? How was the collaborative process
with the faiths?
In 1999, I went to a meeting in Washington DC with WWF
USA. They were the most resistant WWF branch to the idea
of working with religions. Ironically, they were all practicing
Hindus, Christians, or Jews, but it was a step too far for
them to consider religion in their field of work. I expected
a hostile reception as I was sitting outside the main board
room, when I heard a passerby say, ‘I don’t know why we are
bothering with this meeting about religion. If they wanted
to, they could use their wealth and buy a company like
Monsanto and turn it to be an environmental organisation.
Why don’t they?’ I thought, ‘O bother, are enemies in the
camp.’ Then I thought, it is actually a good idea. Therefore,
in response to a new version of the classic, dismissive
argument that if only the religions could give away all their
wealth, they could solve all the problems in the world, in
2000 we did an audit of what major faiths owned. Land,
buildings, schools, hospitals, farmland, forestry, and
investments. We were absolutely astonished, how much
money and investments the faiths actually had. Far more
than I had expected, and I belong to the Church of England
and we have an awful amount of money and land. We own
10% of England.
There is a long tradition of what faiths will not invest in. For
example, Muslims would traditionally not invest in anything
that would charge interest, or the Quakers in anything to
Mr. Martin Palmer
do with armaments. And so, challenged by this off-hand
comment that I had overheard, we asked, ‘We know what
you are against, what are you for?’ Interestingly, we were too
early in asking that question. What we actually discovered,
as we first held a meeting with faith investors in 2001 in
New York, was that less than 25% of the faith funds that
we were in touch with, had developed a negative screening
process. The majority needed still to develop a negative
screening process.
In 2015 we were asked by the UN, if we would co-host the
main meeting between the religions and the UN on the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Twenty-eight
faith commitments resulted from that meeting. The UN
noticed that nine of these said they were thinking about
shifting their investments into environmentally sustainable
development. The UN was terribly excited and asked us,
whether the religions have any money. We affirmed they did.
We wrote a paper for the UN called “Faith in Finance” that
we launched last December in China at a multi-faith and
multi-government event.
Now it became very clear that the faiths had shifted, 75%,
maybe even 80% have now got well-developed negative
screening processes.
In January 2017 we asked them again, ‘We know what you
are against, what are you for?’ They were ready. They were
ready, but they had not thought it through. They were aware
of the fact that the UN were asking for the SDGs to be
funded primarily by investment, they were thinking about it,
but they had not really done much about it. We at ARC were
a little outrageous really, we said, if they wanted to come to
this meeting, they would have to write and have us officially
approve a set of guidelines. They must tell us what they own,
and in what classes of investment. They must tell us their
theology and philosophy about wealth. What is it for, where
does it come from, where does it fit into their understanding
of God, or humanity, or the cycle of karma, et cetera?
They must give us their guidelines, for themselves and for
members of their religion, as to what they now will invest in.
Where will they put their money to make a difference?
81
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I have to be honest, when we said this in January,
I thought, we were being too outrageous and was worried
they would not reply. Well, to my absolute amazement, and
the amazement of my colleagues, every single religion we
invited said ‘Yes’. A couple of them had done it before, the
Protestant German churches, as had the Swedish Lutheran
churches, but the others were new, completely new. This
led to tremendous internal discussions, debates and
questioning.
We gave funding where it was necessary to enable the faiths
to gather their key thinkers, their key finance people, and
to our delight, we were able to launch 30 faith guidelines at
Zug. Of those 30, four are guidelines for collective groups,
for example, JLens, the major advisory body to Jewish
foundations in the United States. They have one hundred
Jewish foundations, synagogues, and schools in their
network. Therefore, these guidelines actually influence about
one hundred people, and the same reach is extended in the
Hindu and Muslim networks. So although there are only 30
guidelines, they will influence over 500 religious investment
groups around the world from eight major religions.
I give much credit to the United Nations. The Assistant
Secretary General apologised at the Impact Summit in
Zug for not asking the religions for their view on the
SDGs until the very last moment (which they did then
with ARC’s guidance). Ironically, the faiths were ignored,
although they are the fourth largest investment group in
the world. The fact that the UN said that the sustainable
development of the planet cannot take place through the
old system of giving a grant here and another grant there,
but that it has to involve the business and investment
world, had already moved many of the faiths to consider
their involvement.
What ARC did, is to speed the process up quite
considerably and to show them, without any of them
losing their own autonomy, that they can be much stronger
together than alone. Some secular finance organisations,
were already handling money for Catholic or Muslim
foundations, but had not asked their faith foundations,
what as venture capitalists they would do for a sustainable
planet. We brought them together, and they were delighted
to discover that they were not alone.
How can the faiths bring innovation to investment?
What values and approaches do you see
creating change in the industry?
The main innovation is something that has been much
discussed, but I do not see much happening, namely valuedriven
investing. In other words, not just asking, ‘How
much money can we make? How quickly can we make it?
Are our shareholders happy?’, but actually using finances
to fund the values they want to see, whether religious,
secular, artistic, or philanthropic. What the faiths are, and
I think this is the exciting thing about the new alliance we
are creating after Zug, is the largest identifiable group with
clear values. When you look to the Zug Guidelines, you
will see each guideline begin with a theological statement
of why they care, based on their own traditions, their own
teachings, their sacred books, and their holy people.
There are 500 faith investment groups who have clearly
set out the values that will drive them. Now, they can be
approached and asked, ‘Why not invest in this? It meets
your values as you set out on pages two and three.’ This is
what they bring, a major focus on value-driven investing.
And that is important, because now the philanthropies
are saying they should do the same. In Zug, over a dozen
Swiss foundations issued the Zug Declaration, which is an
early stage of creating their own guidelines. I think, what
we are seeing, and what we are being asked to set out in the
alliance, is an alliance of value-driven investing, which at
its heart will have religions, the philanthropies walking at
their side, and in the background the NGO world. I think
we are on the cusp of launching an alliance, that will mean
that not only religious groups talk about values, so will
secular groups. This is very exciting.
Also, this is very interesting, unfortunately the UN had no
money to fund this event, so on very short notice we had
to raise a lot of money. We had wonderful philanthropies
in the United States, Japan, Britain, and the Netherlands
who supported us, but we still needed further funding. So
for the first time in my professional life, and I have been
fundraising for nearly forty years, we went to the secular,
commercial world. We had nine or ten finance houses
interested, who agreed to sponsor us. The guidelines were
written by the middle of August, when our international
steering group suggested to ask the secular finance houses
what their values were. It was complete panic. Only one
group had set out their values, the others said, they do
not have any values, they only reflect the values of their
customers. We said, “Rubbish! That is absolute rubbish!”
Others had come into being precisely to be value driven,
but had not worked out what the values were other that
they were not the same as the others that did not have
values. It was an extraordinary month, where people from
the secular world were sending in their values, and I was
sending them back and saying, “No, sorry, those are not
values, try again, start it all over again.” And they did.
I think we are setting standards right across the border,
and one of the great things was the partnership with SIIA.
SIIA, from the very beginning invited us to Zug, because
they saw that this could change the ball game. Instead of
just talking about impact investing, which could mean
anything, as every investment is an impact, the question
that needs to be asked is, ‘Is it good impactful?’ To know,
you must look at the values that you are looking to serve.
The partnership with SIIA has been fundamental to this.
They kept us taking the secular financial world seriously,
in the same way that they have taken the faithful financial
world seriously. It has been a wonderful partnership.
What are your goals, moving forward with the
Zug Guidelines, towards effecting change in
conservation and sustainability? What are the next
steps for ARC?
It comes in three different stages. Firstly, we are already
having new guidelines being sent to us. We have triggered
an awareness within the faiths. We have compiled three
new major guidelines in the last two weeks. My guess is
that when we come to re-issue the guidelines, in about
six months time, I would be surprised, if we were not up
to 40, reaching out to about 600 faith investment groups.
We have now set a standard, if you like, for what any selfrespecting
faith investment group should have. If you have
not got your guidelines, people will now be asking, “Why
not? Because the other group has.”
The second stage is the creation of the new alliance. We
were asked at the end of the event by the philanthropies,
by the UN, by the secular finance houses, and the faiths,
whether we would create an alliance that would enable
this energy, these levels of commitment, this potential for
putting together baskets of projects. We have a pipeline
of investible projects that we have been developing with
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s R20 organisation and Leonardo
di Caprio’s organisation. So we not only have the faiths
as investors, we also have faith driven projects and big
infrastructure projects that they can invest in as well.
The weekend at the Summit, we had over 40 comments,
ideas, and suggestions, as to what this alliance should look
like. My job in the next week is to draw up a blueprint.
We will hold these groups together and enable them to
become investment partners. We will enable them to
undertake research work. Princeton University has offered
to join in as the major academic centre. The University
of Winchester here in the UK is offering to create a new
chair in faith consistent investing. We are talking to the
Dartington Hall Centre, a big international centre in
Devon, who are offering to host three or four major think
tank events every year. SIIA will annually host a whole
section on philanthropy and religious investment. But
beyond that we need to set up a structure that can broker
partnerships, that can for example enable a cluster of faiths
to invest in sustainable forestry or alternative energy.
The third stage is to be representatives of better finance
to the wider world. For example, the United Nations
Development Program is now in discussion with the
Norwegian government about potential funding for a
new unit within UNDP on faith-consistent investing and
the SDGs. Major philanthropies are considering setting
up similar structures. I think the ripple effects will be
enormous. In my understanding and experience, finance
managers are herd animals, if the front cow turns into
a different direction, then the rest of the herd comes up
behind. I think we are very close to being able to turn the
herd, and that is terribly exciting.
Brita Achberger
Martin Palmer is the Director of the International
Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture
(ICOREC) and Secretary General of the Alliance of
Religion and Conservation (ARC).
An Anglican Christian, Palmer studied theology and
religious studies at Cambridge University and has
translated several popular books on Sinology, giving
popular and controversial interpretation of early
Chinese Christianity.
He is a regular contributor to the BBC on religious,
ethical, and historical issues, appearing regularly on
BBC Radio 3 and 4, BBC World Service and presenting
on BBC TV. He is Co-Chair of a joint ARC-UNDP
programme on the faiths, climate change and the
environment.
83
EUROPEANS AND THE CHINESE
NEW SILK ROAD INITIATIVE
Dr Pierre-Emmanuel Thomann
Geopolitician - President - Eurocontinent
China is a major demographic and nation-size
civilization. With the New Silk Road initiative,
China positions itself on territory and in time as
a central player on the Eurasian and global scales.
The objective of the project also called Belt and
Road Initiative (BRI) is to connect China to the
world through rail, road, maritime, airport, energy
and technology connections. The project has a longterm
horizon since it is expected to be completed by
2049. If it is implemented, even partially, the project
is likely to change the global geo-economic and
geopolitical balance of power.
Europeans have no choice but to position themselves in
relation to these plans, putting forward their own interests
and ambition for strategic autonomy. The New Silk Road
initiative, if conducted taking into consideration the
interests of European nations, but also those of China’s
global Eurasian neighbours and other global powers, is
likely to contribute to the stability and prosperity of the
Eurasian continent.
A geopolitical approach is useful in examining
European interests regarding this initiative. The
geopolitical angle has two modes. Geopolitics is a
tool for making a diagnosis that highlights the stakes
of a geopolitical situation. Then, the elaboration of a
geopolitical strategy (applied geopolitics) helps to develop
priorities on territory and in time in the service of an
objective.
a political objective is a decisive advantage and a central
element of sovereignty. This mastery depends on the
capacity to appreciate the space and time constraints of
others.
GEOPOLITICAL DIAGNOSIS
China seeks to regain global geopolitical centrality through
the New Silk Road project. Although various elements of
the project are still largely in a virtual state, some projects
are already under way, or aim to renovate connections that
already exist.
Not all projects will materialize and succeed but the
multitude of transport bundles imagined in this long-term
plan will lead to the implementation of at least some of
them.
84
In the twenty-first century, in order to navigate in a
world that is in a state of flux, a geopolitical strategy,
conceived as a spatio-temporal whole and functioning as
a means of balancing other powers, is required. This is
because the mastery of territory and time in the service of
The New Silk Road initiative responds to several issues at a
number of geographical scales:
At the national level, China’s western-oriented
infrastructure of the initiative aims to develop areas west
of its territory. These regions, particularly the Xinjiang
85
86
Autonomous Region and the Tibet Autonomous Region
are economically lagging in relation to the maritime
facades. Their development should consolidate the
territorial unity of the country.
Further, at the Eurasian continental level, the New Silk
Road initiative involves connecting the two ends of the
Eurasian continent, Europe and China, through Russia
in the North and Central Asia further South by a bundle
of lines of communication, including goods, people, and
energy transport.
Finally, the maritime component aims to consolidate the
energy and trade connections between China and the
Middle East but also with Africa and Europe through the
Straits of Malacca. The Northern Route linking China to
Europe via the Arctic Ocean is also envisaged as a shorter
and alternative route.
At a global level, for China, this is a geo-economic strategy
of opening up the country through continentalisation,
because it depends too heavily on its maritime facade.
From the point of view of the Chinese geopolitical
perspective, the Middle Kingdom seeks to surround itself
with allies, and position itself at the center of a geopolitical
space structured for its own security and prosperity. The
aim of the Chinese project is to place the country at the
center of the geopolitical map once again. In this respect,
the Chinese geopolitical objective is not different from
other world powers.
On the geostrategic level, the project can also be
interpreted as a strategy of counter-encirclement resulting
from the positioning of military infrastructures by the
USA and its allies. The map (map: The New Silk Road
Initiative) highlights the perception of encirclement of
China and Russia, which comes from the presence of US
and NATO bases as well as from the anti-missile defense
infrastructure around Eurasia.
This location of military infrastructure is primarily a
legacy of the Cold War, which was characterized by the
containment of the USSR but also of China by the US.
After the fall of the USSR, the Unipolar project of the US
and their allies aimed to westernize the Eurasian continent
and to ascertain the prevalence of a system of Western
alliance, associated with a strategy of roll-back.
However, with the come back of Russia and the rise of
China, the world has evolved towards a more polycentric
structure. A new containment strategy can now again
be expected, because we can once more witness a rise
of the geopolitical rivalries between the US, China and
Russia. The missile shield project has been pursued and
the new US security strategy (2018) explicitly designates
Russia and China as its main adversaries. This looming
confrontation might jeopardize Eurasian stability and
therefore European stability itself. Europeans, as close
allies of the USA should avoid further polarization of
global alliances as they will not be in a position to defend
their own interests. Europeans should rather find a way to
play the role of moderators between USA and China but
also Russia.
China is combining two approaches, one is geostrategic,
and the other is geo-economic.
In the China Sea, China claims sovereignty over the
Paracel and Spartley Islands, and is in competition
with its neighbours (Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the
Philippines and Taiwan). China also wants a reunification
with the island of Taiwan, separated from them in 1949.
The various actors have entered a race of “Polderization”
to claim sovereignty over the different islands. This area
is a growing commercial and energy hub for China. Its
control also aims to counter the pressure exerted in the
geographical proximity of its territory by the US and its
allies in the Pacific Ocean. US military bases are set up
in Japan, South Korea and in the Philippines. The US
fleet is sailing in the Pacific near its territory, and around
Taiwan.
In the event of a serious conflict, China’s energy supply
routes through the China Sea and the Strait of Malacca
may be disrupted by US naval dominance in the Pacific
and by their bases, which are all close to the shores of
China.
The Silk Roads including the Northern Sea Route and
the continental infrastructures are alternative routes to
the Southern seaway from the China Sea to the Indian
Ocean, on which China now depends. In addition, the
development of western China, the Achilles heel of the
country’s security, helps to stem the destabilization
coming from the western flank, subject to waves of radical
Islam from Southeast Asia, and to the external support of
regional separatism.
The New Silk Road project also allows the development of
the China-Kazakhstan-Russia corridor, the China-Central-
Asia-Iran-Turkey corridor, as well as the Eurasian links
between China and Europe. It is part of a multicentered
vision of the world, where China is at the center of a new
system of economic and political cooperation, and not a
subset of Western-centered globalization with the US as
the main power of the Eurasian continent.
During his visit to China in January 2018, French
President Emmanuel Macron announced his intention to
participate in projects on the Silk Road routes in Eurasia
and Africa on a case-by-case basis. He insisted that the
New Silk Road should evolve towards a shared project and
does not provoke a new hegemony.
OBSTACLES REMAIN, WHAT ARE THEY?
THE POSITIONING OF EUROPEANS
The enormous cost of the projects is a first obstacle,
even if China has the financial means to initiate many
infrastructures. To be implemented successfully outside the
Chinese territory, the infrastructure projects will also have
to be co-financed by the partners of China. It is also an
opportunity to internationalize the project and promote a
better balance of interests.
Secondly, geopolitical instabilities along these corridors
are an obstacle to investment. If a project leads to distrust
in some countries, opponents to this project might have an
interest in a destabilization of the territories of transit.
Some countries like the USA and India would also like a
reorientation of the connections to have a more North-
South direction than East-West. These rivalries on the
geopolitical orientation of the Eurasian infrastructures
highlights the need for the New Silk Road initiative to take
into consideration the interests of the different countries
likely to be impacted by the project.
Finally, there is the ambivalence of the Europeans
themselves, who are divided on the position to take
regarding Chinese economic power. Indeed the fear of
Europeans is to see trains filled with goods in the direction
of China-Europe, returning to China empty.
Yet some European states are already positioning
themselves to take advantage of the New Silk Road project.
This is the case in the Balkans with Serbia and Greece,
and the Visegrad group, at the heart of the 16 + 1 format,
which includes the countries of Central and Eastern
Europe who seek to connect themselves to the Chinese
project. The 16 + 1 format was conceived after the first
China-Central and Eastern European Countries Economic
and Trade Forum, held in Budapest in 2011. The countries
included are China, 11 EU members: Bulgaria, Croatia,
the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and five EU
candidates: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia,
Montenegro and Serbia.
It has been said, Geopolitics is anticipating the space-time
of others powers.
The European project, mainly embodied by the European
Union, needs to be renewed today. Its paradigms are still
too entrenched in the last century. The project was born in
the context of the Cold War, at a time of the containment
of the Soviet Union, and in a context where Communist
China had not yet reached its current power. After the
end of the Cold War, the project should today adapt itself
further to the emergence of a multicentered world. EU
could evolve towards an alliance of European nations
driven by a geopolitical strategy to reaffirm their own
centrality in the future global balance of power.
It would be wise for Europeans to engage this Chinese
project in a constructive way. The New Silk Road is an
opportunity for the Europeans to position themselves on
the Eurasian continent. It is also a way to ascertain the
project leads to a better balance of interests.
Europeans are so far positioning themselves in a dispersed
way in order to reap the benefits. Therefore, a better
coordination between them would be required. The
project is above all an opportunity for Europeans to think
on a Eurasian scale. They would need to identify their
geopolitical interests as part of a reformed European
project according to geopolitical principles.
For the cooperation projects and alliances of European
nations, geography suggests a better balance between the
Euro-Atlantic, Euro-Mediterranean and African areas and
also Euro-Arctic and Euro-Asiatic spaces.
According to the recent historical perspective, the Eastern
flank of Europeans has been neglected during the Cold
War. The rivalry with the USSR and communist China
held back trade between Europe and large parts of Eurasia
and the shift of the geopolitical center of gravity was
located in the Euro-Atlantic space.
Today, the project of the New Silk Road is an opportunity
for Europeans to connect with the East of the Eurasian
87
continent. This means anticipating and negotiating an
articulation between the European project, the New Silk
Road initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union along
the Europe-Russia-China axis.
THREE ROUTES ARE INTERESTING FOR
EUROPE
The materialization of the Northern Sea Route would
facilitate access to Siberian resources and is the shortest
sea connection with China and the Far East. The
continental corridor transiting through Russia would
reconnect Western Europe with Russia, and trains
could unload goods in Russia, before going to China.
The Southern continental corridor would facilitate a
rapprochement between Europe and Central Asia.
There is a growing necessity to rethink the links
between the European project, Russia and China. It is
counterproductive today to pursue a policy of isolating
Russia, and pushing it ever more towards an exclusive
Russian-Chinese alliance that keeps the nations of the EU
in an exclusive Euro-Atlantic area. This approach makes
Europe a periphery of this Euro-Atlantic entity. Moreover,
as a pivotal space, Europe risks being fragmented between
emerging rival Euro-Atlantic and Euro-Asiatic geopolitical
alliances.
The Connection to the Silk Road Initiative should push
European nations towards engaging more deeply in a
dialogue on the finality of the European project. Hopefully,
a better coordination between European states would
benefit Europe as a whole. This means that a reformed EU
should establish relations with the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (OCS) but also the Eurasian Economic
Union (EEU). The geopolitical complementarities between
Europe and Central Asia, with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan
as pivots, can be strengthened to stabilize this strategic
zone for the benefit of the entire Eurasian continent.
and regulating its exchanges with the outside. It is also
necessary for the maintenance of the national identity. A
border filters what is good for the nation and rejects what
threatens it. Any economic exchange should be of benefit
to all partners and that is why the issue of reciprocity
should be addressed.
The nations of the European continent, from Brest to
Vladivostok, that is all members of the Council of Europe,
have to play a moderating role in the face of growing
geopolitical rivalries in Eurasia. It would be better for them
to avoid being obliged to align themselves blindly in the
case of a global US-Chinese confrontation. They should
equally avoid a Chinese-American condominium (G2), in
which they would be excluded from major decisions.
Finally, nations of the Eurasian continent also have the
urgency to contain the Islamist push originating from the
arc of crisis along a belt from Africa to the south-Western
part of the Eurasian continent.
In the end, the project of the New Silk Road Initiative
has not only a geostrategic and economic dimension, but
also a civilisational dimension. The exchanges between
cultures on the Eurasian continent may potentially make
the Old World an important geopolitical axis of the world
again. The project therefore also implies a new approach
of globalization. European nations and China should share
the geopolitical goal of a multicentered world based on
geopolitical balances and the respect for sovereignty, but
also the balance between civilizations.
88
The major interest of Europeans in a stronger engagement
in the New Silk Road initiative is more strategic reflection
on the future model of globalization, in order to better
influence it, rather than to be undergone by it. It is time
to challenge the ultra-liberal ideology dogmas and to
push back the excesses of globalization, which requires
for European nations to address the issue of borders
and territorial control more deeply. A border is an
organic envelope necessary for the survival of a nation,
Pierre-Emmanuel Tomann
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89
FREDDY OPSOMER - A BELGIAN
ENTREPRENEUR IN LITHUANIA
CHINA’S SILK ROAD ENTREPRENEUR
Freddy Opsomer is an international entrepreneur living in
Antwerp who was intensively involved in the redevelopment
of the Lithuanian economy after the re-independence of that
country in 1990. As the Chairman of the Free Economic Zone
of Kaunas he was able to organise a strong local management
team for the development of a 500 ha greenfield that was
located in central Lithuania: a tri-modal site adjacent to an
international airport, nearby a new European logistic railway
hub, where the Russian 1.520 mm broad railway gauge meets
the new Trans European network corridor Rail Baltica. Rail
Baltica aims to integrate the 3 Baltic countries Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania via Poland with the European 1.435 mm railway
network. It is a supranational project of great economic and
political importance for these countries and for the EU.
In this new period of re-independence of Lithuania Freddy
Opsomer took also attention for issues of social corporate
responsibility and he founded the Sugihara Diplomats for Life
Foundation and the museum — in memory of the Japanese
diplomat Sugihara who saved the lives of more than 6.000
people from the Nazi death camps. The saved people, mostly
Jewish, could receive a special transit visa issued by the
Japanese diplomat. Doing so, he risked his life and career as
his country had in 1940, together with fascist Italy, signed
the Tripartite agreement with Nazi Germany. The Japanese
Schindler is now rehabilitated in Japan and is honoured
amongst the Righteous among the Nations in Israel.
Kaunas Free Zone attracted so far 31 local and international
companies who invested 489 M euro and created 3.450 jobs. The
free zone has also a special IT and mega data centre development
zone nearby the 900MW Kruonis Hydro Pumped Storage Power
Plant. Here more than 100 MW of power load is available and
the site is at the crossroads of diverse European dark fiber paths.
In 2017 two large German companies in the automobile sector
decided to establish a manufacturing base in the Kaunas Free
Economic Zone. The multinational, family owned German
company Hella with a sales volume of 6,6 Bn euro in 2016-
2017 and 38.000 employees producing lighting and electronic
components for all car brands. The company will invest 30 M
euro in Kaunas in a first phase of three and employ 250 skilled
workers for the production of sensors, actuators and control
modules for the automotive industry.
90
Freddy Opsomer signs with Mr Xu Yongjun - General Manager of China Merchants Logistics – between the 2 signatories : Mr Li Jianhong – Chairman of the
China Merchants Group / in the back Prime Minister Butkevicius from Lithuania and Ministers of Economy and Transport)
Another German group also decided to choose the Kaunas
Free Economic Zone: Continental. Continental invests
95 M euro and will create 1.000 jobs in Lithuania, making
this the largest green field investment project in Lithuanian
history. Continental will produce in the new factory door and
seat control units, gateways, intelligent glass control units,
radar sensors for adaptive cruise control and emergency
braking assistance systems.
One of the first companies that came into the Free Economic
Zone was the company Elinta — a spin-off from the Kaunas
University of technology — who is famous in laser technologies
but also very active in electro-vehicles and electricity charger
networks.
Freddy Opsomer is convinced that this brings Lithuania
and Kaunas FEZ in a real position to become an e-car and
e-mobility cluster in Northern Europe. According to him these
companies can under special regime of shared production
under custom supervision reach two important consumer
markets: the EU with 500 million people and the CIS (now
Eurasia market) with 180 million people.
Freddy Opsomer has only at a distance of 280 km discovered
the city of Minsk, capital of Belarus, a vibrant city with nearly 2
million inhabitants. Here the Government of China is actually
developing the Great Stone park, located near the Minsk
international airport. It is the largest industrial park outside
China. It has a solid Chinese partnership with the China
Merchants Group and Sinomach as reference shareholders.
Freddy Opsomer is finalising negotiations with the Belarus
government and the Chinese side to integrate a European hub
in this park. Doing so he hopes to have a real concept of twinparks
— one of them located in the EU (Kaunas) and one in
the CIS (Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan). He does hope that
Kaunas and Minsk will develop fruitful city relationships and
cooperation. In logistic terms that may result in a green trade
corridor between the 2 industrial logistic zones.
The Great Stone park in Minsk is only a small part of an
ambitious Chinese Government project called OBOR — one
Belt one Road. This should become a global network of
multimodal transport infrastructures connecting the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans — Europe-Africa and Asia. OBOR embraces
70% of the world population, 55% of world GDP and 75% of
world energy reserves. Not only China but also countries like
Japan announced plans to invest in such global networks.
Already in 2011, BMW organized regular container trains all
the way from Leipzig to Shenyang in China. The trains were
transporting more than 8.000 components to the assembly
plants of BMW in China. In Leipzig a logistic center was built
of 63.000 m 2 as logistic nexus to this new silk road — nearly 600
new jobs were created to support the German silk road project.
From 2014 on, the Ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam also
received regular long block trains that took the same land
route; all the way from central China via Russia or Kazakhstan
— on a journey of less than 14 days compared to the nearly 40
days by ocean transport.
Although at first sight, a TEU container costs substantially
more by rail than by sea — companies have discovered that
for high valued consumer goods — the time gains, security
91
easons, as well as the journey via major cities: all of that
offers a number of advantages. HP uses now cargo trains to
ship products to and from China. Another global player DHL
has weekly express service trains originating in Chengdu via
Kazakhstan to Poland. The short rail connections between
Chongqing and Duisburg (10.800 km – 10 days) have a
bright future. It is therefore time of the essence for the
EU Commission and for the EU Parliament to develop an
ambitious plan: a connecting facility between the TEN-T
networks and these new Silk Roads according to Opsomer.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2016 and 2017
much attention was given to these new China Silk Roads. It was
stressed that the new Silk Roads should not just be maritime
routes or multimodal rail-, road corridors; but that this new
global network should become an information e-network.
Such silk road information highway could play an important
role in further developing e-commerce and accelerating the
4th industrial revolution: industry 4.0 and logistics 4.0. Last
year the Davos World Economic Forum made this even more
practical by focusing on new technologies like blockchain that
can connect business processes and different actors along the
Silk Road value chain in a safe way.
Freddy Opsomer anticipated this statements and took at
the Hannover Industry Messe in 2015 the initiative to bring
regions, free zones and industrial parks together in an
association “Silk Road parks” — for his Silk Road Initiative,
3 parks and a strategic partner signed a memorandum of
understanding. These were the Kaunas Free Economic Zone,
the mega industrial China park “Great Stone” in Minsk and
Jiashan, the economic industrial expansion area of Shanghai.
The parks want to promote each other along the same value
chain of the Silk Road; they want to become sustainable and
to be connected in this global network of the 4th industrial
revolution: the e-silk road. As Germany’s industry is a
forerunner in the automatization, the robotisation, the internet
of things, industrial 3-D printing — Opsomer wants now to
set up the international association with a strategic German
anchorage. But in addition he will invite also other parks on
the silk road to join the new silk road initiative: West European
and Baltic ports, inland ports like Duisburg and industrial
parks and free zones in Russia (for example Yekaterinburg
located on the border between Europe and Asia) and in
Kazakhstan. Russia’s Transsiberian railway or the TSR is still
today the longest railway line of nearly 10.000 km connecting
St Petersburg with Vladivostok. This silk road “avant la lettre”
already started in 1891 and forms today as a heroic mega
rail line, part of the new railway land corridors that connect
Western Europe and Asia. The new Silk Roads will really boost
regional economies and will be therefore accelerators of welfare
and economic wealth.
Freddy Opsomer is convinced that history repeats itself.
He makes attention to the old historical silk roads where
for example already in The meeting point between the East
(inspired by communist and confucianist thinking) and the
West (socially corrected market economy) should now create
unique opportunities to work out new visions for the promotion
of growth within a broadly supported social, cultural and
economic model and an environmentally sound platform: a
new model for the future of humanity.
Freddy Opsomer concludes with a dream which he hopes may
come true: silk road trains not carrying cargo all the way from
China to Europe — but silk road passenger trains that will
stop in the cities and regions along the Silk Road — inviting
people to join the multicultural adventure of the Silk road
and facilitated by a real “Silk Road Visum” politically made
possible through multilateral agreements between the EU,
Russia and China.
92
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93
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES,
INVESTMENT GROWTH AND
PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE EXCHANGE
THE PROMISE OF THE 2018
EU-CHINA TOURISM YEAR
On July 2016, the President of the European
Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the
Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of
China, Li Keqiang, jointly declared 2018 to
be the official EU-China Tourism Year. This
initiative was inaugurated earlier this year, on
19 January, in the Doge’s Palace of the
UNESCO World Heritage city of Venice.
The blocs’ strong interest for this initiative was evident in
the lead-up and throughout unravelling of the event.
On this occasion, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, EU Commissioner
for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and
SMEs — also responsible for tourism — officially opened
the 2018 EU-China Tourism Year together with
Qi Xuchun, Vice-Chairman of the National Committee
of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative
Conference.
each other’s places, cultures, and traditions. And we both
want to stimulate new investment opportunities in the
European Union and China alike.”
There are three specific objectives the EU is striving to
achieve during this special year. As a first priority, the
EU aims to promote sustainable tourism and attract more
Chinese travellers lesser-known destinations. Secondly,
In her opening speech, Commissioner Bieńkowska
underlined the importance of EU-China relations and
the Year of Tourism. She stressed how Europe and China
represent some of the oldest civilizations in the world
and, as a result, strong historical relations. Marco Polo,
the most prominent resident of Venice went on his epic
journey to China over 750 years ago, paving the way for
“greater and greater exchanges between our people”.
94
Today, this outlook continues. According to Elżbieta
Bieńkowska, initiatives like the 2018 EU-China Tourism
Year, are “good for both the EU and China. We both
want to improve mutual understanding between European
and Chinese peoples. We both want to encourage more
Europeans and Chinese to visit, discover and appreciate
Alexander Alles
Doge’s Palace of the UNESCO World Heritage city of Venice
© Diplomatic World
the EU is looking to increase investment towards the
tourism industry. As such, the EU is continuing to work
with Chinese authorities to eliminate the existing barriers
which hinder bilateral relations in this sector. And thirdly,
the EU hopes that the ongoing negotiations on EU-China
visa facilitation and air connectivity, will advance
smoothly.
From the Chinese side, during the opening ceremony,
Prime Minister Li Keqiang sent a message to the audience
underlining that the importance of fostering a solid
and strategic partnership in this sector is twofold. On
one hand, strengthening bilateral ties enhances cultural
exchanges while, on the other, it foster international
friendship between both blocs.
According to Mr Li, this initiative will “extend China-
EU tourism cooperation and personnel exchanges and to
promote dialogue, development and mutual benefits.”
In general, economic relations between the EU and
China are not always easy. Tourism, however, offers
a wide range of opportunities for both sides, and the
developments go to show that it is, indeed a profitable
sector. Specifically in the case of Chinese outbound
tourism, it is important to look back to the political
context surrounding this sector — only thirty-five years
ago.
In 1983 the Chinese government took the first step
towards liberalizing travel, allowing citizens to leave the
country under the strict condition that they visit relatives
abroad. This policy lasted for over a decade when, in
1997, travel restrictions were dropped for all citizens,
marking the official start of outbound travel from China.
This is where Chinese start discovering traveling for
leisure. Today, the country is the largest market source of
international tourists in the world.
This change has been exponential, shifting global
travel movements and strongly impacting the economic
landscape. According to the China Daily, 69.5 million
people travelled to China in 2017. On the flipside, in
2016, Chinese travellers accounted for 136.8 million of
international tourism abroad, spending over USD 200
billion. 48.8% of border crossings were within the Greater
China, while 51.2% of the total were outside. This switch
was particularly evident in 2016, the first year in which
more Chinese tourists travelled to destinations beyond
Greater China than to those within it.
95
Trends in travel destinations for the Chinese are also
quickly changing. While the majority of Chinese travellers
tend to move around Asia, others are increasingly
choosing Europe as their destination. Among long-haul
destinations, high-profile Western European countries
such as France, Germany and the Netherlands are seeing
modest annual growth. Nevertheless, Eastern, Central and
Northern European destinations as diverse as Finland,
Poland and Serbia are continuing to enjoy dramatic
growth rates, benefitting from the perception that they are
safer, and from their reputation as more “unconventional”
destinations in Europe.
The travel and tourism sector is also having a ripple effect
at national level. As outbound travel experience grows
in China, greater awareness in travel preferences from
different parts of the country are starting to emerge. Often,
these are influenced by a number of factors, ranging from
geographical location, to convenient flight connections.
First and second tier city residents — who currently make
up the majority of Chinese outbound travellers — are
generally moving away from more popular destinations in
favour of more exotic, less-visited locations.
Irma Orlandi
Centre will offer several workshops across the EU helping
local companies understand Chinese tourists — namely
through their traveling and spending trends — in order
to target their services accordingly, and benefit from this
phenomenon in a win-win business context.
96
At the same time, residents from third and fourth tier
cities are starting to take their first trips abroad. Like the
60% of Chinese outbound tourists, they typically travel in
groups. This trend is rapidly increasing also due to the fast
development of international flights and visa centres in
third and fourth tier cities as well.
As a result of China’s booming outbound tourism, an
important question for European counterparts is how
to best benefit from this trend. This is especially true
for SMEs who observe spending tendencies of Chinese
outbound travellers, and are looking to find a healthy
balance from which both parties can bear fruit.
The 2018 EU-China Tourism Year offers a unique
opportunity for companies who operate in the sector
to deepen their understanding of EU-China tourism
relations, and benefit from it.
The year will be filled with events and activities taking
place in China and across the EU, furthering the
collaboration of the many stakeholders and key actors
involved. One such player, is the EU SME Centre, an
initiative of the European Commission aiming to help EU
SMEs to expand their China-business. Together with the
China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, the EU SME
This article was written by Alexander Alles, Senior
Project Officer at EUROCHAMBRES, the Association
of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry. At
EUROCHAMBRES, Alexander Alles is responsible
for the outreach strategy of the EU SME Centre
across the 28 Member States of the EU. Before joining
EUROCHAMBRES, he was based in Frankfurt am
Main, Germany and was working for the Honorary
Consulate General of Nepal and the German-Asian
Business Circle, promoting business opportunities
between Germany and Asia.
Editorial contributions from Irma Orlandi — PR,
Communications and Events specialist based in
Barcelona. Irma Orlandi currently works as Events
and Partnerships Manager at the Association of
Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce (ASCAME),
actively representing the organization and securing
strategic partnerships with key stakeholders. Prior
to ASCAME, Irma Orlandi was Outreach Project
Officer at the Association of European Chambers of
Commerce (EUROCHAMBRES), actively promoting
EU-Internationalization projects supporting SMEs enter
foreign markets. Born in the US, and grown up between
Singapore, China, Italy and Belgium, Irma breaths
multi-culturalism and thrives on diversity.
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30MIN18065_Ad_DiplomaticSales_270x210.indd 1 20/02/2018 13:47
THE BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE:
CHINA’S ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE EU
China, in the past few years, has been actively
expanding its economic horizons. It is developing,
among others, a railway project in Africa, a multibillion
dollar fund to develop infrastructure in
most sectors in Brazil, a transport link in East
Africa and a railroad through Asia 1 . Europe is also
not forgotten, with China currently working on
establishing the Belt and Road Initiative.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a Chinese
development strategy which promotes co-operation and
connectivity between more than 60 countries through
Asia, the Middle-East and Europe. Accounting for 60% of
the world’s population and 35% of total trade, the BRI is
modern China’s most ambitious foreign project yet. 2
As of yet, the EU’s stance is not yet unified and the BRI still
raises controversial debates. However, the advantages that
a co-operation can bring can no longer be ignored, thus, a
plan needs be created detailing the Union’s opinion on the
matter. Until this is done, proceeding with the initiative will
prove difficult, even for individual member states.
It was not until 2017 that the BRI started to gain
considerable traction across the globe, bringing the question
of whether the EU should become part of the initiative,
to the forefront. Recently, the benefits of the BRI, such
as the development of infrastructure in crisis-hit member
states and the creation of new jobs, has started to outweigh
concerns put forward by Brussels.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) created over 250.000 new
jobs in Europe in 2016 alone, this with 35 billion euros (or
a 77% increase since 2015) coming straight from China 3 . If
China were to increase their investment to further develop
the BRI then the amount of jobs could only grow.
98
When the BRI was initially put forward in 2013, Brussels
was unfavorable towards the idea of a large trade route
with China, due to, among others, concerns that the
whole construction would only work one way (European
companies would still face considerable difficulties in
penetrating the Chinese market). Additionally, until
recently, the EU has been marred with crises, such as:
immigration, populism, the Russian resurgence, Brexit,
and the Catalonian crisis. All of Brussels’ resources were
focused internally rather than on foreign trade.
A large part of FDIs (up to half in 2015) went towards
southern European countries such as Portugal, Greece, and
Spain, thus offering a potential solution to their economic
predicaments and to the economic crisis in general 4 .
Another important factor, especially in eastern and southern
European states, is that the ultimate destination of both
major trade routes is Europe. Therefore, while Brussels itself
is not particularly clear on its stance towards this initiative,
individual member states have become more receptive
towards it. 5
While there are countries who are in favor of the BRI, there
is no consensus. The Nordic community has not shown
much interest as of yet, mainly due to their well-connected
nature coupled with lower levels of transit. Moreover, even
countries which are interested in the initiative, such as
Germany and the Netherlands, have raised concerns about
the long-term implications that the BRI would have in the
EU. 6
It is clear that such extensive foreign investment, although
in general beneficial, does not come without its downsides
for Europe, especially due to a lack of regulations and a
unified position 7 . This internal division is already impacting
European politics and decisions. In July 2017, EU member
states with major Chinese backing, opposed the notion that
China’s claims to resources in the South China Sea were
illegitimate and contrary to international law. This was not
the only case. Weeks before, Greece opposed a declaration
that China was not respecting human rights, as well as
a proposition to tighten screening measures for Chinese
investments. 8
Furthermore, allowing unregulated foreign goods into
Europe could create a domino effect and start a race to the
bottom. It is indisputable that the EU has very elaborate
consumer protection legislation as well as high quality
standards for products, which should be preserved. Thus, if
the EU and China want to guarantee sufficient standards;
international regulations and safeguards are pivotal to this.
If these standards are neglected, then either country could
suffer from a loss of quality.
This lack of safeguards is also one of the reasons why
Brussels has been reluctant towards the BRI: it is too
young of an initiative, with many unclear features. Such
a project would require a clear basis in three aspects:
economic, political, and legal. The benefits of having the
BRI, however, do not have to be overshadowed by these
disadvantages. The EU can turn this uncertainty into an
advantage if they manage to coordinate with the member
states and shape the future policies of the initiative. The
European acquis communautaire, as it currently exists,
could serve as a standard to establish the regulations of
the BRI.
Certain EU member and non-member states have gotten
ahead of the curve and started negotiating with the Chinese.
The 16+1 summit (between China, Central and Eastern
European countries) has already met 6 times with usually
fruitful results such as the agreement to redevelop the
Budapest-Belgrade Railway; yet, Brussels still lags behind.
A reason for this is that if China develops its initiative fully,
the EU-dominating countries such as Germany, France, and
Italy would lose a large portion of their influence. However,
this can also be easily remedied if there is supranational
coordination from the start. The longer the EU waits before
participating and intervening, the more it will fall behind
and lose influence at the negotiating table.
To gain influence, Brussels has applied pressure to have
more say in BRI-related institutions such as the Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which provides
investment for related infrastructure undertakings. Although
not used for this purpose yet, it would allow the EU to
actively impact the project. As it currently stands, European
countries hold a total of 20% of the bank’s executive board,
yet the AIIB remains firmly controlled by China (75%). 9
Thus, if the EU took advantage of its representation in the
AIIB, it could exert its influence over the guidelines that
affect the BRI’s financing. 10 This sort of plan of action
needs to continue for the Union to be able to actively
participate in the initiative’s decisions.
Europe should start by negotiating fallback measures in
case of political instability along the Belt and Road routes,
this includes outside and inside of the EU. As an example,
a significant number of BRI countries, such as Thailand,
Russia and Indonesia will face elections in 2018, and
without an international agreement, the EU could witness
the collapse of the BRI in a set of events that would be
completely out of its control. 11
Additionally, the expansion of the EU’s trade links and
liaisons with Asian and Middle-eastern countries has
to be coupled to a control system that could guarantee
that its security will not be jeopardized by the initiative.
This control is essential to avoid problems arising from
the “who” and “what” enters Europe, otherwise there is
99
potential for crises related to an influx of contraband which
would increase the amount of counterfeits and dangerous
products.
This is directly linked to the next issue, transparency. The
transparency of the BRI has to be ensured too, not just with
what goes in and out, but also with how it complies with
western values. The rules and regulations related to the
initiative need to be clear in a way that allows the public to
be informed, so as to promote an open and healthy debate
on the subject.
Aside from its push in the AIIB however, the EU is not
without further bargaining chip. As China’s biggest trade
partner, the EU has weight that it can throw around.
This can be used to promote the sort of transparency and
stability that the Union is looking for. At the end of the
day, if the EU successfully manages to hinder Chinese
investment (as they have already tried) in the Union, then
no one benefits. Therefore both parties are dependent on
each other.
ultimately hinder developing trade between the two entities.
But on the other hand, the EU also relies on China as a
major trade partner, and it is very unlikely that China would
succumb to European demands seeing as it has to maintain
its foothold as a global power. A balance would need to
be struck, and if successful, then the EU and China would
potentially enter a new era of prosperity.
The Belt and Road initiative is not a simple one, being the
most ambitious initiative of its kind in the modern day and
age. Brussels is faced with a challenge: either they get on
board and make their terms and conditions heard, or they
opt out and lose an opportunity to develop their trade and
further boost the European economy. Success is a choice
and if Brussels can unite itself on the initiative, then it will
have chosen to succeed.
For more information, feel free to send an email to
Philippe.Billiet@billiet-co.be
On the one hand, if the EU does not want the BRI to
succeed then China will find it difficult to do so, and it will
Flávia Miari Cançado, Intern at Billiet & Co Lawyers.
Aviel Sokolovsky, Intern at Billiet & Co Lawyers.
100
1 BBC, “5 Ambiciosos Projetos de Infraestrutura com os quais a China
quer sacudir a Ordem Econômica Mundial” (2017), in English “5
Ambitious Projects with which China wants to shake the World
Economic Order”.
See in http://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-39976899.
2 Belt and Road official website, short infographic video number 1.
See in https://beltandroad.hktdc.com/en/belt-and-road-basics
3 EY, “Record Foreign Direct Investment in Europe sparks job creation
boom” (2017).
See in http://www.ey.com/gl/en/newsroom/news-releases/news-eyrecord-foreign-direct-investment-in-europe-sparks-job-creation-boom
4 Anders Fogh Rasmussen, “China’s investment in Europe offers
opportunities - and threats”, (2017).
See in https://www.ft.com/content/9e7428cc-c963-11e7-8536-
d321d0d897a3
5 Mercy Kuo, “Belt and road initiative: EU strategic interests in Asia,
insights from Richard Ghiasy”, (2017)
See in https://thediplomat.com/2017/10/belt-and-road-initiative-eustrategic-interests-in-asia/
6 Mercy Kuo, “Belt and road initiative: EU strategic interests in Asia,
insights from Richard Ghiasy”, (2017)
See in https://thediplomat.com/2017/10/belt-and-road-initiative-eustrategic-interests-in-asia/
7 F. William Engdahl, “Will China’s Belt and Road (BRI) Trigger and
East-West Rupture Within the EU?”, (2018). See in
https://www.globalresearch.ca/will-chinas-belt-and-road-bri-trigger-aneast-west-rupture-within-the-eu/5627681
8 Astrid Pepermans, Leia Wang, Stephan Klose, “An uphill struggle?
Towards coordinated EU Engagement with China’s Belt and Road
Initiative” (2017). See in http://www.egmontinstitute.be/uphillstruggle-towards-coordinated-eu-engagement-chinas-belt-road-initiative/
9 Astrid Pepermans, Leia Wang, Stephan Klose, “An uphill struggle?
Towards coordinated EU Engagement with China’s Belt and Road
Initiative” (2017). See in http://www.egmontinstitute.be/uphillstruggle-towards-coordinated-eu-engagement-chinas-belt-road-initiative/
10 Ujvari, B., “The European Union and the China-led transformation of
Global Economic Governance”, (2016). See in
http://www.egmontinstitute.be/content/uploads/2016/06/ep85.
pdf?type=pdf.
11 Chuchu Zhang and Chaowei Xiao, “China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Faces New Security Challenges in 2018”, (2017). See in: https://
thediplomat.com/2017/12/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-faces-newsecurity-challenges-in-2018/
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IS CHINA’S TRADE THE UK’S
SOLUTION FOR BREXIT?
102
The UK gave its official notification to leave the European
Union on March 29 2017, invoking article 50 of the TEU.
When the UK first announced Brexit, it was stated that
Britain would restore its self-determination and be free to
establish its own trade agreements. However, for nearly a
year, no measure was taken to that effect. Discussions for new
agreements have started to take place only recently, when
Theresa May made her first official visit to China after the
Brexit referendum at the end of January 2018. 1
The new situation generated by Brexit creates the possibility
of a hit to UK-EU trade, making it crucial for Britain to seek
new overseas markets, and China offers a prospect of major
business relations and opportunities. In the past few years,
China has been actively expanding its economic horizons
and has been investing in several infrastructure projects
worldwide, revealing itself to be a very interesting trade
partner for the UK. 2
UK-China’s trade is already significant and the British
industry is based not only on the export of a myriad of
different products to China, but also on Chinese imports,
which account for the UK’s third largest source of imports. 3
The country with the largest population and a consumer
market that is growing exponentially clearly represents an
opening for Britain after the EU.
In this perspective, the prime minister of the UK declared
on her way to meet Xi Jinping that the UK is free to strike
their own trade deals, revealing an attempt by the country to
develop an Anglo-Chinese trade after Brexit. 4 May used her
predecessor David Cameron’s words, stating that the trip
would expand the “Golden Era” between the countries. 5
It was announced that in the three day visit a series of trade
agreements were made, representing a total amount of over
£9.3 billion that can potentially create more than 2.500 jobs
in the UK. In addition, the Chinese government agreed to
end in the coming six months its ban on UK beef, which has
lasted for over 20 years. Consequently, UK dairy producers
and firms will be able to penetrate the Chinese market. 6 The
trade between China and the UK is currently worth over £59
billion per year. 7
As of yet, however, it is not clear how the new trading
relationship between the governments will proceed. The IMF
predicts that China’s import market will be higher than US$3.6
trillion by 2020, and China’s investors in 2017 increased their
capital in Britain to a total amount of $20.8 million. 8 The
advantages the UK could gain by getting closer to China are
clear, but the advantages for China could be questioned.
China’s interest in the UK can be associated with the
opportunity to get closer to the EU, considering London has
been one of the gateways to the EU market. 9 However, now
that Britain would be separated from the EU’s 500 million
consumers, it may not be the same promising trade-partner to
China as it used to be. It is to be seen how the UK economy
will react to Brexit, but the temporary political instability
could be used to China’s advantage to reach a successful
commercial agreement. 10
The UK can be interesting to China to support projects to
which Brussels has shown reluctance, thus becoming the
partner that China seeks in Europe. 11 The Belt and Road
Initiative (BRI) could be seen as China’s most ambitious
foreign project, being a major infrastructure strategy with
the purpose of promoting connectivity and co-operation
between Asia, the Middle-East and Europe, encouraging new
trades and potentially accounting for 35% of world trade.
Nevertheless, the EU has as yet no uninform view on BRI 12 ;
while there are some countries, especially in southern Europe,
such as Greece, Spain and Portugal, that support BRI, other
countries, such as the Nordic states, have not shown much
interest thus far. 13 The lack of a unitary position within the
EU has created internal divisions which are already impacting
policies and decisions in Brussels. 14
Since the EU has not yet achieved a resolution, the UK can
use this opportunity to get closer to China and support the
initiative. During Theresa May’s recent visit, president
Xi Jinping presented the prime minister with a memorandum to
allowing the UK to declare its support for BRI. However, May
has not yet embraced the opportunity for Britain to become the
first western country to formally encourage the initiative. 15
The UK’s resistance can be understood: the project is not yet
detailed, with unclear standards that still have to be defined. 16
In addition, EU-UK negotiations to define their trade
relationship following Brexit are ongoing. There are three
possible scenarios that could shape China’s interest in the UK:
(i) an EEA membership for the UK; (ii) a relation governed
only by the WTO rules; or (iii) a tailor-made agreement. 17
The uncertainties in the UK’s future prejudice its position in
any potential new trade until it comes to an agreement with
the EU. China may question whether expanding its trade to
the UK now would be beneficial. Indeed, China may not want
to jeopardize its future relations with the EU. 18
China is currently interested in reaching a bilateral agreement
with the EU and if the UK establishes a limited trade
agreement with the EU, it could create a different block
of trading partners for China. On the one hand, if there is
still a relatively open market with the EU, China could have
access to the entirety of Europe. On the other hand, if the UK
distances its trade from the EU with the Brexit agreement, it
could face difficulties in finding new trade partners.
China’s market and partnership can be the solution for the
UK after the EU. The outcome of the UK-China relations may
depend on the evolution of the UK-EU relations. While it is
likely that a trade agreement with China could be positive for
Britain, the next steps in Brexit will define whether it could
also be interesting for China.
For questions, feel free to send an email to
Philippe.Billiet@billiet-co.be
Flávia Miari Cançado, Intern at Billiet & Co Lawyers.
1 Chris Buckley and Stephen Castle, “As Theresa May Pursues Deals in
China, Her Own Troubles Follow”, (2018)
See in https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/31/world/asia/theresa-maychina.html
2 BBC, “5 Ambiciosos Projetos de Infraestrutura com os quais a
China quer sacudir a Ordem Econômica Mundial” (2017), in
English “5 Ambitious Projects with which China wants to shake the
World Economic Order”. See in http://www.bbc.com/portuguese/
internacional-39976899.
3 Jake Liddle, “China-UK Trade: The Effects of Brexit”, (2017)
See in http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2017/03/03/china-uk-tradethe-effects-of-brexit.html
4 BBC, “Theresa May hails ‘first step’ to trade deal after Xi Jinping
talks”, (2018)
See in http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-42897705
5 Chris Buckley and Stephen Castle, “As Theresa May Pursues Deals in
China, Her Own Troubles Follow”, (2018)
See in https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/31/world/asia/theresa-maychina.html
6 Oscar Rousseau, “China to end decades-old UK beef ban in six
months”, (2018)
See in https://www.globalmeatnews.com/Article/2018/02/01/China-toend-decades-old-UK-beef-ban-in-six-months
7 China Briefing, “May Leaves China with Trade Deals amid Brexit
Uncertainty”, 2018
See in http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2018/02/02/may-leaveschina-trade-deals-amid-brexit-uncertainty.html
8 Chris Buckley and Stephen Castle, “As Theresa May Pursues Deals in
China, Her Own Troubles Follow”, (2018)
See in https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/31/world/asia/theresa-maychina.html
9 Andrew Parmley, “London is the gateway to the world for the EU
business”, (2017)
See in http://www.cityam.com/267678/london-gateway-world-eubusiness
10 Alex Gray, World Economic Forum, “The world biggest economies in
2017”, (2017)
See in https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/03/worlds-biggesteconomies-in-2017/
11 Jake Liddle, “China-UK Trade: The Effects of Brexit”, (2017)
See in http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2017/03/03/china-uk-tradethe-effects-of-brexit.html
12 Belt and Road official website, short infographic video number 1.
See in https://beltandroad.hktdc.com/en/belt-and-road-basics
13 Mercy Kuo, “Belt and road initiative: EU strategic interests in Asia,
insights from Richard Ghiasy”, (2017)
See in https://thediplomat.com/2017/10/belt-and-road-initiative-eustrategic-interests-in-asia/
14 F. William Engdahl, “Will China’s Belt and Road (BRI) Trigger and
East-West Rupture Within the EU?”, (2018).
See in https://www.globalresearch.ca/will-chinas-belt-and-road-britrigger-an-east-west-rupture-within-theeu/5627681
15 China Briefing, “May Leaves China with Trade Deals amid Brexit
Uncertainty”, 2018
See in http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2018/02/02/may-leaveschina-trade-deals-amid-brexit-uncertainty.html
16 China Briefing, “The Beijing Belt-Road Forum: What we learned About
China’s Intention”, (2017)
See in http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2017/05/23/beijing-beltroad-forum-learned-chinas-intentions.html
17 European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies,
“Consequences of Brexit in the Area of Consumer Protection”, (2017)
See in http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/
STUD/2017/602055/IPOL_STU(2017)602055_EN.pdf
18 Ralph Jennings, “All Eyes Are On Theresa May To Sell A Doubtful
China, Belt And Road On Post-Brexit UK”, (2018)
See in https://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphjennings/2018/01/31/
chinas-economic-expansion-hits-a-roadblock-at-the-far-end-ofeurope/#47a53696c6e1-
103
EU/CHINA/USA – THE ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE (R)EVOLUTION – BIG
DATA, BIG BUSINESS, BIG CHALLENGES
Some reflections on and a summary of a one-day
workshop (19 December 2017 - http://www.ucip.be/
Events/), organized by the UCIP 1 project (funded
by INNOVIRIS), BACES 2 , BDA 3 and the Confucius
Institute at VUB.
104
“Artificial Intelligence” (AI) used to be the privileged
playground of universities and research institutes. They were
steering the progress in the field. Nowadays this is slightly
different. AI has also become a field of competition between
large companies and power blocks. Multinational companies
have become a major source of progress and innovation,
with immense societal and economic impact. AI is also of
considerable interest to governments, policy makers and the
public at large. Regulations are being designed, sometimes
driven by fear, ethical and security considerations but also
with the objective of improving the quality of life, both at
the societal and the individual level.
In the workshop, the recent AI (r)evolution was analyzed
and discussed from the point of view of research and
development as well as its economic impact. The emphasis
was on the China/Europe/USA perspective. Currently,
China and the USA are battling to become the world’s
first AI superpowers. The USA is still the leading nation,
while Europe seems to be absent or at least less visible,
in this race. Companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon
and Microsoft are being challenged by the likes of Baidu,
Alibaba and Tencent (B.A.T.). Analyzing the reasons why,
in the future, the use of AI in China could surpass the
USA and definitely Europe was a central question in the
debate. As AI will impact our lives profoundly in the coming
10 years, are we comfortable buying Chinese products
powered with Chinese AI? Would we buy a self-driving car
or intelligent fridge made by a Chinese company? Are we
OK with having eye surgery or accepting a cancer diagnosis
from a Chinese AI robot? How can we best cope with the
realities of China’s AI trends, ambitions and globalization
plans? How can we assess the benefits and risks of Chinese
Intelligence getting into our lives undetected? What is
Europe doing to secure a leading role in the AI field and
capitalize on university research results? What role can EU-
China relations play here? How can we overcome barriers
in language and data regulation when collaborating with
China? Is there an inherent danger over collaboration with
China? How can we address Chinese market opportunities
and risks? What is the role of the three big tech companies,
B.A.T.? Given the huge size of the Chinese market, how
should we adapt our scale of thinking? These are but a few
consumer and policy questions that enlightened the debate.
Setting the tone for the rest of the workshop, Tias Guns
highlighted some aspects of the broader AI context by
reminding us of fundamental questions about the nature and
the societal impact of the current AI revolution (or is it a
bubble 4 ): Is AI a new type of human-created intelligence or
is it a research field in computer science that develops smart
algorithms? While the first option is still a dream, the second
one is reality. Prediction and reasoning have penetrated
the world of computer science: decision support systems
propose action and autonomous systems act. “Big data” has
become a container concept for diverse disciplines in data
science and the playground for an evolution from knowing
(collecting heterogeneous data to analyze the present —
information extraction), prediction (learning from the past
to predict the future — machine learning) and reasoning
(planning and acting according to the now and predicted
future — artificial intelligence). Can AI outsmart people?
Yes, a person is limited in space and time while AI is limited
in neither because it can rely on parallel computing and the
cloud. Is AI. Dangerous? Potentially yes, AI systems are like
savants who are unusually good at doing one thing, but with
no context, no morality, no knowledge of side effects. Tias
Guns concluded his talk with the statement: “AI can make
wishes come true, after investments in infrastructure and
data. Let’s hope these wishes are leading to human-oriented,
sustainable solutions.”
Pascal Coppens gave an inspiring talk on “Artificial
Intelligence: China’s new normal”. China’s ambition is to
become the leader in AI by 2030.
Noteworthy in President Xi Jinping’s speech at the 19th CPC
National Congress in 2017 was the following statement: “We
will work faster to build China into a manufacturer of quality
and develop advanced manufacturing, promote further
integration of the internet, big data, and artificial intelligence
with the real economy”. In terms of numbers of companies
involved, investment and attracting talent, China seems to be
well on its way. The Chinese government plans to win the AI
race against the USA. Whereas the USA is mainly focused on
horizontal generic platforms that provide long term benefits,
China is focused primarily on vertical platforms that bring
rapid financial returns, e.g. in specific areas such as speech
and face recognition, computer vision and intelligent robotic
systems. AI technology platforms are being built by the
Chinese internet giants, as in the USA. Looking at the key
performance indicators — AI companies, AI investments and
AI talent — the USA is still ahead with a factor ranging from
1.5 to 3 compared to China, followed by the UK.
The Chinese government sees AI as an effective way to
solve the huge challenges facing the country, as well as an
accelerator for its economic growth. The Chinese consumer
is an early adopter of AI-driven products because of China’s
particular cultural context, and Chinese attitudes towards
privacy, confidentiality, trust, man-machine-relationships
and the urge for more convenience. European consumers
are more reluctant and hesitant. China will become an AI
economic power because it has the four critical ingredients
like the USA: availability of data, infrastructure (e.g.
supercomputing combined with the cloud), talent and, in
the near future, advanced chip designs and implementation
facilities. The real disruption in AI will come from the
hundreds of well-funded new generations of global Chinese
start-ups, especially those creating the latest consumer
devices built in Shenzhen. Note of the author: It is unclear
if universities will be able to play a broader role than just
talent creation for these start-ups. Most of them are not yet
well prepared for systematic spin-off creation through wellestablished
technology transfer processes. Therefore, also
in VUB’s UCIP project, new types of contacts are currently
being established in China, directly with match-making
companies (IP brokers) and with companies located within
the partner university’s ecosystem, bypassing the university’s
technology transfer units.
Pascal Coppens ended his talk with the unanswered
question: But where is Europe? Note of the author: There
105
106
are several successful European start-ups that have a
potential for growth but, globally speaking, there is a lack
of scale. The investment fund Atomico predicts: “The
probability that the next Google will emerge in Europe
has never been greater than now”. Europe produces two
times more PhDs in the STEM disciplines than the USA
and China, and has built entrepreneurial skills into the
attainment targets of higher education curricula. Unlike in
the USA and Asia, Europe is actively building ecosystems,
open research and innovation platforms, in which traditional
companies, young start-ups and universities collaborate.
Daniel Wong elaborated his talk around the rise of
consumer AI in China. He described his journey as CEO of
Rokid 5 , the voice assistant (cfr. Amazon’s Echo) of China.
In China everything goes faster, even faster than in the
USA. “From concept to mass production in 18 months”
can only happen in China. China has more early adopters.
In 2015, western Venture Capitalists (VCs), business
leaders and consumers were very cautious, even in Silicon
Valley, whereas Chinese VCs, industry and consumers were
enthusiastic about AI. Now, in 2018, there are hundreds of
voice assistants. In the USA, you can stay unique for a long
time. In China, as soon as you launch an innovation, you
have dozens or hundreds of competitors, who automatically
force you to remain innovative. China is also a very special
market where, for example, you can raise the selling price
and still sell more units! Consumers are seeking the newest
and the most valuable, and are willing to pay for it. China
offers a lot of advantages, such as consumer fascination,
data, speed, funds and government support. What about
Europe? The natural partners for Chinese companies are
situated in Silicon Valley. Europe does not cross the mind
of most entrepreneurs in China. AI innovation in China is
driven by the new start-ups, not necessarily the big guys
like B.A.T.
ROKID’S ALIEN, ADVERTISED AS AN
UNPRECEDENTED CREATURE THAT STUDIES
YOUR BEHAVIOUR, A PERSONAL COMPANION,
DEVELOPED FROM CONCEPT TO MASS
PRODUCTION IN 1,5 YEARS
Note of the author: Dan Wong visited some VUB
laboratories on Big Data, AI and Robotics and was
extremely surprised to find interesting technologies and
horizontal technology platforms emanating from VUB’s
excellent strategic research portfolios, despite their longer
creation-time-to-market expectation.
Tom Vandendooren: gave us insights into how Sentiance,
a Belgian start-up, became active in the Chinese market.
Sentiance’s AI platform turns IoT (Internet of Things) and
smartphone sensor data into rich insights about people’s
behaviour and real-time context: sensing, mining connected
devices, understanding and predicting behaviour in the real
world and in real time. These insights help companies engage
with their customers and users in a hyper-personalised way.
Sentiance’s technology is used in the following verticals:
life-style based insurance, contextual commerce, connected
health, smart mobility and fleet management, connected
cars, smart home and smart city http://www.sentiance.com/
Tom Vandendooren characterized Sentiance’s China
experience as “good, bad and scary”. The good is about the
market size, smart spaces, O2O 6 , the social credit system
designed to increase trust in the Chinese market, the
receptiveness of the ecosystem towards new practices, the
widespread mobile services. The bad is about restrictions on
data for western companies which hamper their participation
in the market — like having to use local datacenters for data
storage, privacy regulations, IP transfer requests, … The
scary is more about how the Chinese compete in ways that
do not always correspond to the European understanding of
fairness, as well as the big B.A.T. brothers. Recently, Plug
and Play (PNP), one of the world’s largest open innovation
platforms, entered into a partnership with Sentiance, to
exploit the vast opportunities in the Chinese market. As
Sentiance’s local partner, PNP China will utilize its extensive
network of corporate, government and investment partners
in China to drive and accelerate growth in the market.
Salvatore Spinello focused on opportunities for AI
multidisciplinary research and the possibilities of EU-China
collaboration within the EU’s programme Future and
Emerging Technologies — FET. Within the Horizon 2020
programme budget of 74,8 billion Euros, excellent science
represents 24,2 billion Euros and, within the latter, FET has
a budget of 2,6 billion Euros dedicated to novel ideas for
radically new technologies. The financials of projects with
Chinese involvement are summarized in the following table.
Proposals
in H2020
Budget FET Budget
2014 247 31,5M€ 5 316K€
2015 352 40,5M€ 3 822K€
2016 513 54,5M€ 2 62K€
2017 648 75,3M€ 1 370K€
Note from the author: Considering the number of partners
in EU proposals, their multi-year nature, the figures in the
table represent a mere drop in a vast ocean. Nonetheless,
these grants are very important because they enable Chinese
researchers, enterprises, institutions and universities to team
up with their European partners to participate in Horizon
2020 projects, also providing an excellent opportunity to get to
know the state-of-the art beyond official publications in both
parts of the world.
In summary, the workshop concentrated on the positive
opportunities of collaboration with China in the field of AI
and provided valuable insight into Chinese ambitions and
the many on-going societal processes within China that are
combining to produce an explosive growth in AI.
However, I’ve also been reflecting on Tias Gun’s quotation,
“AI can make wishes come true, … let’s hope these wishes
are leading to human-oriented, sustainable solutions.” It is,
however, a worry that AI technologies can also be used to
make evil wishes come true. This cannot be ignored: a striking
example is the election process that produced President
Donald John Trump. This happened in a democracy, the
USA. The interplay of different components (i) money,
(ii) lies and (iii) manipulation is rooted in a spider web of
companies with know-how on big data, AI and media. Central
in the spider web is Robert Mercer, initially a scientist at
IBM dealing with natural language processing, which is the
historical breeding ground for contemporary AI scientists.
He has also worked on algorithmic trading and stock market
prediction, before moving to the Renaissance Technology
Hedge Fund in the early nineties and becoming a billionaire.
Here is component (i), the money. The SCL group (Strategic
Communication Laboratories) is a private British behavioural
research and strategic communication company. Through its
affiliate Cambridge Analytica, it performs data mining and
data analysis on selected target audiences. On its website,
Cambridge Analytica advertises “Cambridge Analytica
uses data to change audience behaviour” and mentions a
commercial and political division within the organisation.
Communications specifically target key audience groups to
influence and modify behaviour in accordance with the goals
of SCL’s client. The company describes itself as a “global
election management agency”. This is the basis for component
(ii) the lies. It is estimated that Trump’s completely true
statements account for only 5 % of all his election statements.
Again, the company’s know-how is rooted in scientific
research, e.g. behavioural psychology, personalised and usually
innocent questionnaires and surveys. The fusion of these
personalised data (eventually grouped into a limited number of
categories of personality types) with data that can be acquired
or bought from banks, IT companies like Google, Amazon, …
has turned the USA election process into a real data-driven
campaign through personal communication, targeting three
crucial US states and convincing the 80.000 voters needed to
win the elections. This is component (iii) the manipulation.
The core technology of SCL can, of course, be used in various
ways but if these technologies are capable of disrupting
a democracy, the question that arises is, what effects can
they have in a society based on “Socialism with Chinese
Characteristics”? The information used in the above paragraph
comes from the web and a documentary “Unfair Game” …
but then again, is it fake or real news information? In any
case, it describes a picture that goes beyond NETFLIX’s
fiction series “House of Cards”, and illustrates that, as for any
breakthrough scientific research, there is a potential dark side
in its application which, however, should not prevent us from
doing good research.
Jan Cornelis
Academic Attaché CIDIC and
Emeritus Professor Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
1 UCIP: University centered International platforms on innovation and
knowledge transfer – INNOVIRIS: Brussels Institute for Research and
Innovation.
2 BACES: Brussels Academy for China European Studies
3 BDA: Brussels Diplomatic Academy
4 Author’s note: AI has experienced several hype cycles, followed by
disappointment and criticism, followed by funding cuts, followed by
renewed interest, sometimes decades later (see, https://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/AI_winter). It is my opinion that this time, the congruence of
massive computing power (supercomputers, cloud computing and the
perspectives of quantum computing), and progress in big data and deep
learning will make AI part of our daily lives. Previous hypes might not
have achieved the expectations, but nevertheless they also produced
substantial progress in science and its applications.
5 https://www.rokid.com/en/index.html The company’s product line-up
includes smart speakers called Rokid Pebble and Alien, which are
currently sold in China (see also CES - Consumer Electronics show
https://www.ces.tech/). In 2018, Rokid debuted its newest offering:
augmented reality glasses with incorporated voice control and AI.
6 O2O stands for “online to offline.” It is a term used to describe a
variety of e-commerce services that provide online information,
services, or discounts to consumers to enhance their offline shopping
experiences.
107
INTERVIEW WITH HANS MARIA DE WOLF,
CULTURAL NOMAD CONNECTING
PEOPLE, CHANGING MINDS
If you have met Hans De Wolf before, you can never
forget him. If you have worked with him, the taste
for intellectual adventure stays with you. If you
don’t know him yet, it is not easy to find him on the
internet. It is through his project portfolio that you
can trace him most easily.
108
Hans Maria De Wolf (1961) is an art historian who
focuses on modern and contemporary art, philosophy
and aesthetics. He studied at the Vrije Universiteit
Brussel (VUB) and Columbia University in New York.
His PhD degree concerned one of Marcel Duchamp’s
major works, “La mariée mise à nu par ses célibataires,
même”. He conceived and organized various exhibitions
in the Neue Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof, the
Museum of Contemporary Art in Berlin. He has been
giving theoretical art seminars at the Kunsthochschule
Berlin-Weissensee since 2002. In 2004 he joined VUB as
a professor of Art History and Aesthetics and became a
senior consultant at BOZAR — the Centre for Fine Arts
in Brussels. In 2005 he was mandated to create a platform
for the implementation of artistic research (known as the
“Brussels model”). He then launched a whole series of
prestigious research projects involving some of Belgium’s
most famous artists, bringing them to cities such as
Beijing, Hangzhou, Seoul, Gwangju, Chengdu. Over the
years, he developed a unique methodology for Cultural
Diplomacy.
The research work and impressive worldwide project
portfolio of Hans De Wolf is rooted in an original
interpretation of the concept “cultural diplomacy”. All
of his projects are wake-up calls for the local economic,
academic and cultural communities that are intensively
involved with their realization. In doing so, these
communities acquire insights into completely new
creative methods and approaches. To reach this goal,
Hans De Wolf and his team have developed a specific and
original methodology using a participatory grass-roots
approach.
The preparation of each project starts very carefully
with the development of a human network in each city,
connecting local artists, curators, universities and business
people, who are ready to question the feasibility of the
initial plans. “This methodology intertwines cultural and
academic diplomacy and ensures that the opening of an
exhibition is also the celebration of a first constructive
phase of an emerging relationship and not, as often
happens, a first encounter with a new public.” I was lucky
to be Vice-Rector for International Policy at VUB when
Hans De Wolf was refining his cultural diplomacy concept,
so I was able to incorporate it into the central university’s
overall policy as an important vehicle for establishing
sustainable international partnerships.
Hans De Wolf, we started working together on a
project for cultural diplomacy almost eight years
ago. As Vice-Rector for International Policy of
VUB, I saw the value of supporting your activities
and incorporating them into the university-wide
policy agenda — and you were the creative
content provider and organiser. We both had the
feeling that we knew what we meant by “cultural
diplomacy”, but I’m still not sure that we have the
same understanding when it comes to a detailed
definition. So, please tell me what does cultural
diplomacy mean to you?
We’ve been calling our project the intertwining of academic
reflection, arts and diplomacy. To be honest, I must say
that over the last few months I’m moving away from the
terminology cultural diplomacy. I’ll try to explain why.
We called it cultural diplomacy because our projects
were mostly for local governments such as the Brussels
© The Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), Beijing
regional government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
for institutions that have an international agenda. And
so, on that basis, we’re advocating the idea that Brussels
is a major hub for the visual arts. Nobody ever thought of
creating a tool to bring this idea to other countries. Brussels
is one of the most interesting cities in terms of visual arts,
but nobody knows it. Internationally nobody knows except
for a few people with special interests, and what is even
worse, also at home nobody knows. Therefore, we started
an initiative that began in 2009 on the invitation of Minister
Jean-Luc Van Raes who sent us to Shanghai to set up an
exhibition in 2010. I must say that we’ve been very lucky
because, from the first exercise onwards, we were able to
develop the right methodology.
What is the right methodology? Especially in China, it is
one that is based on interest, respect and equality. Here I
must explain a few things. What I did, from the first moment
I set foot in Shanghai, was to take more than 40 taxis to
meet with as many people as possible: academics, critics,
artists, gallerists, really all the people who were dealing with
the idea of culture. Very rapidly, I understood that I was
touching upon a reality that was fundamentally different
from the art world in Brussels and I experienced this as
an interesting tension. So, what we’ve done from Shanghai
onwards, is to shape each exhibition that we organise to
fit the characteristics of the place where it takes place. In
other words, we never make an exhibition in Beijing that is
identical to an exhibition in Shanghai.
The exhibition we organised in Beijing, the capital with
which every Chinese citizen can identify him- or herself, was
based on a completely different mindset from the one we
organised in Shanghai, a city of commerce open to the
world, a city of ambition, a city with a huge historical past
that we also wanted to capture. That is the basis of our
approach. We always work from the grassroots upwards and
outwards: for every location we try to find out who the key
players on the ground are, and what is at stake. Let me give
you a little example: the case of Seoul. In Seoul, we found
a city that wasn’t at all comparable with Chinese cities.
We always do research on the cities we go to — and that
constitutes a complementary academic research component
in our exercises. What we found out about Seoul was that
it might well be the most traumatised city in the world.
Koreans fall completely in between two major identities:
the Chinese and the Japanese. What they want to prove
every day is that they exist, … that they are not Chinese,
that they are not Japanese. Their whole history is marked by
this traumatic situation, this dramatic geographic situation.
On top of that, they have had that incredible disaster, the
Korean war, that completely destroyed the country and
ended up in the most incredible situation: with a split up
country, with the most archaic communist country in the
north and a hardcore capitalistic society in the south. So, it
was starting from that knowledge, that we made our project.
The project we did in Seoul was about Wanderlust. Why
Wanderlust? Because that’s the only thing Koreans will
never experience, will never have, will never do. Wanderlust
is about leaving your village, going to the hilltop,
experiencing what the other side of the hill is all about. It’s
about walking away, about taking distance. But, it‘s also
about other new and challenging conventions and that’s
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Installation view of “Master Mould and Copy Room”
© The Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), Beijing
110
exactly what Koreans are reluctant to be confronted with.
They’re born in their convention; if your dad died in the
Korean war, then you must become a doctor, you know?
The whole society is coded like that, so Wanderlust has
no place at all. And there you have an interesting starting
point. So, we decided to make an exhibition in which we
would bring five wonderful Wanderlust artists from Belgium
to Korea. And that worked fantastically, because at the end
of the year 2012, an art magazine in Korea asked fifteen
critics to discuss the exhibitions that had taken place that
year and nine times Wanderlust ended up being number one
in the list.
In your analysis work, to find a good approach
for your events in other continents, how can you
be so self-assured that you are right? Take Korea,
the image you convey is that “leaving their village,
going to the top of the mountain and looking
across” is something Koreans will never do. How
do you explain then the international embedding
and fabulous export performance of the big Korean
multinationals?
In my view, that has a lot to do with the fact that they
imported their economic model. Let me try to explain.
It’s interesting that in the seventies North Korea was
much more prosperous than the South. So, “the Korean
multinational” is a relatively recent phenomenon, because
the country was completely destroyed and they had to
build everything from scratch. That gives a lot of space to
entrepreneurs, it gives lots of space to a kind of complicity
between governments and economic players … and that is
very strongly present in Korea. I mean, everything is really
borderline corruption, right? We’ve seen that now with
the Samsung scandal … I was not surprised at all. These
corporations in Korea are considered the vital bodies of
the society and, since they emerged from scratch, imported
Japanese models were the most appropriate. What does
that mean? It means that your “real” family name is not
your name but the corporation’s name. Koreans have an
incredible labour ethic, they’re all living for the prosperity
of their firm and their whole lives are determined by that.
They live in conditions in which the “individual” worker
is hardly considered, only the prosperity of the firm is
considered important.
I’d like to come back to my first question on
cultural diplomacy, when you said that you’re
now taking more and more distance from this
terminology. You recounted an extremely
interesting story, but you didn’t fully answer the
question why you’re now distancing yourself from
the term cultural diplomacy. Can you pinpoint more
exactly why you’re doing that?
The fact is that by using a term such as cultural diplomacy
we accept the idea that there can be confusion. Why?
Because diplomacy is a well described activity that’s
part of the international relations between countries and
culture plays a crucial role in that. So, when you use the
term cultural diplomacy, governments stick to the term
diplomacy and glue culture on top of that. Hence, you’re
automatically incorporated into an official network of
relations, but we’re not working in an official network of
relations. We’re working for governments, we’re offering
services to governments but our base is the university, not a
government authority. It should be like that.
Since we’re based in the university and the university
network, we have the freedom and the framework that
allows us to come up with the best possible projects and
to execute those projects as a mandate of a government.
But we’re not part of the original diplomatic body itself.
We deliver added value but we do it starting from the
university’s background. I think that is an important
difference. In that sense, we’re a bit closer to institutions
Cao Fei, Whose Utopia - My Future is Not a Dream
© Bozar
like the Goethe Institut or the British Council. For us, the
primary value is culture, and so we work intensively with
artists and all the players in the cultural field. Diplomacy
is still something different, although in what we do the
bilateral bridges are, of course, extremely important.
You said that your home base is the university
and indeed community services and the creation
of societal, economic and cultural impact beyond
our peers has become an integral part of the
university’s mission. It’s therefore assumed that
this impact is based on unique university know-how,
insights and research results. The obvious next
question is: how is the activity you sketched rooted
in your research?
This is a very good question, and the answer is complex.
The projects that we do, allow us to develop new formats
of research that are often rooted in art history but that lead
to new opportunities. I’ll give some examples. If I teach my
students in the classroom, and I do that in the most open
and creative way, I’ll still stick to articles and projections
of powerpoints with images. Now, those exercises, those
projects that I outlined before, allow me to enlarge the field
of experience and experiment on the museum floor. And
that’s extremely interesting. Why? Because we’re going to
work with the real artworks, with artists. We combine art
historical knowledge with artistic knowledge. And it’s that
combination which makes the project so rich. By creating
and enabling environment for close collaboration between
the museum and the world of academic reflection, we
allow some difficult artworks to be explained in depth. Our
projects are very didactic. I want every Chinese person who
comes to our exhibition to understand what those artworks
are about and not to feel excluded. That’s fundamental.
Now, to come back to the idea of research, let me give
another example to make my point. I remember that, for the
exhibition we did in Milan in 2015 called “Forme e Anti
Forme”, we wanted to stress the fact that the very famous
paintings by Lucio Fontana, called Concetto Spaziale,
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Pastoral Life, 1989, Liu Xiaodong Pink Phoenix, 2011, Liu Xiaodong © Bozar
112
were an act of aggression. They’re canvasses cut through
by a cutter, so they have an iconoclastic value. Now, what
happens fifty years after they were made? They’re conserved
in museums and private collections and adored as icons
of painting. We were once at a collector’s home where we
wanted to borrow a Fontana and we saw that it was hanging
under a plexiglass. It was as if just the church chair was
missing. We decided, because it was impossible to borrow
such a Fontana, to make a fake one. Here, we got into the
experiment. We engaged an artist and a filmmaker. I wrote
a scenario and the artist played that scenario, based on our
research. The research showed us how Fontana had created
his paintings, and so our artist-actor demonstrated the way
Fontana created his paintings and the filmmaker filmed the
whole process, making a beautiful little film.
In the exhibition we presented the Fontana as a fake and
we never pretended it was a real one, because we had the
film next to it where the creation of the fake was explained.
Now, can you imagine what you can learn from such an
experience? First, we learned that when you cut into a
canvas, the canvas opens a bit but then closes again. If you
hang it on a wall, you can’t see anything, you just see a black
line. So, what did Fontana do to open the cuts? He cheated,
of course, he had to cheat. One of the possibilities he had
was to wedge the cut canvas on an iron wire at the back
of the canvas to keep the cut in the painting open. There
are other possibilities too. So, this is already interesting,
because that’s something you can’t learn in a book or from a
powerpoint.
And the second thing which was even more interesting is
that, if you have a fake, you can do whatever you like with
that fake. If it’s a real painting, you can’t even touch it. You
need to put on gloves and ask a conservator to manipulate
it. If you have a fake, you can move it from the wall anytime,
and since I always had a battery of master students in my
exhibition to explain it to the visitors, they kept taking it off
the wall. And why did they take it off the wall? Well, if you
move the fake Fontana from the wall you get unexpected
fantastic experiences … the light comes from the back
and the whole three-dimensional structure lights up. Then
you understand why those paintings are called “Concetto
Spaziale”, a spatial concept, because it’s not about painting
anymore, it’s about the third dimension, and it’s no
longer confined to two dimensions. It was a quite mystical
experience that Fontana had and that mystical experience
was born out of an iconoclastic idea directed against
American abstract art.
Isn’t that fantastic? You see, for me, those are new fields
of research. This enlarged field of art historical research is
being opened up precisely because we aren’t in a classroom
anymore but we’re in a museum and we can deal with those
works directly.
So, if I understand you well, it’s your research
methodology that bridges gaps. You are not just
making an exhibition, but you and the involved
students are part of a creation, a happening, often
with the active involvement of the visitors.
The Waste, Wang Jiuliang
© Bozar
This seems to me real project work and it touches
upon the rather new concepts of citizen science. So,
how would you qualify your role in this? Are you the
teacher, the curator, are you an artist, are you a
performer?
The first thing I’d like to stress is the fact that this is indeed
teamwork. For myself, I think I combine several functions
in this new job. First, I’m a professor of art history which
provides me with a lot of opportunities because being a
university professor already opens doors more easily to
governments and other relevant forums. Second, I apply
the research that comes from my art historical background.
I apply it within the museum, so there is a dimension of
curatorship.
Curatorship, from my experience, is one of the most
beautiful activities that you can do, because it is a sensegiving
experience that is outside the field of academia but
cannot be carried out without the knowledge of academia.
It requires a high degree of creativity, it gives access to
something fantastic, which is the possibility of establishing
a dialogue between artworks along a curatorial line, a
curatorial idea to confront artworks and to confront ideas.
And then you are in something very vital, you see? That is
also why I want to include academic reflection. We do that
by using several academic formats such as a colloquium,
symposium, workshop … But, most importantly, for every
exhibition I train a group of masters students from the local
universities and they are present every day in the exhibition,
so that they can make the content of the exhibition
accessible to each spectator. If you work like that, you can
make difficult exhibitions. You can bring to China works
by Marcel Duchamp and Marcel Broodthaers, … but you
shouldn’t bring them in isolation, you need to let them land
in the heart and soul of the public, and there the students
are crucial. They are the ambassadors, they are bringing the
ideas to land.
Is it your ambition to create a new art school?
Not really, I don’t want to create a school. The exercises,
as we pursue them, are extremely difficult in their creation
and practical implementation, but they’re rewarding enough,
without need for a school. The latest event that we organised
in Berlin, “Gemischte Gefühle”, illustrates that our project
format provides an ideal framework for new and unexpected
creative events. We felt at every different level that it works,
that it opens windows, that you reach the local art world.
Fifty artists came to the opening and were intrigued by
what they saw because, by bringing young artists from
Brussels, we succeeded in proving to the Berlin art world
that we have a very different and unique story.
At the same time, you can open the minds of politicians
… we had four ministers at the opening and they were all
truly impressed. We had the mayor of Berlin who stayed
for two hours and had plenty of questions. Success in
achieving all this is, of course, very satisfying. So, I don’t
think that I want to create a school because that would lead
to useless dissipation of the spontaneous energy like in a
treadmill, and the risk of becoming a formalist is too high.
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Xu Bing, 2012, Character of Characters
114
What makes the strength of these projects, is that they
start off from scratch every time, and that for every city
you must find a new strategy, a new approach, a new
answer to the question “what should we do?”. But what
they all have in common is that we also want to provoke, to
tease.
They must be a little bit nasty and bring all participants
out of their comfort zone, because only then you learn
something new and you wake up your public, don’t you?
When your public asks itself “what the hell is happening
here?”, then you create the basis for a true dialogue. In
Berlin, we absolutely succeeded in achieving that. We will
now have the Berliners coming over to Brussels for their
exhibition with young artists who are based in Berlin.
And what makes me truly happy is that we awakened the
Brussels government: they feel involved and concerned
about our exercises everywhere in the world and they’re
willing to invest in those young artists working in Brussels.
That is the very first time. I’m convinced that this is
a direct consequence of the exercise we did in Berlin.
Now we can say that all the people surrounding Minister
President Rudi Vervoort and Minister Guy Vanhengel
and the administration of the Brussels Government are
completely aware of the fact that Brussels is a top city for
visual arts in the world.
If I look at the number of projects that you do
every year, it is clear that you are a passionate
workaholic. In many of your endeavours, I see much
respect, friendship and love towards Asia, more
particularly the Far East. You mentioned Korea,
Japan, China. Can you explain rationally why that
is so?
Well, it’s something that was not intentional from the start.
In 2010, I was asked to go to Shanghai by Minister Jean-Luc
Van Raes who was aware of the projects that I did
together with artists at the university. To be honest, first I
had no intention of going there because Asia was not on
my agenda. But he kind of politely forced me to go, and I
went. I arrived in Shanghai and visited forty people and it
was clear that I felt a kind of unknown energy as well as
the need to dive into this intriguing society that I gradually
learned to appreciate … an appreciation that has never left
me. Before I went to Shanghai — this is a small anecdote — I
went to see my only friend with China experience, Michel
Baudson. Michel said to me “Hans, be careful because the
first time you go to China, it takes your little finger, then
it takes your hand, then it takes your arm and then it takes
your heart”. Now, I’ve been there more than 40 times.
Michel was right.
But what is it that constitutes the passionate relationship
that I have with China, and to a certain extent also with
© Bozar
Korea and Japan? … but China is different because its
history is different. I’m full of admiration for the unique
achievements of the first generation of Chinese liberated
artists in just three decades, when Deng Xiaoping gave them
the total freedom to do what they wanted to do as artists.
The first generation of pioneers such as Xu Bing, Wang
Xinwei, Liu Xiaodong and many others made this huge step
from prehistory to avant-garde and they did it all with their
belly. First of all, they just felt that they had to go in that
direction, and second, they knew they had to find their own
Chinese alternative. They did that brilliantly. Third, they
also all felt that, even if their art is now at the top of avantgarde,
one of the basic concerns was the reconfiguration
of the Chinese DNA, which was completely lost in the
cultural revolution. So, that is one part of the answer. I’m
now completely aware of the incredible excellence that those
generations of liberated artists succeeded in creating. But
since this all happened on “belly intuition”, they completely
missed the theoretical debates that accompanied modern art
in Europe and which are absent or insufficiently known in
China …
One of the most intellectually satisfying experiences is
giving seminars to PhD students in China, because they
feel things, they have a very good intuition but the theory is
not there yet. So, if you can bring the theory or theoretical
frameworks in which this modern art came to life, then you
fill in a gap that’s still fundamental for them. And this, for
an academic, is one of the most beautiful things that can
happen to you.
You mentioned the avant-garde in China: how does
the Chinese government react to these provoking
contemporary artists?
I must explain this, because Europe is full of preconceptions
and mistaken ideas about China. I can’t say it otherwise.
My good friend, Liu Xiaodong, once told me “you have to
understand that you have three types of artists in China, you
have red artists, grey artists and black artists”. The profile of
the red artists is clear. They work for the government, there
are enough buildings to be constructed, enough local party
committees that need their meeting rooms decorated, there
are enough publications that have to be edited, and so on.
They all have a good life, a lot of work, and they work for
the party, mainly in the field of propaganda. So those are
the red artists.
Then you have the black artists. The black artists, who
are the most popular in Europe, are the dissidents. We all
know Ai Weiwei, and only him. That’s the problem. It’s as if
Europeans don’t want to know the other artists, because his
profile corresponds exactly with an idea that the majority of
the public wants to have about China, namely, that China is
115
116
an evil regime against which stands a knight-like hero. That’s
a bit of a caricature of the European perception of China,
but still it’s more or less true. What most people don’t know
is that Weiwei is the son of Ai Qing, a famous poet who was
one of the founding members of the communist party, so
he is also, so to speak, a red prince. Nevertheless, Weiwei
is an interesting personality, there’s nothing that I could
say against that. His influence on a whole generation of
Chinese artists is obvious. He’s also a very gifted architect,
he made his first architectural project in Caochangdi, the
artist village that is home to a diverse group of residents,
including migrant workers, farmers, students and artists, on
the outskirts of Beijing. Those are all obvious merits.
What I get irritated by is this kind of very limited European
attitude of wanting to know only this one artist and the lack
of interest in any others. And I can tell you that in this grey
zone you have a whole group of wonderful artists whom
I consider among the best of their generation, worldwide!
Let me stress that for those artists, their behaviour and
their functioning as artists are no different from the way
European or Belgian artists function.
The university is your home base, you said.
Personally, I’m convinced that the university should
be an excellent biotope for exceptional creativity
and out-of-the box thinking. Sometimes university
leadership and certainly Faculty leadership tend
to forget this, and should be reminded about it.
You don’t fit into any box. I don’t know anything
equivalent or similar to what you’re doing. Do you
still believe that the university is the only right place
for you?
I very much presume so, but let me first tell you this: if
you’re a pioneering type of person, which I think I am,
you also must question the place where you work. I always
consider the university as a free haven; it was born and
meant to be like that. Remember what is written on the
gate of the main building of Heidelberg university: “Dem
lebendigen Geist”. This is also my motto. When I look
at my field of research in general, it’s in a miserable state
because it hasn’t succeeded in finding an interesting place
in a rapidly changing world. It’s also the university’s task to
question its own operational models and I believe that I’m
contributing to that. But, of course, I’m also thankful for the
freedom to operate in the field I have chosen as my focus of
attention. I travel a lot, I’m very much interested in bridging
gaps between cities and refining of my experimental form of
making exhibitions and, yes, life is short.
I’ve followed your activities closely and interacted
with several of your team members. They’re all
very special personalities, creative and willing to
think out-of-the box. But, how do you manage to get
finances for all this?
Well, let me put it this way. When I did Brussels Body
Speech in 2010, it opened a lot of windows in the minds of
Belgian diplomats in China. So, immediately afterwards they
invited me to do a project in Beijing commemorating 45
years of diplomatic ties between Belgium and China; so we
succeeded in entering CAFA, the Central Academy of Fine
Arts, which is probably the most performing art campus
in the world. I‘m still very proud that we succeeded in
partnering with them because it is really not easy. Since that
moment, we’ve done four or five projects for the Brussels
regional government and they’ve financed a large part of
those grassroot projects.
I must say that, looking at their global impacts, I’m quite
satisfied with what we succeeded in doing. If I say we, it’s
again a question of teamwork and personalities that are
critical to creating success. But we can say that over the
last few years, with all those projects in China, Korea,
Japan, Germany and Italy, we succeeded in creating a
deep awareness among all those key political figures in the
Brussels region.
It’s strange that the awareness has been raised here
in Brussels while almost all your projects are taking
place somewhere else, in an international context.
Well, we also did two big projects in BOZAR. It’s true that
we’re now thinking of turning this initiative into a kind
of hub, a lightweight structure embedded in the Brussels
Capital Region. The first thing I want to do is to open a
completely new field of action that’s complementary to the
international projects, because the challenge isn’t only to
work globally on what cultural diplomacy is supposed to be,
but also to work locally.
Thank you, Hans De Wolf, for this most fascinating
story that reveals various aspects of your
personality, ambitions and achievements. Is there
anything you’d like to add to the story?
Yes, in times that are very much marked by short term
benefits and returns on investments, times when people
are very often under pressure to deliver all kinds of
things, I’d like to thank all those people whose minds
were open enough, whose understanding of what we were
doing was good enough to accompany us on this road.
I know of a dozen of civil servants and colleagues who
really engaged themselves, who were really behind us
and supported us and one of them was yourself. I want
to thank them, because we’ve done all this in a difficult
context and it wasn’t easy. We’ve had several projects that
were financially tight due to low budgets and last minute
financing. So, if you show the results afterwards, you
might think that this was paradise, that everything was
fantastic and wonderful but the birth of each project, its
organisation and also its closure, is often very hard and
complicated.
© The Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), Beijing
Well, I guess hard work is at the origin of all
successful research. It’s one of the conditions to
earn a good place in paradise on earth.
Jan Cornelis, Emeritus Professor VUB and Academic
Attaché CIDIC
Acknowledgement:
Many thanks to Aude Tournaye, who made an excellent
initial speech-to-text transcription, and Jennie De Pryck for
revising the manuscript thoroughly.
PROJECT PORTFOLIO – HANS MARIA DE WOLF
Hans Maria De Wolf’s contemporary art project portfolio
is impressive:
• BRUSSELS BODY SPEECH, Minsheng Art Museum,
Shanghai 2010 (a project confronting transhumanism
with the celebration of the body)
• FIRST CAFA BIENNALE, Central Academy of
Fine Arts Museum, Beijing 2011 (CAFA is the
most prominent arts institute place in China — and
a structured partnership with VUB is now wellestablished
with 5 projects and collaborations on
teaching)
• JEFF WALL, THE CROOKED PATH, Centre of Fine
Arts - BOZAR, Brussels 2011
• BRINGING BROODTHAERS TO BEIJING, Tsinghua
University, Beijing 2011
• BRINGING BROODTHAERS TO SHANGHAI,
Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai 2011
• WANDERLUST, Artsonje Center Seoul, 2012
• WANDERLUST — SECOND VERSION, Gwangju
Museum of Art, Gwangju 2013
• WANDERLUST — THIRD VERSION, Museum of
Contemporary Art (MOCA), Chengdu 2013
• OUR MEMORY?, Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 2014
• MASTER MOULD AND COPY ROOM, Central
Academy of Fine Arts Museum, Beijing 2014 (a project
in which the tension between the original and the copy
in China and the West was discussed)
• THE REVENGE OF THE COMMON PLACE,
Palazzo Nani Mocenigo, Official program of the Venice
Biennale 2015
• CHINESE UTOPIAS REVISITED — THE
ELEPHANTS, Centre of Fine Arts - BOZAR, Brussels
2015 (contextualizing the work of 8 major Chinese
artists)
• FORME E ANTI FORME, Fonderia Artistica
Battaglia, Milano 2015
• XU BING: WORLDS OF WORDS/GOODS OF
GODS, Triennale, Milano 2016
• MARCEL DUCHAMP, THE LARGE GLASS, Beijing,
PhD seminar in CAFA, June 2016
• EXPERIMENT’L, Tokyo, Intermediatèque Museum,
October 2016
• MARCEL DUCHAMP, THE INFRA-THIN NOTES,
Beijing, PhD seminar in CAFA, April 2017
• GEMISCHTE GEFÜHLE, Berlin, Flughafen Tempelhof/
Künstlerhaus Bethanien, October 2017 (presenting to
the powerful art world in Berlin the qualities of Brussels
based art through its youngest generation of artists)
New projects for New York and Chengdu are being
developed for 2018 while in 2020 Hans De Wolf will
organize an exhaustive Marcel Duchamp exhibition at
CAFA in Beijing.
117
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such as free trade and strategic partnership agreements,
and other key developments. EIAS also acts as a forum
for discussion, dialogue and frequent exchanges of ideas,
bringing together all relevant stakeholders from the
institutional level, diplomatic missions, academia, the
corporate sector, civil society, the media and all other
important segments of society.
EIAS ACTIVITIES
By undertaking research, carrying out (commissioned)
research projects and providing in-depth information
through research papers, newsletters, news updates and
other publications, EIAS seeks to act as a focal point for
EU-Asia relations and studies in Europe. Essential for EIAS
is its keenness to improve understanding of developments
in Asia and the appreciation of the importance of the EU’s
relations with Asia, by acting as a forum for discussion,
organising research and disseminating information.
The research and project activities of EIAS cover a
wide range of issues, with a focus on trade, finance,
economics, industrial and technological innovation, R&D,
CSR, migration, sustainable development, geopolitics,
connectivity, and a major emphasis on improving people-topeople
ties through education, cultural and other exchanges.
In particular, EIAS also focuses in identifying long-term
potentials and niche areas for the further development
of EU-Asia relations. The institute is very committed to
implementing the results and outcomes of its research
activities.
EIAS also organises training programmes and capacity
building activities for government officials, civil society
and professionals from the corporate sector on EU-Asia
relations, with a specific focus on the European institutions
and policies.
118
Reaching out to the wider public and all stakeholders
involved, EIAS regularly organises events, workshops and
book talks in cooperation with academic, diplomatic and
institutional partners. Speakers often include representatives
from Asian missions in Brussels, representatives from the
European institutions, officials from non-profits and the
corporate sector, academics and journalists, in order to give
a broad overview of all relevant actors in EU-Asia relations.
Some of the high-level policymakers and academics to
have spoken at EIAS in 2017 include Khurram Dastgir
Khan, former Commerce Minister of Pakistan; Prakash
Sharan Mahat, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nepal; Asian
Development Bank Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada;
Ruslan Davletov, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Justice; Md.
Shahriar Alam, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Bangladesh; political commentator and analyst Richard
Heydarian; and Vasantha Senanayake, State Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka.
EIAS also travels regularly to Asia to participate in
summits and academic conferences. This year EIAS has
participated in the “International Conference on Migration
and Displacement” held at Government College University
in Lahore (Pakistan); the annual meeting of the Asian
Development Bank in Yokohama (Japan); and the highlevel
conference “Central Asia: One Past and a Common
Future, Cooperation for Sustainable Development and
Mutual Prosperity” in Samarkand (Uzbekistan).
© EIAS
EIAS NETWORK
The EIAS team combines the experience and networks of
senior specialists in EU-Asia relations, including academics,
diplomats and professionals of the private sector, with the
enthusiasm and skills of the junior team members. EIAS
participates in Europe-Asia networks of research and
analysis, drawing on an active network of several hundred
collaborators and contacts across the EU and Asia, at leading
Universities, as well as within Think Tanks and specialised
research centres. The EIAS network comprises a rich
cross-section of disciplines and sectors, officials and civil
society actors, policy makers and policy shapers, scholars
and diplomats, from all over the world. For specific research
projects, conferences and seminars, this constitutes a unique
intellectual resource, built up during more than 25 years.
Some of the think tanks and institutions that EIAS
has collaborated with include the German Institute for
International and Security Affairs (SWP), the International
Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), the
Brussels Academy for China-Europe Studies (BACES), the
China Arts Festival in the EU, the University of East Anglia
and the EU-India Chamber of Commerce, to name a few.
www.eias.org
119
NEGOTIATION STRATEGIES FOR
ACHIEVING OUTCOMES THAT WORK
The word “negotiate” has acquired a mystique,
implying that it is a discrete activity relating
to business deals, the freeing of hostages, or
settlements of disputes between people, companies
or nations. At the other extreme, the word conjures
up images of haggling over a rug or a brass pot in a
bazaar or flea market. But the reality is that we all,
typically, negotiate in some shape or form every day
of our lives.
120
Too often, we are guided by our gut instincts and our
experience of negotiation as children in the playground
or as tourists in a street market. Too often, we look on
negotiation as a competitive sport where the sole objective
is to win.
Such an approach may produce satisfying results some of
the time, but defeated opponents may not want to deal with
you in the future, and you may have missed opportunities
that a more cooperative approach could present.
The first priority is to have a clear vision of your goals.
What precisely is the desired result? Good advocates start
their planning for a trial by writing an outline of their
closing address to the court and then plan their case so that
every action is aimed at being able to deliver the proposed
closing address. For negotiators, only when one has a goal
is it possible to develop a strategy and then the tactics to
execute the strategy.
There are a few home truths that too many people ignore
when they embark on a negotiation.
First, we should always put ourselves in the other person’s
shoes and try to think about what he or she is looking to get
out of the negotiation. This requires us to ask questions and
find out as much as possible about our negotiation partner’s
interests.
Secondly, we should examine precisely what our own
interests are and not limit ourselves to the most obvious
headline objective. While the ultimate goal needs to be very
clear, the more issues that can be brought into play that
are potential areas for negotiation for both parties and can
be prioritised, the more opportunity there is for mutually
beneficial trading.
A third point to remember is that obtaining our share of a
“fixed-pie” is not always the limit of what we can achieve.
It often won’t be possible, but we should always look
for opportunities to expand the pie and create value in
a negotiation; so that both parties have the opportunity
to walk away from the table with a sense of satisfaction
that they have achieved more from the negotiation than
they would have by following a different course of action.
Realistically, almost all negotiation outcomes are a
combination of claiming value (i.e. one party’s gain is the
other’s loss) and creating value.
Negotiation gurus will spend years poring over the
negotiations currently underway between the European Union
and the United Kingdom and drawing lessons from them.
While strategically, Michel Barnier and his team appear to
have played a better game so far than David Davis and the
British Brexiteers, the overall lessons from both sides largely
demonstrate how not to negotiate.
The UK has broken countless negotiation rules, but some
stand out.
First, is to have unity on one’s own side, but the cabinet
and the Conservative Party remain split, as do the rest of
Parliament and the population at large.
Tim Cullen
Another prerequisite is to agree with the other side on
ground rules. These should have stipulated that everything
should be negotiated together, providing maximum
opportunities for both sides to create value by making
concessions and achieving gains, based on the different
values and costs to each side of each item to be negotiated.
Instead, the UK allowed an intransigent EU to stall the big
Single Market and Customs Union talks until the “divorce
bill” (with a very big opening price tag) had been agreed.
In other substantive ways, the approach has been
amateurish. Theresa May’s talk of “red lines,” notably on the
jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice was an unwise
threat from which she will almost certainly have to climb
down. Above all, both the UK and the EU broke the first rule
of negotiation, referred to above, which is to put yourself in
the other sides shoes. Juvenile hostile rhetoric from both
Brussels and London has created a toxic atmosphere.
the EU took seven years to negotiate and has more pages
than the complete works of Shakespeare and the Old and
New Testaments of the Bible combined. Such agreements
will not be quick or easy.
Every May, I visit Brussels to conduct a one-day negotiation
Masterclass as part of the highly regarded “Grand Tour”
series. In 2018, there will be a certain poignancy about
a Brit teaching such a session in Brussels. We must hope
that both sides in the Brexit negotiations will by then be
preceding down a more pragmatic path.
Tim Cullen
Tim Cullen MBE is an Associate Fellow of the Saïd
Business School at the University of Oxford, where he
directs the Oxford Programme on Negotiation. He also
heads the international negotiation advisory firm, TCA Ltd.
Unrealistic promises of speedy trade deals with the rest
of the world have further weakened the UK’s negotiating
position. The recent trade agreement between Canada and
MEET TIM CULLEN IN BRUSSELS,
for more information and deadlines go to
www.globalmagevents.com
121
The Grand Tour
Diplomatic World presents two remarkable events in Brussels:
One regarding people management and leadership whereby diplomats, civil servants and
managers are confronted with world authorities
from no less than 4 of Europe’s leading business schools:
London Business School, Insead, Esade Barcelona, London School of Economics.
One regarding Advanced Negotiation Techniques with Prof Tim Cullen, Oxford University
Go to www.globalmagevents.com
INTERLINKING POLITICS, DIPLOMACY, BUSINESS & FINANCE
ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY, CULTURAL DIPLOMACY & HEALTH
122
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123
THE NEW BMW X3
SHORT VERSION
The BMW X3 was the car that launched the midsize
SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle) segment in 2003.
Since then, BMW has recorded more than 1.5
million new registrations of the X3 across the two
model generations so far. And now the new BMW
X3 is set to write the next chapter in this success
story with an even more striking, dynamic design
language, powerful yet also efficient drive systems
and luxurious appointments. Like all members of
the successful X family, it blends standout driving
qualities on any terrain with unrestricted everyday
usability.
124
SHARPER DESIGN AND THREE MODEL
VARIANTS
The third generation of the BMW X3 follows in its
predecessors’ tyre tracks by combining rugged off-road
looks with a sporting presence. Its familiar proportions,
including very short front and rear overhangs, shine the
spotlight on the perfect 50:50 distribution of weight
between the front and rear axle. The potent dynamic
intent of the new BMW X3 is highlighted by a chunky
kidney grille and foglamps featuring a hexagonal design
for the first time on a BMW X model. At the rear, the
light clusters (whose three-dimensional look in optional
full-LED guise give them considerable visual impact),
markedly downward-sloping roof spoiler and twin exhaust
tailpipes bring matters to a suitably muscular conclusion.
The xLine, M Sport and Luxury Line trim variants
(the latter is a new addition to the line-up) and the
range of BMW Individual items enable the appearance
of the BMW X3 to be adapted even more precisely
to the customer’s personal tastes. In addition to the
standard 18-inch light-alloy wheels (previously: 17-inch),
customers can dip into the options list for wheel/tyre
combinations in sizes up to 21-inch. As well as making
various exterior tweaks, the three trim variants also adapt
the ambience inside the car to their particular themes.
The interior of the new BMW X3 displays unbeatable fit
and finish and material quality, and is even classier and
more luxurious than its predecessor. Comfort levels are
further elevated by a host of new equipment options like
three-zone automatic climate control, the Ambient Air
package, active seat ventilation, the cargo function of the
standard 40:20:40 split/folding rear seat backrests and
the panoramic glass roof that brings extra airiness to the
interior and further enhances perceived quality.
Another new equipment item is the optional BMW
Display Key, which not only locks and unlocks the BMW
X3 by radio remote control, but also shows a variety of
status information on the car and serves as the control
unit for the optional auxiliary heating, for example.
125
126
OPTIMISED COMBINATION OF DYNAMIC
SHARPNESS AND RIDE COMFORT
The BMW engineers have employed far-reaching chassis
modifications to significantly improve the driving
dynamics, directional stability and steering feel of the new
BMW X3. The car that emerges is even sportier than its
predecessor, yet avoids compromising on ride comfort.
Chassis options include M Sport suspension, Dynamic
Damper Control, M Sport brakes and variable sport
steering.
EVEN MORE EFFICIENT LINE-UP OF ENGINES
AND INTELLIGENT LIGHTWEIGHT DESIGN
Two diesel engines and three petrol units will be available
from launch (or shortly afterwards) for the new BMW X3.
• The 265 kW/360 hp BMW X3 M40i (combined fuel
consumption: 8.4 – 8.2 l/100 km [33.6 – 34.5 mpg
imp]; combined CO2 emissions: 193 – 188 g/km)*
gives the X3 range its first M Performance Automobile
and is joined by a second petrol model in the shape
of the BMW X3 xDrive30i producing 185 kW/252 hp
(combined fuel consumption: 7.4 l/100 km [38.2 mpg
imp]; combined CO2 emissions: 168 g/km)**.
• The two diesel models are the BMW X3 xDrive20d
with 140 kW/190 hp (combined fuel consumption:
5.4 – 5.0 l/100 km [52.3 – 56.5 mpg imp]; combined
CO2 emissions: 142 – 132 g/km)* and the BMW X3
xDrive30d developing 195 kW/265 hp (combined fuel
consumption: 6.0 – 5.7 l/100 km [47.1 – 49.6 mpg
imp]; combined CO2 emissions: 158 – 149 g/km)*.
• The BMW X3 20i with 135 kW/184 hp (combined
fuel consumption: 7.4 – 7.2 l/100 km [38.2 – 39.2 mpg
imp]; combined CO2 emissions: 169 – 165 g/km)**
and choice of all-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive (not in
Europe) will follow shortly after the launch of the new
X3.
* Fuel consumption figures are based on the EU test cycle and may vary
depending on the tyre format specified.
** Fuel consumption figures are provisional, based on the EU test cycle
and may vary depending on the tyre format specified.
All the engine variants will team up as standard with an
optimised version of the eight-speed Steptronic transmission.
The rigorously applied BMW EfficientDynamics
development strategy for the new BMW X3 includes both
fuel-economy-optimising powertrains and the extensive
application of intelligent lightweight design measures. For
example, the increased use of aluminium components in
the engine and suspension has reduced the weight of the
relevant assemblies.
Consequently, the new BMW X3 is up to 55 kilograms
lighter than the respective predecessor models in similar
specification. At least 50 per cent of the aluminium
components in the BMW X3 vehicles produced at BMW
Group Plant Spartanburg (USA) are made from recycled
material. From 2018 this will also be the case for examples
of the X3 built in Rosslyn (South Africa) and Shenyang
(China). The new BMW X3 boasts a class-beating drag
coefficient of Cd = 0.29.
BMW CONNECTEDDRIVE: SEMI-AUTOMATED
DRIVING AND CUTTING-EDGE CONNECTIVITY
When it comes to the BMW Personal CoPilot features
focusing on driver assistance and (semi-)automated
driving, the new BMW X3 can be specified as an option
with the latest generation of Active Cruise Control and
the Driving Assistant Plus safety package, including
Steering and lane control assistant, Lane Change
Assistant and Lane Keeping Assistant with side collision
protection. This extensive line-up of assistance systems
puts clear water between the new BMW X3 and its
direct rivals.
The second pillar of BMW ConnectedDrive — alongside
the BMW Personal CoPilot driver assistance systems —
is formed by BMW ConnectedDrive Services and apps.
As a result, the new BMW X3 now also features BMW
Connected. Working on the basis of a flexible platform,
the Open Mobility Cloud, this new integrated digital
concept for enhanced personal mobility, uses various
touchpoints (such as smartphones and smartwatches) to
integrate the car seamlessly into the user’s digital life. This
means, for example, that it can transfer mobility-related
information, such as addresses from calendar entries, from
a smartphone into the car, enter them automatically as
destinations into the navigation system and calculate the
optimum departure time for the journey.
Gesture control allows various navigation and infotainment
system functions to be operated intuitively using finger
and hand gestures. Meanwhile, the likewise optional
Voice Assistant lets the driver use everyday language to
have their requests turned into the appropriate actions
instead of having to use set spoken commands. And the
optional Head-Up Display enables the most important
driving-related information to be projected directly into
the driver’s field of vision. The Head-Up Display in the
new BMW X3 is unrivalled in its segment for graphics,
resolution and display options.
BMW GROUP BELUX
Diplomatic Sales, Lodderstraat, 16, 2880 Bornem – Belgium
Mail : diplomaticsales.belux@bmw.be, Tel. : +32 (0)3 890 97 02
The fuel consumption and CO2 emissions figures shown were determined according to the European Regulation (EC) 715/2007 in the version applicable
at the time of type approval. The figures refer to a vehicle with basic configuration in Germany and the range shown considers the different size of the
selected wheels and tires. The values of the vehicles labelled with (**) are already based on the new WLTP regulation and are translated back into
NEDC-equivalent values in order to ensure the comparison between the vehicles. With respect to these vehicles, for vehicle-related taxes or other duties
based (at least inter alia) on CO2 emissions, the CO2 values may differ to the values stated here (depending on national legislation).
The CO2 efficiency specifications are determined according to Directive 1999/94/EC and the Pkw-EnVKV, and based (for classification) on the fuel
consumption and CO2 values as per the NEDC cycle.
Further information on official fuel consumption figures and specific CO2 emission values of new passenger cars is included in the following guideline:
“Leitfaden über Kraftstoffverbrauch, die CO2-Emissionen und den Stromverbrauch neuer Personenkraftwagen” (Guideline for fuel consumption, CO2
emissions and electric power consumption of new passenger cars), which can be obtained free of charge from all dealerships and at https://www.dat.de/
en/offers/publications/guideline-for-fuel-consumption.html.
127
DIPLOMATIC WORLD
GLOBAL ART FORUM
MAX PINCKERS
MARGINS OF EXCESS (2018)
In Margins of Excess the notion of how personal
imagination conflicts with generally accepted beliefs is
expressed through the narratives of six individuals. Every
one of them momentarily received nationwide attention in
the US press because of their attempts to realize a dream
or passion, but were presented as frauds or deceivers by the
mass media’s apparent incapacity to deal with idiosyncratic
versions of reality.
which takes into account the subjective and fictitious nature
of the categories we use to perceive and define it. And then
again: not to celebrate superficiality and contingency, but to
pierce through the noise, buzz, pulp, lies, dreams, paranoia,
cynicism and laziness and to embrace ‘reality’ in all its
complexity.
ABOUT
128
Herman Rosenblat became well-known because of a selfinvented
love-story set in a concentration camp during
WWII, the private detective Jay J. Armes appears to be a
real-life superhero, Darius McCollum drew media attention
by compulsively highjacking trains, Richard Heene would
have staged an elaborate television hoax, Rachel Doležal
would have pretended to be ‘black’, and Ali Alqaisi would
have tried to make people believe that he was the ‘hooded
man’ in the iconic photo from Abu Ghraib prison. This
book weaves together their stories through personal
interviews, press articles, archival footage and staged
photographs.
The current era of ‘post-truth’, in which truths, half-truths,
lies, fiction or entertainment are easily interchanged, has
produced a culture of ‘hyper-individual truths’, demanding
a new approach to identify the underlying narratives that
structure our perception of reality in a world where there is
no longer a generally accepted frame of realism. Embedding
the stories of the six main protagonists into a clustering
tale of cloned military dogs, religious apparitions, suspect
vehicles, fake terrorist plots, accidental bombings and
fictional presidents, this book follows an associative logic
akin to the indiscriminate way a paranoid mind connects
unrelated events, or the hysteria of the 24-second news cycle.
In Margins of Excess reality and fiction are intertwined. Not
to fool us, but to reveal a more intricate view of our world,
Max Pinckers (°1988, Brussels) is a photographer based in
Brussels, Belgium. He has produced various photobooks
such as Lotus (2011), The Fourth Wall, (2012), Will
They Sing Like Raindrops or Leave Me Thirsty (2014)
and Margins of Excess (2018). He is currently a doctoral
researcher in the Arts at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts
(KASK) in Ghent. Pinckers has had exhibitions at the
MOCAK in Poland (2016), the Philadelphia Museum of
Art in the United States (2015) and the Centre for Fine
Arts - Bozar in Belgium (2015), among others. Awards
include the Edward Steichen Award (2015) and the City of
Levallois Photography Award (2013). In 2015 he founded
the independent publishing imprint Lyre Press.
www.maxpinckers.be
Margins of Excess
The new book ‘Margins of Excess’ is now available:
Self-published by Max Pinckers
Softcover, 192 x 246 mm, 352 pages
Edition of 1500, ISBN 9789082465549
Design by Rudy Latoir and Max Pinckers
Printing and production by Bruno Devos at Stockmans
Pages 129-135
Margins of Excess
© Max Pinckers
21
katerns Margins of Excess 192x246_01.indd 21 08/01/2018 16:33
The New Republic, December 25, 2008
THE GREATEST
LOVE STORY
EVER SOLD
Berkley Books, the mass-market division of the
Penguin Group, is slated to publish a Holocaust
memoir titled ‘Angel at the Fence: The True Story
of a Love That Survived’. Herman Rosenblat
recounts his experience as a teenage boy during
the Holocaust at Schlieben, a sub-division of the
infamous Buchenwald concentration camp.
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katerns Margins of Excess 192x246_01.indd 9 08/01/2018 16:32
Holocaust survivors tell love story
Los Angeles Daily News, October 13, 2008
NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – In the beginning, there was a boy, a girl and
an apple.
He was a teenager in a death camp in Nazi-controlled Germany. She
was a bit younger, living free in the village, her family posing as Christians.
Their eyes met through a barbed-wire fence and she wondered
what she could do for this handsome young man.
She was carrying apples, and decided to throw one over the fence. He
caught it and ran away toward the barracks. And so it began.
As they tell it, they returned the following day and she tossed an apple
again. And each day after that, for months, the routine continued. She
threw, he caught, and both scurried away.
They never knew one another’s name, never uttered a single word, so
fearful they’d be spotted by a guard. Until one day he came to the fence
and told her he wouldn’t be back.
“I won’t see you anymore,” she said. “Right, right. Don’t come around
anymore,” he answered. Their brief, innocent tryst came ended.
Before he was shipped off to a death camp, before the girl with the apples
appeared, Herman Rosenblat’s life had already changed forever.
His family had been forced from their home into a ghetto. His father
fell ill with typhus. They smuggled in a doctor, but there was little he
could do to help. The man knew what was coming. He summoned his
youngest son. “If you ever get out of this war,” Rosenblat remembers
him saying, “don’t carry a grudge in your heart and tolerate everybody.”
Two days later, the father was dead. Herman was just 12.
The family was moved again, this time to a ghetto where he shared a
single room with his mother, three brothers, uncle, aunt and four cousins.
He and his brothers got working papers and he got a job painting
stretchers for the Germans.
Eventually, the ghetto was dissolved. As the Poles were ushered out,
two lines formed. In one, those with working papers, including Rosenblat
and his brothers. In the other, everyone else, including the boys’
mother.
Rosenblat went over to his mother. “I want to be with you,” he cried.
She spoke harshly to him and one of his brothers pulled him away. His
heart was broken.
“I was destroyed,” Rosenblat remembers. It was the last time he would
ever see her.
It was in Schlieben, Germany, that Rosenblat and the girl he later called
his angel would meet. Roma Radziki worked on a nearby farm and the
boy caught her eye. Bringing him food — apples, mostly, but bread,
too — became part of her routine.
“Every day,” she says, “every day I went.”
pagina 017 Margins of Excess 192x246_01.indd 1 02/01/18 15:59
Rosenblat says he would secretly eat the apples and never mentioned a
word of it to anyone else for fear word would spread and he’d be punished
or even killed. When Rosenblat learned he would be moved again
— this time to Theresienstadt, in what is now the Czech Republic — he
told the girl he would not return.
Not long after, the Soviets rolled in on a tank and liberated Rosenblat’s
camp. The war was over. She went to nursing school in Israel. He went
to London and learned to be an electrician.
Their daily ritual faded from their minds.
“I forgot,” she says.
“I forgot about her, too,” he recalls.
Rosenblat eventually moved to New York. He was running a television
repair shop when a friend phoned him one Sunday afternoon and said
he wanted to fix him up with a girl. Rosenblat was unenthusiastic: He
didn’t like blind dates, he told his friend. He didn’t know what she
would look like. But finally, he relented.
It went well enough. She was Polish and easygoing. Conversation
flowed, and eventually talk turned to their wartime experiences. Rosenblat
recited the litany of camps he had been in, and Radziki’s ears
perked up. She had been in Schlieben, too, hiding from the Nazis.
She spoke of a boy she would visit, of the apples she would bring, how
he was sent away.
“That was me,” he said.
Rosenblat knew he could never leave this woman again. He proposed
marriage that very night. She thought he was crazy. Two months later
she said yes.
In 1958, they were married at a Bronx synagogue, a world away from
their sorrows, more than a decade after they had thought they were
separated forever.
It all seems too remarkable to be believed. Rosenblat insists it’s true.
Even after their engagement, the couple kept the story mostly to themselves,
telling only those closest to them. Herman says it’s because they
met at a point in his life he’d rather forget. But eventually, he said, he
felt the need to share it.
Now, the Rosenblats’ story has inspired a children’s book, “Angel
Girl.” And eventually, there are plans to turn it into a film, “The Flower
of the Fence.” Herman expects to publish his memoirs next year.
Herman is now 79, and Roma is 76; they celebrated their 50th anniversary
this summer. He often tells their story to Jewish and other groups,
believing the lesson is the one his father imparted.
“Not to hate and to love — that’s what I am lecturing about,” he said.
“Not to hold a grudge and to tolerate everybody, to love people, to be
tolerant of people, no matter who they are or what they are.”
The anger of the concentration camps, Herman says, has gone away.
He forgave. And his life has been filled with love.
pagina 017 Margins of Excess 192x246_01.indd 2 02/01/18 15:59
13
katerns Margins of Excess 192x246_01.indd 13 08/01/2018 16:32
Une Femme
Note ga-16278
Annonce dans L’Orient-Le Jour, le 19 mai 1976
Automobiles
Diplomate voudrait acheter une voiture diplomatique
Tel.: 303161 de 9h à 14h.
Une Femme
Enregistrement 89-34512, dans la rue à Mar Mikhaël
Bruit de moteurs de voitures, et bruit de klaxons.
« M. Khiar, un instant s’il vous plaît, je voudrais photographier ça. »
« Cette publicité si laide ? »
« Pardon ? »
« Non rien. »
« Excusez-moi, je n’ai pas entendu. »
« Non, non, rien. Prenez votre photo. »
Un scooter passe.
« Vous prenez votre temps vous, pour photographier ! »
« Oui. »
Une Femme
Enregistrement 56-46476, dans un bar à Mar Mikhaël
Musique arabe hachée par les commentaires d’un animateur télé
« Deux autres Jameson s’il vous plaît. »
Pause
Le présentateur télé est de plus en plus excité.
Longue pause
« Avez-vous été marié ? »
« Mais je vous emmerde vous et vos questions personnelles !
Ne me posez plus de questions ! C’est fini ! Amol marouf l’ehseb ! »
Une main claque sur le bar
« Je m’en vais. »
« Je suis désolé, ne vous emportez pas. »
« Assez ! Je m’en vais, ne me contactez plus. »
Une Femme
Enregistrement 17-61861, chez M. Khiar
« Pourquoi aimez-vous tant les chats ? »
« Je ne sais pas. C’est comme ça. »
Pause
« Ce sont des êtres nihilistes gais. Ils mangent, ils dorment, ils se promènent et jouent un peu.
Ce qu’ils n’ont pas envie de faire, ils ne le font pas, même s’ils peuvent.
Un être sans dogme. Un être parfait. »
Une Femme
Note hi-17289
A chaque fois qu’on passe devant une publicité sur laquelle une femme est représentée,
comme toutes ces pubs pour les produits de coiffure, M. Khiar demande très sérieusement
« Qui est cette femme ? ».
C’est son sens de l’humour.
On voit des milliers de femmes anonymes promouvoir des produits.
M. Khiar est très gentleman, très classique, il est protecteur vis-à-vis des femmes.
Un jour, je lui ai dit que les femmes pouvaient très bien se défendre seules.
Il l’a mal pris, il m’a dit que je ne comprenais rien.
DIPLOMATIC WORLD
GLOBAL ART FORUM
JEROEN R. KRAMER
UNE FEMME
The central figure in Une Femme is composed of different
characters. There is Khiar, a handsome, elderly Lebanese
gentleman who lives in Beirut, a city scarred by decades of
religious tension. The wars that arose from those tensions
do not appear in the book, but we sense the presence of an
‘elephant in the room’. Then there is the photographer, who
makes images of traffic lights changing, or of the planters
that are found everywhere in Beirut, and who finds beauty
in a pile of sand or in the banality of a barber’s sign or a
grocer’s shop full of food.
ABOUT
Jeroen Robert Kramer (°1967, Amsterdam) lives and works
in Beirut, Lebanon and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. After
studying French literature in France, in 2000 he started
working in the Middle East as a documentary photographer
for Getty Images, de Volkskrant, Der Spiegel, the New
York Times, Vanity Fair, and others. His photographs were
used in articles on the Middle East, Africa, Afghanistan,
Myanmar and the Philippines.
“I want to make work about ordinary life. I want subtlety,
poetry, the gentleness of the banal. I’ve had enough of the
spectacular, of what I did when I was working for the New
York Times,” says the photographer to Khiar. He wants to
transform ugly memories of war into art, and to go from
shocking spectacle to silence. We are given no portraits of
either protagonist; their presence is evoked by photographs
of their surroundings, the marks on an abandoned drinks
glass, a glimpse of someone’s back in a plastic chair, or
photos of cats. When Khiar shows that he is not interested
in having his picture taken, for the photographer their
friendship becomes an obsession; he starts photographing
hundreds of objects from Khiar’s house. But are these really
Khiar’s things? Is the old gentleman in fact an idée-fixe, a
composite, the photographer himself, or some sort of alter
ego? “C’est le prix à payer pour avoir vécu sur la misère des
autres” (That’s the price you pay for having lived off other
people’s misery), says Khiar, after the photographer relates
a terrible nightmare. Or do these thoughts actually come
from his own mind?
After an unremitting study of life and death in the barren,
war-torn Middle East, his work began to reflect his inner
struggles with human fallibility, aesthetic constraints, and
the harsh perceptions of his profession. In 2008 Kramer
decided to stop working as a documentary photographer
and in war zones, and to embark on a new, more poetic
journey. This led to the book Room 103 (2010), in which
images of daily life in the Middle East are intermingled with
images of terrible violence. This book won the Dutch Doc
Award and the New York Photo Book Festival Award. In
2012 Kramer published the book Beyrouth Objets Trouvés,
which in retrospect he regards as a preliminary study for
Une Femme.
Une Femme
Published by Editions Flatland and Jeroen R. Kramer
Softcover, 154 x 220 mm, 344 pages
First Edition of 333
Second Edition of 667
ISBN 9789490503055
Design by Jeroen R. Kramer
Printing and production by Bruno Devos at Stockmans
Une Femme shows that ‘truth’ is irrelevant. Une Femme
is an enigmatic and evocative story with a remarkable
dénouement. It is also a beautiful exhibition, in which
the present and the past are interwoven in Jeroen Robert
Kramer’s poetic photographs of Beirut.
Pages 136-140
Une Femme
© Jeroen R. Kramer
141
INSPIRED BY PLANTIN–MORETUS,
STOCKMANS ART BOOKS MARKS
ITS OWN STORY ONTO PAPER
Stockmans as a company, with its first roots
dating back to Antwerp in 1875, is still nurtured
and stimulated to grow by the great tradition and
heritage of the printer and publisher family
Plantin-Moretus (Antwerp, 1548-1876), one of
the leading printing companies in the world
during the golden age of Antwerp.
142
THE PUBLISHING BUSINESS
Anno 2018, communication and information are ruled
and biased by the digital world we live in and big data
will continue to affect us more and more. Screens are a
constant attack on our eyes, brains and nervous system.
We need to compensate for this imagery overflow and
give our creative brain a rest once in a while with a real,
tangible item … a slow old-school book, which takes time
to activate and stimulate all our senses. From the origin of
a book until its final existence, the creation process is still
a ‘slow process’ compared to the communication hysteria
via other media.
The publishing business in general is under a lot of
pressure from digital platforms, and large publishing
houses that concentrate on magazines and newspapers
are feeling the pressure of media agencies and advertising
partners to transform its business model. Paradoxically,
at the same time a tangible and beautifully designed
and printed book, turned into an object of art, seems
to have more impact today than eleven years ago when
printing became a commodity and the overload of printed
communication played its role.
Today Stockmans as a printer and publisher is embedded
in the printing group of the De Bie family, a 4th generation
company, originally from Lier (BE). The company is now
situated in Duffel, and as a commercial printing company it
has grown to 110 FTE and an estimated turnover for 2018
of 23 M euro. Antilope De Bie Printing is a construction of
7 companies that have been added to the original printing
house. The fact that several independent companies have
joined forces has to do with the technological evolutions
within the graphic industry, where capital investments are
extremely high and the competition of digital media and
innovation have put pressure on the total paper volume in
the market. There is a contradiction and imbalance in the
business model, where digital media evolve at the speed of
light while high-end printing technology has an accounting
depreciation rate of 5 to 7 years to earn back important
investments into new technology.
From a strategic point of view, Stockmans has made the
choice to specialise in 2 niches as a total service company:
the creation, the making and distribution of art books and
calendars. For Stockmans, this choice means to produce
sustainable products with a longer life cycle, apart from the
production process which is driven by ecological factors in
the production facilities of Antilope De Bie. Most of the
time a calendar rarely surpasses its 12 months calendar
period, but when turned into an art object, it can easily
survive for years. Naturally, the art books produced by
Stockmans are meant to easily surpass the buyer’s lifetime.
THE PERSONAL STOCKMANS APPROACH
As a publishing company and a production consultant for
artists, galleries, institutions and companies, Stockmans
engages in an intense and profound process with its
partners. For many a book has a special and unique touch,
often related to the history or future of the individual
Max Pinckers in full collaboration with masterprinters at Stockmans - Antilope De Bie
person or company, loaded with history and life stories.
The value and emotion that is related to the production
process and the final result, is unique in the world
of printing. It demands a very specific approach and
competence, which Stockmans has built up during its
history.
As makers, the publishing house and the ateliers create
added value, putting the creativity of the authors into
our own energy and design to reflect the creator’s vision,
passion and story. Bruno Devos, who has been in the
printing business since 1991, and is engaged in several
international art projects, tries to feel and encapsulate
these compelling stories into a publication. He specifically
created his own function to describe what he does and
loves to do, curating art books. Taking care of the artists
is part of his role. Today, many artists create books that
are an integral part of their practice. The book is another
medium for the artist to experiment and build his artistic
story. Many publications at Stockmans go beyond the
regular exhibition catalogue or monograph and are
connected as a presentation tool to a specific artistic
approach or series of an artist. This creates an extra
dimension for both the artist and for Bruno and his team.
Books like Margins of Excess, self-published by the young
Belgian photographer Max Pinckers, or Wesley Meuris’s
book Exhibition Types are compelling examples of this
approach. Jeroen R. Kramer’s photo novel Une Femme
is also a beautiful example of the book as an artwork. It
is the only comprehensive tool for the artist to tell his
artistic story. Older publications full of adventure are also
an illustration of Stockmans’ vision, for example Lost
Angels by Italian photographer Alfredo Falvo, who spent
4 months photographing in Skid Row, Los Angeles. But
also an historic book on the history of Cuban cacao or
the rediscovery of Flemish artworks in the Museum of
Fine Arts in Havana are projects that were initiated in the
house. The most recent publication, A layer for my throat
came out 11 March. This vegetarian extravaganza between
a food stylist, a fashion photographer, a typography geek
from Amsterdam, and the Stockmans team, finds its
inspiration in recent opera plays performed on stage by the
Flemish Opera House. “These projects are so wonderful
because they bring creative people together, all enjoying
and creating what we are best at. The sum of all of us
brings such an energy to this latest project, the book itself
is a joy to all senses,” comments Bruno Devos.
In the same trend, recent limited edition art publications
include Danielle van Zadelhoff’s series Survivors, which
is filled with portraits of AIDS survivors from the late
eighties that were recently presented at the London City
143
Peter de Cupere, Scent in context - Olfactory Art Pascal Van Loenhout, UN/CUT Erik Vernieuwe & Kris De Smedt, A layer for my throat
144
Hall during World Aids Day. Another collector’s item is
Thomas Vandenberghe’s journey to Bangkok which leads
to a conceptual publication where the art photos are well
hidden at first glance. In 2018, Stockmans will publish − in
cooperation with Opera Ballet Flanders − a prestigious
publication about the Aviel Cahn years at the Opera. The
book Opera/Out of the Box will be presented in October
and shares Aviel Cahn’s broader vision on the complete
process of Opera and its stakeholders, in Flanders and
beyond.
The attachment to the project creates a very personal
bond between the publishing house and its protagonists,
the artists. “For every book we make, I can write at least
one other book that tells the story of the ‘making of’
process, of the interactions and gives insight into many
lives”, shares Devos. Devos’s private life, full of passion
for Art is intertwined with his art and book projects.
Recent art projects brought him to Cuba, Argentina and
Brazil, travelling with 40 top Belgian contemporary artists
to prestigious museums for his project, The Importance of
Being.
“We find motivation in that bond and in the reactions of
the people involved in the process and of course those of
the public.” Recently, Royal Opera House De Munt/La
Monnaie in Brussels commented on Stockmans’ luxurious
edition of Danielle van Zadelhoff’s hardcover photobook :
“… The book is an example of how dark full bodied photos
should be printed … the love for making books is reflected
by the finishing touch … delivering a pair of gloves with
the book, to protect the fragility and luxury of the dark
printed images. This respect and love for printed matter
is connected to our vision on the arts.” When reading this
comment from De Munt/La Monnaie, Devos comments
that, “It made my day because it is wonderful to share
these publications with the right people, people who
appreciate art, process, quality and true beauty.”
FINDING A BALANCE
The financing of an artbook is always an intense exercise
when a project starts. Sometimes the book is completely
financed via the budget of an institution, gallery or
sponsor. But often this is not the case, so it is always a
10.000 pcs puzzle (or even jigsaw) to realize a project
and not lose money on the investment of the book.
Traditional distribution models mean that the books are
put into the market with 40 to 65% discounts to shops and
international distributors. Recently we published a book
Danielle van Zadelhoff, Monography
with a therapeutic goal, for a young woman. Thanks to
crowdfunding she was able to bring in the basic amount
to start the production of the book. It was beautiful to see
how Maaike Ottoy was able to create her own community
that supported her dream to publish a lovely and colourful
book.
catches some of the visiting audience or organizing a popup
high-end hairdressing environment with famous hair
stylist Pascal Van Loenhout. These type of events create a
buzz and awareness that is necessary in our niche.
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?
One of the biggest challenges for a publisher of art books
is channelling their books into the market. Per definition,
the market is niche oriented, hence small, and limited
to an audience that engages and is passionate about
art. The internet and web shops put a lot of pressure
on the traditional bookshops, but generating traffic can
be stimulated when stories and events complete the
experience of a book. The idea is to make it worthwhile for
the audience and readers to come out to the bookstore and
bypass the internet sale of books. Stockmans collaborates
with bookshops like Copyright Bookshop (in Antwerp
and Ghent) and Theoria (in Kortrijk) and creates events
to highlight some of its publications via traditional book
signings, talks, performances and even art expositions.
During the Antwerp Book Fair in 2017 (which attracted
143.000 visitors), Stockmans created a sense of belonging,
for its artists, team and visitors. Performances included
instant drawings with Jarno Kettunen from Finland who
As a publisher and calendar maker with a strong personal
approach, focusing on content and quality, we believe that
organic growth is the path to follow for Stockmans. We
are already surpassing the borders of Belgium and intend
to continue this. Again, all of this goes in parallel and is
simultaneously a paradox with the search for economies
of scale in the graphic industry where critical mass and
production speed are key words. When Bruno Devos
indicates that we are protagonists of “slow printing”, it
does not mean the production of a book takes ages, on the
contrary.
A good illustration is the creation and production of
Peter de Cupere’s 3 kg heavy olfactory bible, 472 pages,
filled with 1.500 illustrations and more than 500 art works,
including 11 scratch and sniff smells. This hefty task took
only 5 weeks in total to design, print and bind, which
nobody else could perform in the publishing sector.
145
Book signing by Jeroen R. Kramer, Une Femme
Book signing by Nick Claeskens, Bus Stop
Book signing by Jan Bosschaert
Pop-up hair styling at Antwerp Book Fair
by Pascal van Loenhout
Bruno Devos and Danielle van Zadelhoff
Live drawing performance by Jarno Kettunen
146
Being close to our production facilities, sourcing from
the scale of the printing group, gives Stockmans a unique
position in the industry and enables us to master the
complete process. Vision, competence and passion merge
with technology, the virtual touches the tangible.
As a business-to-business player for calendars, Bruno
Devos believes a calendar is price/attention wise the best
tool to communicate to customers for 365 days about a
company and its products and services. An aesthetic or
practical calendar still has its value in an age where the
digital agenda rules. Again tangibility, ease of comfort and
sometimes beauty play its role for the calendar anno 2018.
During the 2000-2009 period, Stockmans, in collaboration
with Franky Claeys and Jean-François Carly, designed
amazing calendar projects with photographers, visual
and performing artists, and fashion designers like Dries
Van Noten, Raf Simons, Chanel, Vivienne Westwood,
Hussein Chalayan or Christian Lacroix and a luxury
brand like Delvaux, but also Nike. These projects were a
testimonial of experimental product design with high-end
production techniques.
Bruno Devos is also associated with Barbara Dietrich for
Diplomatic World, where he curates the art and cultural
diplomacy section of the magazine since March 2017.
Early 2017, the magazine was completely redesigned by
Bruno and his team, and he also advises the publisher
about strategy and content. “I truly believe that art and
culture are the defining and universal factors to bridge
people from all around the world, but also our close
neighbours. The solution when questioning the role of the
European Union, when trying to look for solutions to the
refugee and immigration crisis, is to bond people, learning
one’s cultural language and respect people by sharing and
discovering one’s culture. Definitely a curious but above
all openminded approach, full of humanism, where the
wonder of diversity plays its part on our micro or macro
stage.”
More information via
stockmans.be
stockmansartbooks.be
visionfragments.be
copyrightbookshop.be
theoria.be
Stockmans Art Books at the Antwerp Book Fair (2017)
PLANTIN-MORETUS
IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF ANTWERP
The Plantin-Moretus Museum is a printing museum in
Antwerp, Belgium which focuses on the work of the 16th
century printers Christophe Plantin and Jan Moretus.
It is located in their former residence and printing
establishment, the Plantin Press, at the Vrijdagmarkt
(Friday Market) in Antwerp and has been a UNESCO
World Heritage Site since 2005. The printing company
was founded in the 16th century by Christophe Plantin,
who obtained type from the leading typefounders of the
day in Paris. Plantin was a major figure in contemporary
printing with interests in humanism; his eight-volume,
multi-language Plantin Polyglot Bible with Hebrew,
Aramaic, Greek and Syriac texts was one of the most
complex productions of the period.
The original residence and workshop of the Plantin and
Moretus publishing dynasty offers a unique historical
experience. The building’s creaking oak planks and
panels seem imbued in the history of books, the art of
printing and the story of a family’s entrepreneurial flair.
The oldest printing presses in the world can be found
here, and much more besides.
www.museumplantinmoretus.be
147
THE HEART OF BRUSSELS BEATS AT
THE MUSIC CONSERVATORY
Brussels offers an intercultural and historical
fertile ground with a highly mobile and international
population. It is in this rich environment of 62 %
foreign-born residents that the vibrant musical heart
of the School of Arts, the Koninklijk Conservatorium
Brussel, beats. Its student and teacher population
matches the intercultural metropolitan mix with 60%
international musicians. Within the cultural and
musical history of this capital over the last 200 years,
and maintaining Flemish presence over the last 50
years, the Flemish Brussels Conservatory — Koninklijk
Conservatorium Brussel — unfolded a long, sometimes
difficult but glorious trajectory. How to secure, by
never-ending economic demands of production and
efficiency, the continuation of such unique European
music heritage in Brussels? How to incite political
and cultural actors to sustain this ‘slow science’ at an
autonomous Flemish conservatory, in collaboration
with all Brussels’ partners? How to cope artistically
with the challenges of a 21th century setting?
A SPECIFIC CULTURAL AND
ARCHITECTURAL SETTING
148
“Brussels is a European center where Germanic and
Latin cultures draw boundaries and enable assimilation
processes. It is the task of the Koninklijk Conservatorium
Brussel to underpin this rich musical event, an invitation
to respond to it. The challenge is to enable the professional
requirements of this music education center, to tune
them to the highest level and to use all the opportunities
the artistic-cultural and economic circuit has to offer. In
this perspective, the training at the Conservatorium is
particularly stimulated while, at the same time, a special
contribution is expected from it.”
(Kamiel D’Hooghe, 1987)
CONSERVAMUS, an enthusiast organisation working
with public funding, recently started the renovation of
the windows, and an official political agreement has been
signed for the entire restoration of the site.
THE TRADITION AND EMANCIPATION OF A
UNIQUE EUROPEAN MUSIC CULTURE
From the first director on, François-Joseph Fétis, in
1833, the conservatory aimed at a high-quality institution
for music education with an international reputation.
The specific commitment of the musicians, the unique
intercultural Brussels context and the later Flemish support
for an excellent and autonomous higher music education,
have contributed to develop this goal. The Flemish
emancipation under director Kamiel D’Hooghe, resulted
in a music institution of high quality, endorsing
its international position in multilingual Brussels.
A specific recruitment policy was and still is one
of its pillars: the resolute choice for great international
musicians with an established reputation, to whom the
opportunity is given, next to their high quality teaching,
to continue an artistic career as cultural ambassadors of
the institution. For example, the Brussels Conservatoire,
together with the Conservatoire of Paris, lies at the
birth of the great Franco-Belgian violin school. This
tradition, started by Eugène Ysaÿe, Henrik Wieniawski
and Arthur Grumiaux, still resonates in Brussels,
complemented by other rich traditions.
A unique Ysaÿe manuscript, recently donated to the
conservatory library, will be produced by our students and
teachers in May 2018. Another example is the connection
between the conservatory and the famous Queen
Elisabeth competition of which many teachers still
today are laureates. While other music teachers combine
their exceptional pedagogical qualities with positions
149
in renowned orchestras operating from Brussels,
the institution is also exceptionally considered for its
tradition in counterpoint and fugue and honored for its
specific artistic approach to the doctorate in the arts.
Historically interested musicians such as the family
Kuijken created an internationally recognized Early
Music department in the nineties, which today gets a
new international image. While other music institutions
in Flanders diminish their parts in early music, Brussels
continues to expand artistic bridges over time. The
presence of the music library, with its important 17th
and 18th century music, in particular the two private
collections Westphal and Wagener, contributes to this fully.
In the middle of the capital of Europe, melting pot
of countless cultural movements, its jazz department
reflects this cultural synergy both intra muros and
outwards in the socio-artistic landscape, leading
in Flanders and throughout the world. Every year,
the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel grants the
Toots Thielemans Jazz Award, with the explicit approval
of Belgian and Flemish jazz icon Toots himself. The
flourishing department of Musical at the Koninklijk
Conservatorium Brussel — the only one in Flanders —
offers another vibrant answer to the growing demand
for other western traditions, rivaling Dutch and
German institutions on a high artistic level.
However, there is a deep artistic concern how to master
art, economic efficiency and productivity: which
amount of subsidies to give to art, how many orchestras
to retain, how autonomous music institutions are to
be? The word ‘production’ entails a paradox. From an
artistic point of view, a production is a shared outcome
and presentation of an esthetic work, realised through
collaboration between artists. Production from an
economic perspective points to the making of goods
and processes, closely linked to fast consumption and
profit. However, the Latin ‘producere’ in the sense of ‘to
develop, realize, expand, strengthen, lead further’ offers us
the right educational perspective: developing young people,
realizing ideals, expanding knowledge, making expertise
stronger, leading the world further. The pedagogical
complexity of music education sharpens that paradox.
On the one hand, art is at odds with the economic,
technological and mediatized society. The art of music
is a challenge in and for society: music is a ‘slow
science’ (a concept from Isabelle Stengers), growing
from within hard labour, experience and exchange. An
artistic development asks for time, takes time — within
a society that is more and more characterized by
everything that is fast. Music is an art that exorcises time:
The fame of the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel
also resonates through its symphony and harmony
orchestras, its collaborations with the cultural field in
Brussels and abroad, with embassies and music houses.
Numerous small ensembles of chamber music, jazz or
early music spread their art on the Brussels stages —
MIM, Flagey, the Markten, ... and internationally — Porto,
Santander, .... The level of artistic excellence leads to an
almost natural flow of its young talents on the professional
artistic scene, in renowned orchestras, at international
positions and competitions.
MUSIC: A ‘SLOW SCIENCE’ IN A WORLD OF
PRODUCTION
150
The 50th jubilee this year shows that the Koninklijk
Conservatorium Brussel has been able to move forward
with artistic councils, in which many staff members and
cultural partners participate, being focal points for
initiative and dialogue.
dancing on the tight rope between old and young,
between exploring personality and mastering tradition.
Music is an art that cannot be fixed nor put in a museum,
as it is lived and revived by each new generation, again and
again by way of transmission, interpretation and creation.
On the other hand, society needs artists: people
who share a rich cultural tradition and offer new
aesthetic perspectives, who open unexplored domains
and lift a veil of daily worries. That is why the
Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel meets society with
its music practices, with its own slow science, its
capacity to question the prevailing view of the
world in an artistic way. Therefore it is important
to preserve its autonomy concerning artistic choices and
policy and to develop its international resonance. That is
why it is exemplary in being traditional and rebellious, in
being a conservatory and a laboratory, in being a house
and an open space.
Finally, Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel is ready for
another 50 years to be a lively artistic biotope,
with international identity and music excellence. The heart
of the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel continues to
beat in Brussels and you are invited to share its music!
Rendez-vous!
Kathleen Coessens,
Director of the School of Arts,
Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel
151
AND THE WINNER IS …
For the 3rd time the Global Media Innovator was
given out during the annual All Nations Gala of the
Diplomatic Council in Frankfurt this February.
Again, the Innovator received an object of art by
internationally acknowledged artist Ulrike Bolenz, in
addition to a lifelong fellowship in the global think tank.
This year it was titled “Vitruvian Human”, again combining
graphics, classic painting and plexiglass reflections.
“I looked up the history of this topic and it is really
amazing. I’m really thrilled to have received this object”,
said Simon Ingram, founder and CEO of London based
iocono Holdings and its daughter company RTAd Ltd. that
is marketing the real time advertising solutions of Adgile
software suite, after receiving this year’s honors.
152
“Amazing – and clever” that was also the summary of
the independent GMI Board within the DC that had the
challenging job picking this year’s Innovator. And it was
a truly hard pick this year with three out of five of the
shortlisted contestants being very close together throughout
the nomination process. “What made the difference with
RTAd? The fact checking: It already proved that it works on
a regular basis”, says Ian Whightman of worldwide business
intelligence group IHS Markit and member of the GMI
board from the very beginning.
The Adgile suite, that is a production feature that allows
to compile audiovisual TV spots in a very fast and costeffective
way, almost in real time. “We soon found out that
we also had to include planning and scheduling tools”,
explains Ingram. Only recently added to the Adgile Suite
of products, Adgile Play, is used for the 24/7 playout of
dynamically controlled infomercial channels, allowing the
client to change prices and offers on products through
an online control panel, in real time. This was the main
reason of the GMI board to decide for RTAd: “This enables
advertising in near or actual real time using data from live
sources. It delivers files to broadcasters that are compliant
with technical and legal standards, all in an automated
process. Clever!”
The highly exclusive Global Media Innovator is designed
to launch wide discussion on the positive impact of such
Simon Ingram, Ulrike Bolenz & Dieter Brockmeyer
clever ideas and innovations on our disrupted industries and
more so our societies. No company or individual can apply
to become the Innovator. The organizations and networks
behind the GMI board members come up with suggestions
that totaled 18 in this round. The board than narrows in
first on the shortlist and on the innovator in later steps.
Members of the 2018 GMI board were: Ijeoma Onah,
founder, Nigerian International Film Summit (Lagos),
Dato’ Ng Wan Peng, COO, Malaysia Digital Economy
Corporation, MDEC (Kuala Lumpur), Moeed Ahmad,
head of Incubation & Innovation Group, Al Jazeera Media
Network (Doha), Blair Westlake, principal, MediaSquareup
(Seattle), Ian Wightman, VP Research and Operations at
IHS Markit Inc. (Austin), Ed Hall, managing partner Expert
Media Partners (London), Robin Eckermann, principal,
Eckermann Associates (Canberra) and Jo Groebel, director,
Deutsches Digital Institut (DDI, Berlin).
Dieter Brockmeyer,
Chairman DC Global Media Forum and initiator
and curator of the annual Global Media Innovator
VILVOORDE
Enjoy a unique eating experience
Distinctive dishes made with innovative techniques
Innovative culinary concepts by topchef Marc Clément
Various works of art by renowned artists are integrated symbiotically
Easily accessible large parking lot
Innovative gastronomy
You will be cooked for by top chef Marc Clément, who has certainly
earned his stripes in the world of gastronomy. The dishes are prepared
using innovative techniques based on Marc’s latest passion.
The Bistronomy team serves affordable gastronomic delights in the
form of fresh, distinctive creations that will surprise even the most
refined palates.
In short, gastronomy with a nod to the future.
Opening times
Open from Monday to Saturday (from 6 pm on Saturday).
Monday & Tuesday from 6 pm by reservation for groups of 20
people or more.
Sunday closed.
Info & reservations
www.thebistronomy.com
02 263 01 31
Indringingsweg 1, 1800 Vilvoorde
153
TOGETHER IN LIGHT @ DARK 2.0
ART EXPO PRESENTED BY
LIVING TOMORROW & PSYCART
Through the artworks of contemporary artists
Panamarenko, Koen Vanmechelen, Fred Eerdekens,
Peter de Cupere, Nick Ervinck, Ulrike Bolenz,
Athar Jaber and Sergey Dozhd, meet the artwork of
artists of PsycArt: Bruno Gérard, Nils Dieu, Mireille
Dubois, Frédéric Etienne, Luc Derck, Nancy Oliver,
Vital Van Kriekinge, Kim De Veylder en Philippe
Da Fonseca. The exhibition will confront the
audience with the immaterial activity of the artistic
brain and its reflection via artistic output. The
exhibition challenges the art world to go beyond
known scientific facts that lead the audience into
unknown dimensions. The expo plays constantly on
the border of the immaterial and the material, starting
from a perfume bottle from Kazimir Malevich.
154
Art has always taken its place in Living Tomorrow as a
concept that refers to human creativity in thinking about
the future. Under guidance of curator Barbara Dietrich, two
partners — LIVING TOMORROW and PSYCART — want to
give art a place in the exhibtion TOGETHER IN LIGHT @
DARK 2.0 to confront the audience with the creativity of the
human brain and how to become reflection and innovation.
HOW TO BECOME INNOVATIVE?
Through creativity. But you can’t just buy creativity and you
can’t enforce no one’s creativity.
SO, HOW TO BECOME CREATIVE ?
By inspiration. But that inspiration rarely comes by itself.
SO, HOW TO GET INSPIRED ?
When a person takes the time and space to see actively
around itself, he can get inspired. This is how it works for
artists who challenge themselves to work out a unique idea, to
continue in being innovative.
Art can invite a person to take the time and space to look
around and to get inspired by something a person doesn’t
know yet, something never seen before, that can inspire.
For each future project in which people want to get
challenged in the search for innovation, art can help to look at
what they didn’t know yet, at what they haven’t seen yet.
And when people take the time and space to try to look in a
different way, at that moment inspiration and imagination can
arise and change into creativity and finally into innovation.
In this exhibition every artist leads the audience into a new
way of looking at and thinking about living as a human being
in the constantly changing world.
PsycArt is a non-profit association dedicated to artists with
a mental or social vulnerabilty to guide and support them
in various ways so that they can present their creative work
to a broad audience. PsycArt looks at the creative work nor
merely as “creation itself”. It is a non-profit association that
focuses on the meaning of artists to create in life by offering
© Athar Jaber
opportunities that lead to present their work in a qualitative
and ethically correct manner.
Although the non-profit association PsycArt was founded
recently (July 2013), the PsycArt project celebrates its
twentieth birthday in 2018. Initially, this project set up by
a pharmaceutical company specialised in psychiatry and
neurology, consisted of organizing exhibitions for health care
professionals working in mental health institutions.
Since 1998, the two main action areas of the project are as
follows:
• Support to artists with a mental or social vulnerability
through exhibitions and other creative projects, ensuring
an ethical and secure environment around the sale and
rental of their artworks
• Expertise in artistic management as to support exhibition
projects in the sector of mental health care and social
reintegration.
An underlying goal remains the elimination of any stigma
around artists with a vulnerability.
With the support of volunteers, following activities are now
part of the daily operation:
1. Organizing and coordinating exhibitions, debates and
symposia (artistic management) through projects on
location in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia
2. Organizing exhibitions, lecturers, debates and workshops
for groups at the fully equipped location where PsycArt
has its administrative seat (Schaerbeek)
3. Managing the art library: rental and sale of the art
collection of more than 400 works to individuals,
businesses and other associations.
So far, PsycArt is one of the few NPAs in charge of a sociocultural
project at (inter)national level, focusing the greatest
part of its work on the three Belgian regions and the Grand-
Duchy of Luxembourg.
Over a period of almost 20 years, PsycArt has exhibited over
500 artists. The most part of the money raised from sales has
been returned to the participating institutions and the artists
themselves.
The success and reputation of PsycArt has grown steadily over
the years, extending well beyond the medical environment.
In particular the project has on several occasions won
Prométhéa’s Caïus awards, which it won twice in 1999 and
2012, and for which it received a special mention in 2003.
PsycArt vzw, www.psycart.eu
https://www.facebook.com/Psycart.be
Thiéfrystraat 51–53, 1030 Schaerbeek (Brussels)
Contact: Stefanie De Weirdt
stefanie.de.weirdt@psycart.eu, T + 32 472 92 66 03
155
GABRIELE MÜNTER
PAINTING TO THE POINT
For the first time after 25 years, the Städtische
Galerie im Lenbachhaus and the Gabriele Münter
and Johannes Eichner Foundation showed an
extensive exhibition surveying the complete oeuvre
of Gabriele Münter (1877-1962).
For most art lovers, Münter’s name immediately evokes the
german expressionism with the “Blue Rider” — a group of
artists formed in Munich in 1911 with Kandinsky, Münter,
and Franz Marc (1880-1916) at its score —, Wassily
Kandinsky (1866-1944) or the small town of Murnau in
the Alpine foothills. These associations are not wrong, but
they reduce the artist’s rich oeuvre to only a brief period
and narrowly focus our view on a few facets of her long
career. Münter’s creative achievements, even more than
those of other female artists, have been interpreted and
evaluated through the lens of her life and her relationship
with Kandinsky. The exhibition seeks to draw attention
to the complexity and distinctive autonomy of her art by
examining it in light of art-historical questions. Its main
emphasis is on Münter’s paintings, which, unlike in earlier
shows, is presented in thematically focused sections rather
than in chronological sequence.
156
Gabriele Münter, Bildnis Marianne von Werefkin, 1909,
Pappe, 81 x 54,8 cm, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau
München, Inv.-Nr. GMS 656
Gabriele Münter, Dame im Sessel, schreibend (Stenographie.
Schweizerin in Pyjama), 1929, Textiler Bildträger, 61,5 x 46,2 cm
Gabriele Münter- und Johannes Eichner-Stiftung, München,
Inv.-Nr. P 39
Gabriele Münter, Vom Griesbräu-Fenster, 1908, Pappe, 33 x 40,1 cm, Gabriele Münter- und Johannes Eichner-Stiftung, München, Inv.-Nr. L 142
As Gabriele Münter was a photographer before she was a
painter, the presentation opens with a small selection of
photographs she took during her sojourn in the United
States in 1899–1900. The following sections examine
her creative engagement with the medium of painting.
Complementing the classic genres of portraiture and
landscape painting, themes such as the interior and
Münter’s work in series are explored. They illustrate her
playful approach to the visualization of spatial depth and
her experimentation with different ways to capture the
essence of a scene. An extensive section is dedicated to the
“primitivism” in the painter’s oeuvre, which is rooted in
her sustained interest in folk art, non-Western cultures, as
well as in children’s experience.
The representation of the world of labor is not something
we readily associate with Münter, but such scenes do
appear in her art. The paintings in the style of the New
Objectivity she created in the late 1920s refute the widely
held simplistic view of the artist as unperturbed by the
upheavals of the Great War and who carried on in the
manner her “Blue Rider” period. As well, and although
Münter is said to have felt on uncertain ground in the
realm of abstraction, she made abstract paintings that are
highly diverse and sometimes strikingly modern.
The exhibition would not be complete without a section
surveying Gabriele Münter’s work through the lens of her
exhibition history and her role as an important donor of
art. Held one hundred and forty years after Münter was
born, it also celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of her
donation of “Blue Rider” works to the Städtische Galerie
im Lenbachhaus in 1957. The majority of the works
displayed in the exhibition are drawn from the artist’s
estate, which is administered by the Gabriele Münter and
Johannes Eichner Foundation Munich. These paintings
have never been on public view or were last exhibited
decades ago. These are supplemented by international
157
and rarely exhibited works on loan. One important goal
of the Foundation is to prepare a catalogue raisonné of
Gabriele Münter’s paintings that will document all oil
paintings created by the artist with information about their
provenance, exhibition history, and the relevant literature.
A key part of the estate is the Münter House in Murnau.
Münter and Kandinsky frequently stayed in the house
in the years 1909-1914. She lived there from 1931 to
her death in 1962, from 1936 on with her companion
Johannes Eichner (1886-1958). After renovations in 1998-
99, it now appears as it did between 1909 and 1914. Richly
appointed and decorated with paintings and reverse glass
paintings by Kandinsky and Münter and popular art from
their collection as well as the artists’ own hand-painted
furniture, the house is now a museum which vividly
conveys the atmosphere that prevailed here before
World War I.
During the National Socialist’s reign of terror, Münter
hid her works in the basement of the house in Murnau,
along with numerous others by Kandinsky, the “Blue
Rider” protagonists, and their circle. Thus she was able
to rescue them from certain seizure and perhaps even
destruction. Kandinsky had to leave Germany in such
haste at the outbreak of war in 1914 that most of his
belongings, including his entire collection, had to be left
behind in Munich. His efforts to reclaim his possessions
— the paintings especially — once the war was over led to a
protracted legal battle with Münter, which was not resolved
until 1926. While Kandinsky had some of his paintings
restored to him, Münter was allowed to retain the vast bulk
of them. For many years, the collection was left to languish
in a warehouse in Munich; but once the threat posed by
the National Socialists became imminent, Münter retrieved
the works in storage and took them back to Murnau with
her. There they remained, hidden from view, right up to
the nineteen-fifties.
158
Gabriele Münter, Landschaft mit gelbem Haus, 1916, Öl auf Leinwand, 41,5 x 52,7 cm, Privatsammlung
Ausstellungsansicht Gabriele Münter. Malen ohne Umschweife im Kunstbau, 2017
Foto: Simone Gänsheimer, Ernst Jank, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau München
What induced Münter to unlock her “basement of
millions” — as it was later called — was an encounter with
Hans Konrad Roethel (1909–1982), then the director of
the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich from
1957 on. In 1957, Gabriele Münter marked her own
eightieth birthday by making an unparalleled gift of large
parts of this same collection to the Lenbachhaus, thus
transforming it over night into a world-class museum.
The Lenbachhaus has now the world’s largest collection
of art of the “Blue Rider”. It includes extensive holdings
of outstanding works by the leading “Blue Rider” artists
— first and foremost, Kandinsky and Münter, but also
Alexej Jawlensky, Marianne von Werefkin, Franz Marc and
August Macke.
The exhibition is organized by the Gabriele Münter- und
Johannes Eichner-Stiftung and the Städtische Galerie
im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau München in cooperation
with the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk
and the Museum Ludwig, Cologne. The curators are
Isabelle Jansen — Curator and Chief Executive of the
Gabriele Münter- und Johannes Eichner-Stiftung — and
Matthias Mühling — Director of the Städtische Galerie
im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau München. An exhibition
catalogue is published by Prestel Verlag.
GABRIELE MÜNTER.
PAINTING TO THE POINT
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und
Kunstbau München, Munich, Germany
October 31, 2017 to April 8, 2018
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art,
Humlebæk, Denmark
May 3 to August 19, 2018
Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
September 15, 2018 to January 13, 2019
159
IMAGINATION
OIL PAINTING STUDIES
BY RUBENS AND VAN DYCK
The juxtaposition of two oil painting studies
and their completed large-format paintings
offers us a glimpse into the creative imagination
of the artists and allows us to follow the
development of their ideas.
Peter Paul Rubens, 1577-1640, has left us countless studies
in oil. Some of them are drafts made employing a fleeting
painting technique, others are complete, well-presented and
bursting with colours, submitted to the clients’ attention
and then used as a starting point to create the largeformat
works. More than one study was found for specific
paintings. Indeed, numerous drafts would be needed
sometimes until the artist reached a satisfying outcome.
These may include changes made by Rubens himself or
requested by the client. A huge demand for these drafts
meant they could all be sold well, reaching the houses of
private collectors.
the consul’s battle stallion and the priests consecrating
Decius Mus. He’s draped in a red toga, bowing his body
forward in reverence to the priests and receiving the last rite
before the fight where he will die. The space of both groups
elevates the death ritual in the modello. Other changes in
the modello can be seen in the priest, who’s accompanied
by another person in the painting, as well as in the group
accompanying the consul. In the modello, only the horse
On 9 November 1616, Rubens signed a contract with carpet
weavers Jan Raes, Frans Sweers and Italien merchant
Franco Cattaneo to deliver templates for tapestries be
used in a Cycle regarding the life of Roman Consul Decius
Mus, as described by Titus Livy in his History of Rome.
Rubens finished the drafts in oil, and his most gifted pupil,
Anthony van Dyck, helped him with transposing them onto
a larger format. Ultimately the drafts, als known as ‘carton’,
were laterally reversed and completed for the weavers. In
following years, numerous tapestries completed Decius Mus
cycles.
160
In this example, depicting the painting in the version by
the Gobelin family, we can compare the adaptation with its
representation of the consecration of Roman Consul Decius
Mus by the High Priest Marcus Valerius as a death offering
for the battle to come. Luckily enough, a small modello was
found in Dublin in the 1970s. It was painted on wood and
only measured 21,2 x 61,3 cm. This modello is, however,
slightly different from the completed painting. What really
leaps out is the gap between the right group, accompanying
tender and the lictor are represented, the latter being a civil
servant who carried the rods decorated with fasces, the
symbol of power, for the consul. Another soldier is missing
in the modello. We have therefore discovered yet another
early idea of the artist and its development.
We only have one oil study by Anthony van Dyck, 1599-
1641, where he goes through the motions of developing
the ‘Saint Sebastian Bound for Martyrdom’ painting. It’s
located in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh.
In the Alte Pinakothek in Munich we find a repetition of
the same theme. The draft was painted by van Dyck in oil
colours on paper, and this was then fitted onto a canvas.
The study measures 63,7 x 56 cm and until now was titled
‘St. Sebastian; Andromeda und andere Studien’. A specialist
paper on the undressed beauty of Andromeda is currently
being prepared by art historians who want to put forward
important research results which is why in this article
we’re only assessing the drafts on the Sebastian painting in
Edinburgh.
painting. The study in oil at hand served the function
of being an aid to his thought process which he kept to
implement ideas at a later stage in time.
I’ve always been interested in the sketches, drafts, and
drawings of painters. I see their creative handwriting
enclosed in such works. Many years ago, I talked with art
historians Justus Müller Hofstede and Erik Larsen about
the oil studies of Rubens and van Dyck, especially about the
two works of this article. I received plenty of information
during friendly conversations that have made it into this
article. I would therefore like to thank both researchers and
experts for allowing me to pass some of that knowledge on
to the readers of the publication.
Ludwig Geiger and Maximilian Krenn
The right side of the study shows how Sebastian is tied. In
the left side we see themes as prepared in the Edinburgh
painting: a pale horse’s head, which in the finished
painting has been placed right to the top right; the head
of a black man, which is placed in the centre, to the left,
in the finished painting; the heads of two soldiers wearing
their helmets, recognisable in the right side of the finished
Maximilian Krenn, Art Curator & Collector
161
BELGIAN CULTURAL WEEK
IN HAVANA PROVES THAT
CULTURAL DIPLOMACY CREATES
SUSTAINABLE TIES
Cultural diplomacy has always been an important
pillar of diplomacy. This is no different between the
Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Cuba.
The artistic projects between both countries flourish.
The Belgian week which the Embassy of Belgium in Havana
has been organizing in Cuba for the last 12 years serves as
a catalyst for the cultural exchange between both countries.
Every Belgian week in Cuba is different in spite of some
recurrent activities such as the projection of Belgian movies.
Innovation is a key element, not only in the content but also
regarding the partners and location.
How to achieve the program of a Belgian week?
The program is the result of the demand and
interest of our Cuban partners and the availability of the
projects. The Embassy works with several institutional
partners such as the Belgian regions and cities. The main
role of the Embassy is the promotion of the different
activities through a press conference, TV spots and
social media.
The Belgian week always takes place in Havana in
November but sometimes an additional Belgian day is
organized in Santiago de Cuba. The Cuban Embassy in
162
Semana Belga en Cuba, Havana, November 2017
Residence of the Belgian Ambassador, Havana
© Patricia Mathieu
Brussels organized in 2017 its cultural days in October,
both in Brussels and Ghent. Logistically the organisation of
cultural events in another city presents more of a challenge.
The collection of the twelve posters of the Belgian weeks are
an interesting testimony of the past activities. The design
of these posters includes usually the colours of the Belgian
flag; black, red and yellow. The contents of the posters
refers to typical Belgian and Cuban elements.
Cinema is a classic subject of the Belgian week and so are
comic books. The 9th art not only is a strong holder of the
Belgian week, comic books have turned out to be a very
successful activity. The different workshops that Belgium
organised in Havana, among others during the Belgian week,
have trained young talented Cuban artists. Some of these
artists now show and sell their work in Belgium and France.
The Embassy of Belgium encourages the synergy between
different art disciplines. For example: the cooperation
between Belgium and Cuba with regards to architectural and
art styles, are promoted by comic books. The conservation
of our cultural heritage is a classic ingredient in our
cultural relations. The cities of Brussels and Havana share
a common interest in Art Nouveau. Workshops on Art
Nouveau have gathered keen interest. The first stories on
Havana were printed in Antwerp in the 16th century in
Spanish, another common perspective. The Belgian comic
Semana Belga en Cuba, Havana, November 2017
163
ook Melville was the basis for a multidimensional spectacle
in 2016 in Havana, presenting a combination of comic
books, music and visual projection.
Dance is another traditional part of the Belgian week. Some
of the Belgian choreographers such as Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui,
Wim Vandekeybus or Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker are well
known in Cuba. The avant garde performance by the dance
company of Irène K. during the last Belgian week captured
the Cuban audience both during an indoor performance
as a performance on a Cuban market place on a Saturday
evening. It goes without saying that the traditional Cuban
dances remain highly appreciated in Belgium.
The classical plastic arts like paintings remain a focal point.
During the Belgian week of 2017 the Belgian painter Piet
Raemdonck exposed his work in the cultural centre Wifredo
Lam in Havana, which was named after one of the most
famous Cuban painters of the 20th century. Sculptures will
most likely be part of the Belgian week of 2018.
Photography was also present during the Belgian week
in 2017 with among others a photo exhibition of both
Belgian and Cuban comic book illustrators.
The Belgian week always looks for new art forms. In 2017
“design” was introduced for the first time among the activities.
The Thomas More University College in Belgium sent a group
of 5 professors and 22 design students, who created interior
design scale models, along with Cuban design students.
The reference to professors and teachers brings me to
the next point, which is the relationship between the
cultural and academic exchange. Several Belgian professors
shared information on the history of Belgian cinema and
photography with a Cuban audience. This exchange is part
of an effort to demonstrate the impact of the academic
cooperation on the cities of the universities involved.
Cultural heritage is one of the subjects among the topics of
the bilateral academic cooperation.
A Belgian week not only fosters relationships between
Belgian and Cuban artists. Contacts between Belgian
artists, students and academics receive an incentive as well.
It’s ironic that Belgian artists have to cross the Ocean to
interact. At the same time, it’s reassuring to see that these
contacts lead to new projects and cooperation. Therefore,
the future of the Belgian week in Cuba seems guaranteed.
164
Semana Belga en Cuba, Havana, November 2017
© Rovier Mesa
PATRICK VAN GHEEL
Professional Experience
From 31 August 2015 - …: Ambassador of Belgium in Cuba
Address:
Embassy of Belgium in Cuba,
Calle 8 No. 309, entre 3ra y 5ta, Miramar Playa,
La Habana
Tel: + 53 7 204 24 10
E –mail: patrick.vangheel@diplobel.fed.be
Born in Schoten (Belgium) on 16.05.1973
Married
Two children
http://www.diplomatie.belgium.be/
08.2012 – 8.2015: Federal Public Service of Foreign
Affairs, Director for multilateral trade within the
Directorate General of European Affairs
08.2008 – 08.2012: First Secretary in the Permanent
Representation of Belgium with the United Nations in
Geneva
11.2004 – 07.2008: First Secretary in the Permanent
Representation of Belgium with the OECD in Paris
10.2003 – 10.2004: Diplomatic advisor to the Minister of
Home Affairs
10.2000 – 10.2003: Attaché in the Permanent
Representation of Belgium with the European Union in
Brussels
02.1999 – 08.1999: Attaché in the Embassy of Belgium
in Ottawa
Started his career at Foreign Affairs on 01.10.1998
Academic background
Master of Law
165
CIDIC
THE EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR
ECONOMIC, ACADEMIC AND
CULTURAL DIPLOMACY &
DIPLOMATIC WORLD PRESENTS:
On the 15 February 2018, the Castle of Ophem was lit up
for a CIDIC evening to celebrate the Bulgarian Presidency
of the Council of the EU.
The “Columns of Peace” by the German-Belgian artist,
Ulrike Bolenz, symbolises the most fundamental of the
core aims of the European Union — uniting and reconciling
nations and people within Europe. Reminding us that
our continent has been torn apart many times over the
centuries by very destructive wars, particularly during two
World Wars in the twentieth century, these Columns call
for the preservation of peace, individual freedoms and
shared values, and respect for cultural diversity, alongside
efforts to promote economic growth, employment and a
better quality of life for all Europeans.
The Council of the European Union, bringing together the
members’ heads of state and government, plays a key role
in assuring these goals. Thus, these Columns of Peace will
be loaned to each country in turn as it assumes the sixmonthly
rotating Presidency of the Council, starting with
the Presidency of Bulgaria in January 2018.
INTERLINKING POLITICS, DIPLOMACY, BUSINESS & FINANCE
ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY, CULTURAL DIPLOMACY & HEALTH
The artist placed beautiful images of joyful, laughing
women at the core of her Columns, because mothers
embody love for their children, while teaching them
kindness, moral values and courage. In essence, Ulrika
Bolenz is telling us that women — as mothers — are to be
treasured for bringing each child to appreciate the joys
of life and the precious values of harmony, peace and
cooperation among nations, peoples, cultures and religions.
166
© Diplomatic world
H.E. Maya Dobreva, Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria and Barbara Dietrich
© Diplomatic world
167
DIPLOMATIC DINNER
AT THE CERCLE GAULOIS
On Friday, 26 January 2018, CIDIC had the honor and the
pleasure to organise a number of tables at the Diplomatic
Dinner at the Cercle Gaulois, for all the Chiefs of Mission
accredited in Brussels. This top-of-the-year event brings together
the official representatives of the countries related to Belgium,
the European Union and NATO. This prestigious dinner with
people in their evening dresses, gala uniforms, with their
decorations, is a symbol of the Circle Gaulois’ will to open up
and comfort the friendship between the nations. Indeed, the
networking and B2B meetings amongst ambassadors, members
of the Circle Gaulois and business people are of key importance
for the diplomatic life of Europe’s capital city.
Mr. Geoffroy Generet, President Cercle Royal Gaulois
Mr. Pieter De Crem, Secretary of State, Foreign Trade - Mrs Mimi Solvay and
Mr. Didier Reynders, Minister Foreign Affairs
Mr. Luc Sougne, Hry Consul Bulgaria and H.E. Maya Dobreva, Ambassador
Bulgaria
Mr. Thomas Antoine, Secretary General Benelux, Baron Ernest de Laminne
de Bex, President CIDIC and Miriame Oxenius
168
Bâtonnier Xavier Magnée, H.E. Eleftheria Galathianaki, Ambassador Greece
Mr. Pascal Gregoire, Ambassadeur Foreign Affairs, Mrs Pierre Gallienne,
Avocat Général and Marc de la Brassinne
Mrs Lydia Desloover, Mr. Philippe Dehennin, President FEBIAC and
Mrs Caroline Pauwels, Rector VUB
Mr. Marc Moncousin, Diplomatic Relations BMW and Mrs Barbara Dietrich,
CEO Diplomatic World
Prof. Roland Gueubel, Director B-Life and Mr. Luc Sougne, Hry Consul
Bulgaria
Mrs Maïthé Hautenne and Mr. Christian J. Mouvet, Secretary General
CIDIC
Sir Paul Dujardin, CEO BOZAR and H.E. Maya Dobreva, Ambassador
Bulgaria
Overview of the dining room.
Barbara Dietrich, Prof. Roland Gueubel, Director B-Life, Mr. Philippe
Dehennin, President FEBIAC, Mrs Caroline Pauwels, Rector VUB, Baron
Ernest de Laminne de Bex, President CIDIC, Mrs Lydia Desloover and
Paul Dujardin, CEO BOZAR
169
Sheba International
Impacting healthcare worldwide
Sheba
International
Ukraine
Sheba
International
Sheba
International
Kazakhstan
Russia
Sheba
International
China
Sheba
International
Ghana
Sheba
International
Equatorial
Guinea
Sheba
International
Sheba
International
Israel
Georgia
International Consultation Division
International Training Center
Sheba
International
Congo
Sheba
International
Zambia
170
Sheba Medical Center is the largest and most comprehensive hospital in the state of
Israel. As such our vision is to share our knowledge, experience and expertise with the
world. We are motivated by our ability to impact health care services and health in many
countries whilst, at the same time, strengthening Sheba Medical Center’s resources as
well as enhancing the experience of our staff for the benefit of our patients and, at the
same time, improving the health of the local communities of our operations.
None of our activities are at the expense of the Israeli patients or health care resources.
So, why we do it? Because we have the best motivation in the world: We are all winners
— the Sheba Medical Center and the many communities which we so proudly support.
Michal Raviv Reisman
© The Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer
171
NURSING EMPOWERMENT
IN MOSCOW
Irena, a head nurse in a Moscow hospital, surprised
us with an unexpected visit to the Sheba Medical
Center. “I am so proud”, she said, “for the first
time in my career I was permitted to develop a new
program for the benefit of our patients”. Irena is one
of 300 nurses who participated in SMC’s training
program.
Following a successful collaboration with the Ministry of
Health of Moscow, Sheba International was asked to help
identify the advantages of the Moscow health system which
could be used in order to upgrade and promote the entire
regional heath care system.
The one strength which very clearly stood out very clearly
was the quality of the nurses in Moscow. Very well educated
and trained, highly qualified, smart and ambitious, Moscow’s
nurses are an endless resource of wisdom, combined with
aspiration and remarkable abilities, waiting only for the
health system to appropriately use their capabilities.
The main challenge in this case was the inherent cultural
hospital working environment that inspired us to propose
a dual plan — to simultaneously work with the clinical
directors of the hospitals and to empower the nurses. This
way, working both from top to bottom and from bottom to
top, we doubled our chance of success and also shortened
the time required to implement changes.
nurses who participated in our program of training and
continual guidance and support.
In the words of Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of
Facebook: “Motivation comes from working on things we
care about. It also comes from working with people we care
about.” (Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In: Women, Work, and the
Will to Lead)
The empowerment of Moscow’s nurses has stimulated and
motivated them to make important and significant changes
affecting the health and wellbeing of their community.
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Over 300 senior nurses in Moscow undertook this training
and empowerment program. Following the training sessions
we continued meeting with the nurses every 4 to 6 months,
to hear of their progress and to encourage them to continue
to initiate and influence their working environment for
the benefit of the patients and staff. The nurses have been
able to initiate many new projects such as patient and staff
satisfaction surveys, reorganization of the Intensive Care
Unit, standards for patient’s privacy and dignity, guidelines
to enable family members to accompany emergency room
patients and even the establishment of a new bus line from
the nearest Metro station to the 120 year old hospital. These
are only some of the unbelievable accomplishments of the
A NEW GENERATION OF HOSPITAL
MANAGERS IN MOSCOW
Hearing a presentation by Ms. Michal Raviv
Reisman, Director of Sheba International, was
enough for the Deputy Minister of Health of
Moscow to promise Michal — we will be in touch.
Unlike many similar promises, the deputy minister kept her
word and very soon afterwards the Sheba Medical Center
and the Ministry of Health of Moscow signed an agreement
of collaboration, focusing on the need to train the present
and future generations of hospital managers. The changes
that the Russian health system was pursuing required a
major transformation of the hospital managers as their role
and duties evolved.
This included educational responsibilities, staff nurturing,
economic, marketing and management skills in a
competitive environment and an expectation to lead their
hospitals to greatness, as opposed to the prevailing “holding
the fortress” approach. Together, we developed various types
of training sessions which took place both at Sheba in Israel
and in Moscow, aimed at preparing the regional managers
for their coming managerial role changes and for the new
demands of their leadership positions.
Many hundreds of directors and deputy directors joined
the different programs and the success was translated
into subsequent additional collaborations as well as the
certificates of appreciation presented by the mayor of
Moscow.
© The Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer
173
THE REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA
REDUCING MATERNAL AND INFANT
MORTALITY
When the representative of UNICEF Georgia called
Sheba International and asked for assistance we did
not realize that this was the start of five years of
close cooperation, that would give us a great deal of
pride and satisfaction!
“We think we have excessively high infant mortalities during
labor” was the initial reason for that call, but after months
of investigation, interviews and field work we had a much
clearer picture of the maternity services in the Republic of
Georgia — both mothers and newborn infants were dying in
the delivery rooms.
Sheba Medical Center’s team of obstetricians, pediatricians,
neonatologists and health care managers conducted an indepth
assessment of maternal and newborn infant care in
Georgia. Members of the Sheba team undertook numerous
visits to Georgia and were extremely impressed not only
by the wonderful warm and friendly hospitality received,
but especially by the openness, transparency and desire of
government officials and medical personnel alike to improve
perinatal care in Georgia.
Sheba International’s approach to this challenging task
included the setting up of duplicate teams, a Sheba team
and a Georgian team, working together shoulder to
shoulder. The teams toured and assessed maternity units
throughout Georgia, especially regarding the geographical
location, physical conditions, equipment and clinical
capacity. All of the information collected was analyzed in
the context of the needs across the country, taking into
consideration the cultural, economic and geographical
constraints of Georgia as well as planning for future
maternity needs.
Following the research phase, which required more than
a year of intensive work, the SMC team prepared a final
comprehensive report. These recommendations, a “Master
Plan” for action, were completed and presented to the
Ministry of Labor Social affairs and Health and to UNICEF.
The Master Plan comprised a detailed action plan based on
the clinical principles of standardization, clinical experience
and capacity, registration and continuing medical education.
The challenging implementation phase of this Master Plan
followed immediately and is still ongoing.
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For the SMC team ... If we have helped to save only one
baby’s life or if the tragic death of one mother is prevented
then our mission has been worthwhile.
IMPROVING MATERNITY CARE
IN CHINA
Almost 3 years of studying, learning and adjusting to
the Chinese culture and working environment were
barely enough for Sheba’s International experts. The
very marked and deep differences in Western and
Chinese approaches to medical care were the main
reasons for the lengthy preparation time required
by Sheba International before deciding to enter the
Chinese health market.
We encountered extremely ambitious, intelligent and highly
motivated partners who were willing to put in the hard work
required. Colleagues became friends and within a short
time the Sheba and Chinese medical and administrative
teams developed a mutual respect and warm and close
relationships. This health project has enriched all of those
fortunate enough to participate and Sheba International
looks forward to our future collaborations in China.
This time was well spent so when a new and challenging
project was presented Sheba International was fully
prepared.
Joining an international company, the LR Group, the Sheba
Medical Center undertook to establish an upgraded and
modern maternity and delivery service in a new hospital
that had recently been opened. The request was to promote
a comprehensive implementation of Western standards
of maternity care, to overcome educational and training
limitations and to enhance the competitive economic
advantage of the hospital.
Step by step, we introduced Western clinical guidelines
and administrative protocols which were adapted to the
Chinese healthcare environment, implementing concepts of
measurement, observation and clearly defined clinical goals.
These changes entailed upgrading the clinical care, applying
a patient centered approach to case management and the
establishment of new medical services, non-existent before
our collaboration.
© The Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer
175
ISRAELI TEAM FROM SHEBA MEDICAL
CENTER FIRST TO ARRIVE IN ZAMBIA TO
ADDRESS DEADLY CHOLERA OUTBREAK
A group of leading medical experts from Israel’s
national hospital, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer,
delivered emergency relief in Zambia, setting up a
treatment center to assist those in need.
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Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel’s national hospital,
has mobilized teams of medical experts and cutting-edge
resources to battle the growing and deadly cholera epidemic that
has plagued a poverty-stricken neighborhood in Lusaka, Zambia.
Sheba Medical Center’s first-response team arrived in Zambia
only a few days after the outbreak and were the first and only
international medical team to arrive in the African nation for a
rescue mission aimed at stopping the outbreak of cholera that, at
that time, had already claimed the lives of 54 people.
The first response team comprised of Sheba Medical Center
physicians who specialize in tropical and traveling medicine,
along with water-expert engineers, arrived in Zambia with a clear
objective: to survey the situation on the ground by assessing
how to best prevent the fatal spread of the disease and protect
Zambians from the contaminated water. Sheba Medical Center’s
first-response team immediately identified the source of the
cholera outbreak and determined that approximately 500.000
people in one of Lusaka’s poorest neighborhoods are being
exposed to contaminated water culled from water wells in close
proximity to sewage-filled soil. The Israeli experts immediately
advised local government officials to prevent the drinking of this
contaminated water by blocking all access to the contaminated
wells, and helping distribute bottled water.
A core priority for Professor Yitzhak Kreiss, Sheba Medical
Center’s director general and former Israeli Defense Forces
surgeon general, is responding to humanitarian crises effectively
with the highest standards of medical care and crisis leadership.
“Sheba Medical Center’s humanitarian compassion knows no
boundaries, and we deploy teams all around the world to rescue
and treat victims in conflict zones or natural disaster situations,”
said Prof. Kreiss. “The innovative medical expertise and tactics
employed by our experts are today being dedicated to helping
the people of Zambia and saving as many lives as possible from
the tragic cholera outbreak. Sheba Medical Center’s goal, which
echoes the ethos of Israel, is to save lives and make a positive
global impact.”
A second team from Sheba Medical Center was deployed January
10 to spend two weeks in Zambia. The medical experts treated
patients at Lusaka’s National Heroes Stadium, which had been
converted into a cholera treatment center. This highly-skilled
delegation from Israel’s national hospital included two physicians,
two nurses and a lab technician, all of whom have deep experience
with international emergency humanitarian rescue missions.
The Israel Center for Disaster Medicine and Humanitarian
Response at Sheba Medical Center boasts highly experienced
specialists who continue to lead the charge in preparing and
responding to global humanitarian crises and emergencies.
While this is Sheba Medical Center’s first huma