The Voice: Reduce, Recycle, Reinvent (Year 16, Issue 3)

Reduce, Recycle, Reinvent
Year 16, Issue 3

Also in this issue:
Arab Spring & Dark Ages
Eco-friendly Living
Bike Theft
Rural African Marketplace
Regifting
International Student Magazine
V ICE
THE
March 2013
2 THE VOICE, March 2013
NEW S
4 Arab Spring & Dark Ages
5 Doha: Keeping the Earth from Overheating
6 Cities Need to Smarten Up
7 Best Cities for Quality of Living
8 France Year at KU Leuven
9 2030: A Climate Neutral Leuven
FEAT URES: REDUCE, RECYCLE, REINVENT
10 Eco-friendly Living
13 Do-It-Yourself: Origami Flower
14 Used & Vintage Is Te New Black
15 Bike Teft: What You Dont Know
16 Commentary How Green Is Green?
17 A Breath of Fresh Spring Air
18 Conversations Nikkie Melis
19 Never Tought You Could Be an Eco-Warrior?
CULT URE
20 Te Rural African Marketplace
22 UMOJA Fashion Show
24 White Elephants & Gift Horses: Re-gifting
26 Vintage Wine & Cardbordeaux
27 How I Fell in Love with... A Combat Sport
28 Trough Te Drinking Glass: Zythos Beer Festival
29 blog space Te Perfect Mate
Editor-in-Chief
ToTran Nguyen, Layout
Editorial Team
Evelyne Van Hecke, Editorial Secretary
Corieke Bonvanie, News Editor
Hai Nguyen Asst. News Editor
Odette Rivera, Culture Editor
Sarah Jenkins Asst. Culture Editor, Copy Editor
Limin Liang, Asst. Features Editor
Gabriel Martnez Miranda, Photo Editor
Sara Rich, Lead Copy Editor
Andrew Horner, Copy Editor
Other Contributors to this Issue
Adesoji Adegbulu
Brian Sisco
Gijs Van den Broeck
Ilja Postel
Jessika NilssonJude Mukoro
Katia Demydenko
Liesbeth Schulp
Melissa Smith
Muneer Ahamed
Nils de Neubourg
Ruben Bruynooghe
Sam Patel
Sang Nguyen
Sanjin Pajo
Wim Dehaen
Cover art by Gabriel Martnez Miranda
& Limin Liang
Front cover: A toilet paper roll could be used to
amplify your mp3 player. Give it a try.
Back cover: See our Do-It-Yourself article on
page 13 for directions on how to make an origami
fower.
Advertisements
Alfaset
info@alfasetleuven.be
016 22 04 66
Printed by Peeters nv
Vesaliusstraat 34
3000 Leuven
Belgium
016 32 33 95
Contents
We want to hear from you! If you have any
comments regarding what you see (or dont
see) here, please share them with us, and we
will select some messages to publish in the
next issue of our magazine.
VOICE Mail
thevoice@loko.be
thevoiceleuven.be
www.facebook.com/thevoice.loko
THE VOICE, March 2013 3
Dear Editors of THE VOICE,
I would like to point out a few factual errors that occurred in the article on the
rise of Flemish nationalism in the most recent edition of THE VOICE. Te fol-
lowing paragraph contains several mistakes:
For the federal parliament, the biggest parties on both sides form the govern-
ment. ... In Flanders, this has been the Flemish Nationalist Party (N-VA) for the
past few elections. Nationwide, the Walloon Socialists are always slightly more
popular, so this only reinforces the will of the Flemish Nationalists to become
(more) independent. Although the Flemish may elect a Flemish Nationalist, chan-
ces are there will be a Walloon Socialist as prime minister.
1. [Te frst statement is] untrue; there is no law which demands this. It is
true that in general most governments were formed that way, but a notable
exception is the current government, of which the biggest party is not a
member.
2. [Secondly], the N-VA has only taken part in the Federal elections as a sepa-
rate party once in its history, namely in the last elections of 2010. However,
it has never been part of the federal government.
3. [Te third statement is] untrue. Te N-VA is the biggest party of Belgium,
not only of Flanders. During the last federal elections, it received 1,135,617
votes, compared to 894,543 for the PS [Wallonias Socialist Party].
4. As a general trend, [the fourth statement] is blatantly false. Di Rupo is the
frst Walloon Socialist to become prime minister since 1973.
Concerning radicalism, [it was stated]: Belgium is not the only country in
Europe where radical right-wing nationalists are winning elections. In fact, the
radical right-wing nationalists have lost in recent elections in Belgium. For the
only party which deserves that characterization is the Vlaams Belang, which de-
creased in popularity from 19% in 2007 to 12.6% in 2010. Te nationalist party
N-VA is, in general, not at all considered to be a radical party within Belgium. Te
opposite impression is mainly due to sensationalist and badly informed foreign
media-coverage.
Lastly, concerning European trends, [it was stated]: In comparison to Bel-
gium, there is one diference. In these countries, the argument is not primarily
about separatism between population groups, nor about more independence for
a certain region. Although this holds true for the countries mentioned (i.e., the
Netherlands, Greece, and Hungary), there are several other countries which are
not mentioned where there certainly is a separatist nationalism gaining ground:
Scotland, Spain, and Italy.
I hope you will fnd these corrections helpful. Since everything I stated here is
common knowledge in Belgium, I can imagine that the article in its original form
will have a negative impact on the reliability of your magazine amongst Belgian
readers.
Kind regards,
Sander Beckers
Letters to the Editor
March 2013
Dear Readers,
Living an eco-friendly life can be
challenging when moving from place
to place. In a new location, we can eas-
ily maintain our own habits of limiting
consumption and fnding new ways to
reuse materials and goods.
It takes a bit more work, however,
to properly follow local recycling poli-
cies, learn how to buy local produce, un-
derstand ingredients and materials in a
foreign language, fgure out the public
transportation system, hunt for the best
thrift stores and secondhand websites,
and seek out repair shops (not to men-
tion possibly paying more for locally-
made products here than in our home
countries).
Tis is why our magazine team chose
to investigate the eco-friendly life in
Leuven and bring you an issue brim-
ming with tips and insights. Whether
you are a homebody or someone who
needs to get outside (and shop), you can
fnd ways to gradually reduce your eco-
logical footprint.
Who knows, you may discover in-
novative reuses of trash. You may even
discover that sophisticated technology
can be synergistically used with the most
basic element of trash an empty toilet
paper roll. But dont let your discoveries
stop here. Check the Internet and talk to
others. Find ways to reduce, recycle, and
reinvent. Ten share your thoughts and
fndings with us.
Tere is always more to the story,
and ours is just one perspective. We are
pleased to have received a readers reac-
tion to last months article, Te Rise in
Flemish Nationalism. We encourage
more of you to share your perspectives
and bring other information to our at-
tention.
Best,
ToTran Nguyen
Editor-in-Chief
From the Editor
T
wo years after the phenomenon
known as the Arab Spring, re-
searchers point to climate change as an
indirect but important factor in 2011s
wave of revolution across the Middle East
and North Africa. As temperatures rise
and rainfall well, doesnt food shortag-
es are of increasing concern, especially in
poverty-stricken areas where people can-
not aford the price jumps that accompa-
ny shortages. Add hunger and poverty to
tensions built up after decades of the same
ruthless dictators and religious frictions
and there is a clear recipe for revolution.
In the relationship between climate and
confict, researchers call climate change a
threat multiplier, an infuencing factor
that compounds the pre-existing issues
that do directly cause confict.
In Syria, it is hard to argue against the
case for climate change as a major factor
in the countrys current civil war. Begin-
ning in 2006, farmland to the east dried
up over the course of a four-year drought
the most intense and enduring drought
the country has seen in recorded history.
Tis resulted in the migration of 1.5 mil-
lion agricultural workers from the east
to cities in the south and west, putting
pressure on Syrias urban areas. Exacer-
bating the four-year drought was the As-
sad regimes approach to agriculture. For
example, instead of encouraging sustain-
able crops suited for the region, he pushed
cash crops cotton in particular, which
is a plant with enormous thirst usually
grown in deltas to avoid irrigation. East-
ern Syria has no deltas, so cotton planta-
tions quickly absorbed groundwater, leav-
ing people to dig illegal, unregulated wells
in search for water.
Ongoing stud-
ies by KU Leu-
vens Near Eastern
Studies Unit and
Centre for Archae-
ological Sciences
have demonstrated
repeatedly that this
is not the frst time
climate change
has caused regime
changes and mass
migrations in the
Middle East. Pol-
len records from
Tell Tweini, Syria,
show that several
times before the
Arab Spring, the
region encountered
cl i mate-i nduced
Dark Ages.
During the
Crusades, the
Middle East and
much of Eurasia
was in the Medi-
eval Warm Period,
when temperatures occasionally climbed
to higher averages than those being cur-
rently reached. Towards the end of the
12th c., European forces battled Saladin
to reclaim Jerusalem in the Tird Cru-
sade, and Saladins Ayyubid Caliphate
overthrew the Egyptian-based Fatimids.
At the same time, the Seljuk Turks fought
the Byzantines for Anatolia, and even-
tually their empire collapsed, being ab-
sorbed into the Ayyubid Caliphate. It too
was doomed. Shortly afterward, Genghis
Khan conquered Asia and establish the
Mongolian Empire. Although the Medi-
eval Warm Period was not anthropogenic,
Khans systematic slaughter decreased the
Asian population so much that it initi-
ated a slight cooling trend, when felds
returned to forests.
Two thousand years before Khan and
Saladin, there was another Dark Age.
Te Bronze-Iron Transition (ca. 1200-
NEW S
Arab Spring
& Dark Ages
Climate change in the Middle East
By Sara Rich
International
Europe
Belgium
Leuven
INTERNATIONAL
Relief fragment from Causeway of Unas (ca. 2350 BC), showing people starv-
ing to death. The fragment depicts isolated conditions just before the onset of
Egypts First Intermediate Period. Louvre Museum, Paris, France.
850 BC) saw the collapse of Mycenaean
Greece, Hittite Anatolia, the Egyptian
New Kingdom, and the Hurrian and
Babylonian Empires of Mesopotamia.
A mysterious, marauding group, called
the Sea Peoples in ancient texts, rav-
aged Eastern Mediterranean coastal cit-
ies. Tey razed the Syrian city of Ugarit
(Ras Shamra), once one of the most cos-
mopolitan cities of the ancient world,
and repopulated the Levantine coastline.
Again, pollen records from nearby Tell
Tweini describe a phase of climate chaos
drought and increasing temperatures,
leading to decreased agricultural produc-
tion. Without food and water, people and
other animals either migrated or died.
Still a thousand years earlier, a Dark
Age swept through the Middle East that
triggered the fall of Egypts glorious Old
Kingdom and the grand Akkadian Em-
pire in Mesopotamia. Egyptian records
describe insufcient fresh water, rampant
disease, and such extreme hunger that
people cannibalized their own children.
It may be ironic that much of the Mid-
dle East has sufered these agricultural
crises, since that is where agriculture be-
gan way back in the Younger Dryas - yet
another period of climate change. In the
modern era, rapid climatic fuctuations
serve to compound political mismanage-
ment, leaving the Middle East (among
others) in a delicate, unstable situation.
Although the Arab Spring is hardly the
frst instance of climate-related regime
collapse, this is the frst time in history
when global warming is widely attrib-
uted to anthropogenic sources. Sadly,
as Earths warming trend continues, the
Middle East is sure to become a literal
hotbed of further confict. Te question
now is, what will be the Genghis Khan
that will relieve human population pres-
sures, and restore fields to forests?
Doha: Keeping the Earth from Overheating
By Katia Demydenko
C
limate change is attracting more
attention from the global com-
munity, as extreme weather events (Arctic
sea ice melting, hurricanes in the US and
Southeast Asia, etc.) fall outside the range
of periodic climate fuctuation. It is a well-
known fact that recent observed disasters
are related to global warming caused by
an anthropogenic increase in atmospheric
carbon dioxide. Recent research shows
that with the alarming rate at which at-
mospheric carbon dioxide is increasing,
the goal of holding the global tempera-
ture at 2
o
C above the 1990 level will be
unattainable. An international treaty to
prevent global warming is scheduled to
be signed at the 2015 conference held in
Paris and to take efect in 2020. Before
then, there are many issues to be settled
on the international level.
Te frst milestone was reached at the
United Nations Climate Change Confer-
ence, held in Doha, Qatar, from 26 No-
vember to 8 December 2012. It consisted
of the Eighteenth Session of the Con-
ference of the Parties (COP 18) to the
United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the
Eighth Session of the Conference of the
Parties serving as the Meeting of the Par-
ties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 8).
Negotiations in Doha focused on
ensuring the realization of already exist-
ing agreements. Te package of Doha
Climate Gateway decisions included
amendments to the Kyoto Protocol,
which extends its action to 2020. Adopt-
ed at COP 3 in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan and
taking efect in 2005, the Protocol was the
only legally-binding international agree-
ment for combating global warming until
2012. However, for the frst commitment
period (2005-2012), only Parties in An-
nex I of the Protocol were obliged to cut
their CO
2
emissions. COP 18 marked a
signifcant transition from the frst period
to the second period, as not only devel-
oped countries but also developing coun-
tries must reduce their emissions. Two
hundred nations agreed to prolong the
Kyoto protocol, but the deal covers only
INTERNATIONAL
Photo by Sarah Jenkins
Before the Arab Spring, (now ex)
President Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali
was always watching the Tunisian
people.
about 15% of global greenhouse emis-
sion after Canada, Japan, New Zealand,
and Russia withdrew. Russia, together
with Ukraine and Belarus, claimed the
extra credits for the emission cuts they
made when their industries collapsed,
but their objections were denied.
As the biggest producers of green-
house gases, the US, EU, and China
accepted the agreement with different
degrees of reservation. Island states also
reluctantly accepted the treaty. Accord-
ing to the new version of the Kyoto
Protocol, the buyers of unused carbon
credits from the first phase of deals will
be limited on their purchasing power or
even cancelled by EU law.
The agreement on financing stated
that developed countries would mobi-
lize a total of 16 billion USD by 2020 to
help poor countries cope with climate
change, though no mid-term financing
targets were made, perhaps a result of
the economic crisis. Only Germany, the
UK, France, Denmark, Sweden, and the
European Commission have made con-
crete financial pledges of 6 billion USD
over the next few years. In addition,
the Climate Finance Advisory Service
was launched at the Doha conference
to provide negotiators from developing
countries with expert technical advice
on climate financing negotiations, and
access for developing country board
members to the Green Climate Fund.
The concept of loss and damage
from climate change was developed
during the negotiations. Assessments of
loss and damage would provide finan-
cial and technical support for the most
vulnerable countries, but the pledges
stopped short of any legal liability and
compensation on the part of wealthy
nations. Some questions were left un-
answered: From what sources will funds
come? How, and in what amount, will
they be distributed?
Prior to the meeting, the Interna-
tional Energy Agency and the World
Bank Group published reports stating
potentially hazardous impacts would
arise from average global tempera-
ture increase of 4
o
C - a more realistic
scale of heating should a business-as-
usual scenario be kept. The participants
mentioned with concern that there is
a significant discrepancy between the
promised levels of reduction in green-
house gas emission and those actually
achieved. Thus the negotiators declared
their intention to identify and investi-
gate the options to reach the ambition
of holding global temperature increase
at 2
o
C in 2013.
The conference was not a spectacu-
lar success. It was clouded by worries
about the global economy, frustrations
and resentments of both rich and poor
nations, low financial commitment and
little interest from big emitters like the
US and Russia. However, this Confer-
ence of Parties also marked a step in the
direction of the 2015 new deal on cli-
mate change, issuing hope as the world
edges closer to the 2020 deadline.
Cities Need to Smarten Up
From the Newsroom of Flemish Student Newspaper Veto
Originally Written in Dutch by Nils de Neubourg, Translated by Corieke Bonvanie
T
he ecological doomsday sce-
narios are numerous. Through
their think-tank, YERA, a group of
civil engineering students is trying to
provide useful information and solu-
tions to the ever-growing list of envi-
ronmental concerns. One possibility
is to organize life more efficiently in a
smart city.
Together with global temperature
and sea levels, the demand for a sus-
tainable society is on the rise as well.
Solutions to green problems often re-
quire us to sacrifice comfortable living.
The civil engineering Masters students
of think-tank Young Energy Reviewers
Association (YERA) believe that com-
fort and energy saving go hand in hand.
The students aim to contribute solu-
tions and advice to the broad discussion
on energy.
Smart City
Expectations are that out of the
nine billion inhabitants of our planet
in 2050, seven billion will live in urban
areas. It is no surprise, then, that YERA
focuses on reforming urban energy pol-
icies. Policies should seek to make life
the urban citizens life more efficient.
Not only should the energy supply be-
come more effective, but the whole city
needs to become smarter, including its
inhabitants.
A smart city tries to increase effi-
ciency of all that needs energy, YERA
president Ward Snoeck says. The pro-
cess of smartening up is mainly based
on technological innovation to make
daily life more ecological but also more
comfortable. Smart city life does not
differ much from the life we are lead-
ing now. Only the availability of luxury
and hightech services for inhabitants
will indicate that a city is intelligent.
YERA tries to show that smart city
is not just a meaningless buzzword.
Practical changes can turn urban life
into a intelligent and hyper dynamic
lifestyle. One can think of using smart
phones to increase the efficiency of
public transport, enhance the safety of
the city and manage smart home appli-
cations in an energy efficient way. The
city of Singapore shows through its dy-
namic and intelligent public transport
that such ideas are not just a futuristic
vision.
It takes some adjustment in the
daily routine of people, but the system
works remarkably well, Ward says en-
thusiastically.
Furthermore, smart phones can be
used to manage an efficient household.
The device can automatically decide
when it is most cost-efficient to do the
laundry. Such inventions save us energy,
time, and money.
Stockholm
A founding example is Stockholm.
With the transformation of Stockholm
Royal Seaport, a former industrial area,
into a residential area, the Swedish cap-
ital is building the worlds first actual
smart city.
To ensure that the district will be-
come an urban area suitable for living,
the developers employ technicians as
well as social scientists. Ward elabo-
rates, A smart city should serve the
citizens and not the other way around.
Inhabitants should feel good in such a
city. According to the YERA presi-
dent, the fact that multinationals, like
IT corporation IBM, help to develop
the district shows that such projects
have great economic potential - the
smart city is not just a utopia of the
green-minded.
Ward says that the initiative lies not
only with policy-makers and corpora-
tions, but also in the hands of citizens:
What the citizens should do is get in-
formed on energy and climate issues,
and form the electoral basis for policy
that tackles climate change based on
scientific facts.
BELGIUM
A
t the end of last year, consulting frm Mercer published its annual city rank,
according to quality of life. From this list, one might conclude that learning
German is a necessary step towards a good quality of life. Of these ten cities, seven
are German-speaking countries. Germany and Switzerland have dominated this list,
yet it is their neighbour, Austria, that takes the top spot for the worlds best city for
living: Vienna was crowned number one for the fourth time in row. But what actu-
ally makes Vienna the best city to live in? Of Mercers list of criteria, it is Viennas
green lifestyle and sustainability that proved important factors.
Te grounds of Vienna are not solely urban; 51% of the citys area can be labeled
green, which works out to 120m
2
of green space per inhabitant. Te city is sur-
rounded by woods and is home to around 2,000 parks.
Concerning drinking water, Vienna benefts from its geographical location be-
tween the mountains. Two Vienna mountain spring pipelines run from the moun-
tains straight into the city, ensuring that 95% of its annual water supply comes
through these pipelines. All natural and fresh!
In 1999, Vienna committed itself to reducing its 1990-level CO
2
emissions by
14% before 2010. Incredibly, these goals were reached by 2006. A new programme
calls for additional cuts by 2020, reducing the citys emissions by 21% of the 1990
level.
Te urban area of Vienna produces 625 kg of waste per inhabitant per year. To
compensate for this, the city relies on its waste separation and recycling system. Its
non-compostable bio waste, collected from canteen kitchens, bio-waste contain-
ers, and markets, is processed into energy in the Biogass Vienna plant. Tis plant
provides heating for 600 households in Vienna. Tis is only a small share compared
to Viennas biomass power station in the Simmering area, providing 12,000 house-
holds with heating and 48,000 with bio energy.
Getting around Vienna can be done without harming the environment. Te to-
tal length of its cycle lanes and paths covers 1,174km which means that you can
cycle a week of the Tour de France without leaving the city. Another environmen-
tally-friendly initiative is the faxi, a portmanteau of the German word for bicycle,
Fahrrad, and taxi. Tis taxi is powered by a healthy pair of legs instead of fuel. And if
the weather does not allow for man-powered transport, the public transport system
of Vienna runs over 900 km throughout the city
Considering all that Vienna provides, a healthy and sustainable living is made
easy by the city. As a green(er) lifestyle seems to be the lifestyle for this century,
Vienna is the place to be to ensure a joyful and secure green life; so learning a bit of
German is worth it. And for those who still do not want to learn German, English
is also widely understood in Vienna.
Photo by Lukas Riebling
Spittelau waste incineration plant in Vienna,
Austria. Exterior redesign by eco-architect
Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
1. Vienna, Austria
2. Zurich, Switzerland
3. Auckland, New Zealand
4. Munich, Germany
5. Vancouver, Canada
6. Dsseldorf, Germany
7. Frankfurt, Germany
8. Geneva, Switzerland
9. Copenhagen, Denmark
10. Bern, Switzerland
Best Cities
for Quality
of Living
By Corieke Bonvanie
INTERNATIONAL
Faites attention la magie de lalcool!
Dans le noir, deux heures du matin,
tous est diffrent. Un proverbe franais
nous avertit qu la chandelle, la chvre
semble demoiselle. Pour dire autrement,
les apparences peuvent tre trompeuses
quand on manque de lumire. Cet an-
cien proverbe a t crit en 1576 par
Jean-Antoine de Bafmme ce
temps, les gens ont compris les dangers
de la magie de lalcool ! Prenez cur
ce proverbe, et soyez sur que vous regar-
dez un(e) vrai(e) beau ou belle, non pas
une chvre.
= Beware the beer goggles!
In the dark, late at night, everything
seems diferent. A French proverb warns
us that la chandelle, la chvre semble dem-
oiselle. Literally translated, it means: By
the candle, the goat appears a lady. To put
it another way, when you only have can-
dlelight, that goat across the table seems
like a lady. Tis French proverb was frst
put in writing in 1576 by Jean-Antoine de
Bafeven back then they understood the
danger of beer goggles! Take this proverb
to heart, and make sure youre really look-
ing at a gentleman or lady, not a goat.
French Idiom
France Year at KU Leuven
LEUVEN
B
onne anne de la France 2013!
Si vous navez pas entendu, cest
maintenant le bon moment. Lanne
dernire, KU Leuven a clbr lanne
de lAllemagne en coopration avec
lambassadeur allemand et plusieurs insti-
tutions allemandes. Cet lan nous propulse
vers 2013, lanne remplie dvnements
qui visent le soutien linteraction et la
coopration entre la Belgique et leurs voi-
sins viticole du sud. Les trois buts majeurs
du projet sont dencourager la coopra-
tion, la mobilit des chercheurs et tudi-
ants, et lintrt la France et la culture
franaise. Lambassadeur franais en Bel-
gique, M. Bernard Valero, soutient forte-
ment ce projet, et a ouvert lanne de la
France en janvier aux cot de M. Rector
Mark Waer de KU Leuven.
Ce mois-ci, les vnements de lanne
de la France incluent des performances
musicales, des festivals du flm, des con-
frences, et des sminaires djeuners, qui
auront lieu dans plusieurs villes belges. Je
recommande de voir un flm du festival
africain le 21 mars 20 h : non seulement
M. lambassadeur franais sera prsent,
mais le flm marocain Les Chevaux
de Dieu qui a t prim au festival de
Cannes en 2012 sera prsent. Pour le
programme complet de lanne de la
France, visitez http://www.kuleuven.be/
frankrijkjaar/fr/programma.
H
appy France Year! If you have yet
to hear about France Year 2013,
this is the time. Last year, KU Leuven
hosted Germany Year in cooperation with
the German Ambassador and several
German institutions. Tis momentum
propels us into 2013, a year packed with
events aimed at promoting interaction
and cooperation between Belgium and
their wine-imbibing southern neighbors.
Te three main goals of the project are to
encourage cooperation, improved mobil-
ity for researchers and students alike, and
to provoke interest in France and French
culture. Te French Ambassador to Bel-
gium, M. Bernard Valero, strongly sup-
ports the project, and he presided at the
opening event in January with Rector
Mark Waer of KU Leuven.
Tis month, events for France Year in-
clude musical performances, flm screen-
ings, lectures, and lunch seminars, which
will be taking place in cities across Bel-
gium. I would strongly recommend go-
ing to see a flm at the Africa Film Fes-
tival on 21 March at 8 pm - not only will
the French Ambassador be present, but
the Moroccan flm, Les Chevaux de Dieu
(Horses of God), was honored during the
2012 Cannes Film Festival. For the full
list of events for France Year, visit http://
www.kuleuven.be/frankrijkjaar/en/pro-
gram.
By Sarah Jenkins
French Ambassador Bernard Valero, at KU Leuven
to kick off France Year.
Photo by KU Leuven / Rob Stevens
D
espite the eforts of the Kyoto
Protocol and various global cli-
mate change conferences, the emission of
CO
2
and other greenhouse gases is still
going through the roof in many parts of
the world. Smaller-scale initiatives, how-
ever, are slowly coming into play, not in
the least here in Flanders. Te city of Leu-
ven also aims to reduce its net emission of
CO
2
to zero in the coming decades so as
to be fully climate neutral by 2030.
Given that cities are responsible for
70% of global CO
2
emission, it is only ft-
ting that they take the lead in remedying
that, climate expert and KU Leuven re-
search manager Peter Tom Jones explains.
I believed it was possible for Leuven to
become climate neutral and that it would
be easier for us than for cities such as
Ghent or Antwerp; we have a fairly small
population and dont have any heavy in-
dustry in the area.
Jones joined forces in May 2011 with
Mohamed Ridouani, City Councilor for
Environment, and a project was set up to
lay out a strategy to reduce the emission
of greenhouse gases to zero. By June last
year, a baseline measurement had been
established, from which it appeared that
60% of all greenhouse gases emitted in
Leuven comes from buildings and 25%
from trafc in and around the city. Te
further outcome of past years of the Leu-
ven Klimaatneutraal 2030 teams research
was presented on 20 February at the Ar-
tefact Festival at STUK, where a concrete
course of action for the city that is both
feasible and fnancially realistic was pre-
sented.
Serge de Gheldere, CEO of Future-
proofed, once more stressed the neces-
sity of immediate action. Klaus Bondam,
former Copenhagen mayor for Technical
and Environmental Administration, fol-
lowed by explaining Copenhagens trans-
formation to a carbon-neutral and green
city. Scientifc coordinator Han Vandevy-
vere focused on four chief felds of ac-
tion: housing, non-residential buildings,
mobility, and the use of energy. For each
of these, he suggested a mix of measures,
but the most important highlights were
large-scale renovations and a new mobil-
ity model with an equal share for bicycles,
public transport, and cars. Vandevyvere
repeatedly stressed the necessity of ini-
tial high investments but also assured the
audience of their certain proftability in
the near future. Ridouani concluded the
evening, stating that the city of Leuven is
already busy making changes to their ex-
isting infrastructure and adapting the city
center to make it a trafc-restricted area.
Metaforum
So far, KU Leuven has played a con-
siderable part in the initial stages of the
project, contributing
fnancially and plac-
ing research staf
at the LKN 2030
teams disposal. Te
university will con-
tinue to be involved,
but is also intent on
making signifcant
internal changes.
A working group
was set up within
Metaforum, a mul-
tidisciplinary think-
tank at KU Leuven
concerning relevant
social debates. Jones
says, Te goal of
this work group is
for the university as an organization to
become climate neutral. It works twofold:
frstly, there are the practical, concrete
measures to be taken with regard to logis-
tics, mobility, and energy efciency. How
can we become a green campus? Secondly,
there is our research and education: how
can we make KU Leuven an example of
sustainability and climate neutrality in
that area as well? We aim to have a plan of
action ready by the fall of 2013.
Citizen participation
Te initial steps may have been taken
by KU Leuven and the city, but other or-
ganizations and companies quickly came
on board. According to Jones, however,
the whole project does really work because
it also involves citizens. Citizen partici-
pation is an important aspect of this pro-
ject. It can only succeed if all participants
to the story are actively involved. Policies
laid down from above without support of
local organizations or citizens never have
much chance of success.
LCN 2030 called out to the people of
Leuven to come up with ideas, make sug-
gestions, and even volunteer to become
climate ambassadors. Tese climate am-
bassadors would then organize meetings
that anyone interested could attend to
exchange ideas to stop climate change,
says Yanti Ehrentraut, organizer of the
Klimaatparlement (Climate Parliament)
last December. By now, all citizen input
has been processed, so what remains for us
is to take their suggestions into account in
the further outline of the project. Many
participants were, for instance, willing to
reduce the use of cars or expressed an in-
terest in car sharing. Tey would opt for
the bicycle as an environmentally friendly
alternative but would then also look to the
city council to facilitate bicycle use in and
around the city. Te main goal was to give
citizens a chance to have a say in the story
of LCN 2030, and that is something we
defnitely managed to achieve.
Student initiatives
Students, too, are taking a stance on
sustainability and the future of our city. In
the spring of last year, masters students of
industrial engineering at Groep T Univer-
sity College founded CORE, a coopera-
tive aimed at developing and promoting
sustainability. CORE team member Dries
Bollaerts says, We set up several projects
a year, and we are free to choose what we
wish to work on. Because we ourselves are
fully responsible for the entire process, we
also gain a lot of entrepreneurial experi-
ence as well. His colleague, Ruben Vos,
continues. A project we did in Leuven,
for instance, was to take a closer look at
Alma De Moete. We took a critical look
at the building, assessing how it could be
improved with regard to energy efciency
and worked out a proposal on how to alter
it accordingly. Another project we worked
on is TV48. Here we made some recom-
mendations about the renovation of a
student house at 48 Tervuursevest so as to
make it more sustainable.
Tere is no way Leuven can become
climate neutral without the student body
joining in, the CORE Team justifably
thinks. Bollaerts, one of the students who
volunteered to become a climate ambas-
sador, says, We decided we especially
needed to tackle energy-inefcient stu-
dent dorms and houses. Tis is where an-
other project of ours, Copkot, came into
being: a co-op aimed at renovating stu-
dent houses and dorms, whose members
can rent ecological and energy-efcient
rooms. Essentially, climate neutrality and
sustainability are topics everyone needs
to work on together; that is why the idea
of a cooperative appeals to us so much,
not only within CORE, but also in gen-
eral. Tere is so much knowledge on hand
in this town - what we need most is to
combine all that knowledge, sensitize the
community, and work together on a sus-
tainable future.
2030: A Climate Neutral Leuven
By Liesbeth Schulp
LEUVEN
Photo by Sang Nguyen
f ea t ur es
Eco-friendly Living
By Evelyne Van Hecke
B
uy, throw away, buy, throw away, the capitalist economy made us believe that eve-
rything is disposable and replaceable. Its completely ingrained in the whole system.
Industrial engineers, for example, are trained to create products that break down after a short
period, so consumers have to keep buying them. Just one of the twisted ways to ensure a grow-
ing economy.
Te climate has been telling us for awhile now that this mentality has to change. How can
students in Leuven contribute to a more eco-friendly world? Tats what this issue is all about.
Photo by Gabriel Martnez Miranda
Heverlee Forest, Leuven.
Buy locally-grown
food and save the
planet
True, world cui-
sine is delicious, and
international students
will try to recreate
family recipes while
abroad. Supermarkets
are full of tomatoes,
cucumbers, peppers,
and they might be
native to your home-
land, but they do not
grow naturally in Bel-
gium.
Either they are
imported or they are
grown in a conserva-
tory. Import and ex-
port has a big impact
on the environment
due to transport
emissions. Production
of fruits and vegeta-
bles in a conservatory
is sometimes even more damaging. Day
and night fossil fuels are used to create the
perfect conditions to grow our tomatoes.
However, Belgium has its own fne
selection of local veggies, some of which
are not eaten any where else in the world.
Why not add them to your diet from time
to time? You could go for a traditional
Belgian dish, or use Belgian-grown veg-
etables in a self-invented recipe. Leeks,
Brussels sprouts, asparagus, red cabbage,
endives, fennel do fnd out what de-
licious things you can do with the local
vegetables. With no greenhouse necessary
and being locally produced, you cant do
better for the environment.
Thursday = veggie day
Vegetarians are not rare in Bel-
gium and the number keeps growing.
Although vegetarianism started out
of protests against malpractices in the
meat industry, more and more people
are won over by vegetarianism because
the meat industry has the biggest share
in CO
2
emissions on this planet. Most
eco-minded vegetarians do not want
people to give up meat completely, but
eating a lot less meat would help sig-
nifcantly if we would all do it together.
And thus, the fexitarian was born. A
fexitarian has a couple of vegetarian
days per week.
Why not go along with this trend by
starting with the veggie day? EVA (Eth-
ical Vegetarian Alternative) proclaimed
Tursday as Veggie Day. A lot of Bel-
gian schools, restaurants, and companies
are joining this initiative and dont serve
meat or fsh on Tursday; instead, they
serve a delicious vegetarian alternative.
If you dont know how to cook vegetar-
ian food, there are a couple of inspiring
vegetarian restaurants in Leuven. Green
Way on Parijsstraat and Lukemieke on
Vlamingenstraat can defnitely make
you cross the veggie border. STUK also
serves a vegetarian dish on Tursdays,
and of course, Indian restaurants always
serve some fne vegetarian dishes too.
Be trendy: go for secondhand
People used to scof at the idea of
secondhand goods. Secondhand meant
poor-quality items for the poor. If you
wanted to have a cool image, buying a
sweater that was already used by some-
one else was not the thing to do. But in
Europe, the fnancial crisis made a lot of
people see that secondhand is maybe not
that bad after all. Saving a euro for an
extra beer in the fakbar became more of
priority. Tats how vintage became hip.
Because of the crisis, secondhand house-
wares started becoming popular too. Why
buy a new sofa when someone will sell the
same one used for a year and sold for half
the price? Some also start the search for
cheap secondhand furniture because they
are sick of IKEA interiors.
Still not everyone has jumped on the
secondhand train. Tey may consider sec-
ondhand items unhygienic, or they might
be put of by a little damage. Stores like
IKEA, H&M, and Aldi ofer cheap prod-
ucts, and we are happy to buy them. But
remember this: cheap things are expen-
sive. If their production is not damaging
the environment, its often at the expense
of factory workers - oftentimes children.
Cheap products are often made in so-
called developing countries, where for in-
stance, child labour is not forbidden and
employees are not paid a fair wage. When
you are paying an incredibly low price for
a new item, that probably means someone
else is paying for you. Shopping second-
hand can give you the opportunity to buy
something cheap, and its less damaging to
something or someone else in the world.
To make life easier, more sustainable, and
human-friendlier for you, all the secrets of
Leuvens secondhand markets are revealed
in this issues article, Used & Vintage Is
the New Black.
When you want to get rid of some-
thing, consider if you could make some-
one else happy with it. You can either
resell it or donate it to an individual or or-
ganization. In Leuven, you can drop your
old clothes in containers around the city
that redistribute them to humanitarian
organizations. Or take them directly to
SPITs secondhand shop, so you can make
someone elses day with your used goods.
Used doesnt mean used up: a two-
wheeler sets the perfect example
Te modern human defnitely throws
his things away too quickly. Something
may be considered garbage by one per-
son, but someone else can give it a second
life. All you have to do is combine a bit
of imagination and handicraft. In Leuven,
people are defnitely the most imaginative
and handy with their bicycles. If bicycles
could talk, I would ask them how many
owners theyve had. Te answer would
most likely be more than two.
Once a year, the City of Leuven cleans
the Dijle River, where they fnd hundreds
Lef photos by Gabriel
Martnez Miranda;
bottom photo by Hai
Nguyen
Repair Caf held at
STUK during Artefact
Festival. For more
information on the global
Repair Caf initiative, go
to www.repaircafe.org.
of bicycles. Te bikes are taken to VELO,
where they are examined for usability.
Parts of bikes are salvaged to assimilate a
bicycle that can carry a new owner again.
Unfortunately, bikes are also the victims
of re-users outside the ofcial circuit. You
can read all about that in this issues arti-
cle, Bike Teft.
Recently, the NMBS (Belgian railway
company) started to work with second-
hand trains. Often, secondhand trains
still drive perfectly, but the interior may
not live up todays standard. Tey used to
throw them away or donate them to a de-
veloping country. Now they give the car-
riage a little bit of paint, new seats, etc.,
and the train looks as good as new. Travel-
ers are content to ride a secondhand train,
and it costs less to refurbish an old train
than to buy a brand new one.
You can apply this cunning business
strategy to your own day-to-day life, even
when you lack the skills to refurbish your
own goods. Take the example of shoes.
Te streets of Leuven are not nice to
shoes, and especially models with high
heels tend to wear out quickly on those vi-
cious cobblestones. You might be tempted
to throw them away and buy a new pair
in a cheap shop. STOP! Tere are many
schoenmakers (shoemakers, or cobblers)
who can make your old pair look and feel
as good as new. Tat solution is the more
sustainable and cheaper option.
Tere are also tailors in Leuven who
can do the same for your clothes. But
when your clothes are too far gone, you
can still think outside the trash can. Your
ripped jeans could be turned into a stylish
purse, your thin top into a dust cloth. Fur-
niture can easily receive the same treat-
ment. Develop an eye for the potential of
an old piece of furniture. How would it
look with a splash of paint, some stickers,
or new fabric? If you like the looks of that
mental picture, buy it and go to the DIY
or craft shop to make it a real gem for
your student room. With a little creativity,
even your trash will serve you well.
Pollute less, consume less
Try to keep your amount of garbage
as low as possible. Unfortunately, we cant
go through life without producing it (yet),
but we can change some of our habits in
order to pollute less.
Before you go to the supermarket,
dont leave home without a reusable shop-
ping bag. Remembering your reusable
will not only save some money, but you
also save the planet from some extra non-
recycable plastics. You can also take your
reusable bag when you go for your next
fashion hunt instead of taking the shops
bag. When you do end up with a plastic
bag after shopping, try to reuse it as much
as you can. When you buy unpacked veg-
etables, you can group them together in
one bag.
Speaking of unpacked vegetables, the
biggest part of our garbage is packaging.
Try to go for items that are the least pre-
packed, and use sustainable packaging
that can be reused, like tupperware boxes,
lunch boxes, or Bocn Roll reusable lunch
wrappers.
Sharing your meals with friends or
kotmates is also benefcial to the plan-
et. When you shop together, you throw
away less. For example, your milk would
not have time to turn sour with everyone
sharing it, so you avoid the risk of getting
sick or being forced to pour it down the
sink. You would only have to cook and do
the dishes once, which will not only save
time but also water and energy (gas and/
or electricity). Not to mention the fact
that food tastes so much better when you
share it!
If you decide not to share, but you
have unwanted leftovers, you can sell
them to someone else. In Leuven, you can
do that via www.thuisafgehaald.be. You
can act as a takeout restaurant for the day,
and put your leftovers up for sale to some-
one too lazy or busy to cook. You earned
some extra cash, you didnt have to throw
away food, and chances are the takeout
will be transported with a bike instead of
a moped.
Public transport, a bicycle, carpool-
ing, and car sharing are ways to make
your travel on this planet less damag-
ing. For short distances, you can use
your bike or feet, emissions-free except
the ones from your breathing - hurrah!
For longer distances, consider the bus (to
Heverlee and Kessel-Lo, its free with
the bus pass), the train (long live the Go
Pass for -26 and the Rail Pass for +26,
for travels inside Belgium!) or carpooling
(www.roadsharing.com) for your travels
around Europe.
Recently, Belgian public transporta-
tion companies started the concept of
car sharing (www.cambio.be). Its mostly
meant for people in cities, who have easy
access to public transport, but who may
experience its shortcomings. Some loca-
tions are poorly connected, and trains/
buses unfortunately dont operate 24/7.
An answer to these shortcomings is car
sharing. You pay a per-km fee to use a
car from time to time. You can reserve
it, pick it up at one of several places in
the city, and then return it. By only us-
ing the car when its really necessary, you
consume less petrol and reduce your con-
tribution to atmospheric CO2.
Recycle away
The next best thing to consuming
less is recycling as much as possible.
You might disagree with the Belgian re-
cycling system, but it is what it is, so try
to cooperate. Because its so Belgianly
complicated, THE VOICE interviewed
the recycling expert of Leuven, the ad-
visor on domestic culture and sustain-
able living of the Housing Service (see
Housing Service in this issue). Now
you have to promise us something:
make reminders. Write, draw, paint,
photoshop on a card what can and cant
go in the brown bag, blue bag, green
bag, and with the paper. Hang those
reminders close to your garbage bags.
That way, you can remember it once
and for all. One more big tip for glass:
return your beer bottles, and get your
deposit back. Bottle money: you recy-
cled, and you saved some money! The
bottles go back to the factory, where
they are cleaned and refilled with the
Belgian golden drink. They do the same
for some other glass bottles, like wine
bottles, so check the label.
Now why should you recycle? Recy-
clable goods can be reused, decreasing
dependence on raw materials. Thanks
to recycling, we have to mine our planet
less in order to pack our food. In the
best case scenario, the trash that cant
be recycled ends up in the incinerator.
The heat is used to generate electricity,
which is done in a relatively eco-friend-
ly way. Worst case scenario, it ends up
in a dump. Though its a rare sight in
Belgium, they do still exist. So its al-
ways better to make sure that you dont
waste what can be recycled.
These are our simple, low-impact
tips, but when we all apply them to-
gether on a daily basis, we will have
a highly positive impact on Mother
Earth. So please join the eco-friendly
club.
Photo by Odette Rivera
March Place du Jeu de Balle in Brussels.
Do-It-Yourself: Origami Flower
Photos by Limin Liang & Gabriel Martnez Miranda
Step 1: Start with a square piece of used
paper.
Step 2: Fold the paper in half diagonally.
Step 3: Fold the left corner to the top
corner.
Step 4: Fold the right corner to the top
corner.
Step 5: Open the left fap (into a cone),
then fatten it down, creasing the sides.
Step 6: Do the same thing with the right
fap.
Step 7: Fold the top-left corner down. Step 8: Do the same thing to the right
fap.
Step 9: Fold the left fap in half.
Step 10: Do the same thing to the right
fap.
Step 11: Bring the right and left faps
together and glue or tape them to each
other to make one petal.
Step 12: Repeat all of the previous steps
to make fve petals. Then glue or tape the
petals together.
Have you ever thought, I want to decorate my place with fowers, but Im too lazy (or cheap) to go to the market to get
fresh fowers every two weeks. Well, pick up some used paper and some glue or clear tape and follow the steps below to
create homemade fowers.
W
eve all been there at least once:
youre in need of a nice set of
shot glasses, a unique and original outft,
or maybe even some extra furniture, but
youre just a bit low on funds at the mo-
ment. Why not kill two birds with one
stone by doing some secondhand shop-
ping? Its easy on the wallet and good for
the environment!
First stop on the hunt for any sec-
ondhand item in Leuven must be SPIT.
Situated next to the Bodart parking lot,
SPIT is by far the biggest secondhand
shop in town. Clothes, shoes, furniture,
books, carpets, mirrors, kitchen utensils...
you name it, they have it all. Teir array
of crockery and glassware is impressive,
and youll fnd yourself a comfortable
sofa or a nice set of chairs in no time.
What makes this place even more inter-
esting is that at the end of your stay in
Leuven, you can return whatever youre
not taking back home with you!
Or sell your old things and buy oth-
ers at Leuvens Ecoshop (just past the
harbour on Kolonel Begaultlaan). Tis
warehouse-turned consignment store
has an enormous selection of furniture,
appliances, and knick-knacks.
An equally eclectic array of goods
can be found at the Saturday market
on the Mathieu De Layensplein. Grown
attached to those big, beautiful beer
glasses? Get your own right here! With
its books, glassware, and little curiosities,
this small market gives of a pleasant ga-
rage sale vibe.
With interior design taken care of,
continue your hunt for bargains in the
fashion department. Te Leuven branch
of Tink Twice (T2) is located at 255
Diestsestraat and ofers vintage items as
well as daily basics. Youll be hard pressed
to fnd a dull piece in the quirky collec-
tion for sale here. With items costing
around 10 euros apiece, you can easily
jazz up your wardrobe for just a little
money. Tey change collections every fve
weeks, at the end of which there are sales.
T2 operates on two main principles: re-
cycling clothes and keeping fashionable
clothing available for everyone.
Just down Diestestraat at number
217, youll fnd Cyaankali, a secondhand
shop with more upscale fashion. Tis is
place to go if youre interested in own-
ing an afordable designer piece. Owner
Elke is quite particular about the clothes
she accepts, stating that she only sells top
labels and nothing purchased over three
years ago. It defnitely shows; the small
shop is a label paradise at prices down
to one fourth of the original. Be sure to
have a look at the accessories - you just
might fnd yourself a gently used Del-
vaux or Louis Vuitton bag, good as new!
A shop similar to Cyaankali is
Rawette at 13 Den Tempst. Youll fnd
Armani and Boss rather than high street
fashion in this exclusive
secondhand shop just be-
hind the Oude Markt and
Parijsstraat, open since
1979. Be sure to have a
look at the displays with
stunning vintage jewelry
and other accessories on
both sides of the counter.
Quite diferent from
these two is De Kapstok
on Mechelsestraat. De Ka-
pstok runs entirely on vol-
unteers, with proceeds go-
ing to the CAW, a centre
for social work and assis-
tance. Although youll fnd
less snazzy items here, the
clothes hangers may hold
some surprises yet. Teir
democratic prices and the fact that pur-
chases support a good cause makes De
Kapstok a worthy addition to the list.
Book lovers on a budget neednt be
left empty-handed in Leuven either.
Youll have no trouble fnding books
in Dutch, English, French, or German
in any of the following book shops, al-
though a search for books in other lan-
guages might leave you rummaging
through the bookcases a little longer.
Start your hunt for your next favourite
read at De Slegte (47 Bondgenotenlaan).
Tis Dutch chain is the biggest second-
hand bookshop in Leuven, though not
necessarily the cheapest. Be sure to also
check out the smaller, antiquarian book-
sellers in town, such as In t Profjtelijk
Boeksken (180 Diestsestraat), Procopi-
us (62 Naamsestraat), and Vanhove (16
Muntstraat), if only for their dusty book-
ish smell and a brief look at the selection
of frst editions.
Of course our beautiful town does not
hold the monopoly on secondhand retail.
A trip to Brussels wouldnt be complete
without a visit to the daily fea market
on the Vossenplein. Nothing beats stroll-
ing around the huge square among the
sometimes bizarre pieces on display and
trying a hand at haggling once youve set
your mind on something. Once in the
city center, stop by Lucien Cravate at
24 Kartuizerstraat, and feast your eyes
on the retro accessories and trinkets.
Ramon & Valy (19 Verversstraat) is the
oldest secondhand shop in Brussels, and
they boast a collection of clothes from all
the big labels of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
Lastly, theres the Second Life Festival
at La Tentation, a monthly festival that
combines vintage shopping with exhi-
bitions and live music. Check out their
website for the dates of future editions.
In Antwerp, be sure to stop by Re-
tour, fea market and vintage shop in one
(48 Graaf van Hoornestraat). Located
in the trendy Kammenstraat at number
58 is Feelings, a shop brimming with
retro furniture and knick-knacks. Fans of
Cyaankali and Rawette will have a feld
day at Ann-Vers (10 Mechelsesteenweg)
or dALis wysiwyg store (393 Lange
Leemstraat).
Ghent would not be deserving of its
status as hipster capital of Belgium if it
werent packed with artsy, quirky shops.
Heres the 411 on all things retro and
vintage: Te Fallen Angels (29-31 Jan
Breydelstraat) for curiosities and post-
cards, Pieternel (5 Bij Sint-Jacobs)
for all your vintage shoes and designer
handbags, and House of Vintage (27
Dampoortstraat) and Chato Retro (47
Sint-Kwintensberg) for clothes and ac-
cessories. Tese are by no means the only
secondhand places; youll no doubt stum-
ble upon many more on a walk through
most neighborhoods.
Of course, this would not be the 21st
century if you could not shop for all of
the above simply through your computer.
And who better to exchange things with
than your fellow exchange students?
Have an online look at the Pangaea Fa-
cebook group, the Leuven Junk Shop
Facebook group, or the ofcial KU
Leuven Pangaea forum: http://forum.
kuleuven.be/list.php?59
Naturally, there are also myriad non-
KU Leuven websites at your disposal,
but heres the rub: secondhand websites
operating in Belgium are only available
in Dutch and French. So either brush
up on your French or nudge a Belgian
friend to help you out with transla-
tions on your search for some new old
things. Websites like www.kapaza.be
and www.2dehands.be are good places
to start; koopjeskrant.be is only avail-
able in Dutch.
Additionally, all the websites men-
tioned above are good alternatives to
SPIT for the stuf you wont be taking
back with you at the end of your ex-
change in Leuven, provided you manage
to sell them before youre due home, of
course.
Photo by Sanjin Pajo
Used & Vintage Is The New Black
By Liesbeth Schulp
The store Think Twice, Leuven.
Bike Theft: What You Dont Know
By Ruben Bruynooghe
T
heres a bit more to bike theft than
just petty crimes. Tis month, the
Leuven police department publishes its
annual report, revealing some remarkable
numbers that say a lot more about police
protocol and Leuven culture than youd
guess at frst glance. Here are some facts
about bike theft that you probably didnt
know.
Police are legally required to steal your
bike
It may sound contradictory at frst, but
police forces and other city services are
actually Leuvens most prolifc bike-lift-
ers. Teres good reason, however, because
wrongfully parked bicycles can seriously
block normal trafc. To prevent traf-
fc pile-ups, police are constantly towing
away bikes.
Patrols are also required to take care
of so-called orphaned bikes. Bikes that
are left unattended for three weeks are
declared orphaned, and they will also be
moved away. City guards will frst label
your bike with a piece of paper, and if they
return three weeks later with the label still
intact, they are allowed to confscate your
bike, regardless of how respectfully you
parked the so-called orphan.
Tings get weirder though: police
forces are also legally required to take
your vehicle into custody should you
leave it unlocked. Te same goes for cars
with valuables on clear display and with
the windows open. Police wont tow away
your car, but they will remove the valu-
ables. Te legal logic behind this is that
servants of the law need to prevent any
crimes from happening. Tis means they
also have to intervene in situations where
someone might be tempted to commit
such an act, like lifting an unlocked bicy-
cle. Of course, ofcers will return your be-
loved transport when asked for it, but they
will only guard it for six months before
giving it away. Situations have occurred
where I took six unlocked, unguarded
bikes into custody after a routine control.
Tose bikes just stood at my ofce for
months because nobody ever bothered to
ask for them, says Nick Vandenbussche,
police ofcer.
Next time you assume your bike is lost
without a trace, you might want to check
with the police. Chances are, you left it
unlocked, or youre just a lousy parker.
Only six bikes were stolen from campus
grounds last year!
While some numbers are astounding,
others are just plain unbelievable. Secu-
rity personnel from the several campuses
around Leuven only noted six cases of
bike theft last year. As far as ofcial num-
bers go, this one is a hilarious underesti-
mate. Te fact is that most people wont
report a theft to the police, let alone to
security guards.
In 2011, police registered only 2,256
complaints of bike theft. Estimates say
the real number is way up. Vandenbussche
says, Tere is a gigantic dark number. Ive
seen bikes disappear piece by piece in a pe-
riod spanning more than a week. Nobody
ever came to fle a complaint. Reporting
a theft to the police is important for many
reasons, but for all you know, your bike
might already be safe and found.
Youre probably already driving a stolen
bike (if youre renting)
In case youre wondering what hap-
pens when nobody comes to pick up a
bike after a six-month wait, the answer is
simple: like other orphans, it is given away
to the citys bike servicing centre, Velo. At
Velo, bikes are registered, repaired, and
rented out. Tis bicycle cycle means that
when you rent a bike from Velo, you are
almost certainly driving around on confs-
cated goods. At least the criminal sensa-
tion should be more than enough to make
up for the bikes horrible suspension.
Te fact that Velo bikes were stolen
before does not make them immune to
another round of bike theft however. Of-
cial numbers show that last year, 311 Velo
bikes were stolen. Tat amounts to 13.8%
of all complaints of bike theft! Some bikes
will just never learn.
Spraying it pink wont work
As you might have noticed already,
lots of bikes in Leuven are painted in
horrendous, bright colours. Usually this
is deemed to act as a repellent from
thieves. Consequently, it has nothing to
do with their owners aggressively want-
ing to shout out their personality all over
town.
Graphic by Wim Dehaen
Te bad news is that, apart from
looking extremely stupid, this almost
never works. Bike thieves in Leuven
are mostly users. Tis means that these
thieves will just borrow your bike, take it
for a spin, and drop it immediately when
theyve reached their destination. Only a
small portion of bike thefts are conducted
by an organized gang or criminal. It fol-
lows that regular bike thieves will only
look for a bike that is easy to steal, rather
than being afraid that the fashion police
is going to arrest them.
If you thought a colourful bike would
be more easily recognizable in Leuven,
you might be right if you were the only
one thinking that. However, if you ask
the police to be on the lookout for a pink
ladies bike, you might as well ask them
to be on the lookout for a bike with two
wheels on it.
Being able to recognize your bike af-
ter it gets stolen is a good idea though.
Te fact is that some bikes never get sto-
len at all, but rather, some group of trou-
blesome gnats decided it would be a fun
idea to pick up your bike and put it down
a couple meters further down the road,
just out of sight.
If you really want the police to recog-
nize your bike, you should strongly con-
sider marking your bike with a registered
number. Tis can be done at Velo (Hol-
lestraat 1), Fietspunt (Leuven station),
the bicycle service of the Leuven police
(Mechelsestraat 162-168 or De Vunt 2
in Holsbeek), or at periodic events where
the service is ofered. Te good thing
about this is that the police will auto-
matically warn you when theyve found
your bike, meaning that you dont even
have to check for yourself, and its only
half the fee to pick it up (5 euros). Even
with all these benefts, only a small por-
tion of bikes are registered. A sample of
225 bikes showed that only 10-30% of all
bikes are registered.
Day or night, makes no difference
Stealing a bike is surprisingly easy.
A quick scan will reveal that a lot of
bikes arent even locked at all. But even
when they are locked, not every lock
will do. Some locks can just be yanked
open. As for trusting that eyewitnesses
will come and prevent any attempted
theft, you are seriously mistaken. Num-
bers show time and time again that
most bike thefts happen on the busi-
est streets: Naamsestraat, Bondegen-
otenlaan, and Tiensestraat are all in
the top four riskiest locations. Finally,
to destroy any claims to social control,
the official numbers show that there is
no difference at all between bikes be-
ing stolen at night compared to those
stolen in broad daylight.
All this does not make Leuven a cy-
clists hell. Just dont take your most ex-
pensive ride to town, secure your bike
with a lock that cant be cut with rela-
tive ease, and make sure your bike cant
be moved by simply picking it up. If
you follow these simple rules and park
properly, you ll likely never encounter
any problems at all.
M
ore and more, the media re-
minds us of the planets state.
Global warming, never-ending poverty
we seem to be heading the wrong way.
Luckily for those who want to head of
the damage, the business world is jumping
at the opportunity to build a new, ethical,
sustainable economy. Green economy is a
hot topic; on one hand, it is a great op-
portunity for a more ethical way of doing
business, but on the other hand, it seems
green is riddled with false advertising.
Trough what we buy in the super-
market, we send a message. We may buy
more organic foods, not only for health
reasons, but to save the earth from all
kinds of unnecessary chemicals. Tere is
no clear proof that organics are superior
to conventional food. Organic just means
that there were no chemicals used in pro-
duction; it does not mean that buying
them necessarily supports a small co-op
that hires locals for farming and vending.
Furthermore, producing organics requires
more land and water, meaning that about
three times as much farmland is needed,
resulting in even fewer forests.
Besides organic, there is also the
green label of Fairtrade. By buying prod-
ucts with the Fairtrade label, we make
sure that whatever we consume is traded
for a fair price. Note there is a diference
between being fairly traded and Fairtrade.
Critics of the Fairtrade label reason that
it takes away the incentive for innova-
tion and change. From a strict economic
view, a low price means overproduction,
so Fairtrade acts as a subsidy for overpro-
duction. It misses the root of the prob-
lem: there is more supply than there is
demand, and the fair price that is paid
is an extra incentive to enter the market,
pressing the non-Fairtrade prices down
even more. Besides, Fairtrade only sup-
ports smaller co-ops, thereby not protect-
ing the majority of employees who work
on bigger plantations. Ironically, these are
perhaps the employees that need the most
protection.
An alternative to the Fairtrade label is
Rainforest Alliance, which is not depend-
ent on the size of production. And beyond
regulating minimum prices, it assists with
training to make companies competitive
in the global economy.
So do these not-so-green labels mean
that we should stop buying organic, fair-
ly-traded, sustainable products? No but
it does mean that we should think twice
about how we want to preserve this plan-
et. In many cases, fair and green are pro-
motional tools there are a lot of com-
panies that use the green trend to boost
their profts. Tis goes against all the
goals of labels like Fairtrade and Rainfor-
est Alliance, but it also defes our goals
and standards as consumers. In every case
though, buying power is in the hands of
the well-informed consumer.
How Green Is Green?
By Ilja Postel
Commentary
Photo by Sara Rich
Caf In Den Rozenkrans,
Vlierbeek Abbey, Kessel-lo.
T
he vernal equinox is 20 March, marking the frst day of spring and the time
of year when long, cold nights retreat in favor of longer daylight hours. But
where can you go to enjoy a breath of fresh spring air in Leuven? Believe it or not,
there are a few areas in- and outside of Leuven where a glimpse of the natural world
can still be found.
Recent studies have indicated that Belgiums high population density (almost
400 people/km
2
) has had a drastic efect on its environment. Analysts rank Belgiums
environmental performance index (EPI) the lowest among the EU, and in a study
of water quality in 122 countries around the world, Belgium again fell all the way to
the bottom of the list raw sewage in fresh water sources was a main contributor to
the dismal statistics.
In Leuven, the population density rockets far beyond Belgiums national aver-
age to 1,700 people/km
2
(57 km
2
, population 100,000). Students and others living
in Leuvens centre may have a difcult time getting a breath of fresh air amidst the
exhaust fumes, vile-smelling canals, and the Stella brewerys industrial perfume of
yeast and sulfur.
However, there are several places in the area that ofer some olfactory peace
where you might actually want to stop and smell the fowers. In Leuvens centre,
there is the Kruidtuin, the botanical garden on Kapucijnenvoer of Brusselsestraat.
Entrance to the breathtaking gardens is free, and visitors can enjoy some fresh air
scented with fabulous plants from all over the world, while relaxing to the sound of
water fountains on a sunlit park bench.
Just outside of Leuven, there are also a few places to go for a healthy dose of
Mother Nature. Leuvens provincial domain is in Kessel-lo, where you can fnd walk-
ing trails around several ponds brimming with fsh, ducks, even a few resident cranes.
For extra peace and quiet, take a row or paddle boat out on the biggest pond, where
the only sounds youll hear are the ones coming from songbirds.
If you live on the other side of Leuven, Heverlee also has a wide spread of woods
and trails where you can spot some wildlife and fnd some fresh air. Take Naamses-
teenweg to the Heverleebos, which, together with the Merdaalwoud and Eigen-
hovenbos, comprises over 2,000 ha of nature-ridden peace and quiet. If youre lucky,
you might even spot a few wild deer, foxes, hares, or boars, all of whom make their
home in these woods.
Also try the area abbeys for a quiet so peaceful that even monks approve. In
Leuven, the Keizerberg Abbey has a lovely ground complete with fruit trees and
a pasture full of sheep that makes it easily worth climbing the hill to get there. In
Kessel-lo, the Vlierbeek Abbey is surrounded by felds, horse pastures, and trails
through quiet woods. Heverlee hosts the Park Abbey, which is likewise surrounded
by felds and kilometers of walking and biking trails. A special plus: each of these
abbeys also ofers its own beer, so you can sample some local favors on the grounds
where theyre brewed without sufocating from any industrial fumes.
A Breath
of Fresh
Spring Air
By Sara Rich
Photo by Sam Patel
Leuven Botanical Garden.
Housing Service: Nikkie Melis
By Hai Nguyen
D
o you recall that kind-looking, sweet-smiling and oh-so-funny lady who came
to our orientation day and made quite a show out of the colour-coded garbage
bags of Leuven? Ms. Nikkie Melis has devoted most of her career to environmental
protection. To her, sustainability is what citizens of developed countries could achieve
through altering their lifestyles. She takes pride in her role of introducing one of the top
recycling systems in Europe to international students. And she believes that recycling is
the key to sustainability on planet Earth.
HN: Who are you and how long have you
been doing this job?
NM: I have been working at the Hous-
ing Service of KU Leuven for six years.
My job is to sensitize international stu-
dents to the kot (residential) culture of
KU Leuven, including environment, mo-
bility, and sustainability. And of course,
Leuvens famous recycling system is a
part of this.
HN: What do you normally do on a daily
basis at the Housing Service?
NM: My job at the Housing Service of
KU Leuven involves environmental ad-
visory and organizing eco-friendly pro-
jects. I advise international students who
need help on the recycling system. I am
also involved in several other projects on
sustainability. One of them includes the
Veggie Bag. Every Monday afternoon,
we go to diferent places in Leuven to sell
fresh, healthy, eco-friendly bags of veg-
etables produced locally. Tere are seven
pick-up points in Leuven altogether, and
this project is going very well. We have
quite a number of clients and most of
them are students. Te city of Leuven is
going to become climate-neutral in 2030,
and we are preparing ourselves for that.
HN: Are there going to be changes in the
current policies? Changes to a city as old as
Leuven are not always easy, are they?
NM: Yes. And one of the challenges we
have to face is collaboration: local gov-
ernment, university, companies, citizens,
and students. Everyone will have to con-
sume less energy! But as you know, most
buildings in the city are quite old, up to
several hundreds of years. Considering
that many historic buildings are not in-
sulated, it will not be easy to save energy.
Also, not everybody is sensitive to envi-
ronmental issues, which makes it quite
difcult to change consumption patterns.
HN: Te recycling system in Leuven is one of
the strictest systems in the world. Is this one
of the key factors in turning it to an envi-
ronmentally-friendly city today?
NM: Our waste system is the best in Eu-
rope. We collect waste selectively so we
can give it a second life. Garden waste
becomes compost. Rare metals are ex-
tracted from mobile phones. Drinks car-
tons are turned into pullovers. A second
life for waste reduces the pressure on our
planet. I believe that recycling, together
with consuming less, is the key to making
our planet a better place in which to live.
HN: Is that the reason why the system is so
strict? Te truth is, international students
may have trouble memorizing all the rules
of the system, especially the PMD bag. Can
you briefy explain to us how the system
works and how we can fnd relevant infor-
mation?
NM: Since the system is so complex, I
would advise consulting the KU Leu-
ven website. Type sorting waste into the
English search engine. And then click on
environment. On that page, youll fnd
all the information, including a transla-
tion of the Leuven waste calendar. Prints
of this translation also can be collected
from the Housing Service in Naamses-
traat or at Residence Management if you
live in a room from KU Leuven. But I
can give you a tip for the PMD bag: only
plastic bottles and fasks, metal packag-
ing, and drink cartons can be thrown in
the blue bag!
HN: Has this sorting system been used for
a long time? Is it part of peoples everyday
lives?
NM: It is our culture now. Te system
has been in existence as long as I can
remember, and I am living quite a long
time (laugh). I came to Leuven in the
1990s, and the system was in place then.
HN: How can students get in touch with
you?
NM: My email address is : nikkie.me-
lis@dsv.kuleuven.be. Feel free to send
me your questions. Also, we are now or-
ganizing projects to further improve our
eco-friendly policies, and we are look-
ing for ideas, especially from students.
If you have any ideas on how we can
make Leuven become a pollution-free,
eco-friendly, energy-saving city, feel
free to send your ideas to us. We wel-
come your input.
Conversations
Nikkie Melis, Housing Service.
For more information and to download
instruction leafets on the waste sorting and
colour waste bags, please go to this website:
http://www.kuleuven.be/studentenvoorzie-
ningen/advisorsresidential/environment.html
Photo by Gabriel Martnez Miranda
S
ociety is educated about environmental issues now more than ever be-
fore. Yet all we keep hearing is that the world is ending, and were all
going to die. Of course we will all die; welcome to Human Existence 101, thanks
for stopping by. But while youre here, why not try to shape the world in your
own image? In fve easy steps, you can become the eco-warrior that no one
ever wanted you to be.
Be Militant. Contrary to popular belief, we do not live in an age of relativism.
Moderation is for the undecided. There is only one correct view of reality, and
that is yours. A position of tolerance will not get your message across, as people
truly appreciate a hard sell. Need further convincing? Look at how successful
religious zealots, militia militants, and cult leaders are. Exactly.
Reduce Waste. Westerners waste a lot of food. Whether this is due to over-
sized portions, entitlement issues, or capitalist-generated insatiability is irrel-
evant. The only way to stop this behaviour is through intervention. Try sitting
with a stranger who has a large portion of food. Look warily at the food and ask,
Are you going to eat ALL of that? Stare until you get an answer, or the person
leaves. You may fnd yourself with an incredibly tolerant new friend or get a free
meal, and isnt that a win either way?
Decrease Productivity. Productivity = excess. The problem is not that were
doing too little; its that were doing too much. Productivity is what got us into
this mess, so reverse the trend by doing as little as possible. If this leaves you
feeling useless or dissatisfed, always remember theres medication for that.
Nature is Beauty. Reframe your thinking and learn to see beauty where
others do not. If your dog defecates on the sidewalk, do not clean it up. This is
an unnecessary use of carcinogenic plastic (and your valuable time and effort)
to dispose of a perfectly natural and biodegradable process. If a bystander gives
you grief, stare at her compassionately while sadly shaking your head.
Embrace Lifes Contradictions. People who point out inconsistencies are
being petty just for the sake of hearing their own voice. Complain about smok-
ers as youre driving your car or pulling on a spliff. Lecture people on vegetari-
anism while chewing gum and wearing leather shoes. Ignore inconsistencies, at
least in your own behaviour. You know your own heart is pure, but what about
the rest of humanity?
Life as an eco-warrior isnt always easy, but it has its rewards, such as bask-
ing in the glow of self-satisfaction and righteous indignation, while doing very
little to actually resolve the issues. Maximum results for minimum effort. Isnt
that what saving the planet is really about?
Never Thought You Could
Be an Eco-warrior?
Think Again.
By Melissa Smith
Photo by Sam Patel
Cultural Investigation
Theoretical Perspective
Entertainment & Art
Lifestyle
I
n most of the villages and rural areas
of southern Nigeria, where I grew
up, perhaps the most sacred and ostenta-
tious place, after the local shrine, is the
open marketplace. It stands apart by its
structure, design, and function.
Te structure of the typical rural mar-
ket is that of a large open space, like an
agora, sprayed with bamboo-built shades,
locally constructed kiosks, a few stores
and/or traders simply hawking their
wares. From human economic exchange,
the marketplace is often dusty and noisy.
It serves the local communitys needs,
not just in sales and purchases, but also
in engendering regular contacts between
inhabitants. Te local market day occurs
once a week, and this is the day when
most of the villagers gather within a single
geographical space. It is a common say-
ing in Africa that you should not throw
a stone into the marketplace because your
mother may just happen to be there.
Regardless of whether or not media
technology, such as radio and television,
are available, these resources provide
information that sits outside the every-
day lives of most villagers. Instead, the
marketplace takes on the function of
local media, where recent gossip, useful
information, and editorial opinions are
collected, cooked, and dished out. Te
vitality and speed with which local news
is transferred from person to person,
until it becomes common knowledge, is
remarkable and unique to the rural mar-
ketplace.
Tis sort of media is built on oppor-
tunity, the kind that inevitably opens up
where the majority of the people neces-
sarily and regularly have to gather. Here,
the communitys social positions, indi-
vidual tastes, worth, and dispositions fnd
publication. Here, groups and individuals
meet with the praise or blame that comes
along with public judgment.
Defning public opinion
Not surprisingly, public opinion is
simply the opinion of the public. Basi-
cally, that would be my apt reply to a curi-
ous 6 year-old kid. Te sweet aptness of
the answer may suddenly turn sour if he
is curious enough to ask, Ten who is the
public?
In my intellectual quest to articulate,
or fnd my way within the maze of, what
public opinion essentially is, my greatest
difculty lay within the word public. In-
stead of a single opinion, it seems more
reasonable to me to make it plural: public
opinions.
Tat may solve the problem of ar-
ticulation, but it creates another problem,
what I call a functional problem. How
useful will a collection of divergent views
tagged public opinions be for the politi-
cian, economist, sociologist, business or
industrial planner, the academic research-
er, or even a public personality trying to
cul t ur e
The Rural African Marketplace
Photo by Brian Sisco
The value of public opinion
By Jude Mukoro
Banjul, Gambia.
position the self in the polls of popular-
ity? A collection of divergent views simply
cannot add up to become just one view.
However, what is useful and really needed
for someone whose stakes lie on the pub-
lic table, is the true, one and only opinion
of the public.
I will proceed with the defnition of
Gabriel Tarde. He defnes public opinion
as the totality of judgments. Tis in-
sightful defnition presupposes the possi-
bility of complexes in what we call public
opinion. It is also a pragmatic defnition
that allows for at least one dominant voice
at the end of the evolutionary process of
public opinion. It is this domi-
nant voice that we may call pub-
lic opinion.
Dominant, yes, although not
because everyone agrees with it.
As Elizabeth Noelle-Neumanns
Spiral of Silence demonstrates, it
is dominant because it is that
voice which is loud enough to
dominate, or better still, drown
within itself the other smaller
voices to produce what seems
like a symphony. Loud enough
to be heard, yet harmonious
enough to reconcile opposites in
one voice.
We may not exactly capture
or articulate in precise terms
what public opinion is or what
it looks like. It may appear like a
myth, but it is obviously a kind
of myth that bites. However, in
some situations, public opinion
carries inside it the deepest yearnings and
aspirations of the people. It is able to be-
come a living fesh, with teeth that can re-
ally bite hard.
Te rural marketplace as formulator, in-
terpreter, and enforcer of public opinion
I recall here an incident that hap-
pened when I was a child. My mother
came home a bit tired and frustrated. She
swore at the rising prices of foodstufs
and showed visible dissatisfaction with
the few items she managed to buy and
that was after much bargaining and price
comparison within the marketplace.
She also talked about those like Mrs.
Ngozi who was worse of. She was known
and mocked in the market because of her
unique character. It is common custom to
taste items like peanuts, fruits, and some
other consumables, at least from two sell-
ers, before settling on a purchase. She was
known to manipulate this opportunity, to
fll up her stomach before returning home,
most times without making a purchase at
all. Needless to say, she was not a welcome
client at the kiosks.
On the other hand, there was Madam
Paulina, wife to the local government in-
spector. She was known to buy the most
expensive foodstufs, especially meats
and fshes. She would ask the fshmon-
ger to cut of the heads of the fshes that
she bought, which she either left with
the fshmonger or shared amongst the
growing numbers of admiring women
around her. Consequently, she was well-
liked and honoured by both sellers and
fellow women because of her class and
style. Each market day, her status was re-
enforced within the marketplace, but this
honoured treatment spilled over to how
she was treated outside the marketplace
too. In short, the economic centre is the
centre of the circle of public opinion in a
rural culture.
It quickly became my pastime to
eavesdrop into private conversations be-
tween my father and mother, usually held
late into the night. Te conversations on
the evenings of market days were the
most interesting, when Mother told tales
from the market: how Okoro beat up his
wife again yesterday morning, how the fa-
mous palm wine tapper Nkolu fell from
the palm tree and broke his neck, and lots
of other stories. In all these instances, I
notice three elements: 1) news is brought
into the marketplace by at least one per-
son; 2) the stories are modifed, amplifed,
and broadcasted - in other words, pieces
of information become public property as
they are changed from the original story
into something recreated by the public,
into its own; and 3) these converted pieces
of information are carried back to various
households as the defnitive summary,
where subtle modifcations are ongoing.
Instead of dwelling on these modif-
cations that are manifest in public opin-
ion, I will just articulate the processes in-
volved in the formulation, interpretation,
and enforcement of public opinion in the
marketplace. I base the intrinsic ethical
strength and the substantial moral power
of public opinion on two main proposi-
tions:
1. Public opinion might not be nec-
essarily ethical or moral, but it is
functional and pragmatic.
2. Public opinion might not be
necessarily guided, ethically con-
structed, or emotionally sensitive,
but it has the backing of human
nature and what I call facial eth-
ics.
As for the frst proposition, the vir-
tues of efciency and productivity are
celebrated, since speedy decisions have to
be made, and along with a low-risk men-
tality, premium place is given to estab-
lished reputation. If we are to work with
him, who is he? What do others think of
him? In small African villages, marriages
are not normally consummated without
prior approval of families of both groom
and bride. Tis approval or disapproval
is a based on a thorough search into the
reputation of both families, and this repu-
tation is mostly the by-product of public
opinion. In the marketplace, being credit-
worthy is also defned by ones past record
of dealings. Tus, public opinion might
not be necessarily ethical or moral, but it
is of practical importance to human in-
teraction. Of good reputation is always a
strong recommendation for mar-
ket vendors guided by the values
of efciency and productivity.
Te second proposition re-
fers to my current study of Af-
rican rural ethical systems. Tis
study, largely drawn from em-
pirical data and frst-hand con-
tact and experience, has allowed
me to perceive a nuanced kind of
ethical system, which I call facial
ethics. Tere is a strong culture
of the face in Africa, a moral
force hidden in everyones physi-
cal face. In a small rural African
village, everybody has a recogniz-
able face, since almost everyone
seems to know and recognize
the other. In the face are lines of
ones history, ones identity and
ones social destiny. Even a small
African child, when caught in a
shameful act instantly and intui-
tively uses both hands to cover her face.
Since we are accountable for our face
to conform and relate, we always try to
keep face, so we try not to become the
lonely and isolated face. It then becomes
natural to adapt, and to belong to what I
call the big face, something like a dialec-
tic collection of all faces situated within
an ethos. Tere is a desire, often repressed,
to look at someone in the face, and also
a greater desire to make and sustain the
social worthiness and legitimacy of our
own faces.
I fnd that this psycho-ethical side of
the normal peasant binds him in a way to
public opinion. His face is how he relates
to the world, and this relationship is nec-
essary to his survival, which depends upon
his facial worthiness and connection with
the big face. Senses of connection and
worthiness are often defned by public
opinion. Tus, public opinion might not
be necessarily guided, ethically construct-
ed, or emotionally sensitive, but it has the
backing of human nature.
Public opinion should be recognized
for what it really is: a collection of vary-
ing tones of judgment amplifed by the
strength of numbers. It is powerfully loud,
necessarily important, and functionally
human, yet it is an opinion. Te true test
of democracy is an openness of society to
the structures and collective actions aimed
at forming and encouraging the individu-
al to call into question, properly discern,
and still contribute to that big cooking
pot called public opinion.
Photo by Adesoji Adegbulu
Lagos, Nigeria.
By Jessika Nilsson
T
wo years ago, a group of KU Leu-
ven students dressed in anything
African that Katrien Rennemeier and Di-
ane Birungi could fnd, walked an impro-
vised catwalk (i.e., a wood platform that
vibrated with every step) through a packed
crowd at Pangaea. It was fun and relax-
ing, but most importantly, the audience
had made Diane and Katriens point: you
can bridge cultural gaps through fashion.
Te African Film Festival heard about the
students initiative and wanted to team up
for an even larger fashion show, since the
show aligned with its mission. Tis led to
last years professionally choreographed
UMOJA Fashion Show at the University
All photos copyrighted by Stefaan Cordier
Museumzaal, where the Vice Rector of International Policy, Bart De Moor,
gave the opening speech as the guest of honour.
Founders and organizers Katrien and Diane, both KU Leuven graduate stu-
dents, have vowed to stick to the concept of a fashion show for students and
by students. Diane hails from Uganda, and Katrien, a Belgian, grew up in Tan-
zania. Both bring a unique and complementary set of skills to create an inter-
cultural team. Led by its core principle of celebrating diversity through fashion,
UMOJA breaks stereotypes about Africa, culture, and the fashion world. Te
UMOJA approach to fashion is an empowering one, reminding us that beauty
comes in all shapes and sizes. UMOJA strives to change the horrible stereotypes
we can fnd in the fashion world about the perfect size and beauty.
Last year, about 500 guests saw students modelling outfts by seven profes-
sional African but European-based designers from Berlin, Brussels, and Ant-
werp, among other cities. Tis year, the organizers promise to make the show
even more exciting. In partnership with the African Film Festival, KU Leuven
Intercultural Ofce, Pangaea, and diferent student organizations, the UMOJA
Fashion Show will take place on 14 March at 8 p.m. in Museumzaal (Naam-
sestraat 22, Leuven), a day before the flm festival and Leuven Partycipation
Week start. Tickets are on sale at Pangaea and include welcome drinks and an
African Film Festival movie screening at Cinema ZED or Kinepolis.
In February, UMOJA cast the shows models, women and men from difer-
ent cultural and racial backgrounds. Te student models are trained by a pro-
fessional catwalk coach to help them relax, grace the catwalk, and showcase
over seven professional designers of uniquely selected collections with African
themes. A crew of lighting technicians, photographers, and professional hair
and make-up artists are also in place to complete the image.
While the show is a fun-flled hour with lights, colours, fashion, and music,
Katrien stresses that the event aims to bring people from all over the world
together in a creative multi-cultural setting. Diane strongly believes that there
is still a lot to be learned about Africa, its fashions, and its cultures, and that
stereotypes all too often leave people in the dark. Tus, although UMOJA is an
African fashion show, it will always remain one that welcomes and connects all
nationalities.
UMOJA is as African as it is global, and it is a source of inspiration for
creative people from all over the world. Michael, a philosophy student who
premiered on the runway last year, describes his experience: Unlike the cir-
cumstances that surround the word umoja, the resiliency for the emancipation
of the African community, this coined African expression goes beyond its literal
meaning: Unity in Swahili, to stem a threshold for togetherness, a stronghold
for dynamic diversities, a springboard for unique change, and a landmark for
innumerable facets of creative minds...amongst others, to all and sundry. As a
result, I am honoured and elated to be part of this forum!
Personally, UMOJA has spurred me in creative terms. Having walked the
runway the last two years, I have now gotten behind the sewing machine and
fused East African fabrics with classic colonial/safari gear. With anthropolo-
gists in mind, I created the fashion brand Ethnography. Im proud to be a part
of the UMOJA family and hope to welcome you to this years fashion show.
Top: Vice Rector of International Policy Bart De Moor.
Left: Founders Katrien Rennemeier and Diane Birungi.
Lifestyle
E
verybody has had the now-familiar
experience of receiving a gift that
you have absolutely no use for. Usually
when this occurs, many individuals keep
the present and increase the mess around
themselves, throw it away, or even worse
in my opinion, return the present. How-
ever, if you are unable or feel rude asking
for a receipt, there may be other ways that
you can make use of the item.
Te process of re-gifting still carries
something of a stigma, but it is generally
practiced among a large majority of indi-
viduals. If done respectfully and properly,
there is really nothing wrong with pre-
senting someone else with an object that
you have been given. It may be hard to de-
termine when this practice is acceptable;
if you will not be able to make use of the
gift or if you already had it, there should
be no shame in re-gifting.
Historical precedent
Since the time people decided to give
gifts to others, some of these presents
have been re-gifted (consider the situa-
tion of receiving a lovely and oh-so de-
sired brooch or piece of jewelry from your
grandmother). Even so, until recently, re-
gifting between non-family members was
kept secret and thought of as a taboo or
unacceptable social practice.
Re-gifting has not always had such a
bad reputation. Historically, people have
been re-gifting since the start of civiliza-
tion, and it was acceptable in many coun-
tries. Economic development, along with
prosperity and luxury, pushed the idea of
re-gifting outside of accepted etiquette
norms. Since that time, the act of re-
gifting became a total taboo. It was quite
common to hear snify clichs like Dont
look a gift horse in the mouth and Its
the thought that counts. So it is not sur-
prising that the once popular practice of
re-gifting became regarded as poor taste.
Recently, people have passed on un-
wanted gifts via white elephant gift
exchanges or swap meets, or simply re-
wrapping them in the hopes that no one
would notice. Te term white elephant
refers to a gift that is more trouble to keep
than its worth. A white elephant party
is a popular holiday game originally in-
vented in North America. Generally, the
game needs at least six participants, each
bringing one wrapped gift - something
the person doesnt want to keep anymore.
Te gifts are placed in a central location,
and participants take turns selecting pre-
sents in a particular order. Te frst person
opens a wrapped gift and his turn ends.
On subsequent turns, players have two
options: either stealing one of the un-
wrapped items from another person or
choosing one still in paper on the gift pile.
Te game is over when the last gift is un-
wrapped.
Tese days, re-gifting is becoming
accepted in the social mainstream, and
soon the popular opinion of re-gifting
will change dramatically. According to a
survey conducted by the Money Manage-
ment International Institute, more than
half of the respondents fnd re-gifting ac-
ceptable. Te scientists from this institute
connect this phenomenon with the popu-
larity of online auctions, where buyers can
bid on desired items. Other sources pos-
tulate that in a modern society oriented
towards sustainability and operated on re-
cycling, reselling, and recession, re-gifting
couldnt stay away.
According to the Websters New Mil-
lennium Dictionary of English, re-gifting
means the process of taking a gift that you
have received but cannot use and giving it
to someone else. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld
frst coined the term of re-gifting. Af-
ter this, the popularity of the green gift
Awkward Social Situations by Katia Demydenko
White Elephants & Gift Horses
A guide to the culture of re-gifting
By Katia Demydenko
multiplied enormously. In some countries,
such as the USA and Canada, re-gifting
has been raised to the national level and
coincides with the Christmas holidays,
a time traditionally associated with gift-
giving. Re-gifting can save money and
keep holiday budgets on target, as well
as give a second life to gifts you once re-
ceived but have no need of.
Te main obstacle
Te common opinion of people sur-
veyed is that the main disadvantage of
re-gifting is prejudice. When you get a
present second hand, you might think
that something is wrong with the item if
the owner wants to get rid of it. However,
a study conducted by psychologists from
the University of Illinois suggests that it
is far less likely to ofend the original giver
by re-gifting than is commonly believed.
Experts at the London Business School
found that original givers often think that
receivers should treat the gift as they wish,
and would rather see it re-gifted than
thrown away. Furthermore, according to
a recent survey by marketing agency, Arc,
a quarter of respondents would choose to
give an unwanted Christmas gift to some-
one else.
If you are earth-friendly, re-gifting
may be the way to go. Re-gifting is a good
form of recycling, and it supports the re-
cent push towards sustainability. A bright
presentation of the concept can be found
in the animated childrens classic Rudolph
the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of
Misft Toys. Considering that natural re-
sources and money are used in purchasing
a gift, rather than letting it sit at the bot-
tom of the toy chest, it deserves a second
chance. Even if you dont want it, an item
may still have value to someone else.
Donating an unwanted gift can serve
several aims: you get rid of an unneces-
sary item and simultaneously bring pleas-
ure to someone in need. Tere are a lot
of programs initiated by towns, religious
institutions, or specialized organizations
aimed at collecting wrapped and lightly
used gifts to distribute them to under-
privileged people. Tis is re-gifting on a
grand and extremely worthwhile scale.
Tis practice could equally be applied
to students. How often do you notice
yourself bringing home some cute small
items from a day out shopping? Once a
thing which seemed absolutely essential
to you, with a closer look it turns into a
bauble that will barely be used in the fu-
ture. In this case, you should simply look
around; there is probably a person near
you to perfectly match this re-gift. How-
ever, in order to escape the embarrassment
potentially associated with re-giving, one
should always keep in mind some impor-
tant guidelines.
Rules of re-gifting
One of the keys to re-gifting is that
you should always think about the person
to whom you will re-gift. Evaluate the
present with precision and criticism, as if
you were buying something brand new. If
for your birthday, you got a heavy metal
CD you dislike, dont give it to your friend
who also hates the same genre of music.
Tis is inconsiderate and demonstrates
your inattentiveness toward your friend.
Likewise, avoid re-gifting a present
back to the person who gave it to you in
the frst place, unless youve prepared a hi-
larious come-back, like the well-known:
Well, I liked it so much that I thought
Id get you one too! No one likes liars.
Always ensure the item for re-gifting
is in almost perfect condition and doesnt
show traces of use. Reject re-gifting
something that has missing parts. Te gift
receiver will know its been used and wont
appreciate your gesture.
While re-gifting is an attractive and
practical way to shop during the holiday
season, it is sometimes better to hide the
truth from people about the re-gifted ori-
gin of the present. Additionally, you prob-
ably shouldnt tell the person who initially
bought the item for you that you gave it
to someone else. Tere is no need to hurt
feelings with a present you regret. How-
ever, its sometimes wise to admit you did
not purchase the gift. Simply tell the re-
cipient the gift was so perfect you couldnt
bear to keep it.
If you own something that you dont
need and it cant qualify for re-gifting, re-
member that there are a lot of homeless
shelters or donation spots for people in
need that would appreciate your contribu-
tion in any form. However, the item still
should be in good condition (gently used).
So, either way, the joy of giving is always
an option.
Golden ffth from Vicky Oliver
Yet the question remains: how do we
overcome the initial shame of re-gifting?
Tese suggestions come from Vicky Oli-
ver, an image consultant in Manhattan
and the author of a couple of bestselling
books about personal branding, etiquette,
and career development. She presents the
etiquette of successful re-gifting with the
golden ffth of how to pull of re-gifting:
1. Do it on purpose. While shop-
ping with a friend, develop the
habit of paying attention to
which items attract your friends
interest. Ten buy a couple of
them. Keep one for an appropri-
ate moment (within six months
of purchasing), then swap for the
other. Intentional re-gifting is a
guaranteed way to get 50% sav-
ings with no bruised feelings
on either side.
2. Do it thoughtfully. Just because
you hate the book your sister-
in-law gave you, it doesnt mean
you should lazily pass it on. Try to
think of someone for whom that
book or other item would be re-
ally great ft even if it is a per-
son not normally on your gift list.
3. Do it with style. Te secret of a
gift previously being used could
be hidden by a fancy cover. Spend
time fnding stylish boxes, gift
bags, or ribbons priced at next
to nothing. Wrap the unwanted
perfume, picture frame, or knick-
knack in knockout packaging,
and your re-gift will get an in-
stant facelift.
4. Do it as a party. Trow a swap-
till-you-drop party around
holiday time with your favorite
friends, some food, and great
drinks to make it more fun. Ask
everyone to bring a bag of high-
quality tchotchkes, clothes, acces-
sories, or new household items
they do not want.
5. Do it for good. Its great to give
to the needy. Re-gifting to those
who are in need makes everyone
happy.
With regards to the social, fscal, and
ecological benefts, re-gifting is an ac-
ceptable form of holiday and birthday
economy. It is also a practical lesson on
understanding the meaning behind gift-
giving, gift-getting, recycling, and charity.
Remember that re-gifting remains a way
to express gratitude, love, friendship, and
thoughtfulness by considering the old ad-
age Its not the cost of the gift, its the
thought that counts. Well, when youre
re-gifting, theres no cost to the gift, so
the thought behind it is the only thing
that counts.
Its defnitely better than throw-
ing it away! Its a good thing to
bring pleasure to someone by
giving it to him or her instead
of leaving it for a lifetime in the
basement or in the attic.
~Belgian student, Faculty of
Science
In my opinion, re-gifting is a bit
tricky. But if [the recipient of the
gift] understands, itll be fne.
~Chinese student, Faculty of
Science
I would feel a bit sad because the
gift wasnt originally concerned
with my personality, however, Id
appreciate the act of gifting.
~Spanish student, Faculty of Social
Science
W
hen I was in college in the US
about a decade ago, I was living
a life of proud poverty and punk rock. My
anarchist friends and I squatted in aban-
doned houses in lieu of paying rent. We
hitchhiked and hopped trains instead of
buying a car or a plane ticket. We slept
in sleeping bags on the foor instead of in
beds. And we used hobo pillows for our
heads.
Hobo pillows. Tis is what we called
the plastic bladder from boxed wine. After
you drink all the wine from a 5-liter bag-
in-a-box, blow it up like a balloon through
the spout, et voil! Youve got a pillow for
the night.
When I started graduate school, it was
time to present myself as a more mature
young scholar. So I upgraded from hobo
pillows to those big clear-glass jugs of
bottom-shelf wine with a little handle at
the top. Tey come in varieties like red,
white, and pink.
Ten I moved to Europe for still
more graduate school four years ago, and
I thought, Okay, from now on, Im only
drinking wine from a 0.75 L green bot-
tle, and it will come from France or Italy,
and it will have a year on the label. Surely
with the prestige of being a doctoral can-
didate, one should also enjoy the prestige
of drinking vintage wine.
Alas, the old American dollar just
aint what she used to be. On my budget,
I was forced to decide between a danger-
ous, desiccating thirst and re-embracing
the hobo pillow. Once, boxed wine was
only considered appropriate for winos
and trailer trash. But these days, boxed
wine doesnt always live up to its reputa-
tion of low-class swill. In fact, plastic bags
of wine in a box have acquired a clever
new moniker: cardbordeaux (cardboard
+ Bordeaux). Although the nickname is
tongue-in-cheek, several quality wineries
are starting to bag and box their Bordeaux
and Merlots instead of bottling them.
Cardbordeaux: breaking the reputation
Vini France (22 Ladeuzeplein) started
selling boxed wine about a year ago, and its
proved a hit during vacation and holiday
periods across the democratic board. Tey
give two reasons: 1) the more the merrier;
and 2) boxed wine is shatter-proof, mak-
ing it easier to haul to the beach. Con-
venience also pushes regular sales of white
wine in a box, which is easier to stash on
the refrigerator shelf than tipsy glass bot-
tles. While they agree that in years past,
the quality of boxed wine was a little ify,
its reputation has recently soared, with-
out a doubt breaking through some of
those social barriers that kept it on the
bottom shelves.
Wine snobs may continue to turn up
noses and raise pinkie fngers, but many
wineries are making a decided move to-
wards the acceptance of boxed wine. For
one, boxed wine can be a win-win situ-
ation for merchant and consumer; in a
market where packaging is sometimes
more expensive than its contents, winer-
ies bag wines in 3-L and 5-L containers,
and customers invest in multiple liters at
a time instead of a much smaller bottle. If
they like it (or dont remember not liking
it) they come back for more.
For the more sophisticated consumer,
vintners claim that quality is not neces-
sarily compromised with quantity. For
example, one beneft to bagging wine is
that the risk of oxidation is far less. Te
standard bottle size is 0.75 L because once
the cork is popped, the process of oxida-
tion begins. With exposure to oxygen,
wine starts turning to vinegar and must be
consumed within a couple days at most.
If youre drinking out of a bag, theres no
rush. Te spout keeps most oxygen from
entering into contact with the bags con-
tents, so once opened, wine in a box can
last up to a couple weeks before starting
to turn.
Of course, there are aesthetics to con-
sider. A box of wine just isnt as pretty as
a bottle. At home, that may not matter as
much, but if you walk into a classy party
carrying a plastic bladder full of wine, you
may get a few upturned noses and pinkie
fngers pointed in your direction. Winer-
ies have come up with a clever, classy solu-
tion even to this dilemma. I used to fll up
my Spanish bota with wine from the spout
before setting out for a party (it worked
well with my rugged, traveller look), but
now we ladies have the option to take
the whole box elegantly shaped like a
designer purse. Te French winery Vern-
issage has created a purse-shaped box of
wine that resembles a Prada handbag, spe-
cially conceived by Swedish fashion de-
signer Sophia Bloomberg for the thirsty,
sophisticated lady on the go.
Vintage wines vs. cardbordeaux: envi-
ronmental factors
Besides price and aesthetics, there
are other considerations when deciding
between wine from a box or a bottle. In
terms of the environmental impact of
boxes, bags, and bottles, its a tough call
that depends on a number of factors, like
recyclability, reusability, and biodegrada-
bility.
With bottled wine, glass is easily re-
cyclable; in fact, unlike materials such as
paper and plastics, glass is also infnitely
recyclable. For every 1,000 kg of recycled
glass, 315 kg of carbon dioxide is spared
from the atmosphere during the process
of manufacturing new glass containers.
However, if your bottle of wine comes
with a plastic cork, that cork wont be bio-
degrading for the next few zillion years.
Besides being cheap to manufacture, there
are really no benefts to a plastic cork.
Supposedly, they eliminate concern for
cork taint (a chemical compound that
gives wines a musty favor), but in fact,
they dont seal as well as natural cork, and
they often admit oxygen to the bottle af-
ter only 18 months. So you can forget a
truly vintage wine if it was bottled with
a plastic cork.
Aluminum screw caps may be recy-
clable, but they sometimes come with the
opposite problem of oxidation: reduction.
Tey actually dont let enough air in, so
some wine varieties, especially Sauvignon
blanc, experience a suppression of aroma
that can turn fancy into nasty. For vintage
wines, the screw cap works great for the
frst ten years, then the plastic goes brittle
Vintage Wine & Cardbordeaux
By Sara Rich
Personal, social, & environmental considerations
and lets oxygen come pouring in, turning
that 2003 Vin de Pays dOc into Vinegar
de Pays dOc.
Without a doubt, using good old-
fashioned cork stoppers has the best en-
vironmental impact. Cork is manually
cut from cork oaks, which produce the
material as bark that can be harvested
every nine years without damage to the
tree. Te very ancient and sustainable
cork industry provides thousands of jobs
across Iberia at a time when jobs are like
old bottles of Chteau Lafte Rothschild
rare and seriously valuable. Whole for-
ests of these evergreen oak trees fourish
in Spain and Portugal, and besides the
socio-economic benefts, forests of cork
oak also house great biodiversity, includ-
ing the critically endangered Iberian lynx.
If you buy a bottle of wine or champagne
stopped with natural cork, you can drink
with the comfort of knowing that you
helped a harvester keep his job and a lynx
keep his habitat. And, you can throw that
cork in the back yard and itll be gone by
next year.
As for cardbordeaux, there are re-
ally only two materials to be concerned
with: cardboard and plastic. Cardboard
is recyclable, but paper products can only
be recycled a few times before the lignin
fbers become too short to introduce into
new material. Some of the plastic blad-
ders are recyclable, but Ive found that
most are not. However, besides reducing
consumption and recycling what is con-
sumed, re-using is the other step towards
being a more eco-responsible consumer
of wine, or anything else for that matter.
Although squatting could be an ar-
guably eco-friendly lifestyle, I no longer
have much need for a hobo pillow. How-
ever, wine bladders can be re-used in
other ways, since most arent ft for the
recycling bin. Once any remaining wine
is rinsed out, you can refll the bag with
water through its spout and place it in
the refrigerator. It beats the taste of luke-
warm tap water and by far outweighs the
environmental impact of drinking refrig-
erated bottled water. Similarly, you can
refll the bag with water part-way (dont
worry about rinsing the remaining wine),
and put it in the freezer as an ice-pack for
your cooler or frst-aid kit.
You can also keep empty bags around
for packing material. Te next time you
want to send a Duvel beer glass back
home, put the glass in a cardboard box
(could also be re-used from your cardbor-
deaux), and place partially blown up wine
bags around it for cushioning. Other
creative solutions abound: in the sum-
mer, use a blown-up wine bladder for a
volleyball, or tape two together to make
arm-foaties at the swimming pool.
Facts and fables of wines social prestige
Te diference between wine consum-
ers and wine connoisseurs is like the dif-
ference between rectangles and squares:
all wine connoisseurs are consumers, but
very few consumers are connoisseurs. At
blind taste-testing soirees, most people
will not be able to tell the diference be-
tween vintages of a certain winery. Most
people will not even be able to tell the
diference between wineries. Varieties of
grape, on the other hand, can be pretty
clear-cut for even amateur oenophiles.
Cabernet sauvignon has a bouquet of
berries and herbs, while Chianti features
a nutty and foral bouquet. Chardonnay is
fruity, while Riesling is sweet and fowery.
Et cetera.
Wine lovers with shallow pockets,
like students, no longer have to decide
between quality and quantity, prestige or
shame. Boxed wine used to be notorious
for being labeled by color (red, white, or
pink), but now it is easy to fnd decent,
even good, wine in a cardboard box that
is labeled, if not with a year, at least with
a variety of grape or maybe two (Syrah-
Merlot blend, eg.).
And speaking of labeling, perhaps
the surge in boxed wines reputation and
quality is evidence of a changing attitude
towards wine in general. Wine has long
been considered the classy, bourgeois
choice in alcoholic beverages, while beer
was for the working classes, and hard al-
cohol was for the hard alcoholics. Because
wine has become more popular with the
proletariats, the anarchists, and the poor
college students, wineries have started
supplying these non-traditional consum-
ers with an increasingly wide range of
products that match quality with quan-
tity - and that mature along with the ages
of some of their younger patrons.
E
ver since primary school, I have
hated physical education (PE)
and sports. Forced to play cricket for
four years by a teacher who was a dis-
gruntled ex-semi-professional cricket-
er, I was green with envy at the kids with
asthma who didnt have to do sports.
Later on, in high school, my no-show
record during senior year (the last year of high school before
university) was so high, I still have nightmares I never gradu-
ated because of all the PE classes I skipped. I went to PE three
times during my senior year,, and if it wouldnt have been for
the teacher admiring me for my anarchistic attitude then the
no-graduation scenario could very well have been true.
Thanks to all those useless lessons of cricket, played out
under scorching heat in the East African highlands, Ive always
battled a fear of balls, bats, running, and, last but not least,
getting picked last. I always got picked last in all the seven
schools I attended in three countries. Only when we played
dodge ball, would I be frst to make the team because I was so
afraid of balls (even soft ones) heading in my direction. Last
time my ego got trodden on was during a heart exam here in
Leuven two years ago. Cabled up and forced to spin this stu-
pid wheel, the icy doctor concluded I had the physical health
of a 65 year old. In my defence, my heart was racing because
her attitude was making me nervous. I could turn her advice
anyway I wanted: I still knew I had to get into shape, despite
my phobic fear of sports.
I found my calling reading about Krav Maga being prac-
ticed here in Leuven. Krav is a close combat self-defence
sport (not a martial art!) used by the Israeli army to train the
best soldiers and intelligence operatives in the world. Krav is
not something I am excellent at. Ill never be world champion
at kicking someone in the balls. But, Krav is a sport I enjoy
practicing, and in fact the only sport I have ever enjoyed doing.
Krav is effective, and there are no silly rules. Being a border-
line-psychopath when it comes to effciency and completely
failing to adhere to any rules, the principles of this sport are
clearly to my liking. Now, a year and a half later, here I am go-
ing to practice twice a week, travelling to Israel to attend boot
camps, and never hesitating to surprise groping nitwits on the
Oude Markt with a painful knee to the groin.
How I Fell in Love with... A Combat Sport
By Jessika Nilsson
W
here do I start? Tat was the
question that arose when I en-
tered the Zythos Beer Festival in April
of last year. Where do you start when you
can choose between 500(!) diferent Bel-
gian beers, brewed by 100 diferent brew-
ers, and you have only one weekend to do
so. How can one describe the vibe of the
largest Belgian beer festival there is, and
the vibe of thousands of beer lovers in the
same place? Let me attempt to describe
this beer wonderland that you may not
have known existed in our backyard. I am
not going to tell you how it ended though,
that part is kind of fuzzy.
One day I was cycling in the country-
side just outside Leuven when I caught
sight of a white rabbit. Nothing special
in itself, so I would have continued my
journey, were it not that the rabbit was
holding something which seemed like a
small beer glass. I started following the
rabbit, and it led me into the Brabanthal
in Haasrode.
When I entered, I found out that I
had fallen into a place that held the most
marvelous collection of species and crea-
tures my eyes had ever encountered. Tere
were people with strange hats and Delir-
ium elephants on their heads. Tere were
gnomes wearing La Choufe hats and
people with beer holders hanging around
their necks. Te creatures that invoked
the most awe, however, were the ones that
walked around showing of huge beer bel-
lies; in this strange world, they seemed to
be a symbol of experience and endurance.
Te most interesting and varied spe-
cies though, and the ones that all these
creatures seemed to be attracted to, like
bees to a rose garden, were the ones stand-
ing on the tables. It was not as in some
silly childrens story, where there was just
one bottle on a table labelled drink me,
but there were over a hundred tables with
hundreds of bottles all screaming out to
be drunk. And there werent any looking
glasses either. Just a whole lot of drinking
glasses. And so I drank. And I drank. And
I drank.
And when I drank, I did not shrink,
though somehow it did start to change
my perception of the world. Yet when I
drank, it felt as if diferent swarms of tiny
creatures had invaded my mouth and
started a war right on my very tongue.
Not just a war with guns, but I mean a
proper war, with airplanes and artillery
and precision bombing. All possible dif-
ferent tastes soared through and exploded
in my mouth: from sweet over to bitter to
sour, from superfcial to deep and com-
plex, from the expected beer taste to what
you would have never expected beer to
taste like.
I ran across beer poured out of whis-
key barrels (the Peated Oak Aged Em-
brasse from brewery Dochter van de
Korenaar), beer bottled in the same way
as champagne, where you keep turning
the bottle around during the fermentation
(Malheur Brut), fruit beers as strong as a
Westmalle (Gauloise Fruits Rouges) and
as sour as your mother-in-law (traditional
old kriek). I tasted beers with the strang-
est ingredients: port (Angel Port from the
Leuven bar and brewery Domus), safron
(Safranaise), cookies (Cookie Beer), and
Goji, whatever that may be (Goji Beer).
I saw hobby brewers and multination-
als, a brewery run by three young rebels
(Het Verzet, Te Resistance), a brewery
led by an old man and his four young
beautiful daughters (brewery Dilewyns)
and a brewer whose son was drinking
most of the beer himself (no, I wont tell
you the name of that brewery).
I came across beers with the strang-
est names. I found Eternal Love, met a
fairy-tale fgure (a Golden Dragon), and
encountered heroes and heroines (Goliath
Tripel, Hercule, and Hoppahontas). But I
also ran into Weirdoes (Kwibus), Rascals
(Deugniet), some Jesters from Bruges
(Brugse Zot), Naughty Boys (Stouterik),
Irritating People (Ambetanterik), a For-
est Farter (Bosprotter, no kidding) a
Drunk Monk, a cheshire cat, a dodo, a
talking caterpillar, and marching playing
cards. Even though I might have tried a
lot of them, I did not make them up.
I heard languages from all over the
world: Italian, Danish, English, Spanish,
Norwegian. And in the end, I thought I
spoke them all. I said proost, cheers, salut,
nazdarovje, kippis, nazdravie, and skl. I
was brillig, and found that the slithy toves
did gyre and gimble in the wabe. But
when the Jabberwock, with eyes of fame,
came whifing through the tulgey wood,
and burbled as it came, I knew that go
home I should!
Dont believe me? Take a look for
yourself. Te event takes place on Satur-
day 27 and Sunday 28 April. All informa-
tion can be found on www.zbf.be. A good
thing to know is that there will be shuttle
buses available departing from the train
station. During the event, a lot of bars
(including all the bars at Oude Markt)
and restaurants will also serve even more
special beers and even special beer menus.
Entertainment/Art
Through the Drinking Glass
By Gijs Van den Broeck
Zythos Beer Festival
Belgian beers.
Photo by Gijs Van den Broeck
I no longer believed in the idea of soul
mates, or love at frst sight. But I was be-
ginning to believe that a very few times
in your life, if you were lucky, you might
meet someone who was exactly right for
you. Not because he was perfect, or because
you were, but because your combined faws
were arranged in a way that allowed two
separate beings to hinge together
~Lisa Kleypas, Blue-Eyed Devil
W
hy do men and women want
to be together? Te simple
answer is we want to, and there is noth-
ing strong enough in between to stop
us. Tere are also some ordinary reasons
we all know, like for practical consid-
erations, for attaining a diferent social
status, to reduce stress, to feel pleasure,
for love and commitment, an expression
of happiness and self-esteem, etc.
Scientifcally, we can make the ar-
gument in many diferent ways, and we
have theories to back us. A well-known
scientifc basis exists for the three main
types of attraction humans have: the sex
drive, which is ruled by testosterone;
romantic love, which is ruled by dopa-
mine and other feel-good hormones;
and attachment, which involves bond-
ing chemicals like oxytocin. During
romantic kissing, for example, swapped
saliva increases testosterone and feel-
good chemicals. Tese are distributed
to help fuel romance. Kissing also helps
unleash chemicals that promote bond-
ing, which facilitates long-term attach-
ment.
However, there is also an interesting
philosophical reason behind attraction.
Te Symposium of Plato, dated between
385-380 BCE, is a philosophical text
and a very famous treatise on desire.
Plato describes a drinking party or
symposium in which Aristophanes, one
of the seven participants (Socrates was
also among them), spells out a mystical
story of why we humans have such deep
longings for union with each other, and
which explains why our acts of union
can sometimes be so unsatisfying.
A
ccording to Aristophanes, long
ago, humans did not look the
way we look today. Instead, we had two
heads, four legs, and four arms. Hu-
mans were perfectly symmetrical crea-
tures, composed of two people seam-
lessly united into one being. We came
in all the three possible gender combi-
nations: the male/female blend, male/
male blend, and female/female blend.
Since we all were blended togeth-
er with our perfect partner, we were
happy and proud, endowed with the
unmatchable strength and swiftness to
scale heaven and attack the gods. Tese
double headed creatures were perfectly
content and lacked nothing: they had
no needs, no desires - they were whole.
In our contentedness, we became overly
proud and neglected to worship the
gods. Hence, the gods punished us for
our neglect by cutting all the double-
headed, eight-limbed humans in half,
and so we became lonely one-headed,
two-armed, and two-legged humans, as
we exist today.
Te gods chose to split humans
instead of annihilating the whole race
because human extinction meant that
there would be an end to the sacri-
fces and worship that humans of-
fered to them. Also, dividing humans
in half would diminish their strength
and increase their numbers. Tis had
the advantage of making humans more
proftable to the gods. Yet in this mass
amputation, the gods inficted upon hu-
mans a deep, dull, and constant sense
that we are not whole. We always long
for our perfect other half, the lost half
which we love almost more than we
love ourselves. Tis other half is out
there somewhere, so we are made to
search relentlessly in attempt to achieve
our original forms. Te male creatures
who had once been part of a a male/
male blend, sought out another male,
and the females who had once been a
female/female blend, looked out for a
female. Te creatures who were once
both sexes, sought out the opposite half.
In fact, though, the cleaved, half
humans were far too scattered for any
of them to fnd their perfect match and
become a contented species again, Aris-
tophanes said. Consequently, the gods
gave humans the gift of orgasm out of
pity, so that we would not die of depres-
sion and despair.
Te dream of completeness, the at-
tainment of wholeness with our other
halves through love, is possible. Te
perfect melding does exist, when hu-
Muneer Ahamed did his PhD
in Chemistry at The University of
Sydney, Australia and now work-
ing as a post-doctoral fellow in
KU Leuven. His research primarily
focuses on imaging of brain tumors.
Besides academic research he also
enjoys reading English literature
and occasional blogging. He can be
followed @ahdchem on twitter.
The Perfect Mate
blog space
By Muneer Ahamed
www.loko.be/international
www.facebook.com/LOKO.International
This publication is sponsored by:
0-. +-: :-+:/ .: 0-. +-: :-+:/ .: 0-. +-: :-+:/ .: 0-. +-: :-+:/ .:
+--:/.- +- +--:/.- +- +--:/.- +- +--:/.- +-: :-.+:-./ : :-.+:-./ : :-.+:-./ : :-.+:-./

_-::.-:.-- +- :+:. -, :.--- /+- ,--:
.:/ + ,.,+-:.- +- .-.- -/+-,.-, -+-,./

.:e.:.s.
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