Café Kanal seminar date change

You probably all received the email, but just in case, the date of the first seminar of Café Kanal changed:

Monday April 4: On PUBLIC SPACE

19:45 at École de Cirque, Picardstraat 11 – 1000 Brussels

Hope to see you all there!

Radio Kif - Reportage "Les Flamands"

Radio Kif is a radio station, established by 11 adolescents from the Marbotin neighbourhood, in the north of Brussels (Schaarbeek). Seven boys and four girls of around 16 had a short traineeship in handling recording equipment, mounting audio fragments, ... They took out to the streets to inquire people (their classmates, random passers-by) about what they believe is a "flamand" and made a radio show out of it, which was broadcast recently.

The message of the show is quite surprising: a flamand is not necessarily someone who is dutch-speaking, but is merely used as an insult for anyone who behaves in a certain way.
Generally, a flamand is considered a geek, someone who is studious, does well at school and tries to please the teacher. He manages his things well (his bus pass is always valid, his homework is made, he brings his 10 o'clock snack to school, he eats at fixed hours). He has a certain recognisable 'style', too: blue eyes and blond hair, baggy pants and designer glasses, he walks in a particular way,.. He is generous but naive, a bit precarious and a bit anxious ("ils sont péteux").

Although we can read many negative characteristis in this description, we also distill a certain admiration for the flamand. He is successful, educated, manages his affairs well. Wealth and success are ahead. Scolding someone for a flamand insinuates a certain jealousy towards that person, the adolecents themselves admit.

The reportage features a number of heated discussions with people (a school teacher, a politician) who take the question "what does 'being a flamand' mean to you?" very seriously.
Some seem to be francophone at first sight, but reveal themseleves to be perfectly bi- or trilingual, having immigrant backgrounds themselves, and blaming the adolescents for posing 'a narrow-minded, categorising question' or for 'doing the exact same thing you despise when people treat you that way'.

However surprising I find this turn, it is not about language – as stated in the beginning of this review. Overall, I was quite amazed when hearing this reportage, which is available on myspace. Listen for yourself here!

Café Kanal – seminars

Christian recently sent us an email about Café Kanal, a seminar series on problems & opportunities in the canal neighbourhoods of Brussels.
The series consists of four seminars / discussion sessions, each tackling a different theme.


Save the following dates:

Tuesday April 5 : On PUBLIC SPACE
19:45 at École de Cirque, Picardstraat 11 – 1000 Brussels

Tuesday April 26 : On YOUTH
19:45 at Micro Marché, Steenkoolkaai 9 – 1000 Brussels

Monday May 9 : On ECONOMY
19:45 at Euclides, Scheikundigestraat 34 – 1070 Anderlecht

Tuesday May 24 : On BUILDINGS
19:45 at Maison des Cultures, Mommaertsstraat 4 – 1080 Sint-Jans-Molenbeek


I'm assuming most of them will be held in French and Dutch,
but I'm hoping others are also interested in joining?
I can offer dinner at my place beforehand!

More info on: http://www.platformkanal.be/en/projects-a-events/cafe

Reminder - Fonderie walk: Sun March 20, 14h

Hi all -


this is a reminder that we booked four places for the La Fonderie walk "Le Petit Manchester". In this walk (taking about two hours), a guide will explain how the rural borough of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek developed into an industrial working-class neighbourhood, that would be dubbed "The Small Manchester".

For those interested - the walk starts at 2pm, and we meet then at the police station of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek (next to metro stop Comte de Flandre). The guided tour will be held in French, but there will definitely be enough translators to overcome this inconvenience.

See you all tomorrow, I hope!

Movie: Le Grand Nord, March 31 at 7:30pm

An interesting event,
forwarded by Bruno:



The avant-première of Le Grand Nord, a film about the use of public space in (the north of) Brussels.

A film by Soufiane Bouabaya, Gwenaël Breës, Axel Claes, Didier Fortin, Valentin Garcia, Kristien Geenen, Yoann Lebrun, Cécile Michel, Olivier Panier, Fanny Pieman, Charles Puttevils, Fatima Zahri | With Youssef Amrani, Hassan Mouhssin, Mehdi Ould Kherroubi | 2011 | 68 minutes.


Second episode of the Ateliers urbains , a project by Bruxelles (CVB) and Plus Tôt Te Laat (PTTL).
« Le grand Nord » was made by a group of about twelve Bruxellois, living or working in the North area. They focus on this neighbourhood – which has a different meaning for everybody that passes through it. Besides showing the striking variety of people using it, the movie also shows how the neighbourhood is delineated by physical as well as mental borders.

The North quarter is bordered by the Willebroek canal, the old industrial core of the city; it is divided from the rest of the city by the north-south railway connection; and it has been 'mutilated' by (unachieved) projects of the « Plan Manhattan ». At the heart of the North neighbourhood we find the North station, a transport hub that everyday receives tens of thousands of commuters from all over the country, who work in the North's office towers.

These dynamics make us sometimes forget that above all, the North quarter is a working-class neighbourhood, with a high immigrant population.

It is a place full of contrasts – as is well reflected in the movie.


Where & when: Thursday March 31 at 7:30pm at the Centre Pôle Nord (click to see the map)

Database www.adrive.com

Hi all,

since the FTP site that Pascale promised us is taking an awefully long time to set up,
I uploaded selected materials to a free online storage website in the meanwhile.

I uploaded the CAD-files I have of the Brussels region,
the bibliography that Miguel provided,
scanned research from the Royal Library and City Archives,
old pictures of Molenbeek, demography statistics, ...

Please take a look on http://www.adrive.com/
email: studio.molenbeek@gmail.com
passw: 1080Molenbeek

ADrive provides 50GB free storage for a single user account.
I set up a draft directory - feel free to add folders and upload your own materials,
but try to keep the structure clear and understandable.


Thanks for your cooperation!

Les Barons - Mon March 7 at 7pm at Payam's

Everyone,
We are meeting at Payam's place Monday at 7pm
(Leopold Ruelensstraat 54/3 - 3010 Kessel-Lo)
for dinner & the Les Barons movie.

Miguel and Linh, it would be great if you could also make it!