New book profiles top female leaders in Brussels

Published in The Bulletin, 11 Oct 2017

A new book aims to promote more gender-inclusive organisations and inspire a new generation of female leaders, by focusing on 14 successful women who have “made it” in Brussels fields ranging from politics and law to journalism and technology.

Women Leading the Way in Brussels is co-authored by Claudia Caldeirinha, a university professor and founder of consultancy company Redscope, and Corinna Hörst, deputy director of the German Marshall Fund of the US and president of Women in International Security.

In the book, they aim to give advice from women at the height of their career, from insightful tips to dos and don’ts. By looking at who is making the decisions in big companies, the book also provides a talking point, as well as a platform for aspiring female leaders.

“We are privileged, we work with a lot of powerful women on a daily basis,” Caldeirinha explains. “We thought: why not share this? This connection would be very helpful to the rest of our communities, to know and learn from the things that went well and the things that didn’t go so well.”

At the core of the book are 14 interviews with women in positions of power across different industries, from chief executives and CEOs in politics and law, to editors and directors in journalism and technology. It illustrates the multitude of ways women can lead.

‘It’s about men and women working together’

One of the interviewees is Louise Harvey, the chair in strategic communications at FTI Consulting. When she was asked to think about her career path, she began to question how things have progressed for women.

She mentions her 23 year-old daughter who is just entering the workforce. “Not enough has changed from when I was 23,” she says. Harvey wants to help women leapfrog common leadership issues. “The advice I give to my daughter and everyone else is don’t marry a dinosaur.”

In fact, many of the women say that men need to be regarded as allies, helping to empower women. “It’s about men and women working together,” Oana Lunguescu concurs.

Following 25 years at the BBC World Service, Lunguescu is now the chief spokesperson and head of media operations at Nato. For her, change is happening. She says there are six women heads of state and nine women ambassadors to Nato. “A woman is deputy secretary-general and hopefully we’ll soon see a woman secretary-general,” she adds. The current secretary-general calls himself a feminist.

Quotas and targets are also seen as an important way forward. The European Commission has set itself a goal of at least 40% female leadership by 2019. Ann Mettler is one of those leaders, as head of the European Political Strategy Centre DG at the Commission. “Societies that treat women the way they deserve function better,” she says.

The guidebook to Brussels

On top of promoting female leadership, the book helps newcomers in Brussels. It provides information for navigating around the capital and its institutions. “When I first came [to Brussels] I was looking to figure out how EU affairs work. There was nothing,” Corinna Hörst tells the crowd at the book launch. “We decided to do the guidebook we’d been looking for.”

The book ends with a directory of 52 initiatives that support women in Brussels. On the subject of Brussels, Horta says it has a mix of sectors unlike any other city. “It’s an incredible place to form your identity, it’s not subject to national norms,” she says.

In this regard, it is also a city more conducive to change – a good starting block. “We must build a Europe where women lead up in front and not from behind,” she concludes.

 

More than 1000 join abortion rights protest in Brussels

Published on The Bulletin, 28 Sep 2017

More than 1,000 people demonstrated in front of the EU institutions in Brussels on Thursday evening to protest for women’s rights across Europe on the occasion of International Safe and Legal Abortion Day.

Marching to the beat of drums, women and men crossed the Cinquantenaire park before arriving near the stage on Schuman roundabout.

The organisations came from across Europe, brought together by the initiative of the World March for Women. One of its organisers, Anoushka Dufeil, says a reason for holding the event in the Belgian capital is to raise awareness to the European institutions. “We want a global policy on sexual and reproductive rights for all women in Europe,” she said.

One group present at the march was the Brussels branch of the Repeal the 8th movement. Originally from Dublin, John Hyland explained why the protest is important to the Irish: “The archaic laws preventing access to abortion in Ireland must be changed. It’s an international embarrassment that 12 pregnant people are forced to leave Ireland every day to access this basic healthcare.”

The eighth amendment was added to the Irish constitution in 1983, when it was backed in a referendum with 67% of the vote. This week it was announced that a new referendum will be held in summer 2018 to decide whether the amendment should be scrapped.

Irish activist Ailbhe Finn said: “It’s great news. What we’re hoping for is that it will be earlier rather than later so students will be able to vote. We want it to be a full repeal. We want the government to legislate for free, safe, legal abortion in Ireland.”

Many of the groups present pushed for more to be done at EU level. One such delegation was the Polish Women in Brussels, represented by Anna Kejna. Recently, there was an attempt to change Polish law regarding abortion, resulting in widespread protests.

“There were three attempts in the Polish parliament to introduce a total ban on abortion so that’s why it provoked the ‘black protest’,” she said. “During this protest, thousands of women marched through Warsaw dressed in black. The fear was that the woman would go to prison not only for abortion but also for miscarriage.”

Kejna said the EU should find common ground for women across Europe. She would like a global declaration and, compulsory regulations. “We think it’s a matter of public health and everyone in the EU should have access to the same health rights,” she added. “It’s very important that the European Parliament at least takes this into account”

Some MEPs attended the event in Brussels, including two members from the Socialist party S&D, Soraya Post and Maria Arena. They are both involved in promoting rights, sitting on the Human Rights and Women’s Rights committees respectively.

“The free right to abortion is a health issue,” Arena explained. “We have to push the European Commission to make an initiative on this.”

Post agreed: “Our role as politicians is to fight for it and to put it on it on top of the political agenda.”

Pro-choice marches are being held across Europe to promote change in abortion law. The protest in Ireland will be held this Saturday 30 September. People are joining in on social media with the hashtag #repealthe8th.

 

Russian culture celebrated all this week in Brussels

Published in The Bulletin, 25 Sep 2017

Ten years since its inception, the Russian House in Brussels is this week devoting an entire programme to art, from film screenings to craft workshops and musical performances. Home to 25 immigrant organisations, the centre is a hub of activity and a platform for creatively minded Russians and anyone interested in knowing more about eastern customs.

“We have 100,000 Russians in Belgium, and half are in Brussels, says director Marina Novikova, one of the Russian House’s volunteers. “We would like to integrate in the community but not lose our roots.”

Ludmila Krasnova moved from Russia to Belgium 15 years ago. She says a goal of the Russian Culture Week programme is how we might “all live together in a multicultural context and understand each other”. An engraving artist and graduate from La Cambre school, Krasnova will be putting on some free child-friendly illustration and technical workshops as part of the week’s activities.

Elsewhere, the Wij zijn BRUSselaars exhibition at the Flemish Cultural Centre of Saint-Josse features a variety of artwork by Russian-speaking artists. Some are well-established, such as punk painter Andrey Babenko, and others are budding talents, including Stepan Knyazev, an artist creating handmade clocks from unusual objects.

The headline event will be the classical concert taking place on Thursday at the Musée Charlier. Katja Katanova, a violinist from Moscow, will be performing alongside the pianist Yulia Vershinina.

Katanova says she started playing when she was five, recalling how she was at a friend’s house when she first heard the sound of the violin. “I saw for the first time in my life the violin and I was completely in love with this instrument. I could not give it back, I spent all the evening holding it.” She has not let go of it since, and it has brought her to the music academies of Moscow, Vienna and Brussels.

The programme for the duet is varied, offering a musical odyssey from the 18th century to the present day. Most of the pieces are Russian, including works by Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky, but the last piece is by Belgian composer Gwenaël Grisi. Divertimento, a romantic and very modern piece, was exclusively written for the evening on Katanova’s suggestion.

Aside from music premieres, the artisan market takes place on Saturday. There will be plenty of Russian delicacies to try, which might come as a relief to Russian expat Sofya Postnikova. “I miss Russian food,” she says. “But it makes no sense to look for it here when Belgian chocolate and waffles are at hand.”

Postnikova is a young professional who moved to Belgium a couple of months ago from Krasnoyarsk, in the middle of Siberia. “Winters there are indeed much colder than you imagine, the lowest temperature I remember being -46°C”

“Living in Siberia means you need around five hours to get to Moscow by plane and several days to reach it by train. Hence, travelling is always well-thought and planned in advance there. Here, you may spend 40 minutes in a train and find yourself in France. I like this feeling of closeness and easy-to-reachness.”

Postnikova is fascinated by the diversity of Brussels. “The traditions and languages cross and create a unique mixture that you at first do not know how to deal with,” she says.

Organisers of the Russian Culture Week agree that the event is about bridging cultural differences, but also offering an enriching insight into different perspectives. “The House is more than a language school,” says Novikova. “We are expats but at the same time we are Bruxellois. All the cultures are mixed in the melting pot that is Brussels. We are citizens of the world. In the 21st century, it is better to unite and not to be separate.”

Russian Culture Week, 26-30 September, various locations

BXL Euroleague – Bruzz radio feature

As heard on BRUZZ radio (98.8), The Bulletin show, March 5.

10 years since its inception, the BXL Euroleague is now a major fixture on the football calendar. This amateur league was originally set up to bring EU institution colleagues together for a friendly kickabout. Now, 21 European teams are involved in the competition and the sides aren’t just limited to EU workers. A feat of organisation, the BXL Euroleague aims to promote camaraderie and cooperation, though it can also get quite competitive. To find out more, we spoke to referee and head of the organising committee, Jean-Marie Remy, one of the founding members, Milton Nunes, and Alberto Zini, an Italian actually playing for the Slovenian team.

Europe in Brussels: Bulgaria

As published in The Bulletin, here.

Bulgaria’s national day is on 3 March. We speak to Bulgarians to find out more about their history and their community in Belgium

The Bulgarian national day is also known as Liberation Day. It marks the end of the Russo-Turkish war in 1878, when 500 years of Ottoman Empire rule came to an end. Officially, it only gained national day status in 1978. On top of this, Bulgarians had to wait until 1990 for it to become an official holiday.

According to the Bulgarian Embassy in Brussels, there are approximately 20,000 Bulgarians living in Belgium. One such expat is Vladislav Velev, a press officer in the European Parliament. He is originally from Pleven, a rural town in northern Bulgaria, and has been in Belgium for five years.

“Bulgarians come here to enjoy the labour market,” he says. He explains that they work in several areas across Belgium – some moving to work for the EU institutions while others are involved in tourism as well as the building industry.

Nearly a third of Bulgaria is covered in forests. That might explain why Velev likes the many parks and green spaces that you can find in the city. Surprisingly, he is also a fan of the weather. “That might be odd,” he says. “But it’s good for sport. I like running and it’s better to run in about 15 degrees than running in 40 degrees back in Bulgaria.” However, he does confess: “When I start to miss the sun a lot, I go somewhere sunny.”

Bulgarian dancing

A festival of Bulgarian culture has been running for six years and the last edition proved very successful. Music and dancing hold a prime position on these programmes, particularly the ‘horo’ dances. These are organised twice a year, for the national holiday as well as in the summer, by Bulgarian commissioner Kristalina Georgieva.

“It is a traditional folk dance which is danced by people who are in a form of circle, hand by hand”, Velev explains. There are more than 100 different variations of the dance and several dance troupes exist across Belgium. These troupes have a habit of bringing people together. In fact, one such group was founded by two Belgians in Liège who met at a dance, and then married. Now, they even make the traditional clothes and dancing shoes for the events themselves.

Another expat is Petya Popova, an employee in the communications department of the European Commission. Hailing from the capital, Sofia, she has also been in the country for five years. She says that in the summer you can join a big Bulgarian dance held on the Grand Place. “It’s a big success because a lot of people go, not only Bulgarians but also tourists as there are a lot of tourists on the Grand Place,” she says.

So what do the Bulgarians miss the most about their homeland? Popova says there is a big coffee drinking culture in Bulgaria that you can’t find here. “In Bulgaria, you can stay there for hours. You can have different types of coffees, in a very nice atmosphere and very cosy.”

There are Bulgarian produce shops that are scattered around Belgium, particularly in the community living in Ghent. A specialty that you might find in one of these is traditional yoghurt. Another delicacy is “boza” – a sweet, non-alcoholic fermented drink made of malt.

“In Bulgaria, there’s a tradition to have breakfast with boza and ‘banitsa’, a kind of dough pastry with eggs, feta cheese and spinach,” says Velev. “It’s calorie-laden but very tasty.”

Europe in Brussels: Estonia

As featured in the Bulletin here.

Friday 24 February marks the 99th year of Estonia’s independence. With a growing population ahead of the EU Council presidency, we spend time with some Estonian expats to ask them about their culture and their experience of Belgium.

The Republic of Estonia became independent back in 1918, though it officially took two years for it to be properly recognised through the Tartu Peace Treaty. During the second world war, it was annexed by Nazi Germany. Following this, Estonia remained a part of the Soviet Union until its downfall in 1991, when it regained its independence.

Today, the Baltic state has a modest population of 1.3 million. It is estimated that 2,000 Estonian expats live in Belgium. “The biggest reason to come here was 12 years ago, when Estonia joined the European Union,” says Aivar Paidla, an Estonian translator who has been in Brussels since 2009. Many Estonians now work for the EU institutions, living in and around the capital. The number is expected to grow and possibly even double this year with the EU Council presidency beginning in July.

Aivar is also involved with the Estonian Association in Belgium which puts on many events all year round. These include the latest film screenings, a children’s choir and theatre troupe performances in Charleroi. An important day on the cultural calendar is Jaanipäev, or St John’s Day. This midsummer festival takes place on the night between 23-24 June, a few days after the summer solstice. Traditionally, these are farming festivities celebrating the fertile land and they usually involve a night of drinking and dancing.

The national day also holds some big celebrations. With next year’s centenary of independence, several events are being planned. “The Estonian Embassy and Estonian Representation have a very nice cultural program,” says Paidla. “There will be concerts with very prominent orchestras and soloists from Estonia. These will take place in Bozar, Flagey, and other nice venues.”

Estonians on Belgium

Another expat living in Brussels is Katri Varikmaa. Originally from the capital, Tallinn, she moved here about a year ago to do a six-month internship in the European Parliament. She liked it so much that she decided to stay.

“It’s very multicultural,” she says. “People are always so friendly and open to people from other countries. Even if you go out and you don’t know anyone, which was my case when I came here, everyone was really friendly and you can make new contacts very easily.”

For first-time visitors, she suggests going to the Ardennes as well as the city of Dinant, to explore the castle and walk by the river. Meanwhile, Paidla says that he often shows visitors around the caves of Han-Sur-Lesse, the old town of Ghent, as well as the Japanese garden in Hasselt.

It goes without saying that Belgium is very different to Estonia, particularly in terms of landscape. Varikmaa says that if you travel southwards in Belgium, it doesn’t take long before you stumble upon some mountains. This is not the case with the flat Estonian landscape. “We don’t have any mountains. We have one hill that we call a mountain but it’s actually only 316 metres.” This is Suur Munamägi, which comically translates as Big Egg Mountain.

Paidla’s experience of growing up in Tartu is also different to the more compact city of Brussels. Estonia has an average of 28 people by square kilometre, compared to Belgium’s 374 (and Brussels’ 7,000).

The Estonian outlook

Both expats feel there are subtle differences between the Belgian and Estonian character. Varikmaa says she was struck by the greetings in Belgium. “When people greet each other, they kiss. That’s something we don’t do. We keep our distance, shake hands maybe. But, here, people are very open. They always come and kiss you and ask: ‘how are you?’. And then you say: ‘I’m fine, how are you?’. In Estonia, if you ask people ‘how are you?’, you actually expect detailed answers like how their life is going.”

Paidla says that Estonians are very practical. “We don’t want to spend time for small talk.” However, he says his favourite thing about Belgians is their politeness: “It’s something which gives you a very good start and a good end to the day.”

Europe in Brussels: Lithuania

As featured in The Bulletin here.

Lithuania celebrates its national day on 16 February. We speak to the ambassador and an expat about their history and the cultural events taking place in Belgium.

Lithuania has a long-standing relationship with Belgium. There are approximately 3,000 Lithuanians living here today. The country’s ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg, Gediminas Varvuolis, explains the waves of emigration from Lithuania.

“At the beginning of the 20th century, Lithuania was under Tsarist Russia,” he says. “There were already some economic migrants coming to Western Europe. During the Lithuanian independence period between the two world wars, Lithuanian students were studying in various Belgian universities. After the second world war, there was another exodus when people were fleeing the Soviet occupation. Some of them came to Belgium and worked around Liège in the coal mines.”

Lithuanians are very proud of their history and celebrating their independence is of great importance to them. “The 16 February is our main national day because, in 1918, our statehood was restored,” says Varvuolis. “If you look at the declaration of independence, the word that is being used is not ‘proclamation’ but ‘restoration’.”

Back in the 14th century until the end of the 18th century stood the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, later united with Poland to form a joint commonwealth. It stood as one of the biggest states in Europe. However, it progressively disappeared when it was occupied by neighbouring empires.

For the 16 February, the celebrations are quite traditional. The Lithuanian Embassy, Representation to the EU and Representation to Nato organise a diplomatic reception.

“We tend to orientate the celebrations towards our diaspora,” says Varvuolis. “We traditionally invite them to the Embassy and we organise a cultural performance. Then we have a very informal Lithuanian get-together and national party. We hear some testimonials.”

Importance of sports

There are several Lithuanian cultural events taking place across the year, including a cinema club as well as a yearly 12-year-old tradition: “We organise the sports games of Lithuanians living in Benelux countries. Traditionally, we take a sports centre for the whole weekend. During two days, we play all sorts of sports from basketball, to individual sports, like running and swimming. It can get quite competitive.”

Basketball is often the sport of choice. “Every Lithuanian takes pride in it. We have basketball teams in Belgium playing in the sports games. The sport is part of our national character.”

Lithuania has firm roots in Europe, being one of the oldest languages. “The Lithuanian language is considered by linguists to be one of the languages which is closest to Sanskrit, one of the Indian languages,” Varvuolis says. “Sometimes there are curious coincidences in the words. The linguist historians say Lithuanian is the closest to the initial Indo-European language people used to speak.”

Culture

Recently, a Lithuanian cultural centre opened in Woluwé-Saint-Lambert (Chaussée de Roodebeek 302). It offers classes for children and adults wishing to learn the language.

Lithuanian expat Rasa Raudaite says: “It is a place for seminars and lectures. This centre is propagating the language. This is important for me and for other mixed families. My family is mixed: I’m married to a French citizen and we have kids speaking both languages. Thanks to this centre, my kids can attend Lithuanian language courses.”

Raudaite is from a small village in the middle of Lithuania called Sidabravas and she has been in Belgium for eight years. Currently working for the European Commission, she often participates in the organisation of Lithuanian events.

Compared to the abundance of forests and lakes back home, she enjoys the architecture of Belgium and walking down old, historical streets. She does say Brussels is confusing to navigate around, even with a GPS or a map. “It’s not annoying if you’re not stressed by time,” she says.

“I like little places in Brussels. For example, I discovered the Laurent Gerbaud chocolaterie – very good chocolate, very nice and friendly staff working there.” She also likes the city of Mons.

“As a Lithuanian, I don’t feel homesick because I really like the international spirit, not only in Brussels, but in Belgium,” Raudaite concludes.

American Presidential Election Event in the Heart of Brussels

As part of a team of reporters for the cultural website The Bulletin, I interviewed event-goers, American expats and representatives. You can find more videos and a report of the event at the following link.

Here are some interview snippets from the night, speaking to members of Democrats Abroad:

Music: New Sounds, Gallant

Inspired by Paul Lester’s weekly column in The Guardian, this is hopefully the first of a series of ramblings on exciting music. Essentially, these are new sounds that have struck a chord with me over the previous months.

1. Gallant, US.

I saw this 20-something on the Boombox stage at Dour in July and, honestly, he should have been playing a bigger setting. A music graduate from the prestigious NYU, Christopher Gallant has definitely got that well-crafted and polished feel down to a T. It’s R&B done well: smooth, sensual, effortless. And then there’s that intriguing charisma that he has onstage too: he shows an energy, with sudden bursts of movements and gestures, that’s often combined with a more languid mood. Gallant definitely has a confidence in his own ability, rightly so, as he frequently toys with the higher ranges of his voice. Yes, there are some falsettos and, by god, are they glorious. Exhibited across his latest release Ology, they place him in a completely different category to your standard crooner. A good example of these notes feature on his most popular track, ‘Weight in Gold’. It has the obvious making of a hit and got him a standing ovation on late night chat show Jimmy Fallon. Produced by STiNt, who has collaborated with the likes of Santigold and NAO, you could say it’s Frank Ocean’s ‘Thinkin Bout You’ with a higher pitch and more of an electronic undercurrent. Other great work on the album includes the low-key ‘Talking to Myself’ and the spine-tingling ‘Skipping Stones’, featuring R&B vocalist Jhené Aiko. In fact, the latter is one of a couple of collaborations for the artist, including beautiful work done with Sufjan Stevens on a cover of his song ‘Blue Bucket of Gold’. Gallant is a tremendous talent, so expect mainstream success soon.

In the meantime, check out his latest album Ology now.