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Thinking inside the box

An award-winning showroom in Ostend brings green technology to everyday life
The Energy Box

Established in early 2010, The Energy Box consists of one demonstration room, but by September of next year, an entire “house of renewable energy” will be open to showcase alternative technology. New businesses that develop green technology will receive coaching on how to find their way to the general public.

(December 7, 2011)

Passage to India

A Flemish mission to one of the fastest-growing economies in the world

“The Ostend East India company, Oostendse Compagnie, moored its first ship in Banquibazar in 1723 on the riverside of the Hoogly, a tributary of the Ganga in Bengal,” he begins. Other ships of the company followed, and Low Country merchants received concessions and settlement rights in the region from the Nawab of Murshidabad, a local governor. The trade went both ways, and by the end of the 1770s, the region was known in India for its quality glass and its iron and steel products.

(November 30, 2011)

Government buys Dexia

Flemish municipalities assess impact of bank bail-out
© Belga

The Belgian state took full possession of the Belgian part of the embattled Dexia Bank for €4 billion. Dexia Bank Belgium (DBB) now comes into government ownership following a weekend of meetings lasting into early Monday morning.

(October 11, 2011)

Older and wiser

Flemish agencies are taking steps to get more people over 50 back into the workforce
© Shutterstock

“Where will we find the people for these jobs?” he asked at a recent meeting at VBO, the Belgian Employers Union. Not in the classic reserve of those aged 20 to 49, he says. “We should forget about fixed retirement ages. Instead, we should think in terms of career length. People should work for at least 45 years, irrespective of when they start.”

(October 11, 2011)

Into the wild

Flemish farm-hotels have trouble keeping up with demand
© Toon Coussement

In Flanders, finding a decent address for a temporary retreat from the hustle and bustle couldn’t be simpler: They’re all gathered together on one website, run by Logeren in Vlaanderen (Lodging in Flanders), where you can search by province, area, type of accommodation and level of comfort.

(September 27, 2011)

Mission: southern Africa

Kris Peeters returns from a whirlwind trip of trade and aid
© Dirk Waem/BELGA

Flanders has many ties with southern Africa: both Mozambique and South Africa are so-called partner countries for development aid; there are economic links; and then there is, of course Afrikaans, a relative of the Dutch language.

(September 6, 2011)

Vietnam chooses Belgian satellite

New monitor of environmental conditions will be launched by 2016
© ESA

The VNREDSAT-1B satellite will include remote sensing, high-resolution, multispectral and hyper-spectral imaging, to be used for regular and rapid monitoring of the environmental situation in South- East Asia. Its predecessor, VNREDSAT- 1A, is currently being constructed in Toulouse, France, for launch in 2013 or 2014.

(August 2, 2011)

Fingerprints are ancient history

An innovative scanning technology from Flanders has charmed the US government

This trailblazing mentality is one of the reasons why Grauzinis, 42, seems to do what makes her happy, no matter how unconventional. “I was always active in technology,” she says, “making the link between the commercial and the technical. In school, I took physics and math just because I liked it, even though I was studying communication. I like to understand what I see. I don’t like to watch something and not understand how it works.”

(July 26, 2011)

On a mission

Flemish minister-president Kris Peeters sells Flanders to American investors at an economic mission to the US
© Dirk Waem / BELGA

Sharp tongues might have criticised the slogan for not being a strong brand, but Peeters promotes it with everything he has and doesn’t leave an occasion unattended to get Flanders in the picture here in New York.

(July 5, 2011)

Flemish innovators win Inventor Awards

Steel wire and medical research honoured by European Patent Office
© EPO

Civil engineer Ann Lambrechts has worked throughout her career for the steel and speciality materials company Bekaert, based in Kortrijk. She wins the prize in the category Industry for her invention of steel-wire fibres used to reinforce concrete, which give the material more flexibility in construction than the traditional steel rods.

The invention in fact dates back to 1995 but could only be recognised after it had proved its practical worth. “Lambrechts has opened up a whole new world of architectonic possibilities,” the EPO said.

(May 25, 2011)