News

On Wednesday 5th December a fundraising appeal was launched to raise money for the creation of a Flanders Fields Memorial Garden 1914-2014 at the Guards Museum, adjacent to The Guards Chapel in Wellington Barracks, close to Buckingham Palace.

The International Woolmark Prize is a new international fashion design prize that will identify the world’s foremost emerging designers and highlight the diverse interpretations of Merino wool within their collections. The initiative crosses borders and cultures by recognising outstanding new talent from emerging and established fashion hotspots around the globe. The competition is being held in Australia, China, Europe, India and USA.

The Flanders Fashion Institute selected the young Flemish designer Christian Wijnants, who won the European Woolmark Prize. Christian Wijnants is a 34-year old designer based in Antwerp, Belgium. After graduating in 2000 from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, he went on to win the Grand Prix at Festival de Hyères in France. Following this he started selling his collections in-store at Colette in Paris, Pineal Eye in London, Via Bus Stop in Tokyo and Henri Bendel in New York. After working as creative assistant for Dries Van Noten in Antwerp and Angelo Tarlazzi in Paris, he launched his own brand in 2003.

On 16 February, during London Fashion Week, the winner of the International Woolmark Prize will be announced. As the European winner, Christian Wijnants is nominated for this very prestigious prize.
 

The annual London Book Fair took place from Monday 15 to Wednesday 17 April. It is one of the biggest professional book fairs, where some 1,500 stand holders and publishers meet to present titles and trade translation rights. True to form, the Flemish Literature Fund (FLF) was also present. Even though the international book trade is experiencing turbulent times and cuts at publishing houses are often first reflected in a reduction in the number of translated titles, the more than 60 meetings the FLF had at the fair show that the interest in Flemish literature is still growing.

BBC has discovered a previously unknown painting of Anthony Van Dyck by accident. The painting, a portrait of a woman, was previously thought to have been a copy and was in storage at the British Bowes Museum in County Durham.  The British Broadcasting Corporation put a picture of the painting online and an art historian recognised it as an original from the hand of the Flemish 17th-century master
 

Most of the internships with international organizations are unpaid, which poses a major hurdle for young graduates and young professionals. The Flemish government wants to help both the organization and the intern with this subsidy: the grant is intended for candidates who have secured an internship offer from an international organization and are under 35 years at the start of the internship. The candidate is responsible for finding an internship, but vacant positions will be published on the site of the Flemish Government. If the incumbent meets all the criteria mentioned below, the applicant may apply for a grant with the Flemish Department of Foreign Affairs, no later than one day before the start of the internship.

The Flemish non-profit OSCARE (Organisation for Burns, Scar After-care and Research) has developed a two-day lecture-based course aimed at medical professionals who manage scars. With the help of the Katie Piper Foundation, the course will be delivered in the UK at the St. Bartholomew’s Hospital.

government of Flanders has launched the first call for submitting projects to the Screen Flanders fund. Applications can be submitted until 28 February 2013, 12 (noon). Initiated by the Flemish Minister-President Kris Peeters, also responsible for Economic Affairs, and Flemish Minister for Culture Joke Schauvliege, the government decided to annually reserve 5 million euros aimed at supporting audiovisual activity in the region.

The VRT launches its first-ever English-language programme to introduce expats to the Flemish way of life

On 15th July 2009, the Flemish Government approved the new Flemish Coalition Agreement for 2009-2014. This agreement is called: 'A vigorous Flanders in decisive times, for an innovative, sustainable and warm society.'

The Dutch, English and French versions are downloadable on: http://iv.vlaanderen.be/nlapps/docs/default.asp?fid=443

Eastman, the dance company led by Flemish choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, has been chosen as one of Europe’s three cultural ambassadors for 2013, together with the Berlin dance company Sasha Waltz & Guests and the French music festival of Aix-en-Provence.

The latest Flemish design sensation, Christian Wijnants, was the recipient of the much coveted International Woolmark Prize of 2013 on Saturday 16 February. Wijnants hails from Antwerp and started his own range in 2003. Seen as a barometer for innovative and emerging talent, the prize will no doubt project this young Flemish designer into the international fashion spotlight. As one of five shortlisted nominees, Wijnants was judged by a panel including fashion icons such as Victoria Beckham, Diane von Furstenberg and Donatella Versace. As well as a cash prize, the title also means that Wijnant’s celebrated designs will now be on sale at Liberty’s in London and the Bergdorf Goodman store in New York.

BBC Two started broadcasting the new British-American crime drama The Fall on Monday 13 May, starring Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan. Director of this five-part miniseries is Fleming Jakob Verbruggen, who also directed the film version as well as the episodes of the Flemish series Code 37.

The Memorial Park will join 40 battlefield sites – currently isolated from each other – together in a network telling the story of the war through the landscape of the area in West Flanders, where most of the fighting took place. Five sites are already the subject of detailed design plans: the area around the mouth of the Ijzer in Nieuwpoort; the network of sites between the Ijzerdijk and the Frontzate footpath in Diksmuide; the site of the Third Battle of Ypres; the road to Passchendaele in Zonnebeke; and the Ypres Salient around Ypres and the Wijtschate Salient in the Heuvelland region.

On Thursday 25 April the book launch of ‘Dutch: Biography of a Language’ of Prof. Roland Willemyns took place at Flanders House London.

Six top writers from the LOW COUNTRIES on tour to 6 cities for 6 nights of readings & debates. To showcase the best HIGH IMPACT literature from Flanders & the Netherlands in English translation.

They are the LOW COUNTRIES LITERATI: all prize-winners and best-sellers back home, all writing in Dutch but from 2 different countries – Belgium and the Netherlands. Two of the UK’s closest neighbours producing some of the most exciting literature in Europe, but about whom the British public knows too little.
 

Flanders' second largest city Antwerp has been chosen European Sport Capital 2013. The title is handed out every year by the European Capitals and Cities of Sport Federation to the city with a sports policy that best corresponds to the five core values: pleasure, success, fair play, social cohesion and health.

On Monday 26 November Flemish First Minister Kris Peeters officially opened Kazerne Dossin, the new Holocaust and Human Rights Museum in Mechelen. Since 1 December, the museum is open to the general public.

Fleming Geert Joris, currently director of Boek.be, the organisation behind the Antwerp book fair, has been appointed as General Secretary of the Nederlandse Taalunie (Dutch Language Union).

On 28 January the Royal Ballet of Flanders was awarded the National Dance Award for Outstanding Company at The Place in London. The Royal Ballet’s nomination was an acknowledgement of the performances of William Forsythe’s Artifact, performed at Sadler’s Wells, London's temple of dance, in April 2012. The receipt of this award is a recognition from the British critics of the excellent performance and the artistic talent of the dancers of the Royal Ballet.

The Association of Low Countries Studies is proud to announce that the 7th edition of the ALCS Student Days will take place at the University of Nottingham on 7 and 8 March 2013. All university students of Dutch in Great Britain and Ireland are warmly invited to come to Nottingham for two days of culture, information and fun.

After the critically acclaimed BBC/HBO series Parade's End, another BBC production is being filmed and coproduced in Flanders.

Virtual Dutch offers fully online distance-education programmes: a postgraduate Certificate in Dutch Cultural Studies and two short courses teaching Dutch, Lagelands for beginners and Hogelands at intermediate level. Virtual Dutch is a teaching and learning initiative pooling the resources in Dutch Studies of four British universities (University College London (UCL) and the universities of Sheffield, Cambridge and Nottingham).

For the Certificate in Dutch Cultural Studies the UCL Department of Dutch is offering five scholarships covering the fees for UK and EU students and two scholarships covering the fees for non-EU students for the 2009-2010 session.

For more information visit the website of Virtual Dutch.

Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Ghent and Ostend signed a 30-point collaborative agreement to strengthen their competitive edge. The four Flemish ports are convinced of the merits of collaboration and it may even result in a unified port authority, according to CEO of the Ghent harbour Philippe Van de Vyvere.

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