THE VOICE: Dynamic Traditions (Summer Edition)

International Student Magazine
VOICE
THE
In this issue:
New Rector Torfs
K in KU Leuven
Belgian Burqa Ban
Shared Consumption
Maasai Culture Shock
Summer 2013 Year 16, Issue 5
Dynamic Traditions
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2 THE VOICE, Summer 2013
4 TorfsElectedRector
5 Farewell,RectorWaer
6 AGORALearningCentre
7 ANationalBodyto
CoordinateErasmus?
8OurTempleIsEverywhere
9 TeHigherInstituteof
Philosophy
9 IdiomoftheMonth:
Nigerian
10 Dobrodoli,Hrvatska!
Welcome,Croatia!
21CollaborativeConsumption
22Music:BelgianIndieRock
23How I Fell in Love with...
Comics
24Hinduism&the
ManagementGuru
25MaasaiCultureShock
26InterculturalTraining
28AngelaMerkel:Tree-
Buttoned,Boring,&Basic
29BilingualItaliana,
Ovviamente
29CommentaryGoAbroad,
BecomeaStereotype
12WhoPuttheKinKU
Leuven?
14 GettoKnowIslamic
Economics
15SoWhatExactlyAre
AmericanValues?
17AlternativeCurrency
Systems
18 TeBelgianBurqaBan
19Nationalism:Flandersvs.
Catalonia
30IslandHoppinginGreece
31WalkingDowntheStreet
ofFood
32 Wheels,Wings&Tumbs
Up
33CommentaryScrewItAll,
ImBackpacking!
34 MakeYourselfUnforgettable
35AnEco-EthosinTourism
36TingstoDoAroundHere
36Yes,Beaches!
Editor-in-Chief
ToTranNguyen,Layout
Editorial Team
EvelyneVanHecke,Ed. Secretary, Summer Editor
CoriekeBonvanie,News Editor
HaiNguyen,Asst. News Editor
GabrielaGuevara,Features Editor, Layout Asst.
LiminLiang,Asst. Features Editor
OdetteRivera,Culture Editor
SarahJenkins Asst. Culture Editor, Copy Editor
SaraRich,Lead Copy Editor
AndrewHorner,Copy Editor
GabrielMartnezMiranda,Photo Editor
Other Contributors to this Issue
AggelosVenetis
AhmedAlabadelah
AlexZamora
AlexandriaSomirs
AnneliesRoose
CarlaTraslaviaFigueroa
ElissavetLykogianni
GijsVandenBroeck
IljaPostel
JessikaNilsson
JohnNawas
KarlijnSas
KatiaDemydenko
KhaledKhalaf
LiesbethSchulp
MelissaSmith
MichaelA.Akinbolusere
NikhilSindhwani
PieterRombouts
SabineDeJaegere
SamDonvil
StefanoNcolGranada
TomasNoppens
WimDehaen
Cover photo by ToTran Nguyen. Buddhist monk hits
the beach. Phu Quoc, Vietnam.
Our new website is currently under construction by
our Web Designer, Adesoji Adegbulu.
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Contents
Wewanttohearfromyou!Ifyouhaveany
commentsregardingwhatyousee(ordont
see)here,pleasesharethemwithus,andwe
willselectsomemessagestopublishinthe
nextissueofourmagazine.
VOICE Mail
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thevoiceleuven.be
www.facebook.com/thevoice.loko
SUMMER VACATION CULTURE
NEWS features
THE VOICE, Summer 2013 3
DearTHEVOICE,
Whiletheendofmanysociallivescomescloser,aquestionstartsrais-
ing in my head. It is a question for you, voice of international students,
keeperofwisdom,masteroffreereceptions.Whyisitthateverybodykeeps
talkingaboutthelastepisodeofGame of Trones?WhydoIfeellikeIam
missingsomethingbecauseIonlywatchedepisodesone,two,andeight?
DearTHE VOICE, Im trying to ask you even more: what is there
lefttotalkabout?Whenweremeetinginternationalstudents,weseemto
have no other option than to discuss HBO-series. People seem to think
internationalizationisassimpleasmakingatranslatedversionofourdaily
activities.Praesidiainviteinternationalstudents,maketheactivitiesattrac-
tiveforthem,andaskfortheappropriatefunds.DearTHEVOICE,you
knowthisisnotinternationalization.Tisisacheapversionofinternation-
alization.Terealversionofinternalizationisonethatisntthatsimpleto
achieve.ItisarealcombinationofinternationalstudentsandKULeuven
students.Actually,letstakeitupanotch.Notbytakingittothenextlevel
itisnotabouteverywomanandchildbutbylookingatthelowerlevel;
itisaboutwalkingintoanAsianmathstudentcookingat4inthemorn-
ing,peeinginthesink,andhavingthemutualfeelingthatthisexperience
wasquitealright.Itisabouthavingthefeelingthatpeeinginthesinkis
notastudentchoice,thatismorestudenticalthanleavingacurrysmellat
4inthemorning.
Why,THEVOICE,owhy,arentthecheapversionandtheexpensive
one and the same? Im asking you, wouldnt it be easier if we just could
make,translateouractivities,andinvitethenobleAsianguy?Whentalk-
ingtoourinternational/non-internationalfellow,wealwaysseemtorely
onthemostmainstreamtopicsthateverhaveexistedsinceAquinasphi-
losophyofreligion.Tomaswasquietadrinker,PrinceCharlesoncesaid.
Youboreme,youknow,repliedDiana.Stoptalkingmainstreammedi-
evalphilosophy.Shehadapoint.Peopleshouldstoptalkingnonsense.I
realizethisletterlookslikesnonsensetoo,butitisapleaforinternationali-
zationnevertheless.Anditisnottheinternationalizationoftalkingabout
anincestuousking.ItisnotjustEnglishtranslationsonyoursite.Tisis
the internationalization of feeling the same kind of awkwardness when
bumpingintoa4inthemorningcurrycookeraswhenyoubumpintoa4
inthemorningcurryworstfryer.Itisnotinquiringwhichkindofcurryhe
isusing,itisnotnoticingthat4inthemorningisaverypeculiarmoment
toeatcurry.
IthinkIaccidentallyansweredmyownquestion.Wereonebiggroup
of drinking, stupid, sexually frustrated students.Tis means we can talk
aboutmorethanGame of Trones.Wehavemoretosharethanthatstupid
HBO-product.InternalizationismorethantalkingaboutKhaleesiseggs.
Quinten Evens & Bram Vaassen
Philosophy students
Letter to the Editor
June 2013
DearReaders,
After a fantastic year building THE
VOICE into a respected publication, our
2012-13 Editorial Team bids you farewell
with this specially curated edition, our most
multi-culturalissueyetandatruecelebration
ofdiversity.
Our fnal Features theme is Dynamic
Traditions. What happens to traditions and
values as they face new contexts, resistance,
andthepressuretochange?Westartathome
anddigintowhattheKinKULeuvenmeans
today - in other words, into the changing
Catholic tradition of the university.We then
refocus internationally. For one, we fnd that
the Islamic economic system has embedded
culturalvaluesinwaysthatmaybeunimagi-
nabletothoseonlyfamiliarwithconventional
banking.Aswehadaparticularinterestinre-
ligionthisissue,youwillalsofndinsightson
BuddhismandHinduisminothersections.
We are also celebrating the summer that
awaitsafterthelastexam.Whetheryouplan
to be on the move or to stay put, we hope
youwillfndsomeinspirationinthesepages.
Tere is no reason (weather included) for an
uneventfulsummer!
Lastly, thank you to all those who have
contributedtoTHEVOICEthisyear.Ithas
been a labor of love for our team, to say the
least, and we would not have achieved such
qualitywithoutthesupportofthosewehave
interviewed, our writers, photographers, art-
ists, editors, the International Ofce, and
LOKO International. And of course, thank
youforreadingandsharing.
Ithasbeenapleasure.AlexZamora,who
hails from Peru, will serve as the 2013-14
Editor-in-Chief,andwewishhimmuchluck.
Please email thevoice@loko.be if you are in-
terestedincontributingorjoiningtheteam.
Enjoyyoursummerandsafetravels!
Best,
ToTran Nguyen
Editor-in-Chief
From the Editor
O
n17May,RikTorfswaselectedas
KULeuvensnewrectorinaclose
election race, winning the second round
against Karen Maex with 772 votes to
736.Despitewinningthefrstroundear-
lierthatweek,hisvictorywasnotsecure,
asthestudentsrepresentativesseemedto
supportMaexinthefnalround.Afterthe
representativesdecidedtonolongervote
asasinglebloc,Torfswasabletowinthe
election.On1August,hewilltakeofce
asKULeuvensnewrector.
RikTorfsisaprofessorofCanonLaw
and a home-grown academic, obtaining
three Masters titles from KU Leuven
from1979to1981andaJ.C.D.inCanon
Lawin1987.Nexttohisacademicwork,
he is known for his media appearances
as a presenter of his own interview pro-
gramme,apanelistinvarioustalkshows,
andamemberofthejuryinFlandersfa-
vourite game show De Slimste Mens ter
Wereld (Te Worlds Smartest Human).
During the past years,Torfs has focused
on his political career, initially trying to
launchanewpoliticalmovement,butaf-
terthisprovedunsuccessful,hewaselect-
edsenatorforCD&V(FlemishChristian
Democrats)in2010.Heremainedasena-
toruntilthisMarch,whenheresignedto
runintherectorelection.
A new rector means a new vision
within the university that creates space
for fresh ideas and paves the way for a
new direction. Torfs based his election
campaign uponseven touchstones. First
ofall,Torfsdesiresmoreroomforcreativ-
itywithinthefeldofresearch,awayfrom
rigidframeworks.Second,hearguesfora
new outlook on quality, a critical review
of external visitations, and an approach
where not only research but also educa-
tionshouldbehonoured.Tird,hewants
to see a shift in the publishing pressure
forresearcherswherequalityshouldpre-
vail over quantity. Tis approach should
especially beneft female researchers who
struggle more with a quantitative ap-
proach.Fourth,hewantsapushtobroad-
eneducation.Fifth,hewantstoseemore
susbsidiarity while retaining a high level
of quality for the whole KU Leuven as-
sociation.Sixth,Torfsemphasizestherole
of the university as a beacon of society,
creating an open, external orientation of
the institution. And fnally, the seventh
goalistopromoteprideintheuniversity
through transparency and an optimistic
andcourageousvision.
In his letter to the voters, Rik Torfs
wrote,avoteformeisavoteforarector
withanexplicitsocialcommitmentanda
deepappreciationforeachindividual.For
arectorwithmoralcourageandresilience
towardssocietyatlarge.Forsomeonewho,
armed with a rich political experience, is
well equipped to vigorously defend the
university externally, while internally be-
ing a conciliator and bridge builder. He
expresslycommittedhimselftoacademic
freedomandpromisedself-criticism.
THE VOICE welcomes our new
rector and asks him to take into account
the increasing international student and
research populations in his policies. To
createmoreopportunitiesforintegration
between the internationals and the Bel-
gians,tobuildacoherentuniversitycom-
munity,andtolistentoourvoices.Good
luck,RectorTorfs!
NEWS
Rik
Torfs
Elected
Rector
By Corieke Bonvanie
International
Europe
Belgium
Leuven
LEUVEN
Rik Torfs, KU Leuvens new rector takes offce 1 August, 2013.
Photo by Gabriel Martinez Miranda
N
oFourmoreyearsfor
rectorMarkWaer.Last
Friday, the rector magnifcus of
KU Leuven said goodbye and
thank you after a gala night in
aula Pieter De Somer. A por-
trait of the professor with the
impeccablehaircut.
M
ark Waer took ofce
in2009,aftertheneg-
ativeevaluationofrectorMarc
Vervenne. A turbulent period,
the former rector acknowledg-
es, but he was also a supporter
ofWaer.
Were good friends. I
wasnt vengeful, I actually
helped to restore the peace.
Ourteampresentedsomegood
results after four years; Mark
completed and continued this
work. I never interfered, but
we were always on speaking
terms. We think the same, we
act the same. Tese were four
great years, for him and for
me, Vervenne claims. Waer
managedtorestorethebalance
ofpower.Hemadesurethatin
the future, the rectors will be
evaluatedinademocraticway.
Bram Smits, former
LOKO-president and there-
forerepresentiveofallstudents
in Leuven, calls Waer a great
guy: He was always ready to
talk with students or show up
at events if you asked him to.
Lastsummer,heevenattented
thead fundum wave of Radio
ScorpioattheOudeMarktand
drank the frst beer. In meet-
ings,hewasagreatchairman.
Hetookaccountofthequestionsand
needs of the students and made sure his
teamofvicerectorsdidtoo,saysSmits.
Mark is warm, intelligent, and ap-
proachable. In meetings, he is known
for his no-nonsense approach. He wont
discussforhoursandhours,hewantsre-
sults,completesVervenne.
Te rector and his team have to rec-
ognize all academic work and keep their
staf enthusiastic. Tis requires a lot of
skill.OnEducationalPolicyandStudent
Afairs,vicerectorsLudoMelisandTine
Baelmansprovedtobegreatassets.Bael-
mans has great respect for Waer, stat-
ing,It was great working with him. He
took control of a complex organization,
displaying singular vision and willpower.
Mark knows what he wants and tried to
accomplishhisgoalsbyhearingeveryone
out. He delegated, gave confdence and
feedbacktous,andwecouldalwaysreach
andevencriticizehim.
T
here were some rough times: the
university fred a researcher who
protested against genetically modifed
organisms in her free time. I
dont know how I would have
handled that, but at all times,
arectorhastomakeharddeci-
sionsandtakeeverythingunder
consideration, says Vervenne.
Criticism is part of academic
life.Wheredoesacademicfree-
domendandfreedomofspeech
start? Te debate is the key to
success.
Tisdebateisstillgoingon,
confrms Smits: Tese people
destroyed other scientists ex-
periments. I think Waer made
hisdecisionafterlistingallpros
and cons; there was nothing
morehecoulddo.
Baelmans agrees, In the
end,integrityandethicsarethe
base of science. It was a tough
call,butMarkhandledthiscase
asagoodcrisismanager.
Waerwantedtodiscussthe
emancipation of the university.
Here-openedthedebateabout
the K (forCatholic, in Dutch
katholiek) in KU Leuven. He
wantedtotalkabouthowinde-
pendentauniversityshouldbe,
explainsBaelmans.
Waerwasntabletosimplify
theadministrationatKULeu-
ven, but nobody blames him.
Tepeoplewetalkedtoagreed
on the fact that he was a great
representative of our alma ma-
ter. I particularly loved the
way he speeched, especially
when he insulted somebody.
Hedidthisinsuchwaythathis
object of laughter would laugh
withhim,smilesSmits.
W
aer always made clear that he
wantedtoserveonlyoneterm.
Hewasevenaskedtoreconsider,buthe
didnt. I understand him completely;
the position of rector magnifcus is very
demanding, says Vervenne. You dont
havemuchofaprivatelife,theworking
days are long... In these last years be-
foreheretires,Iunderstandhewantsto
get back in his laboratory and do some
research. Actually, he never left his lab.
Andeverybodyssurehelldosomemore
greatthingsinthenearfuture.
Photo by Rob Stevens
Farewell, Rector Mark Waer
LEUVEN
By Pieter Rombouts
Mak Waer, KU Leuvens departing rector.
O
n 18 April, the Learning Centre
ofKULeuvenopened.Itsname?
AGORA!
What is AGORA?
AGORAisalearningcentreinLeu-
ven where students or staf members
of KU Leuven can come (alone or in a
group) to study, meet, discuss, work, or
organize presentations. Its open, social
atmosphere is refected in the name of
thecentre:AGORAmeansmarketplace
in Greek. Te agora is the place where
peopletraditionallycometogethertoex-
changegoods,information,andexpertise.
Tis is the essence of AGORA. It is not
a library, and it is not a study place. It is
astudentcofeeplaceandmuchmore.It
isthemarketplaceforknowledgeforstu-
dentsinLeuven.
Where and when?
Te Learning centre is located at E.
Van Evenstraat 4, at the location of the
formerPharmaceuticsInstitute.
OneoftheattractivefeaturesofAG-
ORA is its extensive opening hours; it
willbeopen363daysayearandupto16
hoursaday.Tecentreisopenfrom8am
to 12am from Monday through Turs-
dayandfrom9amto7pmonFridayand
weekends, as well as during the summer
periodandonholidays.
What does it ofer?
Te centre has three types
ofstudyareas:social,silent,and
group. On the ground foor,
there is the social study area.
Tisareaisanopenzonewhere
students can work in groups.
Tere is also a social meeting
room accompanied by a cofee
corner and wall screens where,
among other things, the news
of the day is presented in both
DutchandEnglish.
Also on the buildings frst foor, the
silentstudyareaoferstwobigroomsfor
individual study. It is worth mentioning
that in one of the two rooms, the origi-
nalfurnitureofthePharmaceuticsschool
has been preserved and complemented
withnewelementsoffurniture,creatinga
placewherethepastmeetsthefutureina
harmonicway.
Te third type of study area is the
group study area.Tis area is located on
the fourth foor with 5 book-in-advance
meeting rooms on each foor. In total,
thereare20meetingrooms,including13
group study rooms, 2 conference rooms,
2 presentation rooms, 2 video editing
rooms,and1videoconferenceroom.
Te centre ofers wireless internet
connection, copy, and printing services,
butthosewithmoreadvancedtechnolog-
icalneedswillbegladtoknowthattheIT
serviceoftheuniversity(ICTS)hasbeen
moved to the building where AGORA
is situated. In particular, the PC and the
plotter service of the ICTS are provided
to students at AGORA, with computer
repair and poster printing services also
available.
Tebuildingandthewayitwasreno-
vatedhaveresultedinaverystimulating
environment to study, work, and social-
ize. AGORA is located in an energy-
efcient building with diferent types of
furniture that enhance creativity in the
mostpleasantway.
A nice extra during the spring and
summer holidays is the garden where
students have the opportunity to grab a
bookortheirlaptopandstudyunderthe
sun.
The New AGORA Learning Centre
By Elissavet Lykogianni
LEUVEN
A marketplace for knowledge opens in Leuven
Photos by Evelyne Van Hecke
AGORA Learning Centre before opening day,
waiting for the frst students to arrive.
Silent Study Room at AGORA Learning Centre.
THEVOICE,April/May2013 7
Originally written in Dutch by Jens Cardinaels, Translated by Liesbeth Schulp
From the Newsroom of Flemish Student Newspaper, Veto
A
national body to coor-
dinate Erasmus is desir-
able, says Christof Van Mol, Univer-
sity of Antwerp, who claims that more
can be done to get local and foreign
students to interact. National bod-
ies should ensure that Erasmus stu-
dents are not grouped together abroad.
E
rasmus agreements should be
made with the assistance of na-
tional bodies, says Christof Van Mol, a
PhDstudentinSociologyattheUniver-
sity of Antwerp, who conducts research
on Erasmus students. Universities have
tomaketheagreements,buttheyshould
be assisted by a coordinating national
bodyinthis.Tisway,outgoingstudents
can be spread more efciently across the
host country, which would improve the
interactions between native and foreign
students.ManyBelgianuniversitiessend
students to Valencia, for example, creat-
ing a large concentration of Belgians
there.Puttingamaximumquotainplace
foreachhostuniversityisagoodidea.
Bart De Moor, vice rector of In-
ternational Policy at KU Leuven, disa-
grees. KU Leuven does not want to
place her international policy in the
hands of a central body. We want
to make independent agreements
with partners of our own choice.
Lecture Groups
Tereisalsoworktobedonewithre-
gardtostudenthousing,accordingtoVan
Mol:Foreignstudentswholivetogether
withlocalstudentsonasmallscalehave
more easy access to local student life.
A valid point, agrees De Moor. Our
Residence Management and the hous-
ingservicearetryingtomixstudentsand
improve diversity. Tis is more difcult
to achieve on the private market. Many
owners are not inclined to rent to for-
eigners. We try to deal with this via in-
formation sessions for the landlords and
throughpoliticalmeans.
Additionally, Van Mol fnds that
foreign students often end up in lecture
groupslackinginopportunitiesforinter-
action. Tey are often put into groups
withoutanylocalstudentsorarerequired
totakecoursesfromdiferentyears.Asa
result,theyareneverinthesamelecture
groups for an extended period of time.
A problem that is not easily remedied,
says De Moor. Erasmus students have
takendiferentcoursesthanFlemishstu-
dents in their previous years of study. It
isthereforeimpossibletosimplyletthem
joinatacertainstage.Tailoredstudypro-
grams are often required. We have also
drawn up a proposition for structured
mobility:halfoftheMastersstudentsin
PhysicsfromLeuvenwould,forinstance,
change places with half the Masters in
Physics from Uppsala, Sweden, creating
a group consisting of twenty Belgians
and twenty Swedes in both countries.
Tiswaywecouldofermorestudentsan
experienceabroadthatisinterculturalin
itself. Moreover, the quality of the study
programs would increase because lectur-
erswouldhavetoadapttooneanotheron
aninternationallevel.
More courses in English is not a so-
lution for Van Mol.Not many Flemish
studentswouldbekeenonthoselectures.
English lectures would not generate an
ongoinginteractionanyway.Telanguage
barrierishuge.Foreignerswhoonlystay
for one semester have great difculties
makingcontacts.Studentswhostayfora
yearandlearnthelanguagefnditeasier
to get in touch with local students dur-
ingthesecondsemester.However,taking
lessons in a small language like Dutch
is not easy in Spain, Italy, or Poland.
A National Body to Coordinate Erasmus?
Why study and work at AGORA?
AGORA is not a library, and it is
notjustaplacetostudy.Itisaplacethat
stimulates knowledge sharing and in-
novation,thataimstoenhancecreative
studying.
At AGORA, a student can walk a
day of studying through the diferent
areas of the centre. Study in the social
area,drinkacofeeorhaveasandwich,
take some time to study quietly in the
silentstudyarea,prepareameeting,and
study or work in groups in a meeting
room.Studentsarefreetodecidewhen
and how to study and work during the
day,andevenwellintothenight.
In my university in Spain, I am a student representative. I think the student representation in Leuven is quite
unique. The associations here also offer you a social life, cheaper books, academic events, and more. I will take some
of these student representation ideas and traditions with me to Spain.
~Spanish Erasmus student, Bachelor in Philosophy
Our Temple Is Everywhere
By Gijs Van den Broeck
I
f you visited Pangaea this semester,
you might have noticed a remark-
ablescene:ayoungAsianguydressedin
brightorangeBuddhistrobes.MeetHorn
Ken, probably KU Leuvens only Bud-
dhistmonkstudent.WhatisaBuddhist
monk doing here at KU Leuven? you
areallprobablywondering.Shouldnthe
be meditating in his temple? Well, we
askedhimourselves.
H
orn is an Erasmus Mundus stu-
dent and follows the PECS
programme at KU Leuven. Back home,
Hornisaninternationalrelationsstudent.
Why?Hornsmiles.BecauseIlikepoli-
tics. And because in Cambodia, we lack
diplomatic relations, and we hardly have
anyknowledgeofinternationalrelations.
Tis,ofcourse,hassomethingtodowith
Cambodian history. Under the reign of
Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge regime,
many of the countrys intellectuals were
murderedinthegenocide.
But is it not strange for a monk to
study and travel around
the world? When West-
erners think of monks,
they think of people who
havelefttheworldbehind
andvowedtostayintheir
monastery for the rest of
theirlives.Hornexplains
to us that this stereotype
doesnotapplytoCambo-
dianBuddhism:InCam-
bodia, Buddhism plays an
important role in society.
I dont need to be a poli-
ticianbut,ofcourse,Bud-
dhism can ofer peaceful
confict-resolution.
He admits that it is
unusual for a Cambodian
monk to travel the world.
ImightbethefrstCam-
bodian in the Erasmus
Mundus programme. But
whyshouldwemonksstay
inourtemple?Weshould
learn from the other
world. We cannot ignore
globalizationandWestern
power.
Being a monk study-
ing abroad also comes
withsomeinconveniences,
though. Because of my
studies, I do not have the
time to pray or meditate,
while in my temple in
Cambodia,wepraycollec-
tively.However,thisisnot
an insurmountable problem.We do not
need to go to the temple. Our temple is
everywhere,ourtempleisinourmind.We
are not like Muslims who pray out loud.
Youcanpraybasicallyeverywhere.
So what is there to learn for a Bud-
dhist from this Western world, with its
spoiled, greedy consumers, who seem to
disregard Buddhist virtues such as non-
attachment? In 2015, the 10 nations of
the ASEAN will open their borders to
eachother.Europeisagreatexamplefor
this. Diferent nationalities can live to-
gether peacefully here. Why not then in
Asia? He concludes, In Buddhism we
care for others because they are human
beings. We do not care whether you are
EuropeanorAsianorAmerican.
Te stereotype that Westerners are
more materialistic does not always ring
true either. Asians nowadays are very
infuenced by the West. Young Cambo-
diansallwanttohavelaptops,Facebook,
andiPadsaswell.Tereisadiferencein
mentalityhowever:Peopleherearemore
individualistic.InCambodia,westillhave
a sense of community. We still feel we
needtotakecareofourfamily.Whenwe
are 18, we still stay at home. In Europe,
people leave home at 18 and rent their
ownapartment.
Other facets of daily life, like health
andsafety,arealsosurprisingforaCambo-
dianinEurope.WhenIcamehere,Iwas
shockedwhenIsawsomanypeople,even
youngpeople,drinkingandsmokingalot.
InCambodiatherearemanyNGOsthat
trytokeeppeoplefromdrinkingalcohol
and smoking cigarettes. All these NGOs
in Cambodia are sponsored by Western-
ers.ButWesternersthemselvesdrinkand
smokealot!Butnoteverythingisworse
inEurope:WesternEuropeisreallysafe
totravel.WhenIwasinParis,Isawalot
ofpeoplewalkingaroundatmidnight.In
Asia, there is no such thing. We do not
walkaroundatnight.Westayathome!
EnoughaboutbeingaBuddhistmonk
in Europe. What does being a Buddhist
monk mean of its own accord?Why did
Hornwanttobecomeamonk?Iam26
now. When I was 13, I did not have the
purposetobecomeamonk.Butthenmy
friends became monks, and I wanted to
aswell.Anothermainreasonwaseduca-
tion.Icannotafordprivateschools.But
as a monk I can study for free. In Cam-
bodiayourparentsalsoencourageyouto
becomeamonkforacoupleofyearswhen
you are a teenager. You can learn a lot
from the teachings of the Buddha. Un-
likeChristianmonks,Cambodianmonks
do not take life-long vows. Most Cam-
bodians become a monk for a couple of
years.Tentheywanttohaveagirlfriend
andenjoydrinking.Wedonotencourage
themtoleave,buttheyarefreetodoso.
So what valuable teachings of the
Buddha has he already learned? Bud-
dhateachesyouthatyouaretheowner
of yourself. That is the teaching I like
themost.Icanpenmydestinybymy-
self;noonecanhaveme.InWesternre-
ligions,however,peopleseeGodasthe
owner of everything. So is Buddhism
actuallyareligion?Thereisawholede-
bate on this question, but to Horn, it
is not. We do not believe in spiritual
beings.Wedonotbelieveinsomething
wedontsee.Buddhismisnotareligion,
but a teaching of a real human being
andhisnameisSiddharthaGautama.If
onestillclaimsittobeareligion,then
Buddhism is a pro-human religion,
sinceeachhumanbeingisownerofhis
owndestiny.
LEUVEN
Interview with Horn Ken, student and Buddhist monk from Cambodia
Photo by Alex Zamora
Horn Ken.
T
he Higher Institute of Philoso-
phy (Hoger Instituut voor Wijs-
begeerte, HIW) is a very international
faculty. A full English programme (from
Bachelor to PhD) means that 37.9% of
the students at the faculty are interna-
tionals,and54diferentnationalitiescan
be counted.Te number of international
studentsleadstothechallengeofencour-
aging interactions between international
and Flemish students. Tus the HIW
startedtheprojectBridging the Gapinthe
hope of fnding a solution to a difcult
problemforallfacultiesatKULeuven.
Gap-bridging initiatives
Te faculty came up with curricular
initiatives to support students in over-
coming language problems within the
curriculum. In student surveys held by
the HIW, language came forward as an
important barrier to mixing the student
body.Te Writing Lab is an example of
overcoming this barrier. In the Lab, stu-
dents can get tips from native speakers
on academic English writing. In addi-
tion to the Lab, the HIW organized the
frstWritingWeekinAGORAinApril.
Neil Simons, education representative of
LOKOInternational,seesgreatpotential
in the Writing Lab and Writing Week,
andforlaunchingtheminotherfaculties
because so many students struggle with
academicEnglish.
HIW also took additional measures,
such as the online Writing Lab and the
TeachingaSeminarManual.Inaddition
to such curricular initiatives, there were
also extracurricular initiatives. Tese in-
cluded a tailored Buddy Programme, the
merging of NFK (Nieuwe Filosofsche
Kring)andIPSA(InternationalPhiloso-
hy Student Association), the Debate
Club,andtheGraduateStudentConfer-
ence.TeHIWiscountingonthecoop-
eration of NFK, the philosophy student
association,forthesuccessoffrsttwoini-
tiatives.Withthreenon-Dutch-speaking
international students in the prsidium
(the group that leads a student associa-
tion), NFK is the only international fac-
ultarystudentassociationinLeuven.Pre-
viously,therewasNFKforFlemingsand
IPSAforinternationals,butnowtheyare
conjoined.Teprojectwillbefurtherde-
velopedoverthenextacademicyear,and
otherfacultiesareconsideringthestartof
similarinitiatives.
Efects of the extracurricular activities
NFK is making a great efort to in-
clude international students in their ac-
tivities.Ienjoyedthemalot.Ifyouwant
tobepartoftheFlemishcommunity,its
very easy at our faculty, says David Es-
pinel (Erasmus student from Madrid,
Bachelor in Philosophy). NFK organizes
every activity as bilingual. If the event is
hardtoorganizebilingually,thentheyor-
ganize it frst in English, later in Dutch,
or the other way around. In the Buddy
Programme, NFK makes sure that every
internationalphilosophystudentwhore-
questsabuddygetsabuddyfromwithin
thefaculty.Tisreciprocationisnotguar-
anteed in other faculties, even though if
the buddy is from the same faculty, the
relationship has a much greater chance
to succeed. David testifes, Some of my
international philosophy friends have a
buddy, and they really opened up to the
Flemingsbecauseoftheirbuddy.
Elien Joos, Prses (President) of
NFK,says,Inthebeginning,itwashard
toengageinternationalstudentsinNFK.
But after two years, its getting better,
mostlybecausewehavemoreknowledge
now in how we can reach out to them
than we had last year. It became normal
forustoworklikethis.Terearestill
students who we dont reach, but others
dontmissanyofourevents.Butthereare
moreinternationalstudentsparticipating
thanlastyear.
TenumberofFlemishstudentstak-
ing English-language courses is on the
rise. According to Elien,Because of the
contactthatFlemingshavewithinterna-
tionalsinouractivities,theybecomemore
opentowardstheEnglishcourses.Italso
workstheotherwayaround:internation-
als end up with Flemish students at our
activities after meeting in class. Both
DavidandElienthinkthemeasureshave
had positive efects and that they should
continue to be further developed and
improved. It takes time, but we notice
a positive evolution, says Elien.Te gap
didntdisappearmagically,butitseemsto
bebeingbridged,slowlybutsurely,atthe
HIW.
The Higher Institute of Philosophy
LEUVEN
By Evelyne Van Hecke
Bridging the gap between Flemish and international students
Idiom of
the Month:
Nigerian
T
he Southwest region of Nigeria is home to
the Yoruba dialect, which is riddled with a
wealth of wisdom and innumerable maxims.
Ko seni to mo omo po bi eni to lomo/Ko
seni to mo omo po bi olomo. This saying re-
fects the folly of judging other peoples deeds,
even if they seem inappropriate. What if one re-
sponds to this scenario by saying, Dont judge
me, you cant handle half of what I have dealt
with. There is a reason I do what I do, and there
is a reason I am who I am. A persons misfortune
should not be used against him because we are
all prone to human vulnerability.
There is a similar saying that states, It is only
the person wearing the shoe who knows where
it aches. In other words, only the person expe-
riencing a situation can tell how diffcult it is and
what it entails, no matter how hard other people
try to put themselves in his shoes. This adage in
Yoruba is eni ti o ba wo bata (re), lo le so ibiti
o n takoko.
By Michael A. Akinbolusere
Photo by Irene Becker
Dobro doli, Hrvatska! Welcome, Croatia!
By Corieke Bonvanie
O
n1July,theEuropeanUnionwill
welcome Croatia as its newest
member.TeBalkancountrywillbecome
the 28th Member State to the Union.
AlongwithoverfourmillionnewEuro-
pean citizens, the Croats bring another
language into the EU: Croatian will be
recognized as the 24th ofcial language
oftheUnion,creatingevenmorejobsat
the already large translation department
in Luxembourg. In Brussels, the Euro-
pean institutions will also make room
for new employees from Croatia. While
twelvenewCroatianmembershavebeen
added to the European Parliament, due
tothelegalconstraintonthenumberof
MembersofEuropeanParliament,other
countrieswillhavetogiveupseatsafter
the June 2014 elections to fll no more
than 750 seats (plus the EP President).
Tishascausedquiteastirwiththeother
Member States, although an agreement
seemstohavebeenreached.
With the accession of Croatia, the
EU has now expanded its territory to
the Western Balkans. Te Balkans and
theEuropeanUnion,however,havehad
a rocky history. During the 1990s, the
troubled region painfully exposed the
shortcomings of the early days of the
EUs defence policy though a series of
failures on the EU side. Currently, the
EU still carries out several civilian mis-
sionsintheregionanditspresenceisnot
alwayswell-receivedbythepeople.
Additionally, the EU and the West-
ern Balkan countries have signed stabi-
lization and association agreements to
buildastableandprosperousregion.Im-
portant in these agreements are human
rights, democracy and the rule of law,
goodregionalrelations,andcooperation
withtheInternationalCriminalTribunal
for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Te
last issue has sparked controversy in all
Balkan countries, as the people and the
ICTY difer in opinions as to who is
guilty of war crimes. Also, these coun-
triesfeelthattheircapacitytodealwith
theirownwarcriminalsismarginalized.
Currently,outofthefveothercountries
thathavesignedthestabilizationandas-
sociation agreement, only one country
is currently an EU candidate member:
the former Yugoslav Republic of Mac-
edonia.However,therearenosignsthat
the country will become a member any
timesoon,inpartduetothedisputewith
GreeceoverthenameMacedonia,which
isalsoaregioninnorthernGreece.
What all Western Balkan countries
haveincommonisthattheirwaytoEU
candidate status is long and difcult.
Te process took eight years for Croa-
tia from the time of application to the
signing of the accession treaty. In this
process,thefrstbighurdletojumpwas
compliance with the ICTY to fnd and
extradite those accused by the tribunal.
Te tribunal pressured Croatia into lo-
catingGeneralAnteGotovina,whowas
eventuallyfoundonTenerifein2005and
laterextradited.In2011,theICTYsen-
tenced him to 24 years in prison. How-
ever,manyCroatiansbelievedinthein-
nocenceofthegeneral,andjustoneyear
after his sentencing, it was proven that
hewasindeednotguilty,muchtothede-
lightofhispeople.
Te second hurdle was the border
dispute with neighbour Slovenia over
land and sea sovereignty. Due to these
disputes,SloveniahadblockedCroatian
accessionforalongtime.Toughnof-
nalagreementhasyetbeenreached,Slo-
veniahasstoppedblockingCroatiasEU
membership,andthetwocountrieshave
agreedtointernationalarbitration.
Evenstill,withaccessionjustaround
the corner, the European Commission
hassomeconcerns.Corruptionisoneof
them, illustrated by the arrest of former
Croatian Prime Minister, Ivo Sanadar,
who was revealed to have accepted over
5 million in bribes from an Austrian
bank and a Hungarian energy company.
Along with corruption, tackling human
trafcking is another issue on which
Croatianeedstostepupitsgame.
TeCroatianpeopleseemtoapprove
of the upcoming EU membership with
66% of the population voting in favour
of membership last January. Terefore,
it may come as a surprise that, accord-
ing to the latest reports of Eurobarom-
eter,theEUsofcialpublicopinionsur-
vey, 59% of Croatians tend not to trust
the EU, and 78% of Europeans do not
trusttheCroatiangovernment.Tislack
of trust explains why, on the day of the
frst European Parliament elections in
Croatia, only 43% of the public turned
outtovote.Yetthisturnoutmatchesthe
averagefortheEUasawholeduringthe
last European Parliament elections in
2009.Soperhapsonecanconcludethat
theCroatiancitizenscareaslittleabout
European politics as do other European
citizens.
All27EUMemberStateshaverati-
fedandapprovedtheaccessionofCroa-
tia.Oneissuedoesremain,thatis,allow-
ingworkersfromthenewmemberstates
to work in other European states. For
Romanians and Bulgarians, the borders
willopensoon,causingfearamongsome
parts of the European population that
thesenewcitizenswilltakeoverthejobs
of other Europeans, a sentiment espe-
cially played out by the populist parties.
Croatiansseemtofacethesamesuspect-
edproblems,asseveralcountriesborders
forworkerswillremainclosedafterJuly.
Onlytimeandpatiencewillprovideaso-
lutionforthisissue.
Overall, Croatians take pride in
their progress since the Balkan Wars of
the 1990s and that they are the frst of
the Western Balkans to become an EU
member. Tis sentiment was expressed
bytheCroatianambassadortoBelgium,
Luxemburg,andtheEU,Dr.MarioNo-
bilo,duringhisvisitthisspringwithstu-
dents of KU Leuvens Master of Euro-
peanStudies.
It has been a long road for Croatia
towards its EU membership; entering
at this time of economic crisis will not
be easy either. The European ship is
lostastowhichdirectionitissailingat
the moment, but at least the Croatians
seem optimistic and open to a Euro-
peanfuture.
EUROPE
Balkan country to become the 28th member of the European Union in July
Dynamic Traditions
I
n todays era of globalization, where intense international mobility and the constant presence
of media are a normality, evolution and change have acquired a whole new dynamic. It is
in this vigorous context that traditions are heavily contested. Traditions, those world views and
rituals shared by social groups, have always been exposed to change and evolution, but in our era,
such changes have become more abrupt and extreme. Shifs in traditions and values have awak-
ened various reactions within difering social groups. No matter what the position and aim of these
groups might be, whether the radical resistance to change or the anxious embracing of it, traditions
are unstoppably being defned and redefned. Tey revolve and evolve. In our Features section this
month, we use our own diferent perspectives to explore what happens when traditions are exposed
to international contexts.
FEATURES FEATURES
Photo used under creative commons from A Syn
Carryn on Traditions Amend & King157 Oakland Yards.
M
any internationals arriving at
KULeuvenhavethrowncurious
looks at the crosses hanging in many of
theclassrooms.Youmightalsohaveheard
thattherewasabigdebategoingontwo
years ago on whether or not to drop KU
Leuvens K. What does the K in KU
Leuven still stand for in todays secular-
izedandglobalizedworld?HowCatholic
isouruniversity?
T
HE VOICE spoke with three
diferentgenerationsonthetopic.
TomasintVeld(23)isastudentofphys-
icsandparticipatedactivelyinthedebate
on the K in the last two years. Lieven
Boeve (47) is the dean of the Faculty of
TeologyandReligiousStudiesandobvi-
ouslywasanimportantvoiceintheKde-
bateaswell.Andlastbutnotleast,Marc
Vervenne (64) is former rector of KU
Leuvenandatheologianaswell.
Itisremarkablethattherearesomany
crosseshanginginKULeuvensbuildings.
It is even more remarkable that Flemish
studentshardlyevennoticethem.Cathol-
icisminFlandersseemstobesomething
remarkable.
Boeve: Flanders is no longer the
Christianregionitusedtobe.Peoplecall
thisseculariszation,butIprefertheterm
detradtionalization. Not only the Cath-
olic tradition, but all our traditions are
falling apart, also family values and the
liberal tradition, for example. Culturally,
however, it remains very Christian. You
willseecrossesandchapelsoneverystreet
corner. Tey remind us of this cultural
tradition.Tey are not, however, a state-
mentofCatholicness,thoughpeoplewho
donotknowtheFlemishsituationmight
thinkso.
int Veld:Te majority of the Flem-
ish calls himself Catholic and will have
achurchmarriageandwillbaptisehisor
herchildren.Butthesearejusttraditions.
Tis does not mean that they are really
Catholic.
But what does it mean to be really
Catholic?Boeveasks.Wetendtomake
a very strict defnition of being Catholic
or not. In reality, however, there just are
diferent degrees of involvement. In fact,
it has always been like this, even when
FlanderswasstillreallyCatholic.Letme
ask you another question. Who is a fan
of Club Brugge [one of Belgiums main
soccer teams]? Only the people who go
and watch the game every Sunday? Or
also the ones who are just interested in
theresultofeachgame?Researchshows
thatupuntiltoday,morethan50%ofthe
FlemishidentifythemselvesasCatholic.
Since the end of the K debate two
yearsago,theofcialnameoftheuniver-
sityisKULeuvenUniversityofLeuven
and no longer Katholieke Universiteit
Leuven(CatholicUniversityofLeuven).
Boeve: Tis was a result of the fact
that Flanders became less Catholic and
more pluralistic, as I said. Te Catholic
identityisnolongerthereasonwhypeo-
plecometothisuniversity.
in t Veld: People do not really care
abouttheCatholicidentityanymore.Itis
just part of the tradition, just like all the
crossesonstreetcorners.
Boevedoesnotcompletelyagree:To
downsize your Catholic identity is one
way to deal with this pluralization. My
strategeyisdiferent,however,andcaused
achangeinthedebate.Todealwith[reli-
gious]plurality,youdonotneedlessiden-
tity, you need more! But it has to be an
open identity.Te problem is that many
people think of identity as something
closedandonlycausingconfict.Butwhy
cantanidentitybeopenaswell?Youcan
let yourself be challenged by the plural-
ity.TeKstandsforCatholic,butitisa
Catholicnessthatisopentoplurality.
Next to pluralization, the other main
reasonforthenamechangewasinterna-
tionalization.
intVeld:Catholicuniversitiesabroad
areoftenalotmoreconservativeandmore
closely linked to the Catholic Church.
But KU Leuven is the most progressive
andhighestrankedCatholicuniversityin
theworld.
Vervenne: Te main purpose of the
name change was to clearly situate our
university in the contemporary world in
suchawaythatpeoplewouldnotmisun-
derstand what we stand for. At the same
time, the debate and, subsequently, the
namechangehavegivenvoicetotheneed
of an ongoing refection on the contents
ofitsoriginsandidentity.
So theK is still there.We are still
somehow a Catholic university. What
makes us diferent from non-Catholic
universities?
int Veld: KU Leuven is more con-
cernedwithreligionthanotheruniversi-
ties. All students get a course of religion
and world views.We also have a Faculty
ofTeologyandafacultyofCanonLaw.
Especially for those faculties it is im-
portant that we do not throw our whole
Catholicidentityoverboard.
Boeve: In our mission statement,
there is an important clause that states
thatweworkforsociety,especiallyforthe
weakestinsociety.Anotherkeyelement
isthepurposeofoureducation:Wewant
to educate people as a whole, to become
critical and solidary. Of course, all these
elements can occur in other universities
as well. But if you put them all together,
then I think this university is a lot more
Catholicthansomepeoplewouldadmit.
Vervenne questions these viewpoints.
He does not believe that all this is what
reallymakesouruniversityCatholic.
Vervenne: What really makes us
Catholic today is hard to understand. I
think the K debate defnitely failed to
answer that question.Te debate implic-
itly ended up discussing our name, but
whetherwekeeptheKornotisofsec-
ondaryimportance.Tequestionis:what
makesouruniversitytrulyCatholic?Ido
nothaveanyclearanswersforthis.Maybe
areligiouspointofviewiswhatmakesus
modest in realizing that, how much we
mayresearch,wewillneverknowthefnal
truth.
What is clear, however, is that there
isatensionbetweenreligionandscience.
Who Put the K in KU Leuven?
On the universitys Catholic identity
By Gijs Van den Broeck
KU Leuven seal.
Tey sometimes seem to agree, but they
can confict as well. We cannot ignore
this.Wehavetotryandtiethemtogether.
And we have to keep refecting on this
constantly.Youcantakeallthecrossesin
our university away for my part. But you
have to ask yourself why you would or
wouldnotwanttodothis.
TeK defnitely does not mean that
theCatholicChurchhasanydirectinfu-
enceovertheuniversity.Tiswasdiferent
inthepasthowever.
Vervenne: Surprisingly, the K has
onlybeenaddedtothenameofouruni-
versitysince1834.Inthatyear,thebish-
ops took over Leuvens old university.
Back then the Church played a major
role,notonlyinouruniversity,butinthe
wholeofsociety.Sincethe1960sthough
westartedtosecularizereallyfast.In1968
ouruniversitysplitup[,whentheformer-
ly bilingual KU Leuven became entirely
Dutchspeaking,andtheFrench-speaking
founded a new university in Louvain-
La-Neuve].Tis split was not primarily
a matter of language. It was a matter of
emancipating from the Church, though
in a very tense political context. Since
then the power of the bishops has been
completely gone. Up until 1968 though
the bishops still nominated the rector, in
principlead vitam,forexample.Nowall
thatremainsisofthisCatholicauthority
isthatthebishopsareadvisorymembers
ofKULeuvensBoardofTrustees.
Another point of debate is whether
it is possible for a Catholic university to
do research in an objective way. Medical
research on stem cells and the like con-
ficts with the teachings of the Church.
In theory, the Holy See could even stop
recognizing KU Leuven as a Catholic
university.
intVeld:Every researcher will agree
that scientifc research cannot be subject
to any form of dogmatic thinking. KU
Leuvenwasevenoneofthefrstuniversi-
tiesintheworldmakingtesttubebabies.
Te research in our university hospitals
doesnotreallydiferfromotheruniversi-
ties.
Vervenne: We should record that
there have always been tensions between
theUniversitiesofLeuvenandLouvain-
La-Neuve and Rome regarding in vitro
fertilization and embryonic stem cell re-
search.Stillin2007,Louvain-La-Neuves
RectorCoulieandIhadalongbutopen
discussionontheseissueswiththeCon-
gregationforCatholicEducation.
Boeve: In our mission statement is
written that we are a critical centre of
refection in and for the Catholic com-
munity.Wehavearesponsibilitytowards
theChurch.Tiscanentailthatwehave
to tell the Church sometimes that it is
wrong.Idonotthinktheywouldwantto
takeawayourK.
Opinionsdifer,however,ontheques-
tion of whether ourK will still be there
in30years.
int Veld: I think the Catholic his-
tory and tradition of KU Leuven should
always remain known and present. But I
also think that - even more than now -
wewillbeanopenandinclusivepluralis-
ticuniversity.Idonotthinktheadjective
Catholicwillquiteftthatcontent.
Vervenne: I have no idea about the
future.Idonotknowwhattheworldwill
look like in 30 years. On the one hand,
Iseethatinstitutionalreligion,especially
in Christianity, is on the way back. On
the other hand I see a lot of alternative
religious practises appearing. In times of
insecurity, people will always look some-
whereforwarmth.
Boeve:NowwestillseetheCatholic
traditionassomethingthatusedtobetoo
dominant.Westillfeelasifwehavetoget
ridofourpast.Whenwegetoverthis,we
can start to appreciate the Catholic tra-
dition again as something that can give
meaning to our lives, that can give iden-
tityandhumanvalue.
He does not feel that it might be
a problem that there will not be many
Catholicsleftinouruniversity:Didyou
knowthereisaCatholicuniversityinJa-
pan,foundedbyJesuits,thathasonly1%
Catholics among its members? Our uni-
versityisnotCatholicbecause50%ofits
peopleareCatholic.ACatholicuniversity
isaproject,aprojectbasedontheGospel
thatwantstomakeadiferenceincreat-
inganopenviewonhumanity.
Vervenne: It is possible that the
Catholic element will disappear stead-
ily.ButIamnotworriedaboutthis.Ifit
happens, we will not be able to stop it. I
justhopethatthedebateonourCatholic
identity will continue in search of truth
and authenticity. Tat really matters for
me.
Central Library, KU Leuven.
Photo by Michael A. Akinbolusere
Are you religious? strangers sometimes ask me pointing at (or poking) the little cross on my neck. I am rarely
asked that question back home. Once you land in a different context, a diverse social group, you are forced to con-
stantly defne and re-defne yourself as well as face the assumptions the other makes about you. Signs that seem
neutral or standard suddenly become a statement, and then you realize that they always have been and that there
is no neutral.
~Polish student, Master in Cultural Studies
I
nhis1953classicworkonthehis-
tory of economic thought, Joseph
Schumpetercallstheperiodbetweenthe
ancient Greeks and the scholastic tradi-
tion starting with Tomas Aquinas, a
great gap. Notwithstanding Schum-
petersclaimofagreatgapineconomic
thinking, there has been a recent ac-
knowledgement of the important contri-
butions made by Muslim thinkers of the
Middle Ages. From the 8th c. AD Abu
Yusuf through the 14th c. Ibn Khaldun,
Muslim writerscontrary to their Me-
dieval Christian counterpartspraised
theaccumulationofwealthandeconomic
activity,spokeoftaxationcriteria(predat-
ingAdamSmithby1000years),anddis-
cussedwhentheStateshouldandshould
notinterfereineconomicmatters.Drawn
fromalecturebyDr.SamehElatwy(avail-
able on Youtube), this article highlights
thebasicfeaturesoftheIslamiceconomic
system.ToughthemainprinciplesofIs-
lamiceconomicsarewell-established,dif-
ferent interpretations do exist, which are
outsidethescopeofthisarticle.
What?
Te principal concept of an Islamic
economicsystemistheideaofaresource-
basedeconomy.Accordingtothisconcept,
economic value only exists in resources
andproductsandnotmoneyitself.InIs-
lam,interestisforbidden,andthisimplies
thatmoneyisonlyameansforexchang-
ing goods (Quran 2 (Te Cow): 275-
276). According to this theory, money
in itself has no value, nor is it a product
thatcanbelentinreturnformoremoney.
Consequently,wealthonlyexistsingoods,
suchasrealestate,cars,orothermaterial
objects,butnotinmoney.
Tis proposition complies with the
classical theory of economics developed
by the 18th c. French economist Jean-
Baptiste Say. His theory proposes that
every efort exerted by a person in order
toraisethevalueofagoodcreateswealth
for him and for others. Te reason is
that after selling a product and receiving
money for it in exchange, the individual
whohasacquiredthemoneywillwantto
spenditagainbecausethemoneyinitself
hasnovalue.Ontheotherhand,products
boughtwithmoneydohavevalue.Ingen-
eral, this logic encourages people not to
hoard money but to use it in the market
(Figure1).
Why?
Teunderlyingreasoningbehindthis
thoughtisthatifapersonkeepshismon-
ey purely to himself, he is withdrawing
money from the economic circle. Tis
hoarding can be considered a selfsh act
that deteriorates the countrys economy
(Figure2).
Te problem of infation and its current
status
Much has been written about the
concept of infation. From an Islamic
economic viewpoint, infation is seen as
merelyanidealaunchedbyeconomiststo
encourage people to spend their money
instead of hoarding it. Tese economists
claimthatinfationcausesmoneytolose
itsvalue.Ifweacceptthepropositionthat
infation causes prices to increase, then a
solution could be to increase the interest
paidbybanks.Inthismanner,bankspro-
vide their customers with the feeling of
earning money from their savings, while
inreality,banksbarelycovertheinfation
rate.Te downside to this system is that
itonlyhelpsthosewhohavesavingsand
ignoresthosewhodonot.Italsoincreases
the interest paid by borrowers, who are
usuallybusinessmenandhavealottodo
withindustry.Inturn,theyraisepricesto
cover the extra interest they have to pay
to the bank. Here we are faced with the
chicken-and-eggscenarioastheinfation
tointerestratesareconnected.
A diferent solution for the problem of
infation
In accordance with Islamic economic
theory, there is another way to encour-
age people to use their money instead of
hoarding it. First, the direct and simple
way is to make sure that the amount of
money,whensaved,doesnotincrease.In
otherwords,nointerestispaidbybanks.
On top of that, the amount of saved
(hoarded) money should decrease if not
spent because one then has to pay zakat
for the amount of unused money that
exceeds a certain threshold. Zakat is one
ofthefvepillarsofIslamandaprinciple
thatnecessitatesalms-givingforthepoor
andothersocialresponsibilities.
Te pros of this solution
Anadvantageofthissystemisthatthe
infationratewilldecreaseorperhapsdis-
appearaltogetherbecausepeoplewillstop
hoarding money. Money retains its value
astimegoesby,andpurchasingpoweralso
remains the same. Furthermore, product
prices will not increase because the new
situation encourages producers to sell
theirproductsassoonaspossible.Onthe
other hand, the demand for the product
inquestionishighbecausetheconsumer
wantstospendmoneyforsomethinguse-
ful. On the supply-demand curve, this
means there would be an increase in the
quantitywhilemaintainingthesameprice
(Figure3).Inturn,thissystemincreasesa
countrysoverallproduction.
Also on a social and economic level,
zakat plays a fundamental role in the
Islamic system. It is a way of achieving
social justice since part of ones hoarded
money exceeding a certain threshold is
transferredtoasocialcause.Tistransfer
meansthatnoadditionaltaxeshavetobe
applied,sothecountrycaninvestinother
projects.
Itshouldbenoted,however,thatzakat
andtaxesdodifer.Zakatisonlytakenaf-
terhoardedmoneyhasbeenuntouchedfor
Get to Know Islamic Economics
By Ahmed Alabadelah, Khaled Khalaf & John Nawas
Figure 1. Continuous circulation of money.
Figure 3. Increase in supply and demand while main-
taining the same price (the dashed arrow pointing from
one dot to another).
Figure 2. Hoarding according to Islamic economic prin-
ciples.
one year and it exceeds a certain thresh-
old(calledthenisab).Incometax,onthe
other hand, is usually deducted from the
monthly salary irrespective of the fnan-
cialsituationoftheworkerwhetherthe
worker needs the money or not. Unlike
this system of income tax, zakat does no
harmtoayoungpersonstrugglingtobuy
basic necessities like a house and furni-
ture.Itprovidestheyoungemployeewith
timetofulfllhissocialdutyandaccumu-
lateasurplusofmoneyorwealth.Finally,
investorsandbankswillbynecessityhave
to invest in a proft/loss-sharing project.
Tough this step entails risk, some pro-
jectswillsucceedwhileothersfail,buton
average, there will be economic growth
for all.Te return on investment is then
distributedamongsttheinvestorsasprof-
its,notasinterest.
Current situation
Te main principles of Islamic eco-
nomictheoryoferalternativeapproaches
to conventional banking. A 2012 survey
offnancialinstitutionspracticingIslamic
fnanceshowedthatsharia-compliantas-
sets rose by 7.37% from $1.086 trillion
in 2011 to $1.166 trillion in 2012 (Te
Banker),whichmayprovetoincreasethis
systemspopularityaroundtheworld.
Islamic banking is already dominant
inMalaysia,Indonesia,andtheGulfCo-
operation Council countries (GCC: Ku-
wait,SaudiArabia,Oman,Bahrain,Unit-
edArabEmirates,andQatar).Examples
of initiatives outside the Islamic world
include 1) the Islamic Finance Project
(Harvard University Law School, USA);
2) HSBC Amanah Islamic Banking
(UK); 3) Masters Degree in Principles
andPracticesofIslamicFinance(Univer-
sity Paris-Dauphine, France); and 4) Al
Maalya,aconsultingandservicecompany
forIslamicFinance(Brussels,Belgium).
So What Exactly Are American Values?
By Sara Rich
L
ast years US elections were re-
ported internationally, and even
intheiraftermath,presidentialandcon-
gressional spokespeople are still throw-
ingaroundthephraseAmericanvalues:
WebelieveinAmericaandinAmerican
values!orIstandbehindAmericanval-
ues! As much as these unnamed values
are touted, they are hardly ever defned.
Instead,votersandinternationalsread-
ing the news are supposed to intui-
tivelyknowwhatismeantbyAmerican
values;however,evenwithintheUS,the
valueofthesevaluesisrarelyuniversal.
More often than not, the label of
American values serves as a euphe-
mism forconservative values, although
bothdominantparties,Republicansand
Democrats,usethetermliberally.Itof-
tenservesasatooltorallybipartisansup-
port, and these quotables are a big part
of what shapes Americas international
reputation too, for better or for worse.
A thoroughfare for freedom beat

across the wilderness
Te obvious blue-ribbon winner
of American values is freedom. Te
standard of independence and liberty
is the one thing all politicians agree on,
whether Democratic, Republican, Lib-
ertarian, or Green. Actually, ever since
theDeclarationofIndependence(1794),
thisvaluehasbeendrivenintotheminds
of every American. Te Pledge of Al-
legiance (1894) closes with liberty and
justiceforall;thenationalanthem,Te
Star-Spangled Banner (1814), refers to
freemen in its lyrics; and in America
the Beautiful (1895), liberty is also em-
phasized:O beautiful for pilgrim feet /
Whosesternimpassiondstress/Athor-
oughfare for freedom beat / Across the
wilderness.
In the US Constitutions preamble
(1787),libertyasavalueismorebroadly
defned: We the people of the United
States, in order to form more perfect
union, establish justice, insure domestic
tranquility,provideforthecommonde-
fense, promote the general welfare, and
Diferences between conventional and Islamic banking (Maldives Islamic Bank website, accessed April 2013).
Conventional Banking Islamic Banking
Moneyisacommoditybesidesamediumofexchange
andsafe-placeofvalue.Terefore,itcanbesoldataprice
higherthanitsfacevalueanditcanalsoberentedout.
Moneyisnotacommoditythoughitisusedasamedium
ofexchangeandsafe-placeofvalue.Terefore,itcannot
besoldatapricehigherthanitsfacevalueorrentedout.
Timevalueisthebasisforcharginginterestoncapital. Proftontradeofgoodsorchargestoprovidingservices
arethebasisforearningproft.
Interestischargedeveniftheorganizationsuferslosses
byusingbanksfunds.Terefore,itisnotbasedonproft
andlosssharing.
Islamicbankoperatesonthebasisofproftandloss
sharing.Ifthebusinessmanhassuferedlosses,thebank
willsharetheselossesbasedonthemodeoffnanceused
(Mudarabah,Musharakah).
Whiledisbursingcashfnance,runningfnanceorwork-
ingcapitalfnance,noagreementforexchangeofgoods
&servicesismade.
Teexecutionofagreementsfortheexchangeofgoods&
servicesisamust,whiledisbursingfundsunderMura-
baha,Salam&Istisnacontracts.
Conventionalbanksusemoneyasacommodity,which
leadstoinfation.
Islamicbankingtendstocreatelinkswiththerealsectors
oftheeconomicsystembyusingtrade-relatedactivities.
Sincethemoneyislinkedwiththerealassets,itcontrib-
utesdirectlyintheeconomicdevelopment.
securetheblessingsoflibertytoourselves
and our posterity...Tis kind of liberty
is the same idea that President Barack
Obamareferredtoinhisrecentstatement
in support of tax breaks for the middle
classes and socialized healthcare: Se-
curity and opportunity, compassion and
prosperityarentliberalvaluesorconserv-
ative values theyre American values.
Onward American soldiers

Othervalues,however,arenotsouni-
versal, and in a bipartisan system, they
are often polarized. During last years
electionsandonthe11thanniversaryof
the 9/11 attacks, there were two deadly
assaults on US consulate compounds in
Benghazi (Libya). Tere was some im-
mediate confusion as to whether or not
theattackswererelatedtotheinfamous
flm,overwhichcontroversyeruptedon
that same day. In response, the US em-
bassy in Cairo released this statement:
[Te US] condemns the continuing
eforts by misguided individuals to hurt
thereligiousfeelingsofMuslimsaswe
condemnefortstoofendbelieversofall
religions. ... Respect for religious beliefs
isacornerstoneofAmericandemocracy.
Just hours later, Republican presi-
dential candidate, Mitt Romney, re-
sponded: I think its a terrible course
for America to stand in apology for our
values,andlater,Itsdisgracefulthatthe
Obama administrations frst response
wasnottocondemnattacksonourdip-
lomaticmissions,buttosympathizewith
those who waged the attacks. Previ-
ously, Republican presidential nominee
Rick Santorum made a statement with
a similar sentiment regarding tensions
between Christianity and Islam: What
Im talking about is onward American
soldiers. What were talking about are
core American values. So a hierarchy
of values depending on political and
to a certain extent, religious leanings
becomes apparent: the most important
values are either religious freedom and
mutual respect, or military retaliation
and dominance to ensure said freedom.
God, country, and family

Religious values become ensnared
in other political controversies too. Tis
summer, the Supreme Court will rule
on the legality of same-sex marriage.
Although this debate used to be clear-
cut betweenbleeding-heart liberals and
die-hard conservatives, as the contro-
versy gains media attention, a near-60%
majority of hearts are starting to soften
infavorofgaymarriage.Certainly,many
stillcitethedictionarydefnitionofmar-
riage and claim, as in one letter from a
72-year old man to USA Today, Te
thingsweknowtobetrueareslowlybe-
ing eroded, and if this trend continues,
AmericawillceasetobeAmerica,atleast
asweknowitnow.Itstimetostandup
for America, and for the values that it
wasfoundeduponGod,country,and
family.Folks,wehavenochoice.
On the other hand, the President
of the Institute for American Values
(yes, it does exist), expressed a change
of heart in his recent letter to Te New
York Times:Tetimefordenigratingor
stigmatizing same-sex relationships is
over. Whatever ones defnition of mar-
riage,legallyrecognizinggayandlesbian
couples and their children is a victory
forbasicfairness.Interestingly,hecited
spirituality as the reason for adjusting
his former stance against gay marriage;
he came to the conclusion that con-
demnation was bad for his spiritual life.

Te NRAs Celebration of American
Values
Oneofthefewvalues-basedcontro-
versies that excludes religious pretenses
istheissueofguncontrol.Itseemsthat
gunsarelikecarsinAmerica:mostfami-
lieshaveseveral,andforindividuals,they
symbolize power and independence.
Tere we are again, back to that basic
tenetoftheAmericanvalueoffreedom.
Problems begin, however, when people
grossly misuse that freedom. Outbursts
ofgunviolenceareincreasing,andAmer-
icansarereconsideringwhatitmeansto
feeltobefree.
Te National Rife Association
(NRA) is famous worldwide for citing
the US Constitutions 2nd Amendment
(1791),therighttokeepandbeararms.If
Congresspassesgun-control
laws, is the American value
of freedom compromised?
According to the NRA, it
mostcertainlyis.Tetheme
of last years annual meet-
ing was A Celebration of
American Values, where
politicians, Hollywood ce-
lebrities, and country music
starsremindedthe74,000in
attendance why gun control
isakintofascismtheexact
oppositeofdemocracy.
Equality, prosperity,
family, democracy, and the
protection of those values
arehighoneveryUSpoliti-
cians agenda, but their ap-
plication is ever-changing.
Historically, even these ba-
sic rights were limited to
white, Christian men, but
time has shown that they
apply to all people, regard-
less of race, gender, and re-
ligion, and probably soon,
sexual preference. Interpret-
ing and weighing values
will always stir debates, but
then again, America is also
known around the world
for valuing free speech.
Drawing by Sara Rich

Te things we know to be
true are slowly being eroded,
and if this trend continues,
America will cease to be
America, at least as we know
it now. Its time to stand up
for America, and for the val-
ues that it was founded upon
God, country, and family.
Folks, we have no choice.
Alternative Currency Systems
By Alexandria Somirs
15
September 2008 was the day
when Wall Street hit rock bot-
tom and the day when big banks, like
Lehman Brothers, became aware of the
fact that they werent too big to fall.Te
factthattheUSgovernmentdecidednot
to bail out Wall Street couldnt have hit
themharder.Teworldmayhaveseemed
to stand still on that dark day on Wall
Street, but the average Joes (and Janes)
stillhadtomakeendsmeet.Whenmon-
ey gets dried up and there are still needs
tobemetinsociety,peoplecomeupwith
creative ways to meet those needs, says
Peter North (University of Liverpool,
Geography), who authored two books
on alternative means of trade. One sur-
vivaltacticthatiswidelypopulararound
theworldtodayistocreateanalternative
currency system. An alternative currency
system is a system that uses a diferent
currencyasasubstitutetothenationalor
ofcialmedium,suchastheUSdollaror
Euro.
Terearethreebasictypesofalterna-
tive currency systems: 1) mutual credit,
2) LETS, and 3) barters. Mutual credit
is a form of alternative currency because
currency can be created at the time of
transaction. Its like a loan, but there is
no interest. LETS (local exchange trad-
ing system) is when goods or services
aretradedinforpointsorcredits,andin
turn,thesecreditscanbeusedtopurchase
goods or services. And last but not least,
therearebarters,whicharegoodsorser-
vices that are traded for other goods or
services, where transactions involve no
mediumormoney.
Alternative currencies have come
about for obvious reasons. Most impor-
tantly, people who use such alternative
exchanges want to transfer power from
nationaltolocalhands.Bycreatingtheir
own local set of currency rules and ex-
changes,peopledonthavetorelyonthe
unpredictability of the global economic
situation. However, alternative curren-
ciesarenotmeanttoreplacethecommon
medium, but to be used in conjunction
with conventional money. It doesnt try
in any way to replace cash, says Chris-
tophHensch,aSwissnationalandformer
bankerlivinginChristchurch,NewZea-
land.Rather,itofersawayforpeopleto
share and redeem value they have in the
community. He says the currencies are
mostusefulingeographicalareasorsocial
sectors where money doesnt fow suf-
ciently,citingNewZealandsGoldenBay
as an example, which is so remote that
it sometimes functions as a nearly inde-
pendenteconomy.
IntheWesternworld,twosetsofal-
ternative currencies have proven to be
rather popular. Te frst example is the
Ithaca Hour from Ithaca, New York.
It was founded in 1991 by Paul Glover,
who wanted to create a system that pro-
motes local economic development. In
thissystem,peoplereceiveHoursinstead
of hard cash, with one Hour equal to 10
USD. Tose who receive Hours spend
them on local goods and services, thus
building a network of inter-supporting
local businesses. Te second example is
theChiemgauer,whichgotitskickstart
from a High School economics teacher,
Christian Gel-
leri, in southern
Germany. Gel-
leri wanted to
teachhisstudents
about fnance in
a completely new
way by setting
up a school pro-
jecttheyhadto
create their own
moneytobeused
in the local com-
munity. Eight
years later, and
the Chiemgauer
is still alive and
kicking;infact,it
is now the most
successful alter-
native currency
in the world. Its
momentumstems
fromlocalenthu-
siasts who want
to keep currency
circulating within
areabusinesses,whereitcanbegenerated
and earned, rather pouring money into
thepocketsofchainstoresandglobalized
banks.
It basically comes down to the fact
that communities want to exert val-
ues against what they might feel are the
negative efects of mainstream currency
by empowering themselves to determine
their own mode of operation. Tis sort
of thinking has recently received a surge
ofsupportfromtheworkingandmiddle
classesduetotheeconomiccrisis.
Itsoundsbrilliant,thatpeoplewantto
help their communities by making their
own currencies, but unfortunately, doing
so doesnt come without its drawbacks.
Onthesurface,itmayseemlikeapositive
incentive for communities to create and
takecontroloftheirowneconomy.How-
everitalsocreatesabarricadewithother
communitiesbyreducingeconomicactiv-
ityandhinderingtrade.Sincealternative
currencies are confned to one particular
area or market, that currency is only ac-
ceptedwithinthatdefnedmarket,there-
by only promoting and stimulating the
marketinthatspecifcarea.Terefore,al-
ternativecurrenciescanbeconsideredasa
tradebarriersincethemarketisnotstim-
ulated outside a certain area.Tis causes
goodsinthatareatobecomecheaperdue
tolackofactivityoutsidethecommunity,
wheregoodsbecomemoreexpensive.
To sum it all up, economist Dave
Ribar (University of North Carolina -
Greensboro)listsfourmajordrawbacksto
theuseofalternativecurrencies.Asmen-
tioned above, they do not help, but may
infact,hindertradeoutsideacommunity.
Second,thepositiveincentivesthatcom-
munities get by creating their own cur-
rencymaysetofnegativefeelingsoutside
that community. Tird, by starting up a
newmedium,thecommunityhastoinvest
moneyintomakingtheircurrency.Insti-
tutionswillhavetobeestablishedtoim-
plementandmanagethecurrency,which
maybeveryexpensive.Finally,theremay
be problems with exchange rates. While
peopleusethealternativecurrencytopur-
chasegoodsinthelocalmarket,theystill
need to pay general costs, like electricity,
water,etc.withaglobally-acceptedmedi-
um.Trendythoughitmaybe,alternative
tradedoesnothavethemomentumorac-
ceptancetooverpowerofcialmoneyyet.
Photo by Shira Golding Evergreen
I
f you walk the streets of Brussels,
youll be hard pressed to fnd a
womanwearingaburqa.However,inthe
wakeoftheeventssurrounding9/11,the
escalating clash of cultures between the
WestandtheMuslimworldhasresulted
in a ferce battle over the burqa. Islamo-
phobia and the resulting obsession with
security and the protection of Western
freedoms have called into question the
lengths to which Western democracies
should go on tolerating the conservative
dresscode.
As of April 2011, Belgium has given
its answer and in doing so, became the
second EU country after France to ef-
fectivelybantheburqa.Supportersofthe
banclaimthatthebillisintendedtopro-
motewomensrightsandpreventfrictions
between Belgiums Muslim and non-
Muslim communities, citing promoting
living together as a societal concern.
Conversely, most Belgian Muslims feel
that the law is discriminatory and that
its intention is to stigmatize their entire
community rather than protect the few
womenwhodoweartheburqa.
Het boerkaverbod
Te Act, ofcially implemented on 1
June 2011, is not exclusive to the burqa.
Instead, the Act makes it illegal to pub-
liclycoverorconcealonesfaceinwhole
orinpart,sothatoneisunrecognizable.
Tereareafewnotableexceptionstothe
ban, including legal provisions, labour
regulations, and local ordinances regard-
ing festivities, all of which allow for face
covering when necessary. Any person
found breaking this law will be fned up
to137.50andfacesuptoaweekinjail.
Known in Dutch as het boerkaverbod,
thebanhasbeenthesourceofsomecon-
fusion between the burqa and the niqab.
Te terms burqa and niqab are often in-
correctly interchanged; a burqa covers
the wearers whole body from the top of
the head to the foor, while a niqab cov-
ers only the face with openings for the
eyes. According to sources, there are ap-
proximately 250-270 women who wear
the niqab in Belgium, making the wear-
ers a very small minority in Belgiums
630,000-strongMuslimcommunity.
Te sentiment behind the burqa ban
isbynomeansanewone.Itismeantto
replaceaseriesoflocalbylawsinthemu-
nicipalities of Antwerp, Maaseik, Ghent,
Sint-Truiden, Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, and
Lebbeke. Before the federal law was en-
acted, municipal laws were used to regu-
latefacecovering.Escalatingthelawtoa
federal level ensured that the process for
handling complaints became, at least on
paper, a more streamlined process rather
thandealingwithcomplaintsatamunici-
pallevel.
Constitutionality & legality
Arguments in favor of the ban gen-
erally rely on rhetoric based on guaran-
teeing public safety and in the concepts
found in Western liberal democracies. A
language of victimization is also used in
reference to the burqa being a walking
prison. Daniel Bacquelaine of the Fran-
cophoneliberalMRparty,whoproposed
thebill,describestheburqaasnotcom-
patiblewithanopen,liberal,tolerantso-
ciety, and Peter DeDecker of the Flem-
ishseparatistNVApartyviewsthebanas
upholdingourfundamentalviewsofthe
enlightenment.Te support for the ban
transcendedpartylines,andinarareturn
ofevents,thelinguisticallydiferentWal-
lonianandFlemishhalvesofthecountry
upheld a united front over the issue.Te
votewaspassed136-1,withthesolevoice
of dissent coming from Eva Brems of
Groen!,theFlemishGreenParty.
The Belgian Burqa Ban
Photo used under creative commons from Malalai Abdali
A woman in a burka is photographed through the mesh of the photographers burka.
By Odette Rivera & Sam Donvil
Nationalism: Flanders vs. Catalonia
N
ot many people know that Bel-
gium is not flled with Belgians
who speak Belgian. But tell a Catalan
youre Belgian, and the question Fla-
menc o Valona? will most likely fol-
low. Flanders and Catalonia have some-
thing that relates them: nationalism.
Language
A diferent language is probably
the most important cause for national-
ism. In Catalonia, people speak Catalan,
not Spanish. Spaniards and Catalans
would be able to understand each other
a little, but in Belgium, the languages
are very diferent, Ariana (Barcelona)
says.Tough for her, history is the main
reason behind nationalism in Catalonia.
Catalan culture was prohibited by the
Spanish dictator Franco. Tat still has
an infuence on how people feel today.
History of oppression
DuringFrancosregime(1939-1975),
itwasforbiddentohaveCatalannamesor
speakCatalaninpublic.Catalanscouldnt
express pride in their own culture. Some
believe that remnants of Francoism still
exist in the Spanish opinion of Catalan
culture, especially visible in the govern-
ing Partido Popular (PP). After Francos
death, the Catalan community worked
hard to reinforce their culture. I think
the history is diferent for the Flemish,
says Victor (Lleida), but thats where
manyunderestimatethecomparison.Neil
(Houthalen-Helchteren)clarifes:Flem-
ishnationalismgrewasareactiontoBel-
gian nationalism, which was dominated
by the French-speaking bourgeoisie for
a long time. Educators, politicians, and
employers all used French as the opera-
tivelanguage.Democracywasfortherich
InapresentationontheBelgianBurqa
BanatKULeuven,ProfessorBremsim-
pliedthatthebanwasputintolawwith-
outbasingitselfonanyformalresearchon
thesubject.Tisraisessomeconcernover
how sensitive both politicians and the
Belgianpresshavebeentopublicopinion
concerning Islamophobia and anti-Mus-
limsentiments.Severalappealshavesince
been fled to the Belgian Constitutional
Court,citingthatthelawviolatesseveral
rightsandprinciples.Teseincludelegal-
ity, freedom of religion, and the right to
non-discriminationTecourthasrejected
allofthesearguments.
Agents or victims? Womens rights &
gender equality
Qualitativeresearchconductedbythe
University of Ghent has concluded that
the majority of women afected by the
ban are Moroccan housewives living in
larger cities, like Brussels and Antwerp.
Tese women have reported that since
the ban, they feel as if their positions in
society have actually been made worse.
Leavingthehouseinaniqabmeansmore
than simply facing a fne or jail time: it
alsomeanshavinginsultshurledatthem
in the streets and the constant threat of
physicalviolencefromthosewhodisagree
with their choices. Many women choose
tosecludethemselvesinthesafetyoftheir
homesinordertoavoidsuchabuse.Also,
contrary to popular opinion, for many
of the women interviewed, wearing the
burqa is a choice they make for them-
selves. Tese women associate the burqa
with positive emotions, like joy, inner
peace, beauty, and freedom. Tey stress
that wearing a niqab is voluntary and is
ofteninitiallymetwithworryanddisap-
proval by their husbands, who fear that
their wives will sufer and that they, the
husbands,willbeblamed.
It is difcult to balance the language
of victimization used by supporters of
thebanwiththelanguageofagencyand
emancipation propagated by the women
who choose to wear the niqab. From a
Western perspective, the face veil cer-
tainly seems like it can only be a tool to
furthersubjugatewomen;however,when
viewed as a symbol, the niqab can be a
means through which women express
themselvesandtheirfaith.
However, there is also the question
of how far anti-Muslim and Islamopho-
bic sentiments will go, with the fear of
the Islamifcation of Western society in
the minds of politicians and laypersons
riding high.Te bans almost unanimous
acceptanceintheBelgianpoliticalestab-
lishment can be viewed as a visible shift
rightward in European politics, and in
this current social and political climate,
theniqabwillcontinuetoremainasym-
bolofbothemancipationandoppression
atthesametime.
All these different stories from all over the world that you can fnd here in Leuven changed my view on the world a
lot. Let me give an example: my opinion on the crisis. As a German, I didnt feel like Germany should pay for South-
ern Europes mistakes. Now that Ive been talking to Greek and Spanish students, heard their version on what hap-
pened and what they think, I look at it differently now, and I would like my country to be more solidary with the rest
of Europe. I believe Europe should change its regional thinking a bit, as I did by coming to Leuven.
~German student, Master in Engineering
I am afraid to tell Spaniards I am
Catalan. Some criticize me just
because I speak Catalan. This is
the fault of the politicians, both
Catalan and Spanish. They say
silly things in the media which
gives the Catalan people a wrong
reputation in Spain. Its driving us
apart.
~Helena from Barcelona
Photo used under creative commons from Kris
at that time, and the rich were speak-
ingFrench.Asaresult,theBelgianstate
consideredFlemishcultureassomething
inferior. Tus, like the Catalans, the
Flemingsalsohadtorestoresomecul-
turalprideafterasituationofinequality.
Federal state, please?

In 1970, the Belgian communities
(Flemish, French, and German) were
established. It was the start of a long
processoffederalizingthestate,though
Flanders could start empowering the
Flemish culture. Caroline (Liege) says,
I think the language border made the
Belgiansliveintwodiferentcountries.
Iwassurprisedabouthowmanythings
were diferent because of studying in
Leuven. Ariana compares the division
withCataloniassituation:Flemishand
Walloons dont have to mix much. But
SpainisalloverCatalonia.ManyCata-
lans have Spanish relatives. In 1978,
Spain installed a federal-like model
in its state structure, giving more au-
tonomy to autonomous regions. Once
Catalonia was recognized an autono-
mous region, it became possible to use
Catalanasanofciallanguage.Accord-
ingtoMarc(SantPeredeRibes),these
autonomous regions caused a split in
theCatalanCountries,andtheCatalan
languagehaslostalotofterritorysince
then.
Moreover, the Catalans feel like
theirautonomyisnotrespected.When
Cataloniadecidessomethingandwhen
Madrid doesnt agree, they will make
sure to turn it back to how it was,
says Helena (Barcelona). For example,
CataloniawantstoprotecttheCatalan
languagebyoferingeducationinCata-
lan, but with six hours of Spanish per
week. According to PISA (Programme
for International Student Assessment),
the scores are similar for Spanish as in
therestofSpain,buttheSpanishgov-
ernment wants education to be more
Spanish in Catalonia. Why do you
give Catalonia the right to make au-
tonomousdecisionsandthenyoudont
accept anything that is decided difer-
ently?Victorquestions.
Te Spanish government refuses
some measurements because the Cata-
lan policy sometimes makes it harder
for Spaniards to move to Catalonia.
Tey would have to learn Catalan to
fndwork,andthatisseenasaproblem.
IsthisSpanishnationalism?
Te Flemings believe that making
the Flemish region monolingual was
one of the key elements to remedy the
frenchifcation of Flanders. Regional
autonomy in Belgium is much higher,
and Catalan students wish for a simi-
larstructureinSpain,whereallregions
are treated equally, and where diverse
groups are still solidary. No one would
want Catalonian independence if this
autonomy would be realized. Tat be-
ing said, it appears many Flemings
arent satisfed with their autonomy
either, as votes for separatist parties
increase. Tus, there must be anoth-
er reason for separatist nationalism.
Money
Intimesofcrisisinstateswithdif-
ferent ethnic groups, fnances are a big
factor in the rise of nationalism. More
social contributions are collected in
Flanders than in less prosperous Wal-
lonia.TesamegoesforCataloniawith
the rest of Spain, although there is a
diference in both regions. In Belgium,
every citizen in the same fnancial tax
bracket pays an equal percentage, or
every citizen of the same bracket re-
ceives an equal percentage back. Due
to the higher unemployment in Wal-
lonia, there are more social contribu-
tionshandedtoWalloniathanFlanders.
However,thereisntmuchdebateabout
thedistributionoftaxestolessprosper-
ousregionswithinFlanders.ButCata-
lanstelladiferentstory.Marcgivesan
example: A Catalan student on Eras-
mus gets only a third of what students
from Andaluca receive. Ariana fur-
ther explains,While the student from
Andaluca sometimes is wealthier than
theCatalanstudent,Madriddecidedto
diferentiate the amounts of the schol-
arshipsbasedonregionandnotonper-
sonalsituation.Noneoftheinterviewed
Catalan students wanted to stop sup-
porting other regions, but they wished
the distribution would become equal.
Nationalistic populism as a smoke

screen
Populismispouringfuelonthefre,
makingithardertofeelsolidary.Iam
afraid to tell Spaniards I am Catalan.
Some criticize me just because I speak
Catalan.Tis is the fault of the politi-
cians, both Catalan and Spanish. Tey
saysillythingsinthemediawhichgives
the Catalan people a wrong reputation
inSpain.Itsdrivingusapart,saysHe-
lena. Some believe that nationalism is
used as a smoke screen in times of f-
nancialcrisis.Tenationalismisputon
thetablebythepoliticianstoavoidtalk-
ing about the crisis, says Ariana. Tis
is done by Catalan and Spanish politi-
cians,andmanyFlemingssupportsimi-
larpoliticaleforts.Itseasiertowinover
the public by saying that all the coun-
trysproblemswilldisappearifyoustop
paying for others. Te Belgian state is
verycomplex,soitsalsoeasierforpeo-
ple to follow that the situation would
improvewithamoreindependentFlan-
dersthanwithabstractmeasuresprom-
ising the best results for all citizens. In
themeantime,whileeveryoneisstaring
blindly at the nationalistic debates, so-
cial security is in danger for everyone.
Photo used under creative commons from Perirs
Flag of Flanders.
Flag of Catalonia.
Cultural Investigation
Theoretical Perspective
Entertainment & Art
Lifestyle
N
umerous articles have been writ-
ten on collaborative consump-
tion,alsoknownasthesharingeconomy,
orP2P(peertopeer)sharing,whichisa
movement focusing on either commu-
nally owning or accessing resources. Te
movement can take many forms, such as
sharinglabour-basedserviceslikeachild-
care provider or administrative worker,
oritcantaketheformofsharinggoods,
suchasbicycles,tools,orcars.Manywrit-
ers frame collaborative consumption as a
millennial trend and cite the economic
downturnandenvironmentalconcernsas
thereasonsforitsgrowingsuccess.While
thesesocialrealitiesmaybefactorsincol-
laborativeconsumptionssurgingpopular-
ity,itisculturallymyopictoviewtheseas
theprimarymotivatorsofitssuccess.
It is human nature to share; we only
havetolooktotheconceptofmemesand
viral videos to realize that sharing is a
basic experience that unites people. And
while internet sharing is a new trend re-
sulting from technological advancement,
many of the examples of collaborative
consumptionprovidedbelowstartedprior
to the millennium, or grew out of other
communallybasedpractices.
Child carers. Te daycare concept was
established in the late 1700s in Europe.
While childcare provider (nanny) shar-
ing is viewed as a new development, the
onlycriterionthatmakesitdiferentfrom
adaycarecentreorcrcheisthattheloca-
tionistransposedfromthepublictopri-
vatespace.
Bicycles.Bikesharingschemeshavebeen
running since the 1960s when the frst
experimentwaslaunchedinAmsterdam.
Tesharinghasgonethroughthreestag-
es:thefrstwasafree,unregulatedphase,
which sadly did not work well, as bikes
were often stolen or vandalized; the sec-
ondphaseinvolvedcoin-operateddepos-
its,whichwasmoreefectivebutstilldid
not completely deter theft; the third and
current stage is membership and/or IT
regulated. Tis stance has built account-
abilityintothescheme,andbikesharing
isaglobalsuccessstory.
Car. Car sharing has existed since 1948
when it was frst implemented in Zu-
rich. Car sharing has taken many forms
throughouttheyearsincarpooling,shared
ridemessageboards,andcarrentals.Per-
hapsoneofthemostpopularschemesin
North America is the Auto Driveaway,
inwhichapersonpicksupavehicleand
drivesittoitsownerinexchangeforpet-
rolmoney.Tenewestdevelopmentincar
sharingisbasedonthebikesharemodel,
inwhichvehicleuseismembershipbased
andtechnologicallyregulated.
Accommodation. Timeshares, in which
people collectively own a vacation prop-
erty,havebeenprevalentintheUKsince
the1960s.Newlyrecognizedadditionsto
the accommodations market are Airbnb
and couchsurfng. For those unfamiliar,
Airbnb is an online platform for hosts
rentoutaspaceintheirhomeforashort
duration. Couchsurfng is the same idea,
but without monetary exchange. While
these are fantastic developments in the
travel world, they are certainly not new.
TeAirbnbexperiencecouldbecompared
to a short-term room sublet situation, or
aslightlyfunkierbedandbreakfast.And
theconceptofcouchsurfnghassurelyex-
istedaslongascoucheshave.
Co-ops.Aco-operativeisanorganization
in which members share ownership and
work democratically towards a common
goal. A co-op can take several forms: it
can be non-proft, consumer based, and/
or worker run. Co-ops can be structured
ascreditunions,housingco-ops,orretail
enterprises.Co-opsarecertainlynotnew
andcouldbefoundinScotlandasearlyas
the1700s.
culture
Collaborative
Consumption
By Melissa Smith
T
he listings below difer slightly
fromthecategoriesabove,asthey
arefreeofmonetaryexchange.
Community gardening. Community
Gardening occurs when community
memberstakeoverneglectedtractsofland
(oftenfoundinurbancentres)donatedby
thegovernmentoranon-proft,andstart
acollaborativegarden.Whilethispractice
has been lauded as a recent trend, com-
munitygardeninghasbeenperformedin
theUKsincetheearly1800s.
Crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing is the
practiceofaskingalargegroupofvolun-
teers to help generate ideas or labour in
ordertomakealargetaskintoaseriesof
small manageable tasks. A new trend in
crowdsourcingcanbefoundonYouTube
in the form of collective video, in which
numerous participants each contribute
footage, and the end result is edited to
formacohesivewhole.Andwhilecrowd-
sourcing on the Web is a relatively new
convention (2006), it has been practiced
inthenon-virtualworldsincethe1940s.
Bartering. Bartering is a form of trade,
free of monetary exchange. Barter net-
works exist in many diferent forms, in-
volvinggoods,services,orcreditsthatare
accumulatedlikemoneyandcanbeused
at a later date. Bartering existed before
the advent of money and is still utilized
as a primary form of exchange in many
countries.
Freeware.Asimpliedbythename,Free-
wareisfreelegallydownloadablesoftware
(including browsers, toolbars, etc.) avail-
abletoallinternetusers.Surprisingly,nei-
theristhisanewconcept,asfreewarehas
existedinthetechcommunitysince1982.
And, lets not forget the public library,
oneofthegreatestsharingexperimentsin
operationsincethe1400s.So,ratherthan
highlighting collaborative consumption
as a new trend, it is perhaps more accu-
rate to say that technology has brought
these cultural practices to the forefront
andaidedintheirsuccesses.Teinternet
hashelpedthesemovementsreachalarge
audiencequickly,whileothertechnologi-
caladvanceshavehelpedwithprocedural
organization and to build accountability
intocollaborativeconsumption.
T
hemajorityoftheexamplesabove
demonstrate a melding of eco-
nomic systems, the communal spirit of
sharing combined with the organization
of capitalism. However, there are propo-
nents of collaborative consumption who
take things further and have abandoned
the notion of monetary exchange com-
pletely. For members of this community,
their actions are politically motivated in
response to the wastefulness of Western
cultureandthebeliefthatmoneydetracts
fromthehumanexperience.
Squatting. Squatters occupy abandoned
buildings that sit unclaimed and vacant,
oftenfxingthebuildingsthathavefallen
into disrepair. While many people as-
sociate squatting with the anarcho-punk
movement of the 1970s, instances of
squatting have been recorded since the
1300s.
Guerilla gardening. Guerilla garden-
ingisthesisterofcommunitygardening,
withthediferencebeingthatthelandis
notlegallyoccupied.Guerillagardeningis
not always food centric. Sometimes seed
bombs (Google it!) are thrown into dis-
usedurbanspacestobeautifythearea.
Freeganism.Freegansonlyeatfoodthatis
free.Alotofthefoodisgatheredthrough
dumpsterdiving(goingintogrocerystore
rubbish bins and collecting disposed-of
food,someofwhichhasnotevenreached
theexpirationdate)oraskingrestaurants
forleftoversthatwillbethrownaway.Te
word Freegan was formed by combining
the word free and vegan, as many mem-
bers of the freegan movement ascribe to
veganism. However, as the movement
gains popularity, there are participating
memberswhoarenotvegans.Tismove-
menthasbeengoingsincethe1960s.
L
ikeanymovement,therearemem-
bers who are better known, often
due to the fact that they have written
books, created websites and been inter-
viewed by the press for a lifestyle that
seemsinconceivabletomanyWesterners.
Teyalllivemoney-free,throughacom-
binationofbarterandreclamation.
Raphael Fellmer. German Raphael
Fellmer is the newest poster boy for the
movement. He has been living money-
free since 2010 and made international
headlines by travelling around the globe
with his then-pregnant partner Nieves
Palmer (who has since given birth and
now lives with Fellmer in Berlin), all
withouttheaidofmoney.
Daniel Suelo.DanielSueloisanAmeri-
can who has been living in a cave in the
USstateofUtahsince2000.Hegaveup
moneyafterworkingwiththePeaceCorp
andnoticingthenegativecorrelationbe-
tween economic wealth and emotional
healthinthetribeshewasworkingwith.
Heidemarie Schwermer. Prussian Hei-
demarieSchwermer,age70,livesinGer-
many and has been living money-free
since1996.Attheageof53,shequither
job as a psychotherapist with the intent
of experimenting with a money-free ex-
istenceforoneyear,butneverreturnedto
heroldlife.
As you can see, there are many diferent
spectrums to collaborative consumption.
Wheredoyouftin?
Entertainment & Art
Music: Belgian Indie Rock
By Karlijn Sas
I
have heard through the grapevine
thattheDutchareconsidered,here
inFlemishBelgium,tobebadatmaking
music, as well as having poor taste in it.
Such is, of course, a horrible generaliza-
tion, but nonetheless, they have a point.
While this summer, people around the
globeweresingingalongtoGotye,origi-
nallyfromBrugge,thelastthingfromTe
Netherlands to spread around the world
was probably 2 Unlimited in the 90s
and actually, even they have their roots
in Belgium. Concerts by awesome bands
like Bon Iver are sold out in a matter of
minutes in Belgium, while they tend to
not sell out that fast or at all inTe
Netherlands.Tatbeingsaid,hopefullyI,
asaDutchwoman,canstilltellyousome-
thingaboutthegreatindiemusicscenein
Belgium.
Take Leuven for example, a small
universitytownwheremanyconcertsare
given.HetDepotisahigh-qualityvenue
wherealotofgreatartistsstopwhiletour-
ingEurope.Ifyouwanttoseesomelocal
artistsforfree,youcangototheiropen-
micnights,whereLeuvensmostpopular
artist, Selah Sue, was discovered. In fact,
Het Depot has a core role for most of
Leuvensmusicianswhoare,orareabout
tobe,nationallyorinternationallyknown,
suchasMilow,AKS,BillieKawende,and
Float Fall. Other venues that have con-
certsregularlyareStuk,30CC,DeBlauwe
Kater,Kaminsky,OPEK,Sojo,Chaosbar,
andmultiplebarsontheGroteMarkt.
TethinginLeuvenis,however,that
forEnglishspeakers,itseemsratherdif-
fcult to fnd these concerts. Te main
cultureguideisthe Uit in Leuvenmaga-
zine,whichyoucanfndforfreeatpaper
stands in public spaces.Tis magazine is
inDutchanddoesnotcoverallthecon-
certs that are going on in Leuven. Te
accompanying website, www.uitinleuven.
be,isasuserunfriendlyasitgets;hardto
useforDutchspeakersandimpossiblefor
non-Dutchspeakers.Itseemsthatbrows-
ingthroughthewebsitesofthevenuesto
lookattheirindividualprogrammes,fol-
lowing the venues on Facebook, or just
going there to hang out, are for now the
easiestwaystofndoutaboutconcertsin
Leuven.Tismightseemlikeahassle,but
itisdefnitelyworthyourwhile.
Meanwhile, there is a huge amount
of great Belgian music to explore online
as well. Te biggest Belgian indie-music
channel is called Studio Brussel, which
justspentaweekcoveringthegreatestin-
diemusicofBelgium.Teycreatedatop-
100 list of best Belgian indie songs.Te
top fve were songs by Absynth Minded,
Daan, Red Zebra, and two songs by
dEUS.Ifyoulookupthefulllistoreven
just these four bands, it will provide you
withhoursofpurelisteningpleasure.
StudioBrusselslistof100songscon-
tainsonlyeightsongsinDutchandfour
in French; the rest are in English. Even
Frank Vanderlinde, one of the Flemish-
speakingmusicianswhoisonthelistwith
his band de Mens, states in an interview
thatheissurprisedthattherearesomany
Dutch and French songs in there; most
Belgian bands sing in English. Next to
thislistofestablishedBelgianmusicians,
StudioBrusselshedslightonnewBelgian
musicians in the Nieuwe Lichting sec-
tion,introducingnewBelgianartistslike
ToutVaBienandRhinosArePeopleToo.
SowhydoesBelgiumhavesuchalive-
lyindierockscene?InBelgium,thereare
FlemishandWallonianculturalheritages
thatareunitedinonecountry,infuencing
andoverlappingeachotherandproviding
a unique cultural landscape that makes
foragreatplacetomakemusic.Bentvan
Looy,thefrontmanofBelgianbandDas
Pop,namesanotherreasonwhythereare
somanysuccessfulBelgianbands.Tere
arealotofpeoplemakingmusicinBel-
gium, the singer states. With so many
musicians, there is bound to be some
good ones among them. Belgium is a
goodplacetomakemusic,therearealot
ofgreatrehearsalplacesthatarefreeorat
leastcheap.Tisisverydiferentthanthe
situationinParis,forinstance.
Tegreatestnewsisthatthesummer
iscomingandBelgiumisafestivalcoun-
try.Tefestivalannouncementsarefying
around, and one of the biggest Flemish
newspapers, De Standaard, is even talk-
ing about the Apocalyps Festivalitis (the
apocalypse of festival fever), although
somefestivalsarenotcontinuingthisyear
because of lack of funding. For all of us
this summer, the great number of festi-
valsisamusicalblessingandagreatway
to get to know new Belgian musicians.
Belgian singer Selah Sue in concert.
Photo by Tomas Noppens
I
fell in love with com-
ics when I was 13 years
old. I picked up Marjane
Satrapis Persepolis (made into a major motion picture in
2007--I highly recommend it), and I was absolutely hooked...
and its been an obsession ever since! I didnt want to have
anything to do with superhero or fantasy comics, what you
would consider traditional. I wanted to read graphic novels
about people: personal stories that deal with what it means
to be human. I wanted to see the world and experience it in
the way other people see it - and what could be a better and
more personal way than through stylized illustrations. Words
AND pictures!
Through graphic novels, I experienced the Islamic Revolu-
tion with Marjane Satrapi in Persepolis, went to an evangelical
Christian sleepaway camp with Craig Thompson in Blankets,
lived in a 1920s Jewish tenement apartment in Leela Cor-
mans Unterzakhn, and ran a funeral home with Allison Be-
chdels Fun Home. Then, on my way from the United States
to Belgium, I few to Brussels with my frst Belgian comic,
Hergs Tintin in Congo.
Belgium is well known for its comics, with some well
known examples being The Smurfs and the Tintin series.
Taking a walk down Brussels Comic Strip Route introduced
me to a few more. During my frst few weeks in Leuven, I set
out to fnd local comic shops, and I picked up a vintage Flem-
ish comic for pre-teens & teenage girls and forced one of my
poor Belgian classmates to read it with me panel by panel,
word for word, in an effort to help me improve my Dutch. My
Dutch may still be awful, but I learned a bit about what it may
have been like to be a Flemish pre-teen in the 80s!
Recently, Ive started following the work of Ghent-based
20-something artist & illustrator, Brecht Vandenbroucke
(and I got a chance to meet him recently! Talk about fangirl
moment!). In his new comic, White Cube, I saw elements of
Belgium that I have now come to know and love. After frst
buying the book, I went to visit with a friend and opened it
to a full-colour illustration of a surrealist city scene. I im-
mediately noticed some familiar sights and shrieked, Look,
DE LIJN! A JUPILER sign! This is...BELGIUM! My friend was
amused as to why noticing a bus or a crappy bar sign meant
so much to me, but recognizing things like this makes me
feel like I belong here in Belgium, like Im starting to feel at
home. An interest that has helped me see worlds that would
have otherwise been inacessible is now allowing me to adapt
to my adopted country.
How I Fell in Love with...Comics
By Odette Rivera
H
induism.Tomostpeopleitisare-
ligionofidolworship,ofcolours,
countlessandsomewhatweirdrituals,the
religionthatfoundedyogaand,ofcourse,
the Kamasutra. One particularly fasci-
nating aspect is that there are about 330
million deities that have been described
inHinduism.Whiletheyarenotactually
godsper se,onlyformsofthegod,theyare
easily confused and popularized as being
gods.AndHindusarealsouniqueinwor-
shipping these entities. You see them of
courseintemples,butalsoineveryHindu
home,onstreetcorners,inpeoplespock-
ets, in their cars... everywhere. Probably
only Marvel comics fans rival us as the
second biggest cult of idol worshippers,
andeventheyhavealongwaytogo.
IwasbornandraisedaHindu,andeven
I never quite understood why we should
worshiptheseidols,whyweshouldbathe
them,cradlethem,dressthem,feedthem,
chant strange sentences to them, etc.
Many of these idols are strange-looking:
theyhavenumeroushandsholdingweird
objects,andtheywearornamentsthatare
clearlyoutoffashion.But,growingupin
India,youcanthelpbutbeinfuencedby
thegrand,ifstrange,imageofGod.
Indian society has devised devious
systemstoexploitthegodsotherworldli-
ness.Forexample,todifusejuveniletan-
trums, a parent might say, If you drink
your milk and fnish everything on your
plate, goddess Kali will bless you with
greatstrength.Idontknowifyouveever
seenanidolofthegoddessKali,buttrust
me,youdontwanttobeonherbadside.
Shecouldgivethebeastunderyourbed
awedgiewithherpinkyfnger.Infact,her
favouritepastimeisbeheadingbeasts.
Butthenagain,notallthesacredenti-
tiesaresoscary.Iwanttotalkaboutone
immensely popular god, the elephant-
headed Ganapati. I recently came across
an explanation of the Ganapati as the
management guru.Tis is intriguing on
many levels, but most importantly, it hit
thecoulditbe?nerveinme.Coulditbe
that there is a reason for the way these
deitieslookthewaytheydo?Tatthereis
areasonastowhytheyarekeptincertain
places,orthattheyareessentiallysymbol-
icsummariesofanancient,verycomplex,
andadvancedscience?
Te image of the Ganapati is not
merely so by coincidence; there is deep
thought put into this image by the crea-
tors. Te various aspects of Ganapatis
grandappearancerepresentkeyaspectsof
management.Butweonlyunderstandthe
scienceofmanagementtoday.Itisnotfar-
fetchedtosaythatGanapatiisamanage-
mentguru,saysDineshKumar,authorof
Desire 2 Truewill.Tismightsoundabit
likeDanBrowntosome,butifyoubear
withme,youmightseesometruthinitas
well. Besides, in the worst-case scenario,
itwillonlyprovideyouwithacheatsheet
toconsultwhenyoufndyourselfabreast
of problems that require solutions of the
managementkind,whatevertheymaybe.
GanainSanskritmeansagroup,class,
community, association, or corporation,
and pati means a ruler or lord.Together,
ganapati means the leader of the pack.
So, in fact, when calling upon the entity
named Ganapati, worshipers call upon
theenergythatallowsforthecompletion
oftasks.Specifcally,theyarecallingupon
theenergythatissupposedtoremoveob-
stacles.ItisforthisreasonthatinHindu
customs,everytimethereisanewjourney
undertaken, be it intellectual, entrepre-
neurial,socialorotherwise,itiscustomary
to worship Ganapati before all else.Tis
imageoftheelephant-headed,pot-bellied
godwithfourhandsholdingstrangeob-
jectsisareminderofcertaintraitsthatwe
must possess for the successful comple-
tionofsuchtasks.
Whytheheadofanelephantthough?
Elephantsarenotthekingofthejungle,
theyrenotknowntobethefastestanimal,
noraretheythewisest.Buttheydohave
abighead,thebiggestofthelandanimals
found in India. Now if I were a CEO, I
wouldliketobeabletothinkbigandhave
atoweringviewofthesituation,ofwhats
goingoninmycompany.
Te elephant head also has two ivory
teeth,andthereisapopularfablethattells
thatGanapatibrokehisownpreciousivo-
rytoothforagreatpurpose:thewritingof
theBagvadagita,thesummaryofallHin-
duscriptures.Tisfableremindsthehead
ofacompany,thenon-divineganapati,to
always be willing to make the ultimate
sacrifceforspreadingknowledge.
Te elephant also has a fexible, pre-
hensiletrunkthatitadroitlyusestojudge
the right food and pick it up. It reminds
group leaders to always reach out to
gather the most valuable information, as
opposed to waiting for information to
come to them. If they do not reach out,
onlythegoodandpleasinginformation
will reach them, and they will miss any
troubling signs. Te trunk also reminds
themtohaveafar-reachinginfuenceand
tobefexible.
Finally, the elephant has huge ears
that constantly fap around, almost as if
strainingfortherightsoundtohear.Tis
symbolizes the ability to hear everything
at the same time, but also to be able to
single out the most important pieces of
information by taking advantage of two
greatlisteningears.
TenthereisGanapatispotbelly.Tis
is really an oddity. Most of the other di-
vineentitieslookeitherlikesupermodels
orsuperwarriors.Butapot-belliedfgure?
Fortheheadofalargegroup,thepot-bel-
liedfgureaptlysignifesthealmostinf-
niteabilitytodigest,toabsorbasmuchas
onepossiblycan.
In popular paintings, Ganapati has
four arms. Te frst arm holds a goad, a
toolemployedinthehandlingandtrain-
ing of elephants. Tis signifes that a
managershouldalwaysbewillingtotrain
himself,tobeabletodeployandpractice
self-discipline. Te second arm holds an
open rope.Tis indicates that a manager
should free himself from bonds of igno-
rance, inefciencies, incapabilities, and
the status quo. Te third arm is held up
in a gesture of blessing. It signifes that
themanagershouldalwaysreinforcecon-
fdencethroughoutherorganizationthat
sheisalwayslookingafteritanditsmem-
bersbestinterests.Tefourtharmholdsa
conchshell,whichwasusedintheancient
timesastooltomakeannouncementsand
was famously used in the ancient war of
Mahabharata.Whentheconchshellwas
blown,itmeantthewarhadbegun.Ifyou
areamanager,youshouldbeabletoprep
the members of your organization with
suchadevice.Temanagerhastosound
thealarmtostartpreparations,towagea
waragainstnegativityandself-doubt,and
toleadthemintothebattlefeld.
Wherethereareidolsorpaintingsof
Ganapati, there are almost always sweets
around him. Sweets are symbolic of the
prosperity that is bound to come when
following these basic principles of man-
agement.
Hinduism & the Management Guru
By Nikhil Sindhwani
Photo used under creative commons from niyatiban
Statues of Ganapati.
I
m staring at the green soup below
me;ithastubesswimminginsideit
lookinglikecalamariandsomethingelse
reminiscent of broccoli. I fear the worst.
Goats intestine soup, my friend Sep-
tember*declaresproudly.Wereinaroad-
sidetowninLoliondo,withitstinhouses
markedforevictionwithredcrosses.Te
reason?Itwasntbecausetheywerepartof
the 4,000 km
2
of Loliondo land that the
Tanzaniangovernmenthasbeenplanning
to use as a wildlife corridor, granting ac-
cess to an Emirati hunting corporation.
Instead,thislittletownhappenstobetoo
closetotheroad.Teresafederalsafety
lawabouthousesbeingbuilttoocloseto
theroad,yetthisroadinparticularistraf-
fcked,atmost,onceanhour.
Im on my third day into a road trip
through Maasailand, a trip around the
Ngorongoro Crater, up the Rift Valley
towards the Kenyan border, and back via
Lake Natron with its salty hot springs.
Wehavehadnothingtoeatbutgoatsince
I packed and left my comfortable lodge
upattheworldslargestcrater,partofthe
Serengetiecosystem.Wedbeenonanof-
road safari straight through rocky bush
savannah for most of the trip, we being
meandfveMaasaimen,warriorsandel-
dersalikeentertainedbytheLandcruisers
Mp3 system playing traditional Maasai
music.Bydaytwo,IcouldhavesungJe-
susistheLordinperfectKimaasai,danc-
ingbyfexingmyshouldersandbobbing
myheadasaccuratelyandfuentlyasany
Maasai.
Im doing a fairly decent job living it
uplikealocal,goingnative,thoughwith
theintestinesoupbeingaslightcurveball
to the wholewhite Maasai thing I have
going on. Ive even bought a goat. You
are nothing without cattle, Francis the
receptionist told me, so I fgured a goat
willdoforstarterstosetofmycareerasa
pastoralist.Mygoatisfemale,soImpray-
ingtoLengai(God)forofspring,though
ImtoldIwoulddobettertopraytoJesus.
Temainobjectiveofoursafari(jour-
ney in Kiswahili) is visiting all the dis-
tricts secondary schools to ensure chil-
dren from our area are studying, and to
collect invoices for scholarships; though,
formostofus,thesafariitselfistherea-
sonforthesafari.WhentheLandcruiser
reachesOlDoinyoLengai,theMountain
of God (God is a she, by the way), my
MaasaifriendsturnJapaneseinnanosec-
ondsastheyreachfortheirsmartphones
andpocketcamerasandtakehundredsof
pictures - pictures of the mountain, pic-
tures of themselves with the mountain,
pictures of me with the mountain, pic-
turesofthecarwiththemountain,group
pictures(SayJambo!!),andsoforth.
It makes me realize how much of
Maasaiculturehasbeentransformedinto
entertainment. Not just entertainment
for millions of tourists passing through
Ngorongoro and the Serengeti each
year, but how culture is being consumed
by Maasai themselves. Two days later, I
tried not to play the judgmental anthro-
pologist when, freeloading on chips and
drinksataluxurylodgeonthecraterrim
together with Sankei, a Maasai friend, a
Maasai Traditional Dance Crew comes
in for the pleasure of the American and
Frenchtourists.Tetouristsareallgath-
eredeagerlyonmock-upZulukingchairs
(notethattheZulusareinSouthAfrica,
not that this matters to the tourism in-
dustry). Watching the mash-up dance
and song routine, I ask, What does it
mean?Sankeireplies,Oh,nothing.Its
entertainment. He continues explaining
that this group is very good, that it is a
newgroup,andthattheoldonehadjust
beenfredbecausethemenweredrunkall
thetimeandwouldntevenjumpforthe
tourists!Heshakeshishead.
As an anthropologist, you are not
supposed to like these kinds of things,
the commodifcation of culture, or the
Maasai-semi-nomadicpastoralists-be-
ing forced by poverty tojump for tour-
ists.Itsnotreal,itsnotauthentic,and
its abusive towards indigenous peo-
ple - or so goes the general perception
of anything like this in many scholarly
circles. Yet, I wonder, who is the hypo-
crite? Mustnt we live and let live? Must
we always judge when something is
capitalized on? Must we see minorities
like the Maasai as victims? Can Maasai
culture not have entertainment value in
this capitalist sense, even for the Maasai
themselves? I believe that by passing
judgmentsonthisculturalcommodifca-
tionissue,wearebeingmorethanunfair
towardspeopleliketheMaasai.Itisnot
ourstojudge.LetSankeienjoythetradi-
tional dance just as much as the French
andAmericantouristsdo.
* Please note that names have been changed
to ensure privacy.
Maasai Culture Shock
By Jessika Nilsson
Photo courtesy of Jessika Nilsson
Jessika, who grew up in Tanzania,
is conducting feld research on the
Maasai for her PhD in anthropology.
W
e all speak from a particular
place,outofaparticularhis-
tory,outofaparticularexperience,apar-
ticular culture, without being contained
bythatposition~StuartHall
T
his article will address, from a
humanisticpointofview,apopu-
lar training form among many of those
who, either for educational or business
purposes,departtoanewcountryorfnd
themselves working or studying in an
international environment. Trough dif-
ferentmethodologicalapproaches,Inter-
culturalCommunicationTrainingaimto
assist people in developing certain skills
and sensibilities that should help them
tocommunicatesuccessfullywithpeople
ofdiferentculturalbackgrounds(mainly
defnedbynationality)andtodevelopthe
capacitytointegratethemselveseasilyin
newordiferentculturalenvironments.
Understanding and appreciating
intercultural diferences ultimately pro-
motes clearer communication, breaks
down barriers, builds trust, strengthens
relationships, opens horizons, and yields
tangibleresultsintermsofbusinesssuc-
cess.AsthisquotefromaUK-basedIn-
terculturalTraining agency shows, often
thesetraininghaveasastartingpointthe
aimofcreatinganawarenessoftheexist-
enceofculturaldiferences.
Culturaldiferencesexist.Defnitions
of culture created within the boundaries
ofSociology,Anthropology,andCultural
Studiesacknowledgethisafterobserving
that behaviours and things can acquire
diferentmeaningswithindiferentsocial
groups. Furthermore, they acknowledge
that for successful communication and
orientation in various social environ-
ments,thesemeaningfulcodeshavetobe
successfullyunderstood.
Uptothispoint,wecansaythatIn-
tercultural Training and the humanis-
tic approach on culture agree with each
other.However,inthehumanisticdefni-
tions of evolution and dynamic changes
in culture, it becomes challenging for
manymethodsofInterculturalCommu-
nicationTrainingtoft.Asmentionedin
thequoteabove,thesetrainingoftencon-
centratemainlyonculturaldiferencesor
on very well-defned cultural meanings
and codes. Nevertheless, for the human-
istic approach, cultural codes can frst
mean more than one thing for a certain
group; second, these codes are not only
diversewithinagroupbutareconstantly
being changed and reproduced through
interactions. In this sense, cultural codes
cannotremainstaticandunchangeable.
Intercultural Training has developed
diferent approaches to impart to their
publictheabilitytocommunicateacross
cultural boundaries and the capacity
to integrate easily into new and difer-
ent cultural settings.Tere are two basic
methods applied in Intercultural Com-
munication Training. Te frst method
contrastsstronglywiththesocialandhu-
manistic view of culture, and the second
tries rather to reconcile itself with the
ideaofculturalchange.
TefrstmethodisdefnedbyCamp-
bell Jones, Senior Lecturer in Critical
Teory and Business Ethics at the Uni-
versity of Leicester, as an easy solution
that tries to decode the most essential
part of the cultural software of a cer-
tain culture, such as common practices
and common values.Tese practices and
valuesarethenstrategicallyputtogether
intoasortofcrashcoursethataimsto
serve as a navigation system within the
newculturalcontext.Tismethodicalap-
proach has been strongly criticized for
overlooking the complexity of culture
andforitsseeminglycontradictoryaims.
Although Intercultural Training have as
a departure point transnational mobility,
inthismethod,culture,regardlessofthe
interactionbetweenpeoplewithdiferent
culturalbackgrounds,isseenasasumof
frozencodesthatstayunchangedandun-
touched.
Despitethecritics,thismethodisthe
most commonly applied, but as Betina
Szkudlarek, Lecturer in Cross-cultural
ManagementatTeUniversityofSydney
Business School, sees it, this contradic-
tioncanoftenbeavoided.Shealsoargues
fortheconstructiveandbenefcialimpact
ofInterculturalTrainingforcommunica-
tionandintegration.
Te dynamic and changing nature of
culture created out of constant personal
andsocialinteractionsisbettertakeninto
account in Intercultural Training where
the constructivism approach is applied.
Tis approach is a complex method de-
velopedbytheinterculturalethicsexpert
RichardEvanof.Itsstartingpointisalso
culturaldiference,butitsaimiscultural
hybridity.Tis means that in contrast to
the InterculturalTraining approach pre-
sented above, Intercultural Interaction
is based on the principle of production
of common culture rather than on ir-
reconcilable but understood cultural dif-
ferences. In this sense, the constructivist
methodacknowledgesculturaldiference,
but sees in the interaction between peo-
ple with diferent cultural backgrounds
thecapacitytocreatenewculturalforms,
orso-calledthirdcultures.
For the two diferent methods, the
frststepistheawarenessofculturaldif-
ference: We all speak from a particular
place, out of a particular history, out of
a particular experience, a particular cul-
ture.Yet,asshowninthesetwomethods,
what is crucial in the end is how difer-
enceistreatedandwhereitistaken.
Intercultural Training
By Emma Gabriela Guevara
Clues to a Better
Understanding or
Misunderstanding?
Photo used under creative commons from oblivionz
Nihon - Tokyo Subway.
C
ulturalawarenessistheabilityto
understand the degree to which
our behaviour is culturally determined.
Are we fully aware of and do we recog-
nizetheassumptionsandvaluesthatare
to be found outside our conscience but
infuenceneverthelessourlivesanddaily
behaviour?
Tisawarenessbecomescrucialwhen
we interact with people from other cul-
tures. Developing this awareness will al-
low us to function efectively in cultures
sometimes dramatically diferent from
our own, and it will help us to alter our
behaviour towards intercultural contact
in order to develop and maintain rela-
tionshipswithpeoplefromothercultures.
To develop cultural awareness, it is
important to understand the concept of
perceptualdiference.Weallperceivethe
worldaroundusinadiferentway,mean-
ing that members of one cultural group
share sets of perceptions that are difer-
entfromthesetsofperceptionssharedby
members of another cultural group.Tis
isaconceptthatisdifculttointernalize
totheextentthatitafectsourbehaviour.
Tewayweperceivetheworldissodeep-
ly rooted in our unconscious that we go
throughourdailyroutineswithoutques-
tioning why we do them in a particular
way, in the same way that a fsh doesnt
knowheisinthewater.
We tend to assume that our world-
viewiscentraltoallreality,andinaddi-
tion,wethinkthatourwaysarethebest
and that our solutions to the challenges
oflifearemorevalidthanthesolutionsof
others.Wemustlearn,though,thatother
people have the same feelings about the
solutions in their own cultures. In this
sense, one culture is not better than the
other,itisjustdiferent.
It is surprising that although this
message seems very simple and obvious,
itisverydifculttoapplywhenitcomes
todefendingonesvaluesinintercultural
contexts. But through developing inter-
culturalawareness,onecanlearntotran-
scend this ethnocentrism and enhance
interculturalsensitivity.
Becoming aware of our cultural dy-
namics is not an easy process. From our
births, our culture has provided us with
signs, symbols, hints, suggestions, un-
spoken guidelines, etc., like signs on a
highway.Allourlives,wehavebeensur-
rounded by millions of cues, but we are
so used to seeing them that we are una-
wareofthemandtakethemforgranted.
Tese familiar signs make us feel com-
fortable and make life predictable. Cues
arelearnedimplicitlyfromthesocialand
cultural environment. After arriving in a
new culture, we see pretty quickly that
many of our familiar cues cannot guide
usanymore,becausethewholecontextof
our new home is (totally) diferent. Te
newculturehasitsowncues,unreadable
to the newcomer. When our own cues
dont work anymore, we miss them and
feellikeafshoutofwater.Tereaction
to this is irritation, frustration, and even
anger.
Tis is a natural reaction. If within
our own societies, many of us cannot
cope with the diferences between rich
andpoor,maleandfemale,specialistand
non-specialist, what will happen if we
mustfaceandadjusttomuchbiggercon-
trastsinlifestylesandvalues?
Itwouldbeamistaketoassumethat
overcoming cultural diferences will al-
wayshappenevidently.
Education and training in Intercul-
tural Communication is an approach to
open our minds by making us aware of
ourbehaviour,values,andthewaywesee
life,inotherwords,bymakingusawareof
ourownculture.Ifweareawaretowhat
extent our culture shapes our behaviour,
understanding other cultures will be so
mucheasier.
Ithelpsuscopewiththecultureshock
andlonelinessonefeelssometimesliving
inanothercultureandopensperspectives
forrealinterculturalcommunication.
By Sabine De Jaegere
Graphic by Wim Dehaen
Cultural
Awareness &
(Inter)Cultural
Sensitivity
F
rauMerkelisknownforbeingone
of the most powerful women in
theworld,oneoftheleadingpoliticiansin
Europe,andforhercallforstrictauster-
itymeasureswithintheEuropeanUnion.
Senseoffashion,however,isnotaterm
that is often connected to the leader of
Europes largest country.With her short
cropinasafeshadeofblondandabasic,
no-nonsenseblazer,shelosesthefashion
battle against the more stylish female
politicians,likeDenmarksPrimeMinis-
terHelleTorning-Schmidt,whoseout-
fts certainly do not look like they came
outofyourdeadgrandmotherswardrobe,
orHillaryClinton,whoworksthatpant-
suitlikenoother.
TekeypieceinMerkelswardrobeis
athree-buttonedblazer,inallimaginable
shades.Tis look was invented in an at-
tempttogiveAngieamakeoverin2005
as part of her victorious election cam-
paign. It is courtesy of designer Bettina
Schoenbach, who does not comment on
Merkel personally but simply comments
that some women feel more secure in a
suitthanadress.
Robb Young, author of Power Dress-
ing: First Ladies, Women Politicians and
Fashion,pointsoutthatthisplainstyleis
suitableforawomanlikeMerkel,espe-
ciallyintougheconomictimeslikethese.
Alessoutspokenoutftsuitstheausterity
measuressheistryingtoselltotherestof
Europeandherdemos.
Nevertheless,Germanfashionroyalty
andChaneldesigner,KarlLagerfeld,does
notagree.Lastyear,hecriticizedMerkels
signaturelook,buthisadvicewassound:
go for a better ft, open up that blazer,
pair it with a blouse instead of a t-shirt,
and wear well-tailored trousers. Fortu-
natelyforFrauMerkel,hedidpraiseher
haircut and colour, complimenting how
theybringoutherbeautifulblueeyes.
On a night out, Angie dares to take
more risks. She likes to spend her free
timeatoperapremieres.Duringtheop-
era festivals in Bayreuth and Salzburg,
she has been spotted in evening gowns,
sometimes rocking a near-bare shoul-
der, yet sadly, sometimes paired with yet
another darn blazer or, worse yet, the
major fashion faux-pas of visible nylon
socks. Her most daring gown, worn to
the opening night of the new Oslo Op-
eraHousein2008,sparkedheadlinesall
overEuropewhensheprovedthatunder-
neath all those jackets there is indeed a
sexy woman. At the same time, she was
showing defnitely more cleavage than
was deemed appropriate for a woman in
herposition.
Even the colours of her three-but-
toned favourite have not been free from
controversy. Accidentally, or maybe in-
tentionally,sherockedanorangeversion
of the blazer on the day that Germany
playedTeNetherlandsintheEuroCup
last summer, and that fall, she wore the
same green blazer on a visit to Greece
thatsheworethedaythatGermanybeat
GreeceinthatsameEuroCup.However,
considering her gender, the chances she
actually considers football when picking
out her outft in the morning are rather
small.
Te fnal verdict on Angela Merkels
wardrobe can be summarized in two
words: safe and boring. But it does not
takemuchtochange.DearAngie,please
dontlistentoVoguesadviceforthissum-
mer, and ditch those pastels. Call Mrs.
Clintonforsomepantsuitadvice,askun-
cle Karl to tailor your outfts, get Heidi
Klum for some red carpet tips, and you
will become Germanys next fashionable
politicianwithinnotime.Justworkit,girl!
By Corieke Bonvanie
Angela Merkel:
Three-Buttoned, Boring & Basic
Drawing by Limin Liang
Entertainment & Art
Italiana, Ovviamente
C
isonomomentiincuiunottimabirranonbasta.Incui
sihavogliadisedersiaduntavolinoallapertoconuna
tovagliaaquadrettirossiebianchi,esaziarelappetitoconsapori
di casa. Italiana, ovviamente. Con lestate nellaria, il tavolino
allaperto spunta un po dappertutto. Ma per il cibo? Bisogna
difdaredalleimitazioni.Esuprattuttodaimenuinunitaliano,
eproprioilcasodidirlo,maccheronico.Ealloradove?Beh,de
gustibus... Una pizza senza troppe pretese? Da Mangia e via,
sempliceedeliziosa.Nonvoleteallontanarvidallacaravecchia
oudemarkt?Giratelangoloealzatelosguardo:ilPiccatinovi
staaspettando.Peripalatipiufni:Rossi,equellartistadiFelice
visbalordira!Esepoi,oltreilcibo,vimancaancheloSpritz....il
carovecchioZofnonvideludera.Buonappetitoesalute!
T
here are moments when a tasty beer is not enough.
Whenyoulongtositatanoutdoortablewithared-
and-whitecheckeredtableclothandeathomemadefood.Ital-
ian,obviously.Onsunnydays,youcansitanywhereoutside.
Butwhataboutthefood?Well,donttrustallItaliansrestau-
rants, especially where menus arealmost written in Italian.
So where to go? Well, de gustibus... A real pizza? Mangia e
via,easyandtasty.DontwanttogotoofarfromtheOude
Markt? Round the corner, Il Piccantino is waiting for you.
Forthepurposesofpalate,gotoRossi,andthatartistFeliceis
suretoamazeyou!Andifyounoticethatyourlateafternoon
ismissingaSpritz,Zofwontdeceiveyou.Smakelijk eten en
schol!
By Stefano Ncol Granada
Lifestyle
Go Abroad, Become a Stereotype
W
hen you go abroad and you
meetpeoplewhoarenotfrom
your country, you often start a conver-
sation. Unless you are Flemish, because
Flemings silently ignore other people
in the room. Haha, stereotypical joke.
Manywillfollow,dontbeofended.For
therecord,Inevermeanthem.
But back to the lesson in that
starting-conversation-phase, one is
doomedtostartwithsmalltalk.Interna-
tionalsmalltalkstartswithWhatsyour
name?TisisthenfollowedbyWhere
areyoufrom?Yes,thatisthemostim-
portantthingtoknowaboutaforeigner.
Not what they love to do, not their big
dreams, but where this stranger comes
from. Where are you from? is the in-
ternationalsmalltalkjackpot.Teshort
answertothisquestioncanbethesource
of a very interesting and long-lasting
stereotypical conversation. Argentina?
Can you teach me the tango? Russia?
Vodka, vodka. Greece? Poor thing,
should I ofer you a job? Nobody likes
thesestereotypicalreplies,especiallythe
Greeks when it comes from a German.
Germans,really,startrunningwhenyou
makethisjoke!Teymightthrowplates
inyourface!
However,wealllovetofallbackon
the stereotypes as a conversation starter
in an international conversation. Are
youfrom[insertcountryhere]?isprob-
ably the Number 1 opening line at in-
ternational parties. A couple years ago,
people often came up to me and asked,
Are you from Ireland? Ginger heads
can only come from Ireland apparently.
I went back to blonde and guess where
IamfromnowTatsright,Scandina-
via. Only because Im too short to be a
giantessfromTeNetherlands.Overthe
years,Ivelearnedthatformanyguys,itis
somekindoffantasytobewithaSwed-
ishgirl.Teygetthiscravingexpression
even when they pronounce Sweden.
Tey want so badly for that blonde girl
tobeSwedishthatitseemscrueltotell
themthetruth,especiallybecauseIhave
to answer, Im Belgian. Tats a dou-
ble disappointment.Te chance to land
a Belgian girl is stereotypically low, so
usuallytheystartscanningtheroomfor
othervictimslikesay,agirlfromastere-
otypicallyeasy-goingnationality.(Idont
needtosayoutloudwhichone,because
youalreayknow...)
When you run out of stereotypical
jokes,andyouwanttobringtheconver-
sationtoalesssuperfciallevel,itstime
for Whats normal in your country?
Youhavetodefneyournationwithina
wordorasentence.Talkaboutamission
impossible,thisisdefnitelyoneofthem.
However, while abroad, you are forced
to do that on a daily basis. Have a pot-
luck dinner themed, What do you eat
in your country? Spain: Jamn Ibrico.
Yep,thatsit.Luckily,theIberianhamis
oneofthebestthingsameat-eatinghu-
man can taste, or I would feel sorry for
theSpaniards.WhatisSpanishanyway?
Everyonecouldfllaverybigbookwith
alotofchaptersandsubchaptersonwhat
hercultureis,yettheexchangestudent
isforcedtoexplainhercultureinacon-
versational powerpoint of 15 minutes.
Tus,wecreateastereotypicalslideshow.
Another phenomenon I have ob-
servedispeopleconfrmingtheirnations
stereotypes for the people they have
shallow encounters with. Teir national
pride, enhanced while abroad, often
results in fencing with stereotypes. In
drinkingbeer,forexample,manynation-
alitieshavetoprovewearethebestatit.
Tisissomethingyoucanseedisplayed
inLeuveneverynight.Stereotypically,it
iswonbytheIrish,sotheIrishhaveto
drinkalot.Otherwise,theyareashame
totheirnation.Onlyapitythatthebar
doesnt close early like in Ireland. Beer
drinking is a marathon here but just a
sprintinIreland,iswhattheDutchman
says,proudasadrunkpeacockthathes
beatentheintoxicatedIrishguywhoac-
tuallyneverhadabeerbefore.
Tiskindofstereotypicalbehaviour
is forced on you. You shall behave like
your national stereotype! After all, na-
tional stereotypes are the only certainty
inourlifeabroad,andwearelostwhen
someonebreaksthem.Howdowehave
to treat a person when she is not a ste-
reotype? Danger, danger, intercultural
meltdown. And you cannot avoid that
label because while abroad, you will be
the[insertnationalityhere]ofthegroup,
andyouareexpectedtobehavelikeone.
Not a stereotype? You are no fun! Te
only exceptions to this rule are Ameri-
cans; everyone dislikes the stereotypical
American, so please Americans, do dis-
playthatyouactuallyhaveabrain.
Why should our country of origin
defne who we are? Wouldnt we live
in a better world if we could just look
at each other as diferent individuals
and not just nationalities? Should we
maybe start to prepare a presentation
of our place of birth that is less ste-
reotypical? Please, mail us your answer!
Italian, Obviously
Photo courtesy of Ristorante Rossi in Leuven
Commentary
Summer
G
reek friends of mine lured me
to Greece last summer with sto-
riesoffreecamping,perfectbeaches,and
perfetly-prepared tzatziki and moussaka.
With just a backpack, a tent, and good
company, I went island hopping on the
Small Cyclades with them. Ready for
someGreektreasures?
Koufonisia - A little heaven on earth
When we arrived in Koufonisia, my
friend said,Pinch me, I want to be sure
this is not a dream. It was a beautiful
dream, but we were awake. Koufonisia is
just a little paradise, where I could relax
like I never relaxed before on the most
beautiful beaches I have ever seen in my
life.Itsaplaceyouwillalwaysremember.
OnKoufonisia,thereisnoofcialcamp-
ing, but that doesnt mean you are not
welcome as a camper. On the contrary.
Koufonisia has the most amazing camp-
ingoptions,andthebestpartisthatthey
dont cost you a cent Waking up on a
beachwithanamazingviewoftheMedi-
terranean...Ivehadworsemornings.Free
campingisthebest!
Amorgos - An island with a traditional
face for a young public
Amorgos feels like a second home. It
wasfullofGreekstudentswhowerethere
tohaveagoodtime,soitwasveryeasyto
makenewfriendsonthisisland.Tevil-
lagesandbeacheslookedliketheyescaped
from a postcard. No tourist clubbing at-
mospherehere,thisislandhasrealsponta-
neousbeachparties.Andofcourse,great
Greek food at great prices everywhere.
Duringtheday,therearealotofdreamy
sightstovisit,andthebestpartisthatyou
donthavetopayanythingforthosesights
exceptthebusfaretogetthere.Campers
should go to Aegili Camping in Aigiali.
Its a perfect spot to meet lovely Greek
students.AnddontmissChora.Itssuch
an enchanting town! I hope you are as
luckyasIwastoexperienceatraditional
GreekfestivalwithlotsofGreeks,lotsof
live Greek music, lots of Greek dancing,
andawholelotofraki.Amorgoswas,to
me, a perfect destination. I was looking
for relaxation, culture, beautiful nature,
andfunwithlocals.Tisislandtickedall
theboxes.
Santorini - Donkey Island
When we got of the boat in San-
torini, we were welcomed by an army of
hotelrepstryingtopersuadeuswithlies
to spend our money at their place, even
thoughwejustwantedtofndouthowto
get to the campground at Perissa.When
we arrived at Perissa, packed like mules,
all the restaurant waiters we passed were
givingusthesamekindofwelcomeasthe
hoteliers in the port. On the beach, you
couldchoosebetweenburningupundera
meansunonblacksandorpaying7for
a chair and umbrella. Every fve minutes
someonetriedtohawkknock-ofdesign-
ersunglasses,purses,wallets,orotherstuf
we werent interested in. I just wanted
to relax, but they didnt sell that in San-
torini...Toseesomeoftheislandsbeauty,
wehadtopay,andoftentheydidnteven
tellyoutherealcosts.Mostofthepeople
I met werent even Greek, so it was hard
togetatasteforSantorinianculture.Te
island was very beautiful, but I had nei-
therthetimenorthespacetofullyenjoy
it. Probably its better out of high season
orvisitingSantorinibeforegoingtothose
fantastic islands like Amorgos and Kou-
fonisia. But a third small island is still
probablyabetteroptionthanSantorini.
Greece and the crisis
It was my frst time in Greece, so I
cant really compare my experience to
howitwasacoupleofyearsago.Tough
people told me that e.g., in Amorgos,
therewerealotlesspeoplethannormal.
On the islands Ive been to, I didnt re-
allyfeelliketherewasacrisisinGreece.
Teonlytimeyoufeelitiswhenyouhave
a conversation with a Greek. Tey ask
about the situation in your country and
jobopportunities,astheymightbethink-
ing of leaving. You feel their fear about
whatwillhappentotheminthenearand
distant future. But if you are delaying a
trip to Greece because you are afraid of
thecrisis,dontbe!Greekpeoplewillwel-
comeyouwithasmile,andwhatIsawof
thecountryisamazing.Youwillloseyour
hearthere.Idefnitelydid.
Checking fights to Greece already?
Findmoreinfoandtipsonwww.evelyn-
etravel.blogspot.be.
Photo by Aggelos Venetis
Island Hopping in Greece
Amorgos, Agia Anna Beach, Greece.
Amorgos, Koufonisia & Santorini
THE VOICE, Summer 2013 31 31
F
ood is not only composed of col-
ours, shapes, textures, favours, or
smells.Also,isthevoiceofacultureand
represents the identity of a person. Is as
important as the air that we breathe; it
nourishes us, gives us life, and identifes
usashumanbeings.Ifwearedeprivedof
food, we are unhappy, and without it we
willperish.
Intheglobalizedworldoftoday,bor-
ders have shortened very fast. More and
more people are adopting new lifestyles
fromothercultures,andcertainlyoneim-
portant aspect is food. If we take a walk
through the streets of the city where we
live,wewillnoticetheproliferationofres-
taurantswithdiferentfavoursfromother
partsoftheglobe.
Every time I visit a new place, I fnd
this diversity so interesting. On the one
hand,thiswonderfulphenomenonmakes
me think about the big importance that
foodhastopreservetherootsandmemo-
ries of culture. On the other hand, such
a widespread mix of cultures combined
with natural human curiosity leads to a
special form of cross-cultural encounter:
getting to know a country through the
senseoftaste.
WhenIcametoliveinBelgium,one
of the frst things that popped into my
mind,makingmefybacktomycountry
through memories, was the food. Just to
think of a typical Chilean dish imme-
diately creates in my mind a map of my
people,thegeography,theseasons,thein-
gredients, the colours... it makes me feel
joyousandnostalgicatthesametime.As
someonenewtothispartofEurope,Ialso
realized that an interesting and delicious
wayofgettingtoknowpeopleisthrough
food. Before you realize it, you can start
describingatypicaldishfromyourcoun-
tryandenduptalkingaboutyourfamily,
city,friends,onandon.
When we undertake a journey, auto-
maticallywethinkaboutthefoodofthat
foreignland.Wewanttotasteeverything
in order to know more about the man-
ners, rituals, ingredients, people, and ge-
ographyofthisplace.Tecuriosityabout
food becomes a representation of culture
andidentity,andatoolofrecognitionand
integration into another country. Tese
ideas frst came to mind when I started
livinginBelgium,butmyinterestinthis
subjectincreasedwhenIhadtheopportu-
nitytotraveltoSouthAfricalastsummer.
In that wonderful country, I understood
muchmoreabouttheimportanceoffood.
First of all, I must say that food in
South Africa is truly exquisite; there is
almost no place you can eat so well.Te
vegetables and fruits are perfectly fresh
anddelicious,withvividcoloursandgreat
favour.Clearly,oneofthefactorsthatfa-
vourthegoodqualityoffruitsandvegeta-
blesisthesplendidweather.Everyday,in
summerandwinter,thesunrisesat 7am
andsetsat6pm.Inwinter,theclimateis
drier,andinsummer,thereismorerain-
fall, but the sun is always shining in all
seasons.
Ifyouareameateater,thisisafaw-
less place to try a splendid dish. South
Africans are crazy about meat and with
goodreasonbecauseitisreallytasty.You
canfndallkindsofmeat,butevenifyou
do not eat so much, you are obligated to
tryit.Iamnotabigmeatfan,butIun-
knowinglyateanoxtail,andthedishwas
very good. If I had known what it was,
I wouldnt have tried it, and would have
missedoutonthatdeliciousdish.
InSouthAfrica,barbequingisanear-
dailyevent.EvenattheNationalZooin
Pretoria, you can fnd barbecues in every
corner.IwasreallyimpressedwhenIsaw
people cooking meat at the zoo with an
elephantattheirside.Tatmomentreally
said something about culture, manners,
andrituals.
Also, I had the great opportunity to
visittwoexquisitefoodmarkets.Tefrst
one is Hazel Food Market in Pretoria,
which takes place every Saturday. Here
youcanfndAfricancuisineofcourse,but
also Indian, Malaysian, Moroccan, and
Chinese.IcouldeventastethebestBal-
kanburgerbeforesamplingcupcakes.Te
second market is Neighbourgoods Mar-
ketinJohannesburgandtakesplaceevery
Sunday.Inthismarket,youcanalsofnd
kitchensrepresentingmanyotherpartsof
theworld.Ifyoucanttravelinpersonto
thesemarkets,youcanvisittheirwebpag-
esforamouth-wateringglimpseatwhat
they have to ofer hungry shoppers from
allovertheworld.
My visit to South Africa was a great
experience, vastly intensifying my inter-
est in the cultural value of food. Living
in Chile, then Belgium, and travelling
to other destinies helps me understand
how powerful food is. It is a connection
to our own land and also a way to break
down barriers and integrate.Tat is why
Ialwayscarryrecipesfrommyhomeland;
even though they take up no space, they
havethefrstplaceinmyluggage,nomat-
terwhereIgo,becausetheyarethecon-
creteandshareablepresenceofmyroots.
Walking Down the Street of Food
By Carla Traslavia Figueroa
Photo by Carla Traslavia Figueroa
Pretoria, South Africa.
S
ummer3monthsofhotweather,
new inspiration, and complete re-
laxation. Cities clear out as the crowds
headtobeachesandresorts.Studentswho
cant waste time (or money) try to com-
bine travelling with gaining new experi-
ences and meeting new people, and dif-
ferentvolunteerprogramsmeetthatneed.
However,withoutmuchmoneybutwitha
senseofstyle,youwillprobablyspendthe
entiresummerworkingtohaveyourtrip
organized and paid for by the beginning
ofSeptember.Whereveryougo,youhave
togettherefrst.Travelisfrstamatterof
transportation.
Modern transport networks are so
dense that you can usually choose be-
tweenseveraloptionstomatchyourtastes
toyourneeds.Beforebookingtickets,you
havetodecideifyoudrathertravelalone
orwithcompany.Manytravelguidesin-
sist on turning all journeys into adven-
tures,andthatthelonetravellerwillhave
a greater chance at adventure. Author
Paul Coelho agrees in his blog, Travel-
ling Diferently: Try to travel aloneor
if you are marriedwith your spouse. It
willbeharderwork,noonewillbethere
taking care of you, but only in this way
canyoutrulyleaveyourowncountrybe-
hind.Travelling with a group is a way of
beinginaforeigncountrywhilespeaking
your mother tongue, doing whatever the
leaderofthefocktellsyoutodo,andtak-
ingmoreinterestingroupgossipthanin
theplaceyouarevisiting.
Ifyoudotravelwithcompanions,3-5
peopleisanidealgroupforshortdistances
bycar,ifyouareconfdentinyourdriver,
ofcourse!Tecargivesyouindependence
fromstickingtoadistinctroute,andyou
can easily and leisurely move from place
toplace.Itisaconvenientoptionfortrav-
elinBelgiumandneighbouringcountries.
Splitthepricebetweenafewfriends,rent
a car and go explore musical festivals or
takearoadtripanywhereonthehorizon.
Air travel is undoubtedly the fastest
waytoreachanydestinationintheworld,
but not always the cheapest or the most
stimulating. Sitting in a plane might be
lessboringifyoudontforgettobringyour
favouritebookormagazine,orbetteryet,
if the person sitting next to you is open
to conversation.Te attempt to kill time
while suspended in mid-air by engaging
in conversation with the traveller next to
you could issue a range of benefts: from
givingyouinsideinfoonyourdestination
tomakingalastingnewfriend.
Travel by bus is usually the cheapest
andoneofthemostagreeablewaystoget
around. You can observe the countryside
frombigwindows(atgroundlevel)while
beingchaufeuredtothenextdestination.
However, recent disasters might make
travellersquestionthesafetyofbustravel.
Hitchhiking is defnitely cheap and
widely accepted as safe in Belgium. Te
best places to start are the roundabouts
nearentrancestomainhighways.Ifyoure
headedtotheArdennes(orbacktoFlan-
ders),lookforsuchspotsinLiege,Namur,
andLouvain-la-Neuve,andstartthumb-
ing.
Personally, I prefer to travel by train.
Modern trains are very comfortable and
insomecountries,likeChina,theytrans-
portpassengerstotheirdestinationasfast
as planes do. Like buses, trains allow for
watchingbeautifullandscapesbehindthe
window,andtheyrealsogreatformeeting
newpeople...
... After the exam session, exhausted,
but itching for the upcoming journey to
mywinterparadise,Ihurriedtocatchmy
train. I was heading toward the railway
station hoping that there would be no
unusual perturbations in train connec-
tionorunexpecteddelays.Tatnight,the
snowfkakesfellsoftlyinamagicaldance,
triggeringbothmemoriesfromchildhood
and a pleasant smile on my face. Tere
wasayoungguyatthecornerofthesta-
tion.Helookedconfusedtryingtofgure
out the train schedule (which is not sur-
prising, since in bilingual countries, the
same city carries two names, sometimes
quitediferentinspelling).Inmydreamy
daze,Ijustpassedhimbywithoutasking
whetherheneededanyhelp.
Infact,thetrainwashalfanhourlate,
soIlookedaroundhopingtofndanopen
cafwhereIcouldbuysomehotcofeeto
staywarm.Tomysurprise,theguyIsaw
before was on the same platform stand-
ingclosetome.Didhefollowme?the
thoughtcrossedmymind.Unfortunately,
no hot drinks were available, so to stay
warm, I had to hop in place and walk
up and down the platform. Whenever I
turned around to observe the other un-
luckytravellers,Icaughtthesamepairof
eyeslookinginmydirection.Feelingabit
embarrassed,Idecidedtomoveon.Ten
I turned again and found him standing
right behind me. Just then, the voice on
the intercom announced new changes to
theschedule.Finally,hestrangertookthe
chance talk to me. As I thought, he was
a foreigner and had come here for just
oneday.Astheconversationproceeded,I
foundthatsomeofhisideaswereexciting
and had me rethink some of my values.
Te journey passed by quickly with such
pleasant conversation. In the end, before
we went our own ways, we exchanged
contactinfo,hopingtostayintouch.
Despitethetravelmanneryougofor,
stayopentotheprospectofadventureas
the main purpose.Te best souvenirs are
theonesthatenrichyourvalues.
Wheels, wings & Thumbs up
By Katia Demydenko
Photo used under creative commons from M+M Photographers
Train from Riobamba, Ecuador.
A
s all my fellow students start looking for a
job, I have decided not to. I mean, were in
thishumongouscrisis,andIwasneversmartenough
to pick something practical a philosophy degree
is not really something sought after these days. Al-
though,withallthebanksgoingbankruptandpeo-
ple losing their homes and stuff, it wouldnt be too
bad an idea to hire someone with some knowledge
on ethics. But thats a different story. Ive always
been an adventurer; I need to travel the world. So
I will. A one-way ticket and some savings are all I
have,andhopefullyallIwillneed.
Along the road, I try to work as much as I can.
Working in a hostel, farming, cleaning Ive done
itall.Ofcourse,thejobsdontpay,butIhavearoof
over my head and food. I spend more time working
myassoffthanactuallyenjoyingmydeservedbreak.
A soul search doesnt require any luxury, but a bed
mightbenice.AsIwalkthesandybeaches,andex-
plore all the untouched nature, I know this lifestyle
is what I was looking for. I mean, why settle down
andliveaboringlife?Asmyformerclassmatesfind
well-paidjobs,Iwanderaroundtheworld.Iwantthe
EatPrayLoveexperienceandwiththeretirement
age getting higher and higher, theres enough time
for me to work, marry, buy a house, give birth, and
eventually become a housewife. No, while Im still
young,Idmuchratherfindmyself.Gotoanashram
andnottalkforaweek.EatpizzainItaly.Etcetera.
Occasionally, I brag about it. I might be out of
money, but at least I have the experience. At bor-
ingparties,atleastIhavestoriestotell.Remember
that time you graduated and got a well-paid job at
thisgreatconsultancyfirmandstartedsavingupfor
yourfuturekidsandpension?Yeah,greatstorybut
I, I went travelling after graduation. I had an Ital-
ian Cassanova. I hitchhiked. I did everything low-
budget and hung with the locals. Even years after
I come back to Belgium, my best story will still be
about that one time I discovered this tiny farmers
market that only sold local products in Albania. I
madethemostofmylife,experiencedwhatitslike
to have no assurances, living on the edge. After all,
youonlyliveonce.
By Ilja Postel
Commentary
Screw It All, Im Backpacking!
Photo by Evelyne Van Hecke Backpacker waiting for the ferry in Koufonisia, Greece.
By Melissa Smith
F
orget that horsesh*t about travelling to gain new experi-
ences and expand your horizons. Most of us travel because
we secretly believe that our country of origin is vastly superior to
whatever far-flung destination we are gracing with our presence,
and we want everyone else to know it too.
The Linguistic Divide. Contrary to popular belief, locals do
not appreciate it when visitors take time to learn a few snippets
of their language. The fact that they can mock you without your
understanding is what makes you such a welcome guest. Besides,
language is only a barrier for those who dont speak loud enough.
If at first you dont succeed, try yelling and possibly even getting
angry to demonstrate your impatience.
Act the Part. Travel only changes the outlook of those who are
unsure of their convictions. As a tourist, you are bringing money
into the economy and this pretty much enables you to act however
you please. Demand forks and ask for ketchup with everything.
Throw money (literally) at those less-fortunate, slow-moving lo-
cals in order to get what you want.
Haggling as Death Match. Lets face it, the locals only want to
rip you off. If theyre not going to clearly communicate their prices,
then they have just declared a throwdown. So what if its only two
cents in your currency and it took you 20 minutes to reach that
price, you won!
Get Inspired. Look around everything is SO foreign. Its as
if this has all been staged as a chapter in your personal memoir.
Life is your art project and you should treat it as such. Block busy
walkways as you repeatedly take identical photos in search of the
perfect shot. Stick your camera in the faces and homes of locals
and click away; asking permission would spoil the shot. Thank you,
universe!
Be a Cultural Ambassador. Many locals will never get to travel,
so treat this as a valuable opportunity to show those less fortunate
how to improve. Suggestions include constantly reminding others
that things are much bigger and better in your country, followed
by lengthy explanations of why this is so. Sometimes you will need
to engage in tough love and actually point out how disgusting and
foreign their practices are, particularly in terms of toilets. Its much
more sanitary that human waste is located within your home rath-
er than outdoors, and of course it is more hygienic to clean with
paper than actual water.
Dont worry about wasting your hard earned funds on a return
ticket. Apply the suggestions above and chances are you will get a
free ticket home when your many new friends take up a collection
to return you to your beloved home ASAP.

Make Yourself Unforgettable
Photo by Annelies Roose
an eco-ethos in tourism
By Sam Donvil
I
n an age where travelling has be-
come increasingly democratic, it
occupies a central place in many peoples
lives and attitudes as to what constitutes
amodern,worldlylifestyle.Masstourism
atbeachresorts,citytrips,orevenspend-
ingyourgapyearbackpackinghasbecome
commonplace. Most middle-class people
intheWestandanincreasingnumberof
theirEasterncounterpartsintheburgeon-
ingeconomiesofAsiahavebecometravel-
lersinsomecapacity.Eventhecrustiestof
itinerant hippies, regardless of their anti-
tourism ethos, are also consumers within
thisgiganticindustry.
At frst glance the subject of tourism
might seem somewhat mundane, but it
has become, much like the 18th century
grandtour,thedefningstatussymbol,and
it features strongly in narratives of mod-
ernidentitycultivation.Itcausesthebig-
gest movement of people since the dawn
of history and facilitates the circulation
of a great number of goods and services.
Governments and their citizens have be-
comeincreasinglyawareoftheimpactthis
mammothindustryishavingonbothnat-
uralandculturalheritage,localeconomies
andcommunities.Withinthisdiscussion,
the concept of sustainability has surfaced
asamoralimperative,althoughthemerits
ofalternativetourismareheavilydebated.
Te tourist gaze
According to British sociologist John
Urry,tourismisaleisureactivitythatpre-
supposes its opposite, namely regulated
and organized work. It is one manifesta-
tionofhowworkandleisureareorganized
asseparateandregulatedspheresofsocial
practice in modern societies.Te objec-
tivetofndthisdiferenceiscentraltohis
conceptofthetouristgaze,whichhesays
resultsinessentializingculturesintoaset
ofquitesuperfcialaesthetics.Tesetour-
ist imaginaries usually include a series of
images, smells, sounds, sentiments, and
experiences that are fetishized by flm, tv,
literature, or other media. It is of course
easy to joke at the expense of the hordes
of telelens-wielding Japanese, but in all
honesty,itispartofalltouristexperiences.
Tourists are master semioticians and
are obsessed with the authentic, the es-
sence of a place or culture.Tey look for
symbolsthatseemtoencapsulateanaspect
of Frenchness or Hinduism and fetishize
themtovaryingdegreesofabsurdity.Or-
ganizedtourismhascomealongwaysince
beachresortpackagedeals,andpolicyhas
reacted.Te kinds of things people enjoy
asatouristicexperiencehasdiversifed.A
craving for pristine, untouched beaches
has expanded to interests in other things
like industrial heritage or even poverty
tourism. Almost everything can become
the object of the tourist gaze, and within
a globalizing world and the free market,
these novel forms of tourism will be ac-
commodated.
Alternative tourism
Several sub-markets of alternative
tourismcircuitshavedeveloped,andsome
of them integrate a socio-economic and
ecological responsibility ethos. Tey aim
to reinforce identity and empower local
communitiesinsteadoflargetourismen-
terprisesbasedonandfeedingintoforeign
capital. Eco-tourism has become quite
popular and even managed to bleed into
mainstreampractices.Eventhoughitwas
originallyanexceedinglyvagueconcept,it
has become increasingly defned and re-
baptizedassustainabletourism.TeUnit-
edNationsdefnesitastourismdevelop-
mentthattakesintoaccountthecarrying
capacityofthehostcommunityandmeets
theneedsofthepresentwithoutcompro-
mising the ability of future generations
tomeettheirownneeds.Itcanbemore
clearlydefnedastraveltofragile,pristine,
andusuallyprotectedareasthatstrivesto
be low-impact and small-scale, educate
the traveller,
and simultane-
ously provide
funds for con-
servation and
fostering the
economic de-
velopment, po-
litical empow-
erment, and
humanrightsof
localcommuni-
ties.
It is clear
thatresponsible
tourism initia-
tives like fair-
trade tourism,
c ommuni t y -
based tourism,
voluntourism,
and pro-poor tourism strive for some
kindofholisticdevelopment.Todaythere
is a marked demographic of tourists that
are open to alternative ways of travelling.
However,likeotherformsofethicicalcon-
sumption, it is likely to create some new
concerns.Tesupposedempowermentof
localcommunitiescouldhaveadverseside
efectsontheirsocialandculturalmakeup.
Since even grassroots initiatives require
someamountofstartupfunds,communi-
tiesruntheriskofbecomingincreasingly
sociallystratifed,resultingincompetition
andconfict.Furthermore,inimpoverished
regions, even these grassroots tourist ini-
tiativescouldprovideabetterincomethan
traditional subsistence activities. Because
of the tourist gaze, any part of a culture
can become a commodity. Locals often
mirror what is expected of them, which
could result in a loss of cultural identity.
Te concern for authenticity it seems, is
hardtoshakeevenforacademics.
Tourism within a free market context
Within the free market, with freely
moving capital, the consumer has choos-
ing power, which means that educating
the public about responsible tourism can
infuence consumer decisions and thus
the allocation of funds. Because of the
importance of anticipation in organizing
the tourist gaze, widespread exposure to
sustainable tourism initiatives are mar-
ketedtocertaintouristdemographics,and
becauseofitscompetitivenatureasasta-
tussymbol,tourismcouldadoptanethical
andsustainableframework.
Certifcation for sustainable tourism
(CST)mightactuallyinfuencethemain-
stream tourism market, stimulating com-
paniestoadoptbestpractices.Greenwash-
ingiscertainlyanissuehere,assustainable
tourismefortsmightbesuperfcialatbest,
butsustainabletourismisslowlybreaking
ground.Eco-tourismhasmanagedtoput
itself on the map as a brand; however, to
what extent it can transform mainstream
tourism practices, or if it will remain a
marginal sector capitalizing on its per-
ceivedaddedvalue,remainstobeseen.
Individual tourist level
PhDresearchconductedbyPaulaE.
S. Romagosa reveals individual concerns.
Apart from an apparent lack of reliable
information about responsible travel, it
seemsthatmanytouristarentnecessarily
preparedtocoughuptheextracash.Soan
argumentcanbemadethateco-tourismis
elitist.Alsothereseemstobequiteagap
betweenthechoicespeopleactuallymake
andwhattheyprofesstodo.Travellersare
invited to use their consumer infuence
and the telecommunication means now
available to us to evaluate services and
productsandsomehowbecriticaloftour-
istimaginaries.
Photo by Blue Diving Tailand
By Kay Wayne
T
heres a tradition in North
America called Groundhog Day
celebrated on February 2 each year that
involves observing a hole in the ground
to see a particular groundhog (Wiar-
ton Willie in Ontario, Canada) peer up
into the open air from its burrow. Say
what?Right,itsoundsquiteabsurd,but
if you will, let me explain because there
is an important purpose behind this
seemingly irrational celebration. Alleg-
edly, the groundhog has the ability to
predict the onset of spring, which youll
have to admit, is quite essential to know
in colder climates such as Canada. Te
ideaisthatifWillieappearsandseeshis
shadow(i.e.,itissunny)onthisparticular
day, then spring (and its accompanying
warmweather)wontstartforanothersix
weeksbutifheappearsanddoesntseehis
shadow,springwillstartearly.Saywhat?
Right, still sounds a little absurd, but all
thisisjusttosaythatifthistraditionex-
isted in Belgium, good olWiartonWil-
lie would have seen his shadow, scurried
back into his burrow and never returned
to see the light of day - because appar-
entlyitstayswinteruntilMayinBelgium
(thatmightbeanexaggeration).Regard-
less, maybe there is warrant to start this
traditionhere,iffornootherreasonthan
to have an excuse to drink more of the
amazingbeerinthiscountry.
Anyway, winter is gone for now, so
lets fnd out about great things to do in
Belgiuminthesummer(tomaximizeuse
ofthegoodweather).Whenitcomesto
summer, places like Belgium are perfect
because,ingeneral,theweatherissohor-
rendousthatwhenitdoesgetnicer/sun-
nier/warmer/there-is-a-ffteen-minute-
sun-window-between-incessant-rainfall,
thepeopleknowhowtodoitright.Tere
isanendlessnumberofactivities,includ-
ing festivals (mostly outdoors), concerts
(also mostly outdoors), and parks (most
defnitelyoutdoors)toenjoy.Tefollow-
ingisalistofthebestones(perthiscon-
tributor)-allfreeofchargetoattend.
Gentse Feesten. Tis festival in Gent
showcases just how crazy Belgians can
get. A combination of comedic perfor-
mances,music,parades,food,andculture,
youll never experience a street festival
quite like this one in your lifetime. Te
festivities start mid-July and last for 10
amazing days of partying in prime sum-
merweather.So,gooutsideandstaythere!
Hapje Tapje. Hapje-Tapje is a perfect
mix of food and beer - two things that
Belgians are incredibly good at and pas-
sionateabout.Tefestivaltakesplaceon
Munstraat (Restaurant Row) and Oude
Markt (Bar Row?), the two most rep-
resentative places for food and beer in
Leuven. Take a walk on Munstraat and
samplefoodsfrom40+stands,thenstroll
towardsOudeMarkttowashallthetasty
treats down with some even tastier beer!
Also, dont miss the traditional Barman
racethatpitsbartenderagainstbartender
inaracetodetermineultimatesupremacy
(thatlastpartisdefnitelymadeup-but
Ithinkprobablyathingtoconsider).Te
festivitiestakeplaceinearlyAugust.
Ladeuze Bells/Begijnhofbells.Everyone
loves the carillon bells of KU Leuvens
Central Library on the Ladeuzeplein -
exceptwhenyouaretryingtosleepofa
hangoverafteranightofpartying,thatis.
But generally, it holds true that the bells
ofthistraditionalbuildingarecharacter-
istic to Leuven and the makeup of the
city. And so, every Saturday evening in
August, the carillon bells of the Central
Librarywilltreatthewholecitycentreto
a resounding hour-long carillon concert.
On the fnal Saturday in August, its the
peoples choice, and the bells will play a
crowdfavouritefromalistof50popular
songs.
Beleuvenissen & Marktrock.EveryFri-

dayinJuly,therearefreeconcertsatvari-
oussquaresinLeuven,collectivelycalled
Beleuvenissen. Enjoy the fresh evening
airwithmusicfromtalentedartistsfrom
around the Low Countries, playing folk,
rock, pop, and jazz. Check out the acts
when they become available on the city
website.Also,dontmissMarktrock,tak-
ing place 9-11 August. Tis is the 31st
year of the local festival, and this year
were promised some extra additions to
thelivemusicline-up:apseudo-villageof
kiosks,asecond-handmusicmarket,and
after-parties.Formoresummertunes,re-
fer to the article Summer Music Festi-
valsinBelgiumintheApril/Mayissueof
THEVOICE(16.4:28-29).
Provenciedomein.Tis gem of a park is
located in the heart of Kessel-Lo and is
anintegratedrecreationcentrewithmany
availableactivities.Takeastrollalongthe
endlesspathswhilestoppingtoenjoythe
various fora and fauna of the local area,
orvisittheEcohuisinthemiddleofthe
park to learn something new. Try your
hand at the grown-up jungle gym and
possibly play a game of airtag (for rules
of this exciting game, please contact the
author). Teres also a kiddie pool that
welcomes grown-ups too. For more tips
along these lines, refer to the article A
BreathofFreshSpringAirintheMarch
issueofTHEVOICE(16.3:17).
O
h, dear, it is so damn hot today;
shallweheadforsomewherecool
totakeadive?Yes,indeed,thiswouldbe
themostfrequentsentimentpeoplehave
whentheweatherstartstogetwarm.And
if coincidently, you have already decided
tostayinBelgiumforthissummerholi-
day,youdefnitelyhavetotryoutthehot-
test spots in Belgium to cool of during
thesummer.
Het Meer van Rotselaar. Adjacent to
theconvergenceoftworivers,theDemer
andtheDijle,theRotselaarLakeisonly
a30-minutecyclingdistanceor20-min-
utebus-rideawayfromLeuven.Rotselaar
gains the attraction of strollers, cyclists,
andbirdenthusiastsforitsnaturalscen-
ery. A series of leisure activities cater-
ing to any age group are popular here:
park-visiting, brisk-walking, sunbathing,
swimming,windsurfng,fshing,andscu-
ba diving. Note that you have to pay for
theentry,butadiscountwillbeoferedif
you come by bike. You are only allowed
togoswimmingwhenthelifeguardsare
present,andthegreenfagisout.
Oostende. Known as the queen of the
Belgiansea-sideresorts,Oostendeisthe
maincityontheBelgiancoast,whichof
course,makesitthemostcrowdedbeach
on sunny days. Its popularity dates back
tokingsLeopoldIandII,whobothloved
to spend holidays there. Now it attracts
many people with its breezy esplanade,
natural coastline, and 9 km of fne-sand
beaches.Andifyoufeelthatadayspent
sunbathing at the beach is not enough
excitement, then I suggest you to take a
shrimp fshing trip in the North Sea on
theCrangon,orenjoyaviewofOostende
from the sea when you go sailing on De
Nele,amodernreplicaofa19thcentury
two-mastedsailboat.
Knokke-Heist. Situated next to the

Dutch border and dubbed Brussels
Beach,Knokke-Heistisoneofthemost
chicandwell-knownseasideresorts,with
lively seafronts, a coastal nature reserve,
and great modern art sightseeing. Beach
recreation at Knokke-Heist is limitless:
volleyball, surfng, sunbathing, or even
just strolling around, which is a pretty
sure way to ease your mind after exams.
Ifyouareinterestedinhavingaglanceat
thecharmingcoastallandscapefromBel-
giumtoTeNetherlands,headoutearly
for a morning bike trip. Te fat terrain
contributesalottoarelaxingbicycletour,
andthehundredsofkilometersofcycling
routes along the coast and inland allow
you to make up your own cycling plan -
allofcourse,atyourleisure.
YES, BEACHES!
By Limin Liang
Staying in Belgium Over The Summer?
Things to do around here
Our 2012-13 Editorial Team
Wishes You a Great Summer!
DearReaders,
I am going to be with you next year as the new Editor-in-
ChiefofTHEVOICE,andIamveryexcitedtostartthisnew
experiencewithallofyou!
Lastyear,themagazinehadmanyengagingarticles,butnext
yearwewantevenmore.Likewise,Ithinkthatmanyofyouwould
liketoaccompanyusinthemagazinewithyourtexts,photos,or
designskills,butyoumightnotbequitesure.Infact,Ifeltlike
youbeforejoiningTHEVOICE.NowthatIvehadachanceto
gettoknowthisteam,Icantellyouthatweareallveryinterested
inyou.WewelcomeyourapplicationstoTHEVOICEasstaf-
membersorfreelancersbecausewecountonyourinputasread-
ers,writers,artists,andmostimportantly,internationalstudents.
Inclosing,Ialsoinviteyoutoshareyourfeedbackwithusto
helpmakethemagazineevengreater.Hopetohearfromyou!
Soon,
Alex Zamora
From the New Editor-in-Chief
From left to right: Sarah Jenkins, Gabriela Guevara, Corieke Bonvanie, ToTran Nguyen, Odette Rivera, Limin Liang, Sara Rich, and Gabriel Martnez
Miranda. Not pictured: Evelyne Van Hecke, Hai Nguyen, and Andrew Horner.
www.loko.be/international
www.facebook.com/LOKO.International
This publication is sponsored by:
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+--:/.- +- +--:/.- +- +--:/.- +- +--:/.- +-: :-.+:-./ : :-.+:-./ : :-.+:-./ : :-.+:-./

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

.:e.:.s.
Page 11
CarrynonTraditionsAmend&King157Oak-
landYardsbyASyn,availableunderaCreative
CommonsAttributionLicence2.0athttp://www.
fickr.com/photos/themacinator/2699134285/
sizes/z/in/photostream/
Page 18
Awomaninaburqaisphotographedthrough
themeshofthephotographersburqabyMalalai
Abdali,availableunderaCreativeCommonsAt-
tributionLicence2.0athttp://www.fickr.com/
photos/internews/6501248337/
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athttp://www.fickr.com/photos/15729276@
N04/2718970187/sizes/z/in/photostream/
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