The Voice: Internationalization? (Year 16, Issue 2)

Internationalization?
Year 16, Issue 2

Also in this issue:
Chinese New Year
Think Abroad Month
Erasmus in Leuven
Carnival & Acculturation
Flemish Nationalism
International Student Magazine
VOICE
THE
February 2013
2 THE VOICE, February 2013
NEW S
4 China: New Year, New Regime, New Hope?
5 Chinese New Year Celebrations in Leuven, across Belgium
6 Our Contribution: Pakistani Student Association (PSA)
8 Conversations Dutch Ambassador to Belgium
9 Students from PIIGS Struggle to Make Ends Meet
10 Erasmus Students Can Breathe a Sigh of Relief for Now
Belgian Scholarships for Non-EEA Students Tighten
FEAT URES: Int er na t iona l iz a t ion
11 Internationalization?
14 From the Desk of Our Director of the International Ofce
15 Crossing Borders: Necessity or Luxury?
16 Why Tink Abroad Month?
18 Erasmus in Leuven: Man to Programme
20 Recent Developments
CULT URE
21 Carnival & Acculturation
24 Flemish Nationalism on Te Rise
26 Art Exposes Undercurrent of Internationalization
27 Commentary Zwarte Piet
29 Commentary Cosmopolitanism
Editor-in-Chief
ToTran Nguyen, Layout
Editorial Team
Evelyne Van Hecke, Editorial Secretary
Corieke Bonvanie, News Editor
Hai Nguyen Asst. News Editor
Kaitlin van Baarle, Culture Editor
Nele Apers, Asst. Culture Editor
Curtis Bozek, Features Editor
Limin Liang, Asst. Features Editor
Gabriel Martnez Miranda, Photo Editor
Sara Rich, Copy Editor
Copy Editing Team
Andrew Horner
Sarah Jenkins
Other Contributors of Tis Issue
Alexandria Somirs
Chinese Students and Scholars Association
of Leuven (CSAL)
Dongxing Zhao
Elissavet Lykogianni
Gijs Van den Broeck
Ilja Postel
Jens Cardinaels
Jinbo Li
Karolien Favoreel
LOKO International
Martine Torfs
Melissa Smith
Pakistani Student Association (PSA)
Piet Hendrikx
Ruben Bruynooghe
Sam Patel
Stefan Voicu
Cover art by Abdullah Azizoglu
& Evelyne Van Hecke
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info@alfasetleuven.be
016 22 04 66
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3000 Leuven
Belgium
016 32 33 95
We want to hear from you! If you have any
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see) here, please share them with us, and we
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VOICE Mail
Contents
thevoice@loko.be
thevoiceleuven.be
www.facebook.com/thevoice.loko
THE VOICE, February 2013 3
Dear Readers,
Our features theme this month is
internationalization. This timing co-
incides with the incoming group of 150
international students, international cel-
ebrations for Chinese New Year and Car-
nival, and Think Abroad Month, which
is spearheaded by LOKO International.
We do not take buzzwords for grant-
ed. In these pages, you will fnd both
students and administrators articulating
what internationalization means, what
is being done in its name, and what ten-
sions exist. Other writers also share their
critical-cultural perspectives of it.
We introduce you to many issues
that linger in the air of the international
community here, but the dialogue by no
means ends here. We will continue to in-
vestigate issues of integration and hope
that you will share your responses and
insights with us. Your thoughts may be
published in our next edition, which will
be on the second-hand market and the
reuse of goods.
I would like to thank our editorial
team, copy editing team, and other con-
tributors for making the time to dig deep
for insights and for taking on extra work
during the busy exam period. Their crea-
tivity and dedication led to this exciting
frst full issue of the academic year.
I join Ruben in welcoming those of
you who have just arrived at KU Leu-
ven. Enjoy your stay and your studies.

Best,
ToTran Nguyen
Editor-in-Chief
Letter from the Editor
Dear International Students,
It is 2013, and it seems coincidence has led each of us to Leuven. Academic
reasons may have brought us together, but other reasons for coming to Leuven
- sentimental, ideological, or pragmatic - may apply too.
The coming year will be one of the more exciting in recent years for KU
Leuven. For starters, there is a vast structural expansion underway, and a brand
new learning centre is nearing its completion. And lucky for us, the internation-
al student magazine, THE VOICE, is being published on a regular basis again
after some months of inactivity. A student magazine like this will be indispensa-
ble for delivering information on the coming rector elections to be held this se-
mester. Candidates will send policy letters, and ideally, those letters will reveal
plans for the international strategy of the university. It is at moments like these
that a student body council can prove its worth. It is primarily up to LOKO, the
KU Leuven student body council, to direct the focus on the problems students
face in their everyday life on campus.
In the past, LOKO has done this with visible results. The weight given by
students to aspects of internationalization has led the university to appointing
a specifc vice rector to the theme. In the past year, weve convinced the uni-
versity board that a lot more effort should be put into mixing international and
Flemish students. LOKO International, the international section of LOKO, is
spearheading this initiative.
You may ask, What does this have to do with anything? I sure did when I
frst arrived here. The easy answer on that question is everything. As students,
we have a duty to aim higher in our education and demand quality. At the most
basic level, this means gathering information. International students have an
advantage here. Coming from a different educational background, you have the
ability to compare and make abstractions so you can more easily pinpoint the
real problems. On the other hand, a disadvantage is the lack of practical knowl-
edge on where to report your observations. This is how LOKO International
provides a solution. Situated at Pangaea, the meeting point for almost every
international student, LOKO provides an open offce and a listening ear for all
problems. And THE VOICE offers a platform for solutions and other ideas,
literally giving a voice to the international student body.
From LOKO, we welcome you to Leuven, and of course, wish you good
grades and an enlightening university experience at KU Leuven.
Kind regards,
Ruben Bruynooghe
Chairperson, LOKO
February 2013
M
ost of the world is enjoying the
second month of 2013, but for
Chinese, Vietnamese, and Koreans, who
traditionally use a lunisolar calendar, the
Year of the Snake (She Nian), will not be-
gin until 10 February. Te biggest event
in the Chinese calendar, New Year, is a
time for family gatherings, visits from
friends and neighbours, enormous meals
boasting delicious traditional food, deity-
honouring and good luck wishes for the
New Year. On New Years Day, Chinese
people generously shower each other with
their best wishes for health, money, suc-
cess, love, and happiness. However, this
year those wishes may be exchanged with
meaningful glances, as China has experi-
enced a power transition with a new set of
leaders emerging to rule the country. Peo-
ple know that their wishes for New Year
will have a lot to do with She.
She, ironically, is no woman. It is the
nickname that most Chinese abroad call
Xi Jinping (Xi is pronounced like she).
As the newly appointed Chairman of the
Chinese Communist Party, Chairman of
the Party Central Military Commission,
and frst-ranked member of the Politburo
Standing Committee, Xi Jinping has be-
come arguably one of the most power-
ful men on the planet since the Chinese
Communist Partys 18th National Con-
gress of last November.
Te Congress is the national ceremo-
ny of the Communist Party that is held
once every fve years. On this occasion,
representatives of the Chinese people
gather to decide on the most important
issues in the country, including the selec-
tion of new leadership. Comrades with
the highest number of votes will take the
top political positions. Tis sounds like a
fair and simple electoral system, but the
procedure does not always work this way.
Tis is especially so concerning the posi-
NEW S
China
Photo copyrighted by Lada Ray
New Year, New Regime, New Hope?
By Dongxing Zhao and Hai Nguyen
International
Europe
Belgium
Leuven
INTERNATIONAL
tions in the Politburo, the absolute power
house of China.
China has a population of 1.3 billion,
but only several thousand of the so-called
peoples representatives, who are Party
members frst and foremost, are eligible
to vote for the top positions. Tis means
that only one in a million citizens can
actually vote. However, with the results
being speculated for months in some
cases even years in advance, the National
Congress is more a ceremony than a true
election like those in Western Europe or
the USA. Stripped of their power to de-
cide their leaders, most people in China
are either indiferent or resentful towards
the results. However, Chinese people are
most concerned about what Mr. Xi Jin-
ping will, and can, do in his term amidst
slowing economic growth, social discon-
tent, corruption, and censorship in China.
As Mr. Xi has built an image of a
peoples politician, opinions on him are
very much divided. People who are cam-
paigning for more political reform, so-
cial restructuring and the elimination of
corruption are very cynical about what
the new leader can do to get rid of the
corrupt politicians who paved his way
to the throne. Tey point out that in his
frst speech since becoming Chairman,
Mr. Xi promised that problems like cor-
ruption, bribery, distance from the people,
and overbearing bureaucracy will be ad-
dressed, he indicated no strategy for tack-
ling them. Tey argue that they cannot see
what Xi stands for, and even if he had any
reform ideas in mind, they would only be
crushed by his conservative comrades in
the Politburo.
But supporters also have reason to be-
lieve that Mr. Xi Jinping has set his eyes
on political reformation and social equal-
ity, and he is powerful and determined
enough to make meaningful changes. He
is also a new, friendly, unassuming politi-
cian in peoples eyes. On his visit to South
China last year, he reduced the number of
his guards and did not have local police
clear up the place to avoid interrupting
local activities. Supporters also argue that
censorship is very important for the stabi-
lization of the nation and has nonetheless
become more relaxed since Mr. Xi Jinping
took ofce. For example, V for Vendetta, a
previously banned flm about autocracy
and rebellion, is now shown on the na-
tional television channel.
Te debate between the supporters
and the protesters of Mr. Xi has been on-
going since the National Congress meet-
ing. Tis illustrates the political conficts
among Chinese people and the obstacles
standing in the way of a reformation of
Chinese politics. Te decisions Mr. Xi Jin-
ping makes may prove to be the tipping-
point in the future of China, whether this
takes the form of political reform or a
more forceful handling of social unrest.
Perhaps, this years best wishes will
be for Mr. Xi Jinping to lead China
out of the myriad problems shrouding
the country. A new year, a new regime,
and maybe there will be new hope for
China. No one can really tell. But rest
assured, nothing can stop a grand Chi-
nese New Year feast.
Chinese New Year Celebrations in Leuven, across Belgium

By Dongxing Zhao
N
othing could keep the worlds
biggest diaspora - approximately
40 million people of Chinese descent -
from celebrating outside of China. Even
thousands of miles away from home, Chi-
nese students at KU Leuven still embrace
the tradition and organize a fabulous cel-
ebration for the biggest event in the Chi-
nese calendar.
Chinese people in Leuven have vari-
ous ways of celebrating the festival. First
of all, we begin with the grand dinner for
Chinese New Years Eve. Tis is a major
event held by the Chinese Students Asso-
ciation of KU Leuven. At the dinner, you
will fnd lots of delicious, mouth-watering
Chinese dishes, and enjoy amazing per-
formances by Chinese students. If you
want to practise your Chinese language
skills, this is the chance because every-
thing is in Chinese during the dinner!
Te Chinese New Year celebration
is not just in Leuven. All over Flanders,
Chinese student unions in cities such as
Ghent and Antwerp also have their own
festivities. If you have friends in these cit-
ies, why not plan for a Chinese New Years
trip all around the region?
LEUVEN / BELGIUM
If you want to experience and learn
more about this Chinese carnival, go and
visit China Town in Antwerp, Belgiums
one and only. Up and down Van Wese-
bekestraat, you can enjoy eye-popping
freworks and Chinese lion dance perfor-
mances on New Years Eve (9 February).
Also on this street, you can buy whatever
you want for the festival.
Te Spring Festival is the time for
family gathering and sharing. Because
most Chinese students at KU Leuven
will not go back home to their families
for Chinese New Year, we want to share
the excitement of the festival and the New
Year with each other and with you.
Spring Festival in
Leuven
Discovering the
Spring Festival
Photo copyrighted by Fabrizio Spademan
Xi Jinping, Chairman, Chinese Communist Party.
Photo courtesy of www.thejournal.ie
A
s international students in a
foreign country, we live in two
diferent worlds: there is this new world
of knowledge and experience we have
opted to participate in, and then there
is this world back home which is char-
acterized by family, friends, and impor-
tantly, our identity. As a foreign student,
on the one hand, you are interested in
gaining new experiences, while on the
other hand, you are also keen to know
how people refect on the country and
the culture you represent. In this re-
gard, the Pakistani Student Association
(PSA) Belgium has been playing its part
for the last four years in providing a
greater insight into the history and cul-
ture of Pakistan.
PSA Belgium was formed in early
2009 as an initiative by a few Pakistani
students at KU Leuven. Te aim was to
help new Pakistani students adjust to
the new community. However, soon its
Our Contribution
Pakistani Student Association (PSA) refects on its accomplishments.
LEUVEN
Te 2013 Chinese Spring Festival Gala
(CSFG) on 7 February, is a variety show held by
the Education Section, Embassy of the Peoples
Republic of China and organized by Groep-T
and Confucius Institute (CI) and the Chinese
Students and Scholars Association of Leuven
(CSAL). It has now become a tradition among
the Chinese community in Leuven and attracts
more than 700 people, Chinese and international
friends alike, to join the celebration of the Chi-
nese Lunar New Year and get a taste of real Chi-
nese cultures every year. To celebrate such a com-
memorative occasion, the gala will focus on the
friendship between nations this year, and honor-
able guests from governments, companies, univer-
sities, and media have also been invited.
Te main performance of the Chinese New
Year Gala starts after a traditional Chinese dinner
and will last 2-3 hours. Te programmes include
10-12 items, presenting a wide range of perform-
ing arts (singing, dancing, musical instruments,
drama, cross-talk, Chinese martial arts, etc.) and
interactive games. Both Chinese and Belgians will
be involved in the performances. Te performance
will be on the stage in the auditorium and be live-
broadcasted on the screen in the atrium.
CSAL invites everyone to enjoy the Gala. If
youre good at singing, dancing, acting, etc., please
contact us by sending an email to: csal.leuven@
gmail.com. Teres a stage where you can show of
your talents.
For more information: http://www.csal.be/en
(h r b tng)
Tis idiom comes from Confuciuss
Analects. A literal translation would
read, being harmonious yet remaining
diferent.
Life in Leuven is basically a real life
situation for such an idiom. You fnd
yourself living under the same roof with
people from every corner of the world.
Dont panic if you fall asleep on the bus
and wake up to a conversation in Span-
ish, Russian, or Chinese its very likely
that youre still within the towns ring!
Leuven is home to people of more than
130 diferent nationalities (ofcially
registered), and the university boasts
more than 5,000 international students
from all over the globe. Its no wonder
why you might feel constantly culture-
shocked!
Numbers may show how diferent
we are, yet it takes more than statistics to
describe the thriving cultural scene ena-
bled by such diferences. Two weeks ago,
I was invited to a surprise party in the
suburbs of Leuven for one of my friends,
a Columbian girl. Lets call her C, then.
Her boyfriend B, who was the invisible
hand behind the surprise party, is Bel-
gian. At the party, friends from school,
work, or previous brief encounters all
showed up to celebrate. English, French,
Spanish, and Dutch could all be heard
in diferent conversations, and the topics
ranged from the international space sta-
tion to Santa Claus. Everyone chimed
in with his or her sense of humour to
make the evening more than simply
harmonious; it felt like a blessing. Con-
fucius himself might be rather surprised
by how this whole idea really
works out for todays globalized world,
wouldnt he?
YOU ARE INVITED
Chinese Idiom
By Jinbo Li
Photo courtesy of the Pakistani Student Association
Spring Festival Gala
PSA Eid and Independence day celebrations, September 2012.
representatives realized that PSAs role
should also include presenting a true im-
age of Pakistan. Tis has a special impor-
tance in the modern context wherein our
countrys problems are earning a more
global recognition. PSA believes in so-
cietal harmony and social integration.
Within PSA, this notion derived from the
society of Pakistan itself, which is a very
diverse country, comprising many difer-
ent cultures, languages, and civilizations.
Every year, through many of its cultural
and social events, PSA Belgium tries to
bring together all those who are interested
in Pakistan and its expatriate community
in Belgium.
PSA is an interesting organization
gathering Pakistani students in Belgium.
I had an opportunity to participate in
many events that they have organized and
always it was a very good experience, al-
ways united and supportive of each other,
stated Agnieszka Kinga Holda, a PhD
student from Poland.
Besides enabling cultural insights,
PSA also provides a platform for non-
Pakistani students to ask question about
Pakistan and its role in world economy.
Often, Pakistan is advertised as a no-go
zone in media reports. However, in reality,
it is highly dependent on which area of
Pakistan you are referring to; remember,
Pakistan is a very big country, approxi-
mately four times that of Germany, and
the problem areas constitute less than
10% of its total size. Te rest of Pakistan
is as peaceful as Belgium. Tese and simi-
lar misconceptions about Pakistan can
only be eliminated when non-Pakistani
students meet with local Pakistanis and
inquire about Pakistan. PSA, through
its various activities, certainly provides a
great opportunity in this regard.
P
SA Belgium events can be cat-
egorized into two main classes,
namely internal and international events.
International events, which concern the
international community, are organized
both with and without collaborations
with other LOKO-registered student
associations. In the last four years, PSA
has celebrated Eid-ul-Fitar, which has
recently become an international event
due to its great popularity in the general
Muslim community. We have received
great admiration on the short plays and
fun activities PSAs team presents every
year at this event. People have shown a
special interest in traditional Pakistani
meals, which PSA members often pre-
pare voluntarily for participants. Recently,
PSA representatives had a meeting with
the ambassador of Pakistan for Belgium
and the EU Commission. Te ambassa-
dor has shown great interest in PSAs ac-
tivities and ensured his helping hand in
upcoming PSA events. His lecture in the
KU Leuven Ambassadors Lecture Series
marks the beginning of this collaborative
work. A short overview of past PSA ac-
tivities is as follows:
In August 2010, PSA together with
Red Cross Belgium, launched a massive
fund-raising campaign to help those who
were displaced by devastating foods in
Pakistan. According to independent re-
ports, one-ffth of Pakistans total area was
underwater during these foods. Flood re-
lief camps were organized by PSA in ma-
jor cities of Belgium. Tis efort was made
not only to collect donations, but also to
inform local communities about the ex-
tent of the devastation which afected ap-
proximately 20 million Pakistanis. Mov-
ing scenes were observed at these camps
when students of other nationalities
joined hands with PSA to raise awareness
for the cause. It was due to the trust of
local communities in PSA and Pakistani
students that we managed to raise 50
thousand euros (approximately 6 million
Pakistani rupees) for the afected masses.
PSA believes that the societal and
geographical problems which Pakistan
is going through can best be understood
through visualization. A particularly in-
sightful event of PSA Belgium is the
movie night series. In the last two years,
PSA has screened Pakistani movies like
Khuda Kay Liye and Ramchand Pakistani
at Pangaea. Te latter movie, the true
story of a young boy who unintention-
ally crosses the border into India, espe-
cially gained great popularity amongst
the international audience. PSA plans to
continue this tradition in 2013 with the
movie Waar, which is based on events sur-
rounding the war on terrorism.
PSA Belgium is a wonderful initia-
tive from Pakistani students in Belgium.
To get to know a country better, one
should defnitely meet the people com-
ing from this country rather than rely on
the media reports. PSA certainly pro-
vides a decent platform to meet Pakistani
peoples, to get a good understanding of
problems Pakistan is going through, and
especially to observe its diverse culture,
said Bruno Cornelis, a PhD student from
Belgium.
PSA has been active in the domain
of sports since its creation. PSA regularly
organizes sports activities, the most im-
portant of which are the cricket tourna-
ments. Over the last four years, PSA has
organized several major cricket tourna-
ments in which cricket teams from dif-
ferent Belgian universities including Ant-
werp, Brussels, and Louvain-la-Neuve
have participated. Although cricket is
only played as a non-ofcial sport at KU
Leuven, PSA Belgium is planning to pro-
pose it as an ofcial sport in KU Leuvens
sports calendar.
PSA is a KU Leuven registered stu-
dent organization. In the future, PSA also
aims to have representatives in other uni-
versities of Belgium. Tis goal is largely
fueled by the fact that PSA members
come from all major Belgian universities.
Local university representation will ena-
ble easy access to PSA and its activities for
these students. A long-term goal for PSA
is to establish a small-scale scholarship
program. Being a small organization, PSA
aims to start this program by funding a
masters student who otherwise would not
be able to complete her or his studies. Te
motivation behind this scholarship pro-
gramme is to enable knowledge capital
no matter how small it may be which
can contribute to the economic growth of
a developing country like Pakistan.
...meet the people
coming from this
country rather than
rely on the media
reports.
~Bruno Cornelis
To contact PSA:
Website: www.psabelgium.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/
groups/psabelgium/
Yahoo: psabelgium@yahoogroups.com
E-mail: contact@psabelgium.be
Dutch Ambassador to Belgium
By Corieke Bonvanie
Belgium
Photo by Domingo Riesco
T
his year, Belgium welcomed around 6,000 students from Te Netherlands. 1,600 of
them attend KU Leuven, which makes them the biggest international group of stu-
dents. When the Dutch ambassador to Belgium, Henne Schuwer, held his Ambassadors Lec-
ture at our university, we sat down with him for a chat about this phenomenon.
CB: Why is Belgium so attractive for Dutch
students?
HS: In the beginning, students came to
Belgium because places for medicine,
veterinary studies, etc. are limited in
Te Netherlands. Here they could fnd a
place to study. You can see that this has
changed now, Dutch students choose
Antwerp, Ghent, or Leuven because they
acknowledge that Belgium in its own
right is a nice place to study.
CB: Have the Dutch government measures
(higher tuition fees for additional degrees,
fnes for slow students) played a role in the
choice for Belgium?
HS: Not as much. Tuition fees here are
considerably cheaper on the whole but I
dont know if 1,000 euros on a yearly ba-
sis makes such a diference. Also the fne
has been abolished now so this is not an
issue any longer. I think the students will
continue to come to Belgium and at the
same time we also see a rise in foreign
students coming to Te Netherlands.
People have better options to choose
where they want to study, and Leuven is
one of the possibilities.
CB: Dutch students in Belgium take longer
to graduate than their Flemish counterparts.
Do you think the level of the Flemish educa-
tion is higher than in Te Netherlands? Or
more demanding?
HS: Te level is probably comparable yet
there is a diference between the systems.
Te Flemish educate on a knowledge
base and the Dutch more on an experi-
ence, problem-solving base. We give the
students a problem to solve, observe how
they do this and advise them on how they
can improve. Te Dutch are not used to
the knowledge-based system and that
is why they might fail. Dutch students
think, Why should I know this by heart?
I have a book that includes everything I
need to know, and I know how to fnd it
in there, Ill be okay!
CB: What can the Flemish learn from the
Dutch? As students and in general?
HS: Te Flemish can learn to be more
inquisitive. Tey should ask more ques-
tions. You cannot accept everything at
face value, even when it comes from an
authority. You have to take a step back
and contemplate whether you agree
with what is being said. Also I think the
Flemish look up to the Dutch in a way
because we are better organized, we have
a more solid structure than in Flanders.
On the other hand, thats the charm of
Flanders and Belgium; on the whole,
they are more much adaptable.
I am a diplomat and negotiate a lot.
When the Dutch negotiate, we frst talk
among the actors involved in the prob-
lem and take a point of view, determine
our mandate and decide that this is how
we are going to do it. At that point, it
is already a compromise between four or
fve ministries. When we go into negotia-
tions, we have minimal room to manoeu-
vre. If we need to make a compromise, we
have to go back to the stakeholders and
explain that it did not work out the way
we planned it.
Te Belgians approach negotiations com-
pletely diferently, they do not have a set
plan and agree on something that seems
to be a good deal. For us, that is a deal al-
ready at that point. Te Belgians need to
take it back to their people to see if they
all can live with it. We simply negotiate
beforehand and the Belgians afterwards,
to see if the deal is acceptable. Sometimes
this approach makes it a lot more dif-
cult, but it makes the Belgians more crea-
tive in their ways of compromising.
CB: Is there anything else the Dutch can
learn from the Flemish in that way?
HS: Flexibility, adjustability to various
circumstances and learning to appreci-
ate a good meal, which we dont take the
time for! Its all a lot slower here, people
take the time to get to know you. Also, in
business it is much more friendly. Dutch
people can make a deal over the internet
and a Belgian cannot; they want to see a
face frst.
CB: And the universities, what could they
learn from each other?
HS: Te world is changing very rapidly at
the moment. You can see in history that
the last time we experienced such a pro-
cess, it ended in the Great War. We could
not cope with all the changes. Now we do
not have a war, we have a fnancial crisis,
and there always seems to be a catharsis
at the end of such periods, a big event
after which you have to fnd a place in the
new order. Education has to grasp what
is coming out of this world at the mo-
ment. And at this moment, our educa-
tion, neither the Dutch nor the Belgian,
has adapted yet.
Secondly there is an enormous amount
of students right now. 30% of the Dutch
working population is university educat-
ed, but their education is not pinpointed
at the demands of society. What I hear
from the industry is that they need more
technical people, but I also think that the
industry needs to pay the technical peo-
ple a bit more, then the law of demand
applies and people have an incentive to
study something technical. Right now
the CFOs, the guys who know how to
play the stock market and know how to
get cheap money, get the big bonuses
of millions of euros. I think we have to
adapt to that.
Tirdly, our population is changing. We
have a huge infux of Northern Africans,
but we also see increasing immigration
within Europe. Spaniards are leaving
their country because if you are 18 in
Madrid, you will go study in Germany,
and when you fnish at 23, 24, you have a
job in Germany whereas you wont have
a job in Spain. So youd better make the
choice now.
CB: Do you think Belgium has to ofer
something for the Dutch graduates?
HS: Yes! Flanders is a booming region as
well as Wallonia. We are underestimat-
ing what is happening there. I think there
Conversations
Henne Schuwer, Dutch ambassador to Belgium.
is at least the same kind of job opportu-
nity in Belgium as there is in Te Neth-
erlands. You have a lot of international
activity and the European institutions
centred here in Brussels. Tat is interest-
ing for a lot of people as well.
CB: Tere has been some controversy about
student mobility and the fact that govern-
ments need to fnance foreign students with-
out them contributing much to the countrys
society if they move back. Do you think this
is a problem?
HS: I think that most studies in this
feld show that it more or less equals
out. Yes, students cost money, especially
when you are a technical student. Medi-
cal students cost a lot of money; their
own fnancing will never cover that. So
on the one hand, you have the problem
that there are a lot of students coming in.
On the other hand, we also export a lot
of students. We have done some studies
on this in Te Netherlands, and we fnd
that in the end, if 15-20% stay in Te
Netherlands, we will make a proft. Tese
students become citizens and taxpayers
in our country, and in the end, that is a
good deal for us. Even when the students
return home, there is a big chance they
will do business with Te Netherlands,
having studied there and knowing the
language, so this will also enhance trade
and economic investments.
CB: Did you study abroad yourself ?
HS: No I didnt. In my time, there was
no Erasmus and only the very, very
bright ones, of which I wasnt one, stud-
ied abroad. Tat is the big diference be-
tween me and my children. I have four
kids, and they all have studied abroad. I
think one of the biggest gifts of the EU
to Europe is Erasmus. Te possibility to
study abroad is marvelous!
CB: If you would have studied now, you
would have gone abroad? Where would you
have liked to go?
HS: Like all my children, I would have
loved to go to the United States. But
then I would have needed a very rich
father, which I didnt [laughing]. From
what I see, I like Leuven, its a nice city.
Or perhaps Oxford, Cambridge. I prefer
the more established universities; they
have more character and its nice to be a
little bit a part of history. You have great
people who have studied in Leuven and
that is really interesting.
CB: Lastly, is there anything you would
still like to say to the Dutch students?
HS: Well, what I would love to see is an
active alumni organization of the Dutch
students in Leuven. For us its interest-
ing to see where people go after theyve
graduated. If there are former students
from Leuven in important positions in
Te Netherlands, that would be very in-
teresting.
Students from PIIGS
Struggle to Make Ends Meet
From the Newsroom of Flemish Student Newspaper Veto
Originally Written in Dutch by Jens Cardinaels, Translated by Corieke Bonvanie
T
hese are tough times for students
from Portugal, Ireland, Italy,
Greece, and Spain the so-called PIIGS
countries. Teir governments, forced to
take strict austerity measures, are cutting
their education budgets. Nevertheless,
some curiosities remain - eg., Greek stu-
dents still do not pay tuition fees for their
Bachelors degree...
Greek student Tasos (21), who is
spending a semester in Leuven, says that
his government is cutting education,
though not as much as in other felds.
Tey now want students pay for text-
books, he says.
It seems evident that the government
is trying to spare the universities, consid-
ering the fact that bachelors students still
do not have to pay tuition fees. Masters
degrees cost 5,000 euros on average, Ta-
sos says.
He emphasizes that the Greeks pay a
lot of money to be admitted to university.
Pupils pay 500 euros a month to private
tutors in the last two years of secondary
school in order to pass their fnal exams.
Te competition is very tough.
Moreover, Tasos fears that govern-
ments will pressure universities into
charging tuition fees. When that hap-
pens, it will hit the students hard. Fees
will weigh heavily on Greek families.
Compared to the situation before the cri-
sis, their purchasing power has declined
rapidly.
In Leuven, Tasos is surviving on a
monthly Erasmus scholarship of 488 eu-
ros, granted by the European Commis-
sion, and a small allowance that his par-
ents send him. It could be a bit more, but
I dont dare to ask my parents for more;
these are rough times for them already.
Still, he considers himself lucky. Some of
my friends had to quit their studies and
start working so their family can survive.
Finding a job is not easy. Most people are
far better qualifed than the work they do,
and 50% of the young people are unem-
ployed.
Tose who can aford it, move abroad.
If it is necessary, so will I, though I would
rather stay in my home country.
Economic background
Similarly, Spain is also cutting the
budget for education. Tuition fees have
risen. Last year, I only paid 1,500 euros
compared to 2,500 this year, Spanish Er-
asmus student Anna (20) says. Te uni-
versities were greenlit by the government
to increase fees by a maximum of 66%.
She warns of the demise of the Span-
ish educational system. Professors are
searching for other jobs because they are
underpaid. Often they move abroad.
Furthermore, she fears that young
Spaniards are doing the same. I know
many students are looking for a job in
Spain. If they fnd a job at all, it is often
below their competence level, which spurs
them into leaving the country.
Anna does not yet know how high her
Erasmus scholarship amount will be. But
the government has told us that we get
less than last years 150 euros. I am count-
ing on 100 euros a month, which is not
enough for housing in Leuven. And then
I still have to eat.
For many Spaniards, it will be dif-
fcult to go on Erasmus, dreads Spanish
student Xavier (21). Only when you are
rich, you can go abroad, while all good
students should be able to do so.
Anna and Xavier do not agree with
the austerity measures of the Spanish
government. They should cut army
expenditure and church funding. And
why not raise taxes for the banks and
the richest citizens? Xavier does not
foresee any improvement in the near
future. Once the government starts
cutting in the wrong way, it will con-
tinue to do so.
Drawing by Karolien Favoreel
G
iven the current economic situa-
tion in the Eurozone, the biggest
concern for students from non-European
countries is whether the pervasive budget
cuts will afect their chances of getting
funds to study in Europe. Several pro-
grammes such as Nufc, a Dutch schol-
arship organization for citizens of In-
donesia, have signifcantly reduced their
number of available prizes. European
governments, however, claim that the
continuation of fnancial aid to countries
outside Europe is still a high priority on
their agenda.
On a national level, the Belgian Bi-
lateral Scholarship is a scholarship pro-
gramme regulated by the Belgian De-
velopment Agency. Part of the Belgian
aid programme is to assist developing
countries in strengthening their human
resources and fghting poverty, and every
year, the programme awards a full scholar-
ship to candidates who work in key sec-
tors (medicine, agriculture, environment,
etc.) from eighteen selected countries
in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Te
scholarship covers tuition fees, travel ex-
penses, insurance, and living costs. Schol-
arship holders are able to follow a full-
time Masters (1 or 2 years), a sandwich
PhD (undertaken in Belgium and their
home country) or an internship (up to 6
months) at one of the Belgian universities.
In 2011, the budget for this programme
amounted to 15.1 million euros.
For students who wish to study at
a Flemish university, the VLIR-OUS
scholarship ofers funding opportuni-
ties for masters, doctoral, or short-term
training students. Nationals from 54 se-
lected countries in Latin America, Asia,
and Africa are eligible for this scholarship,
which covers tuition fees, travel expenses,
and living costs. Te VLIR-OUS schol-
arship is a prestigious scholarship, highly
regarded for its merit-based criteria and
high-quality candidates.
Non-EEA students also have the
chance to earn an Erasmus Mundus schol-
arship, as the European Union ofers fully
funded Erasmus Mundus Scholarships
for masters and doctoral programmes to
students from developing countries. For
the academic year 2013-2014, 139 mas-
ters programmes and 43 joint doctoral
programmes are supported. Te felds of
study covered by the programme range
from agriculture and veterinary sciences,
to engineering and business or law. Te
programme covers living costs and tuition
fees. Te actual amount of the scholarship
may vary depending on the level and du-
ration of the students programme, as well
as their nationality.
In addition to the national and in-
ternational scholarships, Belgian institu-
tions also ofer their own grants, which
are publicly announced on their websites.
KU Leuven has a number of annual grant
schemes for their international doctorate
or visiting scholars. Until 30 April 2013,
he University of Ghent is calling for ap-
plicants for ten scholarships to masters
students from developing countries, with
a living allowance and tuition fees of up to
80 euros a month. With increasing scien-
tifc cooperation between Belgian institu-
tions and developing partners, the coming
years will see an infux of visiting scholars
to Belgium.
Despite austerity measures, schol-
arships will still be available, but they
will probably be even more competi-
tive.
By Hai Nguyen
By Sam Patel
R
ecent instability in the global eco-
nomic climate has put stringent
constraints on the domestic fnancial
health of all developed nations, including
the European Union bloc. One apparent
consequence of such monetary shortage
has been the proposed cuts to the very
popular Erasmus scholarship programme.
Upon this revelation in November 2012,
strong opinions voiced by European stu-
dents have managed to save the Erasmus
programme funding for the time being.
Te present issues revolving around
student funding is a direct result of both
the annual and long-term fscal budget of
the EU being well below the European
Commissions recommended estimate for
the past several years. Implementation
of the recommended budget would have
likely prevented any shortfalls that are
now at the forefront of the economic cri-
sis, manifesting as funding cuts to schol-
arship programmes such as Erasmus. Te
snowball efect of underfed annual budg-
ets for the past several years means that
the outstanding payment for the current
year is deducted from that of the follow-
ing year, thus the following years budget
started the year already weakened by those
bills from the previous year.
In late November 2012, the Euro-
pean Parliaments Culture and Education
Committee voted for a new cohesive edu-
cational package named YES Europe.
Te new format would be comprised of
three major areas: education and general
and vocational training, youth, and sport.
Not willing to lose the established brand
Erasmus, the EP proposed to hold on
to the name under the YES Europe um-
brella. Tis facility with an estimated re-
serve of 18 billion euros for 2014-2020,
will allow inclusion of a larger student co-
hort of all ages to enjoy a greater mobility
and cooperation abroad. However, for the
remaining two years of the current fnan-
cial framework, the member states have
reached a difcult compromise, pledging
just enough money to continue the Eras-
mus until the new multi-year framework
comes into efect.
To prevent another fnancial defcit in
2013, the EP has negotiated an agreement
with the European Commission and the
Council that funds would be actively
monitored, and any foreseeable short-
falls would be concomitantly dealt with.
Importantly, the EU budget for the year
2013 includes a 90 million euro special
corrective sum for Erasmus, which will be
released to national agencies to coordinate
Erasmus in their respective states.
To further strengthen the YES Eu-
rope programme, the student community
has proposed to bring to the EPs atten-
tion the dire need to support, fnance and
sustain exchange programmes within Eu-
rope. Te European Citizens Initiative
(ECI) allows one million EU citizens to
participate directly in the development of
EU policies. Of such ECIs, Fraternit
2020 has recently gained a renewed mo-
mentum since the Erasmus crisis became
apparent late last year.
In a manifestation of the Eras-
mus spirit, Fraternit 2020 demands
more funds for academic exchange pro-
grammes, skills development workshops
and monitoring of student mobility and
resulting outcomes. Te core principle
of the proposed ECI is that youth un-
employment will be curbed by increased
mobility, making it easier for people
to take up jobs in countries where their
skills are needed the most. Furthermore,
such youth movements would also herald
economic growth due to reduced unem-
ployment, development of a European
identity, and cross-cultural understanding
amongst neighbouring nations. Finally, it
will lead to new cultural encounters that
are essential for novel ideas and initiatives
to fourish.
Among other alternatives approved,
an interesting initiative is the new loan
guarantee programme for masters stu-
dents, run under the auspices of the YES
Europe educational agenda. To qualify,
the student must study abroad for at
least half the duration of their postgradu-
ate programme. Te programme assures,
along with reduced interest rates and a
grace period, a loan of up to 12,000 euros
for a one-year masters programme and
up to 18,000 euros for a two-year masters
course. Ofcially, the European Parlia-
ment proposes this facility to be strictly
complementary to Erasmus, rather than a
replacement.
However, in these economically
unstable times it is difficult to pre-
dict what lies ahead. The final Eras-
mus budget battle may not have been
fought.
Erasmus Students Can Breathe a Sigh of Relief for Now
EUROPE
Belgian Scholarships for Non-EEA Students Tighten
f ea t ur es
I
n October, I attended a conference
for Comprehensive Student Coun-
seling for Internationalization (Integrale
Studentenbegeleiding Bij Internation-
alisering, ISBI), a pilot research project
started in 2010 by the Association of KU
Leuven. Research on how Higher Edu-
cation institutions can internationalize
their students, and how Peer Assisted
Learning can be used in tandem. Tis
sparked my interest, and I picked up the
Handboek Internationalisering (Manual of
Internationalization) from the Flanders
Agency for Mobility and Cooperation
in Higher Education (Flamenco VZW).
Clouds parted and the concept then be-
came much clearer to me.
At its most fundamental, the word
internationalization means to make in-
ternational. So what does international
mean then? Tere are three meanings
provided by the dictionary: 1) involving
two or more nations or nationalities; 2)
established by, controlling, or legislating
several nations; or 3) available for use by
all nations. In the case of a university, the
third meaning is usually implied. Tere-
fore, internationalizing the university
would mean making it accessible to all
nationalities.
Photo by Evelyne Van Hecke & Abdullah Azizoglu
Everyone has heard about it, talked about it,
or thought about it. But what is it?
By Evelyne Van Hecke
Internationalization?
Internationalizing universities
Tere are three ways of international-
izing a university: the traditional methods
of incoming mobility and outgoing mo-
bility, and a method called internationali-
zation@home.
Incoming mobility involves people
from other countries coming in. Similarly,
outgoing mobility involves people going
out - to other universities, in other coun-
tries. Here, the term people is used on
purpose. Internationalizing a university
automatically implies students, but a uni-
versity is also composed of professors, re-
searchers, administrative staf, etc., and all
these groups can also be internationalized.
A natural consequence of these two
directions are exchange programs. An in-
ternationalized university has an exchange
network of people coming in and going
out. For example, the Erasmus exchange
programme is the most popular and suc-
cessful example
at KU Leuven.
To overcome
some difer-
ences (educa-
tion style, policy,
eg.), the two in-
volved universi-
ties often make
agreements. In
the EU, many
universities are
modifying their
educational pro-
grammes ac-
cording to the
Bologna Decla-
ration, a pledge
to increase and
improve mobil-
ity between Eu-
ropean institu-
tions of higher
learning.
Given these
common modifcations, universities often
presume that participating in an exchange
programme is sufcient to become inter-
nationalized. However, according to both
ISBI and Flamenco VZW, a university is
not qualitatively internationalized if mo-
bility is the only focus.
One of the problems are the mob-
stacles (obstacles for mobility, as per the
Handboek Internationalisering). Several
mobstacles present themselves to the ma-
jority of students: family, money, relation-
ships, lack of language skills, or just fear
of the unknown. On average, only 10%
of European students study abroad. Tat
means 90% of students do not experience
an adventure abroad, even though there is
a growing consensus that an exchange is a
valuable learning experience.
If only 10% of students studied
abroad, can a university still claim that it
is internationalized? And in the case of
KU Leuven, can it be called an interna-
tional university when only 15% of its stu-
dents are from outside Belgium? If only
numbers are used as criteria, the answer
is no. A university becomes international
when the learning experiences that inter-
national students (incoming and outgo-
ing) bring with them are also used by the
university. A way to do this is by bring-
ing students without international expe-
rience together with those who do have
international experiences. Tis means all
university students could have a chance
to at least learn about other cultures frst
hand, and at best become competent in
intercultural communication. Tis can be
made possible with internationalization@
home, the third way to internationalize a
university.
Internationalization@home: a two-way
street
Internationalization@home introduc-
es internationalization activities without
outgoing mobility. In other words, people
could have an international experience
without going abroad. In order to make
this possible, the university has to have
a sufcient amount of international stu-
dents coming in. Another local resource
is the multicultural situation around the
university. An internationally-known ex-
ample is the Nightingale Mentoring Pro-
ject of the University of Mlmo (Sweden),
where university students can mentor an
immigrant child. Integration Services of
the City of Leuven started a similar pro-
gramme a couple years ago and has seen
success with the help of student volun-
teers.
A well-known example of an inter-
nationalization@home initiative at KU
Leuven is the Buddy Programme where
international students are brought into
contact with Flemish students. Te task
of the buddy is to help the international
student integrate into the university and
social life in Leuven.
A problem with initiatives like the
Buddy Programme is that you cant force
students to participate. Tese programmes
are extracurricular activities, so only peo-
ple who already have an interest sign up.
According to Flamenco VZW, most par-
ticipants already had an experience abroad
or intercultural training. Tis is contrary
to the intentions of internationalization@
home, which was to help people achieve
intercultural competency without having
to go abroad.
Another problem pointed out by
Flamenco VZW is that these initiatives
stand or fall with the skills of the partici-
pant. In terms of buddy relationships, if
one or both students already had inter-
cultural training, or when there is natural
ability, the relationship has a good chance
of success. Best case scenario, the buddies
become friends. But if one or both had
limited intercultural competence, the re-
lationship may have been doomed from
the start.
For example: a student from Belgium
and a student from Spain come together.
Both of them lack intercultural compe-
tence. Tey meet for the frst time. Te
Spanish student greets the Belgian with
two kisses. Tis is the frst awkward situa-
tion because Belgians dont kiss when they
meet for the frst time. Tey start talking.
Tere is a diference in personal space - the
space is bigger in Belgium than in Spain,
so the Belgian
tries to feel com-
fortable by mov-
ing away from the
Spanish student.
Te Spanish stu-
dent feels uncom-
fortable with the
big space between
them and goes
closer. Te Bel-
gian moves away
again. Te Span-
ish student starts
thinking that the
Belgian doesnt
like him. Because
of that he tries to
make a joke, steps
closer, and taps
the Belgian on the
shoulder. Now the
Belgian feels un-
comfortable yet
again because peo-
ple touch each other less here. Even when
they are good friends, touching is rare. Te
result of this conversation is that they feel
uncomfortable with each other and they
dont meet anymore.
On the other hand, two people with
intercultural experience come together
knowing there will be diferences. If they
would feel too uncomfortable, they know
they have to explain this to their conver-
sation partner. In this scenario, the Span-
ish student gives two kisses to the Belgian.
Te Belgian reacts funny and immediately
says, Wow, what a surprise, in Belgium
we reach our right hand when we meet for
the frst time. Te Belgian just gave some
intercultural training to the Spaniard.
According to ISBI, a forum is needed
to give the students the time, space and
tools to refect on what happens in these
intercultural encounters. Questions may
include: is this culture or just personality?
how can you overcome the awkwardness -
or even ofensiveness - of your cultural be-
havior towards the other? Students should
have the chance to exchange these experi-
ences with each other, and some guidance
on how to refect should also be ofered.
But again, even if intercultural refection
and training for the Buddy Programme
Photo courtesy of Pangaea
Ethiopian Evening at Pangaea, November 2012.
is ofered, students are not obligated to
follow it. Te audience that it needs to
reach will most probably not show up at
these sessions. Most buddy pairs dont
even show up on the fun and free fol-
low up activities that the International
Ofce organizes. Likewise, few students
attend the free intercultural training ses-
sions ofered by the International Ofce.
So it seems students, both internationals
and Belgians, underestimate the need for
intercultural training and refection, even
though it would help them overcome in-
tegration difculties and improve their
intercultural communication skills.
An environment where students can
get informal intercultural training is Pan-
gaea. Its open to everyone. Te free cofee
and tea for members is a smart motivator.
Over 15% of the members are Flemish,
and the percentage increases every year.
Te majority of Pangaea volunteers are
Flemish too, and without them, Pangaea
would be less of a success. Tey are also
people with an international background,
but they often bring Flemish friends that
havent had a lot of intercultural experi-
ence. Newcomers can get guidance here
because many students are intercultur-
ally competent with very diferent back-
grounds. While they have their cofee
break, they also get to know a part of the
world. Te student associations often use
Pangaea to organize cultural activities, of-
ten with the help of the staf of Pangaea.
Te mission of Pangaea is to give insights
and understanding on cultures and inter-
cultural diferences in a relaxed, neutral
environment. Tis takes a lot of sensitive
planning, but its a very smart concept.
Pangaea is a unique initiative. As far as
I know, KU Leuven is the only university
with an intercultural meeting centre, and
the university can be very proud of what
Pangaea has meant to so many students
over the past 18 years.
Internationalization = integration
No one wants to scratch the Buddy
Programme - these extracurricular ac-
tivities are necessary. Tey can help with
international student integration and pro-
vide a guide to strange Belgian habits and
the peculiar layout of Leuven. But inter-
nationalization@home has overcome the
noncommittal mentality.
In the ideal scenario, contact between
international students and regular stu-
dents is enforced in the curriculum. KU
Leuven has already taken some steps in
that direction. For example, Belgians can
take courses in English along with in-
ternational students. Sometimes they are
even mandatory. Group projects happen
more frequently with international stu-
dents. Steps are still tentative and perhaps
too few at a time. Te process is also dif-
fcult because international students fnd
the language a barrier to the normal cur-
riculum. Tis is especially true in Flan-
ders, where the government tries to secure
education in Dutch with strict language
laws. It maybe seems shortsighted in these
times, but it is only recently that Flem-
ish universities ofer education in Dutch.
Because of that, the Flemish are sensitive
when it comes to losing the right to have
education in their mother tongue.
In other countries and regions where
small languages are spoken, the same
problems occur. If international students
are forced to follow the programme in
that small language, they will go else-
where. If programmes in English are of-
fered for international students, they re-
main unintegrated.
I experienced these difculties my-
self on exchange in Barcelona. My pro-
gramme was in English, so my Erasmus
classmates and I had almost no contact
with local students. Local students even
seemed to avoid us because we spoke
English and they usually did not. If we
did have contact with Catalans, they were
usually not students from our faculty. Af-
ter our year, the English programme was
cancelled because of budget cuts on edu-
cation in Spain, so students now have to
take courses in Catalan and Spanish. Te
number of Erasmus students from the
North at my faculty dropped signifcantly.
Even when the university enforces
internationalization of the regular cur-
riculum, they face another problem. Ac-
cording to ISBI research, some students
will not learn enough about dealing with
cultural diferences without guidance.
People with experience and knowledge
have to give tools to students with little or
no intercultural experience so they learn
how to consider and overcome diferences
and prejudices while they are working and
studying together. Tis could be done in
a lecture format, or with Peer Assisted
Learning through students who are al-
ready trained.
Te efort to integrate international
students should not only come from stu-
dents. Te university and its faculty are
even more responsible for this transition.
Te reason international students are not
fully integrated into the student popula-
tion is because both groups so rarely have
to meet each other. According to Flamen-
co VZW, international students should
be integrated as much as possible in the
normal curriculum, almost as if they were
local students. Flamenco VZW also holds
that still not enough professors are con-
vinced of the necessity of the interna-
tionalization of their faculty or course.
Without their support, total student inte-
gration will not be possible.
Internationals can blame Flemish
students for being not open enough to
internationals. Flemish can blame inter-
nationals that they dont try to understand
Belgians (e.g. nobody learns our lan-
guage). But the truth is, the fault lies with
both groups. Internationals stick to inter-
nationals and Belgians to Belgians; people
usually stick to what they know and what
feels comfortable.
Tis happens outside the university
too, where people of the same or simi-
lar nationalities seek each other out to
feel more at home in their new country.
In bigger cities across Belgium and the
world, this phenomenon becomes clear.
Tere are neighbourhoods or whole vil-
lages where certain nationalities group
together. Like attracts like. For example
English speakers are known to group
together in Tervuren, close to Brussels,
where you can even fnd a British school
and an English supermarket. With their
own schools, stores, and restaurants in
their own neighbourhood, why would
they have to interact with other cultures?
International student associations like
CSAL, Vinakul, etc. were born out of the
need of people who move abroad to come
together at the university level. Gladly,
most associations also make it their mis-
sion to share their culture with locals in
order not to become isolated.
If the university does not enforce an
intercultural learning situation where
both groups have to meet and learn from
each other, with and about each other, the
integration of international students may
be a mission set up to fail. I see it hap-
pening here, and I saw it happening in my
university in Barcelona.
Te university has to consider what
students at KU Leuven need to learn
from the international context they are
thrown into, and how that learning should
happen. Tis applies to all three groups:
incoming, outgoing, and stay@home stu-
dents. Te university is now becoming
aware of the fact that they have to start
going in a new direction when it comes
to internationalization. Recently, Vice-
Rector of International Policy, Prof. Dr.
Bart De Moor, founded a workgroup, In-
ternationalization, to fnd and list faculty
successes for internationalization@home
that can be applied to faculties campus-
wide. I do believe the university has the
best interests for students at heart with
its internationalization plans. After living
in Leuven for 6 years, I can also say that
every year, more and more positive results
are visible from the eforts of the Inter-
national Ofce, Pangaea, and the student
organizations.
The ideal integration
In the ideal integration scenario, all
students learn from each others culture
and all students adapt (somewhat) to their
host culture. Tey meet halfway. A host
cannot expect the guest to do everything
exactly as the host. Neither can the guest
expect that the host will tolerate every-
thing the guest does. Te international
should fnd out what Belgian habits are
and try to adapt some of his ways to those
habits. At the same time, the Belgian can-
not expect the international to become
Belgian - thats impossible. Everyone has
the right to keep her identity, though not
at the cost of others. A fundamental un-
derstanding and respect for each others
culture is needed.
Encounters are the key to integration,
according to Leuvens Integration Service.
Let people meet and let them discover, so
that the unknown does not remain alien-
ated. Te challenge however, seems to be
fnding the right recipe to establish those
encounters. Te university did fnd a very
good way to make encounters happen, in
the form of Pangaea.
Examples of universities where inter-
nationalization and integration are oper-
ating smoothly are elusive. If you know of
a model university or initiative, email us
at thevoice@loko.be, and we may publish
your example in the next issue.
S
ome sources say that worldwide,
3.7 million young students leave
their home countrys borders in search of
an international education. Tis number is
constantly increasing, along with invest-
ments by higher education organizations
to promote global education, supported
by governmental policies. Student mobil-
ity was once almost synonymous with
internationalization at universities
and colleges, but internationalization is a
long process that has not reached its end
stage yet by a long shot. Mobility is still an
important building block, but it is part of
a larger strategic plan that afects the uni-
versitys full range of teaching, research,
and service functions.
Tis universitys strategy for inter-
national policy aims at further spreading
the international dimension throughout
the entire university community and sup-
porting those processes. In this way, stu-
dents, faculty, researchers, and staf are all
involved in one form or another of inter-
national activity. Integration of students
and staf from abroad is enhanced, and
the process of internationalization of the
curricula is further developed.
Te word globalization is difcult
to avoid when talking about internation-
alization; institutes of higher education
worldwide develop strategies to prepare
their students for participation in a pro-
fessional and personal life in a global
society. KU Leuven takes this up in a
variety of ways. Students and their profes-
sors may have opportunities, support, and
funding to go abroad for study and re-
search, but outgoing mobility is only one
of the means (and I stress that it is a mean,
not a goal). For that majority of students
who for a variety of reasons do not travel
abroad, there are other ways to be exposed
to a fair amount of interculturality in or-
der to develop relevant skills, knowledge,
and attitudes.
On campus, intercultural exposure
has to be done in the classroom and in
extracurricular activities, serving two in-
terrelated purposes: integration of the in-
ternational student body within the local
student community, and the development
of international competence for local
students. In fact, virtually the whole uni-
versity can be a stakeholder in the imple-
mentation of internationalization@home,
and we havent reached the full potential
yet. Room for improvement is evidenced
by the regularly surfacing notion of seg-
regation in the student community, and
people questioning the value and benefts
of internationalization. Tere is still a road
to be walked, and that is where student
organizations ofer important guidance.
Te university values and supports a
range of student associations in order to
make international students feel more
welcome, give peer support, and provide
opportunities and possibilities for greater
participation in
student life. As
aspects of inter-
nationalization
are increasingly
embedded in
the universitys
future strategy,
LOKOs re-
cent decision
to appoint a
team of three
i nt e r na t i on-
alization ofc-
ers is a timely
amendment: in
addition to an
i nt er nat i onal
c oor di na t or,
there is also
someone dedi-
cated to inter-
nationalization
in education
and in social afairs. Trough them, stu-
dents have representatives in the diverse
policy-making bodies and interface plat-
forms for internationalization at KU Leu-
ven.
Tis year, students are chairing a task
force in the Strategic Board for Interna-
tional Policy of KU Leuven and will make
a substantial contribution to identifying
good practices for internationalization of
the curriculum and the classroom at our
university. I congratulate them for taking
up this challenge to actively play a role in
internationalization@home.
Trough their presence in this stra-
tegic advisory board and other policy
platforms, students are actively involved
in shaping, debating, and implementing
internationalization at their university.
KU Leuven has established a very strong
international reputation in its successful
strive for excellence in research, as stated
in its mission. In the many faces that in-
ternationalization has at this university,
exchanges in the feld of education and
research are enhanced by strategically fo-
cusing on countries and institutes.
By actively developing a network of
selected education and research institutes
worldwide, Vice Rector of International
Policy, Prof. Dr. Bart De Moor, has given
new impulses to the structuring of ef-
fcient mobility, the encouragement and
facilitation of research collaborations, the
establishment of joint programmes, and
the embedding of development coopera-
tion activities in education, research, and
the universitys services to society. To this
end, new framework agreements have
recently been signed at the central level
with selected universities in China, the
USA, and neighbouring countries.
Tese networks provide a qualitative
frame for setting up joint degrees, sum-
mer schools, short-term and other pro-
grammes that are aimed at international
and national target audiences, thus in-
trinsically bringing internationalization
to the classroom. By taking these direc-
tions, internationalization and integra-
tion eforts coincide. Moreover, research
for development, which in itself refects
the universitys view on innovation and
creativity, is a key result of the exchange
activities and encounters involving the
North and South.
With these strategic directions, KU
Leuven is positioning itself at the fore-
front of internationalization trends. At
the International Ofce, we support the
implementation of these policies in many
ways, but internationalization is play-
ing out on all levels of the universitys
structure: student services, education
policy, research coordination, faculties
and departments. Combining eforts will
increasingly allow us to spearhead Eu-
ropean and global trends, such as those
brought about through internet technolo-
gies; open educational resources (OERs),
massive open online courses (MOOCs),
virtual mobility, video conferences, etc.
are already reshaping the way we conduct
education and research.
Internationalization has moved far
beyond being synonymous with mobil-
ity, and is manifesting itself in exciting
new ways. Committed to excellence, this
university includes those aspects that
will continuously beneft its students, re-
searchers, and staf.
Director of the International Offce
By Martine Torfs
From the Desk of Our...
Photo by Gabriel Martnez Miranda
By Evelyne Van Hecke
S
ome universities are internation-
alizing more than others. This
may be because not everyone is con-
vinced of the benefits of internation-
alization. Those who have gone abroad
seem to agree that it is an immeasur-
able learning experience and that it has
changed their lives, how they think,
and sometimes even who they are. But
is internationalization in higher educa-
tion really necessary, or are we better
off without it?
Benefts for the educational institu-
tion and its surroundings
Tere are only a few universities left
that have not jumped on the interna-
tionalization train yet. Most universities
see benefts for their own institution and
also for the region where the university
is based. For example, the university can
receive some economic benefts. Tis is
especially the case for universities with
high enrollment fees. Te increase of stu-
dents means that the university has more
income. Regionally, this augmentation in
the student population is also interesting
for local merchants and tourism.
Even for society as a whole, inter-
nationalization has some advantages. If
ideas travel around the world, they often
lead to a better concept. Terefore, a lot of
universities are checking on whats hap-
pening outside their own campus. Collab-
orations on research between universities
is no longer an exception to the rule. Te
mobility of professors, researchers, and
students can cause an increase in creativ-
ity, which is necessary to deal with tomor-
rows problems.
Benefts for the student
Ever since universities came into ex-
istence, students, researchers, and profes-
sors have benefted from mobility. For the
individual student, studies have indicated
several benefts.
In a study by Janson, Schomburg, and
Teichler, over 80% of exchange students
indicated that their personal growth was
the most positive efect of their experi-
ence. Usually, the following qualities
are also said to have been improved: in-
dependence, social and communicative
skills, confdence, openness, fexibility,
creativity, a clear vision of the future, and
emotional stability.
Te increased desirability on the la-
bour market is another factor. When fnd-
ing a frst job and long-term career pros-
pects, just over 50% of the respondents
identifed their success as a direct result
of their abroad experience. Among others,
multicultural experience ofers an added
value to the mobile students job applica-
tion. When a student resides in another
country and studies in another language,
in a diferent cultural setting, students
develop the necessary skills to work and
thrive in an international work environ-
ment. Tese qualities have great value in a
globalized world. Exchange programmes
foster skills such as foreign languages, in-
tercultural competence, and global com-
mitment. During the exchange, students
can learn a new language or perfect a
language they already know. Exchange
students usually acquire strong listening
comprehension and conversational skills,
but less in the felds of reading and gram-
mar. Being surrounded by native speakers
ofers students a to practice their conver-
sational skills daily.
Intercultural competence is hard to
defne, but it can be summarized by the
skills needed when dealing with an in-
tercultural situation, meaning a situation
where two or more cultures interact. Tere
is a consensus that these skills can only
be acquired through exposure to intercul-
tural situations. However, this does not
necessarily mean an experience abroad.
Te third competence is global com-
mitment. International experience often
makes students more actively socially
involved. Tis could be on a regional, na-
tional, or international level. For example,
evidence demonstrates that many stu-
dents start volunteering after they come
back from their experience abroad.
Is internationalization a necessity?
Internationalization is becoming more
and more important in higher education,
not only because educational institutes
see the advantages. Governments and
labour markets also pressure universities
to initiate internationalization. On the
European level, the government sets very
specifc goals and objectives, but these are
felt immediately on regional levels. More
employers demand graduates with an ex-
pertise in internationalization and em-
ployees who can communicate with the
variety of cultures they will be confronted
with. A university has the task to deliver
well-educated, future employees who can
deal with the world of today and tomor-
row. Since that is a globalized world, in-
ternationalization is considered a neces-
sity by policy makers.
Crossing Borders: Necessity or Luxury?
Teachers in Flanders are more and more confronted with other cultures
and religions, and I think teachers have to be able to deal with that and pass that on to their pupils. Internationali-
zation can help with that. I think our program tries to make us open, but I feel on some topics they could show some more
perspectives, like religion. A lot of religions are still very unknown to us.
They should also offer us international perspectives and let us know about international opportunities sooner and make the
info more accessible. Now its only there for those who are already interested. I think its important to give options
other than Erasmus. Going on Erasmus is not for everyone possible, but they need to get a chance to see
whats out there too.
~Belgian Student, Bachelor in Primary Education at KHLeuven
By LOKO International
Why Think Abroad Month?
I
f international students have heard
about LOKO International, they
probably heard that we ofer certain ser-
vices for international students. We also
represent international students - incom-
ing students - at the university, and we
have developed some projects to make
life in Leuven more enjoyable for them.
However, LOKO also represents Belgian
exchange students - outgoing students.
Tis year, LOKO International has
decided to represent a third group: the
students that dont go on exchange. We
feel that all KU Leuven students should
have an international experience, even
those who cannot aford to go abroad.
As part of this project, we are trying to
heighten awareness of internationaliza-
tion and its relevance at the university.
Erasmus campaign: outdated concept
A couple years ago when LOKO In-
ternational frst started, it created a cam-
paign for the well-known Erasmus pro-
gramme. Te campaign was successful in
past years, and students are aware of the
study abroad programmes. Terefore, our
team is in a position to take on a new
challenge and invest our eforts in updat-
ing student opportunities for internation-
alization.
For many reasons, studying abroad is
still too big a step for many students. If
KU Leuven wants 20% of its students to
go abroad, then we still have a long way
to go. What initiatives could boost those
numbers?
LOKO is full of people passionate
about their own international experiences,
and we believe that the key to encourag-
ing more Belgian students to go on ex-
change is to let them see how beautiful an
international experience can be. If Belgian
students do not fnd the chance or the
necessity to internationalize, we should
bring the opportunity to them. Luckily,
thats not a very hard job in Leuven.
Tis is the frst reason why we estab-
lished Tink Abroad month, but there is
more.
Stimulating internationalization in
Leuven
International students often complain
that they have little contact with Belgian
students. LOKO International recognizes
that international students and Belgian
students seem to live in two separate
groups. However, there are Belgians who
are interested in international life. Some
actively seek internationals in Leuven, of-
ten those who just came back from an ex-
perience abroad. Tey are often the most
enthusiastic and active volunteers in in-
ternationalization intiatives like Pangaea,
ESN Leuven, etc. Others may be interest-
ed in meeting international students but
simply dont know where to go, or they
may not feel a pressing need to go and
actively explore the international scene.
Some even think the international scene
is of-limits to Belgians. For these groups
of students, the international side of Leu-
ven should be taken out of obscurity.
International includes Belgians too,
and this is a concept that LOKO frmly
supports. Oftentimes, Belgian students
see an English explanation and the word
international and think its not meant for
them. More than once we have heard Bel-
gian students say, Oh, Pangaea, isnt that
only for international students? Interna-
tional students can relate to feelings of
exclusion; they experience it too when an
activity seems oriented towards the Flem-
ish community.
Te main goal of Tink Abroad
Month is to bring both groups closer
together. Achieving this relies on a very
simple concept: organizing international
activities for Belgian students. Currently,
international activities are organized by
either Belgians or international incoming
students, but almost exclusively, incoming
students are the ones to participate while
Belgian students rarely get involved. Our
idea is for incoming students to organize
activities that bring in Belgian partici-
pants. Te International Student Associa-
tions (ISAs) organize activities, but often
they are scheduled for Friday nights. Bel-
gian students typically go home on week-
ends.
Integration only works in both ways.
LOKO International thinks international
students could also make more efort to
make contact with Belgians and create a
forum where cultural diferences can be
explained. We hope Tink Abroad Month
will be an international eye-opener and
encourage students to talk with each
other about their diferences. Like inte-
gration, communication also only works
both ways. Admittedly, locals might not
be the easiest talkers, but why not make
the frst step yourself ? If necessary, more
than once.
To increase awareness among Bel-
gian students, we want to highlight the
initiatives for internationalization@home
(see Concepts of Internationalization in
this issue) that KU Leuven and student
organizations have made. Belgian stu-
dents in Leuven do not know enough
about Pangaea, the buddy program, or-
ganizations like ESN Leuven, and even
LOKO International. In fact, a few peo-
ple working at LOKO do not even know
where their LOKO International ofce is,
though they were ashamed to admit it.
Increasing visibility of the mechanics
behind internationalization@home might
even be an eye-opener for international
students. Te university itself and a lot of
Belgian volunteers are greatly involved in
making this happen. In fact, 99% of the
initiatives are from Belgian student vol-
unteers, as are the eforts at LOKO In-
ternational. Tese numbers have come
out of a collective desire on the part of
Belgian students - that perceptions about
locals are changed. We are dedicated to
LOKO International because we regret
that so many international students have
negative feelings about Belgians. We care
how international students feel about us,
our hometown, and our peers. We under-
stand where it comes from, and we want
do something about it.
Te stimulation of internationaliza-
tion - thats the general idea for Tink
Abroad Month. We hope that this ini-
tiative will become a tradition for years to
come. We still have many bridges to cross
before an internationalized Leuven comes
into sight.
Photo by Evelyne Van Hecke
The campaign for Language Should
Not Be a Barrier
Nearly everyone involved in this cam-
paign has been an international student.
We know how it feels when you cant take
part in a conversation because its in a lan-
guage you dont understand. A lot of inter-
nationals feel put of by Flemish students
because they speak Dutch with other na-
tives. Tis is an unfortunate phenomenon
that does not leave a good impression.
Because our team has personal experience
in the international world - both within
Belgium and outside our country - we are
familiar with this scenario. We have seen
this happening everywhere, with every-
one. Hence, the Language Should Not
Be a Barrier campaign. We want to raise
awareness of this natural phenomenon; in
essence, everyone is guilty, and everyone is
a victim too.
We also want to help people get up
the courage to speak a foreign language,
regardless of profciency. For example, we
hear people say, Im afraid to speak Eng-
lish because I make a lot of mistakes, but
often the conversation partner is not a na-
tive English speaker either. And even so,
native English speakers will forgive your
mistakes as they probably make a few of
their own. Te same goes true for the doz-
ens of languages spoken in Leuven.
For this campaign, we will work to-
gether with CS Language Exchange.
Tey have experience organizing language
activities, and they ofer free conversation
classes. Students looking for a safe envi-
ronment to practice a language can par-
ticipate in the weekly CS conversation
groups at STUK.
Pangaea also ofers conversation
groups for Dutch, English, French, Ger-
man, and Spanish, which are organized by
a native speaker. Tey ofer intermediate
and advanced level classes and cost 15 eu-
ros for 10 sessions of 1.5 hours.
Tose who feel more comfortable
practicing one-on-one may sign up for
the free Tandem Language Learning
Project ofered by KU Leuven. It wel-
comes native German, Italian, and Eng-
lish speakers, and the tandem partner
would be a native Dutch speaker. Reg-
istration for the current semester runs
through 10 February. You can also try to
fnd a tandem partner through the Pan-
gaea language chain.
Joined forces
During Think Abroad Month, we
will be working together with as many
people as possible. There is a lot of
work to do and we need all our partners
to help carry the project to completion.
Only then will we have the possibility
to improve internationalization in Leu-
ven.
Stay up to date on our campaign
month here: www.thinkabroad.be. We
can offer fun with an international
flare, lots of new potential friends to
meet, and hopefully an enriching, in-
tercultural experience. And if you know
any Belgian students, bring them and
some friends to one of our activities.
Awkward Social Situations by Evelyne Van Hecke
As a very famous quote says, life begins outside your comfort zone! Ive been
an international student in 3 countries: USA, Finland, and Belgium. I remember
my experience on them with a different feeling, and all the experiences I gained
made me a better person with more people to love and be loved by around the
world.
International movement through universities is a very good initiative that gives
students the chance to meet and interact with many people from other cultures
and reconstruct their global perspectives.
~Greek student, Master in Educational Studies
By Curtis Bozek
Erasmus in Leuven: Man to Programme
W
hen todays young Europeans
hear Erasmus they likely think
of the European Community Action
Scheme for the Mobility of University
Students, the international programme
for students to receive part of their educa-
tion in another European country. It is no
surprise that Leuven is a favoured loca-
tion for Erasmus students, given the uni-
versitys international history, and the fact
that Erasmus spent some of his most im-
portant intellectual years indeed, some
of Europes most important years at
Leuven. (Te reputation of Belgian beer
probably doesnt hurt either.) In choosing
to study at Leuven, on Erasmus or for a
complete degree, international students
become part of a long line, going back to
the very early days of the university. Inter-
national students can enrich Leuvens aca-
demic life with their own experiences and
in turn carry back home ideas infuenced
by this particular academic environment.
Troughout its history, the University of
Leuven has fostered many infuential peo-
ple and ideas that would go on to change
the world forever.

Erasmuss Tenure at KU Leuven
Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) was
born in Rotterdam, in what was then the
Burgundian Netherlands. Tis was same
polity in which the University of Leuven
was located and so sparks the question
as to whether Erasmus was really inter-
national. However, even if we consider
him to have been traveling within his own
nation, his international infuence cannot
be denied, for he shaped an era and an
intellectual movement at the universitys
height, and his story represents the best
the university spirit has to ofer. Erasmus
founded an independent institution, the
Collegium Trilingue in 1518 to promote
the propagation of humanistic and clas-
sical ideas through the learning of the
three commonly used ancient languages:
Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Tis initiative
attracted many great scholars to Leuven,
and it inspired King Francis I of France to
found his own humanistic school in 1530,
the Royal College, and many other aca-
demic, humanistic ventures.
During Erasmuss tenure here, Leuven
was in the elite ranks of European uni-
versities, second only to Paris. Leuven was
also at the centre of the anti-reformation,
speaking out against Martin Luther in
1519, burning a collection of his books in
1520, and compiling a list of prohibited
heretical books in 1521. Te international
infuence of the university also shows in
the fact that the Inquisitions frst list of
banned books in 1551 was a near-exact
copy of this list drawn up by Leuven theo-
logians to counter the Lutheran reforma-
tion.

Erasmuss International Contemporar-
ies at Leuven
Not only Flemish and Dutch students,
but people from all over Europe wanted
to pursue an education at the University
of Leuven and its other institutions. One
reason for this was its renowned printing
press, one of the few in Europe that had
such a high capacity. For example, with
Erasmuss intellectual support, Sir Tom-
as More had his seminal work Utopia frst
published in Leuven rather than at uni-
versities in his native England.
Te infuence and reputation of Er-
asmus and his contemporaries attracted
scores of Europeans to Leuvens next
generation of scholars. From Lithuania,
Abroamas Kulvietis (1509-1545) came to
study under Erasmus, returning to Vilni-
us to establish his own liberal arts school,
which was largely infuenced by Erasmuss
Collegium Trilingue, albeit with a greater
Lutheran infuence. Portuguese humanist
Damaio de Gois (1502-1574), who com-
piled one of the frst accounts of Ethio-
pian Christianity, followed some courses
at Leuven. English thinker John Dee
(1527-1609), advisor to Queen Elizabeth,
left Cambridge (partly due to a charge of
sorcery, partly due to the inferior attitude
of English academia towards science) and
enrolled at Leuven, studying with famed
Fleming Gerardus Mercator (1512-
1594), whose cartographic knowledge
helped to establish the frst world atlas.
From Leuven to the World
Of course, Mercator was not the only
Flemish Leuven alumnus to infuence the
world. Leuven was a leading centre of Eu-
ropean intellectual activity that attracted
many learned students, and it also infu-
enced other schools through the move-
ment of its students throughout Europe.
Flemish students left Leuven to travel
Europe and the world, taking with them
ideas that were fostered and expressed
at the highest echelons of the university.
One example is Erasmuss student Nicolas
Clenardus (1495-1541), a native of Diest,
who wanted to convert Muslims to Chris-
tianity through peaceful proselytism in-
stead of warfare. Tough we may cringe at
this idea now, in the 16th century this was
quite a liberal and progressive approach.
Clenardus learned Arabic through his
knowledge of Hebrew, no doubt assisted
by Erasmuss Collegium Trilingue, and he
departed with Fernando Colon (second
son of Christopher Columbus) for Spain,
where he helped establish a library at Se-
ville. Later he went to Portugal, where he
became a teacher for the royal family.
Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564), the
father of modern anatomy, was another
Flemish thinker of this period whose in-
fuence had international ramifcations.
After studying at Paris and Leuven, he
completed his studies at Padua, Europes
leading centre of medicine, before becom-
ing the court doctor of Emperor Charles
V. Justus Lipsius (1547-1606) also studied
at the Collegium Trilingue and became an
infuential legal and political thinker. He
lends his name to the headquarters of the
Council of the European Union in Brus-
sels.

Religious Thought
Te religious and intellectual conficts
that plagued the university were a mi-
crocosm of Europe in the 16th and 17th
centuries. In the Isles, Protestant England
tried to force its religion on the Catho-
lic Irish, making Leuven a major centre
for Irish education starting in 1548. One
of these early individuals was Dermot
OHurley (1530-1584), who became a
professor of philosophy at Leuven. He
was later hanged as part of the Elizabe-
than repression of Catholicism.
Tis repression eventually led to the
Flight of the Earls in 1607. Irish nobles
had sympathy among the Catholic Span-
iards who ruled the Netherlands, and one
of the their frst stops was Leuven. Some
stayed here, and the Irish Franciscan St.
Anthonys College was established by
Hugo Cavellus and Florence Conry. An-
other member, Bonaventura OHussey,
KU Leuvens international aspirations are rooted in its past.
Desiderius Erasmus Statue, Leuven
helped create a typeface for Irish Gaelic
script called the Leuven type helping
make Leuven the centre for Irish print
and literature until 1728. Other English
Catholics also fed the Isles, like William
Allen and Tomas Stapleton, the latter
being the namesake of Leuvens Irish pub.
Another religious crisis came from the
Jansenists, a Christian movement that, like
Protestantism, challenged Catholic or-
thodoxy and its emphasis on fate and pre-
destination. Named after Leuven alumnus
Cornelius Jansen, many theologians took
to Jansenism, and the university became a
battleground between staunch Catholics
(especially the Jesuits) and the Jansenists,
who were eventually defeated. However,
Jansens ideas continued with his follow-
ers as they moved throughout Europe,
and so ideas that began in Leuven perme-
ated the 17th-century European intellec-
tual climate. One of his supporters and a
fellow Leuven alumnus, Zeger-Bernhard
van Espen (1646-1728), was also an advo-
cate of Gallicanism in the Low Countries.
Gallicanism professed that kings have au-
thority over the Pope with regards to tem-
poral matters, a sort of precursor to the
idea of the separation of church and state.

Reopening and Revival, 1834-1968
Between the French Revolution and
Belgiums independence, the university
was closed. It was reestablished in 1835
and experienced a revival in its stature
and prestige, no longer limited to West-
ern and Central Europe. Te American
College of the Immaculate Conception
was established in 1857, so American stu-
dents could train at one of the best theo-
logical schools worldwide, and European
Jesuits could train to become missionar-
ies in North America. One of those was
Adrien Croquet (uncle of Desire Mer-
cier, who founded the Higher Institute of
Philosophy at Leuven in 1889), a Belgian
who went to America in 1860, evangeliz-
ing in Oregon among the 27 tribes of the
Grand Ronde Reservation, funded in part
through his Leuven connections.
Coming from the United States was
Patrick Francis Healy, who was born a
slave of Irish and African descent. He
left the United States in the midst of
the antebellum racial tension to pursue a
doctorate in Leuven. He became the frst
mixed-race Jesuit and the frst American
of African descent to earn a PhD. He
later went on to become the president of
Georgetown University and the frst Afri-
can descendent to preside over a predomi-
nantly white educational institution.
Te infuence of Leuvens university
was not limited to the Western Hemi-
sphere. Te founder of modern Chinese
geography, Weng Wenhao, was the frst
Chinese student to achieve a doctorate in
geography at a Western school, which he
achieved at Leuven in 1912.
Following World War II, Leuven be-
came a centre for religious-minded Latin
American radicals. In the early 1950s,
Peruvian Gustavo Gutierrez, founder of
Liberation Teology, studied psychology
and philosophy at KU Leuven where he
was exposed to the theological philosophy
that infuenced his ideas upon returning
to Latin America. Fellow Liberation the-
ologian, Juan Luis Seguendo of Uruguay
(1925-1996), schooled with Gutierrez in
Leuven and earned a Master of Teol-
ogy degree. After becoming an ordained
Catholic priest in 1954, Colombian mar-
tyr Camillo Torres Restrepo
(1929-1966) also attended
Leuven, where he studied so-
ciology and political science.

The KUL-UCL Split: From
1968 Onward
On the surface, the sepa-
ration of the university into
two distinct linguistic insti-
tutions seems to contradict
the sentiment associated with
internationalization; how-
ever, the reality is far more
nuanced. While there was
an element of Flemish reac-
tion against the dominance
of the French language and
Catholic hierarchy, it was also
a reaction against various global
issues such as authoritarianism, both spir-
itual and profane. Against this backdrop,
a diferent sort of internationalization
emerged that would change the university
forever.
In 1962, Belgium was split along lin-
guistic lines between French-speaking
Wallonia, German-speaking East Can-
tons, and Dutch-speaking Flanders, but
the bilingualism of Leuven, for the sake
of the university and its history and tra-
dition, was unchanged. In 1966, Leuvens
bishops reiterated this position, provok-
ing further protests that would eventually
force the government to fall on 7 Febru-
ary 1968. With help from the faculty, stu-
dents in Leuven toppled the regime and
achieved their goal of dividing the univer-
sity along linguistic lines.
Leuvens student-led institutional ref-
ormation of the university (and beyond)
was more than a linguistic issue. It was
also a movement against the universitys
prevalent stale ideology and intellectual
stagnation. In this sense, the movement
possessed a similar spirit to a fgure from
Leuvens past Erasmus who as an op-
ponent of dogmatism, was chosen by the
European Commission as the namesake
of its international student exchange pro-
gramme, two decades after the tumultu-
ous protests.
Turning to KU Leuvens more recent
developments on internationalization,
the university has been at the forefront in
bringing together students from through-
out the world. Besides the Erasmus pro-
gramme, it is also taking a leading role
in establishing the tenets of the Bolo-
gna Process. Tis EU agreement seeks to
streamline European educational institu-
tions and systems to make degrees more
comparable and exchanges more mean-
ingful.
In April 2009, the then-46 Bologna
countries met in Leuven and Louvain-
la-Neuve to emphasize the need to make
education more accessible for those with
diminished opportunities. Te convention
also stressed the value of lifelong educa-
tion, and the further internationalization
and collaboration of European academic
institutions. Te communiqu states that
by 2020, 20% of graduates of a given in-
stitution should have spent time abroad in
an academic or training capacity.
Complementary to the internation-
alization efort has been the increase in
number of English-language masters
programs, and at the bachelor level in
the Faculty of Teology and Institute of
Philosophy. Tis allows international stu-
dents who would not otherwise have the
opportunity to study at KU Leuven to
experience what this great institution has
to ofer without frst having to master the
local language.
With Leuvens past in mind, the in-
ternationalization process undertaken by
the university has a template with which
to work. Tis great educational centre has
a strong and rich tradition of hosting in-
ternational students, and of sending local
alumni worldwide to take KU Leuven to
the rest of the globe. Great students have
been coming to Leuven since its inception
and will continue to come, while schol-
ars from Leuven continue to go abroad.
What has always made Leuven University
so reputable is the quality of its lecturers
from Flanders and the rest of Europe, the
extent to which it received new ideas, and
the way ideas and individuals developed
in Leuven were further exported to and
adopted by other parts of the world.
Leuven Vlaams (1968): Ironically, Flemish students protest
in English against the dominant, French-speaking Walloons.
Justus Lipsius Statue, Leuven
O
ver the last decades, KU Leuven
has been a front-runner in in-
ternational policy. New policy schemes
succeeded each other, mirroring interna-
tionalization and globalization in the uni-
versity world and in society at large.
In the seventies, bilateral agreements
were signed with a small number of uni-
versities in the United States and in Eu-
rope (e.g., with universities in Poland and
Italy). Tese agreements focused on ex-
change mobility, mainly for students at
the doctoral level and senior staf. Today,
bilateral agreements are still an important
instrument for cooperation with universi-
ties all over the world. Next to mobility,
agreements embrace education and re-
search cooperation with high-level expert
summer schools, seminars, visiting schol-
ars, joint research projects, research work-
shops, etc. Agreements are concluded at
the faculty and institutional levels.
In 1987, KU Leuven played a major
role in the preparation of the Erasmus
Programme by organizing a conference
in Leuven with major European universi-
ties to provide academic support for the
European Commissions initiative. Since
launching the Erasmus Programme in
1988, exchange mobility extended over
all faculties, involving some 300 Euro-
pean universities, and study periods rang-
ing 3-10 months. Every year, some 800
students are going out of and coming in
to Leuven to enjoy an international ex-
perience. KU Leuven has been a found-
ing member of domain-specifc Erasmus
networks like law, engineering, medicine,
economics, etc. Many of these networks
are linked to the Coimbra Group of his-
torical European universities, which was
established in 1985 with internationali-
zation in mind. Today, still one-third of
all Erasmus mobility at KU Leuven is
organized with Coimbra Group universi-
ties. Mobility is now extended to non-Eu-
ropean countries through new European
programmes like Erasmus Mundus.
Since the 1990s, KU Leuven staf
has created a broad range of about 80
international English-taught masters
programmes. In most cases, they valour-
ize particular research and innovation
interests of KU Leuven staf by teaching
international students in their subject. In
one-third of these programmes, inter-
national visiting staf is involved. Some
masters programmes are organised for
capacity-building in the framework of
the governmental development policy,
coordinated by the Flemish Rectors Con-
ference (VLIR). Development coopera-
tion includes capacity-building activities
with selected universities in developing
countries like the Democratic Republic
of Congo, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Chile, Suri-
name, etc. KU Leuven students also have
opportunities to be involved in North-
South cooperation, e.g. through intern-
ships.
KU Leuven was an early adopter of
the Bologna Process, a transformation
that has facilitated great European inter-
university collaboration. In EUA reports,
KU Leuven reforms of its bachelor and
masters programmes were quoted as a
high-quality example of this process.
KU Leuven wants more local and in-
coming students to beneft from an in-
ternational learning experience through
mobility, international projects, thesis
research, internships, think tanks, etc.
With the League of European Research
Universities (LERU), KU Leuven has de-
signed a more structural and curriculum-
bound approach to mobility. Terefore,
internationally-networked or integrated
curricula are needed where local and in-
ternational students can follow courses
close to their interests and ambitions. Te
Erasmus Mundus joint masters and doc-
toral programmes organized by KU Leu-
ven et. al have set a strong foundation for
this curriculum-bound approach to create
an international student experience. Tis
is only possible with strategic partner-
ships based on research cooperation.
Latest developments concern inter-
national online education. Learning en-
vironments allow intensive real-time and
asynchronous interaction between stu-
dents and staf and in learning communi-
ties. Students attending diferent univer-
sities can be simultaneously connected to
participate in joint events, seminars, pro-
jects, etc. Online and face-to-face educa-
tion can be blended and fexibly adapted
to the objectives of learning activities
and to the life conditions of students and
staf. Online education has the potential
to increase the impact of curricula world-
wide. Larger numbers of students can be
reached, and eventually placed in collabo-
ration with other universities. Recently,
open educational resources (OERs) and
massive open online courses (MOOCs,
mainly from Ivy League universities in
the US) have created an area of freely ac-
cessible courses for everyone. Te inno-
vative integration of online solutions in
international curricula and mobility is the
next challenge for KU Leuven.
Mobility and collaborative curricula
in international learning spaces, fexibly
supported by online solutions, will in-
troduce more or all students to an inter-
national learning experience, adapted to
their needs and circumstances. Tis fu-
ture is made possible through the succes-
sive developments in internationalization
made over the last decades. Te challenge
for KU Leuven is to integrate its experi-
ence and expertise in this feld in order
to strengthen its international and global
position in education. Collaboration with
strategic partners will raise the quality and
the impact of this endeavour.
By Piet Hendrikx, Executive Advisor, International Policy (retiring)
Recent Developments
Photo courtesy of g-bal.blogspot.be
I didnt go on Erasmus, but I went to a summer school in Utrecht. Although
we speak the same language, the people there see
things differently. I think it can be valuable for students to have this kind
of interaction with people from outside their world. I dont see it as a necessity, but
it can broaden your world, on your education, on your culture and other cultures, or
even whats happening to society. I can imagine that students that went on exchange
to Spain or Greece will have another perspective on the crisis and the EU.
In my faculty, I think they are trying to make us warm for internationalization, but
they could stimulate and support us more. KU Leuven lured us to the
university with the slogan Discover yourself, start with
the world, so I see it as their task to improve internationalization.
~Belgian Student, Master in Physics
B
russels may be the de facto capital
of Europe, but last fall, two cit-
ies were appointed European Capital of
Culture for 2017: Paphos, Cyprus and
Aarhus, Denmark. Every year, the Coun-
cil of the European Union selects two cit-
ies from within the EU to highlight the
richness and diversity of European cul-
tures, and the areas of overlap that link
them together. One central aspect that
links Belgium to Cyprus and Denmark is
Carnival.
Like New Orleans for the USA, Rio
de Janeiro for Brazil, and Venice for Italy,
some cities have outstanding reputations
for Mardi-Gras gluttony and turning the
fantastic into something observable. In
Belgium, the city is Binche, in Cyprus
its Limassol, and in Denmark its Aal-
borg. Tese three cities host outlandish
Carnival celebrations, while also provid-
ing examples of the processes of accul-
turation experienced in each region over
time.
Te European Union has recognized
how Carnival celebrations demonstrate
acculturation across the continent. From
2007-2012, the EUs Culture Department
funded a research project called Carnival
King of Europe, an initiative highlighting
the nuances of Central, Southern, and
Eastern European Carnival celebrations
and their similarities with ancient pagan
winter rituals. Before Christianity, many
cultural groups across the continent were
agri-cultural. As it turns out, mid-winter
cul t ur e
Carnival & Acculturation
Photo by Evelyne Van Hecke
Cases of Cyprus, Denmark, and Belgium
By Sara Rich
Cultural Investigation
Theoretical Perspective
Entertainment & Art
Lifestyle
Carnival in Binche, Belgium.
agrarian festivals were easily assimilated
with the worship of a god who dies and is
reborn likening Jesus to local deities. In
efect, Carnival epitomizes acculturation
wherever it is celebrated.
I
n Cypriot Greek, Carnival is called
Apokreo, but etymologically these
mean the same thing. Te Latin carne le-
vare (remove meat) and the Greek apo
to kreas (away from meat) refer to the
period of indulgence before the onset of
Lent, when people traditionally give up
eating animal products for forty days to
acknowledge when Jesus fasted in the wil-
derness. According to the Gospel books of
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus rebuked
the devils temptations three times dur-
ing his forty-day stay in the wilderness.
Christians commemorate the Lenten pe-
riod as a reminder of the sacrifces Jesus
made, and his control over sin and death.
Carnival in Cyprus is celebrated most
heartily in Limassol, assimilating over
2,000 years of tradition: Ancient Greek,
Venetian, and Greek Orthodox. Before
Christianity, Cypriots were already cel-
ebrating carnival-like holidays in honor
of the god of harvest, vegetation, and
wine, Dionysos (Bacchus). When Chris-
tianity became the religion of the Roman
Empire in 380, holidays celebrating the
Greek god and the Christian savior were
gradually conjoined into a single festival
characterized by masks, dancing, feasting,
and debauchery. Assimilating the wor-
ship of Dionysos with Jesus was simple;
according to some accounts, the Titans
ritually sacrifced young Dionysos and of-
fered him as food. Zeus blasted them with
his thunderbolt, and mankind arose from
their ashes. Dionysos was reanimated,
making him another sacrifced and resur-
rected savior of mankind.
From 1489-1571, the Venetians ruled
Cyprus, and some of their celebrations
made their way into local festivities, re-
sulting in a unique mingling of traditions.
Te Venice Carnival can be traced back to
the 12th c. and is probably the source of
Limassols masquerade balls and King of
Carnival.
Carnival in Limassol follows Greek
Orthodox timing instead of Roman
Catholic, so their spring celebrations
begin later in
the year than
Western Chris-
tian equiva-
lents. Orthodox
Great Lent
( S a r a k o s t i )
begins on 18
March (Kath-
ari Deftera, or
Clean Mon-
day) and lasts
for seven weeks.
In preparation
for the period
of fasting and
sacrifce of
Lent, the three
weeks prior
to Sarakosti
are devoted to
Apokreo. Sun-
day 24 February kicks of the feasts and
festivities with the opening of the litur-
gical book of Triodion, containing three
sacred odes or canticles.
With the second Monday (4 March)
begins Kreatini, devoted to eating as
much meat as possible before Lent. Te
Tursday of Kreatini is called Tsikn-
opempti (burning meat Tursday), when
families grill loads of meat with an extra
layer of fat melted over it to send the smell
of burning meat all over the village. Eat-
ing meat is encouraged through Sunday,
but its not put back on the plate again
until after Easter, and that includes fsh
and other vertebrate sea animals.
Tsiknopempti in Cyprus is also when
the Venetian-style Carnival celebrations
begin. In Limassol, the King of Carnival
parades (if a man in costume) or is pa-
raded (if an efgy) through town. Last
year, the King of Carnival was Napoleon
the Great accompanied by an illuminated
foat and groups of serenading paraders
and musicians. Te evening closes with a
freworks display Te following Sunday is
the last day of meat week and the day of
the Childrens Carnival Parade, with foats
full of costumed children who perform
songs and dances throughout the city.
Tyrotini begins on the third Monday
(11 March) and marks the end of meat
week and the beginning of cheese week,
when dairy products replace meat at
meals. Tyrotini is also called white week,
and superstition holds that if women
wash their hair during Tyrotini, it will
turn white.
Te last day of Apokreo is Sunday 17
March and is marked by the Grand Car-
nival Parade. Te King of Carnival and his
cortege head the day-long parade, with
elaborately costumed and masked partici-
pants. Afterward, there is a masquerade
ball, costume competition, and a freworks
show.
Te following day is Clean Monday
and the frst day of Lent, when people so-
ber up and begin to clean, not only the
freworks of the streets, but also their
bodies and souls in the spirit of piety. For
those seven weeks until the end of Easter
(Sunday 5 May), the only celebrations
are for the Annunciation (25 March) and
Palm Sunday (28 April). Its bad luck for
even a wedding to take place. Besides the
meat and dairy restrictions, the number
of meals per day is also reduced, as is the
consumption of alcohol and olive prod-
ucts. After weeks of sacrifce, the resurrec-
tion and rebirth of Jesus at Easter coincide
with the spring birth of lambs signifying
the renewal of life, and time to fre up the
grill again.
C
enturies of acculturation in Den-
mark have also resulted in a
strange mix of Carnival traditions, namely
Norse, Catholic, and Protestant. Denmark
and Norway have been Protestant nations
since 1537, so the authentic Catholic tra-
ditions were gradually snufed out. Over
the centuries, the holiday lost much of its
Christian meaning, but kept some of the
pre-Christian and introduced a few that
were forgotten.
Called Fastelavn (evening of fast-
ing), the holiday is now regarded as a
childrens festival. Seven Sundays be-
fore Western Christian Easter (10 Feb-
ruary), kids dress up in costumes and go
from house to house asking for treats,
which is why Fastelavn is also termed
Nordic Halloween.
On Fastelavn morning, children wake
up their parents by fogging them with
bundles of twigs called fastelavnsris. Tey
select branches or sticks from fruit trees,
preferably with buds about to bloom. Te
branches can also be decorated with egg-
shells, feathers, and even babies, a remnant
of pre-Christian mid-winter fertility fes-
tivals. In earlier times, young men would
use the fastelavnsris to smack maidens on
the street, and sometimes infertile women
and virgins were fogged to magically in-
crease fertility.
Tere is another game children play
on Fastelavn sl katten af tnden (knock
the cat out of the barrel). A black cat is
painted on a wooden barrel and flled
with candy and oranges. Te barrel is sus-
pended from a tree or beam, and kids take
turns beating it until the bottom breaks
and the treats fall out. Te one who breaks
the bottom of the barrel frst becomes the
Queen or King of the Cat. In the old days,
there was a live black cat in the barrel in-
stead of candy. After the barrel broke and
the cat dropped out, villagers chased it out
of town, scaring away the cat and the bad
luck it symbolized.
Conversely, Carnival parades and
masquerade balls are a recent phenom-
enon in Denmark, beginning only 30
years ago but based on old customs. In-
stead of celebrating the days before Lent,
they celebrate the advent of spring. Car-
rus Navalis, reinstated in 1989, occurs
around the spring equinox and celebrates
the transition from winter to spring, dark-
ness to light, and fasting to feasting. Te
carrus navalis, a decorated boat, is drawn
through the streets of Aalborg to sym-
bolize this transition. A farmer and his
ox sow seeds along the street behind the
boat, and the sun in a carriage follows be-
hind to ensure the growth of crops.
Finally, Aalborgs famous week-long
Carnival is the 21st week of the year, usu-
ally falling on the last week of May. Te
Childrens Carnival, International Carni-
Photo by Olena Borys
Carnival in Limassol, Cyprus.
val, and Carnival parades consume three
days of international music, dancing, cos-
tumes, and food. Te timing and nature
of events make this Carnival celebration
religiously neutral.
Like Dionysos above, myths of the
Norse god Balder may have facilitated
a thorough assimilation of pagan and
Christian festivals. Balder was the god of
truth and light, who was slain in a cruel
joke and sent to live in the Underworld.
Similar to the second coming known to
Christianity, Balder will return to earth at
Ragnark, an Armageddon of sorts that
destroys the old and repopulates the new,
fertile world. Winter and spring were
small-scale reminders of these events
life, death, and rebirth.
I
n Belgium, several cities are known
for fantastic Carnival celebrations.
Te Carnival in Binche, however, achieved
UNESCO status in 2003 under the cat-
egory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of
Humanity. Tis celebration is attested in
the the 14th c. and is one of Europes old-
est surviving street festivals. Its history is
obscure, but some of its most spectacular
elements were assimilated from cultures
spanning three diferent continents Eu-
rope, South America, and Asia.
Te three days before Lent are de-
voted to costumed parades, music, fre-
works, and feasting. On Shrove Sunday
(10 February) and the beginning of Car-
nival, the streets of Binche come alive
with Mamselles, men dressed in womens
clothing and bizarre outfts. Shrove Mon-
day is for the children they dance and
sing throughout the city, engage in con-
fetti battles, and hand out oranges in the
Grand Place.
Finally Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras,
begins. With bells around their waists, the
prestigious Gilles process through town,
joined by other Carnival fgures: Peasants,
Harlequins, and Pierrots. Te Gilles and
Peasants wear masks and gloves to re-
main anonymous. Te all-male Gilles are
dressed in white tunics and wooden clogs,
and wear white wax masks and ostrich-
feather hats that transform participants
into benevolent spirits. Tese costumes
are specially crafted for the Carnival
they cant be worn on any other day, and
they cannot be worn outside Binche.
Representing their school, children
male and female also participate. Te
society of Peasants wears a mask similar
to the Gilles but without mustache or
goatee. Tey are draped in blue smocks
and wear wide white hats with waist-
length white ribbons. Te Harlequins
wear colorful jester costumes and green
felt hats with a fur tail, and only make-
up instead of masks. Te Pierrots wear
pastel-colored shirts and pants and high
conical hats of the same color. On their
faces, they wear black wolf masks.
All day, the participants dance to the
sound of drums through the city, chasing
out evil spirits. Te Gilles and Peasants
threaten them with broom-like ramons
(bundles of twigs tied together), while
Harlequins and Pierrots use sticks with
colorful ribbons to beat evil spirits out of
the city and usher its renewal. Te white
masked, ramon-wielding Gilles and their
helpers carry on the ancient task of rid-
ding the city of evil and preparing for its
rebirth.
Over the course of centuries, the
Gilles patented costumes have acquired
an exotic fare, namely the ostrich-feather
hats and the baskets of oranges they carry.
In the 16th c., Charles V ruled the Holy
Roman Empire and the Spanish Empire
including its colonies in Latin Amer-
ica and Southeast Asia. Accounts and
imitations of great headdresses worn by
the Inca during their celebrations made
their way back to Belgium, and these
headdresses have been incorporated in
the Gilles costume. Finally, the oranges
thrown into and at crowds of onlook-
ers were introduced to Belgium via Span-
ish conquests in the Philippines. Oranges
also symbolize the arrival of spring and
fertility.
Te Mardi Gras celebrations in
Binche must end by dawn, when feast-
ing gives way to fasting. In the Catholic
tradition, Carnival is the fnal blow-out
before a period of physical cleansing and
spiritual refection. As a celebration of
coming spring, Carnival symbolizes life,
but the end of festivities usher a period
of sufering. Sufering gives way to death
and then rebirth whether winter before
spring, or Dionysos, Balder, or Jesus be-
fore resurrection.
Acculturation and assimilation are a
part of humanity. Since the beginning of
language and maybe before, we share with
- and sometimes impose on - each other
our ideas and customs. Ancient tradi-
tions often survive, masked and costumed
in Christian guise. So during Carnival,
wherever the celebrations, indulgence
precedes inhibition.
By Gijs Van den Broeck How I Fell in Love with... My Native Beer
I am about to tell you a very unlikely story. It is, like every de-
cent unlikely story, a love story. It is the story of how I fell in love
with beer.
I remember a dark and gloomy time when I did not like beer.
I drank beer, oh yes, I did - but only because it was cheap and
got me drunk, and it helped me forget. I did not care where or
when or which beer; to me, they all tasted the same. I cannot
recall really enjoying beer back then. In fact, I cannot really recall
that much at all. As long as I could get my fll for the night, I was
satisfed.
When I look back on those days, I feel sorry for myself. I feel
sorry because there was so much that I missed out on, so much
that went by unnoticed. I did not really open myself up and let
myself be touched by the wondrous and ever-surprising nature
of beer.
But then one night, everything changed. A friend of mine
asked me to go to a beer tasting for her. (Funny detail, she want-
ed me to write an article about it for this very same magazine!)
Assuming that it was yet again a quick way towards another night
of drunken excess, I accepted the offer. Little did I know that all
that was about to change for good.
Navely, I walked into the bar, not knowing who I was going
to meet and what he was going to do to my life. There I met a
man. But, he was not the man I expected him to be, not another
no-good, fooling around, insensitive, drunken kind of guy. Oh no.
Unlike me, he really understood beer. He knew what beer was
really about (and I do not mean the fact that he had a huge beer
belly). No, he knew how you had to treat beer. He started talking
and enchanted me by telling me how every beer was different,
how every beer had its own character and story. He taught me
how to respect beer.
I went home that night with a funny feeling in my stomach.
It was a feeling that I had never had before. It was not the feeling
I usually had when I drank beer. Not that plain feeling of sim-
ple sensory satisfaction, that feeling that tells you that you have
had your fll. No, the feeling was a lot more complex, a lot richer.
I could not really understand what it meant or from whence it
came.
The next morning though, my mind cleared up. (Which was
unusual as well after a night of drinking.) Maybe the funny feel-
ing had to do with what the guy told me last night. What if he
was right? What if beer was not something just to consume as
much as possible? What if beer was something to savour every
moment with? What if beer was not something to fll up by the
gallon, but something to handle with care?
So I decided to give the lessons of the beer guru a chance,
and I started to try a new way of drinking, a new way of life. And
what can I say? It worked. I have not come back from this new
lifestyle and I have not regretted it for a single moment.
I have been an honest man since. I do not fool around
thoughtlessly with beer anymore. I no longer try to grab hold of
as much beer as possible. Instead, I only drink beers that I really
like. I try to fnd the beers that really intrigue me. When I drink
them, I really try to listen to the story that sparkles in my mouth. I
can hardly imagine how stupid and low I used to be. I do not ever
want to go back to that time. I feel more complete the way I am
now, and I only hope and wish that you will be able to feel the
same one day. Cheers!
N
ationalism. A feared word in
Western Europe since World War
II, for quite often people still relate this
word to the storm of Nazism that ravaged
Europe about seventy years ago. In most
countries, the comeback of nationalism
is a relatively new idea: established poli-
ticians lost touch with the people of the
country they represent, and now theres a
new generation of politicians eager to re-
place the old ones. Te latter are no longer
politically correct; they say whats on the
mind of the so-called ordinary people.
In Flanders, however, this is not a new
phenomenon. Belgium has been an inde-
pendent state for almost 200 years now,
and these tensions have been present al-
most just as long.
A short history of Wallonian dominance
and the origins of Flemish nationalism
When Belgium became an independ-
ent state in 1830, there wasnt really such a
thing as Flemish nationalism. When Bel-
gium was founded, French was the coun-
trys dominant language. To achieve any
kind of success, it was necessary to learn
French or even move to Wallonia. Due to
the industrial revolution and Wallonias
numerous industrial areas, employment
was much higher in that part of the coun-
try. Because of that, theres still a big part
of the French-speaking community that
has Dutch-sounding names. To make in-
dependence from neighbouring countries
more legitimate, the multilingual charac-
ter was used to justify a Belgian state
although back then it was more of a dif-
ference on paper. Ofcially, Dutch and
French were the national languages; in
reality, the countrys administration and
elite (like most of the elite in Europe, for
that matter) were French-speaking. Yet,
the Flemish (or Flamingant, as they were
called back then) quickly started to de-
mand certain rights: they wanted educa-
tion, justice, and public administration in
Dutch. Tis was the end of Belgian patri-
otism and a start to Flemish nationalism.
Various factors contribute to the fric-
tion between regions. Teyre both rela-
tively independent; they have their own
budget, taxes, and parliament, the latter
of which is elected every fve years. Flan-
ders has a service-based economy and
Wallonia an economy leaning on heavy
industry a sector that has been lacking
in growth for a long time. Tis is the root
of the problem. Te economy of Flanders
is much more adapted to modern-day
needs, while Wallonia is desperately try-
ing to keep their industrial factories going
despite the defcit that has been growing
for many years.
A large redistribution of funds from
Flanders to Wallonia takes place every
year. Despite the large amount of spon-
soring the Walloons get every year, they
produce about 25% less than the EU aver-
age but because of the high productivity
of Flanders, Belgium still has great pro-
ductivity overall. Taking this into account,
it makes Flemish nationalism less surpris-
ing: independence for Flanders would en-
rich the region enormously. Te Walloons
are less enthusiastic about this separation
(or just further independence) of the re-
gions: it would be extremely challenging
for Wallonia to exist on its own without
Flemish economic support. Moreover, in
the past, the situation was quite the re-
verse. Ten it was Wallonia, flled with
heavy industry which was extremely prof-
itable, that supported Flanders: the reason
Belgium did so well during the industrial
revolution is mainly because of the indus-
trialization of Wallonia.
Besides economic reasons, there are
also vital cultural diferences between the
Flemish and the Walloons. First and most
apparent, there is the diference in lan-
guage. Te radical right-wing nationalists
claim that a state is only legitimate if its
borders are shared with the borders of a
national community. Sharing a language
is one of the principal conditions of be-
ing a national community. To them, there
are no Belgians, only Flemish and Wal-
loons; despite the name, the nationalists
feel no connection to the Belgian nation-
ality whatsoever. To them, there is no such
thing as a Belgian nationality.
Managing Belgium: coping with a very
complex political system
Cultural and economic diferences did
not appear out of the blue in the past ff-
teen years they have been present for a
much longer time, although perhaps in a
less obvious fashion. Reform after reform,
the Belgian state became more and more
unintelligible for outsiders.
Tom Lanoye, a Flemish writer, sketch-
es a great example in his novel Heldere
Hemel (Bright Sky), a story about an un-
manned Soviet fghter plane crashing in
Belgium in 1989. A NATO Commander
and two American generals (one Demo-
crat and one Republican) discuss strategy
and action in Brussels.
[] He travels to Brussels, [the Com-
mander] grunted. Two birds killed
with one stone. Seats of both NATO and
Europe. And lets not forget [] the seat
of four out of six Belgian governments.
Te Democrat was astonished: How
do ten million people end up with six
governments? It starts with too many
Democrats, said the Republican, and
way too many taxes.
In this quote, Lanoye points out what
probably every non-Belgian wonders
about: How does a state of ten million
people end up with six governments?
During the entire history of the Bel-
gian state, there has been an immense
number of reforms that make the regions
of Flanders and Wallonia a little bit more
independent each time. It seems that in
order to keep everyone happy within one
state, so to speak, an extremely complicat-
ed political system is necessary. For every
region, theres a parliament. But Wal-
lonia also has separate parliaments for the
French and German communities, and
theres a federal parliament which results
in a grand total of six.
For the federal parliament, the biggest
parties on both sides form the govern-
ment. On the Walloon side, this is nearly
always the Socialist Party. In Flanders,
however, this has been the Flemish Na-
tionalist Party (N-VA) for the past few
elections. Nationwide, the Walloon So-
cialists are always slightly more popu-
lar, so this only reinforces the will of the
Flemish Nationalists to become (more)
independent. Although the Flemish may
elect a Flemish Nationalist, chances are
there will be a Walloon Socialist as prime
minister. Needless to say, this is quite the
opposite from what they voted for.
Te hottest case of Flemish nationalism
at present? Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
One of the hottest topics in the past
ten years has been the electoral district of
Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde (BHV). A re-
form by the frst Verhofstadt administra-
tion stated that the old electoral districts
had to be reformed to provincial ones
every electoral district would be the same
size as the province, with one exception:
the district of Vlaams-Brabant, which
would contain Leuven and Brussel-Halle-
Vilvoorde.
BHV consists not only of Brussels, but
also of 35 neighbouring Flemish munici-
palities. In this electoral district people
could vote for both Flemish and Walloon
parties. Tough the neighbouring town-
ships are all Flemish, the French-speaking
community sometimes makes up to 80%
of the population. In this way, they are
able to vote for (French-speaking) can-
didates from Brussels in their Flemish
municipality. Needless to say, this gives an
advantage to the French-speaking com-
munity; they are able to gain infuence
on politics in Flanders, which is impos-
sible for the Flemish in Wallonia, since
all the municipalities bordering Brussels
are Flemish. Tis aggravates the linguistic
confict because over the past years, the
outskirts of Brussels have become more
Flemish Nationalism On The Rise
By Ilja Postel
French-speaking something unaccepta-
ble to the Flemish-nationalists.
With the new government of Di
Rupo-I, a temporary agreement about
BHV has been reached. A proposal to
split up BHV in a provincial electoral dis-
trict of Vlaams-Brabant and an electoral
district of Brussels containing the 19 mu-
nicipalities of Brussels was accepted last
July.
Globalization, cultural identity, and the
rise of nationalism
Although this confict between the
Flemish and Walloons is a tough and per-
sistent one, it is not the only reason for
the recent rise of nationalism, for this is
taking place across Europe.
Globalization, interestingly, is another
factor. Due to ongoing globalization, we
are all becoming part of something larger
were no longer merely a part of a town,
a state, or a country, but we are also Eu-
ropeans, part of the Western World, or
even world citizens.
Naturally, there are a lot of positive
aspects of globalization: exotic fruits and
vegetables available all year; great speciali-
zation on almost every subject; and lots of
shared knowledge brought about by tech-
nology, logistics, and shifts in production
facilities between countries. Tis is what
the notion of the global village is about:
distant, but in some senses very nearby.
But globalization also generates an
opposite efect: Some people feel and
sometimes fear that they are losing their
own cultural identities. Precisely because
life has become too global, they tend to
focus more and more on the local.
Te EU is a case in point. In terms of
geographical distance, Brussels is not that
far away from the rest of Europe. Yet, most
Europeans are not so keen on Pan-Euro-
pean politics. As the number of languages
spoken on the streets increases, and the
(legislative) power of national and re-
gional governments decreases, some peo-
ple start to fall back on their national or
regional identities. Tey are not primarily
European, but frst and foremost Flemish,
Belgian, Polish, Greek, or German.
Research shows that cultural diver-
sity is a source of wealth. But, experience
teaches that when the number of people
with diferent cultural backgrounds in-
creases quickly, mutual trust between vari-
ous population groups decreases. It tends
to (re)focus people on their own peer
group. Tis trend may be strengthened
by the current economic crisis in Europe.
Many people wonder, Why does my
country fnancially support debt-coun-
tries such as the PIIGS-countries, while
at the same time report companies going
bankrupt, factories closing, unemploy-
ment rising, and government measures
leading to higher costs of everyday living?
So some people demand less fnan-
cial support of the EU, fewer immigrants
across Europe, and more sovereignty in
their own countrys decision-making and
legislation. Te interesting thing here is
that this is a wider trend; Belgium is not
the only country in Europe where radical
right-wing nationalists are winning elec-
tions. It is also occurring in other coun-
tries such as the Netherlands, Greece, and
Hungary.
In comparison to Belgium, there is
one diference. In these countries, the ar-
gument is not primarily about separatism
between population groups, nor about
more independence for a certain region.
It is more about diminishing immigration
and increasing national sovereignty vis--
vis the European Union.
In the rest of Europe, nationalism is
a less stable factor in politics than it is
in Belgium. In times of crisis, its easy to
look for the one factor that is to blame.
Although problems with the new, mul-
ti-cultural identity of Europe are not
new, they now are presented to us as the
cause of a lot of the problems modern
society has. In sum, the rise of nation-
alism is a phenomenon that appears
across Europe. And Belgium? Well, it is
a special case.
I think Erasmus is a waste of time and money. For our careers, its not really
a help - on the contrary. I dont see the benefts of spending half a year on partying and travelling for my
future, neither do the employers. If they would make it more about learning and studying, instead of partying
and travelling, it could become something valuable to students for their career.
I also think international students in Leuven are not really trying to adapt to our habits and lifestyle. Al-
most nobody even bothers to learn Dutch, they dont even know
how to say hello and they expect locals to adapt to them. They just
party and get drunk, while we try to pass exams. Because of that, international students have a bad reputa-
tion. In some places, they would rather not see international students entering. I also dont see how this
improves their intercultural competence.
~Belgian Student, Bachelor in Law
Internationalization is not a necessity, meaning that people will
survive without it. But for me personally, my exchange is a great learning experience. I got to
know myself better, met people from all over the world which broadened my horizon. It changed
my personality maybe, but for sure how I think about and act in the world. I think when I go back
home, it will even show more what it meant to me. Also for society it can be important. If people all
get more open minded by an international experience, maybe it would minimize
racism and discrimination. For sure, the respect for others and other cultures will
rise.
~Slovenian Erasmus student, Bachelor in English and German Literature and Linguistics
I
n 2001 artist Silke Wagner created
the Lufthansa Deportation Class
van, in collaboration with the German
activist network, No Borders. Te van
was made to look strikingly similar to a
real Lufthansa airport shuttle, with the
text Lufttransa Deportation written
along its side. It functioned as a space
of alternative information, unraveling
the deportation policies that German
authorities created in collaboration with
the airline company Lufthansa. Te artist
was later sued by the airline company, but
they lost the case. Te project is illumi-
nating in the sense that it causes one to
realize the commercial interests involved
in deportation. In light of the fact that
deportation and the detention of asylum
seekers is only increasing, it is imperative
that we remain critical of those actors in-
volved in compromising our fundamen-
tal human rights in Europe.
Tis art project is a good opportunity
to think critically about what we want
internationalization to mean, in light
of KU Leuvens events related to inter-
nationalization this month. Ultimately,
internationalization cannot be addressed
without being aware of the process that
makes this idea conceivable. It consists of
movement that creates networks; howev-
er, in some cases, the movement may be
confned by certain boundaries between
nation states, regions, people, cultures,
economies, policies, etc. Notwithstand-
ing the postmodern apologists of mul-
ticultural globalization, international in-
stitutions are implementing policies with
a low level of tolerance towards cultural
diversity. Te European Union is the
champion when it comes to cultural ex-
clusion by means of deportation.
Frontex, the European Agency that
is endowed with the responsibility of se-
curing the EUs borders, annually deports
obscene numbers of non-EU citizens.
Tey create and manage what has of-
ten been called Fortress Europe. Every
year, between 30,000 and 35,000 people
in Germany are deported, many of them
through the airport in Frankfurt. As ar-
gued by the European Council on Refu-
gees and Exiles, in a European political
climate dominated by racism and xeno-
phobia, European states have increasing-
ly taken a harder stance against asylum
seekers. More asylum applications are re-
jected, and an increasing number of asy-
lum seekers are being placed in detention
centres, if not coercively returned to their
country of origin. Te pressure to appear
tough on migrants has ultimately re-
sulted in a disregard for the protection of
vulnerable people and their fundamental
human rights. Tis is particularly prob-
lematic today, with regards to the many
refugees who are now coming into Eu-
rope as a result of the political instability
in North Africa and the Middle East.
Just as the Deportation Class van re-
veals to us, we need to be constantly wary
of the insidious ways that true cultural
diversity is undermined. Im reminded
of cosmopolitanism, which proclaims,
Were all human! but may in fact ob-
scure the much darker phenomenon
in which some humans are valued less
than others. Likewise, while Lufthansa
promotes the wonderful opportunities
of budget travel and all that it entails in
terms of being an international citizen of
the world, they are also engaging in the
growing European industry of deporta-
tion. Tis is a reminder that while we can
embrace cultural diversity, we need to
ensure that this is more than just a PR
move, and that it happens in real, con-
crete ways.
Lufthansa Deportation Class brochure:
www.rtmark.com/luft
Art Exposes Undercurrent of Internationalization
Entertainment & Art
By Stefan Voicu and Kaitlin van Baarle
Photo courtesy of We Make Money Not Art
Silke Wagner, Buergersteig, 2001-2002
E
arlier in December, you might
have noticed Sinterklaas march-
ing through the streets of Leuven or rid-
ing in his carriage, accompanied by sev-
eral Zwarte Pieten, or Black Petes, who
wave and throw candy into the crowd.
Te holiday of Sinterklaas, celebrated on
6 December, is considered a wholesome
holiday in Belgium and the Netherlands,
and is geared primarily towards children.
For some foreigners, however, it might
feel a little unsettling to see the character
of Zwarte Piet represented by blackened
faces, bright red lips, and afro wigs - in
other words, blackface - a practice widely
considered to be racist. Zwarte Piet has
gradually become more controversial over
the years. Yet, a serious public discussion
on the issue is still lacking, particularly in
Belgium. In that sense, Zwarte Piet seems
to have become the national elephant in
the room for Belgium and the Nether-
lands - that conspicuous presence that
everyone sees, but no one wants to con-
front.
Zwarte Piet is a tradition - like all
traditions - that has gone through many
changes over the course of history. Origi-
nally a devil who was made the slave of
Sinterklaas, he eventually evolved into a
more appealing and less threatening char-
acter for children. Te history of Zwarte
Piet is unclear, but many argue for the
historical connection between the slave
trade and the colonial conquest of Eu-
rope and the way in which Zwarte Piet is
represented today. Tose from the United
States are struck by how similar Zwarte
Piet is to the blackface characters in min-
strel and vaudeville shows. Tese perfor-
mances were centred around portraying
black people as foolish and dim-witted,
and they remained popular until the mid-
1900s when civil rights activism took root.
In the last decades, more subtle
changes have occurred. Tere is a Belgian
television series aired annually around 6
December, Dag Sinterklaas, which has
a major infuence on the Belgian under-
standing of Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet.
Recently, Zwarte Piet has been depicted
as more clever than Sinterklaas himself.
He often has to prevent a confused, aging
Sinterklaas from making mistakes. In this
way, visible shifts are being made away
from the genre of clumsy, foolish black-
face characters like those in American
minstrel plays. Traditional stories have
also been reconceptualized in an attempt
to ft modern times. Zwarte Piets black
skin is attributed to soot smeared on his
face from going down the chimney, rather
than anything to do with his actual skin
color. Yet the practice of blackface - paint-
ed black skin and bright red lips - still
persists in mainstream representations of
the Sinterklaas holiday, and it is increas-
ingly being met with ambivalence.
Tis tradition has produced many
heated debates, particularly in the Neth-
erlands. Tose against the practice make
a claim to its connection with blackface
and the portrayal of black people in a de-
grading, stereotyped manner. Tey also
cite the potential impact that it has on
impressionable children and how they
perceive black people. Te point gains
validity when many black people in the
Low Countries attest to young children
mistaking them for Zwarte Piet. In Un-
derstanding Everyday Racism by Philom-
ena Essed, a woman of Surinamese origin
living in the Netherlands admits that she
feels uncomfortable wearing colorful jew-
elry during the Sinterklaas holiday period,
for fear of looking too much like Zwarte
Piet. In Belgium, there has been less of
a backlash to the practice and seemingly
less of an interest in discussing these mat-
ters.
I
n attempting to learn what Belgians
think of the tradition, I have en-
countered some who feel uncomfortable
with the practice. Multiple Belgian stu-
dents have mentioned that Zwarte Piet
had little appeal to them growing up, and
others even said that he was frightening
to them as children. One Belgian student
agrees that the practice of blackface is
racist, and that it refects how we ... deny
[that] we have some things we need to
work out concerning race. According to
this student, Zwarte Piet is representa-
tive of the subtle racism that can be found
in Belgium as a result of ignorance and a
general lack of interaction with people of
African origin. Based on what I know of
the Netherlands, this form of non-violent
but insidious racism may also result from
a lack of education regarding racial issues.
Yet, I have spoken with others who say
that even as adults, they still value the tra-
dition of Zwarte Piet. Despite some dis-
senting opinions, the tradition continues,
and it is embraced by many in Belgium
and the Netherlands.
Tat being said, some voices are
emerging in the Belgian media that do
not support the custom. On supo.be,
Arno Slaets argues against the practice
in his article, Voor mij geen Zwarte Piet
op 6 december (No Zwarte Piet for me
on 6 December). Te Belgian reporter
goes on to claim that it is a backwards
tradition that should be eliminated. On
De Wereld Morgen, a Belgian news site,
Johnny van Hove also disagrees with the
implications of Zwarte Piet in his article,
Zwarte Piet bevordert racisme (Zwarte
Piet promotes racism). Interestingly,
however, this article is written by a Dutch
journalist and focuses primarily on how
the issue is playing out in the Nether-
lands. In general, there seems to be much
more disagreement over the tradition in
the Netherlands than there is in Belgium;
there have been debates on television,
there are protests every year, and there is
even an activist group called Zwarte Piet
is Racisme. Te diference between Bel-
gium and the Netherlands may very well
have to do with what the Belgian student
above describes as the countrys denial of
racial issues. Te Netherlands experiences
the same phenomenon to a certain degree,
yet perhaps its large Surinamese com-
munity has had an infuence in stirring
up discussion. Nevertheless, both coun-
tries continue to enthusiastically engage
in the tradition and generally disregard
the grievances expressed by those who
blackface ofends. So it seems that both
Belgium and the Netherlands have yet to
confront the potential racism insinuated
by this tradition.
T
his avoidance is part of a wider
problem in Europe in which race
and racism are not prevalent in the pub-
lic discourse. Critical race theorist David
Teo Goldberg efectively describes the
racial atmosphere in Europe in his arti-
cle, Racial Europeanization. According
to Goldberg, there is no language through
which to address racial issues in Europe
that operates on a societal level; racism
is perceived merely as an individual, ex-
ceptional problem. Following the heavy
shock that reverberated through Europe
after the Holocaust, matters of race be-
came an embarrassment, and discussing
racism is viewed as a disruption of public
order. Tis phenomenon of turning a blind
eye to racial issues has been all too evident
in discussions surrounding Zwarte Piet.
In Belgium in particular; there has been
hardly any discourse about the appearance
Zwarte Piet: The Painted Elephant in The Room
By Kaitlin van Baarle
Commentary
Sinterklaas Kapoentje (1928) by Freddie Langeler
of Zwarte Piet, and those who manage
to voice disagreement with the use of
blackface are often accused of disrupting
a supposedly harmless childrens holiday.
Relative to the Holocaust, which has
been prevalent in public discourse re-
garding racism (and rightfully so), there
has been little self-refection on Euro-
pean acts of racism outside its borders.
As a whole, Europeans remain in the
dark concerning slavery and colonialism
and their lasting efects. Tis obscurity is
exacerbated by the fact that in Belgium,
there is relatively little cohesion with its
former colonial subjects. Given that the
history of Zwarte Piet appears to be so
closely tied to slavery and the colonial
enterprise, it comes as no surprise that
people often fail to understand why the
tradition has been considered hurtful to
the European racial other - that is, Eu-
ropeans of African origin. Understood in
this context, perhaps the prevalence of
blackface in the tradition of Sinterklaas
is not so strange after all.
Yet change is in the air. In the Neth-
erlands, a minority has made the move
towards rubbing dark streaks on their
faces instead of using blackface. Tis ef-
fort reinforces the emerging new story
that Zwarte Piet is black from chimney
soot. Te fact that in Belgium, Zwarte
Piet is increasingly being portrayed as
even more responsible and clever than
Sinterklaas, does show some willing-
ness to amend underlying racial issues.
However, it seems that bolder strides
must still be taken to acknowledge those
voices that scorn blackface performances,
and to move these discussions into the
public discourse.
On a fnal note, I would like to em-
phasize that I do not believe all people
engaging in the tradition of Zwarte Piet
are malicious or racist. But a tradition,
however widely commemorated, can
have racist origins and can be harmful
to others. Traditions also evolve with
time, and so to argue in favor of Zwarte
Piet merely because it is tradition is to
misunderstand the way in which tradi-
tions function on a fundamental level.
Evidently, Sinterklaass helper has been
constantly evolving into how we see him
today, and so it only makes sense to be
open to the prospect that he can evolve
into something more appropriate for
modern times.
Ultimately, it is a matter of decency
to listen to the claims of others who say
that they are hurt by this practice and to
take their grievances seriously. It is also
essential that people in Europe become
more educated about matters of race and
racism, so that these issues can be dis-
cussed with a degree of sensitivity and
open-mindedness. Speaking as someone
from the Netherlands, a country that ea-
gerly engages in this tradition every year,
I am strongly in favor of an open and
civil discussion that addresses how the
family holiday of Sinterklaas can be cel-
ebrated in an inofensive manner. Only
when there is an active engagement with
dissidents and an openness for new pos-
sibilities can Zwarte Piet cease to be the
painted elephant in the room.
Still Not Single? Try Harder
D
ating can be diffcult. Not only do you have to shower regularly and pretend to be
polite, youre expected to hide those charming idiosyncrasies that form your charac-
ter. Dont like the crushing boredom of meeting expectations and the pressure to impress?
Try the suggestions below and soon you can behave however you want 24/7, as youll be
completely alone. Youre welcome.
The Eyes Have It. Casual eye contact is for the unimaginative. Stand out from the crowd
by making no eye contact at all. Looking at the foor or rapidly darting your eyes around the
room conveys that you are a very deep thinker with a lot on your mind. An unwavering
stare (try not to blink) accompanied by a serious expression or manic grin does wonders to
indicate your intensity. Try alternating these techniques to add a bit of seductive mystery
and allow the inner you to shine through.
Sharing is Caring. Fancy a threesome with hermaphrodites coated in cherry syrup?
Chlamydia medication fnally did its job? Share this information as soon as possible, prefer-
ably within fve minutes of meeting someone. Provide as much detail as possible in order to
build trust and intimacy. If your companion appears uncomfortable, take this as a compli-
ment that such unfaltering honesty is rare and appreciated.
A Sum of Its Parts. Remind people that you are a seriously sexy beast by naming your
genitalia and referring to them at every possible opportunity. Ex.: The rocket and I are go-
ing out for drinks tonight. Want to come along for the ride? or I am taking Miss Sensitive
for a scuba this weekend. Do you feel like doing some diving? For added emphasis, sug-
gestively raise your eyebrows and perform a pelvic thrust as you speak.
Clinging: Not Just for Food Wrap. Never hesitate to let a person know how their ab-
sence cuts into your very soul, even if they are only going to the bathroom. Grab her hand,
stare deeply into her eyes and state as if your life depends upon it, I miss you. Every second
without you feels like an hour. Promise youll come back? Extra points if you hold her hand
so tightly that she must pry it from your grasp.
The Drunk Dial. This technique should only be used if you know the object of your
misguided affections is having a quiet night in. Get extremely drunk and send unintelligible
texts. Follow up with an insulting phone call if you do not receive an answer within two min-
utes. Keep him guessing and demonstrate your tender nature by immediately calling back
with a desperate plea for forgiveness and a declaration of undying love.
If your potential companion is still interested after you have implemented the above
suggestions, chances are she or he has even more issues than you do. Consider relocating
and changing your name to something incredibly generic, or you might have a lifetime of
fnding dead bunnies on your doorstep.
Lifestyle
By Melissa Smith
Drawing by Evelyne Van Hecke
Cosmopolitanism
By Elissavet Lykogianni
Theoretical Perspective
A
ccording to the Stanford Encyclo-
pedia of Philosophy, cosmopolitan-
ism is the idea that all humans regard-
less of their political afliation, do (or at
least can) belong to a single community,
and that this community should be cul-
tivated. Some versions of cosmopolitan-
ism focus on political institutions, others
on moral norms, relationships, or forms of
cultural expression.
Te word cosmopolitan is a combi-
nation of two Greek words: kosmos (the
world or universe) and polites (citizen).
Both words combined create kosmopolits,
meaning citizen of the world.
Although the word may imply geo-
graphical mobility through travel and
experiences abroad, initially, it mainly de-
noted aspects of philosophy and human
interaction.
From a purely philosophical point of
view, cosmopolitanism potentially implies
a relationship commonly shared around
the world in the felds of economy or
political and social sciences. In a practi-
cal example, we see cosmopolitanism as
bringing people from diferent countries,
nations, states, or locations into relation-
ships that beneft each other in a mutually
respectful way. And these interactions and
relationships are formed among individu-
als of diferent cultural, educational, or
political backgrounds and take place ir-
respectively of the diferences in customs,
beliefs, habits, and religions of the difer-
ent parties.
From philosophy to practice
In the ancient years, it seems the dif-
culty in moving around using the existing
means of transportation had created a less
cosmopolitan attitude among citizens.
Citizens were part of a city and their co-
citizens did not involve foreigners or peo-
ple moving from other parts of the world,
simply because this phenomenon was too
limited to observe.
A cosmopolitan, in those times, was
someone who was unbiased towards dif-
ferent cultures, religions, and traditions.
However, moving forward in time, cos-
mopolitanism became more connected
to geographical space and movements
of people around diferent places in the
world. A cosmopolitan now is someone
who has adopted a lifestyle that shows
signs of tolerance towards all diferent
aspects of cultures and habits, someone
who likes travelling, who knows people all
around the world - a true citizen of the
world. In this context, Encyclopdie de-
fnes the cosmopolitan as the man of no
fxed abode, or a man who is nowhere a
stranger.
Cosmopolitanism and westernized ide-
als
Cosmopolitanism, in a way, has also
refected peoples perceptions about the
degree to which diferent societies are
cosmopolitan. Tere is often a tendency
to consider western or westernized soci-
eties more open to cosmopolitanism than
societies with non-westernized cultural
identities (see Sunera Tobanis National-
ity in the Age of Global Terror).
However, the spirit of cosmopolitan-
ism should be heading in a diferent an-
gle; humans are diferent and this is the
reason why cosmopolitanism, as an atti-
tude, makes societies richer. Humans do
not need to share similar (westernized
or not) ideals in order to share the same
right of belonging to the global society
of open-minded world travelers. Cosmo-
politanism should go beyond geographi-
cal barriers and cultural frontiers, since its
essence lies exactly in bringing together
diferences of any type: cultural, religious,
educational, etc.
From cosmopolitanism to internation-
alization and multiculturalism
Cosmopolitanism seems to derive
from the idea that we are all human.
However, this often implies a uniformity
that might be far from reality. Uniformity
in terms of human nature and character-
istics implies that we are all the same. But
are we? If not, should we strive to be?
In general, we perceive internationali-
zation (in terms of exchange and transfer
of knowledge, human capital, networks,
possessions, experiences) in a positive
way. Apart from the negative side-efects
that might arise in any movement, inter-
nationalization is perceived as increasing
efciency and improving know-how, as
well as bringing people closer. But peo-
ple alone do not come closer; their hab-
its, traditions, customs, ideas, languages,
opinions, philosophies, and beliefs also
come closer together. Terefore, interna-
tionalization provides the grounds for a
multicultural perception of humanity.
Because internationalization goes
hand in hand with multiculturalism,
abandoning any form of isolation and
strengthening the ties among diferent
people around the globe which are core
elements of internationalization - could
facilitate a world in which humans live
in multicultural societies, work in multi-
cultural and multilingual environments,
and raise their children on multicultural
playgrounds.
Which is our type of cosmopolitanism?
But isnt this multiculturalism the
basic platform bringing diferent people
together? Isnt it people from diferent
countries, with diferent religious beliefs,
raised speaking diferent languages and
having acquired diferent habits and skills
along the way? Arent multiculturalism
and international communities like Leu-
ven and Brussels the core of how cosmo-
politan societies should be?
I think so. Tis is the cosmopolitan-
ism that implies that, yes, we are all hu-
mans, but we are all diferent and this is
our strength and what brings richness to
this world. We are all humans, meaning
that we have all the same basic needs for
food, health, education, culture, work, en-
tertainment, love, laughter, tears, sociali-
zation, etc. Te way we express our needs
might difer. We are all humans with the
same needs but we are all individuals with
diferent ways of expression, diferent
thoughts, beliefs, experiences, and knowl-
edge.
Tis is the cosmopolitanism that
will enrich our world most! Creating
an environment that promotes net-
working and interaction among people
with diferent (complementary or sup-
plementary) skills, experiences, beliefs,
and cultures. Bringing together humans
with the same basic needs who can en-
rich each other by providing additional
points of view, new ideas, complemen-
tary ways of exploring the world, and
additional ways of viewing and explain-
ing it.
Commentary
Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.
Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.
~Marie Curie
I love you! Why, oh why, of all things
to say must that be uttered on Valentines
Day? Walking down the street, couples hand
in hand, kissing, hugging, saying, I love you
... then it dawns on me - Valentines Day
is coming. The one holiday that is loved by
many but dreaded by most. I turn the corner
and what do I see, a store window decorated
from top to bottom with red hearts and lit-
tle sayings such as will you be my Valentine?
and Have a super Valentines Day. I step back
trying to get away, but by doing so I bump
into a couple holding hands, both grinning
from ear to ear. Its too much to bear! I run
down the alley trying to pull myself together,
and I say to myself, Its only ten more days
to Valentines Day, and then it will over.
Nine more days to Valentines Day. Walk-
ing to the kitchen to make myself breakfast,
I fip through the morning newspaper and
lo and behold! what do I see? An article on
what couples like best about Valentines Day.
I fip to the next page trying to fnd some-
thing, anything to read thats not related to
this crazy holiday. No luck. I fnd to my dis-
may The ten best things to do on Valentines
Day. I throw the article in the trash fnding
it hard to believe that there was not any-
thing better to write about than a holiday
that is nine days away.
Five more days to Valentines Day, and Im
feeling desperate. Not only has this holiday
bewitched every sane thinking person I know,
it now has invaded the university campus.
Every corner I turn, every hallway I walk and
every classroom I walk into theres a re-
minder that the lovers spell is cast. Every-
ones blissful and acting the fool, especially
the guys. Boys trying to impress the girls and
the girls in a way trying to act not impressed
but fattered at the same time - coy. Look-
ing outside during one of lectures I spot an
extermination truck parked outside. On the
truck I read, Have you been bitten by the
love bug lately and cant seem to get rid of
it? Then dont waste another second! Our ex-
perts guarantee a pest-free environment in
less than 24 hours. What it really said was,
You got bug problems, we got solutions.
Valentines Day is here. My alarm goes off
and what do I hear on the radio? Happy
Valentines Day, to all my radio listeners. Love
is in the air, so for all those lovers out there,
heres a song for you. I quickly turn off the
radio before the song starts, and get up for
a day of class. For a second, I think maybe I
should stay home from class today, but then
my phone rings. I pick it up, and as I listen,
I grin from ear to ear. I start to giggle like a
schoolgirl. I have butterfies in my stomach.
Hearing a knock at the door, I open it - and
I utter those three simple words, I love you!
Creative Corner
My Valentine
By Alexandria Somirs
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+--:/.- +- +--:/.- +- +--:/.- +- +--:/.- +-: :-.+:-./ : :-.+:-./ : :-.+:-./ : :-.+:-./

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

.:e.:.s.
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www.facebook.com/LOKO.International
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Year 16, Issue 2

Chinese New Year Celebrations in Leuven, across Belgium

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