Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Veiling Hoogstraten and Veiling Zundert will host the first International Strawberry Congress on 1, 2 & 3 September 2010 under the title Research & Sustainable Production Leading to Successful Marketing. The main congress venue will be the Hilton Hotel in the historic centre of Antwerp. The congress focuses on the development, production and marketing of strawberries, with sustainability as central theme. The programme comprises two days of lectures by speakers, presentations and panel discussions and one day of excursions to Hoogstraten and Zundert.

On the occasion of the 2010 Belgian Presidency, the European Movement-Belgium (EBB) is realising a bilingual blog (FR and NL) with accessible and informal information about the EU and the Presidency, geared towards a young audience.

Every year the Brigittines Festival selects a theme that raises a new question and challenges the audience to shift its perspective. The theme of the 2010 festival will be "Societies of the night" and will evoke unlikely encounters and ambiguous atmospheres that uncover intriguing facets of identity and recognition. It will comprise 13 events and include 26 performances, 10 open houses and 1 video installation screening films.

The building of the Council of the European Union in Brussels is being decorated in an original way for the occasion of the Belgian EU presidency. Famous fashion designers have designed silhouettes with clothing donated from the Spullenhulp/Petits Riens depot, a charity that collects old objects for the benefit of social projects. This initiative highlights the European Year 2010 for combating poverty and social exclusion. Alongside the silhouettes that can be admired throughout the whole Council Building, there is also a photography exhibition on "the making of" of the designs.

Series of 20 8-minute programmes.
Theme: introduction for citizens, associations and teachers to the history, institutions and cultural dimensions of Europe.

Photography exhibition with Alice Smeets (B), Willy Filz (B), Christian Roosen (B), Geneviève Biwer (L) & Thomas Brenner (D).

When the design world moves into to the power station, something must be afoot! 20 designers agreed to play the game, to reveal the mysterious and hazardous journey from creative idea to finished object, a design object intended for mass production to improve our lives; this conversation oscillates between art and technology, it is a constant - and sometimes strained - dialogue between the designer and the constraints of industrial manufacture. 

This summer, Africa explodes in colours and life to celebrate 50 years of independence in Congo and 16 other African countries. A festival with the finest in theatre arts and dedicated creators. The fascinating GEO-graphics exhibition constitutes the first part of a new vision of our relationship with Africa. All the festival artists are then encouraged to come join the discussion and the engagement for this visionary Africa during their 48 hours in Brussels.

Lively and complex, the work of Philippe Herbet is the fruit of a quest begun long ago by this artist from Liège. He unveils his colour photographs here, which were taken in Belarus. With its poetic and elegant form, his work immerses us in his journeys filled with beautiful objects, unusual monuments, and strange and disturbing women. Inspired by both literature and photography, he pairs his photographs with texts from his postcards.