Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union

The third Meeting of the Whole: "A regular process for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment, including socio-economic aspects". The meeting, scheduled for August of 2010, will look at defining the budgetary and institutional aspects of the process, as well as the content to be added to the main lines.

The conference on child poverty aims to commit each Member State to take into account the problems of children living in poverty and to find solutions to reduce this level of child poverty. This conference will be organised in accordance with a concept of active participation, known as « Town Hall », where the voice of each participant will be heard. The conclusions that will be drawn from this conference will contribute to the political process in preparation for the adoption of a Recommendation by the European Commission.

The aim of the Pacioli workshops is to bring people together who use data from agricultural accountancy networks or are involved in their management. The participants will discuss agricultural accounts and micro-economic information for policy support at the workshops.

The Informal Meeting of Energy Ministers: “Fuelling a Secure, Low-Carbon and Affordable Energy Future for Europe”

The week in Strasbourg will see Commission President José Manuel Barroso make his first "State of the European Union" speech. Also on the agenda is how to help Pakistan after the floods devastated the country. The controversy over the Roma deportations will also be discussed during talks between MEPs and the European Commission. There is also likely to be steps to limit the use of animals in scientific testing. All of these issues can be followed here on the Parliament's website. (source: European Parliament)

Over the course of their lives, European citizens should have a right to adequate and economically sustainable social protection. The twin Ministerial conferences will look at the future of social protection systems and pensions, their suitability and budgetary issues.

The “Industrial Technologies 2010” conference offers a complete programme with the aim of evaluating integration between disciplines, stakeholders and various players in the NMP (nano, materials and production) sector.

The very dynamic culture sector, the cultural and creative industries in particular, generates and stimulates considerable potential for creativity which makes it an important actor for meeting the challenges with which the European Union is confronted today. Within the context of the implementation of the “EU 2020” strategy, the goal is to highlight and promote the considerable potential of the cultural and creative industries.

The Informal Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers aims at allowing Ministers to share thoughts about current problems concerning the European Union foreign policy freely and intensely. Rather than reaching formal conclusions, Gymnich looks at outlining the main themes from the European Union Foreign Policy.

On 20 and 21 September 2010 Departement CJSM (the Department of Culture, Youth, Sport and Media) will hold a European public libraries conference in the Flemish Parliament in Brussels. The congress is being organised as part of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. It will build on the results of its predecessor, ECEI09.

Plenary Session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Secretary of State for European Affairs Olivier Chastel will represent the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU during the next plenary session of the European Parliament.

During the crisis seminar the potential added value of European cooperation at consular level during crises will be sought, together with the fields within consular work which are eligible for European cooperation during crises.

Coreper II Trip

Meeting of European mercury experts to analyse and prepare international negotiations (International Negotiating Committee organized under the auspices of the UNEP)

The Coordination Group for Mutual Recognition and Decentralized Procedures-Veterinary (CMD-v) is responsible for the coordination and facilitation of the operation of the mutual recognition and decentralized procedures (marketing authorization procedures involving two or more Member States). CMD-v addresses procedural, regulatory and scientific issues.

The United Nations Convention on the law of the sea is the general legal framework covering, among other things, the political process of protection of the marine environment. The negotiation of the UN Resolution on Oceans and the Law of the Sea takes place every year and represents the instrument through which the Parties to the UNCLOS Convention work to implement the contents of the convention.

The aim of the conference is to seek agreement between the member states on a proposal to the European Council and the European Parliament regarding a new phase of the Article 185-project "European & Developing Countries Clinical Trial Partnership (EDCTP)".

Technopolis® will bring a European interactive exhibition and workshops to the open days of the Royal Palace in Brussels.

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.

A pioneer in the Youth Information sector, Infor Jeunes Bruxelles Nord Ouest has spent four decades bringing pluralist information to various young audiences. Infor Jeunes Laeken is on the periphery of what has been agreed shall be called the "poor crescent" of Brussels. Among the large majority of young people, and particularly those from working class backgrounds, Europe tends to be reduced to a single currency and a commonplace repeated a thousand times "Brussels, capital of Europe". And that's about all.

The Section for "Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society" (TEN) of the European Economic Social Committee (EESC) is organising a large-scale public event on the theme of urban mobility. This event is intended to be interactive, fun and educational in order to achieve the maximum possible participation by the general public. It will be spread over four days and will take place on Place Flagey, a popular public area, which is also symbolic of the changes going on in terms of organisation of space in Brussels.

CEJA in the context of Common Agricultural Policy reform process will hold a seminar entitled ‘What CAP fit for young farmers?’ on 19-21 September in Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium. High level speakers from EU institutions, agricultural experts, representatives from the banking sector and young farmers will present their views on the future of agriculture in Europe. The seminar will include a specific section on market management, rural development and an informative panel discussion on the current situation of young farmers face in terms of installation costs and opportunities to make the sector attractive for young agri-entrepeneurs.

This major event in the ICT sector will bring together 5000 participants from more than 80 countries. The programme will include: an exhibition, conferences and workshops. This conference is intended for professionals from the private and public sectors and academic circles.

Brussels’ universities, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), in collaboration with the Brussels-Europe Liaison Office, are organising a masterclass about Brussels for European civil servants. The primary aim of the project is to give them a broader insight into Brussels and its socio-geographic, economic and political cultures and structures. In this way, European civil servants will be encouraged to widen their perspectives and to obtain a view of the city in which they live and work.

In 2010, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) is inviting visual artist Jan Vanriet (1948, Antwerp) to design a grand itinerary through the galleries of the Old and Modern Masters in the museum.

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.

Installation consisting of 200 monuments in the gardens of the Château des Langues in Hamois.

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.

In connection with Belgium’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Belgian State Archives will be organising an exhibition about the establishment of the European Institutions in Brussels. The Belgian State Archives (including the Archive of the Royal Palace) itself has various rich archive stocks that illustrate this subject and is also undertaking complementary research in other archive bodies and documentation centres.

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. 

The permanent exhibition "The ikob Collection – in progress" adapts its content in tandem with temporary exhibitions. To create additional dialogue between the different exhibitions, the curator Francis Feidler chooses a selection of works from the museum’s collection.

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

Take part in a fun adventure quest through Brussels' European district, complete with a prize-winning contest, a version for kids (also with prize-winning contest) and a photo competition.

The museum and its collection: the permanent collection displays items from different generations which all share common ground in the fantastic, the alien or the surreal. This completely atypical collection mixes all forms: plastic arts, painting, sculpture, etc. In a mansion located a stone’s throw from the Musée Horta, you can meet an Elephant Man who may disclose his life story to you, discover numerous surprising works such as The Killer Flies or The Mummy of Mato Grosso or observe a morpho-symbiosis between a woman and a spider close up! Like it or not, the collection is as unique as it is surprising. The museum is also endeavouring to constantly enrich its collection with new items. 

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.

Throughout the Belgian Presidency of the EU, the Brussels-Capital Region will be offering tours of discovery in the canal area (guided, with a reservation, or unaccompanied) of projects cofinanced by the European Union.

Artists' portraits is a collection started by the SmartBe Foundation. The Foundation decided to put together a collection of contemporary works of art in connection with the artist's portrait, a theme close to the mission and objectives of SMartBe.

Belgium’s highest-profile celebration of modern music, the Ward’in Rock Festival offers a programme of top-quality European and Belgian artists in a green setting. Music for every taste including pop, rock, folk, electronic and reggae will be performed to 10,000 festival-goers from near and far.

The “SOS Planet” exhibition is set to be the biggest exhibition ever created on the topic of climate change.

The new opera from Belgian composer Philippe Boesmans, based on the eponymous work by Witold Gombrowicz, has its Belgian premiere one year after it was written for the Opéra National de Paris.

Living Room Music is the shared pet project of Festival of Flanders Brussels and MuziekPublique. For the eighth time already they are organising these small-scale and exquisite living room concerts. In as many as ten living rooms of a specific Brussels district, different concerts will take place over the course of two afternoons.

A concert with compositions by Philippe Boesmans whose new work, Chambres d’à côté, commissioned by La Monnaie opera house, Klarafestival and Bozar for the Tana Quartet.

Astonishing and original group, which brings together mentally disabled musicians and independent musicians… On the initiative of the La Hesse CEC, an association working for the promotion of the artistic skills of mentally disabled people with the Inuti (Stockholm) and Remi (France) associations. Brass, voices, percussion, guitars, machines… "The Choolers" is a remarkable musical mixture, the secret of which is the artistic and human collaboration between mentally disabled people and amateur and professional musicians from various European countries.

Brussels enjoys a unique position as the capital of Europe. However, we have noticed that only a small number of young people in Brussels are aware of what this European presence means for Brussels and what repercussions it will have. That is why, on the occasion of the Belgian presidency, the Brussels-Europe Liaison Office has proposed an exceptional project to the schools: a rally in the European quarter for all students in the final two years of secondary school, with the aim of informing them about 'Europe in Brussels' in a fun atmosphere.

Take space – Give space – Make space in the Brussels canal zone, Festival Kanal first edition will: examine the challenges, opportunities and problems of the Brussels canal zone via art and cultural projects, act as a lever to steer various social, economic and urban development processes in a specific direction, be a celebration for many people, a positive signal, a contribution towards creating a better image at many levels and create six sustainable art projects in public spaces by 2016.

As the first meal of the day, breakfast has taken very different forms since ancient times. Whether it’s bread and wine, a bowl of rice, a full English or a Continental breakfast, our morning habits reflect our cultural identity; while we forge them as children, it’s still a genuine melting pot of influences, some of them remote. 
With the help of genuine artefacts, displayed in a surprising and impressive way, the visitor will travel around both Europe and the world. Interaction and amusement are scheduled from the time you jump out of bed!

Every five years, Bruges is the setting for a major cultural city festival. This time creative people from the area and artists from Central Europe are taking over the city. For about four months 'Brugge Centraal' will draw people to an intense and varied selection of concerts, films, stage shows and exhibitions. The programme balances East and West, past and present, confrontation and harmony. The modern art trail 'Luc Tuymans: A Vision of Central Europe' and the historic exhibition 'Van Eyck to Dürer' are the stars of this major event.

The René Magritte Museum, situated in the painter’s house in Jette, is putting on an exhibition devoted to Belgian abstract art to coincide with the centenary of non-representational art in Europe (1910-2010). Around 40 masterpieces give a fine overview of representatives of this movement in Belgium, from the 1920s to the present day. Activities organised on the fringes of the exhibition will emphasise the exciting cross-fertilisation between these artists and other European countries.

The 20th century saw the production of the first postcard, providing us with a set of photographs of Brussels.

An exhibition composed of photographs and films produced by students in Brussels, France, Austria, Poland and Spain who, thanks to the European CULTURE Programme, went off and discovered the ancient palace of Brussels, as well as châteaux in Versailles, Chambord, Schönbrunn, Wilanow and Madrid. A useful discovery-tour tool will be provided for visitors to hone their appreciation of the materials and building techniques of the archaeological site and the Royal Palace.

Love is Strange [rough cut] is a resolutely interdisciplinary performance. A staged concert, a musical performance, a play without theatricality, a ribbon of dreamlike visions accompanied by danced monologues and visual dialogues.
Love is Strange [rough cut] explores the impossible and unreal nature of romantic relationships. Love is Strange [rough cut] asks questions about the strangeness of love, its hidden beauties and its far-flung extravagances.
Words in French, German, English and Dutch.

If the distance from Lille to Brussels is just a step away as the crow flies, then we have taken this step for the second time! You may recall last year’s festival Latitudes contemporaines de Lille, which took up residence in Les Halles under the name Latitudes Lille Bruxelles, with the aim of further promoting the multidisciplinary and alternative aesthetics of our region.

At the time of his birth, the stars foretold that Sigismund would topple his father King Basil from the throne and become a bloody tyrant. To prevent the terrible prediction from coming to pass, Basil locked his son deep inside a tower. Will Sigismund succeed in overcoming the brutality of his nature? Galin Stoev (‘Oxygen’ and ’Genesis No2’) tackles this baroque drama with an eye to marrying classical material with contemporary sensibility.

Move it! promises four days of puppetry in all its diversity: figurines, objects, table puppets, animated characters, shadows, menagerie… appearing at the different venues of the Puppet Centre, in nearby streets and in the main square of Tournai! Fun and laughter guaranteed thanks to puppet wizardry…

In the second half of the 18^th century, English composer and historian Charles Burney travelled to France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands to study music.He visited large cities such as Paris, Vienna and Rome, and met musical heavyweights including C. P. E. Bach and Gluck.

Jazz Bruges chooses resolutely for European jazz of high artistic quality.This fifth edition will again take place in three halls.For the first time, we will welcome you every afternoon in the attic of Memling in Sint-Jan, followed by a piano recital in the Kamermuziekzaal (chamber music hall) of the Concertgebouw (concert hall) and two or three concerts in the Concertzaal.

To mark the Belgian presidency of the EU Council during the second half of 2010, the Virtual Resource Centre for Knowledge about Europe — CVCE, a public institution based in Luxembourg, is dedicating a subject portfolio as part of its digital library based on the historical relations between Belgium and the European Community since the Second World War. The portfolio wholly participates in the development of new methods of acquiring knowledge (research and education) by using new information technologies. It will provide all historical documents and original interviews with participants and direct observers in Belgium during the process of European unification.

For 25 years, the FIFF has put on a true extravaganza: screenings of French-language films, special sessions, favourites, professional workshops, educational activities, cinema tutorials, concerts, blind tests, competitions, animations, soirées … something for everyone! Over eight days more than 30,000 spectators will gather in Namur for a fitting celebration of French-language cinema. See you in October