Brussels Explained | First edition! • deBuren

UITVERKOCHT!

deBuren, Curieus and The Bulletin joined hands with journalist Selma Franssen to organize an English edition of ´Moeilijke Dingen Makkelijk Uitgelegd´ with a focus on Brussels.

Several speakers will give a presentation on a complex topic followed by a short talk with Selma Franssen. After each presentation & talk there will be room for questions from the audience.

In the first edition of ´Brussels Explained´ journalist Derek Blyth tells us why Brussels isn´t as boring as expats think. Journalist Linda A. Thompson explains the ins and outs of the complex Belgian educational system. Street worker Filip Keymeulen talks about solutions for homeless people in the Brussels-Capital Region and Dutch filmmaker Julian Wolf will talk about his graduation film Meli Melo (2019) on Brussels youth at Place Saint-Cathérine. Kevin Kabongo will close the evening with a presentation on the colonial history and heritage we encounter when we walk through Brussels.

Brussels Explained

De eerste Brusselse editie van ´Moelijke Dingen Makkelijk Uitgelegd´

Journalist Derek Blyth vertelt waarom Brussel niet zo saai is als expats soms denken, Linda A. Thompson legt uit hoe het onderwijssysteem in Brussel precies in elkaar zit en straathoekwerker Filip Keymeulen vertelt over oplossingen voor daklozen in het Brusselse Gewest en de Nederlandse filmmaker Julian Wolf vertelt over zijn film Meli Melo, waarin hij een portret optekent van Brusselse jongeren die rondhangen op het Sint-Kathelijneplein. Tot slot gaat Kevin Kabongo het hebben over de koloniale geschiedenis in het Brusselse straatbeeld. Selma Franssen modereert, de voertaal is Engels.

Tickets: 5 euro basisprijs | 3 euro reductieprijs ( -26/65+/werkzoekenden)

Scottish writer Derek Blyth has lived in Belgium for almost 30 years. Working as a journalist, he knows the country intimately and has explored almost every corner, from the small beach towns on the North Sea coast to the sleepy villages deep in the Ardennes. Formerly editor-in-chief of The Bulletin magazine, he has written countless articles and several books on Belgium, including the bestselling 500 Hidden Secrets of Brussels and Hidden Belgium. He also organises walking tours and lectures in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent.

As a freelance correspondent for Bloomberg Tax, Linda A. Thompson investigates the impact of political decisions and legislative changes on multinationals in Belgium and the Netherlands. As a freelance journalist, she also writes about things that feel wrong and the people working to right those wrongs. You can read her articles on social injustice, discrimination and gender inequality in publications such as OZY, Equal Times, International Politics & Society, Flanders Today and The Bulletin.

Filip Keymeulen is a street worker at Diogenes vzw, an organization that focuses on homeless people in the Brussels-Capital Region. Diogenes strives to build a bridge between street residents and the rest of society. Filip also gives workshops on this topic for students, counter clerks, city guards and social workers at the beginning of their career.

Julian Wolf is a Dutch filmmaker who recently graduated from Sint Lukas Film School in Brussels. With his graduation film Meli Melo (2019) about Brussels youth at Place Saint-Cathérine, he immediately got high marks. Film Fest Gent chose Meli Melo as one of the ten best student films. His film was also selected for the International Short Film Festival in Leuven.

Kevin Kabongo is co-founder of Waka Waka Generation, a sociocultural organization that focuses on the identity development (processes) of sub-Saharan African individuals and their organizations in Flanders and Brussels. Within Waka Waka he deals with the topic ´consequences of colonization on the diaspora´ and ´decolonization´. He is also involved as a moderator with the storytelling evenings ´What about Africa´.