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NEWS & PUBLICATIONSBelgium Today December 2010EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS BONDS BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES To mark the Belgian Presidency of the European Union, and with the support of both the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of State, the Belgium-based Museum of Europe is presenting the exhibition “America – It's also our history!” in the Tour & Taxis complex in Brussels, through May 9, 2011. This exhibition underscores the common ground of a shared civilization between Europe and America. The concept of the exhibition, built upon « five movements and an epilogue », was presented last October in Washington DC by the Museum’s Scientific Director and former Israeli Ambassador to France, Elie Barnavi, to numerous US government and corporate executives, including during a series of breakfast and tea meetings organized by Ambassador and Mrs. Matthysen in their Foxhall Road Residence. Its creators describe this unique historical exhibition on European-American relations as a play: “The drama is played out in three acts. During the first act, European America, the visitor accompanies the first Europeans to take root in this ‘New World’ and witness the creation of the new State, which wins its independence from the European powers while borrowing heavily from the European philosophical outlook. The second act, American America, shows how the young Republic turns away from Europe… at the very same time that European culture, science and technology continue to inspire it. The last act, American Europe, is when ambivalence prevails. Twice in half a century, the Americans rush to rescue an embattled Europe. Fascinated by the GI’s and Hollywood, Europe gets Americanized… which does not prevent it from questioning Uncle Sam’s supremacy.” The exhibition was inaugurated on 14 October in the presence of US Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman and Museum Chairperson, Minister of State Antoinette Spaak. www.youtube.com http://www.expo-europe-usa.be MORE AMERICAN STUDENTS IN BELGIUM There were 1,447 American students enrolled in Belgian universities or other institutions of higher education during the 2008-09 academic year. This represents an increase of 23% compared with the previous year, according to the Institute of International Education's 2010 Open Doors Report on international student mobility. The number of Belgian students enrolled at an American institution of higher learning remained stable. During the 2009-10 academic year, there were 845 Belgian students in the U.S. Among the host institutions at which the Belgians studied were New York University, Harvard, Stanford and Columbia Universities and the University of California at Berkeley. RED STAR LINE MUSEUM DELEGATION VISITS THREE U.S. CITIES During the first week of November, a delegation from the Red Star Line Museum paid a working visit to New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, to establish contacts on behalf of this new museum which is expected to open its doors in 2012 in the old Antwerp port district known as ‘het Eilandje.’ Included in the delegation were two officials from the City of Antwerp, Mr. Philip Heylen, Alderman for Culture and Tourism and Mr. Ludo Van Campenhout, Alderman for Urban Renewal, Sports and Diamonds, as well as Mr. Marc Saverys, CEO of CMB (Compagnie Maritime Belge), a major funder of the Red Star Line Museum. Between 1873 and 1934 the legendary shipping company Red Star Line transported more than two million passengers from Scheldt River City of Antwerp to America. Poor European emigrants in search of the American Dream, but also affluent passengers traveling for business or pleasure left for New York. The Red Star Line buildings are now protected monuments, soon to become the home of the new Red Star Line Museum. It will be housed in the original Red Star Line departure halls and will tell the story of both the legendary shipping company and of its passengers. The museum will feature original objects from public and private collections and a large number of multimedia installations and its founders hope that it will become a place for remembrance, experience, debate and research, with a focus on migration and international mobility in the past and the present. While in the United States, the delegation had meetings with donors, historians and representatives of like-minded institutions including the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, the National Museum of American Jewish History, or partners with extensive knowledge of the history of transatlantic migration such as the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the National Archives. DUTCH-BELGIAN WORKSHOP ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE On November 29 and 30, the Embassies of the Netherlands and Belgium convened an academic seminar entitled “Global Perspectives for the Transatlantic Economic Recovery –In search of congruence in export promotion and trade interests." The seminar was attended by several prominent academics, including Profs. Peter A. G. van Bergeijk (Erasmus University, NL), Dan S. Hamilton (John Hopkins University), Bradford Jensen (Georgetown University), Jacob Kirkegaard (Peterson Institute) and, “representing” Belgium, Paola Conconi (Université Libre de Bruxelles) and Peter Debaere (University of Virginia). Among the other participants were the Director of the Department of International Trade of the World Bank, Bernard Hoekman, and the Deputy Director for Trade and Agriculture at OECD, Raed Safadi. US officials participating included Courtney Gregoire, Director of the National Export Initiative, and David Weiner, Deputy Assistant USTR for Europe. The discussion was organized in three panels about “commonalities and divergences between the US and EU” with respect to different trade-related measures (tariff rounds, trade promotions…). The debate was introduced by a discussion paper drafted by Messrs. Raes, Beukeboom Reichwein and the Embassy of the Netherlands, which found that "the US and EU may share an interest in liberalizing global trade, especially when this liberalization goes beyond classic obstacles to trade" and that, “on the basis of the studies, one could conclude that both the EU and US could substantially benefit from a deep transatlantic FTA including goods, services and investment. Given the changing pattern of world trade and investment relations, these benefits are probably greater now than in 2030.” Opening the seminar, Ambassador Jones-Bos expressed the wish that the discussions of the day would help develop more and better arguments to improve the way international trade is currently considered in the US. In his remarks to the participants, Ambassador Jan Matthysen noted that the transatlantic economic relationship deserves the highest priority. The Belgian ambassador looks forward to the results of this seminar, and he invited the participants to include in their conclusions operational suggestions to be followed up on the policy level. A dinner for the participants was hosted by Dutch Ambassador Renée Jones-Bos at her Washington Residence, with the Belgian side treating them to an informal post-seminar reception. The event was designed as a first step towards a conference at high “political” level on the same subject that would be held in Washington next spring. BELGIAN WINS GOLD AT WORLD EQUESTRIAN GAMES IN KENTUCKY Philippe Le Jeune from Belgium, 50 years old, is show jumping world champion. At the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, he won gold, after previously winning bronze for Belgium in the country competition, with Jos Lansink, Dirk Demeersman and Judy-Ann Melchior. Le Jeune reached the Final Four, where the four riders jump a round with their own horse and the horse of the three other finalists. Le Jeune was the only rider to finish with 0 faults over the four rounds. With his stallion Vigo d'Arsouilles, he beat Abdullah Al Sharbatly from Saudi Arabia (on Seldana di Campalto), Eric Lamaze from Canada (on Hickstead) and Rodrigo Pessoa from Brazil (on HH Rebozo). Did you know that almost a third of all show jumping horses at the World Equestrian Games are bred in Belgium? Belgium is one of the world centers for top horses and has a tradition of good horse breeders.
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