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NEWS & PUBLICATIONSBelgium Today June 2011PRINCE PHILIPPE TO LEAD ECONOMIC MISSION TO NY, WASHINGTON, BOSTON From June 22 through June 30, T.R.H. Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde will be in the United States. Prince Philippe will preside over an economic mission that will include the Deputy Prime Minister, the First Minister of Flanders, the Deputy First Minister of Wallonia and the Foreign Trade Minister of the Brussels Region, as well as a 300-strong delegation of business leaders. Economic missions of this kind are major events on the Belgian business and media calendar, and also attract considerable political attention. They usually leverage a large number of business opportunities, as was the case in Seattle in 2008. In addition to meetings with members of the Administration, Prince Philippe's activities will include investment seminars in New York and Washington, DC, luncheons with CEO's, bilateral sessions with the Food and Drug Administration and with the Department of Commerce, the opening of the Belgian stand at the BIO International Convention and visits to "Ground Zero" in New York and Arlington National Cemetery. The Boston program includes visits to MIT, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard University Medical School. Princess Mathilde will accompany her husband to some events and will also visit cultural and humanitarian organizations that reflect her interests. Read more about the royal visit on our Web site and in the next edition of Belgium Today. PETER PIOT NAMED TO OBAMA'S INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH PANEL The Belgian Peter Piot was chosen to become a member of the International Research Panel that will consider the effectiveness of current U.S. rules and international standards for the protection of human subjects in scientific studies supported by the Federal U.S. Government in order to ensure that those rules protect people from harm or unethical treatment, domestically as well as internationally. The International Research Panel was created in direct response to a request from President Obama, who asked the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (Bioethics Commission) to report on this matter. The International Research Panel includes experts on medical ethics, science and clinical research who bring wide experience from academia, government, and industry. The Panel members will be acting in their individual capacities and are not official representatives of their home nations. The members of this International Research Panel will offer a valuable global perspective. Their diverse backgrounds, extensive experience and understanding of global research, and their commitment to the highest ethical standards will be critical to informing the Bioethics Commission's report to President Obama. Dr. Piot is Chairman of the King Baudouin Foundation and Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He is the former Under Secretary-General of the United Nations and the founding Executive Director of UNAIDS. He is former Associate Director of the World Health Organization's Global Programme on AIDS. Dr. Piot co-discovered the Ebola virus in 1976. BELGIUM HONORED AT MEMPHIS IN MAY From May 2 to 8, Belgium was featured at this year's Memphis in May International Festival, one of the top cultural festivals in the United States, which annually attracts about 300,000 people. The three Belgian Regions -- Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia -- put together a very interesting program of more than 20 Belgium-related cultural activities including 7 exhibitions, 2 musical performances, and culinary events, and also participated in other aspects of the festival, including the Beale Street Music Festival, the World Championship Barbecue cooking contest and the program of the Sunset Symphony. But Memphis is more than culture. Memphis also lies in the heart of an important region for Belgium: As the headquarters for FedEx, it has become a focal point for freight and logistics (30 international freight forwarders operate in Memphis). Memphis also hosts very strong companies in medical devices and prosthetics and there are 120 foreign-owned companies in the vicinity. Through three economic events (a business seminar, a Rotary Club luncheon and Chamber of Commerce dinner), Belgium achieved high trade and commercial visibility. Belgian Ambassador Jan Matthysen, Consul General Benoit Standaert and representatives of the Flanders and Wallonia Regions were present in Memphis to give lectures, meet with prominent Memphians and present the Belgian activities. KOREAN SOPRANO WINS QUEEN ELISABETH COMPETITION FOR VOICE Hong Haeran, a 29-year-old soprano from Korea, won first prize at this year's Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in Brussels. Belgian tenor Thomas Blondelle took second and Russian soprano Elena Galitskaya won the third prize as well as the prizes awarded by the Belgian national broadcasters, the VRT and the RTBF. Learn the ranking of the 12 laureates here. The performances of the finalists will be available as Video on Demand until September 15, 2011. ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL EU OPEN HOUSE DAY For the fifth time, the embassies of the European Union in Washington, DC, opened their doors and invited the general public to come in and have a look. On Saturday, May 7, the Belgian Embassy received a whopping 4,677 visitors participating in “Shortcut to Europe,” as the EU Open House Day is called. Our visitors were treated to the photography exhibition “One Way to See it,” the 25-minute video “Belgium, the Movie,” and a slide show of images of the Ambassador’s residence. They also availed themselves of a nice selection of tourist brochures. Those interested in business had a chance to see the video “Belgium Beyond Expectations,” to take part in an “EconoQuiz” and to speak with members of the Embassy’s economic section. Everyone seemed delighted to sample Belgian beer, juices, cookies, chocolate and homemade waffles by Chef Jan Van Haute as well as Belga Café. The Embassy is grateful to its corporate sponsors for Open House Day, which this year included Nirvana Chocolates, Duvel, Lindemans, Orval, Anheuser Busch Inbev, Lotus Bakeries, Jules Destrooper and Delhaize/Bloom.
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