Mock United Nations (M.U.N.) and EEB2's Future Team

On Friday 15 January, a group of EEB2 students braved the cold and snowy conditions to take a train to Wavre and walk two kilometres into the Belgian countryside to visit the international school of Le Verseau. The purpose of this excursion was to attend an M.U.N. training conference and discover what M.U.N. is all about. 

The group experienced an impressive simulation of the workings of the United Nations and received a lesson in United Nations vocabulary, diplomatic conventions and international relations. It was clear that the students at Le Verseau had gained immensely from the research work involved, the public speaking experience, the debating and the critical thinking – all of this while gaining huge experience of working together as a team. 

Footfest 2016 Logo!

We are excited to be the first to bring you the 2016 Footfest logo! The winner of the logo competition is Arthur Cherry, an S7 student from the French section. This logo was chosen by the general coordinators among 20 other drawings submitted.

Credits for digitizing it go to Evelina Anglickaite.

The logo will be printed on T-shirts for Footfest coordinators, crew and security.
Colors of the year? First suggestions are black for security, burgundy for crew and bright blue for coordinators, but this is not a final decision yet.

Are you excited for Footfest 2016? We definitely are!
Let us know what you think of the logo and what you are excited about for this year's Footfest.

by Sofia Brusa

Edited by Emilie Kerstens

"Brussels is a graveyard of living beings"

Belgium shut down all schools on the 23rd of November. The decision was made by our Prime Minister, Charles Michel. I was happy about it at first because it meant I didn't have to finish my math homework, but then, I realised it wasn't right at all.

The numerous measures taken over the past few days have made fear grow in our hearts. We often hear Charles Michel saying that the threat is "imminent". The threat of what, terrorism? The fact is that we have no idea of what is going on in this country. Belgian police authorities say it’s for our own safety that we don’t know anything yet, but is it really if we are too scared to leave our house?

The terrorists attacked Paris, aiming to destroy our culture and our way of life. They haven't attacked Brussels yet but we are doing the job for them anyway: we are destroying our lifestyle right now by shutting everything down.

The problem is that the government is doing this because they don’t know what else to do. Yesterday on the Belgian talk show "C'est pas tous les jours dimanche", the president and spokesman of the Free Union of the Public and Police Function, Vincent Gilles, admitted that they don’t know what the security level 4/4 means. This is because the government created the different levels of security without saying which necessary measures had to be taken, and where. 
I agree with the fact that we are “better safe than sorry”, but only to certain extent; we shouldn't just be safe, we should also feel safe and yet all these measures to the continuous “imminent threat” just make us feel scared.

by Sarah Mignot

Humans but No Humanity

At least 120 people dead, 352 wounded, 99 of them severely. Six attacks shook Paris last night on Friday, 13^th November. 

17 people killed by a suicide bomber in Baghdad, Irak, on Friday at a memorial service for a militia fighter killed in batttle against the ISIS.

Suicide bombings in southern Beirut, Lebanon on Thursday 12^th, kiling 43 people and at least 239 wounded victims. 

What do all of these attacks have in common? They were all sanctioned by ISIS.

Close-mindedness and intolerance are our biggest enemies these days. ISIS is chasing after innocent people for the belief that they are right and have for “mission” to kill anyone who does not follow their radical ideals, forcing thousands of people to seek refuge in other countries and causing nations to live in fear.

Interview with 2016 Fashion Show Designers

Each year after a great day of Footfest, we look forward to seeing the talent of our students showcased in the fashion show. Several designers work all year long to make their collections “runway ready”. This past weekend, the model auditions took place. Students walked in front of the designers in hopes of being selected to be a model for their collections. We talked with Jenni Karhunen, Martina Murasso and Alessia Tosetti to find out more about it. We look forward to seeing their collections at this year's Footfest.

Why We Should Help The Refugees

Since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, in 2011, four million people have left the country, looking for better conditions of life elsewhere. To this day, countries like Turkey and Lebanon, which are geographically located near the war-torn country, have received and helped the great majority of the refugees. But now they are coming to Europe, and it is time for us to make an important decision, that will change Europe, and very likely the world.

'Where did the little spoons go?'

We've all stolen spoons before. No? Okay.