Supported projects

MAPUTO - In poverty-stricken Mozambique, young women are obliged to sell their bodies to wealthier or white men. A general wisdom with cliché status. But is such a simple analysis correct? What does international research say and what do the women themselves think about their sexual practices and ...

ANTWERP - In a time of growing polarization, geo-political instability and a reduced confidence in institutions, there are people who want real change. Bottom-up seems to be a major shift in the political landscape. Citizens solve problems without waiting for decision-making. This can be the start ...

MECHELEN - Lon Landau is a promising Jewish set designer, whose life takes a dramatic turn during WWII. He's imprisoned in Kazerne Dossin in Mechelen, but he decides to remain optimistic and to do what he can best: build dream worlds.

MOSCOW - Nostalgia or Revolution? Pieter Stockmans and photographer Mashid Mohadjerin travel through a number of important cities in European Russia to capture the revolutionary forces in 2017, 100 years after the Russian revolution of 1917.

ABUJA - The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) has been praised as a deal that will eventually liberalise trade between the European Union and the Economic Community of West African States.

BEIJING - In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping decided it was time to 'go out'. He launched the One Belt One Road (OBOR) project and wants to develop a train connection across the Eurasian continent and a maritime route into Europe.

NEW YORK -  Banks and vulture funds make money from ordinary people’s distress. The only way to fight back is to outsmart them. Wall Street giants—the so-called ‘vulture funds’—have been on a house-buying spree across Europe and the United States since the 2008 financial crash.

In the back room of a flower shop Tomi, Rasto and Mižu dig a tunnel to reach the safe of the National Bank. When the rain continues, the system of corridors is flooded and they are forced to stop their work.

MADRID - The unknown battle of young women from Belgium and the Netherlands against Franco and Hitler.

BRUSSELS - Flemish women with talent and leadership qualities rarely reach the top. Journalist Tine Maenhout, together with ten inspiring women who hold top positions today, investigates why this is still the case and how things can be improved in the future. 

PORT MORESBY - Jimmy Hendrickx traveled to a remote tribe in Papua in the footsteps of the Belgian missionary Petrus Vertenten. He worked there about a hundred years ago and saved the tribe from extermination, for which he is still honored.

RAMALLAH - The fact that ordinary Palestinians have suffered the effects of the Israeli occupation for over fifty years is something that everyone knows. This is shown by the countless articles and reports that reach the public every day. But how the Palestinian population also suffers from the ...

During his training to become a general practitioner, Egmont Ruelens met several bus and tram drivers with stress complaints and physical problems. They flirt with a burn-out. 

GHENT - Research by Apache shows how 'chronic fatigue specialist' Kenny De Meirleir sells his patients, through numerous small companies, often controversially expensive tests and medication that he prescribes himself.

Consequences of the EU's Attempt to Neutralise People Smugglers

TRIPOLI - The central Mediterranean is now the busiest corridor for irregular migration to the European Union. All previous efforts to combat the flows have led to more crossings and more deaths at sea.

MOLENBEEK - the Distance Between Us’ takes its starting point in some audio cassettes artist and photographer Jan Locus received from a Moroccan family in Molenbeek a few years ago. Probably going back to the early 1980s, the cassettes contain an oral correspondence between families in Brussels and ...

KATHMANDU - Nepal was devastated by deadly floods in August. Entire villages were swept away, and thousands of families are still surviving on aid. Rice, clean water and tents are the main items being distributed to help the families.

SKOPJE - The Western Balkan countries, home to some of Europe's most pristine nature, are facing a rush to build new hydroelectric power stations.

KINSHASA - Kabila. Michel. Saxe-Coburg. De Croo. Four names that ring a bell in both Congo and Belgium. Four families that left their mark on both countries and their mutual relationships. 

CAPE TOWN - A number of fishing companies are flouting international law, exploiting workers, and over-fishing, thus stripping vulnerable countries of a vital food source.

ABUJA - Inspired by the staggering success of its Nollywood film industry, Nigeria is now looking to boost its other creative industries. Culture is being touted as the country's next oil. The government has described the cultural sector as "potentially the biggest source of economic growth" and has ...

NOUAKCHOTT - In the imbalance of power in Europe’s fishing deals with West African countries, locals get the short end of the stick.

KAMPALA - Uganda is known as one of the world's worst countries to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). LGBT people risk cell for fourteen years and are victims of violence and discrimination. Ugandan church leaders call to lynch them, political leaders use them as lightning rods for the ...

BRUSSELS - More and more business leaders are positioning themselves as the best CEO a country can wish for. However, experience learns that they rarely succeed.

LONDON - Innocent people around the world have been added to a watch list of terrorists and criminals, an investigation reveals today. Research by an international consortium of media organisations exposes the secret World Check database, which lists over 2 million people.

JOHANNESBURG - Deforestation is a major global problem. At the same time, climate change caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions is threatening not only nature but also humanity. The idea that we can tackle both problems at the same time - by planting trees that store significant amounts of CO2 as ...

NICOSIA - Thousands of refugees from Africa and the Middle East risk their lives to reach the shores of Europe and escape conflict and repression.  But for the wealthy there are easier options available. With enough money, it's possible to purchase a EU passport - or at least residence. 

LUXEMBURG - European Investment Bank (EIB) is the largest multilateral borrower and lender in the world. It finances mainly large infrastructure projects, but also provides loans to small and medium enterprises. The EIB is an EU bank, but its ambitions reach far beyond its borders.

BRUSSELS - In an unprecedented EU-wide collaborative effort, the journalists from "The MEPs Project" located in every member state investigated how members of the European Parliament (MEPs) make use of the general expenses payments they receive every month.

VALLETTA - The Mediterranean republic of Malta operates a tax system where companies pay the lowest tax on profits in the EU - only five per cent. Over the last three months, journalistic network European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) dug into over 150,000 documents that show how international ...