Looking back on ten years of Campuskrant International
A little historical Insight
Reiner Van Hove
June 1999: Yugoslavia and NATO signed a peace treaty, Thabo Mbeki became the new president of South-Africa and parliamentary elections took place in Belgium… The one event of truly historical significance, however, was the publication of the first issue of Campuskrant International. In this article, we look back with Professor Guido Langouche, one of the initiators and Toon Boon, the first editor-in-chief.
When the magazine was founded, Toon Boon, who is a legal advisor at K.U.Leuven, also worked for the International Relations Office on development co-operation projects: “Sometimes we visited foreign embassies and alumni associations. They often had brochures and flyers from other institutions, but there was never any information available about the biggest university in Flanders: the K.U.Leuven.”
This situation changed as a result of an external stimulus, Professor Langouche, vice-rector of exact sciences at the time, tells us: “We were contacted by an enthusiastic Chilean lady named Mrs. Delvaux, who wanted to devote herself to the Latin-American students in Leuven. We provided her with the necessary logistical support – a table and a chair, so to speak – to make a newsletter for those students. We realised immediately that we should expand this initiative. With a magazine, we would be able to provide our alumni, who we consider to be ambassadors for our university, with a recruiting tool. After all, many of our alumni end up working in higher education.”
This tool became Campuskrant International, an 8-page magazine that first appeared in June 1999 and was sent to international alumni and embassies twice a year for the first few years. The majority of the texts were taken from Campuskrant, the magazine’s Dutch equivalent and consequently, the concept of both magazines was the same: articles related to research, education and every other aspect of university life. Boon: “From the very beginning, we were able to rely on many enthusiastic volunteers from amongst our alumni and staff members to translate the articles into English and Spanish. We also decided to keep the title Campuskrant, although there were discussions about this choice because the name cannot be understood by people who don’t speak Dutch. It is this consideration that has now led to the change of name.”
One difference that was present from the beginning was the paper. Langouche: “I was very happy that we were able to have Campuskrant International printed on nice glossy paper. Several people even asked if we couldn’t have the Dutch Campuskrant printed on the same paper.”
The magazine hit the bull’s eye, as was apparent from the many positive reactions from across the world. “Reading the articles I remembered the wonder years I spent in Leuven”, one alumnus from Bolivia wrote. “It is a good start to establish exchange, links and friendships between fellow alumni worldwide”, one Indonesian reader informed us. One of those fellow alumni, from Mexico, went even further in his praise, saying: “You have made me so happy, first to have news about what is going on at the university and second that you haven’t forgotten your students.”
All this positive feedback contributed to the decision, in 2003, to enlarge the target audience; international students and staff members also started receiving the magazine. Simultaneously, the frequency of publication was increased, from two issues per year to three. Throughout the years, the magazine’s lay-out also underwent a metamorphosis every so often, in line with its Dutch-language big brother.
Now, on the occasion of the double anniversary – tenth birthday and 25th issue – the magazine has been given its own name and its own lay-out for the first time. Fun fact: the fonts of the words you are reading now are Le Monde Sans and Le Monde Journal. This is entirely appropriate, in our opinion, for a journal with mondial ambitions. While the new title is still related to Campuskrant, it is more understandable for an international audience and also clearly reflects the magazine’s ambition: providing insight. Moreover, in a readers’ survey of ten possible titles, Campus Insight was by far the most popular title.
To conclude, we wondered whether the original driving forces behind the magazine had any tips for their reborn creation. Boon: “Oh, I don’t see any reason to be paternalistic. I think the magazine is doing very well.” Langouche: “I am still especially proud that this magazine exists; it really is a must for any self-respecting university. Whether I have suggestions related to the content? I am currently involved in a co-operation project between K.U.Leuven and the UNALM University in Peru, which certainly deserves to have an article devoted to it. Perhaps you could highlight one of the English-language master’s offered by K.U.Leuven as well.” Coincidence or not, before this interview took place, we had already planned to include an article about the Master in Space Studies programme and a Spanish article about the co-operation project with Peru...
Online: All previous issues can be found at http://www.kuleuven.be/ci/
