Plan for the future of the FCI

With a little over a century of history behind it, the FCI has a very promising future. I believe in this future, I believe in the FCI and I feel sure that in our hearts we know that, for the FCI, the best is still to come.

I have a vision of what the FCI should represent in the future, for every member country, for every breeder, for every competitor and for every dog owner. I see the FCI as a frontline organisation, which sets the tone for discussion in the international dog community, with a spirit of openness, in an atmosphere of intellectual dialogue and as a global brand which looks to the best interests of dogs and their owners worldwide.

Read more

Rafael de Santiago
President of the FCI
A must-see in Brussels: have you ever heard of the Zinneke?

Among the dignified representatives of urban art in Brussels, here's the Zinneke Pis! Inspired by its illustrious predecessors, Manneken Pis and Jeanneke Pis (it should be recalled that those are statues that respectively represent a little boy and a little girl urinating), this sculpture shows – no kidding – a dog peeing against a post. Manneken Pis, erected in 1619, is without a doubt – together with the 'Grand-Place' – the most attractive tourist spot in Brussels, closely followed by Jeanneke Pis who, in turn, dates from 1987.

This utmost original artwork came into being at the initiative of the neighbourhood committee of the Chartreux district, whose members wanted to attract tourists to their area. That's why they ordered a sculpture from an artist, Tom Frantzen, who then fashioned the Zinneke. The artwork is fully in line with the spirit of the zwanze (which derives from the Brabantish word radotage(rabling), a form of facetious humour that's typical of Brussels, the accents of which stem from various dialects specific to the capital and that are still in use in some of its districts). The artist, who reckons the spirit is "on a path to extinction", claims he has aimed at eternalising it through urban art. The sculpture is sealed in the pavement, and the post against which the Zinneke relieves itself is an integral part of the work.

© Jean-Pol Lejeune - © www.visitbrussels.be
Zinneke, 33 rue des Chartreux, 1000 Bruxelles

In 'Brusseleir', zinnekerefers both to the river that used to circle Brussels (the little Senne, Zennein Dutch) and to a mixed-breed dog. There is debate as to whether zinnekewas used to point to the dogs one could see wandering on the banks of that foul-smelling river or to the fact that at the time, people would have liked to throw those into the water to get rid of them… In any case zinneke now refers to the genuine inhabitant of Brussels whose origins are numerous, which highlights the multicultural dimension of the Belgian capital.

Marie Luna Durán
FCI Marketing & Public Relations Manager