12th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming
Brussels, Belgium, July 20 - 24, 1998
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12th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming |
Useful to Know |
The conference is held at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), on its campus 'Oefenplein' Etterbeek. The Campus is located to the Southeast of the city centre, about 15 minutes by metro. Please note that this campus houses both the Dutch-speaking Vrije Universiteit Brussel (where ECOOP is) and the French-speaking Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB).
The conference office is located on campus, in building Q "onder de Aula" from Sunday, July 19, 16:00 until
the end of the conference on Friday, July 24. All sessions will be held in building
Q. The workshops and
tutorials are held in the adjacent buildings B and C.
Conference Office and Message Board
The registration and information desk is located "Onder de Aula" in building Q, tel. 629.30.91 (for
international calls add 32 2, for calls from outside of Brussels add 02). The office will be open on Sunday
16:00-20:00; on Monday-Friday the office will open an hour before the start of the morning sessions and close
in the evening after the sessions are closed. A message board for participants is located near the information
desk. Please check the board regularly for messages or possible changes in the programme.
Refreshments
Coffee, tea and soft drinks will be served in the exhibition area "Onder de Aula" during the entire week. On
Monday and Tuesday refreshments will also be served in room B407, on the 5th floor of building B, during the
morning and afternoon breaks. Refreshments are only served to delegates wearing badges.
Lunch
On your arrival you will receive tickets which will allow you to have your lunches in the university restaurant.
For those who would like to choose their own menu, a large number of restaurants are within less than 15 minutes
walking distance from the university campus.
Electronic Mail
Internet access is provided from 9:00 until 17:00 each day in rooms B002, B003, B004, B005a and B005b, on
the ground floor of building B. A Web Browser and Telnet are available.
Additional copies of the conference material
Some additional copies of the proceedings and the tutorial notes are on sale at the registration desk. A
limited number of ECOOP Õ98 T-shirts is also available there at 450 BEF.
Official Carrier
Sabena has been selected as Official Carrier for ECOOP'98.
Every participant will receive a voucher with which tickets can be ordered in a Sabena Office at the following discount rates:
Sabena on the Internet: http://www.sabena.com/.
Travel Connections
CAR
You can download a file with detailed instructions (Postscript, gzip Postscript, PDF) on how to drive to Brussels and to the conference site by car.
We have maps that show you how to approach Belgium and how to enter Brussels by highway.
The following highways can be used to reach Brussels :
| E40 | Oostende -> BRUSSELS |
| N31 E40 |
Zeebrugge -> Brugge Brugge -> BRUSSELS |
| E19 | Breda (NL) -> Antwerpen -> BRUSSELS |
| E314 A2 E40 |
Aken (D) -> Genk -> Lummen Lummen -> Leuven Leuven -> BRUSSELS |
| E40 | Aken (D) -> BRUSSELS |
| E25 E411 |
Luxembourgh (L) -> Arlon Arlon -> BRUSSELS |
| E19 | Paris (F) -> Mons -> BRUSSELS |
| A25 A16 E19 |
Calais (F) -> Lille (F) Lille (F) -> St-Ghislain St-Ghislain -> BRUSSEL |
| N1 E40 |
Duinkerke (F) -> Veurne Veurne -> BRUSSELS |
AIRPLANE
Since the Brussels airport is located just outside Brussels, the VUB is very easy to reach. You can take a taxi, which will take you to the VUB in 15 minutes for approximately 1000 BEF. The airport also has a train service three times an hour, taking you directly to the centre of Brussels. This costs approximately 90 BEF. In the centre, where your hotel is located, you can take a taxi, metro or bus towards your hotel or the university. See the section on public transportation in Brussels.
TRAIN
There are several direct connections to Brussels by train :
See the section on public transportation in Brussels to get to your hotel.
The city of Brussels lies in the middle of Belgium and a train connection to the
furthest points takes you only one hour and a half. A map and time schedule will help you to
get where ever you want in Belgium.
Transportation in Brussels
Each participant will be provided with a public transportation ticket which is valid during the conference
days on all busses, streetcars and metros of the M.I.V.B. (the Brussels
public transportation company). The
nearest station to the conference venue is 'Delta'. Signs will indicate the way from this station to the
conference venue. Note that you will first have to cross the campus of the French-speaking university (ULB)
and that the conference venue is located on the campus of the Dutch-speaking university (Vrije Universiteit
Brussel, VUB).
You can download a file with detailed instructions
(Postscript,
gzip Postscript,
PDF)
on how to reach your hotel and the conference site by public
transportation.
Weather
Predicting the weather in Belgium is like predicting a lottery. The temperature
varies between 15 and 30 degrees Celsius (around 77 degrees Fahrenheit) and we have an average
of 14 days of rain during the month of July. This means some years we have 25 days
and other years only 3 days of rain in July. The air is very moist in our summers
on the warmer days. During the conference the sun will rise at 5:55 and set at
22:25. In the evening and at night we have 10 degrees C (50 F) on bad days and 25
degrees on warm days.
Health Regulations
No vaccinations are required when entering Belgium from any country.
Insurance
The conference organizers will Evening Programme
Normally, the evening programme will run as scheduled, but please check the message board for possible
changes. Note that admittance to the evening programme requires wearing your badge. No special transportation
has been arranged for the evening programme except for the Conference Banquet at IBM on thursday night. For
people who prefer to go by car, descriptions of how to reach IBM will be distributed at the conference site.
Smoking
Please note that smoking on the campus is only allowed outdoors.
Currency
A Belgian Franc equals 100 cents, but most prices are rounded. There are banknotes of 100, 200, 500, 1000,
2000 and 10000 BEF and coins of 1/2, 1, 5, 20 and 50 BEF. Note that 10000 BEF banknotes are not so frequently
used, even often refused.
The exchange rates are approximately (June 26, 1998) : 1 ECU = 40,8 BEF; 1 $ = 37,1 BEF; 1 DEM = 20.6 BEF; 1 GBP = 61,9 BEF; 1 FF = 6,15 BEF, 1 NLG = 18.3 BEF. See here or here for more recent information or for converting other currencies not listed in this hort list.
All major credit cards are accepted in most shops, hotels and restaurants. Banks are open on weekdays
from 09:00 to 16:00. Automatic teller machines are widely available.
Shopping
Belgium is famous for its chocolate, waffles and its cuisine in general. Did you know that Flanders has
more Michelin star restaurants per capita than France? Although every region has its special foods, the
national dish of Belgium is considered to be mussels and fries. Belgium produces more than 800 different kinds
of beers, ranging from lagers and white beers to trappists and
seasonal beers. Belgium is also well known for its comic
books : Tintin, De Smurfen (the Stroumpfs) and Suske en Wiske (Willy and Wandy). Belgium is also quite
famous for its lace and diamond industry.
Places to Visit
Since the time that Belgium was still called Belgica by the Romans, up until its independance in 1830, the
year of Belgium's independence, our country has successively been part of the Roman Empire, Spain, Austria,
France and the Netherlands. We were visited by the Vikings and just about everyone else. Culturally we have
been influenced by all of them. You can easily find these influences in our cities like
Tongeren, Brugge, Antwerpen and many more.
Some famous Belgians are Adolf Sax, Pieter Paul Rubens, RenŽ Magritte, Panamarenko, Vesalius, Toots
Thielemans and Victor Horta.
During your stay the Ghent Festivities will take place. In the traffic-free historic centre of Gent, visitors can enjoy a city-wide fair with street entertainment and music. On the 21st of July we celebrate our national holiday. During this public holiday most stores will be closed, but there will be many festivities with extensive fireworks in the evening. The Brussels Royal Palace will be open to the public during the summer months. The coast is only 120 kilometers west of Brussels. Brussels itself has its Grand Place, lots of museums and one of the largest cinema complexes in Europe, Kinepolis.
ECOOP'99
ECOOP'99 will be held in Lisbon,
Portugal, from June 14 to 18, 1999.
