 As a student he was a member of the "Liberaal Vlaams Studentenverbond" (LVSV, Liberal Flemish Students' Union), the "Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond" (KVHV, Catholic Flemish Students' Union) of Antwerp and Leuven.He is a former editor-in-chief of the KVHV newspapers "Tegenstroom" (magazine of KVHV in Antwerp) and "Ons Leven" (in Leuven).He was employed as a research assistant working on the "Nieuwe Encyclopedie van de Vlaamse Beweging" (New Encyclopedia of the Flemish Movement).