The Re-Bel initiative aims to rethink in depth, in an open, rigorous, non-partisan way, what the institutions of the Belgian federal state - or of whatever else this part of the world needs to become - can and must look like in the longer term. The recent crisis and the imminent elections have made this initiative more important and timely than ever. Our objective is to think and debate together, across the language border, without prejudices or taboos, using the most reliable evidence and the most insighful analyses. There is no better way of learning from each other, no more promising avenue towards intelligent compromises and win-win reforms.