For the first time in the history of the VGC, ‘het College’ of the Flemish Community Commission (VGC) presents a strategic multi-year policy plan. This ambitious plan brings together all aspects of the VGC policy. The plan translates the policy choices into concrete objectives and actions for the coming years.

The VGC went to work with the Brusseleirs and opened its doors to anyone who wanted to contribute to answering the challenges that Brussels faces today and tomorrow. Hundreds of Brussels residents, organizations and institutions from the N network and employees of the VGC administration provided ideas and recommendations.

Many recommendations from the participation trajectory Stadspiratie, from the extensive Tour of Brussels for school teams and from the VGC advisory councils can be found as concrete actions in this long-term policy plan. In the plan, the recommendations from Stadspiratie and the Tour of Brussels are indicated by a specific logo.

Read the long-term policy plan at http://www.vgc.be/meerjarenplan

Thank you for your ideas for Brussels! The Board of the Flemish Community Commission presents the report to you. Be sure to watch the video. And read the report here.

During the online Brussels workshops, organisations and citizens discussed the more than 1100 ideas that were collected. In small groups they formulated policy proposals for the 6 themes that were addressed most in the ideas: Communication and information - Sustainable and liveable city - Learning - Participating and working together - Multilingualism - Growing up. With these policy proposals and all the ideas, we will get to work on the VGC's long-term plan for 2021-2025. Of course we will keep you up to date on the next steps and results from Stadspiratie. Be sure to keep an eye on this website and our Facebook-page!

Translation to follow

In March, the coronavirus forced us collectively to stay at home. By necessity, we had to take the participation trajectory known as Stadspiratie down a notch. A good number of Brussels residents still continued to post their ideas for Brussels on the online ideas platform, but all the live workshops and meetings were cancelled. That is still the case. We would, however, like to offer residents and organisations the opportunity to collect ideas online until 30 June. Therefore, on Wednesday, 3 June (10-12am) we are holding an online Stadspiratie session. Brussels organisations will also be given the chance to hold Stadspiratie sessions for their own audience, team or volunteers.

We will replace the “Brussels day” scheduled for 6 June with online Brussels workshops on Friday, 3 July for organisations and Saturday, 4 July for residents. With (maximum) 100 residents and organisations, we will discuss the ideas that have been submitted and will turn them into concrete policy proposals for the VGC’s multi-year plan for 2021-2025.

Do you have an idea for Brussels after the coronavirus? Are you looking for inspiration? Discover the ideas of other Brussels residents in this video. What do they think of Stadspiratie? What tips do they launch for the future of Brussels?

Do you want to post an idea or reaction yourself or do you want to vote for one of the ideas about learning, growing up, participating, making together, meeting or healthy living in Brussels?

You can give your ideas until 30 June 2020 on https://stadspiratie.be/en/topics

All Stadspiratie activities organised by the VGC have been cancelled. 

It goes without saying that we also requested our Dutch-speaking Brussels partners to refrain from organising live Stadspiratie discussions.  

In the coming period we will be shifting our focus to online participation. So be sure to keep an eye on this website and the calendar to follow the latest developments. You can always contact us by sending an email to stadspiratie@vgc.be.

Take good care of yourself and of each other!

What can you do to help other Brusselers during the corona crisis? And how can you ask for help yourself? The Flemish Community Commission (VGC), BRUZZ and Muntpunt help to bring people together through “Brussels helps”.

Together with three inhabitants of Brussels, VGC Board members Elke Van den Brandt, Sven Gatz and Pascal Smet launched “Stadspiratie”, a unique and innovative participation programme that gives residents of Brussels a say in how the VGC's multi-year plan is structured. ‘We make policy not only for but also with our city's inhabitants. Citizens, businesses and local authorities collaborate with us on the composition of our strategic multi-year plan. This is what Stadspiratie is all about’, the Board members explain.

Through Stadspiratie, the VGC Board wants to give people from Brussels the opportunity to share their inspiration with regard to VGC policy, while also creating broader public support for future policy and providing various stakeholders a platform to exchange ideas and to network. This takes place through an extensive programme of engagement and participation that runs until the end of December.

With this unique programme, the VGC Board aims to reach as many target groups as possible, so that it specifically reflects the diversity of the Brussels population.

All the ideas will be discussed by a panel of 150 local residents during the next “Brussels Day”, planned for 6 June. The VGC Board will then set to work with these results. A feedback consultation will then be held in the autumn, during which the selected proposals will be presented within the context of the multi-year plan. For more information, visit www.stadspiratie.be.

(On the photo: Mr Jad Zeitouni presenting his idea)