Brussels, 02/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - At an official event organised in Brussels and Liège in which the European Commission took part, the government of Wallonia presented the achievements of the WECD (Wallonia European Creative District) project which aimed to develop the creative economy in Wallonia. “The WECD project has demonstrated the potential of the cultural and creative industries and has also revitalised the economy of a region through an approach centred on creativity, cross-fertilisation and de-compartmentalisation”, stated the Walloon government in a press release (our translation). The project had a budget of €1 million (half from Wallonia and half from the European Commission) and set up a series of pilot initiatives.
In April 2013, Wallonia, along with Tuscany, was chosen from among more than 40 candidate regions to be a “European creative district”. After two fruitful years of existence, the Creative Wallonia programme was felt by the European Commission to be exemplary and the pilot was made an on-going programme, the Wallonia European Creative District. For further information, go to: creativewallonia.be/wecd. (Original version in French by Isabelle Lamberty)