The Hauts-de-France region, represented by its Vice-President in charge of Culture, François Decoster, also the Renew Europe CoR President, and Pierre-Yves Jeholet, Minister-President of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and former Renew Europe CoR member of the European Committee of the Regions, recently signed an agreement for cultural cooperation. Working together, the two regions want to develop and reinforce cultural and artistic partnerships across borders.

Decoster: “Together, we want to develop and strengthen cross-border cultural and artistic partnerships. A call for projects will now make it possible to support each year projects carried out by cultural actors from our two territories, radiating over our Region and our French-speaking neighbours in Belgium; allowing our regional artists to be present at national or international festivals, learning from best practices from other artistic fields”.

This structured cooperation will enable both regions to continue improving cultural policies and to better respond to the expectations of artists, while also reinforcing social cohesion and dialogue between cultures.

Minister-President of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles Pierre-Yves Jeholet: “Culture is an axis through which the Federation intends to convey its ambitions in its relations with its foreign partners. This must materialize through the sustained promotion within the Federation and internationally, of the world of cinema, theatre, literature, visual arts, street arts and all other artistic and cultural fields active in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. Particular support will be envisaged for young talents, emerging projects and innovative practices and technologies in the artistic field, in particular those related to digital, both in terms of creation projects and dissemination projects.

This initiative comes on top of other cultural policies our members are spearheading, such as for instance in Mirja Vehkapera’s city of Oulu, which will be the 2026 European Capital of Culture. Our President François Decoster and member Anne Rudisuhli will also visit the launch of Timisoara Capital of Culture on 17-19 February 2023, led by Renew Europe Mayor Dominic Fritz. 

All foto credits: J. Van Belle (WBI)