Thursday 31 January 2026
Wallonia, along with Tuscany, is one of the two European regions selected by the European Commission for their exemplary strategy of supporting the creative economy as a driver of economic change.
Context
In October 2010,on the initiative of Jean-Claude Marcourt, Vice-President of the Walloon Government and Minister for Economy, SMEs, Foreign Trade and New Technologies, the Walloon government launched the framework programme Creative Wallonia designed to place creativity and innovation at the heart of Wallonias economy and society.
Following two years of implementation, the European Commission considers this ambitious strategy to be exemplary. After describing it as exemplary in an Official Communication to European institutions, the European Commission has awarded Wallonia the title of European Creative District one of the first two of its kind in the European Union.
Wallonia Creative District
The projects by Wallonia and Tuscany were chosen from among 44 European regions. Through this initiative, the DG Enterprise and Industry wishes to highlight the role which CCIs (Creative and Cultural Industries) are able to play in transforming a region undergoing industrial transition by adding value to its economy through design, creativity and trans-sectoral cooperation, so as to enable it to achieve a strong position in global value chains.
An initiative supported by several Walloon partners
The consortium, formed by five Walloon stakeholders at the cutting edge of innovation and creativity (the SPW/DG06,Wallonie Design ,Start Invest, lAgence Wallonne des tlcommunications andID campus), are proud to confirm Creative Wallonia to be a Life-Size Demonstrator by reinforcing a dynamic and opening it up to the international world. The project is coordinated by the SPW/DGO6. The cluster TWIST and Infopole TIC are also associated partners. Each stakeholder is in charge of one or more actions according to its speciality fields.
A concrete range of actions
The Walloon project, named Wallonia Creative District", includes a concrete range of coordinated actions which form an integrated global strategy based on four themes:
- Mutual Transnational Policy Learning: benchmarking, forecasting, exchange and analysis of the role played by CCIs in the traditional economy.
- Better Business Support: demonstrate and improve understanding of the potential contribution which CCIs could make to companies in other sectors.
- Better Financial Support: meet the specific challenges encountered by CCIs in terms of access to funding.
- Facilitating Clusters and Networking Activities: strengthen and accelerate the development of Walloon CCIs value chains in the European context.
Benefits for Wallonia and Europe
From January 2013 to July 2015, this project will help to position Creative Wallonia as a European reference plan, develop trans-regional partnerships and increase cooperation opportunities for Walloon public and private stakeholders. Wallonia Creative District will also help to produce an international benchmark of the Creative Wallonia plan and to define good practices for other European regions.