INTERNATIONAL BRUSSELERS, WHAT FUTURE WILL YOU CHOSE FOR YOUR CITY?
1 in 3 Brussels residents has a foreign nationality, and more than 20% are citizens of another EU country. These International Brusselers cannot vote in regional elections, but now they’re raising their #BrusselsVoice!
In June 2021 commissioner.brussels and the Brussels-Capital Region launched Live here. Speak, hear. This is the first democratic participation project to specifically target non-Belgians living in the Brussels Region, and we wanted to hear what International Brusselers really think. You certainly weren’t shy about speaking up! Over the summer hundreds of people shared their ideas about ways to make life easier for International Brusselers. The proposals cover everything from transport to safety, including ideas about support for getting settled and bold plans to make the European Quarter more liveable.
In October we’re entering the all-important voting phase, which will decide which ideas can make it into the final list of proposals to the Brussels Parliament. Check out our online platform to see the ideas your fellow Brusselers have submitted and vote for your favourites. It only takes a couple of minutes, and it really makes a difference!
Want to get more involved? Join our face-to-face workshops to build a better Brussels!
Once voting closes we’ll get to work preparing a series of interactive workshops based on the ideas that are most popular in the vote. At these events, taking place in November and December, International Brusselers will cooperate with their fellow residents to contribute to the development of the Manifesto of the International Brusseler. The workshops are open to all International Brusselers, and you can attend as many or as few as you want.
We’ll be publishing full details of the workshop programme and opening registrations very soon on the project website. Visit the platform and sign up if you want to be kept informed. That will also be the perfect chance to vote for your favourite ideas and help decide which ones will make it to the workshops!
Want to gather the ideas of your friends or your community? Host your own workshop with our kit!
We believe that democracy happens everywhere, so we’re excited to offer you the chance to organise your own Live here. Speak, hear. workshop. With our easy-to-use kit you can launch a meaningful discussion about one or several of the ideas proposed on the site and send us feedback that will contribute to the drafting of the detailed proposals.
These citizen-led workshops are a great way to get involved if you can’t attend any of the workshops in person, or if you want to share the perspective of a specific group of International Brusselers. Gather your colleagues, your countrymates or your association and raise your #BrusselsVoice together! Visit the project website to download the kit and read our tips for a successful discussion.
