Together with Renew Europe CoR President François Decoster, Vice-President for Culture of the Hauts-de-France region, and Pierre-Yves Jeholet, Minister-President of Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and former Renew Europe CoR member, signed an agreement for cultural cooperation. Working together, the two regions aim to develop and reinforce cultural and artistic partnerships across borders. 

“Together, we want to develop and strengthen cross-border cultural and artistic partnerships. A call for projects will now make it possible to support projects carried out by cultural actors from our two territories each year, radiating over Hauts-de-France 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,” declared Decoster. 

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. 

“Culture is an axis through which the Federation intends to convey its ambitions in its relations with its foreign partners. This must materialise through sustained promotion within the Federation and internationally, of the world of cinema, theatre, literature, visual arts, street art 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,” declared Jeholet. 

This initiative comes on top of other cultural policies Renew Europe CoR members are spearheading, including Mirja Vehkapera’s city of Oulu, Finland, which will be the 2026 European Capital of Culture. Decoster and Renew Europe CoR member Anne Rudisuhli will also visit the launch of Timișoara, Romania Capital of Culture on 17-19 February 2023, led by Renew Europe Mayor Dominic Fritz.  

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Photo credit: J. Van Belle (WBI)