Brussels is what we have in common
For purposes of the multi-year plan, the VGC went to work with Brussels residents and in 2020 opened its doors wide to everyone interested in helping to think about answers to the challenges Brussels faces today and tomorrow. Hundreds of Brussels residents, organizations and institutions from the N-network and VGC administration staff provided ideas and tips. A lot of recommendations from the Stadspiratie (city inspiration) participation process, the expanded Brussels consultation round (Ronde van Brussel) for school teams and from the advisory boards are reflected in concrete actions in this multi-year plan. We forwarded any proposals that do not fall within the scope of the VGC to the competent authorities.
On this page you can download the entire plan. In the plan, you will recognize the recommendations by Stadspiratie and the Brussels consultation round from their logo.
Stadspiratie, a broad consultation and participation process
Stadspiratie (city inspiration), the participation process that comprised all areas of VGC’s competence, yielded 1130 ideas, insights and tips. We clustered the suggestions made by citizens and organizations in the N-network around six themes for which the VGC is partly responsible. We incorporated these themes into the plan as policy objectives or as guiding themes.
- Sustainable and liveable city
- Participating and creating together
- Growing up
- Learning
- Multilingualism and Dutch
- Communication and information
During two Brussels workshops, one for citizens and one for organizations, small groups looked at the proposed ideas for each theme and developed concrete policy recommendations. These recommendations and a few sample ideas can be found in the Stadspiratie final report. In the list of recommendations, you can also see the link between the ideas from Stadspiratie and the multi-year plan. They serve as an inspiration for the VGC’s multi-year plan.
Dialogue with school teams during the Brussels consultation round
The VGC asked the school teams about how they see the future, what their concerns are and what tips they would offer for Dutch-speaking education in Brussels. In group discussions and in an online survey during the Brussels consultation round, 345 principals and teachers shared their ideas about the following themes:
- Teacher shortage, turnover and the value attached to the teaching profession
- Dealing with multilingualism
- School infrastructure and equipment
- Collaboration with welfare organizations
- Community Schools and broad learning
- Parent involvement
Actions and focus items from this specific consultation process on the topic of education were included in preparing the VGC multi-year plan. In the handy table of recommendations, you can see the relationship between the ideas from the Brussels consultation round and the multi-year plan.
The multi-year plan is dynamic
The multi-year plan is a dynamic plan. In the coming years, we will keep working, for example, with the ideas drawn from Stadspiratie and the Brussels consultation round, and will set up new participation processes and work closely with the advisory boards. This will enable us to refine the plan and give it concrete form.
From multi-year plan to multi-year budget
The strategic multi-year plan is a crucial step in the transition that the VGC will be undergoing in the coming years in terms of strategic planning and financial management. Starting in 2022, it will be possible from a legal and technical point of view to link the actions and action plans in the multi-year plan directly to the budget.