make.brussels
In November 2015, a "lockdown" paralysed Brussels and its businesses for 5 days, following the Paris attacks. On March 22, our capital was its turn shaking under the terrorist attacks. The results: moribund businesses, deserted by a clientele in shock. How, in this gloomy climate, can we restore Brussels to its former glory and breathe new life into its shopping districts?
atrium.brussels and its partners have set up a major project based on citizen participation. This project, conceived at the time of the lockdown, became even more meaningful after the March attacks. Named make.brussels, the campaign invited architects, designers, entrepreneurs, event organisers, web developers, cooks, painters, musicians and other citizen creators to think and submit their ideas for Brussels. The Agency's aim was to stimulate the rich creative and cultural community of the Brussels region to revive the city. All ideas were good as long as they strengthened the identity of the ten Pentagon districts.
The make.brussels campaign was carried out in four stages. Participants first had one month to submit their project (SUBMIT). In May, the public was then invited to vote for the projects they considered most relevant (VOTE). At the end of May, the first 30 projects in the running were able to challenge their concept, supervised by a series of coaches, during a two-day creative marathon (PROTOTYPE).
At the end of the weekend, the jury selected ten winning projects, one per district, giving them each €30,000. They now have until 31st December to implement their idea (MAKE).
After the attacks, Brussels needed more than ever to dream, imagine and create. In addition to its initial objectives, the launch of make.brussels therefore sounded like an authentic act of resistance, a declaration of love in Brussels, a promise that, despite an uncertain future, we will never get tired of delighting our city
