Monday 16 March 2026
25 years after the first Flemish decree on local cultural policy[1] The circle is complete in the Brussels-Capital Region. As the last Brussels municipality, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert will set up its own Dutch-language local cultural policy from 1 January 2027. This will be approved by the Woluwe-Saint-Lambert municipal council on Monday evening. “A historic decision,” emphasised Ans Persoons, VGC college member responsible for culture, and Tamara Liénart, alderwoman for Dutch affairs in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert.
“This is a historic step for the Dutch-speaking network of the Flemish Community Commission. With the accession of Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe, the circle is now complete, providing access to culture in all 19 municipalities. Making culture accessible to schools or to people who find it less easy to engage in such activities is a daily ambition. We can now truly share that ambition across the entire Brussels-Capital Region, says Ans Persoons, VGC College Member and Brussels State Secretary.
“Our municipality has long been committed to making Dutch-language culture visible and accessible to our residents. By now joining the decree on local cultural policy, we can continue that work structurally and reach even more people,” according to Tamara Liénart, ships in Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe.
High quality, sustainable and local
All 19 Brussels municipalities will henceforth make culture accessible in Dutch throughout the entire regional territory. For the municipality of Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe, the decision means that from 2027 they will strengthen and expand their operations by hiring a cultural policy coordinator. This person will be tasked with establishing a high-quality, sustainable, local cultural policy, with particular attention to children, community building, and reaching disadvantaged groups. This is a conscious choice by Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe, which is joining the strong Dutch-speaking network in Brussels.
Each Brussels municipality with a municipal Dutch-language library receives funding from Flanders/the Flemish Community Commission (VGC) for the organisation of a library. If the municipality also has cultural infrastructure and employs a cultural policy coordinator, it can receive an additional subsidy for the implementation of a cultural policy plan.
A 25-year labour of love
The path towards this achievement began 25 years ago with a dream to bring all Brussels municipalities together under the Flemish decree on local cultural policy. To achieve this, many legal obstacles had to be cleared. At the time, most Brussels municipalities did not even have a department or an alderman responsible for Dutch-language culture.
25 years later, the time has come. The joint efforts of Flanders and the Flemish Community Commission have led to enormous progress, resulting in a strong Dutch-speaking network. From 2027 onwards, 19 Brussels municipalities, not 18, will implement a strategic cultural policy plan together with their Dutch-speaking cultural institutions.
1 The decree of 13 July 2001 on stimulating qualitative and integrated local cultural policy. This scheme no longer exists for Flanders and the funds have been incorporated into the municipal fund; for Brussels, it was maintained and re-established in the supra-local cultural decree of 8 March 2024.