Jesse Onslow: Citizen initiatives across the Belgian capital are finding new ways to collaborate and coordinate their efforts. Could this be a new model for influencing social change in cities?
Brussels is a city that’s intimate with inertia. In its center stands
the Palais de Justice, a grand 19th-century courthouse that was once
described as the eighth wonder of the world. Scaffolding was erected in
1982 as part of a bold plan to renovate the building for the first time
since the Second World War, but 37 years later it remains untouched.
Political point-scoring and division over budgetary allocations have
stalled the project for nearly four decades. Today, the monument serves
as an icon for the dysfunction at the heart of Europe’s capital.
For locals, the Palais de Justice is a lesson that it’s often easier
to start something from scratch than repurpose an old idea. The city is a
hotbed for radical social enterprises, citizens’ initiatives and
grassroots activism, each seeking to build alternative business models
for a more sustainable and participatory future. Now, a new movement has
been born to make them more effective.
Citizen Spring
is a network based in Brussels that aims to connect local projects so
that groups can identify ways to support each other, coordinate their
activities, and promote sustainable and future-facing ideas. It was
launched by Xavier Damman, co-founder of Open Collective
— a transparent funding platform for open source projects that has
attracted donations from big Silicon Valley players like Airbnb and
Facebook. During a climate march in the Belgian capital last year,
Damman began talking to activists about the support they needed to
create a more sustainable Brussels.
“Demonstrating on the streets is the easy thing to do, but it’s also boring. It can be useful, but we should all be asking what else we can do,” he says. “If we want system change, not climate change, we need to recognize the future is already here — it’s just not evenly distributed. We need to bring to the surface the things that people are already doing to initiate change.”
Citizen Spring joins climate change protests on the streets of Brussels. | Image provided by Xavier Damman (CC BY 4.0)
Damman reached out to the city’s community initiatives and invited
them to join the first ever Citizen Spring event. He took inspiration
from industry open days, where businesses are encouraged to throw their
doors open to the public, and decided to recreate the idea for
citizen-led efforts.
From March 21st to 24th, the city’s social enterprises and grassroots
projects took time out of their hectic schedules to showcase their
work. Members of the public were offered tours and presentations of 45
different initiatives where they learned why the projects were founded
and how they hoped to improve the city. Workshops were also facilitated
to find new ways for social enterprises to work together and pool
resources.
“It used to be that big institutions, governments, NGOs and private
companies had the monopoly on creating an impact. But citizens are
becoming more and more empowered to participate,” Damman said. “We want
to accelerate that transition from citizens being passive consumers
towards being actors, creators, and contributors. Not just by promoting
what they do, but by encouraging people to join them. Opening the doors
is just the first step, but it’s an important one.”
The concept is already spreading to other cities in Belgium. Antwerp
established its own Citizen Spring network earlier this year, and Damman
expects more cities in Europe and elsewhere to join the movement in
time for next spring. “There are citizen initiatives in every city in
the world, but too often they work in isolation. It’s in everybody’s
interest that we connect them so they can find ways to increase the
reach and impact of everybody’s work,” he adds.
The municipal authorities in Brussels hope the renovations to the
Palais de Justice will be finished sometime in 2028. Political deadlock
has prevented the Belgian government from both preserving its history
and preparing for the future. Fortunately, the citizens of Brussels
aren’t asking for permission to take matters into their own hands.
If you’d like to launch a Citizen Spring network where you are, email info@citizenspring.be for more information.
Header image: Communa invites members of the public to learn how they’re transforming disused spaces across Brussels | Image provided by Xavier Damman (CC BY 4.0)
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