Case Study: 3
Heritage Covenant Gent (Flanders, Belgium)
Themes
The heritage covenant between the Flemish Government and the City of Gent (Belgium) is an example
of one of the nine heritage covenants between the Ministry of the Flemish Community and local authorities.
It relates the development of an integrated local heritage strategy aimed at widening access whilst
ensuring the preservation Gent's cultural heritage.
Keywords: Flanders, Belgium, heritage legislation, regional heritage policy
Relation to wider policy agendas
e-inclusion/ social inclusion: widen access
e-learning: enhanced learning
e-business: cultural tourism
Demand
On 28 April 2004 the Ministry of the Flemish Community
issued a heritage decree,
a legislative measure for the Flemish speaking part of Belgium, to ensure an integrated approach
to cultural heritage. Long before, the City of Gent had established the need for cross-domain policies
rather than single-domain strategies. The Museum Law of 1995 had showed the flaws of single-domain
legislation. Heritage held in convents, churches, town halls and other sites was not covered; there was
nothing to cover either intangible heritage nor for the relation between different types of heritage.
From the 1st of January 2000 until the 31st of December 2004 the City of Gent worked with five 'experimental'
short-term heritage covenants. From the 1st of January 2005 the new long-term (1-1-05 until 31-12-08) covenant
came into force as a result of the Flemish heritage decree.
Description
- To improve collaboration between local heritage institutions and other (cultural) partners in the City
of Gent and between other towns in Flanders;
- To raise awareness of, and increase access to, local and regional cultural heritage;
- To prepare a long-term heritage strategy for the Gent region;
- To consolidate existing heritage projects whilst developing of new projects and activities.
Regional activities
- Further development of a portal (Erfgoednet)for all heritage policy bodies and support agencies
to ensure effective communication and sharing of knowledge by stakeholders;
- The development of a portal (Erfgoedwijzer)for heritage activities in East-Flanders;
- A survey of the needs of archives in Flanders.
Local activities
- Literair Gent, a website about the role of Gent in literature with access to the entire collection
of the City of Gent's Public Library;
- An exhibition about Gent's high street (Veldstraat) and the social implications of the rise of
consumerism in the last two centuries;
- A survey of the cultural heritage of ethnic minorities living in the Gent region;
- 'Erfgoeddag', an annual open day to enhance cooperation between Gent's museums, archives, libraries and
institutions of folk culture and raise awareness about their work;
- 'Spotters' (Scouts), a project for young people and museums to encourage the creation of a
cultural association for young people with an interest in cultural heritage;
- 'Gent 10.000x digital', ensuring access to documents about Gent's built heritage held in collections of
museums, archives, libraries, and local authorities;
- Disclosure of regional news films about the City of Gent in collaboration with the Department of Communication
Sciences from the University of Gent;
- Image Bank Gent: documentary photography of (infrastructural) changes in the local environment;
- CAI-Project: a survey of archaeological sites in Gent; and Archeoweb Gent, a website making this
information to the public;
- Cageweb (Catalogue to Gent's Scientific -Wetenschappelijke- Libraries): a joint catalogue for
scientific research;
- STAM: the development of a new City Museum for Gent as a focal point for heritage activities with
the involvement of all heritage stakeholders;
Barriers/ constraints
The annual experimental covenants resulted in short-term funding and planning which hindered strategic
development and put unnecessary pressure on the delivery of projects.
Keys to success
- Gent has a long tradition of cross-domain cooperation with individuals and institutions very willing
to collaborate;
- V.z.w. Gent Cultuurstad is established as a foundation with an autonomous Board and lump sum funding
from the Flemish Community. This legal and financial structure guarantees quick decision-making and maximum
flexibility;
- Very strong network of stakeholders.
Impact
- Cross-domain collaboration is the norm in Flanders at all levels;
- Cooperation with non-professional organisations is widely accepted by heritage institutions;
- Smaller institutions are equally respected as interesting partners as the larger players;
- The emancipation of archives;
- An improved image for the heritage sector. 'Heritage' is in; the term itself does not ring negative bells
anymore;
- Customer-friendly promotion of all heritage activities: with shared promotional materials;
a shared press database; and coordination of event planning which has resulted in a heritage listing
in newspapers;
- Very well attended heritage days;
Dissemination of lessons learned
Erfgoednet (stakeholders)
Monthly 'Covenant meeting' involving the nine cities with a heritage covenant
Publications
Local, regional, national presentations of projects
Workshops
Domains involved
Museums, archives, libraries, institutions of folk culture, archaeology
Geographical coverage
Gent, Flanders, Belgium.
Standards/Guidelines used
Partnership
v.z.w. Gent Cultuurstad (Gent City of Culture, foundation charged with the implementation of the
local authority's heritage policy)
Culturele Biografie Vlaanderen
Ministry of the Flemish Community
City of Gent
Funding sources
(2003-2004)
Ministry of the Flemish Community: ca 400,000 Euro
City of Gent : ca 125,000 Euro
Income from projects: 125,000 Euro
Lifespan of project
Four Experimental Heritage Covenants: 2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2003-2004.
As a result of the Erfgoeddecreet, the current covenant will run for four years: 2005-2008.
Status of project
In April 2005 City of Culture Gent will deliver a policy plan for the period 2005-2008 as
part of the Heritage Covenant 2005-2008.
Relates to
http://www.gentcultuurstad.be
Host Organisation
v.z.w. Gent Cultuurstad (Gent City of Culture)
Organisation type
v.z.w. Gent Cultuurstad is an umbrella organisation coordinating the implementation of the City of Gent's
heritage policy. Gent Cultuurstad employs six members of staff, a coordinator heritage policy, a coordinator
heritage communication, two heritage advisors, and two part-time administrators.
The Board of Governors represents the Bench of Mayor and Aldermen and comprises specialists for museums,
archaeology and archives, monuments, and libraries from the Council's Department of Culture.
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