Concise.pdf - Brugge Plus

The public network
Introduction
Nobody is obliged to participate in culture, but the culture participation policy aims to at
least give people the chance to take part. Barriers that have an obstructive effect are brought
down. Bruges wanted not only to enable people to participate in culture, but also – if so
desired – to give them the capacity to deal with culture. Therefore a specific experiment was
devised to promote participation: the public network.
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BRUGGE 2002
A labour-intensive grass-roots method
We wanted to make the decision to come to Bruges that little bit more self-evident for
everyone. Therefore contact persons were sought in the municipalities within a
radius of 50 km of Bruges. Both in the provinces of West and East Flanders and in
Zeeland, we found people who were prepared to commit themselves. They wanted to
convey their own enthusiasm to the general public in their own area, and stimulate
and mobilise these people in groups.
The co-ordinator of the public network was Bram De Vos. He found, coached and
supported the contact persons and kept his finger on the pulse of the network. The
Minister of the Government of Flanders for Culture, at that time Bert Anciaux, gave
this initiative financial backing and accorded it a place within the range of participation
projects that were starting up here and there in Flanders.
By the start of BRUGGE 2002 contact persons were active in all municipalities of the
originally defined public network region, and some were active in various municipalities.
The contact persons based themselves on their own contacts, interests and
communication channels. Some used the official municipal channels, such as the
municipal information sheet or the municipality’s web site. Others distributed the
documentation on BRUGGE 2002 via their association or company. BRUGGE 2002 concluded
a co-operation agreement with the bus company Eltebe, which carried people to
Bruges at attractive prices.
BRUGGE 2002 supported the contact persons’ networking activity with the necessary
material (brochures, programmes, etc.), and the co-ordinator gave more than seventy
information sessions. The co-ordinator also answered questions posed by the contact
persons every day, by telephone or e-mail, and a general e-mail with the latest
information was sent to all members of the network twice a week. When a group
headed into the city, it could call on the co-ordinator to welcome it there. This mainly
occurred in the House 2002 – Perez de Malvenda, where the group would be given
a custom-made introduction to the event that they would be attending.
© KONINKLIJK MUSEUM VOOR SCHONE KUNSTEN ANTWERPEN
Brugge Inside Out
© STEDELIJKE ACADEMIE VOOR SCHONE KUNSTEN - DKO
Jan van Eyck, Early Netherlandish
Painting and Southern Europe