Wallonia has been distinguished as a "European Creative District" along with Tuscany among more than 40 candidate regions in Europe. With a budget of EUR one million, this thirty-months-project (2013 - 2015) has demonstrated the possibilities offered by creativity to enhance innovation in a regional context. This presentation, prepared in the framework of the Open Days 2015, shows the main results of the WECD project

1. Vincent LEPAGE
DGO6 / Department for Competitiveness and Innovation
Directorate for Economic Policy
WECD Project – Results
Workshop Innovative
Tourism and Creative
Industries
Open Days 2015, Brussels

2. 2010: Launch of the Creative Wallonia program
 Objective : To place creativity and innovation at the
heart of the Walloon society and economy
Context: Wallonia as a demonstrator for
innovation through creativity

3. → Adress the entire society
/ economy (not only CCIs)
→CCIs = source of
inspiration
→Policy mix
 Iterative
process
Creativity lead to innovation
Our approach Results (3 years)
→ 5000 people trained
→ 500 innovative
products / services
→ 800 start-ups and
SMEs supported
→ 200 international
partners

4. 2010: Launch of the Creative Wallonia program.
 Objective : To place creativity and innovation at the
heart of the Walloon society and economy
2013: Wallonia selected as a European Creative District
 Creative Wallonia has become a EU demonstrator
Context: Wallonia as a demonstrator for
innovation through creativity

5. 2010: Launch of the Creative Wallonia program.
 Objective : To place creativity and innovation at the
heart of the Walloon society and economy
2013: Wallonia selected as a European Creative District
 Creative Wallonia has become a EU demonstrator
2013-2015: WECD project implementation
 Design and test of pilot actions
 Policy learning in international
context
Context: Wallonia as a demonstrator for
innovation through creativity

6. WECD – a multi-level strategy
CLUSTERS
2 CCI clusters labelled
(bronze and silver)
Raising awerness : 6 CCI ID
Cards + matchmaking sessions
ACCESS TO
FINANCE
Raising awarness of investors: training
designed & tested
8 Co-working spaces as hybridization tool
Creative Vouchers: 10 (20 SMEs)
COLLABO-
RATION
CREATIVE
SKILLS
Master in co-creative innovation for pro
Coaching of 25 CCI entrepreneurs
Creative skills on labour market: matrix

7. Access to European Platforms (ECIA, ESIC, ESCA, …)
 International expertise: assesment of our strategy, benchmarks
 Exchanges with peers: tools, good practices, …
 Policy influencing (tentative of…)
Visibility
 Attractiveness inside and outside the EU: China, Canada, …
 Highest credibility in Wallonia itself
Added value of the European dimension

8. Where are we going now?
→Creative economy = one of the deepening
axes of Walloon Smart specialisation strategy
→ Creative Wallonia 2015-2019 largely inspired
by WECD (around 15 mio euros/ year)
→ Creative economy in ERDF and ESF projects
→ European perspective:
 we are on the map (label effect)
 EU projects / platforms to enlarge
networks and share ideas

10. Hackathon Tourism
Mons 2015 and beyond
How creativity matters for Tourism?
2 concrete projects

11. Thank
you!Contact: DGO6, Direction de la
Politique Economique
Vincent Lepage
Vincent.lepage@spw.wallonie.be
www.wecd.eu
: #wecd
@Wall_inno
@creativewal