Creative Exchange in the Belgian Context
In April 2025, the European Development Institute hosted the Belgian edition of the CREA-UP Co-Creation Workshops in Brussels. The two-day event gathered local designers, artists, and creative entrepreneurs to collaborate on sustainable design concepts, reflecting the growing interest in circular and environmentally responsible creation within Belgium’s cultural and creative industries.
The sessions provided a platform for experimentation and dialogue, enabling participants to share expertise and explore new design perspectives based on reuse, transformation, and material recovery. The workshops reinforced CREA-UP’s vision of creativity as a practical driver for sustainability.
Objectives and Structure
The Co-Creation Workshops in Brussels were designed to strengthen community building among creative professionals and to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration. Participants worked through short thematic sessions focusing on:
- Investigating material reuse and sustainable sourcing within design and production;
- Exploring approaches to circular product development;
- Exchanging good practices between creative hubs and independent professionals.
This process helped establish links between the Belgian creative sector and the broader European CREA-UP network, ensuring that local experiences contribute to shared learning across partner countries.
Contribution to the European Framework
The Brussels workshops played an important role in connecting Belgian initiatives with the transnational objectives of CREA-UP. Insights from the activities supported the preparation of upcoming exhibitions and dissemination events, promoting a unified European narrative of sustainable and innovative design.
Through these Co-Creation sessions, CREA-UP continued to encourage collaboration, experimentation, and the long-term integration of circular thinking within Europe’s creative communities.