Etterbeek citizens speak up!

Between September 2024 and June 2025, the municipality of Etterbeek, with the support of Dreamocracy, organised neighbourhood councils for its citizens. Residents from the Jourdan, Saint-Pierre and La Chasse neighbourhoods were invited to share their opinions and proposals to improve life in Etterbeek. During the meetings, sixty citizens gathered to collectively reflect on local policy in their neighbourhood. Discussions focused on culture and local commerce, around concrete challenges such as: how can we prevent shops from standing empty? How can we encourage customers to shop locally? How can we better communicate about the municipality’s cultural offer? And how can we strengthen ties between different cultures and generations through cultural events?

Randomly selected Etterbeek residents, representatives of non-profit organisations, and stakeholders such as shopkeepers engaged in rich and constructive discussions facilitated by Dreamocracy. They worked with methods such as “photolanguage,” a technique that helps address complex topics in an inclusive way. Citizens also practised creative methods to break out of familiar ways of thinking and come up with new ideas. Throughout the process, municipal staff and aldermen were also present to share information about what is already happening in the municipality, explain the competences of the local administration, and share their experience. These exchanges ultimately led to concrete proposals to tackle the identified challenges.

At the last neighbourhood council meeting, a vote was held where citizens decided which of their thirteen proposals they wanted to submit to the municipality. These proposals will be considered by the College of Aldermen, and those that are approved will be implemented.

In the meantime, the citizens of Etterbeek are not standing still: a new citizens’ council has already started — the Climate Council. In this council, randomly selected Etterbeek residents share their reflections on concrete actions to implement Etterbeek’s climate plan. We are already eager to see what recommendations will emerge!