What is WeLoveBrussels?
In short, it’s an innovative urban communication platform connecting people with the city, sharing positive stories, images and ideas, with a goal to inspire Brussels. We are a fusion of modern online micro magazine and a highly engaged, passionate community. Our platform is digital, community-driven and it focuses on inspiring visual content. More than 70.000 people follow @welovebrussels on different social media channels.
No, we are not one of the many new campaigns/initiatives aiming to ‘repair the image of Brussels’ after the attacks. We support and love those actions but we believe that city branding is rather a long-term process, which involves strategic thinking, new ideas and creative engagement of all stakeholders. We started in 2014 and championed the bottom-up approach in Brussels, focusing on the people. We have built #welovebrussels community, which creates a positive image and a good story for our city.
Why #WeLoveBrussels?
It is simple. Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the headquarters of the European Union. It is also a beautiful place full of life, history, good food and great people! Nevertheless, there are many reasons why Brussels is often under-appreciated and not respected enough. Some see Brussels as boring, bureaucratic and gray. This negative image is often followed by other stereotypes such as dirty and unsafe. In addition to its diverse population, Brussels welcomes thousands of tourists and commuters every day. Consequently, people often perceive it solely as a place of work and not as their home-base. This overburdens Brussels and the city ends up being unable to show its positive sides. Therefore, we feel that Brussels needs more love, more appreciation and more recognition!
Every great city is made of great people – people who love it, people who care for it, and people who inspire others. We strive for more creativity, more innovation, more entrepreneurial spirit, more sustainability and more everyday positiveness in our city-region.
This is why we started WeLoveBrussels – urban communication platform and creative digital community. We hope to spread love for our city among linguistically and culturally diverse communities. Ultimately, we are proud that our platform is doing something truly special – bringing together locals, expats, tourists, and commuters and inspiring all those who live, work, study or visit Brussels.
We love the city. We share the city. We inspire the city!