In 2013, Peter Ludvigsen, then director of the Arbejdermuseet ("Workers' Museum") in Copenhagen, published an article in the International Journal of Heritage Studies. In it, he launched a call for the designation of community centers as UNESCO World Heritage sites. The intention was to submit a so-called serial application to UNESCO, in which not a single building, but a series of similar buildings would be recognized. The community center is, after all, an international phenomenon that emerged throughout the industrial world from the late 19th century onward, and indeed beyond. In fact, we find community centers—or Workers' Assembly Halls, as Ludvigsen rather unfortunately put it—everywhere the socialist labor movement was active. Belgium did not lag behind in this respect; on the contrary, our country is internationally regarded as a pioneer (see also the article about this in Brood & Rozen) with more than 300 historic folk houses, including the Brussels Maison du Peuple and the Ghent Feestpaleis van Vooruit, which were widely regarded as model buildings.
The 2013 Danish initiative already included a selection of nine community centers in eight countries, and Vooruit was already a prominent member. Work continued diligently in the following years. At the initiative of Soeren Bak-Jensen, Ludvigsen's successor, the Danish museum sent out hundreds of questionnaires, collecting data on eighty still-active community centers (or their successors) worldwide.
However, the UNESCO application process is demanding, and many buildings were rejected. Starting in 2020, Amsab-ISG participated in a select working group led by Denmark, which took matters firmly under control and launched a final sprint toward the final nomination. In the countries where the social centers were located, the governments had to be convinced to include the building on their national UNESCO candidate lists. Thus, the Feestpaleis Vooruit was added to the Belgian UNESCO Tentative List in early 2025, with the support of the Flemish government and at the instigation of a working group led by VIERNULVIER, including Amsab-ISG, the City of Ghent, and the heritage services of the Flemish Community.
It was a tough race to the finish line, and only four buildings in three countries made it to the final selection: the Danish Arbejdermuseet, of course, two Australian buildings, and our very own Vooruit. The hefty dossier has now been submitted to the UNESCO authorities. Sometime in 2026, a commissioner from ICOMOS – the international umbrella organization for museums – will visit all the candidate buildings. We expect the visit in Ghent in August. And after that... well, fingers crossed!
