A few years ago, the Danish Arbejdermuseet (Workers' Museum) took the initiative to have community centers recognized worldwide as World Heritage. In the first round, seven community centers were nominated for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List . This is a so-called serial nomination, where not one but several monuments are nominated simultaneously. In this case, in addition to the Danish Arbejdermuseet and the Belgian Vooruit, community centers from Australia, Finland, the United Kingdom, and Argentina are also nominated. The goal is to complete the application by 2025. In subsequent years, additional community centers will be included in waves of so-called extensions, as eligible candidates apply.
Indeed, quite a few conditions must be met. First of all, the social housing must still exist—which is certainly a shame for Victor Horta's Maison du Peuple in Brussels—and must be able to present robust records regarding authenticity, integrity, and management. An absolute requirement is that they be included on a national list of monuments, which is a difficult hurdle for many social housing buildings in the south.
From March 28 to 30, 2023, a group of experts met in Copenhagen for a three-day workshop to prepare the dossiers. In addition to Amsab employee Donald Weber, specialists from Denmark, Finland, and Australia were also present.
A first step is to get our own Vooruit listed on the Belgian page of the UNESCO waiting list. This must happen by August 2023 at the latest. To achieve this, VierNulVier and Amsab-ISG are working together in a local committee with representatives from the City of Ghent and the Flemish Community.
