Coworking in Belgium
The term 'coworking' very fashionable,
is used in all the sauces, particularly to
describe a simple shared office
in a business center. Such spaces number in the tens. The "real" coworking spaces against by
offering a service and entertainment are more rare,
although also booming.
Until
Anglicism "coworking" is the subject of a
definition, the subject of various interpretations.
For some,
coworking, it's
just when
professionals from different backgrounds
share an office and other facilities such as a cafeteria. This is the minimalist approach. For purists and / or pioneers of "coworking", this new form of work
does not, however, a shared
office.
"A coworking space involves a series of services, particularly an animation that
facilitates contacts between individuals
who share a number of values.
Depending on
the personality or background of its
founder, coworking space each has its specific
effect, rather they are sectoral
(eg, BetaGroup focused primarily on web developers)
or in terms of age (le Loft Forest attracts mostly forties). In addition, real coworking
spaces are aimed at individuals and not to companies and
offer very flexible payment plans
depending on the time 'consumed'.
Another
major feature of coworking spaces
in the strict sense, it is the close
integration with social networks. Offices and virtual merge.
"The coworking is a desk in the cloud. "But with real tables and chairs, real
coffee and characters of flesh
and real people.
Because of this mixture of genres,
it is not easy to make an inventory of the number of coworking spaces in
Belgium. "We count between
15 and 20 'real' coworking
centers in Belgium. Doubling in just one year.
In Europe,
there are about 800 in the world, about 2,000. These figures are already impressive for a relatively new phenomenon.
"
Besides the role of pioneers like The HUB Brussels,
coworking has
been boosted in recent months
by the initiatives supported by the
government Bar d’Office in Flanders (7
centers and
more than 200 limbs) or
in various cities
in Wallonia initiative Creative
Wallonia.
The example of Creative Wallonia
A co-working space is a hosting, working
and meeting place for entrepreneurs who are carriers of projects and ideas and
wish to share them with others; this place is powered by a specific animation
intended to create links inside and outside of the community of co-workers.
In a co-working space, the room and
equipment layout, as well as the specific animation model installed, are
studied in order to encourage meeting, collaborating, discussing and working to
target project processing. There is a relaxed, informal atmosphere that
releases creativity and favors project development.
Moreover, co-working offers maximum
flexibility: visiting the area is completely à la carte, according to proper
needs, for one day, a few hours per month, on regular basis or even
unrestrictedly. The lump sums are on monthly base and without engagement (no
tenancy). Furthermore, for a reasonable price you have access to equipment (workstation
in an open area, meeting rooms, ...) and events
organized in the co-working space.
Through co-working, collaboration
between actors (forming a real "community") is encouraged and in this
way an innovating ecosystem is generated on the local level.
This is how the development of 8
co-working spaces in Wallonia was initiated by the CREATIVE WALLONIA program,
which has the ambition, in line with the Marshall Plan
and its 2.Vert declination, to involve the
largest possible number of Walloon citizens in an innovative dynamism,
necessary for Wallonia's economic success.
This is for all Walloon entrepreneurs
wishing to share a work area to boost their activity.
Where to find the 8 CREATIVE WALLONIA
"labeled" co-working spaces in Wallonia?
Lisa Lombardi
Expert in charge of co-working at the
Walloon Telecommunication Agency (AWT = Agence Wallonne des Télécommunications).
Avenue Prince de Liège 133
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