Projects supported in 2024
In addition to its annual call for projects, the Smart City unit of the City of Brussels' was able to support various new projects of general interest in 2024 linked to the Smart City field. These are projects by non-profit organisations located in the City or whose target audience is the City of Brussels.
Games.Brussels is the regional video games association for the Brussels-Capital Region. Its mission is to promote, grow and develop the video games industry in Brussels. Thanks to the subsidy received, the association has been able to set up and run two support programmes within the games.brussels coworking space, located at 7/11 rue d'Alost in 1000 Brussels, as well as the Games.feel event:
- The VSD programme allows entrepreneurs to test their project. They have six months to develop a VSD (vertical slice demo) and six months to find a publisher. They also benefit from business and production coaching.
- The one-month residency programme (sprint), for its part, supports video game creators in their development process. Residents join the games.brussels coworking space, which encourages exchanges between residents and professionals, for a period of one month with a specific objective to achieve.
- The game:feel event aims to promote the video games sector through a master class for students through video games, conferences and a games presentation evening (Big Brotaru) for players in the sector and the general public.
STARTPROjecten, a non-profit organisation, also received support to launch its ‘Hello toi en jij’ project as part of their IT garage project. STARTPROjecten is an initiative of the VGC in collaboration with INTEC BRUSSELS and InBrussels, which operates in the fields of IT, youth, S.T.E.M. and the social economy. It has a S.T.E.M. space and provides support to all Brussels schools in terms of IT infrastructure and maintenance. It offers missions that fulfil the 4 components of S.T.E.M.: science and mathematics combined with technology and engineering.
In concrete terms, this means that participants learn programming, 3D shaping, 3D printing, how to work with sensors, turbomotors, robots and robotic arms, microcontrollers, etc. But participants can also develop their own project or idea, and their instructors will guide them in developing it. The association launches projects that support young people in Brussels, school drop-outs, the long-term unemployed, young NEETs and job-seekers from disadvantaged groups.
The aims of the ‘Hello toi en jij’ project are to extend their free leisure activities to young people and young adults in 1000 Brussels on Wednesday afternoons, Saturday mornings and several days during school holidays (to include bootcamps), thereby increasing their number of participants/beneficiaries, bringing in new volunteers, encouraging more young people to opt for technology and engineering as part of their studies and reaching 10% more girls than at present.
BRUXSART, a non-profit organisation, organises I Tech workshops and events in Brussels. As part of this grant, the non-profit organisation was able to launch the ‘Drones Marolles I Tech: The young pilots of tomorrow’ project.
An educational and fun platform enabled at least 35 young people (aged 13 to 18) from the Marolles district to discover the world of drones. Through practical and mechanical workshops, demonstrations and challenges, the non-profit association aimed to stimulate their curiosity, develop their team spirit and their technical and analytical skills, as well as giving them an introduction to coding.
Through this project, the association also wanted to create new vocations and show young people the new perspectives of new technology, which in the future will be a breeding ground for jobs within the City of Brussels. The project has also helped to prepare them for the technological challenges of tomorrow. Finally, the project is helping to strengthen social ties and promote the values of solidarity and sharing within the community.
Resonantes, a non-profit organisation, has received a grant to support the development of its App-Elles® application, which aims to combat sexual violence and street harassment. A tab dedicated to the City of Brussels is now available. It enables citizens and visitors to quickly find help in the vicinity in the event of sexual violence and street harassment. More information about this project HERE
Photos : © Freepik, Games.brussels, IT Garage, App-Elles®
