How to transform a post-industrial city? The case of Charleroi, Belgium
Dear Alumni and Friends of Harvard,
We have the great pleasure to invite you to an exclusive evening with Paul Magnette, now Mayor of Charleroi, on his strategy to transform Charleroi from a former successful industrial city turned difficult economic zone, into a new flourishing city of the 21st century.
Mr Magnette has taken on this challenge after holding in the past different high level positions ranging from Minister in the Belgian and Walloon Governments and Acting President of the Socialist Party to Minister-President of the Walloon Government.
The evening will take place on:
Tuesday, November 27th, 2018 at 7:00 pm in Brussels
It will be the tale of Charleroi, but also of all the cities that had a flourishing industrial past and now need to reinvent themselves as their fortune have changed drastically.
This will be a fascinating discussion, taking into account not only the economic factor but also the urbanistic perspectives, the cultural ingredients, the social challenges and the political imperatives.
Hard talk, no complacency, the moderated evening will be very interesting indeed.
If you would like to attend, please confirm your participation before Monday, November 19th, 2018.
The fee for this event will be €70 for members and €95 for non-members (guests and non-member alumni), to be paid on Evenbrite or on our Club’s account before the deadline date (only paid registrations will be confirmed). As always, please note that we do not reimburse in case of cancellation after the deadline above.
The dress code for the evening is business attire.
We hope that you will be able to join us and look forward to seeing you on November 27th, 2018.
Warm regards,
Jean-Albert Nyssens
President, Harvard Club of Belgium
François de Borchgrave
Board, Harvard Club of Belgium
Thomas Dermine
Member, Harvard Club of Belgium – lead of the Catch team
Paul Magnette was born in 1971 and lives in Charleroi since his childhood. After studying Political Science and European integration at Université libre de Bruxelles – ULB (1989-1994), he specialized in History of Political Thought at the University of Cambridge (1994-95) with a grant from the Wiener-Anspach foundation.
In 1995, he was awarded with a mandate from the Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS) to write a doctoral thesis on European citizenship which he defended in 1999. He became a research fellow at the FNRS (1999-2001) and Professor of Political science as well as Director of the Institute of European Studies at ULB (2001-2007). Simultaneously, he established, together with Pascal Delwit and Jean-Michel De Waele, the « Center for political studies (CEVIPOL) of ULB ».
Paul Magnette also frequently teaches at Sciences Po Paris and is a visiting professor at numerous other universities in Europe and North America . He has published thirty books to this day, received several scientific awards (including Jean Rey, Alumni, Franqui, Emile Bernheim) and regularly takes part in international conferences. He is invited to analyze the political news in the Belgian and French media, and is recognized as one of the best experts of the European Union.
In July 2007, Paul Magnette became Minister of Health, Social Action and Equal Opportunities in the Walloon Government.
In late December 2007, Paul Magnette was appointed Federal Minister for Climate and Energy in charge of Environment, Sustainable Development and Consumer Protection under the Verhofstadt III government, and under the Leterme I, II and Van Rompuy I governments.
In 2009, Paul Magnette was elected to the Walloon Parliament. He became senator in 2010 and was appointed Minister of Public Enterprises, Scientific Policy, Development Cooperation, in charge of Larger cities in December 2011, under the Di Rupo government.
In October 2012, he won the local elections in Charleroi, Wallonia’s largest city. He took his mayor office in January 2013 and was appointed as Acting President of the Socialist Party at the same time. He was re-elected to the Walloon Parliament in May 2014 and designated as Minister-President of the Walloon Government in July 2014, until the change of majority in July 2017.