The German-speaking community should henceforth be known by the term “Ostbelgien” or East Belgium in its internal or external communications. The spokeswoman for the Minister-President indicated this yesterday. The new territorial brand was introduced on Wednesday in Saint-Vith.
The office of the Minister-President says, “This new umbrella brand aims, above all, to give the ‘Ostbelgien’ region a more attractive, effective and sustainable image than previously.”
The Minister-President of the German-speaking community, Olivier Paasch, says that this is an absolute necessity. “Our birth rate is relatively low in this region and with the ageing population we will not have a sufficient workforce to replace the people who are retiring. We must therefore resort to immigration to supplement our workforce to the requisite levels, mainly from adjacent regions. In addition, investment and setting up of businesses are important factors for our future.”
Mr Paasch adds that a targeted marketing strategy will have a positive effect upon the region if we believe the results of scientific studies and similar experiments carried out elsewhere, the South Tyrol in Austria being one example.
In addition, this new communication strategy will strengthen the identification with Ostbelgien's own community and its benefits.
The office of the Minister-President concludes, “The government hopes that, from now on, numerous players in civil society will wish to join this new brand, to (re)introduce the region’s numerous benefits in collaboration with public institutions.”
The Brussels Times
