Context and
goal
of the symposium
Territorial foresight as a tool in governance is asserting itself more
and more widely in the European Union and at the global level.
Wallonia and its Government are not letting this development pass them
by.
"Accordingly,
a consensus has emerged for the definition of foresight as a rigorous
process – generally carried out on a cross-disciplinary basis and in
networks – which makes it possible to reveal evolutionary trends, to
identify continuities, ruptures and divergences in the variables
(players and factors) in the environment, as well as to determine the
range of possible futures. In this way, it enables us to frame
coherent strategies and to improve the quality of the decision to be
taken. It is one of the techniques necessary for proactivity, the
attitude of those who anticipate events in their reflections, who act
to provoke the changes desired, and who seize the new opportunities"[1].
As a player which drives and mobilises the territory of Wallonia, the
Walloon Government is aware of the importance of the structured
linkage of a foresight process with the various key parties involved,
in other words the fields of research, the socio-economic players,
businesses and the civil society.
In addition, the various European experiments conducted in the area
constitute markers and working methods which Wallonia needs to
valorise as well as possible, notably in the framework of its
interregional co-operation strategy.
It is against this background that the Walloon Government has
entrusted to the Foresight Pole of the Jules-Destrée Institute the
organisation of a day of work and exchanges of European experiences on
the strength of various lights being shed on the relevance of
territorial foresight for strategic regional steering. Methodological
approaches and practical cases will form the central thrusts of the
meeting.
[1]
Charter of the Walloon Society for
Evaluation and Foresight,
adopted at its General Assembly on 29 April 2000 in Namur.
