Belgium/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates  

4.2.6 Culture industries: policies and programmes

Flemish Community

Culture industries are defined as producers or distributors of cultural products or services, the cultural content being of utmost importance for the economic value of the products and / or services; where the actors intend to market the output and to realise a return.

Cultural industry organisations are seen as a major partner in the realisation of certain objectives of the Flemish cultural policy. In certain sectors they are responsible for, for example, the distribution or production of cultural products. Various initiatives have been taken to support these actors within the cultural domain.

The 2004-2009 cultural policy documents announced the examination of opportunity and effectiveness of a cultural investment society, as well as project-based support within the existing regulation.

The Arts Decree and the Heritage Decree (see  chapter 5.2) offer legal bodies with a commercial character the possibility of requesting project support or support for publications.

Specifically with regard to the audiovisual arts, production investors can lay claim to tax shelter and the Flemish Audiovisual Fund (VAF) offers production support for audiovisual creations. The management agreement between the government and the public broadcaster (VRT) states that the VRT must also participate in independent Flemish audio-visual productions, e.g., feature films, TV drama and documentaries.

On 31/3/2006, the Flemish government approved a new policy toolbox for companies in the culture industries sector: CultuurInvest. The sectors covered include: new media and computer games, the audiovisual sector and digital design, the music industry and concert scene, design and fashion design, printed media and graphic design, publishing and the book trade, the music and performing arts, and distribution companies within the visual arts sector.

CultuurInvest has three methods of support:

• project financing: short term and bridge financing for specific projects;
• growth capital: capital participation in more mature growth companies; and
• subordinated loans: quasi-capital as long-term investment in the companies belonging to the target sector.

CultuurInvest will also facilitate the further financing of culture entrepreneurs through:

• a collaboration with "Vinnof" (Vlaams Innovatiefonds - Flemish Innovation Fund, which invests risk capital into innovative, start-up enterprises),
• a renewed guarantee arrangement (a guarantee facility which allows acknowledged credit granters to cover the credits which they granted to companies with a government guarantee); and
• other instruments, such as the co-financing of projects supported by the Federal Participatiefonds (Participation Fund).

CultuurInvest also intends to provide management support and coaching to cultural entrepreneurs.

CultuurInvest was subsumed under the Participatie Maatschappij Vlaanderen (PMV, Flanders Participation Company) from its initiation, in early 2006. After a start-up period, the first projects were presented in mid-2007.

The CultuurInvest investment fund currently has 21.5 million euro at its disposal. Half of these resources are financed by PMV and the other half have been provided by 7 strategic partners in the private sector, in the form of a bond loan under a 10-year staged repayment system.