Campaign for Flanders Technology & Innovation launched in Ghent and Antwerp

The Flanders Technology & Innovation (FTI) campaign kicked off on Tuesday with a train ride on the FTI Express between Ghent and Antwerp. Next year, the project will result in a major festival in at least five Flemish cities aimed at entrepreneurs and the general public.

FTI plans to use its platform to put Flanders on the map as the "laboratory of Europe". Antwerp, Ghent, Hasselt, Kortrijk and Leuven have already pledged participation, and discussions are underway with Brussels.

Representatives of the Flemish government, along with 315 Flemish CEOs and entrepreneurs, gathered on Tuesday afternoon for an event announcing the future of FTI. In March 2024, the project will hold a festival in Hasselt focusing on urban circular economies, energy-positive buildings and neighbourhoods, and sustainable food and water systems.

The enterprise was launched in October 2022 by the Flemish government with the intention of sustainably improving industrial competitiveness and social well-being.

"Aimed at more than 6 million Flemish people, this will be the time to showcase the technology and innovation in Flanders and the passion and ambitions," says festival director Dries Mahieu.

Flemish minister-president Jan Jambon (N-VA) hopes the project can provide more optimism about Flanders in general and the sector in particular. "Flanders is top in Europe when we talk about technology and innovation," says Jambon. "The basic task of FTI is to bring that conviction to the average Flemish person, and thus also more faith in the future. We are again in a kind of industrial revolution, in my opinion, and if we stay at the forefront sitting on that train as is already the case, we can secure the future for our children and grandchildren."

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