Discover the Grand Hospice projects!
Following the success of its call for projects, the Grand Hospice is now home to over 120 initiatives that are helping to raise the profile of this new social and cultural hub. These projects can be discovered at an open day on May 10.
"Pending work on the site, which will be used for housing ," recalls CPAS President Khalid Zian, " Pali Pali manages this space and is developing the project to bring together a variety of complementary activities, provide a mediation and reception center for the neighborhood and encourage social innovation initiatives. Following a call for projects, over 100 operators have now set up shop and are participating in this dynamic. These projects are already having a positive impact, both on the neighborhood and beyond. They bring different uses together to make it easier for people to meet, share resources and work on joint projects.
The selected projects were organized around four main themes: Community, Sustainable Development, Art & Culture, and Education & Health.
Community
The Community theme includes projects with a strong social impact. For example, the educational support provided by Jeugdhuis Chicago Maison de Jeunes (one of the 8 youth centers of D'BROEJ vzw), the non-profit organization Chicago back (a solidarity project run by residents of the "Chicago" district, which came into being during the 1st confinement in 2020), Job Dignity (actions to combat homelessness and social exclusion), Singa (integration of refugees and migrants), Bulle Wasserette Mobile (front-line health and social services for people in very precarious situations), Coopération Education Culture (literary, cultural and educational activities focusing on Africa and the Caribbean) and Rabi Jacob (an association that prepares and distributes meals for people in precarious situations).
Sustainable development
In the Sustainable Development theme, you can meet change agents such as Lita.co (Europe's first impact investing platform), and Energy4commons (off-grid rural and urban electrification programs using renewable energies). But also fashion and design projects such as Méson (recovery of home textiles destined to be thrown away or abandoned to make clothes and accessories), Retro Reset (a Brussels-based circular fashion brand combining vintage ("retro") pieces and upcycled ("reset") creations), Obso (a 100% sustainable and solidarity-based vintage clothing platform) and Twoo-D (clothes, plants and objects designed in Brussels). Or active in mobility, such as Bike-Packer (organizer of Belgian bike trips) or Bazaar Trottoir et Cactus (discover Brussels by bike).
Education & Health
In the Education and Health theme, you can learn Dutch with Opencontext, dance, boxing or yoga with Super Chill Yoga. You can also get mental health support from the Antonin Artaud Center, Téjo or Le monde du dedans. Or job-seeking support from Promo Jeunes.
Art & Culture
The Art & Culture theme includes La Bagagerie (theater company and expression workshop), which runs the zinnode Brol Bazar as part of the Zinneke Parade. But also Magma (a Brussels-based collective developing artists around music), Arts et Publics (cultural mediation in intersection, training and insertion, civic animation and arts promotion), Bledarte (a space for expression for young people from immigrant backgrounds through art and culture), and numerous artists' workshops.
And these are just a few examples. The Grand Hospice is becoming a real place to live, with its guinguette (Jardin), hairdresser (Vilain), beauty salon (Zamany), patisserie (Toga), sewing workshop (Couture Club) and record shop (Hospice Records).
By hosting these projects and promoting their activities, Pali Pali accelerates their development and, thanks to the CPAS, makes a real social difference in the Brussels-Capital region.