Culture of Belgium

Culture Of Belgium

A discussion of Belgian culture requires discussing both those aspects of cultural life shared by the Belgians, regardless of what language they speak, and the differences between the main cultural communities: the Flemish people from Flanders and the French-speakers from Brussels and Wallonia — although the grouping of Brussels and Wallonia as one cultural community is sometimes rejected, for instance by the Manifesto for Walloon culture as well as certain regionalists from Brussels.

Most Belgians tend to view their culture as an integral part of European or Western culture. Nevertheless, both main communities tend to make their individual and collective cultural choices mainly from within their own community, and then, when going beyond, the Flemish draw intensively from both the English-speaking culture (which dominates sciences, professional life and most news media) and the Netherlands, whereas French-speakers focus on cultural life in France and elsewhere in the French-speaking world, and less outside.

A truly scientific discussion would also include discussion of the different cultures of Belgian ethnic minorities, such as the Jews who have formed a remarkable component of Flemish culture — in particular that of Antwerp — for over five hundred years.