Each year, Ghent Festival of Flanders dedicates part of its revenues to a number of deserving social projects. Persons whose social or financial situation keeps them from attending cultural events are given the opportunity to attend Festival concerts.
We do this by lowering the financial threshold - and hopefully also the even more obnoxious mental blocks. In addition, we help people with mobility impediments to get to the venues.
Eandis and Stichting Porticus accepted to support Flanders Festival Ghent’s social commitment. The Arts department of the city of Ghent and OCMW Gent are crucial partners for turning our social projects into a success. We would like to thank the persons in charge as well as the Friends of The Festival for their valuable contributions.
Social projects in 2009
1. Concerts for visual-handicapped persons
2. Your key to Ghent Festival of Flanders (see 2008)
Social projects in 2008
1. Your key to Ghent Festival of Flanders
People on the edge of society with a first-hand experience of poverty need access to social and cultural events, which is why they are given the opportunity to attend concerts organised by Ghent Festival of Flanders. It is our desire to allow persons whose primary concern is to get by and for whom cultural activities are usually not an option to experience the unique atmosphere and benefits of a live concert.
Our ‘Your key to Ghent Festival of Flanders’ project therefore provides a number of tickets that cost just 1 euro. The remainder of the admission fee is funded by Ghent Festival of Flanders.
2. Volunteers of palliative care and the staff of homes for the elderly
The staff and volunteers in charge of the elderly or dedicated to palliative care are doing a crucial job for which we cannot thank them enough. Ghent Festival of Flanders would like to thank these persons in a musical way.
A public general rehearsal is a unique experience, and we figured that, rather than sell tickets for it, we should give them away for free to volunteers. Those persons are carefully selected in collaboration with “Provinciaal Steunpunt Vrijwilligerswerk” and OCMW Ghent.
3. King’s College Choir at Jan Palfijn hospital in Ghent
The world-renowned King’s College Choir Cambridge performed on Saturday, 20 September at St. Bavo Cathedral, a unique opportunity, because the boys’ choir is tremendously popular, yet can only perform on Saturdays and Sundays because of its tight educational schedule.
We shared this experience on Sunday, 21 September with children and adults in the Jan Palfijn hospital. Of course, their families and the service personnel were also most welcome to this unique concert.
In collaboration with OCMW Gent, Dienst Kunsten Stad Gent
With the support of the Porticus foundation, 